Simply Brilliant Concept

Subscribe to broadband at home, get it on the road. ArsTechnica summarizes SBC's new DSL+WiFi promotion:

SBC Communications has launched a promotion offering its DSL customers free WiFi through April, if they sign up for a full year of WiFi service. After April, WiFi access would run US$1.99 per month. The service is offered through its WiFi arm FreedomLink, which operates WiFi hotspots in McDonald's, Barnes and Noble, and UPS Stores. SBC FreedomLink subscribers would also be able to log on at Wayport sites through a partnership with SBC.

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Whales Lack Standing To Sue Bush And Rumsfeld

Cetacean Community v. Bush, et al. (PDF), an opinion authored by Ninth Circuit Judge William A. Fletcher and published today, begins as follows:

We are asked to decide whether the world's cetaceans have standing to bring suit in their own name under the Endangered Species Act, the Marine Mammal Protection Act, and the Administrative Procedure Act. We hold that cetaceans do not have standing under these statutes.

According to their counsel, the cetaceans are disturbed about the Navy's use of Surveillance Towed Array Sensor System Low Frequency Active Sonar during wartime or heightened threat conditions, which apparently does no good at all to cetaceans and other sea life. I have not closely read the opinion or listened to the audio (WMA) of the oral argument, but suspect the cetaceans might have had greater success if they had once again persuaded the NRDC to pursue claims on their behalf.

[P.S.] Please note the considerable restraint it took to refrain from heretofore using the phrase "Free Willy" in connection with this post...

Improbable Blog

The folks behind the Ig Nobel Prizes are blogging: Improbable Research: What's New. Stephen Nipper highlights two of this year's Ig Nobel winners — the Combover Patent; the scientific validity of the Five-Second Rule — in this week's IP Memes. It's worth noting that Howard University freshman Jillian Clark, responsible for the landmark research on the safety of dropped food, is the youngest ever Ig Nobel recipient. At this writing, 74% of those participating in CNN's Five-Second Rule poll pick those Cheerios right back up and pop 'em down the hatch.

Not Yet; Finally

No hits yet for "prenatal soccer," but you know it's just a matter of time. Katie Couric tossed the term out this morning while noting the ubiquity of the sport for America's youth (and plugging Brandi Chastain's deliciously titled new book: It's Not About the Bra). This prompted me to wonder for the umpteenth time why we're so keen to teach our kids soccer but not so much an exercise they can do the rest of their lives: yoga. Then later in the same broadcast the Today Show did a segment on My Daddy Is a Pretzel: Yoga for Parents and Kids, so it seems this may be catching on.

Pod Lawed

Just as a film containing unlicensed copyrighted material (e.g., a soundtrack mixed from your favorite tunes) can lead to legal problems, the same is true in the world of podcasting. A discussion sparked by Doc Searls is exploring the differences between downloading audio to play at your leisure (probably on a portable device) and Internet radio (the latter of which is subject to a labyrinthine royalty process and other regulation).

Meanwhile, Adam Curry, John Palfrey, and Derek Slater are wisely paying attention to the copyright ramifications of using recorded music in a podcast. If you're not a Mac/iMovie user you might not be familiar with Freeplay Music, a serviceable resource if you're looking for free background music for "private non-commercial use" — which the site's FAQs define as generally including "using music on a personal Web site" or "content that you produce for friends and family." It's not entirely clear that would include music put in a podcast (probably not if there is any commercial aspect to it), but it's a good start. So is Creative Commons's Search. Soon, you'll be able to add Ourmedia to the list, which at the moment is a worthy cause in search of some forward looking pro bono legal assistance.

Personally, I'm wondering how long before the trademark shoe drops.

ByePod

Bonus link: don't miss Larry Lessig's comments on Creative Commons recently emailed to Dave Winer:

No author gives up his copyright when putting content under a CC license. A CC license is just permissions given up front. It rests upon a copyright (without the copyright, you couldn't impose the permissions). But the copyright owner holds the copyright, and just says, "here's how you're free to use my work."