For me as a someone who uses the internet everyday at home and work, and has a lot of CD’s and DVD’s these subjects are very close to my heart. I have always felt it is fantastically important to have an open medium for communicating and distributing information. The internet has given the people so much, and will continue to get better and better if left to some kind of self regulation. Of course there will always be groups with finiancial interests, but the more we keep them away from having a controlling (from which censorship follows) interest is of paramount importance.

More power then to civil rights groups, like the EFF, who watch out for us.

DRM

DRM is something that affects all of us who like films or music, in fact any kind of media that is or will be provided digitally. We’ve all come across DRM on CD’s that don’t work, CD’s that install massive security holes that get around anti-virus software on your computer, music you can’t share with you friends and movies you can’t watch. This short BBC Tech article gives a little background and explains the current state of play.

In fact there is a brief, but interesting Q&A with some industry bigwigs explaining why the artists and public should be screwed over so the shareholders get bigger yachts DRM is essential and beneficial to all parties.

Domain Names

Incredible, another US monopoly explaining why it isn’t actually a monopoly at all and the fact that it has total control over the .com domain which it has consistently abused, is [a] untrue, and [b] good for everyone. Can you hit me with that stick one more time while you explain how it helps me please, I don’t seem to have grasped this principle?

Sorry, what I meant to say was that this article is a good overview of the problems between ICANN, the top authority for domain names, and Verisign, the current .com holder/owner.

Controlling the Web

There is, and has been for some time, a huge debate about government and and private companies controlling all, of parts, of the web. I don’t even know where to begin with this one but the possible impact is huge, and most likely not good, as this primer article on the BBC explains.

Wow, there you go! And my wife thinks I’m a bit geeky sometimes, sheesh, that’s women for you!

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