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Editorial by Gene Pitts
Owner and editor of the audiophile voice.D.M.C.A, Noise & Obit
I don't know which was the more interesting story, but both of them twisted my head around several times. What was even more curious, whoever did the layout for page C7 of The New York Times of July 24th put these “strange bedfellows” articles cheek by jowl. The first was about Napster naming a new chief executive, choosing Konrad Hilbers, who had formerly been an executive at Bertelsmann, the German media giant which owns BMG Records and which was one of Napster’s main antagonists in the lawsuit over sending of copyrighted songs over the internet.
The second story concerned an about-face by Adobe Systems which asked for the release of a Russian software programmer-hacker, Dmitri Sklyarov, whom the FBI had arrested at a hacker convention in Las Vegas for violating the 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Law, which some civil liberties groups think is an unconstitutional restriction on free speech. Adobe had earlier filed a complaint against the Moscow-based firm, Elcomsoft, where Sklyarov works, because it was selling a $99 piece of software that could be used to crack Adobe’s e-book security. About 100 protesters had marched at Adobe’s San lose headquarters, and its officials had an eight-hour meeting with representatives from the Electronic Frontier Foundation. While Elcomsoft had stopped selling the software after being contacted by Adobe, Robin Gross, a lawyer for the nonprofit civil liberties group, said the group had been able to convince Adobe that supporting the prosecution would hurt its business. “It makes little sense for the U.S. attorney’s office to ask taxpayers to foot the fill for a prosecution that Adobe doesn’t even believe in,” she commented.
Would You Believe?
International Noise Awareness Day was last April 25th, and to call attention to this form of pollution, the House Ear Institute went out in the Los Angeles area and did some sound level measurements with a standard sound meter:
Downtown Traffic at a busy intersection with trucks and sirens, Alvarado and 7th, 78-90 dB-A; RED LISlE METRO SUBWAY at Westlake/MacArthur Park stop with trains arriving at platform, 70-81 dB-A, approaching train horn in tunnel, 85 dB-A; Recess in Schoolyard, PB Catholic School, Occidental and Third, 67-77 dB-A, coach’s whistle, 90 dB-A; Leaf Blowers and Lawn Equipment, Larchmont, blower 89-92 dR-A, mower 89-95 dB-A; Library, very crowded reading room in the Santa Monica Public Library, Sixth St., 50-64 dB-A; Night Club, live folk-rock band at Rusty’s Surf Ranch, Santa Monica Pier, 90-96 dB-A; MOVIE THEATER, “Spy Kids” at 9:00 p.m. showing, previews 75-80 dB-A, THX sound preview 90 dR-A, “Spy Kids” movie 52-78 dB-A, and Construction Site at Night, Santa Monica Blvd. and 2nd St., 10:50 p.m., Kohelco excavating machine and road works 75-89 dB-A.
Our thanks to "ProSoundNews" for writing up the effort. Check out the House Ear Institute’s website (www.hei.org) ‘cause they’ve done good work in helping to protect hearing.
‘Nother Man Done Gone
TAV hears that our “ally in good sound” Harvey “Gizmo” Rosenberg passed away due to a heart attack late in July. An self-styled eccentric in the grand British manner and “General Biter of the status quo,” Harvey named himself Grand Mufti of the Thermionic Valve Religion and Grand Techno-Shaman of The Triode Guild. That is, he liked the sound of audio systems which used tube amplifiers. He also liked Indian motorcycles, sending out many packages and envelopes adorned with the Indian marquee, almost as much as he like sticking pins in people’s balloons. I never got around to kidding him that more hot air got into the atmosphere that way than because of his beloved tubes.
