Author Archives: Dan Gillmor

It would be the data-highway inverse of the federal interstate road system — a taxpayer-funded project to put in place the fabled “last mile” of broadband connectivity. There’s no way private industry will ever do it in a timely way, … Continue reading →

Amnesty International, which has done more for human rights than almost any other organization on the globe, turned 40 years old yesterday. For decades, Amnesty has stood up to dictators and putative democracies, demanding that prisoners of conscience be freed. … Continue reading →

Do you dislike pop-up advertising on Web pages as much as I do? One of the offenders is X10, which sells Web-cam gear. At least these ads don’t go on top of what you’re reading, but are a new window … Continue reading →

Robert Scheer (The Nation): Bush’s Faustian Deal With the Taliban. Enslave your girls and women, harbor anti-US terrorists, destroy every vestige of civilization in your homeland, and the Bush Administration will embrace you. All that matters is that you line … Continue reading →

Rare victory for the good guys, that is. According to this report (Reuters), a federal appeals panel has overturned a federal judge’s injunction that prohibited the publication of a book. The volume in question, “The Wind Done Gone” — a … Continue reading →

Gordon Moore retired yesterday from the board of directors at Intel, the company he co-founded more than 30 years ago. He is a Silicon Valley giant. He’s best known for his 1965 prediction in this paper (PDF file, 168k), which … Continue reading →

Seattle P-I: Microsoft admits prize program was ‘stupid’. The notification program — which has been discontinued, the company said — raised suspicions among computer makers and corporate users that the company was reporting customers to the FBI or to software … Continue reading →

I’ve had some intriguing responses to my suggestion that it might be time for a corporate death penalty in the wake of the plea bargain establishing some incredibly sleazy actions on the part of the company and some top executives. … Continue reading →

Speaking of JD Lasica, here’s the first installment of a two-part series he’s writing on Weblogs. He interviewed me for this last weekend, and I am scheduled to be in the second part. Comments

Avant! and key executives copped pleas to various crimes yesterday. From all the evidence, this company would not exist but for the crimes it committed. Does it deserve to survive? More in my Wednesday column. Let me know what you … Continue reading →