The blog
Writing & notes
Essays, notes and reflections on technology, law and life.
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Security Danger for Voice over Internet Protocol Users, Says Study
‘An Australian survey of 200 medium to large businesses and government organisations revealed that 97 per cent of respondents lacked sufficient security on their VoIP [Voice over Internet Protocol] systems. The survey, conducted in late 2005, found that nearly 60 per cent of organisations reported frequent breaches to the security of their data networks, more… Read more →
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On French Internet, Copyright and DRM Policies
Two recent news stories highlight the development of French internet policy. France is traditionally billed as the ‘safe haven’ of P2P users — portrayed as having a liberal, permissive copyright regime and consumer-friendly anti-circumvention laws. The first story certainly confirms this view. The French Parliament is considering legislation that would mandate Apple to open its… Read more →
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Caricature Leads to Internet Site Shutdown
The caricature saga continues, with a Russian government agency announcing plans to shut down Bankfax, a popular online news website. The announcement comes after an anonymous reader posted the now-famous caricature on the Bankfax forum along with a number of inflammatory remarks. The agency responsible for the decision is the Siberian branch of the Federal… Read more →
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China Defends Internet Policy; Australia Has Some Defending to Do
From Mercury News: ‘China’s premier Tuesday offered a defense of his nation’s Internet censorship and exhorted private companies to “exercise more self-discipline” if they want to operate in the huge market here. Premier Wen Jiabao, meeting the press in a once-a-year news conference, said sites available to China’s 111 million Internet users “should be able… Read more →
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iPod User Sues Apple for Hearing Loss
‘Toxic iPods’? Apparently. The owner of an iPod has commenced proceedings against Apple in the United States, claiming that the music device causes hearing loss. The plaintiff’s statement of claim asserts that Apple’s music players are ‘inherently defective in design and are not sufficiently adorned with adequate warnings regarding the likelihood of hearing loss’. The… Read more →
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Distributed Computing Project Cracks Enigma Cypher, Decodes WWII Message
An interesting distributed computing project has reportedly cracked one of the Enigma cyphers used by the Germans during World War II. The M4 Message Breaking Project, founded in January by an amateur German cryptographer, harnesses the processing power of a wide network of computers in order to do in one month what the likes of… Read more →
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Onwards, Fourth Year
Three years down, two to go. It seems odd, upon reflection, that my time at university has passed so rapidly, and puzzling that my colleagues and I will so imminently be set loose upon the world. And vaguely disconcerting is the realisation that, for all the hard work, study and learning of the past three… Read more →
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Accessibility Lawsuit Challenges Target.com Website
A blind university student has filed a class action lawsuit against Target Corp. The plaintiff alleges that the website discriminates against visually impaired users of its services because the website is inaccessible using screen reader software. Marc Maurer, president of the National Federation of the Blind in Baltimore, an advocacy group that’s also a plaintiff… Read more →
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From Vacation Clerk to Vacationer; or: No Updates for a While
My first summer clerkship concluded yesterday. Today comprised a frenzied assortment of tasks — answering emails, backing up data, packing, cycling — mostly done simultaneously or in interleaving fashion (read: not very efficiently). Tomorrow I leave for an overseas holiday. The presence of my new camera notwithstanding, this is to be a technology-free holiday. Consistent… Read more →
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Instant Messaging in Law Firms
This somewhat alarmist article urges caution when using instant messaging (‘IM’) in a legal environment: As the use of instant messaging becomes more widespread, companies must grapple with how to handle it. In some cases IM can legally be considered a document, subject to the same retention policies as other business records. Because there is… Read more →