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I just don’t want to lose this link.  Someday, I might have time to get organized.  I know if I bookmark it I’ll forget what and why.  I sure do like Fastmail.  Nothing like it.

 

Is it a web without links? In Texas apparently it is.

Almost afraid to link to this story; but I don't want to lose it.  Some Texas judge has spent too long in the hot sun on the links. 

Link: Texas court bans deep linking | The Register.

Texas court bans deep linking Deeply disturbing, Google lawyer says By OUT-LAW.com → More by this author Published Tuesday 23rd January 2007 17:36 GMT Research Library - All papers free to download

A court in Dallas, Texas has found a website operator liable for copyright infringement because his site linked to an 'audio webcast' without permission. Observers have criticised the judge for failing to understand the internet.

Robert Davis runs Supercrosslive.com and put direct links on his site to audio streams of motorcycle racing. Those streams were created, owned and hosted by SFX Motor Sports, which is behind some of the events covered.

A preliminary injunction was granted on 12th December by Judge Sam Lindsay in the US District Court for the Northern District of Texas. Judge Lindsay followed that ruling with a summary judgment for SFX on 9th January, leaving only damages to be determined at trial, on the same day that Davis filed an appeal against the December ruling.

Judge Lindsay ruled that Davis's activity infringed copyright and curtailed the ability of SFX to sell advertising and sponsorship on its site. That advertising is displayed when the audio streams are listened to from the SFX site but not when they are linked to from Davis's.

In fact the December opinion was unclear on the exact nature of Davis's activity. SFX asserted that "Davis 'streams' the live webcast of the races on his website in 'real time'". Davis denied streaming but admitted to "providing an audio webcast 'link' to the racing events on his website". Judge Lindsay appears to accept that Davis is only linking to a media file, not streaming content from his own site.

"The live broadcasts of the racing events, either via television, radio or internet webcasts, constitute original audiovisual material that can be copyrighted under the Copyright Act," wrote Lindsay in his December opinion. "The court finds that SFX has shown a substantial likelihood of succeeding on the merits of its copyright claim against Davis because SFX has shown ownership of the material and 'copying' by Davis."

Davis argued that he did not actually copy any material, he only provided a link to it which opened the material in a user's media player, but the court ruled that that link broke the law.

"The court finds that the unauthorized 'link' to the live webcasts that Davis provides on his website would likely qualify as a copied display or performance of SFX’s copyrightable material," said Lindsay. "The court also finds that the link Davis provides on his website is not a 'fair use' of copyright material as Davis asserts through his Answer."

Judge Lindsay did not look to other cases on deep linking, being hyperlinks that target something other than a website's homepage. Instead, he looked at cases on live television broadcasts. He compared Davis's actions to those of a company sued by the NFL for the unauthorised capture and satellite transmission of live football broadcasts to viewers in Canada. Finding infringement, that court said a public performance or display, for the purposes of the Copyright Act, "includes each step in the process by which a protected work wends its way to its audience."

The opinion and summary judgment prompted one blogger, James Robertson, to accuse Judge Lindsay of having "no idea how the internet works". Davis was representing himself in his case, without the assistance of a lawyer. Perhaps guided by comments from various bloggers (including William Patry, Senior Copyright Counsel at Google, who called it "a deeply disturbing case"), Davis's appeal argues that since the December ruling he has "become familiar with" a 2000 decision on deep linking.

"Had this court been aware of this prior decision, Defendant believes this court may have produced a different ruling," wrote Davis in his latest motion of 12th January, which asks the court to stay the order of 11th December pending his appeal (though it makes no reference to the Summary Judgment handed down three days earlier). The case to which he refers is the dispute between Ticketmaster Corp. and Tickets.com.

Tickets.com, a seller of tickets, was sued for linking to pages on Ticketmaster's website where users could find tickets not available at Tickets.com. The US District Court for the Central District of California concluded: "hypertext linking [without framing] does not itself involve a violation of the Copyright Act … since no copying is involved."

That court went on to describe the process of hypertext linking: "The customer is automatically transferred to the particular genuine web page of the original author. There is no deception in what is happening. This is analogous to using a library's card index to get reference to particular items, albeit faster and more efficiently."

However, if an appeal is heard, unless Davis's site made clear that the target file was being served by another website, SFX may be able to distinguish its circumstances from those of Ticketmaster.

Davis's site has become a repository for court documents and links to coverage of the case.

The opinion (12 page / 51KB PDF) Other papers in the case (at Davis's site)

Copyright � 2007, OUT-LAW.com

John Denver: When Interfaces Kill

Link: AskTog: John Denver: When Interfaces Kill.

We in the PC and web worlds have a lot to learn from this, too. We have a lot of bad design floating around that is just as perverse as fuel valves that face the wrong way, hidden behind firewalls. And it is not all to be found in freeware and shareware programs, where one might argue that, as with experimental aircraft, "let the user beware." Indeed, some of the most egregious examples of design are apparent in the most expensive, mainstream operating systems and applications. Fortunately for the corporations behind them, our screw-ups generally don't kill people outright. Instead, we specialize in driving our users slowly insane.

If you approach software design the way experts in commercial and military cockpit human factors approach their craft, you will end up with designs that are fast, familiar, and forgiving. Such designs would be a refreshing change in the ghastly world of PC software. They'd be a refreshing change in the world of general aviation, too.

Personal Productivity: A virtual Goodie Bag!

Link: Personal Productivity: The Best Tools And Services From Sharewood - Robin Good's Latest News.

I don't want to lose this permalink!  Man - tons of fun tools to play with.  Ok - I mean -- increase my productivity.

Web stickies may be a godsend if it works as well as it seems to.

Neighborhoodtimes: The other barbecue meat

Link: Neighborhoodtimes: The other barbecue meat.
This is so cool.  Linda Bernard gave me the opportunity to do a website for her new restaurant - Brisket Basket in St. Pete Florida.  It was written up in the local paper today -- very nice write-up.

My mouth waters every time I read the menu.  Too bad Alaska isn't closer to Florida.

A List Apart: Articles: Where Am I?

Link: A List Apart: Articles: Where Am I?.
Site navigation explained clearly!  Wow!  I don't want to lose track of this - there are many good ideas and concise explanations I'm sure will come in most useful in the future

10 Worst Unintentional URLS

Link: 10 Worst Unintentional URLs.

This is way too funny to not post in my own blog.  I can see how these things happen.  Really I can.  Choosing a URL is so dificult to begin with -- then to have to think of all the angles.  Pays to type it out and look at it first doesn't it?

Internet Explorer 7 Beta 3 ordeal

Well, as most know, I am a die hard Foxfire/Mozilla user.  When I started hearing the buzz about IE7 being so wonderful I just had to load it up and take it for a spin.  The 1st 2 betas were terrific.  A few weeks ago I updated to Beta 3 and it crashed every time I opened it.  I've been pouring through bogs, forums, tech notes and trying everything under the sun.

so - I finally figured out the solution today --- and IE7 Beta 3 runs like a Porche....  turn off Google Desktop!  How simple and yet how odd.

So -- if you want to play with a pretty cool browser - try it out just know to turn Google Desktop  off when you do.

Not proud to be Alaskan today

I couldn't believe my ears.  This Week in Tech's most recent podcast features our senator Ted STevens ranting like a senile old codger about scarcity and preying upon every non-geek's fears that the internet will clog up if we don't have some tiered system.  The quality of his argument and tirade was about a bad as it could get.  I hate to tell anyone to listen out of sheer embarrassment; but we al know there are those out there who truly take stock in what he's saying.  TWIT - Podcast Tubes

Maybe the worst part was describing the internet like "tubes" that can get clogged.  Example:  his staff sent him an email yesterday and he didn't get it until today because the internet was clogged with people streaming videos and spamming.  FOR HEAVEN SAKE!?!?!?! 

I just want to stick my head in the mud and wait for the bore tide.

Traffic was clogged at morning and evening rush hour on the Glenn Highway.  We are down two more moose.  It is broad daylight folks!  You can't see a 1000 pound animal in the clear?  You cant' avoid hitting it? ?

I rarely rant.  But today was clearly the time to express my dismay at fellow Alaskans.

Gas is $2.85  - I sure hope it translates into higher dividends.  We have to do so darn much driving here and still pay these outrageous prices for everything.  Very little is domestic to Alaska.  Even the milk is from outside.  Fuel to get it here is ridiculous.  At least the internet is still free....  until Ted convinces his cronies to charge us for every second of bandwidth.

When to say no to a client

Link: Design Principal.

Sidebar: When to Say No to a Client

Bruce Mau Design Inc. is almost entirely free of regimentation. Its managers do have one system, though, which they use to decide whether to take on a project. "Our work defines who we are, so we like to choose our projects in a considered way," says Bruce Mau. Below, he describes his "Four Ps" checklist.

   1. People: "Every project boils down to spending time with the client. If its people are good, you can overcome any problem. If they're bad, every problem will seem twice as big."
   2. Project: "Is the project adventurous? Would it provide new opportunities for learning?" BMD doesn't do any marketing, so its body of work attracts new clients. Knowing that, Mau and his team are reluctant to do work in industries or domains that they think are creative dead ends.
   3. Profit: "We need to make money on everything that we do in order to sustain the business, whether it's a project for an art gallery or a multinational corporation."
   4. Plate: "How much do we have on our plate?" BMD has only 20 full-time employees, and a tight network of freelancers and contractors. Mau is wary of trying to expand the size of his firm too quickly; he thinks carefully about how new work will affect the group.