Techno-politics

By the time you read this, the Supreme Court will probably have handed down its decision on the Grokster case.  Most of the pundits say that the Court will let the 1984 Betamax decision stand and single out Grokster’s particular business model as illegal or semi-legal with some restrictions.  This is considered by most to Continue Reading →

Verizon and SBC lost a major legislative battle in Texas this week.  They had hoped that they could strike a deal with the state of Texas to roll out their IPTV (Internet Protocol Television) services.  Instead, they will have to do what the cable companies had to do years ago — negotiate municipality by municipality.  Continue Reading →

An old friend of mine sent me an email a few days ago that went something like this … “Maybe you can help me out.  I’m looking for sponsors for our Podcast show.” One has to be a friend to have a friend, so I dutifully visited his website and listened to a few of Continue Reading →

“What’s next … washing machines?” asked Judge Harry T. Edwards in a strongly worded decision by a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.  They unanimously agreed that the Federal Communications Commission overstepped its authority in adopting the rule stating, “In the seven decades of its existence, the FCC Continue Reading →

CBS’s Tallahassee, FL affiliate WCTV didn’t want to interrupt its popular early-morning newscast to cover the Pope’s funeral.  So, President/GM, Nick Waller decided to feed it to his sister station, UPN affiliate, WCTV-DT which is broadcast on their (government-mandated) digital tier. Utilization of the digital tier with this kind of technique is becoming more commonplace.  Continue Reading →

Here in Cannes the weather is cloudy and there’s an occasional rain drop or two. And that’s about the state of technology here in the minds of the program purveyors here at MIPTV. Although the show is billed as a “digital content market,” the reality is quite different. I’ve heard comments from, “You can watch Continue Reading →

According to people who are in the know, the Supreme Court may be thinking about sending the Grokster case back a lower court as opposed to rendering a decision on the legality of peer-to-peer (P2P) networks in general.  If that occurs, Grokster’s business model will go on trial instead of the much larger issue of Continue Reading →

This article by Ted Hearn was passed around my group today.  I know there is a consumer advocate in here somewhere …   An array of technology firms, including major computer and TV-set manufacturers, is pressing federal regulators to enforce new set-top-box rules against the cable industry. Cable operators are resisting implementation of a Federal Continue Reading →

From the AP:   WASHINGTON – A U.S. appeals panel challenged new federal rules requiring certain video devices to have technology to prevent copying digital television programs and distributing them over the Internet. U.S. Circuit Judge Harry T. Edwards told the Federal Communications Commission it “crossed the line” requiring the new anti-piracy technology in next-generation Continue Reading →

And so, courtesy of Gizmodo, I bring you photos from Paris Hilton’s T-Mobile Sidekick II.  Ahh … the simple pleasure of browsing someone’s personal information on the world wide web.  With no effort you will be able to search the Internet using Google, Yahoo! or practically any search tool and find the complete contents of Continue Reading →