Spammers Can Run but They Can’t Hide: “…the nerve center of Spamhaus, controlling servers on five continents…[is] its database [of] dossiers on the 200 most prolific spammers and the addresses of the 8,000 computers they use to inundate people with ads. Spamhaus makes the list available to Internet service providers, which use the information to… Continue Reading
Accurate, Focused Research on Law, Technology and Knowledge Discovery Since 2002
Monthly Archives: November 2003
Hearing on Computer Viruses
The House Energy and Commerce Committee Telecommunications and the Internet Subcommittee held a hearing on November 6 entitled, Computer Viruses: The Disease, the Detection, and the Prescription for Protection: Prepared testimony from – Richard D. Pethia, Director, CERT Coordination Center; Ken Silva, Vice President, VeriSign Inc.; John W. Thompson, Chairman & CEO, Symantec Corporation. Continue Reading
9-11 Commission Votes to Issue Subpoenas for Military Docs
From the Commission’s November 7 press release: “The Commission has encountered some serious delays in obtaining needed documents from the Department of Defense (DoD). We are especially dismayed by problems in the production of the records of activities of the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) and certain Air Force commands on September 11, 2001.… Continue Reading
DVD Copying Software Not Exempt from DMCA
Last year I posted about 321 Studios’ DVD copying software, and the company is once again back in the news with regard to the recent Library of Congress ruling granting limited digital copyright exemptions. The company’s request for an exemption for its class of works under the DMCA was denied. Continue Reading
Lawsuits Put Major Dent in Music File Sharing
“More than a million households deleted all the digital music files they had saved on their PCs in August, according to new information released by The NPD Group. NPD credits the ongoing RIAA anti-piracy campaign and related media attention as having had a measurable effect on the actions of many consumers in regard to the… Continue Reading
Court Grants FDA’s Request to Close Down Canadian Rx Website
Online Drug Pharmacy Shuttered: U.S. District Judge Claire V. Eagan (Northern District, Oklahoma) shut down Rx Depot, a company based in the U.S. that allows consumers to purchase prescription medications from Canada at signifcantly reduced cost. See also the FDA Statement on Rx Depot Decision Continue Reading
New Google Tool Launches Search Without Browser
Google Deskbar: Search using Google without opening your browser: “Access Google from any application by typing Ctrl+Alt+G.” “Use keyboard shortcuts for multiple Google searches, i.e., Google News (Ctrl+N),Google Images (Ctrl+I), or Froogle (Ctrl+F)” See also Google Plops Its Search on the Desktop and Pandia’s The Google Deskbar Continue Reading
Reaction Varies to Amazon’s New Search Feature
In Amazon’s Text-Search, a Field Day for Book Browsers: Feedback about Amazon’s recently launched Search Inside the Book feature includes kudos for the keyword search capability, predictions of increased book purchases, and opinions that the tool is a novelty and time waster. Continue Reading
Internet Tax Ban Vote Postponed
The Senate vote on a ban on taxes for Internet services (ISPs, music and entertainment) was postponed due to lack of agreement on the time frame for the extension (either five years, or permanently). States contend that lost revenues from a permanent ban will amount to more than $20 billion per year. Internet Tax Non-discrimination… Continue Reading
Data on Most Cited Legal Periodicals Updated
The Most-Cited Legal Periodicals: U.S. and selected non-U.S. website has been updated, according to John Doyle, Washington & Lee School of Law Library. The searchable database consists of 833 journals. Each journal is assigned topical references, and users may link directly to each specific journal’s homepage. Citations are provided to sources from Westlaw to access… Continue Reading
Students to Receive Access to Free Music Downloads
Napster has agreed to provide students at Penn State University with free access to their music downloading service. This program is the first in what apparently will be a number of offers to students on campuses throughout the country in an effort to stem the tide of digital music piracy. Continue Reading
Coalition of Booksellers, Publishers and Librarians Files Brief Challenging Patriot Act
“On November 3, the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression and free speech groups representing librarians, publishers, writers and others filed a brief [in support of the ACLU’s complaint filed July 30] that strongly supports a legal challenge to the constitutionality of the provision of the USA Patriot Act that gives the FBI virtually unlimited… Continue Reading
