Y2K! Y2K! The next great Class Action?
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071221/ap_on_hi_te/cellular_sunset
Users left in lurch by network shutdown
By PETER SVENSSON, AP Technology Writer Fri Dec 21, 5:18 PM ET
When Adele Rothman bought her 16-year-old son a car in 2003, she made sure to pick one that had OnStar, the onboard communications and safety system.
What the Scarsdale, N.Y., resident didn't know was that the OnStar system in the car was already doomed to die. The federal government decided in 2002 to let cellular carriers shut down analog cell phone networks, used by Rothman's Saab and about 500,000 other OnStar-equipped cars, after Feb. 18, 2008.
... Perhaps a million cell phones will lose service, but those are cheap and easy to replace. [Watch the quick dismissal. Not everyone thinks replacing cell phones is cheap. Bob] The effects will be felt the most by people who have things that aren't phones but have built-in wireless capabilities, like OnStar cars and home alarm systems.
The shutdown date has been known years in advance, but some industries appear to have a had a problem updating their technologies and informing their customers in advance, which raises the question of whether the effects will be even more widespread the next time a network is turned off, given the proliferation of wireless technology.
General Motors Corp., which owns OnStar, started modifying its cars after the 2002 decision by the Federal Communications Commission to let the network die, but some cars made as late as 2005 can't use digital networks for OnStar, nor can they be upgraded. For some cars made in the intervening years, GM provides digital upgrades for $15.
In 2006, OnStar said it had let customers know of the shutdown with a posting on its Web site. [I wonder what percentage of users they reached? Bob]
... Rapid development in the wireless field now means a faster, better technology always lurks just around the corner, tempting carriers to upgrade. Digital networks will almost certainly have shorter life spans than the 24-year run for AMPS, causing problems for manufacturers who want to include wireless technology in things that have long life spans.
"If you've got a product that's going into the market for five years, for 10 years, for 15 years, how do you pick a technology that's going to be around that long?" [It's called “planning for change” Bob asked Chris Purpura, senior vice president of marketing at Aeris Communications.
Law students need a hobby...
http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/12/22/1928246&from=rss
U.Maine Law Clinic Is First To Fight RIAA
Posted by kdawson on Saturday December 22, @03:33PM from the lawyers-guns-and-money dept. The Courts Music
NewYorkCountryLawyer writes "'A student law clinic is about to cause a revolution' says p2pnet. For the first time in the history of the RIAA's ex parte litigation campaign against college students, a university law school's legal aid clinic has taken up the fight against the RIAA in defense of the university's students. Student attorneys at the University of Maine School of Law's Cumberland Legal Aid Clinic, under the supervision of law school prof Deirdre M. Smith, have moved to dismiss the RIAA's complaint in a Portland, Maine, case, Arista v. Does 1-27, on behalf of two University of Maine undergrads. Their recently filed reply brief (PDF) points to the US Supreme Court decision in Bell Atlantic v. Twombly, and the subsequent California decision following Twombly, Interscope v. Rodriguez, which dismissed the RIAA's 'making available' complaint as mere 'conclusory,' 'boilerplate' 'speculation.'"
Next: Ye Royal Blog?
Britain's Queen Takes Up YouTube
By THOMAS WAGNER Associated Press Writer Dec 23, 7:06 AM EST
LONDON (AP) -- Britain's 81-year-old Queen Elizabeth II, considered an icon of traditionalism, launched her own special Royal Channel on YouTube Sunday.
The queen will use the popular video-sharing Web site to send out her 50th annual televised Christmas message, which she first delivered live to the nation and its colonies on Dec. 25, 1957.
... On Tuesday, Queen Elizabeth II's annual Christmas speech can once again be downloaded as a podcast from http://www.royal.gov.uk. It also is being made available on television in high definition for the first time.
---On the Net: The Royal Channel: http://www.youtube.com/theroyalchannel
You can never have too many of these...
http://www.killerstartups.com/Video-Music-Photo/Filshnet---Free-Clip-Converter/
Filsh.net - Free Clip Converter
Filsh.net is simply a video converter, and only a very good and simple to use video converter. All the major video portals are supported, and all you have to do is find in any of them the content you like and copy the URL for that video in the Filsh.net’s video URL box, choose the format and quality you want it downloaded in and violá! You have all those cool videos to keep and to view offline.
For online educators...
http://www.killerstartups.com/Web-App-Tools/Themeguruscom---Open-Source-Design/
Themegurus.com - Open Source Design
Themegurus.com is a site that provides custom themes and layouts for LMS or e-learning communities like Moodle, Joomla and Dokeos. The idea is to provide several design and layout options that allow users to maximize the resources that these portals provide, at making it easier for users to synchronize learning methods with the content, schedule tests, generate sophisticated tracking systems, facilitate interactive features like dictionaries or self-made glossaries, etc. In order to use this site’s design solutions you need to become a member: $100 will buy four months of unrestricted access to the site’s content plus tech support and further customization options. However, if the project you are working in does not require such an investment, you can take advantage of some of the free available options.
Sue da bastid!
http://www.consumingexperience.com/2007/12/seasonal-santa-funnies-privacy-distance.html
Seasonal Santa funnies - privacy, distance selling, environmental etc.
Santa putting children's information at risk, warn experts -
Santa ignores children's refund rights, warn experts -
Reckless Santa could cause yuletide chaos, warn experts -
Santa's hiring policies may discriminate, warn experts -
Santa: environmental catastrophe?-
I suppose it beats driving through the neighborhoods looking for garage sales...
http://www.killerstartups.com/Search/Freealertorg---Find-Free-Stuff/
Freealert.org - Find Free Stuff
Freealert.org is a search and alert system that allows users to receive information on stuff that is being given away in their area. In order to use this service, users have to create a profile where they indicate what free stuff they want to be alerted about.
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