(Thanks to Burkard for the link). Do you ever ask yourself WWLD (What Would Linus Drive?) Meet OScar, the first open source car project. Can open source ideals be brought to design and eventually manufacture a car? The people at the OScar project think they can. They are bringing together Read more
A report for the U.S. Congress takes on the problems present in software and biotechnology patents, and makes some recommendations for reform. The report concludes: The multiplicity of patents involved in computer-related products has resulted in the extensive use of cross licensing in these industries such that one commentator argues: Read more
BBC World is broadcasting a two-episode documentary called Code Breakers about the use of open source software in developing countries to avoid becoming Microsoft client states and to help “bridge” the digital divide. BBC World is simulcasted online (but it’s not available within the UK), so if anyone know of Read more
(via The Guardian). Big Brother is watching you. Actually, Microsoft is watching your Xbox 360, and getting all sort of gaming stats from their users about the amount of time they spend online, what games they are using and how much do they spend in each one. This information is Read more
Creative Commons has released their Podcasting guide, which strangely enough, provides legal advice for podcasters. This guide applies only to American law, so its relevance for us outside of the land of stars and stripes will be limited, but it still contains some valuable tidbits and a lot of links Read more
Some people may remember Gary McKinnon, the British system administrator who was arrested in 2002 for hacking into NASA, the American Department of Defense and the U.S. Airforce. McKinnon has been convicted in absentia in the United States for those offenses, and he is back in the news as he Read more
(Via Andrew Adams) The long-awaited report on the European Database right has now been issued. The study provides some very strong evidence against the right, as it seems that database production in Europe has actually decreased since its implementation, while production in the United States for the same period, and Read more
This is an excellent article in The Guardian by Wendy Grossman. The problem of webcasting and collecting agencies is gathering momentum as there is a meeting this week in Geneva at WIPO, where member states are negotiating the inclusion of webcasting and simulcasting into a new treaty on the protection Read more
Are deep links legal? Deep links are outgoing hyperlinks that do not lead to the front page of the hosting website. You may ask, what is the problem? That is how the Internet works, right? Initially, you would be right, as deep links were defeated in earlier copyright cases such Read more
Complicated publicity stunt or new economic model? As previously reported, there is growing economic importance in virtual worlds and MMORPGs. Players make virtual money from selling loot and goods within game. The in-game economics can be complex and involve all sorts of new assumptions about value, and warrant studies on Read more