Mark Fleischmann

Soon to be announced in Congress is new legislation that would strip the fair-use rights of consumers to the bone. And maybe beyond. c|net's News.com got a look at the draft bill crafted by the Bush administration and Congress and it's not pretty. Under the Intellectual Property Protection Act of 2006, just trying to infringe a copyright would become a federal crime. Existing law that makes it illegal to distribute hardware or software that circumvent anti-copy systems would expand to punish anyone who makes, exports, imports, obtains control of, or possesses such tools. Wiretaps, forfeitures, and seizure of records—including server logs—are part of the package. My favorite part is the provision that would permit copyright prosecutions even in cases where the work is not registered with the U.S. copyright office. The existing DMCA has had some unintended consequences but its successor promises to be far worse. This bill isn't about mass piracy, which is amply covered under existing law (and prosecutions). It's about you. The bill will first surface in the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Property, chaired by Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX), though the official sponsor will be James Sensenbrenner (R-WI, pictured), chair of the Judiciary Committee. Does someone on this list represent your congressional district?

A little while back I ran an item about Google Video. Guess what? Google's and Yahoo's video departments have been overtaken by a classic two-guys-in-a-garage web startup, youtube.com. Some of the user-posted content probably violates copyright but there is an appealing early-Napster-like breadth. Check out this goofy pick hit (from press agent and audiophile Jonathan Scull). I searched Robyn Hitchcock and came up with several music videos, including a great radio appearance from public-radio treasure KCRW, a lovely duet with violinist Deni Bonet, and others obviously shot on someone's cell phone. The look is blessedly utilitarian, the user interface simple and versatile. And the underlying video player is the Macromedia Flash Player, something most of us already have installed. Check it out before it gets bought up or outlawed.

The great gray lady.

Consumer expectations are a pointed stick. You can almost hear manufacturers of surround receivers going, "Ow, ow, ow! Do you really expect us to provide seven amp channels and a silicon forest of surround modes—and make it all easy to set up?" Yes, yes, and yes.

Yesterday's item about the dumping of CDs reminded me of a bit of future-proofing I masterminded awhile ago. I'd just set up some new CD shelves but was already dreading the day when my 2400-disc storage capacity would finally run out. So I bought four jumbo CaseLogic CD wallets. Each one holds 264 discs—or half that many if I decide to keep the booklets alongside the discs—so eventually my least significant thousand discs will find new homes there. The mere thought of dumping several shopping bags full of jewelboxes in the plastics-recycling bin brings a smile to my face. Since then CaseLogic has introduced an even bigger model holding 320 discs.