Darknet

Google Video lets you go to Cal for free

San Jose Mercury News: Go to UC for free, on Google Video. Berkeley campus shares 100 introductory courses.

Of darknets and mash-ups

I gave a talk Monday night at Malmö University in Sweden — the Shift Lecture series, it's called — on darknets and mashup culture. I expected perhaps 10 or 20 people to show up at the library along Malmö's scenic waterfront, but more than 100 turned out.

My talk and slide show explored the shift in media culture, darknets, Hollywood, the entertainment industry's business models, file sharing and even Sweden's Pirate Party (piratepartiet), which garnered 35,000 votes, though no seats, in national elections a week ago. One member of the Pirate Party was in the crowd, and he came up afterward and let me know about the Pirate Party's new U.S. outpost.

Also showed four videos of mash-ups, all of them illegal or infringing. Didn't encounter any pushback from the audience, which seemed inclined to allow this kind of experimentation, at least for noncommercial purposes. Afterward, I did an interview with Swedish Radio.

I also took a bunch of photos, but can't seem to get them off of my camera phone at the moment.

The big gamble on e-voting

Sunday NY Times: The Big Gamble on Electronic Voting. Diebold declines to let Princeton researchers test the latest voting machine, which uses a standard industrial part to protect the door to its memory card slot. I quoted Felten in "Darknet" about black boxes. Here's an excerpt from the Times article:

Edward W. Felten, a professor of computer science at Princeton, and his student collaborators conducted a demonstration with an AccuVote TS and noticed that the key to the machine’s memory card slot appeared to be similar to one that a staff member had at home.

When he brought the key into the office and tried it, the door protecting the AccuVote’s memory card slot swung open obligingly. Upon examination, the key turned out to be a standard industrial part used in simple locks for office furniture, computer cases, jukeboxes — and hotel minibars.

Once the memory card slot was accessible, how difficult would it be to introduce malicious software that could manipulate vote tallies? That is one of the questions that Professor Felten and two of his students, Ariel J. Feldman and J. Alex Haldeman, have been investigating. In the face of Diebold’s refusal to let scientists test the AccuVote, the Princeton team got its hands on a machine only with the help of a third party. ...

'Darknet: La guerre d'Hollywood contre la génération digitale'

At Next Modernity, Denis Failly has a Q&A with me about the issues raised in Darknet: La guerre d'Hollywood contre la génération digitale, which recently came out in France. The Q&A is in English.

RIAA takes over eDonkey

Register UK: The eDonkey2000 fire-shairng network -- visited by 4 million visitors at any one time -- is no more.

The future of darknets

Richard Hall, a professor in Missouri who attended the "Future of Darknets" panel I moderated at South by Southwest Interactive in March, has just posted a video of some of the session's highlights. He's using it in his classroom as well.

Microsoft music player offers song sharing

NY Times: Music Player From Microsoft Offers Wireless Song-Sharing

While the army of silent people wearing white iPod earbuds may indicate otherwise, Microsoft is declaring that a portable music player can be a decidedly social experience.

Microsoft said yesterday that its Zune player, which it plans to release in time for the holiday season, will include wireless technology to allow Zune owners to share their favorite songs and playlists with one another easily. The company hopes the Zune will help it upstage Apple Computer in the digital music market.

“With Zune, we are not simply delivering a portable device,” said J Allard, vice president for design and development at Microsoft. “We are introducing a new platform that helps bring artists closer to their audiences and helps people find new music and develop new social connections.” ...

Nothing in the article that I could see about the legality of this. Presumably it's OK because there's no permanent copy of the song shared with friends.

Maine senator defends Net

LA Times via San Jose Merc: Maine senator defends Net. Snowe battling telecom firms to prevent tools for Web sites.

Snowe has emerged as a key leader in a legislative battle over toll lanes on the Internet.

Bucking her party leadership, she has championed the push by Google, Yahoo, Microsoft and other Internet giants to prohibit phone and cable TV companies from charging Web sites for faster delivery of their data. The issue, known as network neutrality, threatens to kill a wide-ranging telecommunications bill that Senate leaders hope to pass this fall.

P2P: The core of the world to come

Richard Poynder: P2P: The very core of the world to come.

30 days of DRM

Canada's brilliant Michael Geist: 30 Days of DRM.