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    <title>cmdln.net_2007-10-07</title>
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    <outline text="Intro" Offset="00:17">
      <outline text="Offered another review copy">
        <outline text="http://www.upress.umn.edu/Books/G/galloway_exploit.html"/>
        <outline text="The Exploit, A Theory of Networks"/>
        <outline text="Alexander R. Galloway and Eugene Thacker"/>
        <outline text="Same publisher as OurSpace"/>
        <outline text="Expect a review in a few weeks"/>
      </outline>
      <outline text="Quick review, Mathematicians in Love, Rudy Rucker">
        <outline text="Reminded me of Spaceland"/>
        <outline text="Characters a bit more likable, stronger"/>
        <outline text="Still quite trippy"/>
      </outline>
    </outline>
    <outline text="Security Alerts" Offset="04:16">
      <outline text="VM based rootkits prove easily detectable" Offset="04:35">
        <outline text="http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/slashdot/eqWf/~3/164068160/article.pl"/>
        <outline text="Paper presented at HotOS workshop"/>
        <outline text="Authored by CMU, Stanford, VMware and XenSource"/>
        <outline text="Short paper, six pages"/>
        <outline text="At issue is transparency, defenders want to use VMM for sandbox"/>
        <outline text="Do not want malware to detect VMM"/>
        <outline text="Attacker could, potentially use transparency to hide attack, too"/>
        <outline text="Researchers don't think transparency is possible"/>
        <outline text="Point out, prove, that performance, compatibility not the same as transparency"/>
      </outline>
      <outline text="Undocumented bypass in PGP whole disk encryption" Offset="07:53">
        <outline text="http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/slashdot/eqWf/~3/165301467/article.pl"/>
        <outline text="Until recently, a recovery feature that was not documented"/>
        <outline text="Can set a boot password that bypasses encryption"/>
        <outline text="Speculation is malware could prompt for password and override PGP using this feature"/>
        <outline text="Author found command line argument to interrogate, clear bypass setting"/>
        <outline text="PGP responds with some clarification"/>
        <outline text="You may have legit access to the secure volume"/>
        <outline text="Bypass feature is transient, after reboot, clears itself"/>
        <outline text="The interchange with Jon Callas of PGP is interesting"/>
        <outline text="Securology possibly exaggerates the risk, Callas perhaps under-estimates the potential for exploit"/>
        <outline text="Reality is user needs to be aware, only real issue here is lack of documentation"/>
        <outline text="PGP has committed to fixing documentation"/>
      </outline>
    </outline>
    <outline text="News" Offset="11:29">
      <outline text="First RIAA file sharing trial" Offset="11:43">
        <outline text="http://feeds.wired.com/~r/wired/topheadlines/~3/164299452/index.html"/>
        <outline text="Threat Level blog has complete coverage of events"/>
        <outline text="First to go before a jury, others were dismissed, settled or are pending"/>
        <outline text="Case was based on 30-year-old single mother of two, Jammie Thomas, distributing 26 songs"/>
        <outline text="Virgin withdrew one song"/>
        <outline text="ISP records show IP associated with Thomas shared 1,700 songs"/>
        <outline text="Apparently labels could have gone after all but exercised restraint"/>
        <outline text="A little concerned about the level of copyright ignorance revealed during jury selection"/>
        <outline text="Understandable but this is going to be a key case to both sides"/>
        <outline text="Coverage also points out issues of technical literacy"/>
        <outline text="If the jury is struggling, how can we know if justice is really being served?"/>
        <outline text="Correlations, same username on multiple of Thomas' accounts, is pretty damning"/>
        <outline text="The fact that Thomas had her hard drive replaced doesn't help"/>
        <outline text="Struck by the speed of the trial"/>
        <outline text="There are clearly larger issues at stake"/>
        <outline text="Is a P2P user the same threat as a mass duplicating pirate?"/>
        <outline text="Case stuck to just the question of whether Thomas infringed"/>
        <outline text="Judge's instruction, that making available is enough to find against defendant is distressing"/>
        <outline text="I suppose it speaks to intent, responsibility, but I worry that the line is too fuzzy"/>
        <outline text="Already suggested RIAA could use this to go after blogs that link to material"/>
        <outline text="Jury ultimately decided for the RIAA, awarding over $200K"/>
        <outline text="Sets precedents for future cases"/>
        <outline text="RIAA did not have to show P2P software was installed or defendant was at the PC at time of infringement"/>
        <outline text="Worse, ruling establishes that sharing is enough, no one has to take a copy for case to be made for infringement"/>
        <outline text="Thomas maintains innocence, may appeal"/>
        <outline text="Felten on RIAA">
          <outline text="http://www.freedom-to-tinker.com/?p=1209"/>
          <outline text="Wisely cautions not to read the implications of the ruling too broadly"/>
          <outline text="Also points out the strong correlations, hard to overlook"/>
          <outline text="Not just the username, but also songs were from many of Thomas' favorite artists"/>
          <outline text="Points out likelihood is important, not standard of reasonable doubt; civil case"/>
          <outline text="Re-inforces standard of likelihood, so-called 51% rule"/>
          <outline text="Felten feels damages are punishment, not compensation"/>
          <outline text="Argues way out of line with market damage"/>
          <outline text="I agree but specifically because number of downloads from Thomas were not specified"/>
          <outline text="Amounts are established by statutory damages under copyright law"/>
          <outline text="Didn't speak to any of the precedents, standards that may be cited in other, similar cases"/>
          <outline text="Did clarify some of the issues in the comments"/>
        </outline>
        <outline text="Copyright Czar endorses RIAA trial verdict">
          <outline text="http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/slashdot/eqWf/~3/166084477/article.pl"/>
          <outline text="Reinforces those who believe copyright is about perfect control"/>
          <outline text="This is the damage of the ruling"/>
          <outline text="Did Thomas, other file sharers, really affect the industry?"/>
          <outline text="Is the industry driving more to alternatives, like Amazon, iTunes and P2P by fleecing their customers?"/>
          <outline text="Not really sure this trial changed anything"/>
          <outline text="The arguments on both sides are the same"/>
        </outline>
      </outline>
      <outline text="Help creators keep their copyrights" Offset="28:02">
        <outline text="New education site by professor Tim Wu"/>
        <outline text="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Wu"/>
        <outline text="Professor at Columbia Law"/>
        <outline text="Known most widely for speaking on network neutrality"/>
        <outline text="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/163908639/keep-your-copyrights.html"/>
        <outline text="KeepYourCopyrights.org"/>
        <outline text="Identifies transfer of rights as problematic"/>
        <outline text="Aims to educate lawyers, non-lawyers"/>
        <outline text="Has examples of contracts with problem language"/>
        <outline text="Clearly educates on contracts, too, as mechanism for transfer or retaining rights"/>
        <outline text="Read through some of it, very accessible explanations"/>
        <outline text="Site is all static content, no search interface but a glossary"/>
        <outline text="Feels more like a book, meant to be read start to finish"/>
        <outline text="Would probably make a good book"/>
        <outline text="Wonder at other possibilities, though, a wiki for comments, for instance"/>
        <outline text="http://feeds.arstechnica.com/~r/arstechnica/BAaf/~3/164283211/20071002-tim-wu-rol.html"/>
        <outline text="Also launched a free database of court decisions, AltLaw"/>
        <outline text="Includes Supreme Court and Federal Appellate opinions"/>
        <outline text="Does not yet include Federal District or State court opinions, yet"/>
        <outline text="Federal District opinions are currently only available online in a clunky, for pay system, Pacer"/>
        <outline text="AltLaw is pretty much a search system, no real browsing interface"/>
        <outline text="Both projects part of Columbia's Project on Law and Technology"/>
      </outline>
      <outline text="Distributed, collaborative artificial selection experiment" Offset="32:33">
        <outline text="http://www.boingboing.net/2007/10/01/mutating-pictures-us.html"/>
        <outline text="Created by Philipp Lenssen"/>
        <outline text="Uses 1000 random images"/>
        <outline text="Visitors vote on most face like"/>
        <outline text="Winners are mutated to form a new generation"/>
        <outline text="Voting is repeated"/>
        <outline text="Re-visiting, pictures, votes have different targets"/>
        <outline text="Wrote the author"/>
        <outline text="A free lance programmer, artist"/>
        <outline text="Doing it more as an art project, out of curiosity"/>
        <outline text="Not an academic though this is predicated on some interesting theories"/>
        <outline text="Originally, I had the idea in a train while looking at a screenshot&#10;from Space Invaders from an issue of Retro Gamer. Look at this&#10;screenshot:&#10;http://www.c-sharpcorner.com/UploadFile/mgold/SpaceInvaders06292005005618AM/Images/SpaceInvaders.jpg&#10;These enemy sprites reminded me of how it would be cool to mutate&#10;these sprites, as they are so simple yet cool shapes. Since then I&#10;shifted the idea from pixels to polygons but that was how I got to&#10;it..."/>
      </outline>
    </outline>
    <outline text="tail -f" Offset="35:37">
      <outline text="GAO on FCC's enforcement of ex parte rules" Offset="35:57">
        <outline text="http://feeds.arstechnica.com/~r/arstechnica/BAaf/~3/164967696/20071003-report-fcc-lets-well-connected-groups-learn-private-info-early.html"/>
        <outline text="Wrote about Frontline accusing FCC, Verizon of not releasing all details of communication"/>
        <outline text="Not the same as the other rules I wrote about"/>
        <outline text="GAO finds FCC releases vote schedules to some earlier than public"/>
        <outline text="Technically, cannot lobby in the week between the public release of the agenda and the vote"/>
        <outline text="Advance knowledge allows for unfair lobbying based on agenda"/>
        <outline text="GAO recommended equal access for public"/>
        <outline text="Also recommended sanctions for parties breaking rules"/>
        <outline text="Lessig on GAO report">
          <outline text="http://lessig.org/blog/2007/10/back_to_the_future_the_corrupt.html"/>
          <outline text="Simply points out conflict of interest"/>
          <outline text="Insiders tip to curry favor with future employers"/>
          <outline text="Many commissioners come from ranks of lobbyists"/>
          <outline text="Recommends presidential candidates commit to only appointing commissioners who promise not to work for industry for five years after departure"/>
        </outline>
      </outline>
      <outline text="Professor Tim Wu on legality of iPhone unlocking" Offset="39:34">
        <outline text="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/165781990/unlocking-an-iphone.html"/>
        <outline text="Wu is a Columbia Law professor specializing in copyright"/>
        <outline text="Cites the 2006 exemption, as I did in talking about this earlier, as legal basis for unlocking iPhone"/>
        <outline text="Dismisses ToS as a concern"/>
        <outline text="Doesn't see current means of unlocking as comparable to real reverse engineering"/>
        <outline text="Similar to exemption, ToS may apply to tool makers, but not individuals as such"/>
        <outline text="Thinks technical barriers are more tricky, block on tool makers may be just as effective as direct blocking of consumer"/>
        <outline text="Also thinks blocking unlocks, 3rd parties is unwise"/>
        <outline text="Loyal fans build hacks, drive adoption, use, innovation"/>
      </outline>
    </outline>
    <outline text="Outro" Offset="42:02">
      <outline text="Contact me">
        <outline text="Email to feedback@thecommandline.net"/>
        <outline text="Web site at http://thecommandline.net/"/>
        <outline text="IM to command.line@skype"/>
        <outline text="Listener comment line is 360-252-7284"/>
        <outline text="del.icio.us tag is &quot;for:cmdln&quot;"/>
        <outline text="http://twitter.com/cmdln"/>
      </outline>
      <outline text="I'd like to thank libsyn.com for AAC hosting and Wouter de Bie for MP3 hosting"/>
      <outline text="These notes and the show audio and music are covered by a Creative Commons license">
        <outline text="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/us/"/>
        <outline text="Attribution, non-commercial, share alike"/>
      </outline>
    </outline>
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