Change Urged in Broadband Policy. A group of technology and media companies argue that the open nature of the Internet will be lost unless the F.C.C. amends its broadband policy.  [New York Times: Technology]

Read it and weep: This morning I went to hear Jin-wook Son, the managing director of the UK office of Korea Telecom, speak about S. Korea’s phenomenal broadband market — it has 10 million b/b subscribers (mostly DSL), around 70 per cent of households, the highest b/b penetration in the world. 55 million Koreans are online. Most Koreans subscribe to the ‘premium’ DSL offering from Korea Telecom, which gives 8 Mbps for… ready?… about 33 $/? a month. Modem rental is an additional 2.50 and the one-off installation cost is ?/$25. Setting aside factors such as very high density housing, which makes getting people wired up easier, he ascribes the fast take-up to huge govt support, a competitive telecoms market (and remember, he is from the incumbent operator!), and lots of content and services. Online gaming is very, very, VERY big in Korea. More on all this during the week. [[ t e c h n o c u l t u r e ]]

Lindows 3.0 released
InfoWorld report

Parents are more wired than non-parents

According to the latest Pew Internet survey, parents are more enthusiastic about technology than non-parents and more likely to use the Web for health information, for their work or training, and for getting religious information. Seventy percent of parents with a child at home use the Internet, compared to 53% of non-parents. These parents are more enthusiastic than non-parents about technology and its benefits and are strong believers that their children need to master computers and the Internet in order to get ahead in life.

Bush Mark 2 equals Orwell Mark 1

William Safire’s vitriolic attack on Admiral Poindexter’s [of Iran Contra fame] plan for “Total Information Awareness” — which is part of the Homeland Security Act. If this goes through, then Osama bin Laden has really won. Meanwhile, here’s David Carr’s splendid article on the impossibility of making the US terrorist-proof.

Useful guide to Microsoft shady practices

A scarifying document detailing the various ways in which acceptance of Microsoft software exposes users to intrusions by the company into their privacy and the innards of their machines.

The latest Halloween memo

This one is a remarkably candid meditation on the progress of Microsoft’s anti-Open Source campaign to date. Conclusion: it hasn’t worked. The memo also recommends that Microsoft should stop denigrating Open Source software. Black propaganda doesn’t work. Well, well.

How the law is an ass when it tangles with digital stuff

Red Hat vs. the DMCA. Red Hat publishes information about a security patch ONLY to people outside the United States, because of fear of the DMCA. It seems that a description of a fix to a vulnerability also contains information about the vulnerability itself, which could be a violation of the DMCA. And while we’re on the subject of ridiculous, here are some of the “digital media devices” that would be required to incorporate government-approved copy-protection technology under the Hollings CBDTPA Bill: hearing aids, talking picture frames, scrolling signs, and baby monitors.

Security and insecurity

“We are being told that we are in graver danger than ever, and that we must change our lives in drastic and inconvenient ways in order to be secure. We are being told that we must give up privacy or anonymity, or accept restrictions on our actions. We are being told that the police need new investigative powers, that domestic spying capabilities need to be instituted, and that our militaries must be brought to bear on countries that support terrorism. What we’re being told is mostly untrue. Most of the changes we’re being asked to endure don’t result in good security. They don’t make us safer. Some of the changes actually make things worse….”.

Bruch Schneier in the latest edition of his newsletter.

The Law of Leaky Abstractions

An example of the wonderful stuff published in weblogs every day. This essay by Joel Spolsky is about the usefulness and limitations of models. It also contains an hilarious analogy for TCP/IP. Joel is the creator of CityDesk, an affordable content management system for small outfits. Alas, it only runs on WIndows. Sigh.
12:07:03 AM