Orrin Hatch promotes cyberterrorism, and more on Friendster
Senator Orrin Hatch wants software to destroy the computers of people who download music. Presumably the software would use the venerable Halt and Catch Fire (HCF) opcode.
You've probably heard this, given how many people have blogged about it. But I haven't heard anyone point out that Hatch's idea would make a great payload for a malicious virus: infect a computer, download an MP3, get the computer fried by an Orrin-Hatch-approved anti-piracy bot! Be careful what you wish for, Senator Hatch. (Via Reenhead.)
Meanwhile Viki followed up on my previous Friendster post and sent me the URL of an ABCnews.com article on Friendster. Not a lot of new info there but it does include a bit about the intentions of founder Jonathan Abrams (yes, dating is its raison d'etre, and yes, fees are coming soon) and another data point about the size of the network ("nearly half a million").
What I really enjoyed about the piece, though, was the stock photo they chose to put with it. It's Pretty in Pink meets Gattaca!
Okay, Google News turns up more: a slightly meatier Business Week article with some numbers about the online dating industry and some armchair sociology from Abrams, and a brief item from Europemedia.net about the latest online addiction of those wacky Americans.