Russia and Yanks Create Hotline to Thwart Cyberwar

The Prez and Mr. Putin comparing notes
during the G-8 Summit in Ireland this week.
(photo: voanews.com)

In what now seems like ancient history, the former Soviet Union and the United States created a "hotline" to prevent unintended nuclear conflict. Once Mr. Gorbachev tore down the Berlin Wall, the need for the hotline appeared less urgent. However, a new generation in the Kremlin and in the White House has concluded that the hotline remains a very useful tool in the prevention of "miscalculation." To that end, Barack Hussein Obama and Vladimir Putin agreed to open a direct phone line to address cyber issues that could be misinterpreted as hostile acts originating from either nation.

The story, initially appearing in Ars Technica, was later posted in theverge.com. 

Frommer Buys His "Name" Back From Google

Arthur Frommer and his daughter Pauline
(photo: Miami Herald)

Arthur Frommer, whose books, articles, and TV shows provided useful travel information for a couple of generations, recently purchased the rights to his brand from Google. The Associated Press' version of this transaction, picked up by siliconvalley.com, provides the nuts and bolts of the public side of this story. Why the search engine behemoth wanted to part ways with the Frommer "name" is not really clear. The deal's sketchy public details hint that Google retained access rights to some content. Notably, nothing in any story I read discussed data traffic, which is Google's lifeblood. (Ironically, an April 9th story in arstechnica.com spelled out Google's ruthless data mining of Frommer's social media communities to increase the contact universe for "Do No Evil's" Zagat Travel product.)

The story is something of a cautionary tale for the self-made, their brand management, and their acquisition anxiety. Over the decades, Frommer created an enterprise based on earned trust, knowledge of local conditions, and an understanding of middle-brow traveler needs. He actually cared about the average person, he respected their money, and he spoke to them rather than at them. It was something of a surprise when Frommer sold his "brand" some years ago. The publisher Wiley purchased the brand, then sold it to Google. The general sense was that Frommer provided "content" for Google. I have always supposed Google had a much bigger picture in mind, including linking Frommer's content to aggregated hotel and air listings in which Google would be either the middleman or the primary transaction agent. For a data-driven firm such as Google, such an arrangement would be a gold mine.

It's possible Frommer was upset that Google basically treated his hard-earned brand with indifference. In these days when "monetization" is touted as the best possible reason to create an enterprise, Frommer's tale is a reminder that there are other motivations besides profit to operate a business. Pride has a place, especially for independents such as Arthur Frommer. Sometimes, it's more important than the money.

Washington State Allows Voter Reg Via Facebook

Thanks to a big assist from a Microsoft app,  the state of Washington is now permitting voter registration via Facebook. Just thought you would want to know. The scoop came from arstechnica.com.

Judge Rules Twitter Must Provide Tweets, IP Addresses to Prosecutors

Malcolm Harris

Earlier this week, a New York criminal court judge ruled that Twitter was compelled to release user information to prosecutors. In the ruling, the Manhattan DA won the right to access a user's tweets, IP address, saved and deleted messages, and other information that could possibly identify a user's location at specific points in time.

The defendant, Malcolm Harris, is charged with disorderly conduct stemming from Occupy Wall Street activities.

Twitter fought the court order to compel disclosure.

The story was reported in arstechnica.com, Talking Points Memo, and the San Jose Mercury News, and other media outlets.

MIchael S. Hart Obit, Project Gutenberg, E-books, and Intellectual Liberty

Michael S. Hart (left side of photo), widely noted as the first producer of e-books, passed away this week. During his life, Hart advocated for or spawned far-reaching, disruptive digital initiatives. The most significant of them was Project Gutenberg, which provided somewhat crude digital copies of intellectually significant books and other important cultural documents available in the public domain.

His influence was something insiders knew and often, though not always, understood. In reading various obits about Hart, one is struck at the difference between blog entries from those who actually knew Hart and cared about his work, versus the mainstream media's versions (the insincerely written one by The New York Times' annoyingly ambitious William "Biff" Grimes is a prime example). This dichotomy seems entirely in keeping with Hart's perspective on access both to knowledge and to the means of communicating about it. Hart, unlike tech sacred cows such as Steve Jobs, strongly believed in free access to information. Google's founders believe in the buying and selling of data traffic patterns in its "free" search engine. Hart would not have signed on for that concept.

In fact, judging from blog anecdotes about Hart, his notions of radical change probably made Silicon Valley hipsters and libertarian ideologues squirm. In a moment of sublime irony, as Nate Anderson noted in Ars Technica, the agents of libertarian icon Ayn Rand tried to compel Project Gutenberg to cease distributing her work Anthem. He refused, citing the work's availability in the public domain. Hart was also, by all accounts, virtually uninterested in making money from his activities. The vulgar notion of "monetizing" his revolutionary road had absolutely nothing in common with his idea of freeing humanity from the shackles he perceived were binding it.

In fact, Project Gutenberg's mission, according to Hart's biography in Wikipedia, is as follows:

Encourage the Creation and Distribution of eBooks

Help Break Down the Bars of Ignorance and Illiteracy

Give As Many eBooks to As Many People As Possible

In Hart's The History and Philosophy of Project Gutenberg, he insisted that eBook documents be written in ASCII code so that the works could be easily copied and transmitted. That precept has been maintained, with a couple of recent exceptions, throughout the project's life. One wonders what Hart thought about the app phenomenon and its impact on access to what feeds the mind.

The more I read about Hart, the increasingly fascinating his life is for me. A man of action, he believed in tangible accomplishment. He also had the advantage of being something of an outsider (although the insiders were and are keenly aware of him and his impact). In that sense, Hart reminds one of painters, writers, scientists, philosophers, and political thinkers (yes, they really do exist) whose works have opened new doors of perception and expanded our opportunities for intellectual and personal liberty.

It is certainly worth your time to learn more about Hart. In addition to the links already cited, the following posts offer useful insights into Hart's life, personality, and interests:

Glyn Moody's excellent post in Computer World UK

Nat Torkington's personal reminiscence in the tech publication O'Reilly Radar

Brewster Kahle's touching post

Reader comments from Slashdot.org's brief obit

Reflections from TechCrunch printed in sfgate.com (let's hope TechCrunch gets away as rumored from Arianna Huffington's unwelcome grip as soon as possible)

And last, but certainly not least, Hart's obit by his friend and Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation CEO Dr. Gregory Newby, who is next to Hart in the photo at the top of this post.