Eric the Red

Welcome to the beginning of the end…..of internet anonymity. When the TPM chip makes its way into computers and a variety of mobile devices, it will be possible for your activity to be tracked by almost anyone.

Though its uses are neither totally good nor totally evil, I wonder if there isnt a less invasive way to provide secure electronic systems.

Those in the third world will have to wait a little longer for a full-featured media powerhouse. In the meantime, they can make do with a $100 hand-cranked laptop developed by MITs media lab and Nicholas Negroponte.

Students in Brazil, Nigeria, Thailand and Egypt will receive the first million or so of these machines early next year.

Heres a revolutionary idea: instead of developing “neat” little gadgets as techno-cocaine, why not provide those in the third world with such non-necessities as:

Is technology the next opiate for the masses? I think so.

I started playing Ogame. Its kinda like Risk, Diplomacy and Command & Conquer rolled into one.

You are given a planet to build on, gather resources and expand to other planets. You form alliances and trade resources. The downside: its very time consuming.

Playing is free, go check it out.

RIAA nazis are finally heading to trial, against a divorced mother of five. Thats right: after almost 15,000 lawsuits and settlements just under $5,000, someone has finally decided to fight. Their willingness to litigate doesnt surprise me in light of their unsucessful efforts to prosecute 14-yr old girls.

RIAA executives and Attorneys, waiting for trial.

The defendant is likely to challenge the accuracy of the RIAA’s methods in tracking those eeeeeeeeeevile downloaders. Since lawsuits have done nothing to stop illegal downloads of crappy music, why are they wasting their time?

And why don’t consumers care about the outcome? I don’t condone illegal downloading, but I am concerned about the spread of over-reaching Digital Restrictions Management Technology (DRM), like the virus released by Sony earlier this year that threatened national security. The broadcast flag is another example.

I’d like to see a boycott and lots of angry letters to our grand elected officials.