Michael Geist has set up a website where you can opt out of getting unsolicited calls from registered charities, business with prior relationships, political parties, survey companies, and newspapers.  He explains why he created this site:

The Canadian government passed legislation in 2005 mandating the creation of a do-not-call registry.  The registry is scheduled to take effect in mid-2008, yet many Canadians may be disappointed to learn about the exemption of a wide range of organizations (registered charities, business with prior relationships, political parties, survey companies, and newspapers).  Under the law, exempted organizations are permitted to make unsolicited telephone calls despite the inclusion of the number in the do-not-call registry. However, organizations must remove numbers from their lists if specifically requested to do so.

IOptOut takes advantage of this approach by allowing Canadians to create and manage a personal do-not-call list that begins where do-not-call legislation ends. Once you register, you’ll be able to view a categorized list where you can opt-out of further contact from exempt organizations.  To do this we send an email notification to each organization on your behalf requesting that your name, email address and phone number(s) be removed from their active marketing lists.

It took about 3 minutes to register (I really liked the “Please delete my information within 24 hours after completion of the opt-out process.” option) and scan through the various categories of organizations and select the ones that I didn’t want contacting me when I’m eating dinner.

I was reading Venus Zine and noticed an ad for Burda, the company that makes sewing patterns. The tagline was “open source sewing”. While, it’s a cute concept for a website (that also has sewpedia section), I don’t think it’s correct. I usually describe open source software as software that is free, with the source code being open so that it can be changed and improved. There are several other criteria that something needs to meet to be truly open source.

I’m not an open source purist, but it makes me slightly cranky that Burda is conflating free with open source as part of a hipster advertising campaign. They do, however, have lots of patterns available for free download.

Jeff Davis, Catherine Howett and I will be doing a session on Friday, April 18th at the BCLA conference introducing and demonstrating lots of open source software including:

• Ubuntu (operating system, like Windows)
• Firefox (web browser, like Internet Explorer) and various extensions/plug ins
• Zotero (citation manager, like RefWorks or EndNote)
• Open Office (software suite with word processing, spreadsheet, presentation and database programs, like MS Office)
• Drupal and/or Wordpress (content management systems, like…actually I can’t think of a proprietary CMS)
• Evergreen (integrated library system, like Horizon, Unicorn or Voyager)

Our goal is to introduce a bunch of things that we use and think are neat in an accessible way. Our secret hope is that people will be excited to try out some of these programs on their own and implement them in their libraries.  I might even sew an “open source” frock to wear.

From William New on Intellectual Property Watch

First paragraph:

World Intellectual Property Organization member states felt their way slowly this month in the first committee meeting on how to implement 45 agreed recommendations for transformation of the United Nations organisation toward a stronger development orientation. But the slow start may have been good for development, some supporters said.

http://www.ip-watch.org/weblog/index.php?p=977

Thanks to Gavin Baker on Open Access News

The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada recently published a consultation paper on Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) in the Workplace: Recommendations for Good Practices.

While the title sounds like the paper could be a bit dry, boring and difficult to understand, it actually is really interesting, written in accessible language with specific examples.

In the section on function creep and secondary uses, the following example is included:

For instance, users of toll payment system that require the use of RFID transponders in vehicles have had their records subpoenaed in divorce cases for the purpose of providing claims of marital infidelity.  The records may assist in determining where an individual’s car was at a particular time.

The Privacy Commissioner of Canada (consultation@privcom.gc.ca) is inviting comments on this paper until April 30, 2008.

Boingboing TV has an interesting video clip showing how easily RFID enabled credit cards cards can be hacked. Pablos Holman, Hacker and Futurist, says:

The credit card industry understands very clearly that creating a secure system isn’t really the priority. Creating a system that feels secure to the user is. In reality it is easier for me to get numbers now than it was before with the old card. All I need to do is get near your ass with my reader.

If credit cards can be hacked this way, I would imagine that the”getting near your ass” technique could be used to hack RFID enhanced driver’s licenses, passports, or library cards.

It is Sunshine Week in the U.S. - “a national initiative to open a dialogue about the importance of open government and freedom of information”.

Sounds like a good plan for Canada, too - anyone interested in taking the lead on planning a Canadian Sunshine Week, for 2009?

Thanks to Gavin Baker on Open Access News.

Democracy 2.0 - Next Generation Democracy
http://next-generation-democracy.blogspot.com/

Check out this new blog from Bill St. Arnaud, Director of Network Projects for CANARIE Inc.

Thanks to the civic access discussion list.

Note:  on the IPC list, one observer comments that this blogger’s views on quite libertarian, e.g. vouchers for library services.  IPC-ers would likely not agree with all of the views expressed on this blog.

Student activists are gathering at UBC March 3-7, 2008, for a conference called Resisting the University