Via Furdlog, a Washington Post article by Christopher John Farley, “Breaking Racial Sound Barriers”, presents an interesting spin on the likelihood of architectures of control creating/enforcing/reinforcing a marginalised “technology underclass,” as I previously discussed (to some extent, anyway) in Some implications of architectures of control.
Yearly archives of “2006”
Microsoft blocking MP3s on Verizon Wireless phones? – Engadget
Via Engadget (“Microsoft blocking MP3s on Verizon Wireless phones?”), another example of an architecture of control being imposed on a product or service subsequent to purchase by a mandated firmware or software update (the TiVo example is the best-known in this category).
Is Google DRM crippling culture as great as it seems? – The Register
The Register‘s Ashley Vance asks whether Google’s lack of immediate transparency about its new DRM , as will be used in the recently announced video download service, breaches the company’s famous “don’t be evil” mantra.
“Sign software on the digital line”
Bill Thompson, of the BBC’s ‘Go Digital’ programme, sets out very clearly (‘Sign software on the digital line’) many of the issues involved with ‘trusted computing’ and forcing the use of signed software.
‘Value of your home to be determined by the “freedom” your gadgets exhibit’
In a piece examining GPL v.3 and Linus Torvalds’ recent comments (‘If Linus snubs new GPL, is that it for ‘open source’?’), Andrew Orlowski discusses an idea put to him by a “GPL 3.0 advocate”:
Anti-teenager sound weapon: more comments
This post from last year has been getting a lot of hits over the last few days due to more media coverage of the story – come on & join in the comment debate: Anti-teenager sound weapon in Wales
Richard Stallman’s ‘Right To Read’ dystopia growing closer every day
We seem to be accelerating towards the nightmare vision presented by Richard Stallman in his 1997 article, ‘The Right to Read’, ninety years too early, and investigated so thoroughly by Cambridge’s Ross Anderson. (See also here for more discussion of DRM and ‘trusted’ computing).
Another dystopian vision
I should have posted this very impressive piece last month, but forgot, so here it is: ‘Burnoff: Part 1 – The Bad Guys Win’ by Tarmle.
Boing Boing: House introduces mandatory radio-crippling law
Cory Doctorow (Boing Boing: House introduces mandatory radio-crippling law) brings the news that:
Digital media ’empowering users’
According to a BBC Monitoring story brim-full of buzz-words and vague rhetoric – Digital media ’empowering users’:
‘Techno world has MPs beat’ – Guardian
Particularly in reference to the ID card issue, but relevant also to the creeping pervasion of deleterious architectures of control and their sanction by governments, a nice quote from a Guardian article: