Chris Nolan

Dan Glickman, a former congressman and a Cabinet member in the Clinton administration, took over as CEO of the Motion Picture Association of America last fall. Although Glickman didnt initiate the associations lawsuits, which have led to the U.S. Supreme Courts pending decision on the legal merits and ramifications of peer-to-peer file sharing, his brief […]

“Turn that thing off!” If your parents said it once, they said it a thousand times: Turn off the television and pay attention to something else. Now, in a new tech twist on a familiar idea, a couple of software sales guys are urging people to “turn off the PC.” Hoping to cash in on […]

One of the more persistent myths in Silicon Valley is that of the socially inept computer geek, the guy—theyre assumed to be almost all men—so involved in machinery that his view excludes everything else, particularly politics. This mythical engineer is either too geeky or too inept to really take part in the world around him. […]

Everybodys got it. Most people treasure it. And its in danger. For some its already been compromised. And everyones pretty sure their turn is coming. Privacy. Politicians have discovered that its not guaranteed, and theyre upset. Theyre not alone. Voters are upset because the big database companies are playing fast and loose with their information: […]

A firestorm of indignation lit up the string of independent Web sites known collectively as the “blogosphere” this weekend, creating a storm of e-mail and name-calling for a San Francisco City official who isnt even that well known in her native city. Its a lesson for the age of truly instant communication. One that can […]

If you listen carefully, you can hear a lot of folks outside the tech industry—and a few inside, too—asking an important question. Theyre asking it in courtrooms, in newspapers and before federal agencies and Congress, as one important facet of living in a networked society becomes clearer. “Whos in charge?” they demand. “In this new […]

Two events of the past week, both starring Silicon Valley heavyweights, provide useful lessons on making the transition from business to politics. Its like mixing oil and water. Sometimes, you gotta shake hard before you can get them together. Late last week came the announcement that former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina would not be President […]

In about a week and a half, a group of lawyers will stand in front of the U.S. Supreme Court and argue about the legal responsibilities of peer-to-peer networks in a case that may well outlive the company that inspired it, “Grokster.” To the technically minded, the whole debate sounds silly and beside the point. […]

The hue and cry over whether the Federal Election Commission can—or should—”regulate” Webloggers is a much more complicated and politically partisan argument than it looks at first glance. Thats not to say the threat isnt real. A close reading of the commissions regulation shows that yes, indeed, the exemption held by traditional media outlets needs […]

Is former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina going to run the World Bank? Could be. To tech insiders, steeped in gossipy stories about Fiorinas star-driven management style—and its harsh and sudden contrast to HPs previous CEOs—this may seem like a goofy idea. But it makes a lot of sense. A word of caution: The stories touting […]