[DRAFT] PNB Technology Committee Minutes 9/27/2004 A regular meeting of the Pacifica National Board Technology Committee was held via teleconference on Monday, September 27, 2004, at 5:10 pm PST using the facilities of freeconference.com. Curt Schroell convened the meeting, which was web cast live on http://kpftx.org until executive session. The public portion of the meeting audio will be archived online at http://www.kpftx.org/archive.htm#pnb. Without objection, the minutes of the May 21, 2004 and June 20, 2004 meetings were approved after reading was waived. Eight Members present, constituting a quorum: Dave Adelson, Terry Goodman, Patty Heffley, Roger Manning, Curt Schroell, Wendy Schroell, Nile El Wardani, Zarinah Shakir Seven Members absent: Steve Conley, Mark Hernandez, Tracey Lewis, Tiokasin Ghosthorse, Cleveland Spears, Al Delaney, William Walker The meeting was called to order at approximately 5:10 pm Pacific time. The agenda was discussed and approved as amended. Upon advice that its resolution of May 21st requesting a report from the Executive Director had not gone to the PNB Coordinating Committee, the committee authorized Patty Heffley to send it to Ray Laforest and Roger Manning for tracking by WBAI members of that committee. Adelson suggested that it be included in the committee's report to the PNB, and there was no objection. There was discussion of a proposal for Pacifica funding of a proposal from Radio for Peace International. Some committee members received a printed copy of the proposal via postal mail in advance of the meeting. Additionally, the following URLs were sent to committee members by the Chair for reference in advance of the meeting: Radio for Peace International Democracy Now Report: http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=03/11/04/1556254 RFPI Responds to University for Peace press release of 11/3/03: http://www.rfpi.org/legal.html Free Speech Is Frozen Out in Costa Rica: http://www.earthisland.org/project/newsPage2.cfm?newsID=539&pageID=177&subSiteID=44 RPI Online Journal, September 1, 2004: http://www.rfpi.org/vista_2004_Sept1.html Scooter Interviews Tom Voorhees Off Air: http://acksisofevil.org/audio/voorhees.mp3 Also, the Secretary offered to research and provide additional information for inclusion in the minutes. "The Lifeline is a self-powered radio designed specifically for children living on their own, distance education or other humanitarian projects. Robustly constructed to operate in the harshest of conditions and climates, the Lifeline radio is rugged, colourful, easy to use and carry, receives excellent AM/FM/SW and plays for many hours non-stop on wind-up energy or solar power. It is available to aid and donor agencies for bona fide humanitarian initiatives." http://www.freeplayfoundation.org/ http://www.e-greenstar.com/worldsummit/freeplay.htm http://www.freeplayenergy.com Portable FM Radio Stations: Broadcasting with the Sun (The reach of FM is limited, but the discussion here is relevant) http://www.col.org/speeches/mindafviii_case2.htm Adelson presented background and reported on a phone conversation regarding the proposal. It was announced that RFPI will be making a presentation at the upcoming PNB meeting. Motion from Adelson, as amended RESOLVED, The committee reports that it finds that there is no other technology that we are aware of that will allow Pacifica to reach the worldwide audience available via shortwave and that the Radio for Peace International proposal is compatible with the Pacifica Mission and its message of peace. There was no vote on the resolution, but it was presumed adopted without objection. There was discussion regarding advances in MP3 player technology, the varieties of MP3 content distribution, and the key importance of interface design. Adelson agreed to send a written report to the committee, but warned that it might not be available prior to the PNB meeting. Motion from El-Wardani, as amended RESOLVED, That Dave Adelson present a report to the PNB on the latest MP3 technology. There was no vote on the resolution, but it was presumed adopted without objection. There was discussion about problems with digital radio, as reported by Jim Bennet and others at the Pacifica Tech Talk retreat after GRC9 in June, 2004. The following URLs were sent to committee members by the Chair for reference in advance of the meeting: Infytech homepage http://indytech.org Making an informed decision on HD Radio http://www.indytech.org/docs/HDRadio.html Your radios ... All turned to junk By Government edict ... http://www.digitaldisaster.org/ Motion from Goodman, as amended RESOLVED, The PNB Technology Committee shares the skepticism expressed in the Bennet letter, "Making an Informed Decision on HD Radio." Motion to table from El-Wardani Motion to table PASSED by roll call vote 3 YES (W. Schroell, Shakir, Manning) 1 NO (Goodman) Pount of order from Adelson, a motion to table takes precedence. Well taken. Motion from Heffley RESOLVED, That the PNB Technology Committee requests that the Pacifica Executive Director provide a written report to this committee of new technology projects being undertaken by the Foundation, including costs incurred and projected. Motion withdrawn prior to a second, as the meeting was required to end its public session to free the stream for another committee. Point of order from Manning, the motion was previously adopted. Not well taken. The committee entered executive session to discuss security problems discovered in connection with the Pacifica Internet Tuner. Quorum was lost during this discussion, but a majority of a quorum was obtained when a resolution was prepared for committee consideration. Motion from Adelson, as amended WHEREAS, bugs and security holes are often found in initial releases of new software and interfaces, RESOLVED, That PNB technology committee recommends that prior to the public release by Pacifica of any new internet audio interface, it be provided to the PNB Technology Committeee for beta testing and security review. Motion PASSED by roll call vote 5 YES (Adelson, Goodman, Manning, Heffley, W. Schroell) 0 NO The meeting was adjourned at 7:02 pm PST. Terry L. Goodman Secretary, PNB Technology Committee ----- APPENDIX A - Meeting Notice [Note: The 9/21/04 meeting failed quorum, so the meeting was rescheduled.] From: Roger Manning, PNB Secretary To: Pacifica Nation Board, GM's, LSB Secretaries, & Others Subject: NOTICE - more PNB commmittee meetings - Sept 18, 21, 22 Date: Tue, 14 Sep 2004 PLEASE POST WIDELY (and announce on-air where possible) Meetings of the following committees of the Pacifica National Board are upcoming via teleconference: - Sat. Sept. 18, 12:00pm Pacific, 1:00pm Mountain, 2:00pm Central, 3:00pm Eastern: PNB programming Committee - Tues. Sept. 21, 12:30pm Pacific, 1:30pm Mountain, 2:30pm Central, 3:30pm Eastern: PNB Coordinating Committee - Tues. Sept. 21, 5:00pm Pacific, 6:00pm Mountain, 7:00pm Central, 8:00pm Eastern: PNB Technology Committee [moved from 9-19-04] - Weds. Sept. 22, 12:00pm Pacific, 1:00pm Mountain, 2:00pm Central, 3:00pm Eastern: Board/Staff Relations [exec session to address personnel issues - not webcast] Meetings will be webcast and archived at http://kpftx.org Pacifica: 510-849-2590 http://pacifica.org ----- APPENDIX B - Amended Agenda I. Coordination with Coordinating Committee II. Pacifica's participation assisting the restart of RFPI III. KU Uplinks outside of Berkeley (tabled to next meeting) IV. Bennet Paper on HD Radio V. Advances in MP3 Technology VI. Security Problems with the Pacifica Internet Tuner (closed session)