CORPORADOS

BIG BROTHER AT THE DRIVE-THRU

WLNS - With more than 70% of fast-food orders today coming at
drive-thrus rather than at restaurant counters, leading chains such as
Wendy's and McDonald's are testing new technology aimed at combating
some of the growing problems facing the $142 billion fast-food industry:
Things like long lines, rude service and incorrect orders.

Exit 41, a closely held Boston-based based provider of technology for
the fast-food industry, has developed the system, called "Order
Perfect.". . . Here's how it works: when a customer places an order at
the drive-thru speaker, the order is taken by someone at a remote "order
center." The order is then sent right back to the restaurant where it
was received. . . The second component of the technology is even more
interesting, and somewhat controversial. It involves a camera located at
the drive-thru order window that takes a picture of the customer and the
car. According to Gagnon, the pictures help staff accurately match the
order to the customer, thus cutting down on botched orders. . .

"Just having this infrastructure in place is very troubling," said Liz
McIntyre, a consumer privacy advocate and co-author of "Spy Chips."
"It's nice to hear that the picture will be deleted, but who knows,"
McIntyre said. "We know that many companies use video surveillance not
only for safety reasons but also to do market research. These restaurant
chains could do the same. A Big Brother society is creeping into this
country and this is one more example of that," she added.

http://www.wlns.com/Global/story.asp?S=5650021

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HOLLYWOOD - MUSIC LOBBY WINS DRACONIAN COPYRIGHT FRIEND

COPYRIGHTINGS - In the wake of the Democratic win in the House of
Representatives, some chairs will be rearranged. . . Of the committees
most relevant to copyright in the digital age is the Internet and
Intellectual Property Subcommittee which is currently chaired by
Republican Lamar Smith of Texas. The ranking Democrat (and soon to be
chairman) is the Honorable Howard Berman of California. Mr. Berman,
according to the National Journal, can be expected to support
restrictive copyright and intellectual property laws. Representing the
Los Angeles - Hollywood area, Berman will "protect his nearby Hollywood
interests by cracking down on piracy and protecting against copyright
infringement of TV, music and movie productions." In the past, he has
supported legislation allowing copyright owners to "file blocking,
redirections, spoofs and decoys" to fight piracy. Furthermore, according
to Open Secrets,the top industries contributing to his campaigns are
"TV/Music/Movies" and "Lawyers/Law Firms" - the two industries most
interested in further expanding copyright.

http://copyrightings.blogspot.com/2006/11/congressional-elections-and-copyright.html

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