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Saturday, May 25, 2002

O'Reilly Chapters

If you haven't done it yet, download the review copies of chapters from the forthcoming O'Reilly book, Essential Blogging, and give the authors your feedback about their discussion of your blogging tool of choice (the book covers Blogger, Radio, Blosxom and Movable Type). Code Goddess Shelley Powers has chapters two and six on Blogger (and again I am hugely in her debt for taking time out of her Memorial Day weekend to lend first aid to the back-end of Bag and Baggage). Help them make the book rock (it already does), and read Rael Dornfest's open invitation to submit your stories and tips for possible inclusion in the"Blogging Voices" chapter, still in progress.

posted by Denise at 8:09 PM
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Setback For DSL Competition

The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals yesterday directed the FCC to reexamine and rewrite rules aimed at increasing DSL service competition with the four regional phone companies. [Via Law.com] The full opinion is available here.

posted by Denise at 1:05 PM
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7 Of 12, And Surprised It Wasn't Worse

"Below we have a list of titles of Star Trek: The Next Generation episodes, along with names of Christian Heavy Metal bands. Your job is to tell them apart. Praisers or phasers? You make the call."
[Via The Brunching Shuttlecocks and The Screen Savers]

posted by Denise at 12:33 PM
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Treasures Of The Midwest

Carhenge, via Eric Hallstrom.

posted by Denise at 12:19 PM
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Preserving Creativity

Ernest Miller of LawMeme has an excellent response to William Adkinson's critique of Larry Lessig's positions on copyright reform.
"Moreover, it seems that Adkinson has a very limited conception of the engine of creativity. He does not consider the argument that the wellspring of creativity is not simply the ability to transform existing works, but the ability for individuals to make use of creative works in their own lives in the manner they choose. To become a good author, one should read a lot of books. To become a good musician, one should listen to a lot of music. If I can listen to more music while driving (because I was able to rip mix and burn), this is a good thing. To the extent that people can use copyrighted works as they see fit, creativity will bloom."
It was difficult to selectively quote from Ernest's article because the whole thing deserves attention. So go give it.

posted by Denise at 11:56 AM
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Can We Sue Our Own Fat Asses Off? Yes, And Our Feet

Ernie points to yesterday's Salon story about plans underway to "sue companies like McDonald's for misleading advertising, for failure to warn about the health dangers of their products and, if public opinion swings [that] way, for, well, making us fat." Reminds me of the time I spent close to an hour trying to explain to a well-intentioned soul (in a non-professional capacity) the trouble with launching a similar attack against the makers of high-heeled shoes, which admittedly can be hell on your feet and back. People are becoming conditioned - you mean, this thing common knowledge says is no good for me really isn't? Well, how on earth is it for sale? I'll sue! I for one would rather live in a world where I can savor the dubious thrill of teetering into a McDonald's on my Manolo Blahniks and ordering a Big Mac, than one where I can't.

posted by Denise at 11:37 AM
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Friday, May 24, 2002

Demand Letters On Parade, Part III

Declan McCullagh's Politech advises of an apparent exchange between The Warm Company, through counsel, and a London creative technology firm of the same name. Please, in my next life, I'm coming back as a Brit. From my provincial perspective Messrs. Raettig and Michael (on their own behalf) have raised dispute-oriented prose to an art form - can't you just hear Colin Firth delivering these lines? - but I have the feeling this may be business discourse as usual in their country. Nor should you miss their site's thoughtful weblog.

posted by Denise at 9:21 AM
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Thursday, May 23, 2002

Creative Commons, In Use

For those interested in how the new Creative Commons will work once everything is in place, and what it can do for you, there is useful information on the site:
  • How Will Creative Commons Help You?: real-world examples about how people working on a project will be able to use Creative Comments to locate works to enhance the project free from copyright infringement worries.
  • Technology: Creative Commons will utilize a Contributor Application and a Search Application. The Contributor Application will "help people create what we call a Commons Deed -- a document that uses plain English and intuitive icons to summarize the terms under which a contributor has offered her work." Once a work has been so dedicated, the Search Application will help others locate the works and put them to use.
  • Machine Readable Licensing: The license terms generated by Creative Commons technology "will be 'machine-readable.' That is, computer applications like search engines will be able to determine how Jill's photos are licensed. So Jack will be able to search for photos of the Empire State Building that are available under a Creative Commons license that permits copying and posting on the Web. He will find Jill's photos, and know that he has Jill's permission to use them in his movie."
    • In other words, the system appears designed to maintain the comfort level of all concerned. Contributors can state the degree of attribution and control they expect to maintain, if any. End-users can rest easy about incorporating the work of others if they comply. The more I look at this, the more I like it, and see where it helps eliminate uncertainties and risks inherent in the current system, and, as Creative Commons puts it, "complement[s], rather than compete[s] with, [the GPL] and other efforts to ease the sharing of creative works." Questions. However, I also can think of a few concerns I hope the good professors and their colleagues will address. One is fraud - there should be a way of verifying that a person using the Contributor Application is the original author, and of notifying end-users if some issue about this arises down the road. Another is the cross-jurisdictional effectiveness of the Commons Deed - those using works licensed with the help of Creative Commons will want assurance they are authorized to do so regardless of where they or the author may reside. Finally, I wonder what role Creative Commons will play, if any, in disputes among contributors and end-users about the scope or propriety of a use. I don't see a discussion on the site about this, so I assume a contributor who feels the terms of the Commons Deed have been exceeded will have to look to a court to determine the scope of the license under basic contract principles. Perhaps agreement to an alternative dispute resolution process could be built into the system, to provide even greater confidence that those using Creative Commons will reduce the risk of costly litigation down the road. (I see the site has a feedback address for questions like this, so off these will go. If you think of others (1) let me know, I'm interested, and (2) send them here.)

    posted by Denise at 1:34 PM
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    Rufus Wainwright

    "Lush, stylistic, just slightly extravagant piano-driven pop tunes that are destined to have their way with you," says search result two on Google for Rufus Wainwright, pointing to this site (where I don't actually see the right-on quote). The artist's own site is here. Ben Folds meets, shoot, I dunno, Billy Joel on psychedelics? His music did have its way with me. Once again, I must register pleasant surprise that Carson Daly brought him to my attention, and just garden variety surprise that last night's other Last Call guest, Mark Cuban, does not appear to have a blog (he'd have to cut down on the caffeine first, perhaps).

    posted by Denise at 8:37 AM
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    Beware The Pods - er, Blods

    They live among the rest of humanity, side by side, indistinguishable. In all manner of societal bastians: business, academia, the courts, the clergy. Around the world. Careful, that's one right there! Jeneane exposed one in her midst just yesterday, an Anthurian, no less. Look for the tell-tale signs: unchecked growth of facial hair, questionable fashion choices and a viscous chartreuse fluid that passes for blood. Greenpeace had better act quickly if any of the non-bloggers are to be spared...

    posted by Denise at 12:11 AM
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    Wednesday, May 22, 2002

    Help Is Here

    Thanks, Ev! The new Blogger help pages (built with software from Public Mind) are wonderful. Let's all say it: "aaahhh."

    posted by Denise at 6:07 PM
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    Eldred Examined

    Ernie has a great run-down on the petitioners' brief in Eldred v. Ashcroft. Read. Absorb. Repeat.

    posted by Denise at 3:37 PM
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    Courts And Technology

    The California Courts Web site reports the following about technology in the state's court system:
  • Courts allowing fax filing: All
  • Courts allowing some e-filing: Six
  • Number of county courts with local Web sites: All
  • Number of outmoded computers to be replaced in trial courts (2001-02): 6,700
    • Yesterday, the L.A. County Bar's Appellate Courts Committee hosted a presentation from two lawyers with the state Supreme Court: Greg Wolff, who is Head of Chambers for Justice Moreno (and used to be on Chief Justice George's staff) and David Nyssen, from the Court's central criminal staff. Earlier this year, the Court added its docket to the statewide Appellate Case Information system, so we can now track the status of any pending matter, as well as the issues that led the Court to grant review (see the Court's weekly summaries). It also was clear from yesterday's discussion that the Court's internal workings are getting a boost from technology. While the talk centered primarily on what it takes to get the Court to accept a case (consider this: over nine thousand petitions for review are submitted each year, while just over one hundred are granted) there were several between-the-lines insights about how the Court does its work. For instance, it sounds like the Justices and their staff primarily are authoring their opinions at the word processor (using Word). They also are set up to track at least the last ten year's worth of filings and dispositions, by issue. In other words, the Court knows at a glance when a petition for review is filed (1) who else has asked the Court to look at the issue, (2) in what context, (3) when, (4) what amicus groups representing various interests have had to say about the Court taking the issue, and (5) what, if anything, the Court has done about the issue to date. I found this, needless to say, fascinating, and saw little reason why the bare bones of this issue-oriented, historical approach to the Court's workload could not also be made available through its Web site. Providing access to this information would improve the quality of petitions for review, and help litigants better assess their chances of getting the Court's attention.

    posted by Denise at 12:21 PM
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    Tuesday, May 21, 2002

    For CA Judges: The Alexandria Law Library

    Glen Buries, Staff Attorney to the San Diego Court Superior Court, gave me the go-ahead today to blog about this resource, "Alexandria, a collaboration for the Judiciary." The site is a virtual law library, "dedicated to and designed for the exclusive use of California judges and their in-house counsel. The goal is to centralize [their] legal research needs in a single web portal." Glen co-created the site, using FrontPage, with several colleagues in the California legal community who are acknowledged on the site's "credits" page: "At any point, any one of these people could have closed a door, and the project and this collaboration would have ended. It never happened. This website is dedicated to those who open doors and build bridges." Alexandria offers a wealth of tools for the California judiciary, including an "Ask Alexandria!" feature and pages devoted to time management and mental health. I'm impressed by the thought that went into centralizing the Web resources a jurist might need close at hand, and by the site's useful, entertaining and attractive format. Alexandria also rounds up links to the state's regional documents available online, "such as Municipal Codes, City Charters and Administrative Codes." As Chuck bemoaned recently, these things can be tough to track down. (FindLaw also has an excellent link list for these sorts of materials.) Congratulations to Glen and his friends for helping integrate the Web a part of the judicial library.

    posted by Denise at 2:14 PM
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    Fish Out Of Water - The CARP Dies

    "The United States Copyright Office on Tuesday rejected an arbitration panel ruling on Webcasting royalty rates, a decision that is sure to rankle the recording industry and bring smiles to the face of Internet radio executives nationwide." [Via Internet News, "25 minutes ago," says Google News]
    More from the Librarian of Congress: "The Register of Copyrights recommends, and the Librarian agrees, that the CARP's determination must be rejected. A final decision will be issued no later than June 20, 2002." 'Scuse me, I'm going to tune in some Internet Radio.

    posted by Denise at 8:41 AM
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    *Chortle*

    "First thing we do, we blog all the lawyers." [Jenny, on Radio for Lawyers] All right guys, get to it, don't make me come download that software! (Fast forward to March, 2003, husband and I readying for taxes: "What was this for?" "Something called Radio, I use it for work... " "Don't tell me - you're blogging with it, aren't you?" "I prefer to think of it as hyper-organizational knowledge management and aggregation meets some fine colleagues and a few unapologetic degenerates for a drink and lively banter." "Fine. But I'm golf bound during the audit.")

    posted by Denise at 8:25 AM
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    Monday, May 20, 2002

    Utah Goes Digital

    Government Computer News reports that Utah Incentive Funds, a funding and lending division of the state government, is using digital certificates to streamline transactions, and specifically services provided by NxLight and Indentrus. [Via llrx] (Government Computer News?? Sabrina, how about a km-oriented article from you soon on targeted newsgathering?)

    posted by Denise at 7:02 PM
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    Amazon Hack, no. 4359

    "Two weeks ago, Amazon's Web site added a feature that lets users suggest that shoppers buy a different book than the one being perused, and Ms. Jaquith, the self-published author of the memoir 'Birdseed Cookies,' has taken full advantage... All told, 'Birdseed Cookies' was recommended instead of more than a dozen best sellers." [The New York Times, via Library Stuff]
    So Chris and Eric, just how long has Ms. Jaquith been a subscriber...?

    posted by Denise at 6:09 PM
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    Leave A Buck In The Bowl On The Way Out

    Christopher has written a thoughtful post about law firms as law schools (yes, the learning does continue - in theory) and where knowledge management systems fit into the equation. He observes that a large investment walks out the door when an attorney leaves. This is true whether the person is let go or decides to seek greener pastures (attrition is incredibly high in this profession). As our firm and its technology grows, I find myself considering the flip side: technology harvests a great deal of knowledge from us as we work. As anyone who has changed jobs can tell you, it is not all that easy to take it with you when you go, and even then, you're simply copying information that will stay behind in your absence.

    posted by Denise at 5:06 PM
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    Thought So!

    "The Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Marin Civic Center inspired the blue-green domes and arches of Theed City, Naboo." [Via Qui-Gonline] With such a gorgeous structure in your back yard, how could you not use it? Pics here, here (Marin) and here (Marin on digital steroids).

    posted by Denise at 12:11 PM
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    Sunday, May 19, 2002

    Orange County, Now

    The headaches and inconvenience of jury service are legendary, but what if you could work or watch the big screen while you cool your heels? After $1.5 million in improvements, the Orange County, CA, Superior Court just unveiled its new jury assembly room:
    "There are two dozen workspaces equipped with modem connections [-what, no broadband?-] so prospective jurors can keep themselves busy. A network of seven large-screen televisions and a video projection system also have been installed to make the waiting game less grueling." [Via The Daily Journal]
    This is all pretty neat, but what's even better is Orange County's commitment to keeping potential jurors away from the courthouse engaged in less civic-minded pursuits until absolutely necessary. Using a dial-in number and its Web site, the court lets those on jury duty know if they actually need to show up that day, and if so when. This cuts way back on the interminable waiting at court.

    posted by Denise at 1:42 PM
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