One particular conversation I’ve overheard several times, often in the context of web and standards development, has always intrigued me. It goes something like this: You know, Ted Nelson’s hypertext system from the 60’s had unbreakable, two-way links. It was elegant. But then came along Tim Berners-Lee and HTML, with its crappy, one-way, breakable links,…
Category: IPR
Fed Thread is a front end for the newly XMLified Federal Register. Why is this a big deal? It’s a daily publication of the goings-on of the US government. It’s a primary source for all kinds of things that normally only get rehashed through news organizations. And it is bulky–nobody can read through it on…
From Brewster Kahle. Good read, so to speak. -m
I found this explanation the most readable I’ve seen yet. She has slides too. The settlement itself has been recently delayed, which seems like a good idea for something of this magnitude. -m
Google for RIAA, get this first result: RIAA – Recording Industry Association of America – April 12, 2009 Trade group that claims to represent the US recording industry. Details on services, members, executives profiles, statistics, and contact information. “Claims to” represent the US recording industry? The word “claims”, accurate as it may be, appears nowhere…
I enjoyed this post, from Jeremy Allison as it turns out. It talks about how GPL software is “the new BSD” when it comes to cloud computing, since redistribuion of the software doesn’t happen, and thus doesn’t trigger the relevant clauses of the GPL. Any old company can use, re-use, and modify the software without…
With apologies to a real news site. (02-27) 16:14 PST SEATTLE, (AP) Amazon.com Inc. changed course Friday and said it would allow copyright holders to decide whether they will permit their works to be read aloud by the latest laryngeal apparatus, a feature that has been under development for several thousand years. The move comes…
Dear Amazon, Speaking as an author myself, you not only made a bad choice, you set a precedent in the wrong direction. The Author’s Guild doesn’t speak for me, nor do I want them to. TTS is only going to get better. The last thing we need is another backward industry fighting progress. -m
I’m (just barely) enough of a writer that I can spend cycles on Steorn‘s claims without being branded a crackpot. After all, the novel I’m working on involves a similar device being invented 4,000 years ago. It’s all research. Imagine if Earth’s gravitational field, instead of being a constant 1.0G, rocked back and forth between…
After a delay, the code to my RDFa parser in XQuery is now available under an Apache license. Go get it. This is some of the earliest XQuery code I ever wrote, so go easy on me. It follows the earlier work on a functional definition of RDFa. And feel free to send in patches….
By now you’ve likely noticed the Geek Thoughts postings here. This is an experiment on a few different levels. What makes comics special? To what extent are pictures, often little more than stick figures, a critical part of the web comic experience? Can a web comic still be funny and thought-provoking with only words? Specifically…
Looks like a reasonably-sized revision. The first public working draft seems downright thin, in fact, relative to all the SHOULDs and MAYs in the requirements document. In particular, I’d like to see progress on 2.3.16 Higher order functions. (Then do we get a book XQuery: The Good Parts? …kidding..) -m
Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling, herself rowling in gazillions of dollars, is along with her publisher suing Steven Vander Ark, a poor librarian who produced a lexicon of the Harry Potter universe. Rowling says it’s not about the money, it’s about control. Poppycock. If that was the case, she would have objected to the web…
I have here a pre-release copy of Cory Doctorow’s novel Little Brother. With permission. In plain text. Being read with the UNIX command less. On an XO laptop. And so far it’s awesome. -m
The new ticker symbol is SCOXQ.PK, as in “pink sheet”. From the soaring heights of the $20s, it’s now under a dime per share, as bankruptcy proceedings move forward and their attempt to charge fees for all Linux users continues to crumble. Serves ’em right. -m
Or, why the Kindle cost $399 at launch. What is Amazon’s most valuable IP? How about a list of registered users who are guaranteed as willing to pay a premium price for a nifty gadget (I mean “service”) along with the exclusive privilege of buying more things from Amazon? Somewhere in Amazon’s database land, alongside…
Where’s Project Gutenberg? One difficulty in launching an ebook platform is the lack of available titles. I keep hearing about 80,000+ titles, but expressed as a percentage of Amazon’s book catalog, it’s minuscule. There should be all kind of public domain titles ready to go on day one. And where’s the Creative Commons books? There’s…
If a free energy device (like this one) were really possible, simple economics would dictate that (as soon as patents expired, etc.) one or several would be found in every cell phone, iPod, notebook computer, desktop computer, appliance, automobile, airplane, house, building, and factory. That’s a lot of waste heat that would get dumped onto…
You are Superman Superman 80% Spider-Man 75% Green Lantern 60% The Flash 60% Batman 60% Robin 55% Iron Man 55% Supergirl 45% Wonder Woman 35% Hulk 35% Catwoman 25% You are mild-mannered, good, strong and you love to help others. Too cool to resist posting. Try the quiz yourself -m
This “click-through” license on an Edison-style phonograph cylinder has been making the rounds. But don’t miss the front side: a giant photo of Edison himself, and his name in the largest font possible. As the photo caption says: They really weren’t concerned with artist promotion, I guess. From day one, the record companies have been…
Check out this site from Dreamhost: Files Forever. All files are DRM-free and can be re-downloaded at any time. Expect to see more of this from an unhealthy market that wants to break free from artificial constraints. Currenly in beta and open only to Dreamhost customers. -m
I got this link from Eve, and to think, I never even knew there was a consortiuminfo.org. The Microsoft Open Specifications Promise irrevocably lets any interested parties implement and use a list of technologies without fear of getting sued (at least sued by Microsoft). It is similar in tone and scope to earlier declarations about…