Yahoo!'s Flip-Flop on Venue

Back in the year 2000, Yahoo was sued (and lost) in a French court. The judgment ordered Yahoo! to pull out Nazi memorabilia, prohibited by French law, from its auction site. Yahoo! was up in arms over the decision, saying that:

"Yahoo.com is not doing anything unlawful. It is completely complying with the law of the country in which it operates and where its target audience is," he said.

"Yahoo auctions in the U.S. are ruled by the legal, moral and cultural principles of that country."

Fast forward to today. Yahoo! is now being sued in the U.S. court for selling out one of its subscribers to be arrested and tortured by the Chinese government. Yahoo! is now singing a different tune, playing the citizen of the world and moving for a dismissal of the U.S. case and urging a shift of venue - to China.

It's not true that the Internet is this inherently un-regulate-able utopia. Government power and corporate interests can converge to produce what in fact could be the most regulated space in history. We can't sit back and trust the network's architecture alone to protect our rights. Just as in the real world, our rights online is something we have to stay vigilant about.

Seiche Tunnel

I don't know if you have noticed this, but apparently, the whole length of EDSA has WiFi. I just recently discovered this when I fiddled around with my laptop during traffic along the EDSA-Kamuning intersection. Lo and behold, suddenly, my AVG started updating itself. I checked the icon for my WiFi connection, and I saw that it was connected to the Seiche Tunnel Network. However, onw has to buy prepaid cards in order to access the network and surf the net. This is great news. One thing that I am really hoping for is that the whole of UP will have WiFi connection already, so that everywhere one can just connect to the internet. If I'm not mistaken, most top universities in the world have campuses with WiFi connection. This way, no matter where you are on campus, you can always check your Friendster account.

Shopaholic

The Internet is the shopaholic's greatest dream and worst nightmare. With online shopping, a girl can shop for hours on end. She is free from the shackles of a complaining husband, pesky salespersons, tired feet from or strained arms. Yet with so much freedom she easily becomes prey to credit card debt, identity fraud and online scams. It makes one think if it's really worth it. As of now, I don't trust myself or other people enough to go online shopping. I prefer the old-fashioned way. It's better cardio.

American Teen Hacks iPhone

Check this out: http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/ptech/08/24/iphone.unlocked.ap/index.html.

Upon the launch of the iPhone, I caught some news reports of some Filipinos who were one of the first to go in line and buy the iPhone. To their surprise, when they tried to operate it in the Philippines, it didn't work. It's because the iPhone was configured mainly for the AT&T network in the United States. This brings to mind the fact that in fact, in the Philippines, there are so many people who are very adept at unlocking phones, and in fact, it's a cottage industry here in the Philippines. I'm curious whether some Filipinos have already unlocked the iPhone before this teen did it. Maybe our kababayans just don't want the attention, for fear of being criminally prosecuted. I think one liability a user would incur is civil liability for breach of contract. Would a Filipino who unlocks a network specific phone be criminally liable? And what would be the crime?
One interesting thing though is that the person who cracked the iPhone is a 17 year old. Nice.

David Lynch Dumps Film, Goes Digital

David Lynch (great director I admire, and who doesn't) said in a recent interview with MTV that he's quit using film (you know, those celluloid strips used by ancient cameras) and is going digital from now on:

MTV: You shot "Inland Empire" using digital technology. Will you ever go back to film?

Lynch: Never. Digital is so friendly for me and so important for the scenes, a way of working without so much downtime. It's impossible to go back. Film is a beautiful medium, but the world has moved on. The amount of manipulation we can do, anybody can do, is so much the future. Film is so big and heavy and slow, you just die. It's just ridiculous.

Anti-"piracy" rhetoric carry some moral currency when you consider how bloated and expensive film and its related technologies are. Traditional film outfits invest a lot of money, and as a matter of policy, the law should protect their expectation of a reasonable return. But digital technology (lighter, cheaper, more accessible) changes the calculus. When it costs so much less to produce movies, does it still make sense legally protecting old business models?

Compulsory Computer Education Bill filed in House

Finally, a lawmaker recognizes the need to equip Filipinos with basic computer skills. Philippine Daily Inquirer reports that a bill, sponsored by Marikina Rep Teodoro Marcelino, seeking compulsory computer education for elementary and high school students in all private and public schools has been filed at the House of Representatives. I’m crossing my fingers that the bill will get a nod from Congress and passes into law soon. With our globalized society that relies heavily on use of technology, equipping Pinoys with basic computer know-how is but a necessity in order to keep up with the times. Having a technologically advance society or a better educated and globally competitive work force, as Rep. Marcelino hopes, would just be icing on the cake. Read article here.

Sugar Powered Batteries

Now, here's a sweet little piece of news. According to Reuters, Sony has developed an environmentally-friendly prototype battery that runs on sugars and that can generate enough electricity to power a music player and a pair of speakers. The bio battery's casing is made of a vegetable-based plastic. It works by pouring sugar solution into the unit, where enzymes break it down to generate electricity. The company said it aims to produce the batteries for commercial use, without specifying when.

Read the rest of the article here.

Unfortunately, looking at the photo of the the bio batteries above, one can see they are quite bulky. Will it get commercial recognition the company hopes? I don't know, but I certainly would feel awkward using an mp3 player that runs on batteries twice or thrice it's size. I hope Sony would develop a sleeker and more compact design for this one since it sounds like a sweet idea.