Archive

GeekPAC to Form Political Action Committee Around Technology Issues; Launches Fundraiser

Published by cyrusmack on August 6, 2008 in News. 1 Comment

PAC to support copyright reform, DMCA reform, net neutrality, and
other technology issues

GeekPAC (http://www.geek-pac.org/), a group of concerned citizens
formerly known as BytesFree.org, has relaunched under a new name to
reflect its new focus. GeekPAC will form a political action committee
with the goal of building grassroots political support for copyright
reform, DMCA reform, net neutrality, patent reform, and other
hot-button political issues. Additionally, GeekPAC has launched its
first fundraiser at Fundable.org (
https://www.fundable.com/groupactions/groupaction.2008-07-22.8448851451
) to cover the initial startup costs.

GeekPAC will be a grassroots, member-driven organization with an
emphasis on educating the public at large on how these issues affect
daily life. Said John Mark Walker, GeekPAC Founder, “Many of us in the
technology community have done a poor job of communicating to the
general public why they should care about these issues. With GeekPAC,
we hope to change that by driving thought leadership in this area and
building a critical mass of concerned citizens who will be able to get
the attention of their local politicians.”

GeekPAC’s first action under its new name will be a birds-of-a-feather
(BOF) session at LinuxWorld Conference and Expo
(http://www.linuxworldexpo.com/) under the topic “Hacking the
Election.” The session will take place at 6pm PDT on Wednesday, August
6 in room 301 at Moscone Center in San Francisco and will be open to
all LinuxWorld Expo attendees.

Another work in progress is a voter information project, designed to
gather data for every member of Congress pertaining to their voting
records on relevant bills. The voter information project can be found
at http://deki.geek-pac.org/Voter_Information_Project

**To contribute to GeekPAC see
http://www.fundable.com/groupactions/groupaction.2008-07-22.8448851451

(GeekPAC is not yet incorporated and donations are not tax deductible.)

**Visit http://www.geek-pac.org/


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Groklaw: The End of the Patry Copyright Blog

Published by Groklaw on August 3, 2008 in Extra. 0 Comments
William Patry has shuttered his blog, The Patry Copyright Blog. The archives are gone too. He tells why in a final post. It's a tragedy, nothing less. No, no one at Google made him do it. He did it for a couple of reasons, both of which resonate with me, and I think they are important to highlight. I must warn you, it's a bit depressing. Here are the reasons:
1. The Inability or Refusal to Accept the Blog for What it is: A Personal Blog 2. The Current State of Copyright Law is too depressing
But it's in the details that the story is told. Read more at Groklaw

Public Knowledge Commends International Consumer Net Neutrality Resolution

Published by Art Brodsky on April 9, 2008 in Extra. 0 Comments
The Trans Atlantic Consumer Dialogue (TACD), earlier this week approved, and presented to representatives of the U.S. government, a resolution in favor of policies that will promote a non-discriminatory Internet. The TACD is a group of 60 consumer and public-interest organizations from the European Union and the U.S. More background on the organization is found at www.tacd.org. The resolution, adopted at a TACD meeting in Washington, D.C., found that Internet Service Providers (ISPs) “have the technical ability to act as gatekeepers, blocking or degrading consumers’ access to certain content and applications, or limiting the types of equipment that can be attached to the network. Such behavior can severely limit the usefulness of the Internet and frustrate consumers’ aims.” read more
компютри

BytesFree.org at Lug Radio Live USA

Published by John Mark on April 7, 2008 in Action and News. 0 Comments

I’m happy to announce that BytesFree.org will be represented at its first event, Lug Radio Live, which will be held at the Metreon in San Francisco on April 12th and 13th. It’s quite a challenge to get things going organizationally, and this looks to be a pretty rewarding experience.

We will have a table at the expo. Also, Ilan and I will be speaking on Sunday at 3pm.

If you’d like to come by and say hello, or if you’re interested in volunteering, please do let us know.


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New Improved Position Paper

Published by John Mark on April 7, 2008 in News. 0 Comments

A long time ago, I wrote a paper encouraging people to support AB 1668 and posted it on the wiki. I have finally updated the paper to reflect the new focus of BytesFree.org.

Read the new improved paper.

Also, as we slowly make our way through the incorporation process, one of the things we have to do is create a mission statement. I never really cared for these types of exercises. Not because I don’t see their value - I do, but because I’m lazy. In any case, I think we’ve come up with a nice tentative one:

BytesFree.org is dedicated to the idea that all people should have full and unrestricted access to all information to which they are legally or morally entitled. BytesFree.org works to ensure that public data is available to all, unburdened by restrictive access methods, non-standard file formats, unreasonable fees, unnecessary bureaucratic delays, or unpalatable legal requirements.

You can find more new stuff on the About page.


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Public Knowledge: Supercopyright Turns On Its Creator

Published by Harold Feld on April 2, 2008 in Extra. 0 Comments
Outside of comic books, it is exceedingly rare to see a villain receive literal and poetic justice at the hands of its own creation. So when I read that Time Warner must now share the copyright for Superman with the heirs of Superman co-creator Jerome Siegel, I couldn’t help but give a healthy chuckle. The cause of action flows directly from a provision of the Copyright Term Extension Act (CTEA) of 1998, which Time Warner (along with other studios) pushed through Congress with all their lobbying might. Granted Time Warner never supported this provision, which was a sop to folks and their heirs who sold copyrights when they thought they were only giving away 23 years plus a 23 year renewal, but TW regarded that as an acceptable risk for the billions upon billions of dollars it gained from yet another windfall in copyright land. read more

Standards Blog: BRM Blowback (and ISO Press Release)

Published by ConsortiumInfo.org The Standards Blog on April 2, 2008 in Extra. 0 Comments
Yesterday, I sent out the latest issue of my eJournal, Standards Today.  Not surprisingly, it focused on the OOXML process, and what can be learned from it.  Below is the Editorial, and you can  find the complete issue here.  You can sign up for a free subscription here. Updated:  ISO has now issued its confirmatory press release.  The full text (less biolerplate) is appended at the end of this entry.  I note with some interest that the press release includes the following language:
Read the full post here.

OOXML Ratified by ISO

Published by John Mark on April 1, 2008 in News. 0 Comments

Well, it appears to be final. As the results are verified and commentators weigh in, I’ll post a roundup later, as well as my own commentary on what this means for BytesFree.org’s objectives.

In the meantime, see the posts below from Groklaw and the Standards Blog.


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Standards Blog: OOXML is Approved [retitled]

Published by ConsortiumInfo.org The Standards Blog on April 1, 2008 in Extra. 0 Comments
Updated:  1. I have now received confirmation from a second source that these results are accurate. 2. Microsoft has issued a press release announcing that OOXML "Appears to Win Approval" (text below) 3. (1:00 PM EDT) I have now received a copy of the ISO communication from a National Body source entitled to receive it, and can confirm the data below. 4.  Ecma's press release confirming approval is here Open Malaysia has posted a final update of their vote registry, based upon an email from the OpenDoc Society to which is attached what they say are the final numbers on the OOXML vote.  The document looks authentic, and I should have an independent verif... Read the full post at consortiuminfo.org

Groklaw: The France Shift From No to Abstain — HP helped Microsoft France do it

Published by Groklaw on March 31, 2008 in Extra. 0 Comments
Here's the scoop from Les Echos.fr on France's sudden change from its No vote to Abstain. Microsoft France's President Eric Boustouller sent AFNOR a letter [PDF] in French, of course. He tells a tale about OOXML and ODF progressing side by side and how if OOXML is approved, a group will be working hard to make the two more interoperable. Attached was a an HP statement of support for OOXML. HP sings the same song. And AFNOR?
"A la lumière des contributions et des commentaires, il nous est apparu qu'une "Désapprobation" n'était plus justifiée. Pour autant, il demeure encore des incertitudes sur les textes et les engagements, ce qui nous a conduit à nous prononcer par une "Abstention"", a expliqué dans un message électronique samedi Tony Hittema, directeur technique de l'Afnor.
That's saying that in light of the new information, it seemed to them that disapprove was not justified. But neither was a Yes vote, because there remain issues with OOXML. So that's why they did it. Read the full post at Groklaw