Author Archives: Michael Froomkin

Privacy Event I’m Going To Miss

Posted on August 4, 2009 by Michael Froomkin

I'm sorry to miss this Privacy Workshop, but I have jury duty next Monday:

The General Services Administration, Office of Governmentwide Policy is hosting a one-day workshop on August 10, 2009 to discuss the Government's approach to permitting access to Government web-based applications evaluated at Assurance Level 1 (as defined in M-04-04, E-Authentication Guidance for Federal Agencies) using credentials issued by third-parties and based on technologies from the OpenID Foundation, the Info Card Foundation, and InCommon Federation. Briefings will include the Trust Framework Provider Approval Process, the Scheme Adoption Process, Federal profiles, and how privacy considerations are being addressed. Presenters will include the government and industry representatives. The day will end with an open question and answer period in which we solicit your feedback and a discussion of your concerns.

Date: Monday, August 10, 2009

Time: 9:00am to 3:30pm (registration & checkin begins at 8:00am)

Location: American Institute of Architects Board Room 1735 New York Avenue, NW Washington, DC

Please visit our website www.idmanagement.gov for more information, including the day's agenda and read aheads, and to register for the event.

Written questions are welcome at any time before the meeting, please submit to brant.petrick@gsa.gov.

There is no cost to attend but pre-registration is requested due to limited seating and will be honored on a first come, first served basis.

You can delay jury duty in Miami — but I already did that as I was originally required to appear the day before I left for my vacation, and I thought I ought to help with the packing. Now I've reached the end of the string.

If anyone reading this goes, please send notes…

Posted in Talks & Conferences | 1 Comment

Class Act

Posted on August 4, 2009 by Michael Froomkin

This was a classy move by the President — Obama visits White House press room on birthday:

On the day he turned 48, President Barack Obama decided to splash a little celebration on someone with whom he shares the birthday: legendary White House correspondent Helen Thomas, now a columnist with Hearst Newspapers. She turned 89 on Tuesday.

Helen Thomas is not, based on my one short conversation with her, a deep thinker. But for two generations she has had her eye on the essentials and remains as tenacious as any of the best reporters of yore. And she calls them as she sees them — no fakery.

Posted in Politics: US | 4 Comments

Laptop Search Nearing Conclusion?

Posted on August 4, 2009 by Michael Froomkin

I'm leaning currently to biting the bullet and ordering a new Samsung X360 34P (see The Hunt for A New Laptop Continues).

It's slightly cheaper than the comparable new Lenovos, but a little more expensive than some versions of their referbs. I have faith in the Lenovo referb, but not the third parties offering referbed Samsungs, so it would have to be a new one.

The reasoning behind this decision is that the Samsung wins on weight and battery life, has a 128G SSD, and at least ties on almost everything else I care about, except processing power where it lags a bit but still seems adequate. The reviews suggest the build is good; not as good as the tank-like Lenovos, but good enough.

There are just three things I need to get over:

1. The Samsung isn't as Ubuntu-friendly as the Lenovos (which are champs in this department) and won't have anywhere near the installed base if issues come up. (I'm thinking of dual-booting.)

2. The Samsung doesn't offer an XP downgrade, and the do-it-yourself version sounds like real work. So I may be using Vista Business pending Windows 7, which itself sounds like no great prize for a laptop. I have not used Vista yet and had hoped to avoid it.

3. This latest trip made it clear to me how crippled my Dell 300m has become; it's barely usable. I really can't afford to wait much longer to do something. Trouble is, it seems that Samsung was dumping the X360s with huge rebates a few months ago, so that they ended costing about half the current stratospheric price. Not only does it gall me to pay so much more than the old price, but I can't help thinking that maybe if I wait a bit the price will come down again?

Update: Then again J&R has the Lenovo 301 on sale for less than the Samsung. Good config except for the battery. Light weight — almost as light as the Samsung with the 301's three-cell battery. Solid. Three year warranty of some sort. Horrible battery life, especially with the tiny 3-cell battery, but even with the six cell (which I'd have to buy extra).

Posted in Shopping | Comments Off on Laptop Search Nearing Conclusion?

Meaningless Personality Quiz (pt. 16)

Posted on August 4, 2009 by Michael Froomkin

This has to be may all time favorite quiz since I started this series if only because there were so many daffy choices: Slate's “Choose Your Own Apocalypse.”

You get to pick up to five. It was not an easy choice, as none really captured the combination of kleptocracy and resistance to certain types of change that I think describes the ills to which our government tends. But, hey, it's just meaningless, so I picked somewhat seriously, “Peak Water” and “Peak Oil” and “Rising Sea Levels” and somewhat facetiously “Pax Sinica” and “Patriot Act” (based on the attached definition; I don't think the bill, while negative in important ways, is apocalyptically bad).

The verdict:

You are an anthropocentric pragmatist. You think the American citizenry controls its fate, and we won't screw up enough to destroy the human race. You'll know you're right when: Vigilantes along the Mexican border start a war over immigration; the United States has a socialist revolution.

Yah, right.

Feel free to post your choices and outcomes below.

Posted in Meaningless Personality Quizzes | 3 Comments

CNN Refuses to Air Ad Attacking Lou Dobbs

Posted on August 3, 2009 by Michael Froomkin

Here's the ad that CNN refuses to air: CNN's Lou Dobbs Problem:

In the past this sort of corporate use of its control over a press or an outlet made some sense: it stifled the message. Nowadays, with so many channels on TV and the Internet besides, all it does is add fuel to the fire. If I were CNN I'd take Media Matters's money and laugh all the way to the bank.

Posted in The Media | 2 Comments

Off to SEALS 2009

Posted on August 3, 2009 by Michael Froomkin

I'm off to the South Eastern Associations of Law Schools (SEALS) 2009 conference today, but it's only a short visit as I'm back tomorrow. The conference is held in a swanky hotel in Palm Beach Florida, just up the road, so it's nice not to have to fly for a change.

I'll be speaking on a panel this afternoon entitled “Why to Visit Blog Sites? Which Ones?” (I did NOT pick the title!). I'm going to talk about a big blog-related project I'm planning, and which I'll write about here very soon, when I have more time.

When I was first invited we thought we'd make a family holiday out of it, as Caroline is speaking there later in the week. But then we decided to be away much more than usual this summer, so we shelved that, and we're going in shifts.

Interestingly, my panel is much transformed from its original group: several speakers had to bail because their schools cut their travel budgets.

Posted in Talks & Conferences | 2 Comments