Usually, Obama tosses in a mention or two about how important technology is, but today, we really see what he plans to do. He pledges to have broadband internet access available to all Americans, and promises to bring networked access to every doctor's office, public school, and hospital. Part of Obama's economic recovery plan will go directly to modernizing public hospitals, first and foremost to digitize all medical records.

He does leave out certain important concepts, most importantly how he's going to pay for all this, and I'm unclear on how exactly he plans to force ISPs into reaching into parts of the country where they can't turn a profit. What do you guys think? [Change.gov]

Her appeal is going to hinge on jury instruction no. 15, which told jurors that she could be found guilty even if it couldn't be proved that anyone actually downloaded the tracks she was sharing. Whether or not just making something available counts as distribution is a murky issue, one that doesn't have a clear precedent.

As Thomas so eloquently explains on her MySpace blog (sigh), her lawyer laid it all on the table in a CNN interview:

During the interview, he was asked what the next step is. I figured he would give the same answer I have given many, many times already in numerous interviews; "we're still strategizing about what our next options are." Standard lawyer speak if you will. But surprise, surprise, my attorney announced, on national television, with the RIAA watching I'm more than certain, we're going to appeal!!! That's right, you read that correctly: WE'RE GOING TO APPEAL!!! I could have kissed Batman when I heard that.

He explained how we're going to take the RIAA's theory of making available and appeal it. He also explained how if we win, this would stop the RIAA dead in their tracks!!! Every single suit they have brought has been based on this making available theory, and if we can win this appeal, they would actually have to prove a file was shared and by someone other than their own licensed agent (read MediaSentry).

"Simply put, people like light and illuminations - it just enhances any accessory; especially in Japan, where it gets dark so early.

For example, mobiles are just so part of our daily lives now and they have become very accessoried in trying to be unique and user-friendly with their displays. I think watches are just another accessory and LED lights give off an illumination everyone enjoys. The lights are like those small insects in the night, those bugs that can light up."

It works by trapping the offending chemicals before they manage to get out the exhaust pipe. The box is removed when full, basically whenever the car is filled up, and replaced with a fresh one. It's then sent to a bioreactor, full of carbon dioxide in its inert state, to be fed to algae and converted into biodiesel. That diesel can then be pumped right back into vehicles. It sounds like a pretty amazing system, and tests have shown it working at 85-95% efficiency. The fishing buddies are in talks with companies such as Toyota and GM, so hopefully we'll see something like this become a widespread reality sooner rather than later. [Reuters]