WiredPen

The nation’s mass media continue to turn a blind eye to the issue of eVoting, based on the lack of advance or followup reporting of a Maryland conference on the subject.

The split between technologists (who urge caution and worry about security) and corporations/government officials (who urge adoption and seem concerned only with vote counts that are faster and cheaper) was highlighted Dec. 10-11 at the “Building Trust and Confidence in Voting Systems” conference at the National Institute of Standards & Technology in Gaithersburg, Md.

Classic propaganda techniques should make all of us take notice. Representatives of the big four firms and government officials refer to security professionals as “black helicopter people” … in other words, “conspiracy buffs, X-files folks.” This is an attempt to paint the critics as “fringe” or “lunatic” in the minds of voters, when in fact the technologists are esteemed professionals in their field.
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A Politech reader reported last week that the French-government-supported Internet Rights Forum (”Le Forum des droits sur l’internet”) has published recommendations about the future of eVoting in France.

The audit recommendation does not explicitly call for a “voter-verifiable audit trail,” which is the goal of two European advocacy groups: the Foundation for Information Policy Research (FIPR) and the Free E-democracy Project. Last month, California became the first state to require a voter-verified audit trail, but not until 2006.
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America Online has announced a $299 PC for customers who sign a 12-month agreement with the service. This business model mirrors that of the cellphone industry. The promo ends on 31 December.

The computer has a 1.7GHz Celeron processor, 256MB of DDR SDRAM, a 40GB hard drive, a CD-ROM drive, a 17-inch CRT monitor, and a color printer from Lexmark. The operating system is Microsoft Windows XP Home, with an AOL-custom-designed desktop, and the computer is being sold via the Web.

Links: PC World (4 Dec); cNet (4 Dec)

Two court decisions reported today demonstrate a bias toward consumer choice.

First, the Associated Press reported that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia refused to overturn an FCC regulation that allows consumers to switch home and cell phone numbers.

And cNet reported that FCC is appealing an October ruling from the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that found that the FCC incorrectly classified cable broadband as “information services.” The Court ruled in October that cable broadband should be considered a “telecommunications service.”

The distinction is important for consumer and business. Telecommunication services, like phone lines, must share the infrastructure (the line) with third parties. Cable firms have not been subjected to the same competition. Government officials and the cable industry have characterized the FCC action as a reluctance to regulate the industry — implying that cable exists in a state of unfettered competition. In fact, “regulation” is the only way that consumers will achieve choice in monopolistic markets.

Links: cNet (4 Dec); Seattle PI (AP - 4 Dec); CNet (6 Oct)

Cubans and Haitians are protesting the storyline of the Rockstar Games title “Grand Theft Auto: Vice City” because the game allegedly urges players to “kill the Haitians” and “kill the Cubans.”

The “Grand Theft Auto” series has already drawn real blood (and a lawsuit); two Tennessee teenagers say that they were mimicking the game (GTA-3) when they took their guns to the freeway and began shooting. The 14- and 16-year-olds pleaded guilty to charges and were sentenced in August.
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The world’s second largest computer maker has announced it will launch an Internet music store and yet-another digital music player. Yes, HP has joined the race; their products are supposed to be available first quarter 2004.

JupiterMedia projects the market for online music to grow from $80 million in sales in 2003 to $3.2 billion in 2008. No small change, that, which (at least partially) explains why so many firms are jumping into the fray. This is classic behavior, and, true to type, Apple was a pioneer. But I don’t think that the iPod will go the way of Newton (think Palm).

Can there be more than one online store for music? Well, there certainly is more than one for books, even though Amazon is the gorilla.

Where are the record companies? Why didn’t they pioneer something like this with their traditional bricks-and-mortar partners like Tower Records as one point-of-sale? Oh, that’s right — their role here is preserve the status quo (supression of radical potential - Winston).

Links: Financial Times (3 Dec); Reuters (2 Dec); MacObserver (2 Dec); WiredPen (21 Oct); WiredPen (18 Oct); WiredPen (17 Oct)

Tonight in class, a student reported on his case study of Lulu.com, and, in passing, mentioned RedPaper.com as a similar site (one helping writers and artists make money on their craft).

Just so happens that RedPaper had been mentioned in the Seattle Times today in an article on micropayments.

So I felt the need to explore. Synchronicity and all of that.
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In a major policy reversal, Diebold stated Monday that it plans to retract the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) notices it has filed against ISPs that have posted copies of e-mail correspondance relating to its touch-screen voting machines.

In addition, the firm said it would not sue the people who posted the correspondance.

Presidential candidate Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) recently asked the U.S. House Judiciary Committee to investigate Diebold’s DMCA takedown notices; he has accused Diebold of abusing the DMCA by using the copyright argument to supress speech.

Links: cNet (1 Dec); Seattle PI (AP - 1 Dec); Rep. Dennis Kucinich; WiredPen (25 Nov); WiredPen (19 Nov)