Month: May 2006

Outsourcing Big Brother Redux and Network Neutrality

, , , , , , , ,

About a year ago, I gave a speech to the ACLU called Outsourcing Big Brother. In it I argued that a big problem with consolidation in the media and telecommuniations industries is that it facilitates a partnership between big government and big business in which we, as citizens, lose.

Yesterday’s revelation in USA Today provides yet another chilling reminder of why we need to embed principles like network neutrality and competition into law, and vigorously defend them if we care about our civil liberties.

As I keep saying, since the telcos and cable cos and others keep wanting to frame it this way, Network Neutrality isn’t AT&T v. Microsoft. Yes, the economics matter, and, as I’ve said before, I think abolishing NN is a disasterous economic policy. But, at the end of the day, I care because it goes to the heart of democracy and self-governance.

More below . . .

Continue reading

Last week in CALEA

, , , , , ,

(And you thought I’d given up on anything but Net Neutrality, didn’t you?)

So last week proved a busy one for the Communications Assistance to Law Enforcement Act (CALEA). CALEA requires that anyone building a “communications network” build it in such a way that law enforcement agencies (acting pursuant to a proper warrant, of course), can monitor individual sbscribers/users. Last fall, the FCC extended CALEA to include broadband access providers and voice over IP (VOIP) providers. For various reasons, this pissed me off. Meanwhile, a group of folks including the Center for Democracy and Technology and EFF Petitioned the DC Circuit to declare that the FCC had overstepped its statutory bounds in extending CALEA in this way.

Last Wednesday, the FCC issued its Second Order on CALEA, basically affirming the First Order and giving some new details (or at least it will when the text of the Second Order is released). Friday, the FCC defended its First Order in court. Reflections of yr hmbl obdnt below.

Continue reading

Audio and Video Net Neutrality Links

, , ,

For those following the net neutrality issue, here are a few good links for audio or video (while we still can).

Robert Riech gives mainstream commentary in favor of NN on Marketplace here.

An amusing Halo-themed video infomercial in favor of NN available here.

Public Knowledge has this fairly straightforward “why you should care about NN” video here.

“Ask A Ninja,” which I had never seen before but struck me as downright hysterical, as a pro-NN message here.

Finally, this video montage/commentary clocks in at 6 minutes, but is well worth it if you wants something comprehensive and compelling (plus it has all my friends!). With text on their website here, direct to youtube here.

Please add more to the comments below if you become aware of new ones.

Stay tuned . . . .

Multi-Bandwidth

, ,

A number of folks here have independently started to plan conferences in which Croquet would be used for presentation and interaction during the conference, and would continue after the physical conference ended. I think there’s a good reason that people want to do this.

Face-to-face meetings and conferences are very high-bandwidth encounters, but do not persist well.

Sharing ideas by publishing (e.g., papers in a professional journal) has excellent persistence, but is extremely low bandwidth.

Croquet is multi-bandwidth.
<%image(20060507-multi.jpg|875|556|Four users spontaneously discussing a slide presentation, and sharing other resources such as a Web site and search engine. One user is presenting live video.)%>

Continue reading

News from the Metaverse

, , , , , , , , ,

Key invitation-only conference on the future of collaborative virtual worlds.

Metaverse Roadmap site

CNET story

A Microsoft blogger, with pictures

Good blog

A key thread in all this seems to be a desire for an open-source framework that works. It looks like the only concerns voiced about Croquet for this was a mistaken impression about the licensing. (See the comments in the “Good blog”, above.)

BTW, We’re still trying to set up cool demos over the now-released Croquet Software Developers Kit. The demo at Metaverse was actually the demo we produced at the University of Wisconsin for C5 ’05 in Kyoto, which was built over the Jasmine proof-of-concept. The current release is so much better, but lacking in some of the visible bells and whisles. We’re working on it…

Are You In My Game?

My two youngest kids asked me to reinstall Disney Aladdin for the umpteenth time on Windows, and to please make it work this time. I sat down, and they knowingly left the room and turned the TV up. Presumably to drown out the funky language they would soon be hearing from Dad. But instead, I installed a Croquet application I’ve been working on.

It happens to have a dead-simple navigation mechanism that I stole from Orion Elenzil. Even my four year old can drive around in Croquet.

So he’s merrilly driving around over these hills. It took him about 15 seconds to discover that he could open portals by clicking on them, and that if he hit it right, he could drive through the portal into another space. He likes to drive.

Meanwhile, I connected from another computer, and drove up next to him.

“Hey, Dad!” he said, “Are you in my game?”

And we were off, playing follow-the-leader and hide-and-seek.

Thomas is the Toy Soldier, and I'm the Dragon. Thomas uses the buttons in the lower right to navigate.

Thomas is the Toy Soldier, and I’m the Dragon. Thomas uses the buttons in the lower right to navigate.

My speech at EDUCAUSE Policy Conference

, , , ,

I was delieghted and flattered to be asked to speak at the EDUCAUSE Policy Conference last week. EDUCAUSE represents the Higher Ed community on technology issues. In the last few years, I’ve worked with some amazing folks over there on spectrum policy, CALEA, and now network neutrality.

They read my my speech from the Community Wireless Summit last month and asked me to give something similar to get the crowd warmed up for the policy stuff.

I will eventually write it up more coherently. Until then, you can listen to it here. It clocks in at an hour, although it didn’t feel like it when I was talking (can’t speak for how the audience felt). It covers a number of themes relevant to the Conference, as well as repeating many of the same ideas as the Community Wireless Summit speech.

So if you’ve never met me and always wanted to know what I sound like, enjoy!

Stay tuned . . . .

A Network Neutrality Primer

, , , , , , , ,

For those just tuning in, Network Neutrality (aka “NN”, becuase every public policy deserves its own acronym) has gone from sleepy tech issue to major policy fight. So I have prepared a rather lengthy primer below for folks who want a deeper understanding of what’s happening (at least as of today, May 3, 2006).

Continue reading

Stevens Bill IV –The Bad Stuff (Network Neutrality)

, , , , ,

Finally, we get to this week’s big enchilada, Network Neutrality (or “NN,” as we policy wonks like to call it when we type it over and over and over again).

Many have opposed the Communications Enhancement Act of 2006 (COPE) because it would limit FCC authority to prevent abuses of market power by the few broadband ISPs in control of the “last mile”. Well, the Stevens Bill would not just limit FCC authority, it would eliminate it altogether. A dream for the telcos, cable cos and my opposite numbers at Progress and Freedom Foundation, a nightmare for the rest of us.

Continue reading