NETWORK WORLD NEWSLETTER: GIBBS & BRADNER 08/17/04 Dear [EMAIL PROTECTED],
In this issue: * Backspin columnist Mark Gibbs shares reader feedback to recent ��column about lawyers shutting down Napster and 321 Studios * Links related to Gibbs & Bradner * Featured reader resource _______________________________________________________________ This newsletter is sponsored by McAfee Visit the Enterprise Security Center, sponsored by McAfee(r), for an exclusive collection of news, whitepapers, information, analysis and strategy for securing your networks and systems. Learn new strategies for securing your servers and protecting your desktops from viruses. Get the latest information on how to stay on top of the latest threats to your network and bolster your skills in synergizing your IT staff as a critical business asset. http://www.fattail.com/redir/redirect.asp?CID=72590 _______________________________________________________________ See what's next in a wireless world. DEMOmobile puts the best of what's next in the palm of your hand. Hundreds apply, but only the most significant technologies are chosen to launch here. Register today to see them first. DEMOmobile 2004: The launchpad for a wireless world. September 8-10, La Jolla, CA http://www.fattail.com/redir/redirect.asp?CID=72451 _______________________________________________________________ Today's focus: Leashing the dogs of law By Mark Gibbs After last week's Backspin about lawyers shutting down Napster and 321 Studios ( <http://www.nwfusion.com/columnists/2004/0809backspin.html> ) there was a surge in feedback. Or rather, a surge in lawyer jokes. There were some very good jokes along with a surprising number that can't be printed in a nice, family oriented journal such as this. My (clean) favorite is: The devil visited a lawyer's office and made him an offer: "I'll increase your income fivefold, make your partners love you, your clients respect you, ensure you have four months of vacation and let you live to be 100. All I require in return is that your wife's soul, your children's souls and their children's souls rot in hell for eternity." The lawyer thought for a moment and then asked, "What's the catch?" I also received this one from reader Rich Gierman. Question: How many lawyer jokes are there really? Answer: Only 2, the rest are true stories. Anyway, before any lawyers start sending letters to me, let me quote reader Steve Goldman: "Blaming the lawyers for this is silly. It is the policies of the corporate entities that employ the lawyers and lobby on behalf of laws like the Digital Millennium Copyright Act that are the issue. What you're doing is akin to blaming your car for running the red light. If their ethics are questionable, what do you say about the ethics of folks who hire them?" An excellent point. The lawyers don't unilaterally decide to create an intimidating environment; the corporate executives are the ones who "pull the trigger." Once the trigger is pulled the lawyers are in the business of gaming the system on behalf of their masters and, as can be seen from cases like 321 Studios and Napster, they show no more compunction than their masters about doing whatever it takes to win. So in the case of the fall of 321 Studios it was the likes of Jack Valenti, the outgoing president and CEO of the Motion Picture Association of America and the Motion Picture Association and his staff who pulled the trigger. Taken to its logical conclusion, the problem of responsibility could be considered to lie with the shareholders. They have the power to demand that the executives who hire the lawyers exercise common sense and manage the work of their legal dogs such that they behave in a more public and socially spirited way. But alas, the shareholders don't care. Ultimately, the problem is cultural. We have few "deep" public business ethics beyond those enshrined in law and those that constitute traditional "values." In America we prize competition but we have developed a raw and inhumane version of the free-market philosophy. Our version is one that lets the richest players wreak havoc on anyone they please for whatever reason they choose, while we all look the other way and pretend we have a level playing field. We seem to have lost sight that when it comes to technology there is a real danger that creativity and risk-taking - the behaviors that drive the market - can be completely squashed when those with extreme economic and political power can get their way simply because they can. Combine this kind of bullying with the ridiculous mess of the patent office allowing patents on processes such as Amazon's "One Click," and what do you get? A real danger that lawyers driven by rapacious executives like Valenti will kill off small companies such as 321, dampening the vibrancy that we associate with the technology sector and, as a consequence, affecting our overall economy. We're all guilty. You, yes, you, personally need to stand up and be counted. You need to exercise your voice and tell the government, the companies you invest in and the organizations you work for that ethics and fair play matter. Cries of "Count me in" to <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>. _______________________________________________________________ To contact: Mark Gibbs Mark Gibbs is a consultant, author, journalist, and columnist and he writes the weekly Backspin and Gearhead columns in Network World. We'll spare you the rest of the bio but if you want to know more, go to <http://www.gibbs.com/mgbio>. Contact him at <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> _______________________________________________________________ This newsletter is sponsored by McAfee Visit the Enterprise Security Center, sponsored by McAfee(r), for an exclusive collection of news, whitepapers, information, analysis and strategy for securing your networks and systems. Learn new strategies for securing your servers and protecting your desktops from viruses. Get the latest information on how to stay on top of the latest threats to your network and bolster your skills in synergizing your IT staff as a critical business asset. http://www.fattail.com/redir/redirect.asp?CID=72590 _______________________________________________________________ ARCHIVE LINKS Gibbs archive: http://www.nwfusion.com/columnists/gibbs.html Bradner archive: http://www.nwfusion.com/columnists/bradner.html _______________________________________________________________ An Embarrassment of Riches For Your WAN Portfolio Tune in to our exclusive webcast, "Making Sense of WAN Service Options," for valuable insights into maximizing your bandwidth and your services to fit your evolving application mix. http://www.fattail.com/redir/redirect.asp?CID=72452 _______________________________________________________________ FEATURED READER RESOURCE WONDERING IF YOUR PAY IS UP TO SNUFF? Check out Network World's 2004 Salary Calculator to see if you're getting paid what you're worth. Using data collected in the 2004 Network World Salary Survey, we've programmed this calculator with several categories that could affect your pay. Answer the questions and find out what the average salary is for your job category. Click here: <http://www.nwfusion.com/salary/2004/calculator.html> _______________________________________________________________ May We Send You a Free Print Subscription? You've got the technology snapshot of your choice delivered at your fingertips each day. Now, extend your knowledge by receiving 51 FREE issues to our print publication. 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