Thinking Out Loud, aka The Broad Gaze
Thoughts on the social impacts of communication policy and educational technology.
ACTA arrives still bad, but a tiny bit better.
Ars Technica presents a great overview of the, now public, ACTA treaty text and history. Perhaps most concerning are the 3 strikes and “imminent infringement” rules. Both seem to run afoul of one’s First Amendment right to receive information (another example, your landlord can’t completely prohibit satellite dishes) and the great deference courts give prior restraint (there has to be imminent danger for the government to stop your speech).
My wife and I are deep in the middle of the Wisconsin Film Fest and just got back from a viewing of Waking Sleeping Beauty, a documentary about the later hay-days of Disney animation. This particular film was high on her list, and I was pleasantly surprised at what an entertaining show it was. Producer (and long time Disney exec) Peter Schneider was on hand to answer questions, and I feel the movie really accomplished his goal of “humanizing” the Disney company.
While I’d wholeheartedly recommend the show, there was one thing about it that I feel is likely to be ignored by many: the only way a movie of this sort, rich with Disney animation clips, could ever be made was through official channels. There is no way that an unofficial documentarian could ever secure the copyright permission the volume of material that Schneider and Hahn were able to use–especially from a company like Disney. It’s an unfortunate sour note that, to me, colors the experience of an otherwise great movie.
From The Economist!
The question is how such a deal can be made equitably. At the moment, the terms of trade favour publishers too much. A return to the 28-year copyrights of the Statute of Anne would be in many ways arbitrary, but not unreasonable. If there is a case for longer terms, they should be on a renewal basis, so that content is not locked up automatically. The value society places on creativity means that fair use needs to be expanded and inadvertent infringement should be minimally penalised. None of this should get in the way of the enforcement of copyright, which remains a vital tool in the encouragement of learning. But tools are not ends in themselves.
via Protecting creativity: Copyright and wrong | The Economist.
It’s becoming increasingly clear that Apple wants to run a tight ship when it comes to the openness of the iPod/Phone/Pad platform.
This Slate article by Tim Wu provides an excellent historical context, arguing that Woz’s penchant for openness has been all but lost since he left the company, only to be replaced by Jobs’ desire for control over the user experience. It seems to me that the yin/yang between these two might have laid a good foundation for the company in its early days.
Steve’s closed-mindedness was all but confirmed on Thursday with the release of a new developers agreement. Perhaps the most important change: apps cannot be developed for multiple platforms. This appears to be a direct shot at Adobe’s beta product that allows apps developed for Flash to be ported to the iPhone.
That unifying creed is this: Open platforms promote innovation and diversity more effectively than proprietary ones.
In the words of one of the Web’s brightest theorists, Jonathan Zittrain of Harvard, the Web displays the “generative†power of a platform where you don’t have to ask permission to create and share new ideas.
I personally agree with these statements (from a recent Times article). By constraining their platform to such a large degree, Apple is effectively 1. scaring away developers, 2. constraining the ability to innovate based on open standards, and 3. further walling off the iPhone into it’s own network (thus decreasing network effects). It’s possible that Apple has enough momentum that these factors won’t matter, but it is definitely a move that involves some risk.
I remember the days when the question of whether an application was “for Windows or Mac” was a dealbreaker. These days, it’s still a valid question, but open platforms like Java and the web have made it less of an issue. Apple seems to be taking a big step backwards.