Andrew Orlowski, writing for The Register, has done the best job so far of placing the “Dancing Baby” case (Lenz v UMG) in its proper context — as part of Silicon Valley’s broader strategy to strip individuals of their rights.  Not just professional creators of copyrighted works. All individuals. “If Big Tech can get the public to cheer as they ...

It’s another Independence Day weekend, and I can’t help but notice that we find ourselves this year grappling with some unfortunate consequences of liberty run amok.  We’ve got open-carry nuts sporting assault rifles in department stores and coffee shops to prove how free they are; and we’ve got the supreme court granting business owners the right to discriminate against employees ...

Tube, yes.  You, not so much. If there has been one consistent theme in everything I’ve written since diving into the morass we call the digital age, it’s that the Internet is not ours despite all appearances to the contrary.  Like it or not, all the populist, free-speech rhetoric that’s been spoon-fed to the public by the chief propellorheads of ...

For anyone who has yet to catch on to the idea that digital media piracy is in no way sticking it to the man, perhaps the simplicity in the graphics and data on this link will help.  Based on a recent study sponsored by the Digital Citizens Alliance, the top 30 P2P and BitTorrent sites that derive revenue solely from ...

some tech thing is a new weekly roundup of tech-related stories you might have missed or even wished you missed.  Co-hosted by David Newhoff and Sandy Davis.  Take a listen and let me/us know what you think. In this episode:  Fridge sends SPAM; the Internet of things; bug enables eavesdropping through Chrome; will Facebook die like a virus? ...

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