personal

Monopolies, seven years later

Monopolies, seven years later: The past, the glorious, profit-making, fun past of the media business was based on:

  • scarce creators, under long term contracts
  • scarce retail outlets, able to be controlled with marketing muscle
  • scarce spectrum (few radio stations, few TV stations)
  • copyright laws (and a lack of technology) that limited theft of services
  • limited power of the creators to compete without a large media company as partner

It’s hard to outline a point of view that shows the power of any form of media getting stronger over the next decade. There are going to be more TV channels, not less. More ways for authors to distribute their works, not less. More ways for musicians to connect with listeners, not less. More ways for consumers to sample or take content, not less.

You were a monopolist. You’re not anymore. [On the money, and on my mind.]
Source: Seth’s Blog

New York Times Employees Say Renzo Forgot the Bike Parking

New York Times Employees Say Renzo Forgot the Bike Parking: There was just one problem. While the Times and developer Forest City Ratner were promoting their new Renzo Piano-designed skyscraper as a “technologically advanced and environmentally sensitive” exemplar of green construction, a lack of bike parking and policies hostile towards cyclists were discouraging employees from commuting to work by the city’s most environmentally-friendly mode of urban transport.
[I have a similar problem in my current location… there’s no way to bring a bike into the building, leaving a bike outside all the time is a poor idea. Sad. So little thought to the simple things that improve everyone’s life.]
Source: StreetsBlog

Creative work won’t be directly paid for in the future.

Scripting News for 11/30/2007: Creative work won’t be directly paid for in the future. And we’re already in that future. Read my essays from the 90s to see how angry this made me. Now the anger has subsided, as a software writer, and it will subside for the Hollywood writers too. This may be the moment when the system breaks. It looks more and more like that.[An interesting piece at an interesting time for me (and some others who have become important to me this last year.)]
Source: Dave’s WordPress Blog

Inject Ruby into any running OS X application

Inject Ruby into any running OS X application:

RubyInject is an intriguing new tool that can “inject” a Ruby interpreter into any running OS X application. Why? Well, along with RubyCocoa it allows you to interact with an application “from the inside.” If you’re a RubyCocoa aficionado you can probably think of a few cute tricks to use this for already. If not, then just think about AppleScript on acid. All of this fun and games does require OS X 10.5 (Leopard), however.

[Hmmm.]
Source: Ruby Inside

Useful products for parents…

For those of us of the tech world a couple of useful items that I can’t find. Maybe there out there, in which case I hope you folks can point me to them…

1) A decent sized screen (7 – 9 inches) with a couple of speakers that I can attach to an iPod (preferably wirelessly), to play video. Please no fancy switches on the front, or other enticements for little fingers or feet. The screen should be able to display behind the front seat headrest, preferably from a nice strong bracket rather than straps of some sort. It should cost something reasonable rather than twice the cost of an iPod. Alternate uses, a portable system for displaying presentations, or catching up on various bits of, ahem, culture.

2) A small something that I can insert/stick on/into his favorite toy or whatever that sounds an alarm when that small item gets more than a few feet away from the unit in my pocket, with a distance setting. A couple of common scenarios… Kid in stroller, falling asleep, grip loosening on favorite toy. Toy falls out of stroller quietly so parents don’t notice who then frantically have to search for it later… Or on a sneaker which someone’s child loves to remove… etc. Should work on bottles and other stuff, although I understand the range issues here may prove difficult. Let’s see though, OK? Alternate uses for this include not forgetting or losing keys, wallets, phones. etc.

Lemme know?

Thanks.

Time to write our own rules

Time to write our own rules: My own version: Stop petitioning Facebook and Google to solve our problems for us. They’re not creating those problems alone. We’re been allowing them to create those problems in the first place, and we’ve been doing that for too long. Time to come up with some new rules of engagement — ones that work for us as well as them. [A continuing problem as the inversion of control will take time to build strength.]
Source: Doc Searls Weblog

Amazon Announced Kindle

Amazon Announced Kindle: You’re going to see two kinds of reviews: bad ones from people who haven’t used it and good ones from people who have. It’s that kind of product—plus Jeff Bezos’s reality-distortion field isn’t as large as Steve Jobs’s. I have used it and if someone gave me a choice of receiving an iPhone or a Kindle, I’d pick the Kindle. [Here’s what I don’t like… Guy doesn’t mention that Truemors is carried before he starts opining (although he does note it with an exclamation point later on). Second he sets you up by saying “bad ones from people who haven’t used it and good ones from people who have.” which immediately dismisses the opinion of people who haven’t used one as invalid, and further suggests that anyone who has used on has written positively. Wow. No wonder he was a world class evangelist. It’s a bit overstyled IMHO. but check out Mark’s take on it, and Seth’s. Granted each with their own agenda, but still. My take? It’s a digital rights issue. BigCo’s are always trying to grab them and give nothing in return. Not such a good thing. I’m trying to teach my son right now that it’s OK to give away toys he doesn’t play with anymore. Same for his books. How does this lesson fit into these corporate interests? Not.]
Source: Guy Kawasaki

There is nothing quite like a shorn scrod…

There is nothing quite like a shorn scrod: For now, I shaved my head so she's not the only one bald in the house. People have told me that they think what I did was awesome. I thank you all for your encouragement, but it is very little sacrifice.[Not that Theo isn’t cool, he is, but I agree, I’d do that in a second for Noah. Maybe more vain folks would have a tougher time with it, and would still do it. I would, and I think Theo would as well. You can see for yourself. Just go look at the picture. It tells the whole beautiful story… See? Ain’t no thing in that relationship. Lovely!]
Source: The Scriptures of Jesus

A Public Market for Public Music

A Public Market for Public Music | Linux Journal: I’m wondering about a project name and description. Right now I like Project Pay4Play, or p4p. With p4p tools, I should be able to say “I’ll pay for that” when I hear a song or a program I like. I want to be able to do this with any podcast or stream that I hear on my browser, my mobile phone, my PDA, my iPod, my iTunes — even my car radio. [I like the idea, but I don’t understand the value proposition.]