You'll Get My Encryption Keys When You Pry Them...Oh, Wait...what?

Sure, there are always thousands of legal actions moving within the American judicial system - but you should pay attention to this one.  In short, the US government is attempting to compel an individual accused of real estate fraud to provide the encryption keys for his laptop data.  The defense is arguing that providing the encryption keys is tantamount to self-incrimination, the compulsion of which is strictly prohibited by the Fifth Amendment to the US Constituion.

I'm siding with the defense on this one.  There's a mixed bag of precedent on such matters, but (as the linked TechCrunch article notes) the most appropriate parallel would seem to be that of a locked safe - which the goverment cannot force you to open.

I fully expect this case to run all the way up to the Supreme Court.  As I said, keep your eye on this one; the ramifications of this decision will have a huge impact on the data security world, and I suspect it will reach into the corporate world as well.

 

Precedent May Soon Be Set Regarding Your Right To Remain Encrypted | TechCrunch

 

Tonight's Random #MPFreebie - Pop Suey

No, that isn't an ethnic joke - not from me, anyway...

Amazon's latest sampler, Pop Suey, is simply described as "Chinese Music Treats."  I was expecting traditional Chinese music, but I found the tracks on this sampler far more contemporary in nature.  We aren't talking bleeding-edge Western style, by any means--there are a few singer-songwriter selections that would be right at home on American radio 15 years ago--but it's interesting stuff nonetheless.  My FLFs (First Listen Favorites) are Lala Hsu's Riding a White Horse, The Flowers from Fan Fan, and Kenji Wu's Write a Poem for You.

It may not be first on my playlist, but it's definitely worth inclusion in the workday shuffle.  Joe Bob says check it out.

Amazon.com: Pop Suey - Chinese Music Treats: Various Artists: MP3 Downloads

 

Today's Random #MPFreebie - A Boatload of Free Samplers from Amazon

You may already be browsing Amazon's MP3 Store, but have you been paying attention to the "Free Songs and Special Deals" section?  Sure, they offer the free song of the day, and they occasionally feature a sampler alongside, but there are many, MANY labels releasing samplers throughout the year.  Over the last year-and-a-half, I've picked up over 150 samplers from this source alone; you'll find everything from world music to classical to metal and hip-hop in the selection at any given time.

For some reason--the "start of summer," I guess--there was a deluge of releases over the July 4th weekend.  Instead of trying to review so many samplers at once, I'm just going to throw you the links to the first 10 free samplers on amazon.com and (when I can find them) to the labels themselves.  If you want to start tracking future releases, here's the "Free Albums" page, sorted by Release Date, newest first. The latest releases:

Kill Rock Stars 20 Year Anniversary Sampler - Kill Rock Stars, Portland OR and Olympia WA
Dangerbird Summer Sampler 2011 - Dangerbird Records, Silverlake CA
Vagrant Summer Sampler 2011 - Vagrant Records, Los Angeles CA
A Touch and Go Records Digital Sampler - Touch and Go/Quarterstick Records, Chicago IL 
Bloodshot Indie-Pendants Sampler - Bloodshot Records, Chicago IL
Merge Records 2011 Sampler - Merge Records,  Durham NC
Frenchkiss Records Amazon MP3 Sampler - Frenchkiss Records,  New York NY
Carpark Records 2011 Sampler - Carpark Records, Washington DC
Stockholm Belongs to Us - Labrador Records, Stockholm, Sweden
Cantora Sampler - Cantora Records, New York NY
(and here's an 11th, just because it's REALLY good stuff!)
23 This Year: The Sub Pop Amazon Sampler - Sub Pop Records, Seattle WA

Go forth and download!