13 May 2003
Noel Redding, RIP

I guess this is one way to know you're getting old - when the musicians you listened to in your youth tune in, turn on and drop out permanently. One tidbit I noticed in this obituary, however, tells a tale about the business practices of record companies, and the real reason they're chasing "pirates" -

His manager Ian Grant ... had been seeking royalties for some of Redding's recordings.

Redding had accepted a $100,000 payment in the 1970s after being told there would be no more releases of Jimi Hendrix Experience material.

But this was before the invention of compact discs and other formats.

Hendrix bassist dies. Noel Redding, bass player with the Jimi Hendrix Experience, dies aged 57. [BBC News | Front Page | UK Edition]

00:00 /Home | 0 comments | permanent link

RIAA Makes a Boo-boo

Maybe I'll change my name to Mr. Tambourine Man and put up a recording of myself reading the Constitution. I wouldn't be nearly as nice to them as Penn State was ...

RIAA Apologizes for Incorrect Infringement Notice [Slashdot]

00:00 /Copywrongs | 0 comments | permanent link

Filesystem or Database

Well, which is it? A file system or a database? All I can say is that if they completely drop support for FAT32 it's gonna break a lot of code. And I've got to wonder how many larger customers will want to pay to have all their verticals recoded to NTFS just so they can pay more to move to Longhorn? I guess we'll see, eh?

Microsoft sidelines Longhorn database caper. NTFS reprieved [The Register]

00:00 /Technology | 0 comments | permanent link

Oreos As Drugs

May the gods protect us from public interest lawyers!

I was going to quip something like 'taking cookies away from kids' when I first spotted this story on Right-Thinking but then I noticed the last paragraph ...

Joseph, a former Washington, D.C., lobbyist who has been practicing law since 1980, has worked on several other business issues, including tax credits, aviation and energy and successfully sued ITT. He most recently formed S.F. Graffiti Busters and sued the Department of Parking and Traffic to try to get the agency to remove graffiti from its parking and traffic signs.

00:00 /Politics | 0 comments | permanent link