10 years later, COPA internet censorship law is finally dead

Way back in 1998, US president Bill Clinton signed into law a measure called the Child Online Protection Act. And it’s never actually been enforced.

As the name suggested, the law was intended to help protect kids from the dangerous things that can be found on the internet, specifically pictures of naked people. But critics said it limited free speech, and didn’t make it clear how to distinguish between sexually explicit internet content and educational web sites. Today, the Supreme Court declined to hear the case, effectively killing the law.

See the full article at DownloadSquad

The adoption-based music economy

Digitization has a disruptive effect on a wide range of industries, from music to software to publishing to…you name it. If it can be digitized, it can be disrupted.

It’s therefore encouraging to see the music seemingly converging on a cool new-old model: an ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors, & Publishers)-like tax from one’s Internet service provider that allows unlimited downloading of music.

Gerd Leonhard’s recent presentation on the subject is the best I’ve seen yet, one that I’d recommend you review, even if you never stray from the software world to think about music…

Read the full article at Webware

Nissan uses test track as parking lot for unsold cars

If there were ever a sign of these troubled times in the automobile industry, this is it. The photo you’re looking at was taken recently at Nissan Motor Manufacturing (UK) Ltd, the largest car plant in the United Kingdom and the most productive in Europe. Well, it may be productive, but with supply outpacing demand, Nissan has apparently been left with too much stock. The factory’s parking lots are overfilled, so they’ve begun parking cars on the facility’s test track. Of course, that means Nissan can’t use the track to test new cars, but if nobody’s buying them, that ought to be the least of their worries.

Read the full story  at Autoblog

Restaurant Lets Patrons Experiment With Flavors

Geschmackslabor, German for Flavor Lab, is a new restaurant located in a former school in Bremerhaven. The ‘lab’ part of the name doesn’t refer to molecular gastronomy or food served in test tubes. Experimentation at the restaurant is all about letting customers add flavor to their meals.

Dishes are served ready-to-eat, but diners are encouraged to enhance them by adding one or more of twenty custom-made seasoning oils that Geschmackslabor has on offer. The seasonings are all based on very pure olive oil, which is infused with flavors ranging from Arabica coffee and rosemary to papaya and coconut. Geschmackslabor’s menu suggests which seasonings go well with which dishes, but the whole point is for customers to experiment and find their own delicious combinations. The restaurant supplies plenty of bread for trying out different oils before adding them to food, allowing customers to sample a full range of spicy, sour, salty, sweet and bitter.

See the full article at InventorSpot via Springwise

Kalbuka defends her turf

Cat fight!