The same bill was attacked by the blog of the Competitive Enterprise Institute for requiring fingerprinting of mortgage brokers, a story slashdot also picked up.

I don't have all the facts yet, but this is a story I'm keeping my eye on.

This sort of thing is going on all the time now. A judge just gave Viacom access to all of Google's YouTube logs.

Pew is, literally, worth paying attention to precisely because the research is released for free, and it's very good.

The report is only 31 pages, and very clear.

Data point one: dialup is down to 10 percent of households.

The folks at BBR are more interested in why people still have dialup, and also why some reject the internet entirely. To those who say the internet is a waste of time, BBR's Karl Bode writes, "Some days I agree with gramps on that last one."

One BBR user points to a service that claims to offer the cheapest dialup in the U.S.—with no technical support. The service, VTISP, is part of Access the Net, which dates back to 1997. On the AccNet page, an interesting SlipStream offer, $2.95 per month.

The Pew data has a significant amount of demographic information. If you're writing a business plan or concocting a marketing campaign, this free data could help you.

Processes incorporate controls that are underpinned by policies that formally reflect management’s intent.  In other words, to minimize risks to objectives, such as regulatory compliance, management may have embedded controls in the existing processes and thus be hesitant to change.  Modifications to these processes need to take policies into account and need management’s review and approval of planned changes to ensure risks are still properly mitigated.

Funding and resourcing is needed – not just of the design and implementation but of the ongoing process as well.  Because management is responsible for security budgets and allocating resources, they must support what is going on.  Otherwise, changes to processes may not survive a budget cut or the next budgetary period.

A larger issue is that if management doesn’t understand the importance of processes and during some crisis tells people to “just get it done” and ignore processes, then this can be the kiss of death.  Unfortunately, it’s amazing how many process improvement efforts have died due to these four words.  Actions like this communicate to employees that management doesn’t really support the process and it’s okay to bypass it when necessary.

Instead, teams that wish to seriously pursue process improvement need to build up a solid convincing business case that explains why the processes will create and protect value.  If there are questions, then address them.  It’s very important that management be on board and set the proper “tone from the top” that demonstrates in actions and words and that management supports the process improvement effort.

“Yesterday, in the Viacom v. Google litigation, the federal court for the Southern District of New York ordered Google to produce to Viacom (over Google’s objections):

“all data from the Logging database concerning each time a YouTube video has been viewed on the YouTube website or through embedding on a third-party website

…

“The Logging database contains:

“for each instance a video is watched, the unique ‘login ID’ of the user who watched it, the time when the user started to watch the video, the internet protocol address other devices connected to the internet use to identify the user’s computer (‘IP address’), and the identifier for the video.

Here’s the part that slays me:

“Today’s court order made no finding that Viacom could not be accommodated by any other means, nor were the YouTube users provided with notice and an opportunity to contest the claim.

“Instead, the Court focused on some statements made by Google on its blog:

“We … are strong supporters of the idea that data protection laws should apply to any data that could identify you. The reality is though that in most cases, an IP address without additional information cannot.”

Which brings us to a point that gets made time and time again, but seems worth harping on once more: It doesn’t matter if Google or any other gigantic aggregator of tons of your personal data avoids being evil until the end of time. All it takes is a judge with a nasty sense of irony urge on by an equally gigantic entertainment conglomerate with an axe to grind to flush Google’s good intentions down the toilet along with your privacy. If Google is forced to hand over what it has been told to hand over, you now not only have to trust Google with personal information, you have to trust Viacom.

(Link)

A new Microsoft Vista version of PhotoPlus X2 ($71-$79) was released by Serif last fall. It included a number of interesting new features such as an automated makeover studio for removing imperfections in portraits, a QuickFix Studio for swiftly making improvements in photos and new artistic effects such as Comic Book and Vignette, as well as the ability to burn slideshows and photos to discs.

Other programs offered by Serif include

• PagePlus X3, a desktop publishing program aimed at small businesses and individuals looking to create in-house publications such as brochures, newsletters and catalogs.
• WebPlus X2, a WYSIWYG Web site design package.
• DrawPlus X2, a vector drawing program that includes Flash animation creation functionality.

Unfortunately, Serif doesn't offer time-limited free trial versions of its software. For those of us with long memories, that's sort of ironic, since the company used to give away old versions of its applications for free--a laudable practice if ever there was one.

• Launched massive online porn search
  

• Created anonymous "Windows Is For Wusses" blog
  

• Ordered kickass iMac from Apple.com
  

• Bookmarked "Big Guns Biceps Workout"
  

• Began writing rap song, using only binary code
  

• Launched massive online porn search
  

• Started building wall-length bookshelf in basement
  

• Made quick trip to emergency room after power-stapling thumb to basement wall

• Called Ballmer, just to chat about old times

iSuppli, a research and advisory firm known for its detailed "teardown" analysis of what products cost to make, has just issued its early take on the iPhone's bill of materials (BOM).

The first 3G iPhones aren't due out until July 11, so in this case iSuppli analysts did what the company calls a virtual teardown.

Their conclusions are essentially estimates of what it costs Apple to build the new device based on what Apple has detailed publicly, and iSuppli's analysts knowledge of and contacts with parts suppliers in the areas of semiconductors, displays, mobile handsets, consumer electronics and wireless infrastructure.

"We made some assumptions about what was changing in the 3G iPhone and what was staying the same," Jagdish Rebello, director and principal analyst for iSuppli, told InternetNews.com.

Rebello said his sources confirmed reports that Apple is receiving a subsidy of about $300 from AT&T for every iPhone sold in the United States.

The 3G iPhone will sell for $199 plus a two-year contract of monthly fees. iSuppli pegs Apple's BOM and manufacturing cost total to be $173 per unit.