Month: <span>June 2001</span>

CNET: Broad patent on Internet updates awarded. Seattle-based Punch Networks gets a lock on technology for distributing updates throughout a large network.

“Gregory Aharonian, editor of the Internet Patent News Service, doesn’t think Punch’s line will hold up in court.

“‘To me it looks like some distributed file synchronization, an idea discussed at length in the ’80s at distributed-computing conferences,’ Aharonian said.

The fact that the patent makes no mention of such scientific papers raises a red flag for Aharonian.”

6:00:34 PM  

W3C: SMIL 2.0 Becomes a W3C Proposed Recommendation. “SMIL (pronounced “smile”) 2.0 defines an XML-based language that authors can use to write interactive multimedia presentations.”
1:48:56 PM  

Wired: Say Ahh, Then Remain Silent. “A little-noticed loophole in new medical privacy regulations allows law enforcement access to medical records without the patient’s consent. Will doctors soon be reading you your rights?”
12:13:34 PM  

On the dangers of using centralized services, I just got this email from XDrive:

“I’m writing because the Xdrive Express service was permanently closed on May 15, 2001, after notifying users as described on this page http://www.xdrive.com/index_express.html. According to our records you didn’t access your free Xdrive Express account for 120 days or more before the service was closed, so I’d like to suggest our high-quality Xdrive Plus service as a replacement for you to evaluate. (Please note that files stored on the free Xdrive Express service are no longer accessible nor recoverable.)”

I searched my email for prior notification from XDrive that my account was to be closed, and found none. Was I supposed to have telepathically known to visit the notification page mentioned in the email?

It’s a good thing I didn’t have anything important stored there. I bet there are many others who weren’t so lucky. I suppose the personal tone of the email (“I’m writing because…”) is supposed to keep me from raising a ruckus about the fact that my account was closed, and my files were deleted without notification…
3:26:26 PM  

Inside.com: Texas Newspaper Is Sued for Libel by Officials Who Fail to Get the Joke. “Editors thought that an article about a 6-year-old’s arrest was so absurd that it didn’t need to be labeled parody. Turns out in Dallas not everyone was so sure. The public officials who were given made-up quotes are going to court.”
3:22:43 PM  

CNN: Nearby star may have asteroid belt — and planets.
3:22:24 PM  

Jeff: “Sony has no editorial integrity. Not that I ever give movie reviews much weight anyway, but it disgusts me none the less…”
10:35:15 PM  

CNN In-Depth Specials – Tiananmen revisited.
10:34:42 PM  

BBC: Anthony: The Mighty Quinn.
3:39:59 PM  

AthenaDoc: “Are physicians now forbidden from expressing humanitarian concerns in talking to students or colleagues? Are we required to stick to biochemistry and drug advertising? Can we no longer weep for the children of the world?”
1:42:43 AM  

Scoble on centralization: “MSN Communities have been down for 13 hours. And we’re supposed to be excited about Microsoft’s vision of storing everything on their computers? Blech!”
1:41:35 AM  

Dictionary.com Word of the Day: parse. I like that word!
1:36:44 AM  

AP: World: Israel Calls Off Cease-Fire.
1:36:10 AM