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| compos mentis. Concision. Media. Clarity. Memes. Context. Melange. Confluence. Mishmash. Conflation. Mellifluous. Conviviality. Miscellany. Confelicity. Milieu. Cogent. Minty. Concoction. |
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The Darknet and the Future of Content Distribution [DOC] |
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| Topic: Intellectual Property |
9:53 pm EDT, Sep 8, 2003 |
We investigate the darknet a collection of networks and technologies used to share digital content. The darknet is not a separate physical network but an application and protocol layer riding on existing networks. Examples of darknets are peer-to-peer file sharing, CD and DVD copying, and key or password sharing on email and newsgroups. The last few years have seen vast increases in the darknets aggregate bandwidth, reliability, usability, size of shared library, and availability of search engines. In this paper we categorize and analyze existing and future darknets, from both the technical and legal perspectives. We speculate that there will be short-term impediments to the effectiveness of the darknet as a distribution mechanism, but ultimately the darknet-genie will not be put back into the bottle. In view of this hypothesis, we examine the relevance of content protection and content distribution architectures. This paper, co-authored by Peter Biddle, Paul England, Marcus Peinado, and Bryan Willman (all Microsoft employees), was presented at the DRM 2002 conference hosted by Stanford. The Darknet and the Future of Content Distribution [DOC] |
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Keepers of the Magic Kingdom |
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| Topic: Society |
3:16 pm EDT, Sep 7, 2003 |
Watch closely among Disneylands tourists and you might spot the Disneyana people, protecting Walts vision and living most of their waking lives in the happiest place on Earth. If you thought that Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom was a work of science fiction ... well, you were half right. Keepers of the Magic Kingdom |
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The Many Paradoxes of Broadband | Andrew Odlyzko [PDF] |
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| Topic: Telecom Industry |
11:19 pm EDT, Sep 2, 2003 |
There is much dismay and even despair over the slow pace at which broadband is advancing in the United States. This slow pace is often claimed to be fatally retarding the recovery of the entire IT industry. As a result there are increasing calls for government action, through regulation or even through outright subsidies. A careful examination shows that broadband is full of puzzles and paradoxes, which suggests caution before taking any drastic action. As one simple example, the basic meaning of broadband is almost universally misunderstood, since by the official definition, we all have broadband courtesy of the postal system. Also, broadband penetration, while generally regarded as disappointingly slow, is actually extremely fast by most standards, faster than cell phone diffusion at a comparable stage. Furthermore, many of the policies proposed for advancing broadband are likely to have perverse effects. There are many opportunities for narrowband services that are not being exploited, some of which might speed up broadband adoption. There are interesting dynamics to the financial and technological scenes that suggest broadband access may arrive sooner than generally expected. It may also arrive through unexpected channels. On the other hand, fiber-to-the-home, widely regarded as the Holy Grail of residential broadband, might never become widespread. In any case, there is likely to be considerable turmoil in the telecom industry over the next few years. Robust growth in demand is likely to be combined with a restructuring of the industry. This paper also appears in the September 2003 issue of First Monday. You'll want to print it to read it, so I've linked directly to the PDF version. The Many Paradoxes of Broadband | Andrew Odlyzko [PDF] |
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Digital Vandalism Spurs a Call for Oversight |
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| Topic: Computer Security |
12:14 pm EDT, Sep 1, 2003 |
As Internet users brace for the next round of digital vandalism, some experts say that it is time ... "What we're seeing is that voluntary efforts are insufficient, and the repercussions are vast," says Michael A. Vatis, former director of the National Infrastructure Protection Center at the Federal Bureau of Investigation. ... One proposal would require public companies to disclose potential computer security risks in SEC filings. [ Ha! ] "There's a reason this kind of thing doesn't happen with automobiles," says Bruce Schneier. A new California law requires disclosure of computer security breaches if they result in unauthorized access to residents' personal information; customers can sue businesses in violation for civil damages. A new Pew survey said 60 percent favor requiring corporations to disclose vulnerability information. "I kind of despair of the government doing anything," said Richard A. Clarke. I can see it now: "This software may contain certain forward-looking statements ... [which] are necessary estimates reflecting the best judgment of jun^h^h^hsenior programmers that rely on a number of assumptions ..." If you are unable to actually solve your problems, you can at least generate a lot of paperwork to document those failures for posterity. From the new employee manual: "All source code must be reviewed by legal ... A financial impact statement must be provided for each entry in the programmer-provided risk assessment ..." Digital Vandalism Spurs a Call for Oversight |
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Blackboard to Set Up Chinese Colleges With Its Software |
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| Topic: Tech Industry |
11:58 am EDT, Sep 1, 2003 |
Just six years after it was founded by two new graduates of American University, Blackboard Inc. has entered a partnership with Cernet, which provides Internet services to more than 1,000 universities in China, to create a software platform that will allow professors to post course materials, conduct discussions and administer tests online. Cernet CIO Walter Hu predicted the number of Chinese Blackboard users could possibly reach 20 million within 10 years. Blackboard is succeeding because ... "Easy", 2. "Security", 0. Blackboard to Set Up Chinese Colleges With Its Software |
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Salon.com | Truncat by Cory Doctorow |
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| Topic: Sci-Fi/Fantasy Literature |
1:58 am EDT, Sep 1, 2003 |
What if you could file-share someone's consciousness? Would it be a violation, or the ultimate communication therapy? A new short story by Cory Doctorow. Salon.com | Truncat by Cory Doctorow |
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Technologies of Power | MIT Press |
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| Topic: Technology |
12:34 am EDT, Aug 29, 2003 |
This collection explores how technologies become forms of power, how people embed their authority in technological systems, and how the machines and the knowledge that make up technical systems strengthen or reshape social, political, and cultural power. The authors suggest ways in which a more nuanced investigation of technology's complex history can enrich our understanding of the changing meanings of modernity. They consider the relationship among the state, expertise, and authority; the construction of national identity; changes in the structure and distribution of labor; political ideology and industrial development; and political practices during the Cold War. The essays show how insight into the technological aspects of such broad processes can help synthesize material and cultural methods of inquiry and how reframing technology's past in broader historical terms can suggest new directions for science and technology studies. Technologies of Power | MIT Press |
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| Topic: Technology |
12:04 am EDT, Aug 29, 2003 |
Most documents are the product of continual evolution. An essay may undergo dozens of revisions; source code for a computer program may undergo thousands. And as online collaboration becomes increasingly common, we see more and more ever-evolving group-authored texts. This site is a preliminary report on a simple visual technique, history flow, that provides a clear view of complex records of contributions and collaboration. IBM | History Flow |
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| Topic: Military Technology |
12:01 am EDT, Aug 29, 2003 |
DARPA intends to conduct a challenge of autonomous ground vehicles between Los Angeles and Las Vegas in March of 2004. A cash award of $1 million will be granted to the team that fields the first vehicle to complete the designated route within a specified time limit. The purpose of the challenge is to leverage American ingenuity to accelerate the development of autonomous vehicle technologies that can be applied to military requirements. DARPA Grand Challenge |
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The Cognitive Style of Powerpoint |
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| Topic: Human Computer Interaction |
11:57 pm EDT, Aug 28, 2003 |
In corporate and government bureaucracies, the standard method for making a presentation is to talk about a list of points organized onto slides projected up on the wall. For many years, overhead projectors lit up transparencies, and slide projectors showed high-resolution 35mm slides. Now "slideware" computer programs for presentations are nearly everywhere. Early in the 21st century, several hundred million copies of Microsoft PowerPoint were turning out trillions of slides each year. Alas, slideware often reduces the analytical quality of presentations. In particular, the popular PowerPoint templates (ready-made designs) usually weaken verbal and spatial reasoning, and almost always corrupt statistical analysis. What is the problem with PowerPoint? And how can we improve our presentations? Edward Tufte, author of the classic book The Visual Display of Quantitative Information, has written a short essay about PowerPoint. You can buy it directly for $7. The Cognitive Style of Powerpoint |
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