mediageek

Month: July 2002

  • Congressional Democrats Urge FCC

    Congressional Democrats Urge FCC Chair Powell To Actually Be a Regulator. Powell declines, prefers to deregulate, slack, take industry-funded junkets, and bide time until cushy telecomm job when Bush loses 2004 election. At least he concedes that maybe the Commish shoudn’t shut down its accounting safeguard division. I guess that makes up for how your…

  • FCC Business Just Under Our Radar

    FCC Business Just Under Our Radar FCC watching can be a full-time job. That’s why radio stations and other telecomm business have to hire $500/hr communications law firms to keep them legal (or at least out of trouble), and on the inside track. How’s that for democracy? After reading my last post about the FCC’s…

  • What Do YOU Think About the FCC’s Plans?

    What Do YOU Think About the FCC’s Plans? I just became aware that the FCC has a draft five-year strategic plan that’s open for public comment until Aug. 2. The plan details the FCC’s goal in six core areas: BROADBAND: Establish regulatory policies that promote competition, innovation, and investment in broadband services and facilities while…

  • And the Entertainment Cartel Shows Themselves To Be More Evil By the Day:

    Hey Reps. Berman and Coble — Who’s your Daddy? That’s right, Jack Valenti’s your daddy! Aw yeah, bend over real good! — CNet reports that “Congress is about to consider an entertainment industry proposal that would authorize copyright holders to disable PCs used for illicit file trading…. Sponsored by Reps. Howard Berman, D-Calif., and Howard…

  • Fuck the Entertainment Cartel, for They Are Evil

    To whit: “Hoping to end the online trading frenzy that has plagued the music business, the movie industry is hunting down digital film swappers and getting their Internet service cut off.” — You know, just where do all those movies that are still in theaters and traded on file-sharing networks come from? A good part…

  • The Mainstream Is Addicted to Itself, or I Have Met Narcissus and She Is Journalist

    The Mainstream Is Addicted to Itself, or I Have Met Narcissus and She Is Journalist Meta-blogging alert: Yet another tired mainstream press article about blogging has appeared, this time late in the trend cycle at the SF Gate. This one was triggered by U-C Berkeley’s addition of a course on blogging to their journalism school…

  • CNet reports that Real Networks

    CNet reports that Real Networks intends to open its source code for its streaming media products. That’s one I could have hoped for, but never would have predicted. I’m a professional user of Real’s streaming server, and have found it to be the most user-friendly and flexible one available, but the independent in me has…

  • Telecom giant WorldCom is filing

    Telecom giant WorldCom is filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy today. Important communications infrastructure — Internet backbone, long distance, private data lines — hangs in the balance. Corporate malfeasance affects us all, whether we like it or not. What choice did you have in WorldCom taking over huge gobs of your necessary communications system? What vote…

  • Friday’s mediageek radio show featuring

    Friday’s mediageek radio show featuring an interview with indie filmmaker and zinester Russ Forster is now on-line.

  • SJ Mercury News: “High-tech hangout

    SJ Mercury News: “High-tech hangout turns amateurs into digital video pros”: “In the 10 weeks since it has opened, the space known as DV Dojo has attracted film students, video buffs and storytellers who squeeze into a narrow, brick and blond wood room for a weekend class, a five-week course or a film screening…” This…