via CNET:

A three-judge panel in Washington, D.C. unanimously tossed out the FCC's August 2008 cease and desist order against Comcast, which had taken measures to slow BitTorrent transfers and had voluntarily ended them earlier that year.

California has become the first state in the union to pass a constitutional amendment which eliminates the rights of a minority.

I'm disgusted and ashamed to live here.

I just wanted to let everyone know that I will be voting NO on proposition eight on November 4th. I personally see this as a civil rights issue.

If you don't know what I'm talking about, then you probably don't live in California. For your benefit, here is a quick explanation: Proposition eight will outlaw same-sex marriages, which are currently recognized by California state law. By voting "NO", I am voicing my opinion that same-sex marriages should have all of the same rights and privileges as a heterosexual marriage in the eyes of the law.

Proposition eight is a step backward for civil rights. If you live in California, I beg you to please vote "NO" on proposition eight!

Oh yeah, and I'll be voting for Obama too.

Everyone who cares about DRM should read Steve Jobs' Thoughts on Music. (thx Macalope) Here are a few choice excerpts:

. . . Imagine a world where every online store sells DRM-free music encoded in open licensable formats. In such a world, any player can play music purchased from any store, and any store can sell music which is playable on all players. This is clearly the best alternative for consumers, and Apple would embrace it in a heartbeat. If the big four music companies would license Apple their music without the requirement that it be protected with a DRM, we would switch to selling only DRM-free music on our iTunes store. Every iPod ever made will play this DRM-free music.

Why would the big four music companies agree to let Apple and others distribute their music without using DRM systems to protect it? The simplest answer is because DRMs haven’t worked, and may never work, to halt music piracy. Though the big four music companies require that all their music sold online be protected with DRMs, these same music companies continue to sell billions of CDs a year which contain completely unprotected music. That’s right! No DRM system was ever developed for the CD, so all the music distributed on CDs can be easily uploaded to the Internet, then (illegally) downloaded and played on any computer or player.

I knew I liked this guy.

It seems that Macrovision's CEO, Fred Amoroso, has formally responded to Steve's "Thoughts on Music". Luckily, John Gruber of Daring Fireball has translated the letter from PR-speak to plain English. Worth a read.

While watching the news this morning, I heard an absurd idea. To help "protect the children", there will soon be an "XXX" top-level domain for sites which would contain information which might be "harmful to minors".