I still haven't totally figured out the exact file format for my Archos Multimedia Jukebox, but I'm pretty sure that one of these DVD Ripper programs will let me convert my DVDs for use on the Archos! Suh-weet! Somebody pinch me!

PBS' "NOW with Bill Moyers" to tackle public domain v. private control

"Pho list co-founder, meme-generator, and BoingBoing friend Jim Griffin appears on the PBS show NOW with Bill Moyers on January 17, 2002 at 9p.m. E.T./P.T. Check local listings here. This edition of Moyers' weekly program will tackle the digital future of intellectual property and the present debate pitting private control against public domain.

'Public libraries embody the American ideal that anybody can read, watch or listen to just about anything they want to. With publications and broadcasting delivered free by the Internet directly to homes, is the information revolution making libraries obsolete? As more people can access this content, the copyright owners -- in many cases large corporate publishing entities -- are looking for ways to charge fees. A growing chorus of lawyers, librarians, and educators fear the implications of losing free access to information for everyone. 'Our information and communication infrastructure is so central to everything we do,' says former American Library Association president Nancy Kranich. 'But what's really underlying that is the free flow of ideas which is essential to democracy.' Jim Griffin, president of the music company Cherry Lane Digital adds, '...Eleanor Roosevelt dreamed of a world of libraries where we could borrow any book we wanted to read, any movie we wanted to watch, any record we wanted to listen to..equalizing access to knowledge is one of the hallmarks of a civilized society.' " [Boing Boing Blog]

I can't find any details on the NOW site yet, but in the Chicagoland area, this show will air on Friday, January 17, at 10:00 p.m. Set your DVRs!

PC 12v Cigarette Lighter Adapter Kit

"Need a light?? Here you go. You'll only find this item here at FrozenCPU.com! Basically, this is a car cigarette lighter kit which has been adapted to be used in a PC's 5 1/4 bay.

What this kit includes:

• Cigarette Lighter
• Sleeved 4pin 12v Molex Connector
• Washer for drilling the hole

With this adapter kit, your PC can now do EVERYTHING a regular Cigarette Lighter can with no trouble at all. Charge cell phones, power cd players, you name it." [via Daypop Top 40]

Who thinks up this stuff? Just $19 and it's yours. Why, I'm not sure.

Interesting sites culled from today's referers:

• History 323: History of American Technology
  KM professors like Jim McGee aren't the only ones using blogs in higher education. This course blog, which also links to blogs maintained by H323 students, is oen component of Pamela E. Mack's course at Clemson. I'm not sure why this one is in my referers, but I encourage Professor Mack to also look into RSS and news aggregation and to syndicate the class blog.
   
• Media Matters: Welcome to the Blogosphere
  PBS explains weblogs: "A long time ago, in the hazy middle years of the decade nineteen-hundred-and-ninety, between the darkest reaches of dial-up and the Ethernet, a creature was born. It was not of this earth but, rather, the first-born child of the Internet. Its name was ... blog." I had added my URL so it's listed on the page, although for the life of me, I can't figure out where the "Lagniappe" comes from. Well, my years of French class tell me where it comes from, but how it ended up as the name of my blog is a mystery.

  What I find most interesting about this page is the disclaimer on it:

  "Please note: The sites listed below have been submitted by visitors of this Web site. In listing the links below, the producers of this site are not approving, supporting, or in any way responsible for the content of the sites listed."

  If PBS can use disclaimers, why can't NPR?

I just finished watching the KU-Wyoming game. KU whomped 'em to give Roy Williams his 400th career win, so congrats to Roy and the boys! Tonight I actually watched the game - no multi-tasking. I even stood for the whole first half as I used to for the whole game.

Since I was more focused on the game, I noticed that they've changed Allen Field House (or where the cameras are positioned - I'm not sure which) so that the benches are no longer shown during the game. Instead, there's a solid row of tables with advertising on them. Besides the disturbing intrusion of more ads, I missed watching player and coach reactions. This is a step in the wrong direction for the wrong reasons.

I also noticed that someone sitting at those tables was working with audiocassette tapes for something, but I couldn't tell for what. Whether it's taped ads for radio, recording sounds live, or playing something over the PA system, it's pretty sad that they haven't moved on to a far superior and more efficient digital system. Surprising.

Anyway, Go Hawks!

Library Link of the Day

"A daily link for the library profession." [via News Is Free: Recent Additions]

An interesting new service courtesy of John Hubbard. You can get the daily tip via email or RSS feed.

"The Library Link of the Day provides you a daily link for keeping up to date with the library profession. Destinations include the latest library news, good reads on the web, and other valuable resources that a library knowledge worker should know about. The link is presented without commentary.

If you already read ten library-related weblogs, subscribe to twenty discussion groups, and scan another thirty or so news sites, this service may not be for you. If you are involved with or interested in libraries but didn't know that there are over fifty library-related blogs on the web, this service is designed specifically for you. It is a way for busy librarians and library fans of all kinds to review items of interest that they may not have heard about otherwise."

Of course, if you're reading my site you probably know there are more than 50 library-related blogs, but this is still a helpful service.

Audrey

"A web-based RSS feed aggregator." [News Is Free: Recent Additions]

I don't see an actual demo yet, so I eagerly await its completion to see if it will help me demonstrate "the power of RSS news aggregation." (Hint: say the phrase in quotes in your best "power of cheese" voice.)

Will also sent me a link to something that looks somewhat similar that I think is called Credence. He must be experimenting with news aggregation today because he IMs, "just started playing w/ newzcrawler this morning. it has an rss autodiscovery doohickey integrated w/ ie, so when you hit a site that has a feed, it offers to subscribe for you."

Too - pause - damn - pause - cool! Hey, Userland - can Radio do this?

Supreme Court OKs Copyright Extension

"The U.S. Supreme Court upheld on Wednesday a 1998 law extending copyright protection by 20 years, delaying when creative works such as Walt Disney's Mickey Mouse cartoons, F. Scott Fitzgerald's novels and George Gershwin's songs become public property.

The 7-2 ruling was a victory for supporters of the law, including large media companies and song publishers that argued the longer term was needed to protect a vital industry that contributes more than $500 billion to the U.S. economy.

It dealt a defeat to an Internet publisher and others who challenged the law for limiting free speech and for harming the creative process by locking up material they said should be in the public domain for all to use without charge.

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg wrote for the court majority that the U.S. Congress in adopting the law acted within its authority and did not exceed constitutional limits. She also said the law does not violate constitutional free-speech protections." [CNET News.com]

What I'd like to know is if the Bono Extension doesn't exceed constitutional limits, what does? What is to prevent Disney from asking for another extension? How does this madness ever end?

Will gave me the heads up on this, including the original notice from Lessig's blog and now an AP story. The decision itself still hasn't shown up online.

Update: I came out of a meeting to find that Larry Lessig has posted the opinion online (PDF). I'd also like to take issue with those sites using a headline that reads "Lessig lost Eldred," because Lessig is the last person in the world that should shoulder any blame here. How about "Supremes lost [the point of] Eldred" or "American public loses Eldred" or "Your grandkids lose [all of the creative wealth they would have had access to because of] Eldred."

And if you buy the "harmonization" argument the Justices used to justify this travesty, doesn't the mean that Bush should be signing the Kyoto Accord later today?

Update Redux: Donna Wentworth over at Copyfight has the best archive of links about the decision. Check it out at Mickey in for the Long Haul. Thanks for putting this together, Donna.