Political Bloviation

The US needs an aggressive national broadband policy. This is step in the right direction, if it cab survive the can survive the Washington sausage grinder:
The Federal Communications Commission is proposing an ambitious 10-year plan that will reimagine the nation’s media and technology priorities by establishing high-speed Internet as the country’s dominant communication network.
The plan, [...]

Where do I sign up?
People have wondered for years what Google might be up to with all that dark fiber it had bought up around the country. Now, we may have an answer: delivery of open-access, fiber-to-the-home Internet service at speeds of 1Gbps. That's right: 1Gbps.
via Your new ISP? Google launches 1Gbps fiber-to-the-home trial.
This is [...]

File this under “no surprise”. Funny how downloads prices are remarkably similar across different providers for content from the big 3 record companies. Also there’s a note that the labels gave themselves a raise at customer expense even though costs dropped in the move away from CD to digital downloads. Sounds like there’s significant distortions [...]

 Often the case is made that violating a copyright is just like stealing. It’s not the same in the sense that downloading a copy of song doesn’t deprive someone else the use of it in the same way that taking a car would deprive the owner of it’s use.  The related argument that allowing copyright [...]

Intelligence deputy to America: Rethink privacy – CNN.com
Anyone who would trust the government on this is a deluded fool

Daily Show Archives Appear Online – TV Decoder – Media & Television – New York Times Blog
“With a show that’s as deep and rich and such a part of the American zeitgeist as ‘The Daily Show,’ just having it live as a section of ComedyCentral.com doesn’t do it justice,” Mr. Flannigan said.
I strongly agree. The [...]

Appeals Court upholds FCC anti-line-sharing rules
Why? I have exactly 1 phone company, and 1 cable company offering broadband to my house. I’m not in the boonies. How is this enough competition? If the incumbents aren’t forced to share they won’t. period.
Broadband is a natural monopoly, rife with market failure and barriers to entering the market. [...]

And it couldn’t have happened to a more deserving group of blood sucking parasites:
Victorious RIAA defendant gets attorneys’ fees, turns to class-action plans
In his order awarding Andersen attorneys’ fees, US Magistrate Judge Donald C. Ashmanskas noted that he had to make a decision on this case “without ever addressing the merits of the claims or [...]

The Senate dithers while the internet tax ban teeters on the brink:
As deadline looms, Senate still debating fate of Internet tax moratorium
The ban was originally instituted in 1998 and prohibited local and state governments from collecting tax on various types of Internet connection services (ISPs, etc.). This was done out of concern that a tax [...]

This says a lot about the lack of effective regulation in the US:
Japan’s Warp-Speed Ride to Internet Future – washingtonpost.com
Perhaps more important, competition in Japan gave a kick in the pants to Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp. (NTT), once a government-controlled enterprise and still Japan’s largest phone company. With the help of government subsidies and [...]

U.S. senator: It’s time to ban Wikipedia in schools, libraries – Computerworld Blogs
How did this clown get put in charge of regulating the internet?  While some ignorance of the internet from an octogenarian is to be expected you would expect that a committee staffer would gently guide him away from such obvious stupidity. He needs [...]

The Washington Monthly

The internet is arguably the apex of human technological development, the most complex and paradigm-changing invention so far in the history of homo sapiens. And what do we mostly use it for? Porn, Justin Timberlake downloads, and penny stock scams. Makes you proud, doesn’t it?
On look at my inbox and I’m ready to [...]

And this doddering twit is in charge of regulating the Internet?

Net Neutrality: This is serious | Decentralized Information Group (DIG) Breadcrumbs
This is the take on net neutrality from one of the inventors of the web. He puts it forth in a simple clear form, protecting interoperatability protects the internet. He frames the argument in this way: “Freedom of connection, with any application, to any party, [...]

A Third Way on Net Neutrality
Robert D. Atkinson and Philip J. Weiser make a cogent argument counseling a compromise in the increasingly strident net neutrality debate. The gist of their proposal is:
1. Require broadband providers to “state clearly to what extent content and services enjoy preferential delivery opportunities and any limitations on the ability of [...]

Network neutrality killed again, but cable reform bill lives on
I don’t mind the idea of reforming local control of cable franchises. But we most definately need net neutrality written into law. The House backhanded a net neutrality ammendment 269 votes to 152, then passed the bill 321-101. The telco lobbyists were busy.
The focus now moves [...]

The NY times Op-Ed page is running a great piece on net neutrality and why it’s important. Read it.
Why the Democratic Ethic of the World Wide Web May Be About to End – New York Times

It’s a good sign that both sides of the aisle recognize the importance of continued net neutrality.
TechWeb | News | Net Neutrality Finds Bipartisan Support

TAP: Vol 11, Iss. 10. Innovation, Regulation, and the Internet. Lawrence Lessig.
The Case for Competitive Neutrality
If there’s a better explanation of why this is important to a free and open internet, please tell me:
The Internet is the fastest-growing computer network in history. It is not, however, the first computer network. There were many before it, [...]

Battle Lines Drawn in Net Neutrality Debate – Internet Life – NewsFactor Network
Large telcos and cable internet providers versus the Consumer Federation of America and net content providers like Google, Yahoo adm Vonage. Interesting reading if you have an interest in the future of an open Internet.
Also see:
‘Father of the Internet’ Asks for Internet Neutrality [...]