1/21/2007

近一月來網頁擷選

這一個月以來,連網頁閱讀和擷選都減少了,沒辦法分類了。不過這段期間摘的內容還蠻有趣的,包括一些法律類的文章。下半部時間上比較早的其中兩篇,是美國最高法院最近大聲疾呼提高聯邦地院法官的薪水,以免法官流失及損失司法獨立,連憲法條文都搬出來了。當然這次也有我喜歡的網路產業競爭與智財動態的文章,例如webs-tv對Yahoo!奇摩購併無名小站的反應,與新一代高解析度的DVD、Amazon的新動向,以及兩則網路音樂下載的新聞。

  • 01/19 23:51, 2007

  • 引述 ─『台灣網路產業正逐步被迫走向「Yahoo奇摩 = 網路代名詞」的局面。Yahoo奇摩不斷宣稱其擁有高達98.27%的網友到達率,並挾此強悍地位,片面影響台灣網路產業的發展與走向,已經形成台灣網路新創者的高度進入障礙,亦間接阻礙台灣網路產業的健全發展與成長。

    又如Yahoo奇摩拍賣、新聞、入口網站、網路廣告、交友、信箱等多項網路服務,Yahoo奇摩都位居近乎市場獨占地位,如果公平會再同意Yahoo奇摩併購台灣最大的部落格網站「無名小站」,等於同意其取得近乎壟斷台灣網路流量的絕對市場地位,將造成整個台灣網路產業的嚴重失衡。』

    註記 ─ Webs-TV主張受影響的市場是portal市場,而不是BSP市場。如此一來,重點會落在Yahoo!在網路廣告市場裡的佔有率。


  • 01/19 13:06, 2007

    引述 ─『As state DNA databases expand, a growing number of "cold cases" are getting solved, but that's leading to a new problem: Local jurisdictions can't keep up with their burgeoning caseloads.

    "One of the problems with these cold-hit cases is that it truly shifts the burden to the defendant," said Bell, who plans to appeal the case. "Prosecutors get blinded by the DNA. DNA is a powerful tool, there is no doubt, but it must be placed in the context of everything else."』

    註記 ─ 本篇報導目前美國各州建立人類DNA資料庫(主要來自已定罪的重刑犯)協助偵查懸案的狀況。


  • 01/18 03:50, 2007

    引述 ─『法院也認為被告Cooper與Google並不同,一是Google的蒐尋功能有很大的合理使用空間,二是Google的蒐尋是普遍性的資料蒐尋,但被告卻是針對非法MP3作鏈結。


    註記 ─ 這個案子被告幾乎是明知這些鏈結是違法的,還把它整理在網站上,有意積極幫助侵權行為發生。論以間接侵權責任,並不冤枉。


  • 01/17 08:40, 2007

    引述 ─『No doubt, Wikipedia's anyone-can-be-an-expert nature means that it, too, can get things wrong. The site also gets its share of pranksters. Recent entries have noted that a popular computer game was written by Mr. T, of television's "The A-Team" (not), and that one of the prime suspects in the assassination of John F. Kennedy was John Seigenthaler, Sr., the founding editorial director of USA Today (beyond not).

    The key to using Wikipedia, say its supporters, is understanding Wikipedia: It's a jumping-off point for research, a place where users get background on a topic, and links to authoritative sources. It is not, on its own, a definitive source. Even Wikipedia's founder, Jimmy "Jimbo" Wales, has advised college students not to use the site for serious research. In comments made to BusinessWeek in September, patent commissioner John Doll said that Wikipedia had been used for background only, and not as a basis for accepting or rejecting applications.』

    註記 ─ 美國專利商標局重新規定Wiki只能作背景參考,不能作為專利核駁的依據。Wiki創始者Jimmy "Jimbo" Wales也如此建議使用者。


  • 01/13 21:43, 2007

    引述 ─『And nobody knows yet which format is likely to prevail and become widespread.

    Blu-ray discs store as much as 50 gigabytes, while HD-DVD discs store as much as 30. In the future, the Blu-ray number might grow to 200, while the HD-DVD number could possibly cap at 45 gigabytes. DVDs typically store 4.7 gigabytes or 8.5 gigabytes.

    The HD-DVD players are more closely tied to the original DVD technology. You can take a new hybrid disc (HD-DVD on one side, DVD on the other) and play it in an old DVD player. You can't do that with Blu-ray. But you can put the older DVDs into a Blu-ray machine. Hence, if you have a library of older DVDs, you can keep them and play them with the new players on either side.

    Do you want HD movies? On bigger sets, yes. On smaller screens, I think regular DVDs look pretty good. I watched HD-DVD movies on a Toshiba Qosmio G-35 AV650 ($2,499) with a 17-inch screen. I also looked at Blu-ray on an upcoming Dell laptop. With the small screen sizes, the picture looks nice but not good enough to be a big deal. The real reason to get a writeable next-generation HD player on a laptop is for easy archiving of your hard-drive data.

    The larger the screen, the more you will appreciate movies in the 1080p format. But it's worth noting that many TVs on the market at reasonable prices display movies only in 720p resolution, which isn't as good.

    Also, the anti-piracy provisions are worth paying attention to. If you're interested in that, do an Internet search on HDCP, or high-bandwidth digital copy protection, to get an explanation of why this prevents you from playing unauthorized discs, among other things.

    For now, there are more than 100 movie discs out for each format. In the long run, HD-DVD faces big problems. It stores less data, and only three of eight major studios have agreed to release movies on it. Blu-ray stores more data, and seven of eight studios support it.

    Blu-ray discs cannot play on older DVD players.』

    註記 ─ 從各方面比較目前剛剛出現、尚未分軒輊的兩種高解析DVD的規格。


  • 01/10 00:28, 2007

    引述 ─『Five law firms made Fortune magazine's list this year of the best 100 employers to work for -- one less than last year.

    Alston & Bird, Arnold & Porter, Nixon Peabody, Perkins Coie and Bingham McCutchen held their ground. But Morrison & Foerster, the only California-based firm to make the 2006 list, dropped off the chart.』

    註記 ─ 這些上榜的公司福利還真好,報導裡略有描述,足以讓我們瞋目結舌。


  • 01/10 00:17, 2007

    引述 ─『The Constitution itself says little about federal judges, except for two provisions: life tenure, and a bar against reduction of their salaries. Both, says Duff, are "pillars of judicial independence," and both are "directly in play" because of the current level of pay for judges.

    Judges have long argued that when Congress does not even give them cost-of-living adjustments -- none was given last year, or in several years during the 1990s -- it is, in effect violating the salary-reduction provision of the Constitution. Real earnings of judges have declined by nearly 25 percent since 1969, Roberts pointed out.

    But the impact of salary on the life-tenure provision of the Constitution is emerging as a strong argument as well, Duff says. Judges are leaving the bench at a higher rate than ever before -- 17 in the past two years alone -- obviously shortening their tenure.

    Beyond that, at a more subtle (though equally ominous) level, Duff expressed concern that the purpose of life tenure might be thwarted in other ways by salary concerns.』

    註記 ─ 美國新任聯邦法院行政局局長談應該調整法官薪水的原因(還引憲法條文),以及目前進展。


  • 01/06 22:20, 2007

    引述 ─『國際唱片業交流基金會(IFPI)德國分會執行長 Zombik 日前表示,二○○七年德國音樂產業將加強取締非法盜錄音樂,預計每月平均取締案件至少一千件。根據資料,僅二○○五年CD片遭複製之經濟損失便達五十億歐元,再加上經網路非法下載之損失亦達十億歐元。近年來,德國音樂產業已逐步採取反擊行動,以防範音樂在網上遭非法盜錄。自二○○四年開始至今,已對二萬起案件提出告訴,其中僅二○○六年一年中便達一萬件。』

    註記 ─ 連一向以守法著稱的德國,都為音樂下載及盗版所苦。嚴格禁止翻錄與下載是否符合人們心中的法感情,不無疑問。


  • 01/03 22:17, 2007

    引述 ─『Issuing an eight-page message devoted exclusively to salaries, Roberts says the 678 full-time U.S. District Court judges, the backbone of the federal judiciary, are paid about half that of deans and senior law professors at top schools.

    In the 1950s, 65 percent of U.S. District Court judges came from the practicing bar and 35 percent came from the public sector. Today the situation is reversed, Roberts said, with 60 percent from the public sector and less than 40 percent from private practice.』

    註記 ─ 美國Chief Justice John Roberts再度呼籲調高聯邦地院法官薪水。


  • 01/03 04:02, 2007

    引述 ─『是的,他打算分租亞馬遜十二年來建設完成的網路倉儲技術與資料庫,叫做亞馬遜網路服務(Amazon Web Services, AWS)。亞馬遜早在二○○二年七月就推出網路服務,當時貝索斯打算讓亞馬遜不只賣書,而是當電子零售業的平台。他推出亞馬遜電子商務服務(Amazon E-commerce Service),讓零售商可以把自己的商品放在亞馬遜商店中,儲存產品價格、顧客評等資料,進行後台管理。該服務是免費的,亞馬遜網路書店從此蛻變成亞馬遜百貨公司。後來陸續推出簡單倉儲服務(Simple Storage Service, S3)以及土耳其機器人(Mechanical Turk)。』

    註記 ─ 報導Amazon的新動向,並且回顧成立以來的不同發展階段



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