Government office adds Mac OS X to list
The U.S. government is now officially recognizing and supporting Mac OS X as the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has released a revised version of its Technical Reference Model (TRM) that adds the operating system and Linux to its list of “supporting platforms,” according to Federal Computer [...]

Teenager arrested in Blaster worm case
A Minnesota teenager will appear in federal court in St. Paul Friday to face charges stemming from the release of a variant of the virulent W32.Blaster Internet worm that ravaged computer systems worldwide earlier this month.

Brazil – Brasil – BRAZZIL – News from Brazil – Free Software in Government and the Demise of Microsoft in Brazil – Brazilian Technology – August 2003
Brazil believes that free software is an excellent tool for the democratization of knowledge, foreign currency savings, and the optimization of institutional investments and costs. The model [...]

CNN.com – Revealed: How RIAA tracks downloaders – Aug. 28, 2003
For example, the industry disclosed its use of a library of digital fingerprints, called “hashes,” that it said can uniquely identify MP3 music files that had been traded on the Napster service as far back as May 2000. Examining hashes is commonly used by the [...]

Do to a request, I’ve added another XML feed with the full contents of my posts. It’s available up at the top under the imaginative name of “Full XML”. The original will stay with the excerpts because that’s my personal preference but hopefully this way everyone will be happy.

Individual challenges RIAA subpoena
Glenn Peterson and Dan Ballard, lawyers with the Sacramento-based law firm of McDonough, Holland & Allen who are representing the “Jane Doe,” said in a statement that the RIAA’s subpoena campaign has far-reaching implications in terms of consumer rights and privacy.
“The recent efforts of the music industry to root out [...]

The Register: Forget California, it’s time to recall Microsoft
For the second time this year, Microsoft is the source of a major internet security event. First was Slammer/Sapphire in January that seriously impacted networks and corporations around the world, including shutting down ATM machines at some large banks. And now, we’ve got MSBlaster taking advantage of [...]

Open Source Goes Mainstream From Library Journal, a good overview of what open source is.
Open Source ILS- The Nelsonville Public Library is proud to announce the deployment of the MARC-compatible version of Koha , “the first open source integrated library system”. Check out the catalog link.

The Shifted Librarian

Learning about NetGens in their Natural Habitats- These are the future tax-payers libraries will be relying on for support. Now is the time to catch their interest, before they get caught up in the cycles of schedule and habit.
Better *Public* Libraries- Better Public Libraries illustrates through a number of case studies current best [...]

Recording, movie industries appeal file-trading ruling
Late Monday, the Recording Industry Association of America Inc. (RIAA), the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) and the National Music Publishers’ Association Inc. filed an appeal to a Los Angeles district court judge’s decision that said the operators of the Grokster and Morpheus peer-to-peer (P-to-P) services couldn’t know when [...]

RIAA undeterred by subpoena setback
They just don’t get the point, do they?

Five Effects of a Site on a Service Business Brand
Good things to remember when designing or redesigning. Libraries aren’t businesses but the principles are still applicable.

Catalogablog
A blog for catalogers, it had to happen sometime.

Library To Raise Emergency Funding- The NYC public library is starting a funding drive to make up for the money that’s been cut from it’s budget.
Not a new story, and unfortunately not the last.

TechnoBiblio: RIAA On The Warpath…And The Backlash is a nice summary of the developing problems for the Recording Industry Association of America. Even Microsoft knew better than to try and intimidate the American public.
On the other hand, TechnoBiblio has some very interesting posts. It’s going on my personal blog roll.

AP Wire | 08/05/2003 | Linux OK’d for Use on Most-Sensitive PCs
Terra Soft, Lockheed to put Xserves in U.S. Navy subs

The Linux operating system has been approved for the most secure government computers and is already being implemented on Navy subs. Could this help the US governments bad track record with unsecure data?

Legal Affairs: May | June 2003- The Copyright Cage is a passionate, authoritative and well-written essay on the effects of copyright in the digital age. A good link for those who don’t understand what the problem is.

WebJunction:Blogs for Libraries is a good overview of what blogs are and how libraries and librarians can benefit from them.

Pac Bell’s Internet arm sues music industry over file-sharer IDs
“The action taken by SBC Internet Services is intended to protect the privacy of our customers,” said SBC spokesman Larry Meyer. “Misapplication of DMCA subpoena power raises serious constitutional questions that need to be decided by the courts, not by private companies which operate without duty [...]

Schools put privacy above subpoenas
The record industry this month subpoenaed Bentley College student records as part of the battle to halt Internet music downloading, but school officials yesterday said they believe student privacy should take precedence.
Bentley spokeswoman Janet Mendelsohn refused to discuss the subpoena yesterday, but said she believes student records fall under [...]

TVSPY.com: TV Viewers and Internet Users,Two Different Animals
More on the lines that librarians need to market themselves and their libraries more effectively.

Ex Libris–an E-Zine for Librarians and Information Junkies — issue 185 : CREATING YOUR NICHE ON THE NET
…let’s take this a step farther and think about what internet niches our libraries could fill, what unique services we could render that would make librarians the go-to people for our bosses and for our local community.
Marylaine Block [...]

LIS Blogsource- A weblog for library weblogs. Now that’s metadata.
It’s also a good idea, thanks guys. Already added to my RSS feeds.

Kansascity.com – Your Kansas City Everything Guide: Senator launches investigation into RIAA piracy crackdown
The chairman of the Senate’s permanent subcommittee on investigations Thursday began an inquiry into the music industry’s crackdown against online music swappers, calling the campaign “excessive.”
“Theft is theft, but in this country we don’t cut off your arm or fingers for [...]

Feingold Introduces Legislation to Protect Personal Information
U.S. Senator Russ Feingold today introduced the Library, Bookseller, and Personal Records Privacy Act. This legislation is aimed at protecting the privacy of law-abiding Americans by limiting the ability of the FBI to obtain library, bookstore, medical, and financial records and other sensitive personal information under the USA [...]

American Civil Liberties Union : MCA, et al. v. Ashcroft and Mueller
The ACLU files the first legal challenge to the USA PATRIOT Act, taking aim at a section of the controversial law that vastly expands the power of FBI agents to secretly obtain records and personal belongings of innocent people in the United States, including [...]

Mandrake Linux – Friendly Linux operating system for both servers and desktop combined with KDE gui is said to make for a decent replacement for Windows. For free it’s worth trying if you’re using a PC.