Here's a link to the full text of a bill introduced by an Illinois Legislator to require public libraries and schools to block access to social networking sites. Interestingly, the bill doesn't define what a social networking site is.
So, please don't leave a comment on this post, because I wouldn't want a library in Illinois to block access to our blog.
Source: Slashdot
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Register NOW for the Committee Dinner!
The Committee on Cyberspace Law will hold their Committee Dinner for the Section of Business Law Spring Meeting in Washington, DC on Thursday, March 15, 2007. Dinner officially starts at 8 PM that night. We will be at the Jaleo Restaurant in Crystal City, Virginia.
Your cost -- A mere $40.00 per person. And -- Complimentary transportation to Jaleo Restaurant will be provided to all persons registered for the dinner!
(As always, CLC has amongst the lowest (if not the lowest) pricing for its dinners amongst all of the Section of Business Law -- And, we would think that ours are also the coolest of all, but that's just our opinion...)
To learn more about Jaleo Restaurant click here.
To register for the dinner (note: you must first be registered for the Spring Meeting, or do the dinner reservation at the same time as you register for the meeting) please click here to visit the ABA's online meeting registration system. After logging in, please select the Cyberspace Law Committee dinner and follow the prompts to complete your registration.
For your convenience a printable copy of the registration form is available by clicking here.
The deadline to register for the Cyberspace Law Committee Dinner is Wednesday, February 28, 2007.
Your cost -- A mere $40.00 per person. And -- Complimentary transportation to Jaleo Restaurant will be provided to all persons registered for the dinner!
(As always, CLC has amongst the lowest (if not the lowest) pricing for its dinners amongst all of the Section of Business Law -- And, we would think that ours are also the coolest of all, but that's just our opinion...)
To learn more about Jaleo Restaurant click here.
To register for the dinner (note: you must first be registered for the Spring Meeting, or do the dinner reservation at the same time as you register for the meeting) please click here to visit the ABA's online meeting registration system. After logging in, please select the Cyberspace Law Committee dinner and follow the prompts to complete your registration.
For your convenience a printable copy of the registration form is available by clicking here.
The deadline to register for the Cyberspace Law Committee Dinner is Wednesday, February 28, 2007.
Done in a Gliffy...
I've been pondering the growth of online 'collaboration' tools much of late (part of my work for other parts of the ABA than the CLC).
Most of the interesting stuff seems to come from outfits that get a good idea involving a little niche, which ultimately gets popular and forms a new industry in the world of the big boys. "Writely", the online word processor that allows multiple parties to play with the document online at the same time, is a great example of this. Although the writely tool is still a bit of a kludge, it's a significant move towards a viable collaborative environment (i.e., one that my boss would be willing to spend time in for doing real work, and not just the fault-tolerant techies like myself).
The new one I've just come across is Gliffy. This one allows you to start drawing up diagrams and other graphics, sharing and playing with it at the same time with many others, saving in popular file formats, etc. (Cool stuff...)
The only question left in my mind is when it will be that any one of the GYM companies (I'll leave it to you smart readers to figure out what that acronym might mean--it's three different companies who are each big in the online space...) will be either buying them and/or doing the same thing themselves.
Most of the interesting stuff seems to come from outfits that get a good idea involving a little niche, which ultimately gets popular and forms a new industry in the world of the big boys. "Writely", the online word processor that allows multiple parties to play with the document online at the same time, is a great example of this. Although the writely tool is still a bit of a kludge, it's a significant move towards a viable collaborative environment (i.e., one that my boss would be willing to spend time in for doing real work, and not just the fault-tolerant techies like myself).
The new one I've just come across is Gliffy. This one allows you to start drawing up diagrams and other graphics, sharing and playing with it at the same time with many others, saving in popular file formats, etc. (Cool stuff...)
The only question left in my mind is when it will be that any one of the GYM companies (I'll leave it to you smart readers to figure out what that acronym might mean--it's three different companies who are each big in the online space...) will be either buying them and/or doing the same thing themselves.
Monday, February 12, 2007
If the FBI can't keep track of 'em...
The AP is reporting that the inspector general with jurisdiction over the FBI is reporting that the Bureau's losses of laptops have been reduced significantly from a prior study (previously about 11 1/2 per month, now reduced to about 3 1/2 a month).
Still -- That's over 3 laptops a month, any one of which might contain crown jewel-level information. "'Perhaps most troubling, the FBI could not determine in many cases whether the lost or stolen laptop computers contained sensitive or classified information,' said the report."
This post is not here to bash the Bureau -- Rather, it's a wakeup call for the rest of us. If the FBI is having trouble doing this, can we expect organizations whose entire raison d'etre is not security to keep up? Not that we shouldn't be trying, but do have a realistic point of view on how much can be achieved (and, more important, presume that your best-laid-plans will fall victim to human beings' own issues).
Still -- That's over 3 laptops a month, any one of which might contain crown jewel-level information. "'Perhaps most troubling, the FBI could not determine in many cases whether the lost or stolen laptop computers contained sensitive or classified information,' said the report."
This post is not here to bash the Bureau -- Rather, it's a wakeup call for the rest of us. If the FBI is having trouble doing this, can we expect organizations whose entire raison d'etre is not security to keep up? Not that we shouldn't be trying, but do have a realistic point of view on how much can be achieved (and, more important, presume that your best-laid-plans will fall victim to human beings' own issues).
Saturday, February 10, 2007
MIRLN -- Misc. IT Related Legal News [20 January – 10 February 2007; v10.02]
Vince Polley's periodic newsletter known as MIRLN (Misc. IT Related Legal News), a free product of the American Bar Association’s Cyberspace Law Committee and Dickinson Wright PLLC, is out with it's latest edition. You can read it in full here.
Highlights from this new issue include:
- SIX WAYS TO PROTECT YOUR SYSTEMS IN A MERGER
- TECH FIRMS, RIGHTS GROUPS TO FORM WEB CONDUCT CODE
- GAMBLING SUBPOENAS ON WALL ST.
- ITALIAN COURT RULES DOWNLOADING ISN’T A CRIME IF NOT FOR PROFIT
- E-MAIL FROM THE GRAVE? MICROSOFT SEEKS PATENT ON ‘IMMORTAL COMPUTING’
- PARENTS PREVAIL OVER BIG BROTHER IN FIGHT OVER KIDS’ IDENTITIES
- ONLINE NORDIC BANKING THEFT STIRS TALK OF RUSSIAN HACKER
- VIACOM TELLS YOUTUBE: HANDS OFF
- EBAY BANS AUCTIONS OF VIRTUAL GOODS
- CORPORATE BLOGGING PAYS FOR GM
- EMPLOYERS WINNING BLOG SUITS -- SO FAR
- VISTA’S LEGAL FINE PRINT RAISES RED FLAGS
- COURTS TURN TO WIKIPEDIA, BUT SELECTIVELY
- NAVIGATING SALES TAX LAWS
- GOOGLE MOVES TO DISARM SEARCH ‘BOMBS’
- APPEALS COURT ADJUSTS PRIVACY-AT-WORK RULING WORKERS HAVE RIGHT TO EXPECT SECURE PCS UNLESS GIVEN NOTICE
- FIRST SALE DOCTRINE APPLIED TO AUDIOBOOKS
Members of the ABA Cyberspace Law Committee automatically receive MIRLN postings (about every third week); members can manage their subscriptions here (find the “Listserves” box; MIRLN comes through the CLCC-MEMS listserve).
Others who wish to be added to the MIRLN distribution list should send email to Vince Polley with the word “MIRLN” in the subject line, and similarly will be removed from the distribution list after sending email to Vince with the words “MIRLN REMOVAL” in the subject line. (Need to know Vince's e-mail address? Well, you'll have to go do some digging... You have enough info in this posting to go find the answer though!)
Recent MIRLN editions are archived at www.vip-law.com and blogged at http://mirln.blogspot.com/.
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
Photo Gallery
Since I couldn't possibly post all of the wonderful photographs that people shared with me, including those from Roland and from Francoise, I've taken many of them and put them up in a separate gallery, which you can visit here.
Please go enjoy! Someday when I have time I'll try to add captions... (Time -- What a concept.)
And, if you took some (reasonable number of...) photos you would like to share with the rest of us, please e-mail them to me and I will be glad to add them.
 |
| From CLCC WWM 2007... |
Please go enjoy! Someday when I have time I'll try to add captions... (Time -- What a concept.)
And, if you took some (reasonable number of...) photos you would like to share with the rest of us, please e-mail them to me and I will be glad to add them.
Floppies Are Dead
The BBC is carrying a story that "Computing superstore PC World said it will no longer sell the storage devices, affectionately known as floppies, once existing stock runs out."
Cue the funeral dirge.
Anyone want to guess how many years it will take for the USB Thumbdrive to die?
Cue the funeral dirge.
Anyone want to guess how many years it will take for the USB Thumbdrive to die?
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
USS Agin (NCC-2007)
As a dedicated fan of this blog, Warren Agin took to heart our request that we have some Enterprise models made out of old diskette cases brought down to Little Rock. Not only did Warren follow through, he made his own improvement on the design by using some of the actual diskette as a new piece of cowling for the front of the ship.
Of course, after asking all of you do to the same thing, I'm unhappy to report that I rummaged through my home and could not find an old floppy. I must have taken housecleaning to too much of an extreme...
PREVIOUSLY: What it's Really All About...
Monday, January 29, 2007
Kudos for Our Writing Teams
Eran Kahana and Elizabeth Bowles, co-authors of a recently published Business Law Today article on the famous incident regarding Sony-BMG and DRM software that ran amuk, have been receiving kudos from readers regarding their work. "Very well-written and helpful and, of all things, refreshingly clear," said one reader. I, of course, totally agree.
And, if that sort of thing does not suggest to you that writing for BLT is a good thing for you to get recognized in the national legal community, well -- I don't know what would! Remember -- If you think you should be the next one of the Committee's members who gets that sort of message, get in touch with Vince P, Juliet M, Candace J or myself and we shall set you on the path.
And, if that sort of thing does not suggest to you that writing for BLT is a good thing for you to get recognized in the national legal community, well -- I don't know what would! Remember -- If you think you should be the next one of the Committee's members who gets that sort of message, get in touch with Vince P, Juliet M, Candace J or myself and we shall set you on the path.
EFF's Internet Law Treatise
We were joined at WWM this year by Lee Tien, Senior Staff Attorney at the Electronic Freedom Foundation. Lee sat in and added his own and his organization's point of view to many of our discussions, and we all look forward to more time with him in the future. You can pick up a bit of Lee's own bio by scrolling down on the EFF's staff page at http://www.eff.org/about/staff/.
Lee pointed out to me that the EFF is currently in the process of drafting its own wiki-based summary of Internet law, currently housed at http://ilt.eff.org/index.php/Table_of_Contents. The Internet Law Treatise is a project to maintain a treatise summarizing the law related to the Internet with the cooperation of a wide variety of attorneys, law students and others. It is apparently based on an earlier publication issued by the Perkins Coie firm from 2003, which has allowed EFF to run with this on the proviso that we all acknowledge that Perkins is not responsible for the results. (In a sense, this is quite similar to how Prof. Larry Lessig has issued a 2nd edition of his famous Code and Other Laws of Cyberspace, known as Codev2, which was largely developed by others working on top of the 1st edition through a wiki set up by Prof. Lessig.)
The EFF's project is not officially sanctioned by the Committee, nor do we participate in it as an ABA effort. But, we are happy to pass on Lee's request that we let our members know about this, since we are certainly not the only game in this town. If you are interested, contact Kurt Opsahl at the EFF for information on getting access to the wiki for participation. (And, let us know if you get involved!)
UPDATE: Kurt himself just contacted me to remind me to remind you that the current draft you see of the Internet Law Treatise is most definitely a beta, and should be read with that in mind -- Which demonstrates the need for good lawyers to come in and assist!
Lee pointed out to me that the EFF is currently in the process of drafting its own wiki-based summary of Internet law, currently housed at http://ilt.eff.org/index.php/Table_of_Contents. The Internet Law Treatise is a project to maintain a treatise summarizing the law related to the Internet with the cooperation of a wide variety of attorneys, law students and others. It is apparently based on an earlier publication issued by the Perkins Coie firm from 2003, which has allowed EFF to run with this on the proviso that we all acknowledge that Perkins is not responsible for the results. (In a sense, this is quite similar to how Prof. Larry Lessig has issued a 2nd edition of his famous Code and Other Laws of Cyberspace, known as Codev2, which was largely developed by others working on top of the 1st edition through a wiki set up by Prof. Lessig.)
The EFF's project is not officially sanctioned by the Committee, nor do we participate in it as an ABA effort. But, we are happy to pass on Lee's request that we let our members know about this, since we are certainly not the only game in this town. If you are interested, contact Kurt Opsahl at the EFF for information on getting access to the wiki for participation. (And, let us know if you get involved!)
UPDATE: Kurt himself just contacted me to remind me to remind you that the current draft you see of the Internet Law Treatise is most definitely a beta, and should be read with that in mind -- Which demonstrates the need for good lawyers to come in and assist!
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