Author Archives: Dan Gillmor

Daily Telegraph (London): Colonies in space may be only hope, says Hawking . Prof Hawking, the world’s best known cosmologist, says that biology, rather than physics, presents the biggest challenge to human survival. Amen. Comments

Los Angeles Times: Hoaxes and Scares Thrive Amid Fear. From bogus anthrax and bomb warnings to hot rumors of new terrorist targets, false alarms have increased sharply after the terrorist attacks. They often have had extra potency because nerves are … Continue reading →

At the annual European Technology Roundtable last week, the prevailing mood was somber. The U.S. and Britain started bombing Afghanistan just before the opening reception was about to get under way, adding a new level of uncertainty to an already-tense … Continue reading →

Doc Searls spotted this somewhat scary quiz. I didn’t get very many right. Comments

The Takeda Foundation has given an award for “Social/Economic Well-Being” to Ken Sakamura, Richard M. Stallman and Linus Torvalds for “the origination and the advancement of open development models for system software – open architecture, free software and open source … Continue reading →

The media need to be cautious right now about how they report the anthrax cases. We in the press are being used by unknown murderers to spread fear as they attempt to spread the potentially deadly spores. We need to … Continue reading →

Washington Post: Senate Passes Expansion of Electronic Surveillance. With a minimum of debate, the Senate last night overwhelmingly approved a far-reaching anti-terrorism bill that would significantly enhance the power of law enforcement agencies to conduct searches, wiretaps and other forms … Continue reading →

Washington Post: Military Escorts Now Standard for Troubled Airliners. “We have to approach aviation safety from a multi-layer approach,” said John Cox, executive air safety chairman for the Air Line Pilots Association. “First we have to keep a potential threat … Continue reading →

It looks as though California Gov. Gray Davis has finally tossed a bone to people who want some semblance of privacy in their lives. An e-mail from a state Senate aide tells me Davis has signed SB 168, which gives … Continue reading →

Dan Bricklin’s new essay, “Copy Protection Robs The Future,” is an important addition to the discussion of why Hollywood, the music companies, software sellers and, increasingly, the big publishers are creating a serious mess with their incessant push to establish … Continue reading →