Author Archives: Michael Froomkin

Too True: “The Eight Fallacies of Distributed Computing”

Posted on December 17, 2003 by Michael Froomkin

Peter Deutsch's classic is reprinted by the always entertaining Risks Digest

Essentially everyone, when they first build a distributed application, makes the following eight assumptions. All prove to be false in the long run and all cause big trouble and painful learning experiences.

1. The network is reliable
2. Latency is zero
3. Bandwidth is infinite
4. The network is secure
5. Topology doesn't change
6. There is one administrator
7. Transport cost is zero
8. The network is homogeneous

Truth hurts. And having unplugged at home from the direct ethernet connection and returned to relying on wireless…from a new desk position that is just at the edge of its range for decent signal strength…let me tell you that latency can get much bigger than zero.

Posted in Sufficiently Advanced Technology | Comments Off on Too True: “The Eight Fallacies of Distributed Computing”

Wouldn’t It Be Nice to Have an Attorney General Who Wasn’t Embarrassing?

Posted on December 17, 2003 by Michael Froomkin

FEC Fines Ashcroft's Senate Bid For Breach … and ….

Judge Rebukes Ashcroft for Gag Violation. Personally, I think this deserved much more than a slap on the wrist. The AG should be held to the highest standards and ought to set a better example than this.

Please understand: there have been a lot of bad AG's over the years. Ed Meese. John Mitchell. But there have also been a lot of good ones. We shouldn't have to settle for this.

Posted in Law: Everything Else | Comments Off on Wouldn’t It Be Nice to Have an Attorney General Who Wasn’t Embarrassing?

Safire On Why ‘Anti-Privacy’ Applies to Cheney’s Energy Task Force

Posted on December 17, 2003 by Michael Froomkin

Whatever his other peculiarities, William Safire has always been good on privacy — having been wiretapped himself by Nixon he understands how intrusive it is to have the government recording you. Today he shows he's good on anti-privacy too, that is the freedom of information: Behind Closed Doors. Of course, working in a profession which depends on access to public information may have helped inform this view.

The Bush administration's position in the Cheney energy task force case is maximalist. If there were a term beyond “extreme” I'd use it. Deciding in its favor would tilt the separation of powers much further towards the White House; deciding against it only preserves the status quo.

Continue reading →

Posted in Law: Constitutional Law | Comments Off on Safire On Why ‘Anti-Privacy’ Applies to Cheney’s Energy Task Force

A Telling Account of WSIS

Posted on December 16, 2003 by Michael Froomkin

Maria Farrell, who works as a lobbyist for an undisclosed international membership organization based in Paris (OECD? ICC?) writes a great account of WSIS at Crooked Timber. Below I include a sampler, but it's worth clicking the link to get the whole thing.

Other interesting WSIS links include:

[Links snagged from all over, espeically Lextext]

Continue reading →

Posted in Law: Internet Law | 1 Comment

Brad DeLong Seeks Interesting Math Problems (for Kids)

Posted on December 16, 2003 by Michael Froomkin

Brad DeLong's Request for help

My two children get what the payoff to reading well is immediately and completely. My two children get what the payoff to writing well is as well: they understand that it is fun now and it will be important later on if they want to have options to be able to write quickly, clearly, and coherently.

But math. Math textbooks are remarkably dry. How can I persuade them that math can be fun, that they will be able to learn and calculate interesting things if math is their friend, and that their options later on will be much, much greater if only they apply themselves to math now?

So far, I only have twenty-three problems that I regard as interesting and amusing enough to hand them in an attempt to propagandize for math. But I want more: I want to have one hundred…

Have a look at Brad DeLong's Collaborative Website: OneHundredInterestingMathCalculations.

Posted in Blogs | 1 Comment

Half the Things That Worry Me Most About WSIS Summarized in Two Paragraphs

Posted on December 16, 2003 by Michael Froomkin

Belarus KGB chief: Internet should be brought under control (10/12/2003):

KGB should exert control over Internet, because international terrorism and organized crime more and more often use WWW. “We are trying to provide all the possibilities, and legal – fist of all, in order to be able to control Internet, “- said Mr. Leonid Erin, chief of Belarusian KGB.

Mr. Erin emphasizes that he understands criticism of this position, especially in connection with human rights violation. But he insists that prior to that are state interests and secret services activities.

Note that although the underlying motives may differ substantially, one hopes, the official position as to what should happen is not that different from that of many governments, including several democracies.

Posted in Law: Internet Law | Comments Off on Half the Things That Worry Me Most About WSIS Summarized in Two Paragraphs