Circuit Writer Version 5.11
by Jim Scheef
Tim Russert
As I write this on Sunday morning, NBC
is paying tribute to Tim Russert, the longtime host of Meet
the Press. There is no way to tie this into DACS or computing
so I won’t try,
but Tim has been an important part of my Sunday mornings for
many years. In this column, I often try to associate tech issues
with the political players who make or influence those decisions.
Each week Tim brought those players into our homes in a way that
made issues understandable. He got answers to tough but fair
questions while holding his guests accountable for past statements.
Two things made Tim a standout: his humility, the show was always
about politics – not him, and his loyalty to all things
Buffalo. Sunday mornings will never be the same.
The Browser War Returns
The best evidence that Microsoft intended to kill Netscape is
how the intervals between versions of Internet Explorer got longer
and longer once there was no Netscape Navigator with which to
compete. Would there be an IE 7 if there were no Firefox? I think
not.
There is some evidence that the next
browser war will be over JavaScript, the scripting language
(tinyurl.com/6f9uea), however I think the issue of the moment
is standards compliance. Microsoft trumpeted IE 7 for better
performance against HTML standards. Unfortunately IE 7 retains
most of the “quirks” that
have driven web developers nuts. The quirks (some would call
them bugs) have remained in the product so long as Microsoft
thought that developers would code to the quirks rather than
the standards. The ever growing market share of Firefox has changed
all that. So, again, Microsoft is promising “interoperability
and compatibility” in IE 8.
Digital Rights in Canada
While our Congress does whatever it has
been doing (nothing productive lately), the Canadian Parliament
is addressing copyrights in the digital age (tinyurl.com/5ca23k).
A new bill introduced by Industry Minister Jim Prentice would
allow Canadians to copy legally acquired music to a computer
or iPod but they must not circumvent any DRM applied by the
copyright owner. The new bill continues existing protections
for ISPs from liability for their customer’s transgressions
and does not require that an accused violating website be taken
down immediately as in the U.S.
An interesting provision allows consumers
to time-shift radio and television broadcasts but prohibits
retaining the recordings in a permanent personal library. So
basically, the proposed law gives consumers a few ‘privileges’ with
the copyrighted materials they purchase and then takes everything
away if the content happens to be digital. From the eWeek article:
In drafting the new legislation, the government said it faced
the delicate task of balancing the rights of content creators
with the realities and needs of everyday life in a digital world,
and also realizing the difficulty of policing possible personal
infringements.
Prentice said of the issue: "It touches each and every
one of us, and it is no surprise to find so many different
points of view with respect to copyright."
My reaction is “Ha!” The
bill gives everything to any business entity involved and screws
the consumer. Another group compares this new bill to the DMCA
in the U.S.
Reaction to the bill has come from an
online group called Fair Copyright for Canada (www.faircopyrightforcanada.ca – many,
many fascinating links) which seems to have most of its activity
in a Facebook group (tinyurl.com/2r6z6q – you must have
a Facebook account to view this page). The social networking
model seems to work quite well for this issue. The Facebook group
has over 61,000 members and there are many more Facebook groups
for local chapters presumably to concentrate lobbying on a particular
MP (Member of Parliament).
Canadians take pride in being different from their neighbors
south of the border (that would be us). They are certainly to
be commended for the activity they have generated over this issue.
Truly Interesting Department
Did you know that on June 17 and 18 there
is (was as you read this) a conference in Seoul, Korea, on
the “Future of the
Internet”? Well, I didn’t either. Several organizations
have requested input to this process by way of YouTube. You can
begin your YouTube surfing at the video channel (www.youtube.com/futureinternet)
created by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development
(OECD.org), the organization sponsoring the event. No matter
what I try to write here, everything seems trite. What is the
future of the Internet? I haven’t found anything from John
Patrick, yet.
The Could This Work Department
This morning at breakfast (where I read
eWeek and Information Week), I came across an article on Open
Source Hardware – yes,
hardware (tinyurl.com/55ejw9). Actually, this idea is not new
and I’ll tell you why in a moment. The article talks about
how the OpenMoko Project (www.openmoko.org) and VIA Technologies
have released CAD files for several products. OpenMoko released
CAD files for all of its mobile phones. You really need to go
to the OpenMoko websites to understand what it is all about.
The VIA Technologies release is easier to grasp as the product
involved is a prototype ultra-mobile notebook computer. VIA did
not release everything needed to make the entire computer but
just the design for the outer shell. The idea is that OEM manufacturers
can customize the outside to produce a unique version.
The author, Serdar Yegulalp, speculates that hardware design
could increasingly move to the open source model which would
lead to whole market segments based on common, open designs.
This could really simplify finding a part for your washing machine
and it could lower production and repair costs for many products,
both electronic and not.
Open source hardware has been around
for many years, primarily in sports. My first thought was one-design
sailboats. There is a standard basic design. How you implement
that design could give you an edge in a race or allow for a
lower sales price. Sit for a minute and you’ll think
of others.
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