Why? Because the information society is reversing flow. What began as an experiment among a few software nerds has, thanks to the Internet, expanded into other disciplines, notably media and law. But it won’t stop there. Advertising. Branding. Distribution. Consumer research. Product development. Manufacturing. They will all be turned upside down as the despotism of the executive suite gives way to the will, and wisdom, of the masses in a new commercial and cultural epoch, namely: The Open Source Revolution.
“We’re tired of the 20th-century model of being passive consumers of mass content,” says J.D. Lasica, author of Darknet: Hollywood’s War Against the Digital Generation. “We’re transitioning to a new kind of culture. More participatory, more open, more interactive where the locus of control passes.”
Lasica, who believes for example that by now Mickey Mouse should be in the public domain, doesn’t think he’s demanding anything outlandish.
Daily Archives: October 13, 2005
25 Ways to Distinguish Yourself
Berlind on Getting Ripped off By DRM
Secondary in my mind (not by much) to the DRM goal vector is the technology vector. This is where Hollywood’s need to protect its turf has turned into a gift from heaven for the technology companies that incessantly seek out market control points through the use of proprietary technologies. To you, proprietary generally means one of two things. Lack of compatibility or increased cost to get compatibility. Today, the different DRM technology makers are in a race to drive as much DRMed content (DRMed with their different DRM technologies that is) into market as possible. By doing so, they are securing the future of their playback technologies because you’ll always need them to access your content. In this context (driving DRMed content to market), Microsoft is the tortoise and Apple is the hare
Milwaukee negotiating for citywide wireless network – 2005-10-12
Milwaukee working on citywide wireless network – 2005-10-12
The city of Milwaukee is in negotiations with Midwest Fiber Networks, Milwaukee, to have the company install a citywide wireless network at a cost of $20 million to $25 million.
Yin and Yang: Gates & Jobs
While Bill Gates visited the UW Wednesday (more from the Badger Herald), Steve Jobs introduced new imacs, ipods (with video playback) and the ability to buy and download video online, via the iTunes music store (lookout Netflix). John Markoff and Laura Holson have more on Jobs introductions:
But Mr. Jobs, Apple Computer’s co-founder and chief executive, concluded a 90-minute presentation at a theater here by framing his plans in the broadest possible terms. “I think this is the start of something really big,” he said. “Sometimes the first step is the hardest one, and we’ve just taken it.”
Apple is not the first company to enter the market for digital video. A range of efforts are under way by consumer electronics companies and studios looking for ways to make high-quality digital video available on computers and hand-held players.
View the presentation here (Wynton Marsalis plays toward the end, which is simply wonderful).
Sun Prairie, China and the Yuan
Richard T. Wilkey (owner of Fisher-Barton), who runs a small Wisconsin company that makes cutting blades for lawn mowers and harvesting equipment, worries that he will soon be vulnerable to competition from China. But he is afraid that by the time he gets help from Washignton, it ma be too late.