PG Weekly Newsletter: Part 1 (2004-06-02)

by Michael Cook on June 2, 2004
Newsletters

*The Project Gutenberg Weekly Newsletter For Wednesday, June 2, 2004  PT1*
*****eBooks Readable By Both Humans and Computers Since July 4, 1971******

Test sending from hart@login.ibiblio.org

Newsletter editors needed! Please email hart@pobox.com or gbnewby@pglaf.org
Anyone who would care to get advance editions:  please email hart@pobox.com

Email address is changing:  hart@pobox.com will still work, but the backup
address for when pobox.com is down will soon be hart@pglaf.org   The older
hart@beryl.ils.unc edu will probably still work but may be slower.  During
emergencies hart@metalab.unc.edu or hart@login.ibiblio.org should work, as
that is still my emergency backup email location.    Thanks!!!  Michael




                           eBook Milestones


           We Are Over 1/4 of the Way from 10,000 to 20,000


                      12,808 eBooks As Of Today


                        7,188 to go to 20,000



It took ~32 years, from 1971 to 2003 to do our 1st 10,000

It took ~10 years from 1993 to 2003 to grow from 100 eBooks to 10,100

It took ~3 years from 2001 to 2004 for our last 10,000

[From 2,808 eBooks in September, 2001 to 12,808 eBooks in May, 2004]

***

[The Newsletter is now being sent in two sections, so you can directly
go to the portions you find most interesting:  1.  Founder's Comments,
News, Notes & Queries, and  2. Weekly eBook Update Listing.]

Today, and until we actually GET a new Newsletter editor who want to
do another portion, there will be only 2 parts. . .this is Part 1,
and the eBook listings in Part 2 [New Project Gutenberg Documents].

[Since we are between Newsletter editors, these 2 parts may undergo a
few changes while we are finding a new Newsletter editor.   Email us:
hart@pobox.com and gbnewby@pglaf.org if you would like to volunteer.]


  This is Michael Hart's "Founder's Comments" section of the Newsletter


Over Our 32 21/52 Year History, We Have Now Averaged About 390 eBooks/Yr
And This Year Averaged Over That Same New eBook Level. . .PER MONTH!!!!!


        We Are Averaging About 380 eBooks Per Month This Year

                             91 per week

***

The Newest Project Gutenberg Site:

Beauregard Parish Library
(DeRidder, Louisiana)
http://library.beau.org/gutenberg

"The Beauregard Parish Library is excited to be the first public library to
mirror the Gutenberg site as well as the only listed mirror in Louisiana.
We are especially excited about the mp3 project.  What a wonderful service
to those who have difficulty using print materials."


***  HOT Requests!!!

We may need a volunteer who is travelling to the US from
the UK or South Africa to bring a radio that might help
in the development of a world wireless eBook network.


***

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***

In this issue of the Project Gutenberg Weekly newsletter:
- Intro (above)
- New Site (above)
- Hot Requests (above)
- Requests For Assistance
- Progress Report
- Flashback
- Continuing Requests For Assistance
- Making Donations
- Access To The Collection
- Information About Mirror Sites
- Have We Given Away A Trillion Yet?
- Weekly eBook update:
   Updates/corrections in separate section
    48 New Public Domain eBooks Under US Copyright
- Headline News from NewsScan and Edupage
- Information about mailing lists


*** Requests For Assistance

_I_ am still interested in a DVD that has an actual total
of 10,000 eBooks. . .or more. . .mostly for PR purposes--
if someone would be willing to make one.


*** PROJECT GUTENBERG IS SEEKING LEGAL BEAGLES

Project Gutenberg is seeking (volunteer) lawyers.  We have
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Project Gutenberg's CEO, Greg Newby <gbnewby AT pglaf.org> ,
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This is much more important than many of us realize!


*** Progress Report

    In the first 5.00 months of this year, we produced 1901 new eBooks.

 It took us from July 1971 to Jan 1999 to produce our first 1,901 eBooks!

                That's 21 WEEKS as Compared to ~28 Years!

                   48   New eBooks This Week
                   60   New eBooks Last Week
                  227   New eBooks This Month [May]

                  380   Average Per Month in 2004
                  355   Average Per Month in 2003
                  203   Average Per Month in 2002
                  103   Average Per Month in 2001

                 1901   New eBooks in 2004
                 4164   New eBooks in 2003
                 2441   New eBooks in 2002
                 1240   New eBooks in 2001
                 ====
                 9746   New eBooks Since Start Of 2001
                             That's Only 40.50 Months!

               12,808  Total Project Gutenberg eBooks
                8,075   eBooks This Week Last Year
                 ====
                4,733   New eBooks In Last 12 Months

                  359   eBooks From Project Gutenberg of Australia


We're still keeping up with Moore's Law!

Moore's Law 12 month percentage = 100%

Moore's Law 18 month percentage =  98%

[100% of Moore's Law = doubling every 18 months]


Check out our website at gutenberg.net, and see below to learn how
you can get INSTANT access to our eBooks via FTP servers even before
the new eBooks listed below appear in our catalog.

eBooks are posted throughout the week.  You can even get daily lists.

Info on subscribing to daily, weekly, monthly Newsletters, listservs:
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***


                           FLASHBACK!!!

                  1901 New eBooks So Far in 2004

              It took us ~28 years for the first 1901 !

      That's the 5.00 MONTHS of 2004 as Compared to ~28 YEARS!!!

     Here Is A Sample Of What Books Were Being Done Around #1901


Oct 1999 Grandfather's Chair, by Nathaniel Hawthorne[NH #8][gfchrxxx.xxx] 1926
Oct 1999 Droll Stories [V. 1], by Honore de Balzac[HdB #82][1drllxxx.xxx] 1925
Oct 1999 Many Voices, by E. Nesbit  [Poems]  [E. Nesbit #8][mnyvcxxx.xxx] 1924
Oct 1999 The Poisoned Pen by, Arthur B. Reeve              [tppenxxx.xxx] 1923

Oct 1999 Deirdre of the Sorrows, by J. M. Synge  [Synge #7][drdrexxx.xxx] 1922
[This one is a play, and is in markup format, need a volunteer to unmark it.]
Oct 1999 The Chouans, by Honore de Balzac  [de Balzac #81] [chounxxx.xxx] 1921
Oct 1999 Billy Baxter's Letters, By William J. Kountz, Jr. [bbxtlxxx.xxx] 1920
Oct 1999 Ballads, by Horatio Alger, Jr.  [H. Alger Jr. #10][blldsxxx.xxx] 1919

Oct 1999 Long Odds, by H. Rider Haggard  [H. R. Haggard #8][loddsxxx.xxx] 1918
Oct 1999 The Queen of Hearts, by Wilkie Collins[Collins#21][qnhrtxxx.xxx] 1917

Oct 1999 The Great Stone Face, et. al. Nathaniel Hawthorne [totwmxxx.xxx] 1916
Oct 1999 Second Thoughts of An Idle Fellow, by Jerome [#14][scthkxxx.xxx] 1915

Oct 1999 [Reserved for WWI]                                [     xxx.xxx] 1914*
Oct 1999 The Drums Of Jeopardy, by Harold MacGrath         [jprdyxxx.xxx] 1913
Oct 1999 The Muse of the Department, by de Balzac [HdB #80][msdptxxx.xxx] 1912
Oct 1999 Concerning Christian Liberty, by Martin Luther[#6][clbtyxxx.xxx] 1911

Sep 1999 La Tulipe Noire, by Alexandre Dumas[Pere#6/French][tlpnrxxx.xxx] 1910
[Language: French]  (Note:  abridged edition)
(See Also:  #965, Full-length English Edition)
Sep 1999 Darwin and Modern Science, by A.C. Seward[50th Yr][drwnmxxx.xxx] 1909
Sep 1999 Her Prairie Knight, by B. M. Bower[B.M. Bower #10][hrprkxxx.xxx] 1908
Sep 1999 Rowdy of the Cross L, by B. M. Bower [BM Bower #9][rowdyxxx.xxx] 1907

Sep 1999 Erewhon (Revised Edition), by Samuel Butler       [erwhnxxx.xxx] 1906
Sep 1999 The Governess [Female Academy], by Sarah Fielding [gvrnsxxx.xxx] 1905
Sep 1999 Life & Perambulations of a Mouse by Dorothy Kilner[lpoamxxx.xxx] 1904
Sep 1999 Everybody's Guide to Money Matters, by Wm. Cotton [egtmmxxx.xxx] 1903

Sep 1999 The Old Peabody Pew by Kate Douglas Wiggin[KDW#13][oldpwxxx.xxx] 1902
Sep 1999 The Old Peabody Pew by Kate Douglas Wiggin[KDW#13][oldpwxxx.xxx] 1902
Sep 1999 Secret of the Woods, by William J. Long           [sctwdxxx.xxx] 1901
Sep 1999 Typee, by Herman Melville     [Herman Melville #2][typeexxx.xxx] 1900
Sep 1999 The Village Rector, by Honore de Balzac[Balzac#79][vrctrxxx.xxx] 1899
.(Note:  filename vrctrxxx.xxx is also used for a eBook #1329 in etext98)

Sep 1999 Bunyan Characters (2nd Series), by Alex. Whyte #2 [2bnchxxx.xxx] 1886
Sep 1999 Bunyan Characters (1st Series), by Alex. Whyte #1 [1bnchxxx.xxx] 1885
Sep 1999 The Exiles, by Honore de Balzac  [H de Balzac #77][xilesxxx.xxx] 1884
Sep 1999 The Wife, et al, by Anton Chekhov    [Chekhov #14][twifexxx.xxx] 1883

Sep 1999 The Young Forester, by Zane Grey    [Zane Grey #9][yn4stxxx.xxx] 1882
Sep 1999 The Call of the Canyon, by Zane Grey[Zane Grey #8][tcotcxxx.xxx] 1881
Sep 1999 The Pathfinder, by James Fenimore Cooper[Cooper#2][pthfnxxx.xxx] 1880

***

Today Is Day #147 of 2004
This Completes Week #21 and Month #5.00
  216 Days/32 Weeks To Go  [We get 52 Wednesdays this year]
 7188 Books To Go To #20,000
[Our production year begins/ends
1st Wednesday of the month/year]

   90   Weekly Average in 2004
   79   Weekly Average in 2003
   47   Weekly Average in 2002
   24   Weekly Average in 2001

   41   Only 41 Numbers Left On Our Reserved Numbers list
         [Used to be well over 100]


*** Continuing Requests For Assistance:

Project Gutenberg--Canada is now starting up!!!

Please let us know if you would like to volunteer!
Copyright in Canada is "Life +50" as in Australia,
and we have volunteers working on both of these.
We will also be seeking volunteers from others of
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Australian copyright law is falling victim to the
new "Economic Warfare" being waged by the World
Intellectual Property Organization and various
billionaire copyright holders around the world.

email: James Linden <jlinden@pglaf.org>

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Mirrors (copies) of the complete collection are available around the world.

To find the sites nearest you, go to:

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Use your Web browser or FTP program to visit our master download
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and look for the first five letters of the file's name.  Note that updated
eBooks usually go in their original directory (e.g., etext99, etext00, etc.)


*** Have We Given Away A Trillion Books/Dollars Yet???

Statistical Review

In the 21 weeks of this year, we have produced 1901 new eBooks.
It took us from 1971 to 1999 to produce our FIRST 1901 eBooks!!!

         That's 21 WEEKS as Compared to ~28 YEARS!!!


With 12,808 eBooks online as of June 02, 2004 it now takes an average
of 100,000,000 readers gaining a nominal value of $0.78 from each book,
for Project Gutenberg to have currently given away $1,000,000,000,000
[One Trillion Dollars] in books.

100,000,000 readers is only about 1.5% of the world's population!

This "cost" is down from about $1.24 when we had 7803 eBooks A Year Ago

Can you imagine ~12,800 books each costing ~$.45 less a year later???
Or. . .would this say it better?
Can you imagine ~12,800 books each costing 1/3 less a year later???

At 12,808 eBooks in 32 Years and 11.00 Months We Averaged
      389 Per Year   [We do about that each month these days!]
       32.4 Per Month
        1.06 Per Day

At 1901 eBooks Done In The 147 Days Of 2004 We Averaged
     13 Per Day
     90 Per Week
    390 Per Month

The production statistics are calculated based on full weeks'
production; each production-week starts/ends Wednesday noon,
starts with the first Wednesday of January.  January 7th was
the first Wednesday of 2004, and thus ended PG's production
year of 2003 and began the production year of 2004 at noon.

This year there will be 52 Wednesdays, thus no extra week.


***Headline News***

[PG Editor's Comments In Brackets]


>From NewsScan:

NEC PLEADS GUILTY IN E-RATE FRAUD INVESTIGATION

[Schools Defrauded, more below in Edupage section]

NEC Business Network Solutions is pleading guilty to wire fraud and
antitrust violation, and the company has agreed to $20.7 million in fines
and restitution for its part in the E-Rate program, the federal program
designed to help schools participate in the information age. Gerald P.
Kenney, general counsel of NEC America, said: "We made mistakes with E-Rate.
We've acknowledged and accepted responsibility for those mistakes,
cooperated fully with the government and taken action to ensure that these
problems can't happen again." The investigation of misconduct in the E-Rate
program is on-going, and is expected to uncover additional cases of fraud by
other large information technology vendors. Policy analyst John Dunbar of
the Center for Public Integrity says: "Schools are being promised
million-dollar systems when a system costing $10,000 would make more sense.
That's one of the flaws of the system. If the schools had vested interest in
making sure that the money was being spent wisely, then it wouldn't be so
easy to defraud the program." (New York Times 28 May 2004)
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/28/technology/28net.html


CALIFORNIA VERSUS OFFSHORING

[The 5th Largest Economy in the World Has It's Own Policies For
Outsourcing and Anti-Globalization]

The California Assembly has approved a bill that would ban state
contractors from offshoring jobs and require all contractors and
subcontractors to certify that the "contract work will be performed by
people in the state of California." The bill applies only to contracts paid
for with state tax money. Assemblyman John Campbell, a Republican, expressed
his opposition for the bill defended outsourcing jobs as a way of keeping
contracts cheaper: "What you call outsourcing is capital going to its most
efficient place, and when capital goes to its most efficient place, we all
benefit." (AP/San Jose Mercury News 27 May 2004)
http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/8777193.htm


U.S. GOV'T AGENCIES ENGAGED IN WIDESPREAD 'DATA MINING'

[More below in Edupage section]

A survey of U.S. government agencies has uncovered widespread data
mining activities, through more than 120 programs that collect and analyze
large amounts of personal data such as names, e-mail addresses, Social
Security numbers and driver's license information. The survey, conducted by
the General Accounting Office, identified 52 federal agencies that
routinely comb through citizens' data, and because the GAO figures exclude
most classified projects, the extent of intrusion into personal privacy
could be much higher. Sen. Daniel Akaka (D-Hawaii), who requested the
report, said: "I am disturbed by the high number of data mining activities
in the federal government involving personal information. The government
collects and uses Americans' personal information and shares it with other
agencies to an astonishing degree, raising serious privacy concerns." An
advisory committee to the Pentagon chaired by former FCC chairman Newton
Minow, has recommended that federal agencies generally should be required
to obtain court approval "before engaging in data mining with personally
identifiable information" on U.S. citizens. It also recommended that
agencies should, if possible, strip out all personal identifying
information before working with such data. (New York Times 27 May 2004)
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/27/national/27privacy.html


WILL ISPs DISCRIMINATE AGAINST COMPETITORS?

[This already might be happening with email:  I have noticed that some
emails sent to me sit for hours, sometimes as long as from lunch to dinner,
before even getting out of the ISP from which they are sent.]

High-speed Internet providers have the capability to recognize the
data packets that traverse their systems and prioritize them, so that
theoretically, they could reward their own customers with a little extra
speed to the detriment of competitors routing traffic along their networks.
Although there's no evidence that broadband providers have ever engaged in
this kind of manipulation, a number of tech companies last year asked the
Federal Communications Commission to consider establishing principles that
would encourage "network neutrality." Their concerns were reignited
recently by a controversial report issued by Yankee Group that predicted
small, independent VoIP (Internet telephony) providers like Vonage could be
forced out of business if broadband ISPs begin bundling VoIP service with
their Internet access or begin slowing down Vonage customers' service in
favor of their own subscribers. "Unless Vonage pays fees to the network
provider, there is no reason the operator should not make the service a
lower priority on the network," predicted the Yankee Group report. Vonage
CEO Jeffrey Citron responded, "If that happens in this world, the value of
the Internet would instantaneously be massively devalued." Citron says he
hates the idea of government regulation but in this case it might be
appropriate for regulators to spell out what constitutes a minimum level of
broadband service. (Washington Post 27 May 2004)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A58685-2004May26.html


CHASKA, MINNESOTA PLANS CITY-WIDE 'HOT SPOT'

[Many places already offer free hot spots, such as airports, etc.]

Chaska, Minnesota is raising the bar on ubiquitous wireless
connectivity -- the whole city will soon be blanketed by a Wi-Fi hot-spot
and city officials plan to offer wireless Internet access as a municipal
service for about $16 per month for home users. Chaska anticipates that
about 2,000 of its 18,000 residents will take advantage of the service,
creating a "connected community," says the city's information-systems
manager, Bradley Mayer. The Wi-Fi network will also double as a public
safety tool, with the local police force adapting squad cars to be Wi-Fi
friendly. The network will be built by deploying about 200
wireless-networking devices over a 12- to 13-square-mile area, says Mayer.
(AP 26 May 2004)
http://apnews.excite.com/article/20040527/D82QJI701.html

FINALLY, DECENT COMPUTER DISPLAYS -- IF YOU CAN WAIT TILL 2034
Usability expert Jakob Nielsen says that by 2034, "we'll finally get
decent computer displays, with a resolution of about 20,000 pixels by
10,000 pixels (as opposed to the miserly 2048 pixels by 1536 pixels on my
current monitor)." He also says that people will have no problem coming up
with ways to use the massive storage capability of future machines,
predicting that "we'll use half the storage space to index all our
information so that we can search it instantly." Of course, we'll also have
to devote a significant amount of computer power to battling ever-bolder
hack attacks and to enabling such things as self-healing software, which
can root out bugs and adapt to changing environments. Computer games will
become more engaging and less linear than today's story lines, and computer
interaction styles will include gestures, physical interfaces and
multidevice interfaces. "Certainly, our personal computer will remember
anything we've ever seen or done online," says Nielsen. "A complete HDTV
record of every waking hour of your life will consume 2% of your hard
disk." (CNet News.com 27 May 2004)
http://news.com.com/2010-1001-5221124.html

ACCENTURE BID WINS HOMELAND SECURITY PROJECT
The Department of Homeland Security has awarded Accenture LLP a
contract worth up to $10 billion to expand a program called "U.S. Visit"
designed to track millions of foreign visitors from the time they arrive
until the time they leave. The data collected by the system includes digital
photographs and fingerprints, and is used to help authorities capture
suspected terrorists and criminals. Department of Homeland undersecretary
Asa Hutchinson say, "I don't think you could overstate the impact of this
responsibility, in terms of security of our nation. If you look at the 9/11
terrorists, they came here in violation of our immigration laws." The sub-
contractors in the Accenture team include AT&T, Dell, and KBR, and 26 others.
(Washinton Post 2 Jun 2004)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A7961-2004Jun1.html

SONY ABANDONS PDA IN FAVOR OF ADVANCED CELL PHONES
Sony plans to stop selling new personal digital assistants outside of
Japan this year, a move that will decrease the number of new PDAs using the
Palm operating system made by PalmSource. Sony says its Clie handhelds were
unable to serve as a mobile device that links content and hardware: "We
consider mobile devices a key aspect of our strategy to converge contents
like music, movies and games with hardware and since the Clie functions as a
personal organizer, we wanted to refocus our efforts." The company will
replace the Clie line with new advanced handsets from Sony Erricsson (Sony's
cell phone venture with Sweden's Ericsson) and a new handheld game machine,
the PlayStation Portable (PSP) designed to play games, movies and music.
Industry analysts believe that Sony's decision to abandon the Clie will have
the effect of reducing PalmSources's dominant position in the handheld
software market. Alex Slawsby of IDC says: "As mobile phones bring on board
more and more capabilities of the PDA, there is a growing segment of
consumers that would just rather buy a phone and only carry one device."
(New York Times 2 Jun 2004)
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/technology/tech-tech-sony-clie.html

DETECTIVES FOLLOW THE MONEY TRAIL TO TACKLE SPAM
It seems like spammers have been working overtime since the federal
antispam legislation took effect Jan.1, and the government is now turning
away from technical fixes offered by software engineers in favor of private
investigators' expertise to boost their efforts to stem the deluge of
unsolicited e-mail. In an unusual arrangement, the Direct Marketing
Association has paid $500,000 to hire 15 investigators to work alongside
the FBI agents and other government officials in a program known as Project
Slam-Spam. The project has built a case against 50 spammers, mostly by
following the money trail and relying on informants. "Spammers are more
than willing to rat each other out," says Microsoft investigator Sterling
McBride. "The most useful information is who pays for various aspects of
the spam operation," says attorney David Bateman, who represents Microsoft
in spam cases. "To spam, you need four or five things -- a hosting service,
a domain name, mailing software, mailing lists and so on. Each one you have
to purchase from someone." Microsoft has filed 53 civil cases against
spammers in the last 15 months, based on the work of its investigation team.
"The real key is trying to figure out how to connect the virtual world"
with "someone you can hold responsible for this," says McBride.
Once you've nailed that down, "you can use all the tools of a normal
investigation."   (New York Times 31 May 2004)
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/31/technology/31spam.html

ONLINE NEWSPAPER READERSHIP UP 350% OVER 5 YEARS
The audience for online versions of newspapers has grown 350% over
the past five years, according to the World Association of Newspapers,
which notes that while print circulation figures have declined in mature
markets like Europe and the U.S., they are sharply up in emerging markets
like China and India. In Russia, the number of published dailies has nearly
doubled in two years. WAN attributed the increase in online newspaper
popularity to the growth of broadband in many countries, noting that in
those countries where broadband Internet access is more readily available,
people are watching TV less and surfing the Web more, both for news and for
entertainment. (BBC News 1 Jun 2004)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/3767267.stm


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>From Edupage

NEC ADMITS TO FRAUD IN E-RATE PROGRAM
The ongoing investigation into the troubled E-Rate program has resulted
in a $20.7 million settlement with NEC Business Network Solutions, a
subsidiary of computer maker NEC. Begun in 1996, the E-Rate program is
a federal program, funded by a tax on phone bills, to provide funds
predominantly to low-income and rural school districts for technology
infrastructure. Allegations of fraud and mismanagement of the program
surfaced several years ago. In the case of the NEC subsidiary, the
company has admitted to selling the San Francisco Unified School
District and several other districts much more equipment than they
needed and to charging the E-Rate program significantly more than the
equipment cost. Other companies involved in the E-Rate program have
been charged with bribing school officials to forgo competitive bidding
on technology projects.
New York Times, 28 May 2004 (registration req'd)
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/28/technology/28net.html

GAO FINDS WIDESPREAD DATA MINING
A report from the General Accounting Office (GAO) indicates that a
broad range of federal agencies are involved in data-mining programs,
designed primarily to improve the performance or services of that
agency. Programs that use data mining to fight terrorism accounted for
the smallest number of the 199 programs identified by the GAO at 52
different federal agencies. Of the nearly 200 programs listed, 122 use
personally identifiable information, according to the GAO. Fifty-four
of the programs use data supplied by private companies, including
credit card companies, and in 77 of the programs, federal agencies
share information with one another. The Defense Department sponsors the
largest number of data-mining programs. Coinciding with the GAO's
report, the Center for Democracy and Technology and the Heritage
Foundation released their recommendations for how data-mining programs
can be used effectively without sacrificing the privacy of individuals.
The groups' report urges the federal government to "anonymize" data to
remove personally identifiable information; to build secure systems
that prevent unauthorized access to information; and to include tools
that record instances of unauthorized access or misuse of information.
Wired News, 27 May 2004
http://www.wired.com/news/privacy/0,1848,63623,00.html

BUFFALO SPAMMER GETS JAIL TIME
A judge in New York this week sentenced Howard Carmack, the so-called
Buffalo Spammer, to the maximum three-and-a-half to seven years in
prison under the state's new identity theft statute. Carmack was
charged with setting up hundreds of e-mail accounts under false or
stolen identities and sending 850 million spam e-mails through those
accounts. Internet service provider EarthLink previously won a $16.4
million civil judgment against Carmack, though the company has yet to
collect any money from Carmack. At his sentencing, Carmack said his
prosecution was politically motivated and that he didn't see any
victims of his actions. In response, Judge Michael D'Amico said, "I'm
having a heck of a time figuring out why you think everybody is unfair
to you," telling Carmack he caused a lot of harm to many people.
Wall Street Journal, 27 May 2004 (sub. req'd)
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB108568739201123150,00.html


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More Headline News Mostly Avoided By The Major U.S. Media

HARRY POTTER GOES WITH HIGH-TECH NIGHT VISION GOGGLES

Copyright issues continue to dominate the economy, while
media who rely on copyrights for extending profits are
continuing their policies of non-coverage of this issue.

Bringing this a little more to the forefront, at least
for the World Premiere Week of the new Harry Potter movie,
is the story that Warner Bros. sent night vision goggles
to the theater owners and insisted that ushers monitor the
audience for the entire 2 hours and 22 minutes of the movie.

This is part of a multi-million dollar effort for copyright
money to continue to dominate the economy, a change from a
time when "durable goods" dominated.

The willingness of Warner Bros. to spend this kind of money
to keep people from copying this movie is only the highest
visibility issue of hundreds of such programs.  Another item
about the Harry Potter movies is that each one is marked to
identify where any such copy was made, and perhaps litigation
would be filed against a theater owner who failed to protect
the copyright, as it appears that many such copies are made
by theater insiders.

[For some reason radio seems more willing to cover this issue
than television, and it would also appear that most sources I
heard originated from outside the U.S.]

***

And just a personal note for those who noticed I wasn't on
line as much as normal yesterday. . .I spent much of the day
playing lumberjack Paul Bunyan around my house, cutting down
a tree that was bouncing off my house repeatedly during the
big storm the night before and eventually landing on the
power lines.  In addition, the events surrounding this
appear to have blown one of the power supplies I use on
this computer [this is the same one you've heard from me
on for the last nearly 20 years. . .at least it's in the
same place and looks about the same, though parts come
and go. . .for a while I was afraid this might be the time
I could not fix it in the same day and get back online,
especially after knocking myself out for hours earlier
to get the power line cleared.

However, the Muse is still looking out for me, and I
got back on line by around 3PM, and then went to sleep.

[That big red spot on the middle of the weather maps
a while back. . .that's where I live. . .tornado alley.
I've been in this house 19 years or so, and this is the
second time for some serious wind damage.  In previous
residence I did have a window blown in, but nothing like
what has happened to some of my friends.  My repairs are
usually one day events.  Everything is fine, though the
muscles are complaining a bit.

Thanks to those who expressed concern.

Michael

***


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