Recently, Netflix released some anonymized usage data in order to seed a technical challenge (on recommending algorithms). Bruce Schneier, a well known security expert, reports that a team of University of Texas researchers successfully de-anonymized a subset of the data through correlation with public IMDb (internet movie database) entries. Bruce extends this by analogy to [...]
Creative Commons has announced a long-awaited (at least by me) addendum to its licenses. From the CC Web site: CC+ is a protocol providing a simple way for users to get rights beyond the rights granted by a CC license. For example, a work’s Creative Commons license might offer noncommercial rights. With CC+, the license [...]
Joe Wikert of Publishing 2020 talks about the potential for having subscription-based ebook vending models, with page-view based economics. “Could you imagine a model where you pay $X/month for access to an unlimited number of books? It’s never going to happen in the print world but I think this could be the killer app for [...]
In an article in the SF Gate, Asian Pop / Off key, Jeff Yang writes about interfaces, languages, and the opportunities for new devices. The so-called Third World actually has a built-in competitive advantage: Because developing nations haven’t had access to certain technologies in the past, they aren’t inextricably bound to them when quantum breakthroughs [...]
Those of us who hope for effective e-reading hardware (and don’t believe the Kindle or Sony Reader deliver on that) have been looking forward to an OLED-rich future, as it seems to be the technology that combines the fast full-color bright screens of backlit TFT LCD displays with the low-power low-weight flexible-substrate possibilities of the [...]
Cory Doctorow has some interesting things to say about the Amazon Kindle in The Guardian. Doctorow doesn’t like it much, as it doesn’t conform to his view of the Internet, which includes the ability to move files around without restriction. What Doctorow doesn’t say, however, is that if the Kindle or its ilk (meaning useful [...]
Over the past week or so, I’ve been watching my daughter, who is a high school sophomore, doing research for a history paper on Danton and the French Revolution. The teacher told the kids to find, as sources, at least two books, two arcticles, and two reputable website (which, by his definition, doesn’t include wikipedia). [...]