Archive for July, 2005

AVOID Verizon Phone/DSL Service

Saturday, July 23rd, 2005

Whatever you do, do NOT order phone service and/or DSL from Verizon--at least not in Philadelphia. Look for another phone company (see below). Verizon is atrocious. Today, from 8-12, they were supposed to come fix my phone. It's been dead for over 2 weeks. This was the third repair appointment they've ...

Senate to Hold 2 Hearings on Grokster, Media Ratings

Thursday, July 21st, 2005

Next week, the Senate Commerce Committee will hold two hearings that only a true media policy wonk could endure--let alone look forward to. The more visible of the two will come next Thursday; it considers the MGM v. Grokster decision. A lot of heavy hitters are saying that no legislation is ...

Excellent NYT Article on Framing

Monday, July 18th, 2005

If you click here, you'll find a thought-provoking NYTimes Magazine article on the ascendence within progressive circles of the idea of framing. George Lakoff is leading the charge. The article is solid, not merely because it describes Lakoff's rise, but because it also asks whether his ascendence is just a ...

DRM Advocate Hacks DRM

Saturday, July 16th, 2005

As explained here on Slashdot, Michael Gartenberg has helped disprove his own defense of Digital Rights Management (DRM). One year ago (in response to Cory Doctorow), Gartenberg argued that DRM "can be good for business and acceptable to consumers." Last month, however, Gartenberg got sick of waiting for Microsoft to ...

F(orget) Verizon–and the Brand X Decision

Friday, July 15th, 2005

So I'd really like to write a much longer blog post about the Supreme Court's Brand X decision, but I can't. That's too bad; the decision benefits odious cable monopolies like Comcast in their bid to squeeze out local broadband competition. Even worse, if Brand X gets implemented ...

Santorum: Unapologetic Hate Monger

Thursday, July 14th, 2005

I'm not usually one to use my blog for garden-variety partisan politicking, but this is too much fun to resist. PA Senator Rick Santorum is still stubbornly refusing to apologize for his 2002 comments he made in Catholic Online in light of the clergy abuse scandal: [W]hile it is no excuse for ...

Less-than-Supreme Grokster Decision

Sunday, July 3rd, 2005

I've been out of town in a serious way--a week in CO and 2 in CA--since my last post. It should be unsurprising, therefore, that I come back just in time to post an outdated commentary on the Grokster decision. Much has already been said here. First and foremost, consider this ...