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All things are difficult before they are easy.
-- Thomas Fuller, 1700
Waiting for Grokster
by Dana Blankenhorn
Moore's Lore, May 18, 2005
The vast majority of Grokster's use is driven by hoarding.
People fear losing access to the music they love (or might love). So they load
up, until they have gigs-and-gigs of it they have to haul around. (Thanks to
Moore's Law of storage this gets lighter and less expensive over time, but it
still has to be kept.)
The hoarding in turn is driven by the industry's threats. Threats of rising
prices. Threats of lawsuits. Threats of copy-protected CDs.
The market solution to the facts is already in the pipeline. Many have proposed
the idea of taxing people for unlimited access to the industry's wares and in
fact schemes like Yahoo's Music Unlimited
work just that way. Pay the "tax" (which starts at $5/month but could go up
subject to negotiations with the industry) and download all you want. No need to
hoard. Stop paying and all your files magically disappear. (The genie is found
in
Microsoft's DRM.)
Mmogchart.com - tracking the growth of Massively Multiplayer Online Games (MMOGs)
Verizon to use
Microsoft for TV service
by Stephen Lawson
The Industry Standard, January 31, 2005
Verizon Communications Inc. Friday became the latest service
provider to choose Microsoft Corp. software for an advanced TV service,
following in the footsteps of SBC Communications Inc. and Comcast Corp. Verizon
will use the Microsoft TV platform for its Fios TV service, which it plans to
launch later this year, said Ed Graczyk, director of marketing and
communications for the Microsoft TV division.
Microsoft TV supports digital video recording, video on demand and an
interactive program guide that Verizon can customize for its own subscribers.
The software, used along with Motorola Inc. set-top boxes, will form the
foundation of a high-definition TV service that will run over Verizon's emerging
fiber-to-the-home network, he said. ...
New TV platforms, especially IPTV, from Microsoft and other vendors are expected
to transform the viewing experience with more channels, interactivity and other
features. For example, using Microsoft TV, Verizon could send targeted
commercials to different types of viewers and prevent digital video recorders
from recording rerun episodes of a TV series, according to Graczyk.
8 U.S.
technology firms endorse health data plan
by Steve Lohr
The New York Times, January 27, 2005
Eight of the largest American technology companies,
including IBM, Microsoft and Oracle, have agreed to embrace open nonproprietary
technology standards as the software building blocks for a national health
information network.
The Bush administration has said that creating such a network should be a
national priority over the next several years.
The goal is to improve care and reduce costs by abandoning paper and moving to a
digital system for handling patient records, clinical research, claims and
payments. Such a network, analysts say, should save both lives and money.
Kodak digital camera brings new features to the table
by Ben Rand
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle in USA Today, January 5,
2005
Eastman
Kodak Co. is unveiling a groundbreaking new camera today that could take
digital photography for consumers in an entirely new direction — one free of
annoying wires.
Kodak tacks Wi-Fi capability and an oversized,
touch-sensitive screen onto the EasyShare-One digital camera.
The company's new EasyShare-One model will allow users to send their
favorite images to friends and family — or to printers — directly from the
back of the camera.
Introduced this afternoon in Las Vegas, EasyShare-One also provides
unprecedented levels of on-board photo storage, the largest LCD screen of
any digital camera on the market and cutting-edge connections to Kodak's
online photo service.
FCC Chair
Advocates Hands-Off Approach to VoIP
by Tim Greene
PC World, October 19, 2004
U.S. Federal Communications Commission Chairman Michael Powell says that after
the presidential election he will try to wrest regulatory control of voice over
IP from the states because to thrive as a business, the technology needs a
single, easy-handed regulator. ...
The FCC proposal will start from scratch with as few VoIP regulations as
possible, he says, not just modify current ones. "It's easy to get regulations
on the books and impossible to get them off. We should be careful until we need
them." Heavy regulation will stifle innovation and perhaps limit desirable
services by unintentionally throwing up barriers for VoIP. "Do we really even
know what it is yet?" he says.
This is important while VoIP is young, before dominant VoIP providers emerge,
build power and entrench themselves in the regulations that got them there, he
said. "(The FCC) wants proof that you need us," he told an overflow crowd of
VoIP providers, vendors, and users, "not make you prove that you don't."
He says state resistance to this may be caused by public utilities commissioners
trying to defend their turf rather than trying to encourage new services. "To
allow this is to dumb-down the Internet to match the vision of regulatory
minds," he says.
Corel
acquires Jasc to draw home office crowd
by Neil Sutton
ITBusiness.ca, October 14, 2004
"Corel's definitely back on track," he said. "Graphics has
been a very strong area for Corel for a very long time. There was a CorelDraw
long before Corel acquired WordPerfect."
By adding more consumer products to its graphics line, Corel may be able to
capitalize on the boom in home digital photography, said Wilcox. According to
Jupiter, 52 per cent of U.S. households own a digital camera.
"How do you help consumers discover the capabilities? Well, by providing robust
but approachable products. With Jasc, (Corel has) not only photo editing but
photo management," he said.
The Jasc acquisition is "a really good confirmation" that Corel is ready to
focus on its strengths again.
Racing toward a digital office
by Mark Webster
Business First, January 20, 2003
A bit of this, a byte of that and before you know it, you've entered a new age in business.
The future law office will strive to paperless while
synthesizing raw data into valuable knowledge. With the volume of information
available to legal professionals increasing, daily document and case management
systems will become obligatory components of the future law office.
Instead of maintaining paper files, document management systems will allow
attorneys to digitally capture information needed during the course of a case.
War Driving - Driving around looking for unsecured wireless networks.
War Driving in Southern California
Forget the Files and the Folders: Let Your Screen Reflect Life
by David Gelernter
NY Times, November 7, 2002
I have time for only one screen in my life. That screen had
better give me access to everything, everywhere.
What is this universal information structure? A narrative stream, which says,
"Let me tell you a story. "
At war with their customers ... the old vs the new, the old vs the young, an industrial age business model ("The accounting exam was monitored by proctors walking the aisles who failed to notice the cheating.") vs the information age.
Students Called on SMS Cheating
Associated Press, January 30, 2003
Six University of Maryland students have admitted cheating
on an accounting exam by using their cell phones to receive text messages with
the answers. ...
The scheme worked this way: Test takers brought their cell phones into the exam
with them. They used the phones to contact friends outside the classroom. The
friends looked up the exam answer key that had been posted on the Internet by
the professor once the test had started. Then the friends messaged the answers
back to the test takers.
Officials with the university business school said they caught the students in a
sting: A fake answer key with bogus answers was posted online after the exam
began last month; then the exams were checked to see which test takers put down
the bogus answers. ...
The case highlights the struggle schools face as they try to keep up with
tech-savvy students. ...
The scope of the Maryland case is unprecedented nationally, said Diane Waryold,
executive director of Duke University's Center for Academic Integrity. It is
also a sign that students might have a technological edge on their older
professors, she said.
"It's a generational issue," she said. "It's safe to say our students are far
more sophisticated."
The six Maryland students who confessed will fail the class and have a mark
placed on their transcript that indicates they cheated. Five others either met
with school officials or are awaiting trial by the school's student honor
council.
The 12th student died over the winter break. Zacker did not know the
circumstances surrounding the death and would not release the student's name.
...
The school has no plans to bar students from bringing cell phones to class,
Zacker said. ...
The use of cell phones is a new twist. Many phones allow text messages to be
passed back and forth silently. The accounting exam was monitored by proctors
walking the aisles who failed to notice the cheating.
For Sale: The
American Voter
By Kim Zetter
Wired, December 11, 2003
One of the nation's largest commercial distributors of voter data sold
voter-registration lists featuring detailed personal information without
verifying the identity or intent of buyers.
Aristotle International used a
website to sell the lists, which contain details about registered voters from
nearly every state. The data includes birth dates, home addresses, phone
numbers, race, income levels, ethnic backgrounds and, in some cases, religious
affiliations.
Although voter-registration data is a matter of public record, 22 states have
laws restricting the purchase or use of voter lists. Yet Aristotle, based in
Washington, D.C., sold lists online to anyone who wanted to buy them.
Exclusive rights to stagnate
by Lawrence Lessig
Financial Times, February 20, 2003
A crisis is developing in US patent law that Europe would do well to consider. The system in America is broken - to the great detriment of software developers generally.
Who Is the Unlikely
Winner of the Wi-Fi Revolution?
by John Ellis
Fast Company, March 2003
Who can bring Wi-Fi to every home? The companies that pop to mind are the Con
Edisons [and Niagara Mohawks and National Fuels] of the world. Those kinds of companies have
first-class (and local) service operations. They have plenty of cash; regulators
guarantee them a fixed rate. They service every last residence (and most
businesses) in their geographic area. They have the backroom billing operations.
And they all need to extend their product offerings.
But here's the kicker: Electric-utility management is largely made up of white
men who turned 65 when they turned 40. Leadership in this area will probably
come from a maverick. But it will happen. Wi-Fi, the least likely winner, has
won. Electric utilities, the least likely revolutionaries, stand to gain the
most from the Wi-Fi revolution.
Blogging comes to Harvard
by Paul Festa
CNET News.com, February 25, 2003
America's oldest institution of higher learning has hopped on the Internet's hottest new trend, hiring software developer Dave Winer to help get students and faculty blogging.
Weblogs At Harvard
by Dave Winer
Harvard University, February 12, 2003
Welcome. This is the place where we point to the developments in the developing
World O'Weblogs at Harvard University. You won't find any biting commentary
here, or insightful ideas, or even logical breakthoughs, our job is to help you
do that, and help spread the word about your accomplishments. We're studying
weblogs and evangelizing them. We're excited about how this technology might be
used in all the activities of the university, for faculty, administration,
students, alumni, staff.
What is a weblog?
Donna Wentworth, co-editor of this site, says "A weblog, or blog, is a website
updated frequently with links, commentary and anything else you like. New items
go on top and older items flow down the page. Blogs can be political journals,
news digests, and/or personal diaries; they can focus on one narrow subject or
range across a universe of topics. The weblog form is unique to the Web, highly
addictive, and may be changing how we communicate with one another.
She continues: "Many people who navigate the Web just fine still haven't a clue
what a weblog is, and it creates a stumbling block when they try to read one.
'What do I read first? Who wrote this? Why does this website exist?' but what
they end up saying is, 'What's a blog?'"
Another way of looking at weblogs -- they are personal web publishing
communities.
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