[ale] [Fwd: EFFector 18.15: Federal Court Scraps Broadcast Flag!]

Sat May 14 10:06:27 EDT 2005

Agreed. But it's not the lack of quality programming that makes TV bad. It's 
just that even when the quality of programming is good, watching TV seems 
like a terrific waste of time. A friend of mine is married to a guy who 
doesn't have to work (major money) and she says he spends up to ten hours a 
day watching TV. I spend maybe four hours a week watching TV. But I feel much 
more engaged when I'm doing something on the computer. In 30 minutes of TV 
news, I'll get the broad brushes of maybe eight stories. In 30 minutes of 
news browsing on the Internet, I can get the scoop on twenty or more stories.

On Saturday 14 May 2005 01:44 pm, Geoffrey wrote:
> Yes!  Now if we could only get the producers of television to produce
> quality programming.... :(
>
> -------- Original Message --------
> Subject: EFFector 18.15: Federal Court Scraps Broadcast Flag!
> Date: Fri, 13 May 2005 15:59:46 -0500
> From: EFFector list <editor at eff.org>
> Reply-To: EFFector list <editor at eff.org>
> Organization: EFF
> To: esoteric at 3times25.net
>
> EFFector  Vol. 18, No. 15  May 13, 2005  donna at eff.org
>
> A Publication of the Electronic Frontier Foundation
> ISSN 1062-9424
>
> In the 331st Issue of EFFector:
>
>   * Federal Appeals Court Scraps FCC's Broadcast Flag
>     Mandate
>   * Celebrate Victory Over the Broadcast Flag - Liberate
>     Your TV on May 21!
>   * EFF Gets Top Marks from Charity Navigator
>   * MiniLinks (12): Hilary Rosen Laments Apple's DRM Strategy
>   * Administrivia
>
> For more information on EFF activities & alerts:
>   <http://www.eff.org/>
>
> Help EFF protect privacy, innovation, and free speech.
> Make a donation and become a member today!
>   <http://secure.eff.org/support>
>
> Tell a friend about EFF:
>   <http://action.eff.org/site/Ecard?ecard_id=1061>
>
> : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . :
>
> * Federal Appeals Court Scraps FCC's Broadcast Flag
> Mandate
>
> Ruling Is a Victory for Innovation, Fair Use
>
> Washington, DC - In a landmark case, the US Court of
> Appeals for the DC Circuit last week struck down the
> "Broadcast Flag," an FCC rule that would have crippled
> digital television receivers beginning on July 1st.
>
> The Broadcast Flag rule would have required all digital
> TV receivers, including televisions, VCRs, and personal
> video recorders like TiVo, to be built to read signals
> embedded in over-the-air broadcast television shows that
> would place certain limitations on how those shows
> could be played, recorded, and saved.  The sale of any
> hardware that was not able to "recognize and give
> effect to" the Broadcast Flag, including currently
> existing digital and high-definition television (HDTV)
> equipment and open source/free software tools, would
> have become illegal.
>
> EFF joined Washington DC-based advocacy group Public
> Knowledge and a coalition of library and consumer
> groups in fighting the rule in the courts.  The coalition
> argued that the rule would interfere with the
> legitimate activities of technology innovators,
> librarians, archivists, and academics, and that the
> FCC exceeded its regulatory authority by imposing
> technological restrictions on what consumers can do
> with television shows after they receive them.
>
> The court agreed, ruling unanimously that the FCC
> overstepped its authority when it asserted control
> over the design of any device capable of receiving
> digital TV signals.
>
> "This case is a great win for consumers and for
> technology innovation.  It's about more than simply
> broadcasting.  It is about how far the FCC can go
> in its regulations without permission from Congress,"
> said Public Knowledge President Gigi Sohn.  "Had the
> flag been implemented, Hollywood, acting through
> the FCC, would have been able to dictate the pace
> of technology in consumer electronics.  Now,
> thankfully, that won't happen.  While we recognize
> that the content industries may ask Congress to
> overturn this ruling, we also recognize that
> Congress will have to think very hard before it
> puts restrictions on how constituents use their
> televisions."
>
> Since the FCC announced the July 1st deadline, EFF
> had been encouraging consumers to beat the Broadcast
> Flag by purchasing HDTV receivers manufactured
> before the restriction, as well as teaching them
> how to use the hardware with free, open-source digital
> video recorder applications such as MythTV.  Part
> of the education campaign was a daily countdown to
> the date when the Broadcast Flag was to take effect.
>
> "The clock will now stop," said EFF Special Projects
> Coordinator Wendy Seltzer, who led the campaign and
> organized nationwide HDTV "build-ins."  "Now we can
> use the build-ins to celebrate the freedom to use
> innovative technology, rather than racing to beat a
> deadline for shutting it down."
>
> For this release:
> <http://www.eff.org/news/archives/2005_05.php#003556>
>
> Ruling:
> <http://www.eff.org/cgi/tiny?urlID=466>
> (PDF)
>
> EFF campaign: "Join the Digital Television Liberation
> Front":
> <http://www.eff.org/broadcastflag/>
>
> : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . :
>
> * Celebrate Victory Over the Broadcast Flag - Liberate
> Your TV on May 21!
>
> Want to make your television work for you?  Build your own
> high-definition television personal video recorder (PVR)!
> We've beaten the Broadcast Flag - for now.  Help us keep
> it from rising again by showing the potential of open
> hardware and software.
>
> Join EFF and friends for an HD-PVR build-in and victory
> celebration on Saturday, May 21, at the EFF offices in
> San Francisco.  You bring a computer and HDTV tuner card,
> and we'll help you get it up and running as a PVR.  We'll
> be installing MythTV, an open-source software package
> that lets your computer function like a TiVo in high-def,
> pause live TV, schedule recordings over the Web, and
> manage your media the way *you* want it.
>
> You're invited even if you're not building a PVR - come
> share some pizza, celebrate the victory, and learn more
> about the project!
>
> The Broadcast Flag has been lowered, but that makes the
> build-ins even more important.  The motion picture
> industry and friends are rushing to Congress for
> similar "protection" (read, control).  The more we can
> demonstrate the value of open hardware and software,
> the better we can help Congress to resist those
> demands and save our DTV!
>
> WHAT: EFF HD-PVR Build-in and Victory Celebration
> WHEN: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, May 21.  Pizza
> around noon (NY-style!)
> WHERE: EFF offices, 454 Shotwell Street, San Francisco
> (16th and Mission BART)
>
> RSVP to BuildYourTV at eff.org to give us a head count!
>
> Full invitation and details:
> <http://www.eff.org/broadcastflag/cookbook/buildin_20050521.php>
>
> San Francisco Bay Guardian: "Build Your TV":
> <http://www.sfbg.com/39/22/cover_fcc.html>
>
> : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . :
>
> * EFF Gets Top Marks from Charity Navigator
>
> EFF is pleased to announce that we have received four stars
> - the highest rating, based on overall efficiency and
> organizational capacity - from Charity Navigator, the
> pre-eminent charity watchdog.  We are proud to be recognized
> for serving our donors well.
>
> And there's also good news for our supporters in the UK: we
> are now registered via the Charities Aid Foundation.
>
> Support EFF today - you can be sure that your donation will
> make a difference in the fight for digital freedom!
> <http://secure.eff.org/support>
>
> EFF's profile @ Charity Navigator:
> <http://www.eff.org/cgi/tiny?urlID=467/>
>
> Charities Aid Foundation:
> <http://www.cafonline.org/>
>
> : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . :
>
> * miniLinks
> miniLinks features noteworthy news items from around the
> Internet.
>
> ~ Zappster
> Frank Zappa's "proposal" for a music download service -
> from 1983:
> <http://www.eff.org/cgi/tiny?urlID=471>
> (Zappa.com)
>
> ~ Hilary Rosen Laments Apple's DRM Strategy
> The former president of the RIAA is mad that she can't
> play non-iTunes music on her iPod and can't convert
> other online music stores' files to work correctly
> on it.  As Ernest Miller explains, that's the world
> Rosen helped create when she lobbied for the DMCA -
> an environment of restricted markets and outlawed
> interoperability tools:
> <http://www.eff.org/cgi/tiny?urlID=473>
> (Copyfight)
>
> ~ Tell It, Brother
> USA Today's Andrew Kantor explains why striking down the
> Broadcast Flag was important: "[The] entertainment
> industry is trying to swing the notion of copyright
> entirely in their favor: to eliminate the idea of fair
> use entirely and substitute 'whatever we say you can
> do with it.'  And that's why problems arise.":
> <http://www.eff.org/cgi/tiny?urlID=469>
>
> ~ Big Brands Fund Spyware
> Not deliberately, perhaps - but the LA Times says ads for
> Mercedes and Travelocity are being spat out by some of
> the most pernicious adware:
> <http://www.eff.org/cgi/tiny?urlID=470>
>
> ~ Baby Steps for Fighting Trolls
> Brenda Sandburg analyzes the latest modest legislative
> proposals to defend patent law against patent "trolls."
> She also reveals that Peter Detkin, who coined the term,
> now works for Nathan Myrhvold's Intellectual Ventures -
> a company that has itself been accused of trollishness:
> <http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1115370308794>
>
> ~ Good Patriot, Bad Patriot
> The American Bar Association is hosting a blog
> containing arguments for and against allowing
> the PATRIOT Act "sunset" provisions to expire.  It's
> under a Creative Commons license, so you can re-use
> pieces for discussion and debate:
> <http://www.patriotdebates.com/>
>
> ~ REAL ID Passes
> Proponents tacked the REAL ID Act onto an Iraq
> military spending bill, guaranteeing passage.  Now
> the US has a federal standard for identity cards
> - the de facto national ID system Americans have
> always rejected, for good reason.  Noah Leavitt
> breaks it down at FindLaw:
> <http://writ.news.findlaw.com/leavitt/20050509.html>
>
> ~ Observe WIPO Close-Up
> The deadline for public interest organizations to apply
> for "permanent observer" status with WIPO is this
> Sunday, May 15th.  Earlier this year, WIPO tried to
> bar groups that hadn't obtained permanent observer
> status from discussions about the organization's
> future.  Don't let administrative shenanigans tip
> the scales toward the intellectual property maximalists
> - make sure your group has the paperwork in on time:
> <http://www.wipo.int/directory/en/admission.html>
>
> ~ Thoughts on Fair Use for Australia
> Kim Weatherall with a great summary of the issues to
> consider if you're submitting comments to the
> Australian government on whether and how Australia
> should codify fair use:
> <http://www.eff.org/cgi/tiny?urlID=472>
> (Weatherall's Law)
>
> ~ Meanwhile, Back at the Jihad
> The MPAA is filing lawsuits against people who provide
> BitTorrrent trackers that include metadata files on
> TV shows:
> <http://www.eff.org/cgi/tiny?urlID=468>
> (CNET)
>
> ~ Licensing Complexities Kill Podcast
> According to this article, under ASCAP rules podcasting
> can't be classified as time-shifted streaming.  That
> means that radio stations can't just switch to
> podcasting their broadcast shows, as podcast pioneer
> Infinity Radio belatedly discovered:
> <http://www.dahl.com/podcast/hiatus.asp>
>
> ~ What's Good for the Goose...
> Roger Dannenberg responds to RIAA President Cary Sherman's
> op-ed tarring universities for "irresponsible" use of
> Internet2 with a rebuttal calling the recording
> industry's own history of "monopolistic suppression
> of innovation" an irresponsible use of networks:
> <http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05123/497993.stm>
>
> : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . :
>
> * Administrivia
>
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>
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