CopyNight Gainesville

CopyNight Gainesville - moved to Thursday

Hey CopyFriends,
The time has come for another installment of CopyNight Gainesville. However, on Wednesday this week, the city of Gainesville will be graced by the presence of comedian Lewis Black. While Mr. Black has no connection whatever with CopyNight, many of us CopyNighters are fans, and will therefore be in attendance at his performance, which occurs during CopyNight's regularly scheduled time.
Therefore, we have often to move CopyNight to this Thursday, March 29. I hope you'll join us!
Thursday, March 29.
7 pm
Tim and Terry's, 1417 NW 1st Ave.
(Behind Target Copy on W. University Ave. -- the purple house)
One of our subjects this month will be the future of Alachua Freenet (AFN). AFN has been providing free dial-up Internet access to the community since 1994, but will discontinue dial-up service this month. We'll take this opportunity to share opinions on the digital divide and discuss our vision for connectivity in the community.
CopyNight is a social meet-up for people interested in copyright reform. We meet once a month in cities around the world. Here in Gainesville, we meet on the 4th Wednesday (usually) at Tim and Terry's.
CopyNight is a way to build strong social ties among the various communities who all have a stake in copyright law that works in the public interest. We invite students, professors, creative artists, technologists, librarians, businesspeople, lawyers, and everyone else. We meet over drinks to chat about recent events and the challenges that face us.
CopyNight is free to attend and is open to all ages. TIm and Terry's will glad to provide sandwiches, soft drinks, beer and wine a-plenty.
See you there!
Gavin Baker
Host-by-default, CopyNight Gainesville
www.copynight.org
gainesville@copynight.org
P.S. Afterwards, you can head downtown to the Kid Koala show at Common Grounds (210 SW 2nd Ave.). Doors open at 9 pm; tickets are $10. Put a little remix culture in your life thanks to the renowned turntablist.

CopyNight Gainesville tonight!

Hey CopyDudes and CopyDudettes,
It's that time again!
Wednesday, Jan. 24
7 pm
Tim and Terry's, 1417 NW 1st Ave.
(the purple house behind the Target Copy on University Ave.)
CopyNight is a social meetup for people interested in copyright reform. We meet once a month in cities around the world. Here in Gainesville, we meet on the 4th Wednesday at Tim and Terry's.
CopyNight is a way to build strong social ties among the various communities who all have a stake in copyright law that works in the public interest. We invite students, professors, creative artists, technologists, librarians, businesspeople, lawyers, and everyone else. We meet over drinks to chat about recent events and the challenges that face us.
CopyNight is free to attend is open to all ages. A word to the wise for those driving to Tim and Terry's: allow extra time to find a parking spot. There will not be one nearby, and you will have to walk a few blocks.
See you there!
Gavin Baker
Host by default, CopyNight Gainesville
www.copynight.org
gainesville@copynight.org

CopyNight Gainesville re-launch tonight!

Hi friends,
Just a late reminder that tonight is the re-launch of CopyNight Gainesville. I hope you'll join us!
Wednesday, Jan. 24
7 pm
Tim and Terry's, 1417 NW 1st Ave.
(the purple house behind the Target Copy on University Ave.)
CopyNight is a social meetup for people interested in copyright reform. We meet once a month in cities around the world. After a hiatus, this month marks the return of CopyNight to Gainesville.
CopyNight is a way to build strong social ties among the various communities who all have a stake in copyright law that works in the public interest. We invite students, professors, creative artists, technologists, librarians, businesspeople, lawyers, and everyone else. We meet over drinks to chat about recent events and the challenges that face us.
CopyNight is free to attend is open to all ages. A word to the wise for those driving to Tim and Terry's: allow extra time to find a parking spot. There will not be one nearby, and you will have to walk a few blocks.
We'll be meeting on the 4th Wednesday of each month. Depending how things go tonight, we may stay at Tim and Terry's in future months, or we may go somewhere else.
See you there!
Gavin Baker
Host by default, CopyNight Gainesville
www.copynight.org
gainesville@copynight.org

No CopyNight Gainesville this month

Sorry for the extended hiatus. However, we have been consulting with interested parties and hope to launch a revamped CopyNight, likely in a new location and possibly on a different day, sometime soon (probably January).
Additionally, sorry for any confusion resulting from the Satellite Magazine events calendar this month. For whatever reason, they listed CopyNight as occuring almost every week in October. Not sure where they got that idea.
This month, instead of CopyNight, head on over to a special meeting of Gator Linux Users Group. Guest speakers will discuss Tor, a program for anonymizing Internet use, and cGRID (formerly ICARUS), a program in use on UF's housing network that blocks peer-to-peer usage. The GatorLUG meeting will be on Wednesday, Oct. 25 at 6 pm at Virtually Cuban, 2409 SW 13th St.
Cheers,
Gavin Baker
Host (?), CopyNight Gainesville

CopyNight Gainesville on hiatus

Dear Gainesville copyfighters,
CopyNight Gainesville is on hiatus this month after going inactive this summer.
I am seeking a new host to organize the monthly meet-up. Know a great a venue? Think you can put together discussion topics that will get students, faculty, lawyers, artists, and computer professionals talking? Drop me a line at gainesville@copynight.org.
Best,
Gavin Baker
(Outgoing) Host, CopyNight Gainesville
gainesville@copynight.org

CopyNight Gainesville, 6:30 pm Tuesday!

Hi CopyNight Gainesville!
This month's meeting is Tuesday night:
Tuesday, March 28
6:30 pm
Orange & Brew - Reitz Union, UF campus
free, all ages
Come join us for a drink or a snack as we chat over the latest happenings in copyright, IP, and cyberlaw.
The nearest parking is in the UF Welcome Center garage, at the corner of Museum Rd. and Reitz Union Dr. Parking there is free after 4:30 pm.
The Orange & Brew is on the ground floor of the Reitz Union, facing the pond. (Note that the ground floor is one level below the first floor.)
For more information about CopyNight, visit www.copynight.org.
See you tonight!
Gavin Baker
Host, CopyNight Gainesville
gainesville@copynight.org

CopyNight Gainesville: SG Elections - a personal note

Dear CopyNight Gainesville attendees,
As you may know, UF's Student Government elections are this month, with voting on Feb. 28 and March 1.
I am happy to announce that I will be running for Senate with the Unite Party. I'm a candidate to represent my college, the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.
As you might suspect, a major reason I decided to run for Senate is to promote free culture. I feel that being a Senator I could influence UF's tech and information policy in a positive way, and I want this to a focus of my campaign.
I don't want to sound like I'm campaigning, so I will simply say that I very much want CopyNight regulars involved in my campaign (even if you're not in CLAS, or even a student).
I'm having a kickoff party and meeting at my apartment on MONDAY, Feb. 13 at 6:30 pm. I really invite each and every one of you to come. I'll have some free pizza for everyone, we'll talk about ideas for the campaign, and you can ask me any questions you have. I live in the Courtyards, building B, at 1221 SW 2nd Ave. (roughly across 13th street from Tigert Hall) in apt. 360.
I won't use this list for campaigning, so *if you want campaign updates, please email me*.
If you can't come to the meeting on Monday but want to be involved, or if you want to receive campaign updates, please email me at grbaker@ufl.edu.
If you have questions about SG, the Unite Party, or my campaign, please feel free to contact me. I also want to know your thoughts and concerns, and ideas about how SG can make life better for students, especially if you are in CLAS. You can find my detailed contact info at the end of this email.
I hope you'll excuse this personal note. Don't worry, I won't bother you about it again.
To close, I'd like to say I'm very excited about the opportunity to run for Senate. I think we've got a great crew with Unite -- but that's my opinion :)
As I said, if you have any questions or comments, please don't hesitate to contact me.
Also remember: this month, CopyNight is the 28th, at 6:30 pm in the Orange & Brew.
Sincerely,
Gavin Baker
Host, CopyNight Gainesville
Contact info:
Unite Party: www.uniteuf.com
My campaign: www.gavinbaker.com
Email: grbaker@ufl.edu
Cell phone: (407) 929-5657
AIM: gavin baker 42
Jabber: gavinbaker@jabber.org
P.S. If you need directions or have trouble finding the place on Monday, just give me a call!

CopyNight Gainesville, Tuesday at 6:30!

Hello all,
Once again, it's time for CopyNight Gainesville.
We'll meet at 6:30 pm on Tuesday night in the Orange & Brew, in the Reitz Union on the UF campus.
Hopefully there will be parking available in the Reitz Union garage but you might want to allow yourself some extra time to look for a spot.
Some topics we could discuss:
The broadcast flag is back... again
Copyright and the recent Canadian elections
The Pope is going to claim copyright on whatever he produces... what?
Intel copied a video from indietronic band the Postal Service... band going postal
* Supreme Court will not hear appeal of Blackberry patent suit... Bernie Machen vows revenge
We'll cut things a bit short this month because Free Culture members will have to leave at 7:30 to attend an SG Senate meeting (hoping to score some loot).
See you on Tuesday night!
Gavin

CopyNight Gainesville - Tuesday

Hi CopyNight Gainesville!
This month's meeting is Tuesday night:
Tuesday, Nov. 22
6:30 pm
Orange & Brew - Reitz Union, UF campus
free, all ages
If you're still in town, be sure to come out! We'll be discussing the latest happenings in copyright and IP policy -- including the Sony DRM "rootkit" scandal.
The nearest parking is in the Welcome Center garage, at the corner of Museum Rd. and Reitz Union Dr. Parking there is free after 4:30 pm.
The Orange & Brew is on the ground floor of the Reitz Union, facing the duck pond. (Note that the ground floor is one level below the first floor.)
CopyNight is free to attend, but food and drinks are not. The Orange & Brew serves bottled beer and wine, as well as coffee, soft drinks, and food. Note that they don't accept credit or debit cards. However, there is an ATM in the building.
For more information about CopyNight, visit www.copynight.org.
See you tomorrow night!
Gavin Baker
Host, CopyNight Gainesville
gainesville@copynight.org

CopyNight Gainesville - October follow-up

Hi Gainesville CopyNighters!
Thanks for a great first CopyNight. I hope everyone had a good time.
For those who couldn't make it, we discussed:
bird flu and breaking patents for public health
business method patents, software patents
* ICARUS, UF's network manager and p2p blocker
If anyone has suggestions for next month, feel free to e-mail me.
Next month's rendez-vous is Tuesday, Nov. 22, at 6:30 pm in the Orange & Brew. Bring a friend!
Until next time,
Gavin
gainesville@copynight.org

CopyNight Gainesville - inaugural meet-up Tuesday!

Hello Gainesville CopyNight!
Our first meeting is tomorrow:
Tuesday, Oct. 25
6:30 pm
Orange & Brew - Reitz Union, UF campus
We'll meet the 4th Tuesday of each month at the same time and place.
I'm your host, Gavin. You can e-mail me at gainesville@copynight.org.
The closest parking is in the Welcome Center garage, at the corner of Museum Rd. and Reitz Union Dr. Parking there is free after 4:30 pm.
The Orange & Brew is on the ground floor of the Reitz Union, facing the Duck Pond. (Note that the ground floor is one level below the first floor.) If you have any questions, the Orange & Brew's phone number is (352) 392-1689.
CopyNight is free to attend, but food and drinks are not. The Orange & Brew serves bottled beer and wine, as well as hot drinks (perfect for the weather!) soft drinks and food. Note that the Orange & Brew does not accept credit or debit cards. However, there is an ATM in the building.
Suggested topics for discussion tomorrow:
Business Patents are a Cereal Killer
A cereal restaurant chain is seeking a business method patent on ideas as basic as mixing two cereals and adding milk. That's a direct threat to existing cereal bars (no seriously, they exist) and a great example of the ridiculousness of business method patents. FreeCulture.org, the student network for free culture, is organizing events across the country and hosting a petition to bury this silly patent application, and eliminate business method patents once and for all.
< http://freeculture.org/cereal/ >
IP and the Developing World
The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) recently wrapped up its annual meeting, and many copyfighter issues were on the table. One major outcome was that WIPO will continue mainstreaming the Development Agenda -- a soul-searching process that will determine whether the organization will continue to push for stronger patent & copyright laws in the developing world, even when those policies reduce the availability of medicine and education. WIPO is also considering an international treaty that would give broadcasters a 50-year copyright in anything they transmit, adding another set of barriers to public access. Background on WIPO available here:
< http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/archives/004056.php >
* A Blizzard of Spyware
Blizzard, the game manufacturer behind World of Warcraft and a nasty lawsuit against open source game developers, is no friend of free culture. But their latest move is creepy even for a company owned by Vivendi Universal: all 4.5 million of their online-enabled games install spyware that sniffs into every open process on a user's machine. They say it's to prevent in-game cheating, and in any case that there's no legal problem because players agreed to the invasion when they installed the game (I mean, you did read the click-thru... right?). Shouldn't there be limits on end-user license agreements that shield companies who compromise your fair use and privacy rights? Background on the controversy here:
< http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/archives/004076.php >
Of course, these are just suggestions; the table is open.
For more information about CopyNight, visit www.copynight.org.
See you tomorrow night!
Gavin Baker
gainesville@copynight.org