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Tuesday, July 09, 2002 |
ieSpell - F**kin A Man.
"I urge any serious bloggers out there who haven't tried ieSpell yet to go over to www.iespell.com and do so. Immediately! The newest version now provides support for rich edit tools (like Radio's for instance) as well as AOL and other IE based browsers. Worthy of a micro-donation for sure.
I'm going to suggest the possibility of user-defined short-cuts (or smart tags) to the author. It seems like the perfect tool to provide all those cross-system, bloggers like myself a way to maintain a central list of shortcuts." [...useless miscellany]
11:32:03 PM Permanent link here
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Treating Viewers as Criminals
"Remember blipverts?
The 1980s science fiction series, Max Headroom, depicted a society "twenty minutes into the future" ruled by powerful television networks locked in ruthless competition for viewer eyeballs. Concerned by the growing trend towards channel surfing, the blipvert was developed as a rapid-fire subliminal advertisement which pumped its commercial messages directly into consumers' brains before they had a chance to change the channel....
I could not help but think about blipverts the other day when I stumbled across the recent comments of Turner Broadcasting System CEO Jaimie Kellner, who asserted that television viewers who skipped commercials using their digital video recorders were guilty of "stealing" broadcast content. Kellner told an industry trade press reporter that "Your contract with the network when you get the show is you're going to watch the spots." He conceded that there may be a historic loophole allowing us to take short breaks to go to the bathroom but otherwise, we are expected to be at our post, doing our duties, watching every commercial, and presumably, though he never said it, buying every product.
Kellner's intemperate rhetoric is, alas, characteristic of the ways that the media industry increasingly thinks about, talks about, and addresses its consumers in the post-Napster era. Napster may—and I stress, may—have been legitimately labeled piracy, but now all forms of consumerism are being criminalized with ever-decreasing degrees of credibility. Once going to the bathroom or grabbing a snack on a commercial break gets treated as a form of theft, the media conglomerates are going to be hard pressed to get consumer compliance with their expectations, making it impossible to draw legitimate lines about what is and is not appropriate use of media content....
I don't know about you but I want to renegotiate my contract! There has been a significant increase in the number of commercials per hour since I first started watching network programming. Consequently, my workload has doubled or tripled, while my compensation—the programming—has gone down in quantity, if not in quality. One wonders whether it isn't time for television viewers to form a union, demand that people like Kellner sit down at the negotiating table, and cut a better deal with us, if they continue to expect viewer loyalty. And given research linking extensive television viewing with obesity, perhaps we might have some way of holding the networks accountable for their workplace safety violations as well, before some of us start to spontaneously explode....
If the networks stopped at name-calling, that would be one thing, but they didn’t. Last fall, the networks sued SONICBlue, the manufacturer of ReplayTV, and convinced a Federal Magistrate to force the company to collect data on thousands of individual consumers: what shows they watch, what commercials they skip, and what—if anything—they forward to their friends. Not content to wait and worry, the networks are now invading our privacy to ensure that we make good on Kellner's imaginary contract. Thankfully, the order was subsequently stayed by a higher court.
Confronting such hostility, consumers are increasingly committing acts of passive resistance (flush often!) and forming organizations, such as DigitalConsumer.org, which is making the case that consumers have rights and interests in the negotiations that occur between media producers, technology companies, and policy-makers. To borrow a line from Network, "we are mad as hell and we aren't going to take it anymore."
We are now witnessing scorched earth-style warfare between consumers and networks, as the old institutions resist change and hold onto old approaches up until the last possible moment...." [MIT Technology Review]
As Hilary Rosen said, if the networks can't anticipate the cost of their business-model, maybe they shouldn't be in this business.
11:15:32 PM Permanent link here
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Toshiba's Mobile Answer to Workstation
"The company's Satellite 1955-S801 weighs 9.6 pounds, sports a 2.2GHz Pentium 4 desktop processor from Intel, a huge 16-inch display and a removable wireless keyboard.
The new Satellite is meant to replace a high-end desktop PC with a more portable alternative. The machine's design also aims to promote greater ease of use, by allowing owners to detach the wireless keyboard and also use a wireless mouse to sit farther back from the 16-inch screen....
The Satellite 1955 is the latest example in a new trend in consumer-oriented notebooks. Manufacturers have begun producing notebooks with giant screens and desktop Pentium 4 processors to offer higher performance and somewhat lower prices than more traditional notebooks. But there is a trade-off: The new machines weigh considerably more and don't run as long on batteries.
Analysts say such machines appeal to a certain customer, typically a second - or third-time PC buyer who wants something more portable than a desktop but refuses to give up performance or pay a huge sum for a new machine....
The Satellite 1955 will cost $2,499 and includes a few features not found in other desktop-replacement notebooks, such as the detachable wireless keyboard and the wireless mouse.
The machine includes the 16-inch screen with 1280-by-1024-pixel resolution, 512MB of RAM, a 40GB hard drive, a combination CD-rewritable/DVD drive, an IEEE 1394 port, Nvidia's GeForce4 440 Go graphics chip, and 32MB of video memory." [News.com]
As long as you don't need to be truly portable, this isn't a bad idea. However, check out the Coolest Toshiba Laptop Around currently available in Japan:
 "I'm typing this on a Toshiba Libretto L5, a full-function laptop that takes up less space on my desk than a comic book. With built-in wireless networking I can surf the Web anywhere and everywhere in my house. Finally, I can read Slate in the bathroom! The laptop is so light that I carry it with me wherever I go. Who needs a PDA with a laptop this small? There's only one problem. Toshiba won't sell you one. Like many of the hottest laptops around, it is sold only in Japan....
The Libretto is not for everyone. The 10-inch 1,280-by-600 screen is amazingly bright and clear, but if you find yourself squinting at a normal laptop display this one will give you eyestrain. The keys are tight compared to a standard keyboard, and even tighter if you're used to an ergonomic keyboard. The Transmeta Crusoe microprocessor (comparable to an Intel Pentium III) normally runs at 800 mhz but slows down when operating solely on battery. Sometimes it was too slow to display certain intensive video formats. I got three-plus hours out of the built-in battery when doing nothing but typing, but hard-disk-intensive operations like watching movies or listening to music drained it much faster. And don't plan on watching movies on the airplane. You'll need to buy a separate DVD drive that plugs into the standard USB interface or PC-card slot—and that probably means a separate power supply and/or battery. Finally, if you hate the "eraserhead" mouse-substitute then you'll hate this one too.
What makes the Libretto so great is that it takes up very little space. At 10.5 inches wide by 6.6 inches deep, it actually sits between the keyboard and monitor of my desktop, allowing me to check mail on one machine while running Photoshop full-screen on the other. On a plane that advantage is magnified because you can use it even when the bozo in front of you has his seatback fully reclined. In fact, I'll go out on a limb and claim that without advances in speech or handwriting recognition, a laptop's footprint can't get substantially smaller than this and still remain usable. You can't get any smaller without shrinking the keyboard to the point where you can't touch-type." [Slate]
Between these laptops and the e740 Pocket PC, I'm gaining more respect for Toshiba's products.
4:10:21 PM Permanent link here
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"Howard Berman on News.com: Just desserts for scofflaws:
'Each illegal peer-to-peer (P2P) download of a song robs the songwriters of the 8 cents they are due under the mechanical license. That may not seem like much, but when you multiply 8 cents by the reported 1.1 billion downloads on one P2P system in one month, it calculates out to $88,000,000 dollars...a month. Divide even 1/10th of that money among the 5,000 members of the Songwriters Guild of America, and you begin to see that P2P piracy robs songwriters on a massive scale.' " [Matt Goyer - Check out EM]
In his editorial, Representative Berman goes on to say the following:
"Lastly, P2P piracy robs the down loaders themselves and their fellow consumers, who will see the quality and diversity of future creations decrease as piracy increases. In short, P2P piracy has a myriad of victims."
Let's hope he applies this same logic to the Sony Bono Copyright Extension Act and is willing to follow through on this commitment to ensuring the "diversity of future creations" by voting to make sure that more works fall into the public domain.
Next, Representative Berman continues with this little gem:
"There is no excuse or justification for P2P piracy. Of course consumers would like free music at the click of a mouse. They would also like gasoline for less than $1 dollar a gallon. But we don't confiscate people's property and pass it out because people want it for free...."
Again, let's hope that this elected official follows through on the promise of not giving in to a cultural desire just because it would be easier. We should therefore expect him to vote against the CBDTPA and other legislation that is designed to maintain the entertainment industry's status quo. After all, these companies "would like to restrict content on every device," but we shouldn't codify this into law just "because these executives want us to."
There's also no excuse for auto theft, but we don't legislate that auto manufacturers provide better protection just because the insurance companies don't want to pay to replace a vehicle. We already have criminal laws to deal with this situation. And I don't see him proposing legislation to stop the price of gasoline from dropping to less than $1 a gallon, so he's being awfully picky about what gets Congressional endorsement and what doesn't.
And finally, Representative Berman defends his forthcoming proposal to provide legislative protection for copyright holders (not the artists, but rather the companies that own the artists' works) to mess with P2P networks:
"Part of the solution involves freeing copyright owners to use technology to combat this piracy. There is nothing revolutionary about property owners using self-help--technological or otherwise--to secure or repossess their property....
Copyright owners could technologically impair the distribution of copyrighted works, but could not actually hack into a P2P user's computer or otherwise remove files therein. If copyright owners abuse the authority provided in the bill, an aggrieved P2P user would have remedies for such abusive behavior.
I expect that such legislation, if appropriately limited, will gather substantial support in the Congress. The only folks I expect to defend P2P piracy are those who profit from it."
It's good to hear that he recognizes the need to stop these companies from actually getting into a person's computer, but I wonder how he will feel if something happens to his daughter's computer anyway. But as long as Representative Berman is feeling in the law-making mood, how about re-affirming fair use rights and forcing entertainment companies to make their content available online yesterday.
No, I don't really want him to force the companies to do that either (after all, we're into the "supply and demand" model in this country and I'm all for the record labels losing money [lack of demand] until they adjust their business model to the new reality [lack of supply]), but it's just as silly as approving the legislation the entertainment industry is paying for.
(The entertainment industry had better get Jack Valenti back from vacation, because their current spokespeople are putting their feet in their mouths.)
1:13:19 PM Permanent link here
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Libraries Offer Thousands of Recordings On Line
"From today, visitors to libraries in Westminster, London will have free on-line access to thousands of works of classical music.
The pilot scheme, if successful, could be rolled out across libraries throughout the UK later in the year.
Aside from the vast catalogue of recordings, Music On Line allows library users to access themed play-lists and editor’s recommendations, to create and save their own selections of music, and to explore constantly updated reference material, including thousands of biographies and anecdotes....
The service is made available through the People's Network, a lottery-funded project that aims to connect all public libraries to the Internet.
Deputy Lord Mayor of Westminster, Louise Hyams, who will launch the service this evening, said 'Music On Line will give the public free access to a vast cultural asset at the click of a mouse.' " [Gramophone, via LibraryPlanet.com]
What a great idea! I l-o-v-e it because this is very much the intermediary role I would like to see libraries play in The Heavenly Jukebox. Not everyone can afford access, some folks will always want to borrow rather than purchase content, and libraries provide a legal way to sample material before purchasing it.
There's an ever bigger role libraries can play - cataloging and organizing the content of The Heavenly Jukebox. Think about it - you get 200 channels on TV and you have trouble finding, organizing, and maintaining it. What do you think will happen when you suddenly have access to 70,000 songs and all of the movies ever made? Content chaos is just as bad as there being only a few channels with nothing to watch. I'd love to see the content companies start planning ahead and working with information architects and librarians on how all of this material is going to be made available to consumers.
Back to the Westminster Libraries service, though. Here are some further details from their site:
"It allows you to listen to the complete range of music available from Classical.com through computers in Westminster libraries. The music is mostly classical, featuring at least one recording of all the popular classical works, and includes great artists like Sir Yehudi Menuhin, Sir Charles Mackerras, Dame Felicity Lott and Michael Collins (Young Musician of the Year). Classical.com currently offer almost 10,000 tracks, including film soundtracks and some jazz, and more music is added on a regular basis.
The music is arranged in ‘playlists’ so that you can listen to music by composer, by mood, or select music for different occasions such as weddings. You can also search for and play individual works, and compile them into your own playlists....
There are many ways in: Click on the 'Music Online' icon on the desktop of any Westminster Libraries Internet computer, click on the banner above, or on this link: Connect to Music Online. There are also links elsewhere on the Westminster Libraries web pages, eg: the Music page of the Gateway. Any playlists you create while in the library will be accessible wherever you log in (and vice versa).
For the length of the pilot period (until Autumn 2002) you will be able to listen to full length pieces of music wherever you are by accessing the service via these Westminster Libraries web pages. After the pilot period is finished you will still be able to access your playlists anywhere, but will only be able to listen to the first minute of each piece unless you are in a library."
So it appears you need to be in a Westminster Library to access this service, which is a shame because it means that patrons have to adjust their busy schedules to go to the Library, rather than the Library shifting to where the patrons are. I'm sure this isn't the Libraries' fault but rather is due to the licensing requirements of Classical.com and the record labels. It illustrates perfectly how beholden libraries are to publishers and content owners, and why we need to proactively fight further restrictions (such as the CBDTPA in the U.S.).
12:00:54 PM Permanent link here
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E-Ink, Toppan, and Philips Demonstrate World's First High Resolution, Active-Matrix Color Display with Electronic Ink
"E Ink Corporation, the leading developer and marketer of electronic ink technology for paper-like displays, and two strategic development partners -- TOPPAN Printing, Ltd., the global market leader for color filter arrays in the flat panel display industry, and Royal Philips Electronics, a leading supplier of mobile display solutions (AEX: PHI, NYSE: PHG) -- today announced the demonstration of the world's first high-resolution, active-matrix color display developed with electronic ink. A prototype of the display was first exhibited to industry leaders at last month's Society for Information Display (SID) Symposium, Seminar and Exhibition in Boston, Massachusetts.
This color display was developed jointly by integrating technologies from all three parties - E Ink's electronic ink technology, a custom color filter array produced by TOPPAN and an active matrix backplane from Philips. This ultra-low power, reflective, image-stable color display is capable of displaying 4,096 colors and is being developed for multiple mobile applications such as PDAs, mobile communications devices and electronic readers. The display measures 5.0 inches diagonal with a resolution of 320 x RGB x 234 (80 pixels per inch (ppi))....
These color electronic ink displays are targeted for commercialization in 2004. Using E Ink's electronic ink technology in components made by TOPPAN, Philips plans to first introduce monochrome displays (ranging from black & white to 4-bit gray scale initially) for handheld devices and portable consumer electronics next year.
Color electronic ink displays promise a number of major benefits for handheld applications compared to existing display solutions. Unlike LCDs and OLEDs, electronic ink displays have a paper-like look with readability under all lighting conditions including bright sunlight. LCDs typically have a narrow viewing angle, beyond which the color image is effectively lost. Color electronic ink displays can be viewed at any angle - or illuminated from any angle - without any loss of contrast and brightness." [via Nick Denton]
This would be great if they could get the color versions on the market in 2004, although I wouldn't expect them to go into mainstream devices for another year or two after that. Imagine being able to read your PDA or smartphone screen outside in the sun! A definite boost in the future for ebooks, gaming consoles, and smartphones/PDAs.
8:10:45 AM Permanent link here
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BlogChalking is an interesting twist on the WiFi phenomenon:
"blogChalking is a movement attempting to create a region-sensible blog-search system - descentralized, improvised (influencing existing Internet search engines) and world-wide. Truly cool and simple." [via Daypop Top 40]
Here's mine: 
One problem with this, though, is that I don't just want to be able to search for Illinois blogs. I want Illinois sites in general, so we need broader language. I know there's a geographic meta tag out there, but of course, I can't find it at the moment.
This is a fun experiment, though.
8:03:08 AM Permanent link here
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© Copyright 2004 Jenny Levine.
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