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Facebook)

A look at the new 'About' tab of a Facebook profile.

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Facebook)

The new 'wall' tab on Facebook's profiles.

Facebook first announced last year that it was working on a redesign of members’ profiles; now, the social-networking site has unveiled previews of its upcoming new look. The Facebook profile redesigns will start rolling out in the next few weeks.

With the new updates, you won’t be able to see a member’s entire profile on one screen. Personal information about someone will be included on one “tab” of a profile, whereas the “wall”–public messages, developer-created applications, News Feed updates, and other activity-related information–will be on a separate tab. A third tab will link to the photos that the member has uploaded. Facebook has also said that members will be able to create separate tabs for their favorite applications.

Part of this is because of technical issues, Facebook has said, telling members that the changes will make the interface cleaner. “As more and more information is available on Facebook–more photo albums, more applications, and more history–we’ve realized that Profiles have become cluttered and slow as a result,” a release from the site read. “We’re trying to make profiles more simple and relevant, while still giving you control over your profile and how you express yourself.”

For interested users, Facebook has created a “fan page” for “Facebook Profiles Previews,” and is encouraging sign-ups.

This is a big change to the Facebook experience, and even though the site has said the updates were based on user feedback, there’s no way to ensure that this won’t result in mass complaints. Some Facebook members, as a theoretical example, have been loath to fill out the personal information fields and might complain that giving the “about me” section its own tab highlights them too much.

But it’s hard to tell. Facebook’s general membership freaked out about the News Feed, now considered a valuable and useful part of the site, and despite cacophonous Valley chatter it didn’t really care about the potential intrusiveness of Beacon advertisements. So you never really can gauge how a social network’s user base will react.

I paid about $70 to buy Planet Earth on HD DVD (sigh), and that was on sale from the $99 list price. Here’s your chance to get it half off. Don’t miss out; the sale ends on St. Patrick’s Day (March 17).

Want to really show off that new Blu-ray player? Get yourself the BBC documentary series Planet Earth, which Best Buy has on sale for $49.99. I first caught it when it aired on the Discovery Channel, and it didn’t take long before I decided I had to own it.

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BBC Warner)

The series’ 11 episodes take you to oceans, jungles, deserts, rainforests, and other remote parts of the planet, where you’ll see incredible environments and wildlife. You don’t have to be a nature buff to enjoy this; you just need a heartbeat.

Find more deals, coupon codes, and bargains on CNET’s Shopper.com.

Why ARM? ARM’s approach to designing processors is the opposite of Intel’s: power efficiency is paramount, performance secondary. Smartphone chips need to operate within a tiny power envelope, typically well under 0.5 watts and must last all day on one battery charge. Current Intel Atom chips–while relatively fast–draw too much power and are hardly suitable for smartphones.

For Intel, the deal adds momentum to its push into the small device/smartphone space. The Nokia announcement follows a pact announced with LG Electronics in February to collaborate on development of smartphones based on Intel’s future “Moorestown” silicon and Linux Moblin software.

Texas Instruments and other chipmakers are also readying speedy processors for smartphones next year with two processing cores and enhanced video capabilities. And it was disclosed last week that an Nvidia chip will power Microsoft’s Zune HD.

Updated at 8:20 a.m. PDT:
Added Intel-Nokia announcement and Intel discussion.

Intel’s need
The point of all of these announcements is to get Intel-architecture chips into cell phones, a giant worldwide market with well over a billion devices sold in 2008.

“We will explore new ideas in designs, materials and displays that will go far beyond devices and services on the market today,” Nokia said in a statement.

And what do those devices and technologies have in common? They’re all powered by chips based on the ARM design.

Under the agreement with TSMC, Intel will port its Atom processor technology to TSMC, which will serve solely as a manufacturer of Atom-related silicon–primarily chipsets.

The irony
Ironically, Intel manufactured an ARM-based chip series for many years called Xscale, which traces its heritage to a design called StrongARM. These chips were used in the Hewlett-Packard iPaq, a leading handheld for a number of years. But Intel sold this business to Marvell in 2006.

Among other aspects, the agreement covers mobile applications and wireless Internet access “in a user-friendly pocketable form factor.”

In March, Intel also announced a deal with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) to cooperate in the manufacture of Atom processors.

Toshiba just began selling a smartphone that packs a 1GHz Qualcomm processor.

And the world’s largest chipmaker needs to be a player in this market. Smartphones like Apple’s
iPhone, the
Palm Pre, and T-Mobile’s
Google Android phone, the G1, are taking on many of the attributes of PCs and are increasingly adept at Web browsing, video streaming, and game playing–not unlike a personal computer.

Neither Intel nor LG gave a date for availability of the LG device, but it is expected to appear soon after Moorestown is available. Intel is saying that Moorestown will be available in 2009 or 2010, though the second half of 2009 appears increasingly likely.

The Intel and Nokia effort includes collaboration in several open-source mobile Linux software projects. Intel will also acquire a Nokia HSPA/3G modem IP license for use in future products.

Intel and Nokia announced on Tuesday a wide-ranging deal covering chips, hardware, and software for mobile devices.

The chipmaker’s strategy now is to shrink its global-standard x86 PC chip architecture to the point where it can run efficiently in smartphones. That’s where Moorestown comes in. Intel claims Moorestown will be suited for high-end smartphones by 2010 and that “Medfield” silicon will make it into standard cell phones by 2011.

The companies said their new “long-term relationship” will focus on developing new chip architectures and software and a new class of Intel-based mobile computing devices. The move is part of a major shift for Intel, which is a giant in PC chips but not a player in cell phones.

“It quite literally fits [NBC Universal lawyer Rick Cotton's] idea of what wouldn’t be considered fair use under a redefinition. [Columbia Law Professor Tim Wu's ] definition, however, would permit this video under fair use because nothing about it is a substitute for the original ‘Election’ film. It also, I would argue, enhances the film’s value for those who have not seen it.”

DVD ripping software is widely available. Personally, I’m a big fan of Handbrake, but there are many other free software solutions out there. These software packages allow people to make a local video copy of a DVD movie. This is not as simple as it sounds, given that all Hollywood DVD discs are encrypted with a once-secret algorithm. The MPAA and others have vigorously gone after anyone who reverse engineered (or even published information on) the inner workings of the CSS algorithm used to encrypt DVDs.

The few clips of Election in the Slate video are very high quality. The video is crisp, the sound is clear. As a result, I’d be willing to bet a few bottles of La Fin Du Monde that Slate got the video clips from a DVD. It’s almost certainly not from a video cassette tape, and I highly doubt that the Slate team made a digital copy from cable TV.

No person shall circumvent a technological measure that effectively controls access to a work protected under this title.

Ok, so we’ve now established that if Slate used DVD footage in its video mashup, then it is almost certainly violating the DMCA. What does that have to do with any possible fair-use defense to a copyright infringement claim? It turns out that to make a successful fair-use claim, you need to have a legitimate, licensed copy of the original work. As the courts wrote:

Slate (owned by The Washington Post Co.) has deep pockets. If the MPAA tries to make an issue out of this, it would create huge amounts of publicity, and perhaps lead to calls for an overhaul of the DMCA. (I can dream, right?) At the least, it would force the MPAA to burn through a few bucks.

Disclaimer: I am not a lawyer. This is neither legal advice nor real legal analysis. Don’t make decisions based on my blog ramblings. However, this issue is essentially straight from the final exam in my copyright-law class from last year, so I’m fairly confident that I’m right.

Slate could not immediately be reached for comment.

A few days ago, Slate released a video mashup of footage of Hillary Clinton and a few scenes from the movie Election, starring Reese Witherspoon. The video is mildly amusing, and did at least remind me that Election is a funny film that I should probably watch again soon.

So why am I making this blog post? Most people have no idea that DVD ripping is illegal. Most artists, mashup creators, and video-bloggers are in the dark about the potential crimes they may be committing. Furthermore, the RIAA and MPAA have a long history in going after the little guy.

While I think she brings up an interesting point, I’m fairly certain the issue of fair use, at least in this case, is going to be cut and dry: Slate is in the wrong, and is being pretty blatant in its open infringement of copyright.

To invoke the fair use exception, an individual must possess an authorized copy of a literary work (Atari v. Nintendo 975 F.2d 832).

Also, a tip o’ the hat goes to Public Knowledge’s Alex Curtis, whose offer of a T-shirt inspired this blog post.

Cynthia Brumfield over at IP Democracy discusses the video mashup and briefly explores the issue of fair use:

Slate, a popular news site, seems to be openly violating the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.

That law, much hated in cyberrights and computer security circles, is a thorn in the side to many researchers. The interesting question that we must ask is: Will Hollywood let Slate’s probable violation slide, or will they lawyer up and go after the site owned by The Washington Post Co.?

If Slate used DVD-ripping software, its unencrypted, DRM-free copy of the work (which they would have needed to cut and paste bits into their mashup) is in no way authorized. This means, unfortunately for Slate, that it would have no fair-use defense, and could thus face a copyright infringement lawsuit.

While I’ve spent the majority of this blog post describing potential illegal acts by Slate, the real criminal here is the U.S. Congress for passing the DMCA, and in one single act, putting hundreds of computer security and cyberrights activists at risk. As a Ph.D. student, the DMCA is a complete pain in my ass and makes my research extremely difficult. As a result, I routinely have to submit my projects to Indiana University’s general counsel for a sign-off.

Which brings me to my “favorite” law: the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). This law, among its many horrible features, makes DVD copying a crime. DVD-ripping software is classed as a circumvention device, the use of which is a big no-no. Section 1201(a)(1)(A) of the U.S. code makes this pretty clear:

For the gory details on what went wrong, check out Starving to Death on $200 Million: The short, absurd life of The Industry Standard by former Industry Standard Editor James Ledbetter.

The company eventually blew through at least $30 million raised in a private-equity round and when the Internet start-ups started going under, the ad dollars dried up. Following several rounds of layoffs, the company closed in August 2001.

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The Industry Standard)

International Data Group is launching a Web-only version of The Industry Standard on Monday that will feature news and analysis items about the tech industry. The items in a quick glance on Friday appeared to be predominantly from IDG News Service, IDG’s internal wire service (where I used to work). There is also a prediction market section where readers can make forecasts about events in the industry and bet on whether they will happen.

As expected, The Industry Standard is back, but without the trendy rooftop parties of the dot-com boom and the hype.

The Industry Standard originally launched in 1998, in time to chronicle the rise of what was then dubbed the “dot-com economy.” The magazine was soon a hit, becoming the fastest growing magazine in U.S. history. Ad inventory was selling like hotcakes and writers were being hired so fast they ran out of places to put them (I was one of them from 1999 until 2001). A big splashy billboard greeted the city-bound commuters on the Bay Bridge, elite conferences were organized and lavish parties were thrown in San Francisco City Hall and Europe.

Telecommunications equipment maker Nortel Networks announced on Wednesday that it has slashed its business outlook and is looking to sell some of its assets as the economy worsens.

Of course, Cisco has diversified its business in different areas and has always been focused on Internet Protocol technology. It is also pushing video technology as a main growth area. On the other hand, Nortel’s products are focused on telecommunications, a segment that has come under severe pressure lately.

The company blames its woes on phone companies and large corporate customers, which have been cutting back on their capital expenditures more than had been expected. Nortel CEO Mike Zafirovski said the company is conducting a comprehensive review of its business. And he said it is looking for a buyer for its metro Ethernet equipment business.

Meanwhile, Cisco Systems, which competes with Nortel in some areas, on Tuesday at an analyst conference reiterated its confidence in its long-term growth projections of between 12 percent and 17 percent. CEO John Chambers noted slower near-term growth, as customers tighten their belts, but even in the short run, Cisco still expects to grow 10 percent.

Nortel said its revenue for 2008 will be about 2 percent to 4 percent lower than it was the previous year. Third-quarter revenue will be about $2.3 billion, short of the $2.66 billion that some analysts had expected.

CODA is claiming that 2go will be the “most functionally advanced on-demand accounting application available.” At this point there aren’t many comparables. Workday has entered the ring. NetSuite offers financials as part of its on-demand suite, and recently added real-time management and consolidation capabilities for companies that are multinational or have multiple subsidiaries.

The enterprise giants SAP and Oracle have not yet launched multi-tenant, on demand solutions for financials. SAP’s Business ByDesign, an on-demand suite for the mid-market in private beta, will cover financials and multiple industries.

CODA 2go will be a real test of Salesforce.com’s notion of a platform-as-a-service (Force.com). It’s a large-scale, transaction-oriented application, which is a step beyond the forms-oriented roots of Salesforce.

Salesforce.com is finally getting beyond its CRM roots. At Dreamforce Europe in London on May 7th, CODA is launching CODA 2go, an enterprise accounting system built on the Force.com platform and integrated with the Salesforce CRM application. CODA 2go will handle revenue and financial management and procurement.

There’s a good chance that Google didn’t even want to win, as my colleague Maggie Reardon suspected last year. It didn’t make any sense for Google to get into the telecom business.

In the meantime, congratulations are in order to Verizon and Google.

Did Google pull one over on the telco industry? We may never know. But it doesn’t seem they’re exactly moping in the halls at the Googleplex:

Asked to elaborate, a Google spokesman said the company would have more to say once the FCC anti-collusion rules lift completely.

“We congratulate the winners and look forward to a more open wireless world,” Google telecom and corporate lawyers wrote on the Google Public Policy Blog. “As a result of the auction, consumers whose devices use the C-block of spectrum soon will be able to use any wireless device they wish, and download to their devices any applications and content they wish. Consumers soon should begin enjoying new, Internet-like freedom to get the most out of their mobile phones and other wireless devices.”

Why would Google bid if it didn’t intend to win? By bluffing its way through the bid, Google was able to drive the price high enough to get the FCC to adopt open-access rules it pushed for that require the network operator to allow any device or application to connect to it.

Now, Google gets a fast, open network for all of its apps and services (and Android-based devices) without having to spend money or resources building it. Meanwhile, carriers will be happier to partner with Google than compete against it.

The FCC’s 700MHz spectrum auction is over and Verizon won. But so did Google, which made a bid that wasn’t chosen.

Google’s influence has already had a ripple effect as wireless carriers see the writing on the wall. In November, Verizon said it would open its existing mobile network to any cell phones and allow people to run third-party applications on the phones.

Facebook has hired an American Civil Liberties Union attorney to serve in the new role of director of public policy for the social network, according to The New York Times.

Representatives from those groups have complained about Facebook’s advertising practices and its revised terms of service agreement. (The CDD complained this week that revised terms of service still give Facebook too much control over user data.)

As a senior attorney at the ACLU, Timothy Sparapani worked on issues like data mining and national ID cards. He also has close ties to privacy groups like the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the Center for Democracy and Technology, and the Center for Digital Democracy.

A Facebook representative did not immediately return a call seeking comment on Tuesday.

Sparapani will join Facebook next month and report to Chief Privacy Officer Chris Kelly. Meanwhile, Kelly is expected to take a leave of absence in order to make a bid for the California attorney general spot in 2010.

Michael Arrington talks with MySpace's Chris DeWolfe at the TechCrunch50 conference in San Francisco.

He did talk about the new music service launching this month that will partner with the major labels, offer free streaming, and include some original content from its audience of 120 million members. DeWolfe said that MySpace is very focused on making the new service a success, with more than 70 people, including top MySpace management, working on the project. He was asked if Amazon was providing the downloading capabilities, but declined to answer. MySpace has a strong music foundation, and may be able to make some inroads into the Apple/iTunes territory.

MySpace plans to integrate Google Gears with its platform, according to the social network’s co-founder Chris DeWolfe. Users will be able to access their profiles offline using the Google Gears APIs, but the feature won’t be available for a few months.

DeWolfe was fielding a few questions in an interview at the TechCrunch50 event in San Francisco with co-host Mike Arrington, who started off the interrogation by asking DeWolfe if he was dating Paris Hilton. The gentlemanly DeWolfe declined to answer the question.

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Dan Farber/CNET)