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EFFector - Volume 21, Issue 37 - EFF Launches OurVoteLive.org This Week!

EFFECTOR

EFFector - Volume 21, Issue 37 - EFF Launches OurVoteLive.org This Week!

EFFector Vol. 21, No. 26  July 31, 2008  editor@eff.org

A Publication of the Electronic Frontier Foundation
ISSN 1062-9424EFFector Vol. 21, No. 37  October 31, 2008  editor@eff.org

A Publication of the Electronic Frontier Foundation
ISSN 1062-9424

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In our 489th issue:

* EFF LAUNCHED OurVoteLive.org THIS WEEK TO MONITOR
ELECTION PROBLEMS NATIONWIDE AND IMPROVE TRANSPARENCY IN
THE ELECTORAL PROCESS. Published on behalf of the
nonpartisan Election Protection coalition, the website
collects and analyzes voter calls to the 866-OUR-VOTE
hotline, gathering important data about voters' questions,
registration and identification problems, difficulties with
voting machines, and polling place accessibility issues.

In addition to raw incident data, OurVoteLive.org also
features incident maps, nationwide trend information and an
active election issues blog that will highlight important
election incidents as they develop. As part of our defense
of digital rights, EFF is committed to protecting the
electoral process and producing tools that help educate and
inform the public.

For the Our Vote Live website:
http://www.ourvotelive.org/

For the EFF press release about OurVoteLive.org:
http://www.eff.org/press/archives/2008/10/26

* EFF MARKED THE IGNOBLE 10TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE DIGITAL
MILLENNIUM COPYRIGHT ACT (DMCA) WITH THE RELEASE OF
"UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES: Ten Years Under the DMCA," a
comprehensive report on the effects of anticircumvention
provisions that ban circumventing digital rights management
(DRM) and other technological protection measures. While
anticircumvention provisions have failed to prevent
"digital piracy," the "Unintended Consequences" have
proliferated wildly, ultimately harming fair use, free
speech, scientific research, and legitimate competition.

For more about the Unintended Consequences report:
http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2008/10/dmca-ten-years-unintended-consequences

For the Freedom to Tinker blog's DMCA retrospective:
http://www.freedom-to-tinker.com/tags/dmca-week

For Public Knowledge's DMCA retrospective:
http://www.publicknowledge.org/tag/dmca

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EFF Updates

* Coalition Launches Global Network Initiative 
Internet companies, including Google, Yahoo, and Microsoft,
have agreed to follow a set of principles on protecting
users' free expression and privacy.
http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2008/10/global-network-initiative

* The Two Best Books About the DMCA
Here's where to turn for in-depth analysis of the DMCA and
its impact on digital culture.
http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2008/10/two-best-books-about-dmca

* Google Book Search Agreement With Authors and Publishers
The massive settlement comes with radically new incentives
for Google and authors and publishers.
http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2008/10/google-reaches-settlement-authors-over-google-book

* Hollywood Menaces DVD Rental Kiosks
Universal threatens Redbox in a shocking attack on the
first sale doctrine.
http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2008/10/hollywood-menaces-dvd-rental-kiosks

* EFF's "Yellow Dots of Mystery" on Instructables
Watch our video to learn about printer tracking dots and
read the step-by-step tutorial for instructions on how to
see them for yourself.
http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2008/10/effs-yellow-dots-mystery-instructables

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miniLinks

~ Court Rules Hash Analysis Is a Fourth Amendment Search
Similar hash analysis searches of an "entire computer"
would require a warrant.
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20081029-court-rules-hash-analysis-is-a-fourth-amendment-search.html

~ More in UK Wrongly Identified As File Sharers
Surprise, surprise -- investigators in the UK searching for
copyrighted content on peer to peer networks wind up
accusing innocent folks of infringement.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7697898.stm

~ 'Series Of Tubes' Senator Convicted of Corruption
With Senator Ted Stevens' reelection unlikely, CNET's
Declan McCullagh summarizes the history of Stevens' poor
Internet policy decisions as member of the Senate Commerce
Committee.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-10076855-38.html

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Announcements

* Special EFF Member Discount on "Take Control Ebooks"

Our friends at TidBITS Publishing are offering all EFF
members a permanent 30% discount on Apple-oriented Take
Control ebooks. Written by some of the top names in the Mac
world, Take Control ebooks strive to be focused, in-depth,
and highly practical. The PDF-based ebooks use carefully
designed layout and typography for easy onscreen reading
and printing, and they include bookmarks, clickable links,
and a "Check for Updates" link that lets readers access
free updates and new editions. Best of all? They're totally
free of DRM.

If you're an EFF member and you'd like to take advantage of
this offer, send an email to membership@eff.org to receive
the discount voucher code.

For the Take Control ebook catalog:
http://www.takecontrolbooks.com/catalog.html

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Administrivia

EFFector is published by:
The Electronic Frontier Foundation
 http://www.eff.org/about

Editor:
Richard Esguerra, EFF Activist
 richard@eff.org

Membership & donation queries:
 membership@eff.org

General EFF, legal, policy, or online resources queries:
 information@eff.org

Back issues of EFFector are available at:
 http://www.eff.org/effector/

To unsubscribe or change your subscription preferences:
 http://action.eff.org/site/CO?i=cc9sZmzxQ64zfOEH1cfRE9UA8wxLriG6&cid=1041

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 http://action.eff.org/addresschange

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In our 479th issue:

* EFF AND FAIR USE PREVAIL OVER ANOTHER ATTEMPT TO USE
COPYRIGHT TO SILENCE CRITICS, as a federal court dismissed
a copyright claim by radio personality Michael Savage last
Friday. Savage sued the Council on American-Islamic
Relations (CAIR) for criticizing him with short audio clips
of his radio program -- a by-the-book exercise of free
speech by making fair use of someone's content for
criticism. In the opinion, the judge even discussed the
value of using the audio clips, writing, "To comment on
[Savage's] statements without reference or citation to them
would not only render [CAIR's] criticism less reliable, but
be unfair to [Savage]."
http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2008/07/fair-use-prevails-over-michael-savages-copyright-c

* THE WORLD LOST CELEBRATED JOURNALIST AND CONSUMER
ADVOCATE ED FOSTER to a heart attack this weekend. For more
than 20 years, Foster wrote as a "reader advocate" at
InfoWorld, championing battles on behalf of the growing
class of digital consumers and establishing a tradition of
consumer advocacy that continues today. Ed will be sorely
missed, both professionally and personally, by us at EFF
along with all of the others who benefited from his wisdom.
http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2008/07/memoriam-ed-foster-1949-2008

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EFF Updates

* Yahoo! Offers Refunds to Customers Who Bought
DRM-Crippled Tunes
After an initial misstep, Yahoo! stands by its customers by
offering full refunds on music files locked by soon-to-be
obsolete copy protection.
http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2008/07/yahoo-offers-refunds-customers-who-bought-drm-crip

* Senators Announce New Intellectual Property Enforcement
Bill
S. 3325 would give the Attorney General new powers to sue
on behalf of the entertainment industry -- but why?
http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2008/07/senators-announce-new-intellectual-property-enforc

* Paper Catalog + Computer Database = Patent? Um, No.
The patent office agrees to reexamine a patent on "looking
up parts in a catalog with a computer" -- one of many
runners-up for the EFF Patent Busting Project's Ten Most
Wanted list.
http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2008/07/paper-catalog-computer-database-patent-um-no

* When the Reese's Peanut Butter Cups Principle Doesn't
Apply
In the patent world, combining common concepts is not a new
invention.
http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2008/07/when-reeses-peanut-butter-cups-principle-doesnt-ap

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miniLinks

~ Kansas Senator Outraged by Chinese Spying
Senator Brownback objects to dragnet surveillance -- when
it is done by other countries.
http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2008/07/kansas-senator.html

~ Networks Sue Redlasso
Fox and NBC made good on a threat to sue Redlasso, the
popular service that allows users to clip and post TV
shows.
http://www.alleyinsider.com/2008/7/fox-nbc-make-good-on-threat-sue-web-clip-service-redlasso

~ Is the Air Force Immune to DMCA Suits?
A DMCA suit against the US Air Force alleging copyright
infringement and anti-circumvention violations was thrown
out of federal court on the basis of "sovereign immunity."
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/07/30/dmca_suit_blocked/

For more miniLinks:
http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2008/07/minilinks-2008-30-07

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Announcements

* Visit EFF at the 2008 Usenix Security Symposium
Join us in San Jose, CA, July 28 - August 1, for the 17th
USENIX Security Symposium.
http://www.usenix.org/events/sec08/sec08.html

* EFF is IN at Black Hat USA 2008!
Look for us or stop by our booth at Black Hat USA, the
world's premier technical security conference, August 2-7
in Las Vegas. We'll be giving out useful legal information
to assist security researchers with intellectual property
and free speech issues that affect their work.  We'll also
be available to consult with individuals or companies who
want more information about how the law might affect their
current research and upcoming presentations. To make an
appointment for a consultation, please email Alyssa
Ralston, Development Assistant, at alyssa@eff.org, or drop
by the table.

EFF supporters receive a $100 discount off the prevailing
registration rate by inserting BHUS8SUAS in the box marked
"coupon" on the web registration page!
http://www.blackhat.com/ 

* Visit EFF at the LinuxWorld Conference and Expo from
August 4-7
Thinking about going to the LinuxWorld Conference and Expo
in San Francisco? You can use the priority code "VPL616"
for a Free Exhibit Hall Pass or 20% off the conference
package of your choice. Stop by our booth to say hello and
update your membership!
http://www.linuxworldexpo.com/live/12/

While you're there, check out the LinuxWorld session "Cold
Boot Attacks on Hard Drive Encryption" with EFF Staff
Technologist Seth Schoen. He will demonstrate attacks in
which encryption keys are recovered from memory chips
quickly taken from powered down computers, and then will
discuss countermeasures that users can take to protect
themselves.
http://www.linuxworldexpo.com/live/12/conference//tracks/tracksessions/Security/QMONYB00BIQG

* Vegas 2.0 presents theSummit: Fundraiser for EFF and The
Hacker Foundation 
Kick off DEFCON right at the 4th Annual theSummit
fundraiser on Thursday, August 7th, 2008. Organizers plan
to have 50+ featured guests from the hacker community. Past
guests have been DEFCON/Black Hat speakers, high profile
hackers, and security book writers.
http://vegassummit.org/

* DEFCON 16 "Hackers and Guns" Firearms Training Simulator
Fundraiser for EFF!
Going to DEFCON? Support EFF by pwning baddies in the same
firearms training simulator used by military and law
enforcement personnel! The courseware consists of drills
that allow individual combatants to engage in exercises to
improve target acquisition using laser-based training. The
simulator will be set up in room #103 near Registration and
the Swag booth from 10am to 8pm. All proceeds support EFF
-- fighting for your digital rights since 1990!

* EFF Fundraiser at San Francisco's Kansai Bistro
Restaurant
Come support EFF at Kansai Bistro on August 14 -- mention
EFF to your server to receive a free dessert AND have
Kansai Bistro donate 15% of your bill to EFF! EFF staffers
will be on hand throughout the evening to chat and mingle.
Kansai Bistro is located at 4112 Geary Blvd. (between 5th &
6th Avenues) in San Francisco. Call (415) 386-6188 to make
reservations. We look forward to seeing you there!
http://www.kansaibistro.com

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Administrivia

EFFector is published by:
The Electronic Frontier Foundation
 http://www.eff.org/about

Editor:
Richard Esguerra, EFF Activist
 richard@eff.org

Membership & donation queries:
 membership@eff.org

General EFF, legal, policy, or online resources queries:
 information@eff.org

Back issues of EFFector are available at:
 http://www.eff.org/effector/

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