Many young people who use social networking sites such as News Corp’s MySpace do not realize how public they are and may be opening themselves to risks

That seems backwards to me. It would seem a lot better to find out that kids are actually talking about this stuff openly, where they can (hopefully) get good advice to keep themselves safe, rather than keeping quiet and experimenting totally in secret. Yes, there definitely are some risks involved in talking about this stuff publicly. For years, we’ve wondered what will happen when the MySpace generation runs for office, and we’ve also seen how social networking profiles can be used against an individual in pursuing a career. Of course, there are some who wonder if this widespread openness will lead to a more accepting population. For example the fact that Barack Obama used cocaine at one point in his life was barely mentioned at all during the campaign — in part because he had openly admitted to it years earlier. It’s only the surprise “gotcha” type info that seems to cause real problems.

That isn’t to say that kids today shouldn’t be at least aware of the potential consequences of over-sharing information, but I worry that a study like the one being discussed here leads to eventual misplaced blame and worries over a problem that might not be nearly as significant as some make it out to be.

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When Matt Smith stepped into Doctor Who’s title role as the 11th Doctor this weekend, he went from British character actor to potential entertainment legend.

The 10 actors who preceded Smith during the sci-fi show’s 45-year run are forever linked to the part of The Doctor; some even parlayed the BBC role into a lasting place in pop culture history. Each brought something unique to the role of a benevolent alien traveling through the universe in a stolen time machine, fighting for justice against myriad alien foes.

Smith, 26, will take over from current Doctor, David Tennant, who leaves the show at the end of 2009. Smith, pictured, will first play the Time Lord in the 2010 season.

Hop in the Tardis and take a trip through time with this gallery of Doctors.

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1) William Hartnell (1963 to 1966): Hartnell, a veteran character actor known primarily for playing gruff drill sergeants before becoming the first Doctor, went from hostile, mysterious alien to wise and heroic grandfather before stepping away for health reasons.

Distinguishing characteristic: His original anachronistic costume and hair set the tone for his descendants.

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2) Patrick Troughton (1966 to 1969): Troughton injected a more playful spirit into the second Doctor, and introduced the spirit of aggressive heroics known in the part today. The talented, quirky actor had a knack for shifting from gleeful mischief to steely resolve in a flash while remaining always compelling.

Distinguishing characteristic: His clownish, “cosmic hobo” outfit was supposedly inspired by Charlie Chaplin.

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3) Jon Pertwee (1969 to 1974): An established comedy actor when cast, Pertwee’s Doctor might have been the most serious-minded as his exiled and stranded character battled multiple attempts to invade the Earth. The Master (played by Roger Delgado) arrived during this period to torment Pertwee’s more active, action-inspired Doctor.

Distinguishing characteristic: Topping off his puffy shirt and smoking jacket, Pertwee’s white hair helmet got higher as his tenure progressed.

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4) Tom Baker (1974 to 1981): The actor who played the part the longest was also the first Doctor exported to the United States. His performance became sillier as it progressed, but his early and middle seasons pulled down the highest ratings in the show’s history, until the show’s 21st-century return.

Distinguishing characteristic: Baker has the weird eyes, the beak and a benevolent voice that’s kept him working for decades, but it’s the 17-foot, multicolored scarf we remember.

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5) Peter Davison (1981 to 1984): The youngest actor to play the part until Smith came along, Davison was already a TV star from All Creatures Great and Small when he took the gig. More energetic and manic than Baker, Davison shared the Tardis with a series of younger companions as the show updated its look for the ’80s.

Distinguishing characteristic: The fifth Doctor’s Edwardian cricket player outfit belied Davison’s high energy, and he reportedly hated the costume.

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6) Colin Baker (1984 to 1986): A strong actor, Colin Baker was cursed with a poorly re-imagined Doctor-as-arrogant-jerk. As a result, the show struggled and suffered through a hiatus period for the first time in more than two decades.

Distinguishing characteristic: Baker also hated his overdone, mismatched outfit — another symptom of his era’s overwrought struggles.

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7) Sylvester McCoy (1987 to 1989, 1996): Charming but odd, McCoy packed a lot of authority into his little, gentle-hearted frame. He layered mystery into his performance, but his best efforts couldn’t prevent the BBC from canceling Doctor Who after 26 years on the air.

Distinguishing characteristic: McCoy’s rich Scottish delivery offered The Doctor’s most distinctive voice since Tom Baker’s.

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Paul McGann (1996): Offering a mix of childlike bemusement and heroic urgency, McGann only got to play the part once in an ill-fated American co-production on Fox. But McGann continued on in several audio productions for the BBC and Big Finish Productions.

Distinguishing characteristic: His costume was a mix of Hartnell and Baker, but McGann will always be remembered as the first “leading man” Doctor who got to plant one on the lips of his assistant (Daphne Ashbrook).

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9) Christopher Eccleston (2005): An established film and TV star (The Others, Elizabeth), it was Eccleston’s job to reintroduce The Doctor to the 21st century. He did so with a tremendous burst of dark, yet heroic and humorous, energy. But Eccleston’s stint as The Doctor lasted only one great season before he moved on to other roles in Heroes and G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra.

Distinguishing characteristic: Promising that his Doctor would not be a “tosser,” Eccleston went with simple black and a leather jacket.

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10) David Tennant (2005 to 2009): Tennant, the first actor to play the part who grew up dreaming of being The Doctor, was long rumored for the part before taking over from Eccleston. He became the show’s first romantic leading man as he clearly fell for his companion, Rose (Billie Piper), but Tennant’s Doctor also seemed like the most wounded, haunted and lonely incarnation.

Distinguishing characteristic: Whether it was the suit or his carefully managed hair, Tennant’s look was engineered to draw in the ladies.

The case was brought by Universal Music Group, which claimed that San Diego-based
Veoh– financially backed by Time Warner and Michael Eisner – engaged in wanton copyright infringement because it allowed users to upload and store the music concern’s copyrighted videos. U.S. District Judge Howard Matz agreed with Veoh that its business model complied with the
1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act’sso-called safe harbor provisions.

The case is similar to other suits targeting YouTube, MySpace, MP3Tunes and others. And it marks just the second time that a federal judge has ruled the DMCA protects video-sharing sites – even user-generated sites like Veoh that transform user-uploaded content into flash-formatted videos that can later be accessed by users.

U.S. District Judge Howard Matz, citing the DMCA’s language,
ruled(.pdf) that copyright law precludes monetary liability on a service provider “for infringement of copyright by reason of the storage at the discretion of a user of material that resides on a system or network controlled or operated by or for the service provider.”

Matz noted that in order to win immunity under the DMCA, the service provider, in this case Veoh, must not have “actual knowledge” of the infringing material and, among other things, “must expeditiously remove or disable access to material if it is notified that the material is infringing or is the subject of infringing activity.”

Veoh scored its first victory in August, when a
San Jose magistrate dismisseda lawsuit with similar allegations brought by porn company IO Group.

Both rulings are not binding on other judges, however. And neither the U.S. appellate courts nor the U.S. Supreme Court has directly addressed the issue.

Check out the Electronic Frontier Foundation’s
takeby Fred von Lohmann on the topic.

See Also:

• YouTube to McCain: You Made Your DMCA Bed, Lie in It
• 10 Years Later, Misunderstood DMCA is the Law That Saved the Web …
• Universal Says DMCA Takedown Notices Can Ignore ‘Fair Use …
• Hackers, Others Seek DMCA Exemptions
• Google, EFF Applaud Veoh DMCA Ruling
• Air Force Cyber Command’s New Weapon: DMCA Notices
• Coupon Hacker Defeats DMCA Suit
• Stifled by Copyright, McCain Asks YouTube to Consider Fair Use …
• Judge Who Signed ‘Torture Memo’ Blasts DMCA Sentence
• DMCA ‘Terror’ Case Dismissed