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Links - New and Old Censorship, Anti-trust, Privacy Violations and Pollution.

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  • Finance





  • Anti-Trust

    • Pay TV piracy hits News
      The actions are documented in an archive of 14,400 emails held by former Metropolitan Police commander Ray Adams who was European chief for Operational Security between 1996 and 2002. The Financial Review is publishing thousands of the emails on its website at URL afr.com.

      The emails show that Murdoch used "piracy" as a competitive weapon, helping people to break the digital handcuffs of rival's pay TV boxes. The loss of face and revenue helped Murdoch to consolidate his media empire.



    • Microsoft all but buys Netscape with AOL patent acqusition

      This Microsoft friendly news source uses gloats over this superposed "end of the browser wars" and uses the term "intellectual property" while glorifying and validating software patents.



  • Censorship

    • The reason I'm helping Chris Hedges' lawsuit against the NDAA
      the Homeland Battlefield Bill has already a chilling effect upon my ability to investigate and document matters of national controversy that would ordinarily be subject to my professional inquiry. It has therefore prevented my readers from receiving the full spectrum of truthful reporting which, in a functioning democracy, they have a right to expect.


    • Iraq’s internet on the brink
      A year since the Arab Spring, the internet in the region is facing significant threats from governments trying to gain more control over it.


    • Media companies & ISPs outline plan to stop piracy

      Not so voluntary censorship is set to roll out on people in the US. Appealing accusations of sharing will cost people $35.



    • World Without Web
      ... we underestimate the alarming degree of contingency lurking behind ‘inevitable’ developments. ... The divergence point for this history is in 1983-1984, when the leadership of DARPA lied through its teeth to Congress about who was being allowed access to the Internet. ... what if DARPA had been caught in that lie, funding for its network research scaled back, and a serious effort made to kick randoms off the early net?


    • CISPA – The Sneaky Son Of SOPA

      A good collection of links about a nasty law against sharing.





  • Civil Rights



  • Privacy



  • Education Watch



  • DRM

    • How Adobe DRM Requires People to Pirate Library Books
      Open standards make sense. What makes no sense is that large companies in the field still do not understand this. ... It turns out that a majority of the 6,495 titles available at my local library were accessible only through a locked .acsm file format. ...you can think of a .acsm file as being very much like a .torrent file. If you use Windows or Mac, you can (theoretically) download and install Adobe Digital Editions (ADE). This software reads the .acsm file and then it will download the actual .epub book, complete with DRM. ... there is no legal way to access the content without breaking the law if you are using free (libre) software.

      Tell your local librarian to never use a system like this!





  • Intellectual Monopolies

    • Another Patent Attack on Google with More Wild $$ Predictions ~pj
      Nokia and Microsoft. Partners at law, so to speak. Is this another Microsoft/Nokia outsourced production? Remember when Barnes & Noble told us that it views Microsoft and Nokia's patent campaign as an antitrust violation, a deliberate campaign to destroy Android and maintain Microsoft's monopoly on the desktop and extend it to smartphones, with Nokia piggybacking with its patents for weapons and MOSAID being brought in to do some of the dirty work? So when you read the scare headlines, remember this: Google is awesome at patent litigation. It tends to prevail. I told you that when Oracle first sued Google


    • Oracle’s Position is Worse Than I Thought


    • USPTO Issues Interim Mayo Guidance ~pj
      "...the claimed product or process amounts to significantly more than a law of nature, a natural phenomenon, or an abstract idea with conventional steps specified at a high level of generality appended thereto." Why *wouldn't* that apply to software?


    • Mayo Decision Impacts Myriad Genetics - Judgment Vacated, Remanded ~pj
      Things are looking up in PatentLand


    • Prometheus bound: An important precedent for the next software patent case
      Plainly, this was not a dispute about software patents, but the Court’s unanimous opinion will guide it and lower courts as they analyze future software patent cases.


    • Copyrights

      • Judge rules file sharing is not a "conspiracy"
        The litigators are trying to get around the fact that judges aren't happy with allowing mass lawsuits, so what they are doing is taking one internet user to court but using that lawsuit as a pretext to subpoena other defendants who had participated in the same BitTorrent swarm. ... James Holderman of the Northern District of Illinois raised his eyebrow in disgust at this trick, saying that it was trying to get around the "stiffening judicial headwind."


      • 5000+ Artists Line Up For a Pirate Bay Promotion
        “We’re one of the worlds top 60 sites in the Internet. This brings us a responsibility to use the site to do something good. When I think about it, it’s insane that all the other top 100 sites only blast ads and self-centered stuff on their front pages. We do this for fun and for the love of culture, so we’re everything the major labels are not.”


      • 3 Major Publishers Sue Open-Education Textbook Start-Up

        See also this excllent summary

        To gain access to the digital alternatives, students select the traditional books assigned in their classes, and Boundless pulls content from an array of open-education sources to knit together a text that the company claims is as good as the designated book. The company calls this mapping of printed book to open material “alignment”—a tactic the complaint said creates a finished product that violates the publishers’ copyrights.


      • DRM is crushing indie booksellers online


      • MPAA Lines Up With Porn Studio in Steamy Copyright Dispute

        A video site that published movies as urls is surprised that people would download those movies. They also found a judge that agrees enough to shut down a website where users share the urls, sometimes as embedded movies.







  • Recent Techrights' Posts

    When I discovered people trafficking in open source software
    Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
    Over at Tux Machines...
    GNU/Linux news for the past day
    [Meme] Being Believed, Not Censored or Defamed
    Daniel Pocock, Zini, and John Sullivan (FSF)
     
    Aside From Red Hat Spam and Partisan Media There's a Lingering Rumour of Layoffs
    Some rumour said IBM had second thoughts about a WARN notice and delayed that a bit
    The Albanian open source community is very healthy indeed
    Windows nosedives from 99.1% to a lot less
    Web Sites Hijacked by WIPO on Behalf of Microsoft-Sponsored SPI (and People Looking to Hide Embarrassing Facts)
    debian.chat; debiancommunity.org; debian.day; debian.family; debian.finance; debian.giving; debiangnulinux.org; debian.guide; debian.news; debian.plus; debianproject.community; debianproject.org; debian.team; debian.video
    Julian Assange on Privacy of People, Even Little Children
    Facebook/Google (or GAFAM, an acronym I coined with Assange) knows you better than your mom knows you
    [Meme] Miscomprehension of GDPR
    Social control in general is a ticking timebomb
    In Haiti, the Market Share of Windows Collapsed (From 97% to 27% on Desktops/Laptops)
    A couple of months ago Windows was measured at 3.04%
    In Most Countries It's Still Possible Not to Have a 'Smartphone' and to Pay for Nearly Everything With Cash
    Withdrawing money will be possible as long as enough people use many ATMs (cash machines)
    Expect Lots of Material From Daniel Pocock as Election Day Nears
    The experiences of Daniel Pocock were an excellent example of reprisal or retribution against either whistleblowers or people who give a voice to whistleblowers
    I've Been Promoting Free Software for Over 25 Years
    I wrote my first computer program when I was about 14, maybe a little younger (I have visual memory of it)
    Reminder: Richard Stallman's Talk is This Week in Paris (and in French)
    Defending rms isn't the same as defending everything he has ever said
    IRC Proceedings: Saturday, May 11, 2024
    IRC logs for Saturday, May 11, 2024
    Online Bullying (Trying to Make People Unhappy)
    Narcissists and bullies behind mice and keyboards, no honesty or fact-checking required
    Talk About Software Freedom
    "Linux" and "BSD" may mean a lot to more and more people, but they're still just brands or acronyms
    Windows in South Korea: From 98.5% in 2010 to About 30% (Android Rises to Almost 50%)
    Samsung ships like a million Linux devices per day
    Improving Site Navigation for Easier Discovery and Catch-ups
    This site is run by code we wrote ourselves
    LibrePlanet 2024 Recordings
    Let's hope independent recordings by viewers can help recovery of "lost talks" (recordings)
    GNU/Linux Reaches 11% Market Share in the United States Of America - an All-Time High
    The United States Of America is where the operating system started (Boston) and where Linus Torvalds works (Portland)
    Links 11/05/2024: XBox Crisis, Spotify Exodus Continues
    Links for the day
    Gemini Links 11/05/2024: Why to Delete GitHub
    Links for the day
    In Europe, Bing Fell Every Month This Year, Lost a Considerable Share Since "Bing Chat" and All the Chatbot Hype
    Microsoft's Bing has had many layoffs lately
    Links 11/05/2024: Analysis of the Microsoft Crisis and Backdoor-Looking Bugs
    Links for the day
    Attacking the Messenger?
    Stack Overflow and LLM licencing
    Microsoft Fired Loads of Staff in Kenya, Which is Another Large Country Where GNU/Linux Has Grown a Lot
    Microsoft pays Kenyans only 2 dollars an hour for an IT/office job
    Knowing the True History of Debian, Owing to Irish Debian Developer Daniel Pocock (Currently Running to Become Member of the European Parliament)
    Irish-Australian and scapegoat of a highly dysfunctional 'Debian family'
    Attacking by Credentials
    Modest people do not demand fancy titles
    Microsoft Windows Used to Have 99% of the OS Market in Jordan, Now It's Just 13% (Less Than iOS)
    Based on the data of statCounter, GNU/Linux in Jordan climbed from 0.62% in May 2014 to nearly 5% right now
    More Nations Are Reaching and Exceeding 5% Market Share for GNU/Linux, Microsoft Wants to be Bailed Out Again
    Microsoft is once again reaching out to Biden for a bailout - a subject we'll cover in a video some time this weekend
    Over at Tux Machines...
    GNU/Linux news for the past day
    IRC Proceedings: Friday, May 10, 2024
    IRC logs for Friday, May 10, 2024
    [Meme] What Do You Call a Woman Who Does BDS on Free Software? Elana Hamasman.
    Here are some confused thoughts
    [Meme] Mission Aborted
    Mission Aborted: cancel RMS
    Taking Things Up a Notch
    we strive/aim towards 15-25 new pages per day, i.e. around 500 per month or 6,000 per year
    Gemini Links 10/05/2024: Love Is Infinite and Books vs Internet
    Links for the day
    Links 10/05/2024: Fears Over TSMC, Microsoft Loses Major Patent Case
    Links for the day
    Links 10/05/2024: Burner Phones in 6-Eyes Government, “Hatred and Demonization” on the Rise
    Links for the day
    Microsoft Layoffs and Closures Now Reported in Africa
    Microsoft Uninstalls Nigeria as it closes African Development Centre (ADC) in Lagos
    [Video] Richard Stallman, "I Saw You Playing Your Recorder in Paris" (Due to Proprietary Software Only)
    Corporate autocrats do not want counterparts or alternatives to even exist
    Five Years After the Extensive Campaign of Defamation Against Richard Stallman He's Still Giving Public Talks
    "Richard Stallman will give a talk, in French, Free Software and Freedom in a Digital Society at Centrale Supelec in Saclay, on May 15."
    Microsoft Is Rebranding Its 'Chatbot' Search for the Third Time Because It Fails to Gain Adoption
    it always means that something has failed - not that they'll openly admit it
    Richard Stallman Gives a Talk in Paris Next Week (in French) and It's About Freedom
    another talk, which he has only just announced
    Pace Up, Distractions Down
    We've made our curation process faster and more efficient
    In Algeria, GNU/Linux Estimated to Have Grown Tenfold in a Decade
    a sharp rise in GNU/Linux usage
    [Meme] Red Hat Diversity
    Red Hat: don't mention Haghighi
    Our Sister Site Turns 20 in Exactly One Month
    twentieth anniversary of the site
    Corporate Media Focuses on Who's Suing Red Hat, Not What It's Sued For
    The unfortunate thing is, anybody who has an opinion on this lawsuit will inevitably be framed as "pro-Trump" or "anti-Trump"
    Links 10/05/2024: Many More Microsoft Layoffs on the Way
    Links for the day
    Over at Tux Machines...
    GNU/Linux news for the past day
    IRC Proceedings: Thursday, May 09, 2024
    IRC logs for Thursday, May 09, 2024
    Microsoft OSI Uses Its Money to Hire PR Agencies That Spy and Spread Mindless Openwashing of GPL-Violating Microsoft Ploy
    `We're under attack. But the attackers smile at us and hire PR firms to spy, mislead etc.
    Gemini Links 10/05/2024: geminispace.info to Shut Down in 3 Weeks
    Links for the day
    In Nigeria, Africa's (by Far) Largest Population, Microsoft Bing is the 0%
    To Microsoft, Africa is just "someplace" to get intensive, hard-working human 'resources' (tech labour) at 2 dollars 'apiece' as in per person per hour