15 Jan 2006
Fantasy leagues may get caught in MLB statistics battle

It wouldn't surprise me, given the current lunatic copyright laws, if the court decided in favor of MLB and the ownership of statistics. It's mentioned here only because it's patently obvious [pun intended] that statistics are historical data, and to note my strong feeling that the court should rule as such. When facts become copyrightable, we're in deep shit.

What surprises me is the intensity with which the ownership of major league baseball continues to destroy the (former) national pastime. Look at the foot dragging on the recent steroid scandal. Remember the strike that killed the series? Now they want to insure that fantasy leagues, which are wildly popular, have to "pay to play". Don't this idiots realize who their fans are and what they're doing? Is baseball being run by refugees from the RIAA?

I can't for the life of me see why the public should invest any fan energy in a sport that may decide to off itself at the drop of a bat...

A company that runs sports fantasy leagues is asking a federal court to decide whether major leaguers' batting averages and home run counts are historical facts that can be used freely or property that can be sold.

(link) [CNN.com]

00:00 /Copywrongs | 0 comments | permanent link

Iran says not scared of Security Council, warns on oil prices (AFP)

The really scary thing:

And when asked if oil- and gas-rich Iran could use its vast energy reserves as a tool in the dispute, Ahmadinejad replied his nation also has "leverage" of its own to defend its national interests.

Yep - leverage, indeed.

AFP - Iran said it was "not scared" of being hauled before the UN Security Council and warned any sanctions over its disputed nuclear programme could cause an unexpected hike in oil prices.

(link) [Yahoo! News: Top Stories]

00:00 /Politics | 0 comments | permanent link

Let It Rain

And it's perfect day of sunshine right now. Let It Rain is a song by Eric Clapton, which I purchased from the iTunes music store the other night. But I already own it - I ripped it from my CD. Why did I purchase a song I already owned? Because I wanted to compare formats: Apple's AAC with Fairplay DRM versus a standard MP3. Hearing is, after all, believing.

Both were encoded at 128 bps. The AAC file was about a megabyte larger on disk, probably a consequence of the DRM. And it did sound better - not alot, but it was noticeable.

I just had to find out for myself, and 99¢ is not too much to waste for an experiment.

00:00 /Technology | 0 comments | permanent link