Thursday, August 12, 2004

When machines breed. Evolvable hardware -- gadgets that design themselves -- can get the job done, even if humans have no idea how they do it. [Salon.com] 6:44:40 PM    comment []

FCC opens wireless in buildings. As Computerworld reports, the FCC has reversed a previous ruling, so that now the owner of a building no longer owns the wireless spectrum within that building. Enacted for airlines, the reversal will also apply to office buildings and commercial space, so expect more free/cheap wireless in the coming years. [unmediated] 3:30:38 PM    comment []

When Piracy Becomes Promotion. Another excellent article by Henry Jenkins at MIT Technology Review, on the fan-driven grey-market spread of anime. Copyright cartels take note: Japanese corporations have sought to collaborate with fan clubs, subcultures, and other consumption communities, seeing them as important allies in developing compelling new content or broadening markets. In courting such fans, the companies helped to construct a "moral economy" that aligned their interests in reaching a market with the American fans' desires to access more content. Many have argued that cultural rather than legal, technological, or economic solutions are crucial in resolving the bootlegging crisis hitting American media companies. Rather than suing their fan base, perhaps they should study how their Japanese counterparts profited from this first wave of underground circulation, seeing it as promotion rather than piracy. [unmediated] 6:41:51 AM    comment []

Interview: Cory Linden on IP issues in Second Life. Our legal editor Candace (a.k.a. Kale, a.k.a. Aboriash Westerberg) has been exercised for some time about potential intellectual property entanglements arising in Second Life. Isn’t there an issue about downloading those Penthouse centerfolds as artwork for your club? And what about that music you’re pumping in? And given that your club is a revenue generator, well, you see where this is going. After bending my ear about it for an eternity I suggested she talk to Cory Ondrejka (a.k.a. Cory Linden), VP of Product Development for Linden Lab. The result is a Herald Instant Classic. [The Second Life Herald] 6:36:38 AM    comment []

In Search of a Browser That Banishes Clutter. For the first time since Microsoft's browser beat out Netscape to gain dominance, its market share is eroding as users shift to other browsers. By By JULIET CHUNG. [The New York Times > Technology] 6:34:27 AM    comment []

Teenage T. Rex's Appetite Explains Its Bulk, Study Finds. Paleontologists now think Tyrannosaurus rex dinosaurs may have experienced a teenage growth surge averaging 4.6 pounds a day over four years. By By JOHN NOBLE WILFORD. [The New York Times > Science] 6:33:42 AM    comment []

Turning Slackers Into Workaholics. Researchers use a gene treatment to turn off monkeys' dopamine receptors -- yielding harder-working, more focused monkeys. Despite obvious applications in the corporate world, the scientists say they're just trying to understand mental illness. [Wired News] 6:32:12 AM    comment []

Howard Rheingold on 'new economic system'. The online version of BusinessWeek carries a recent interview of Howard Rheingold about the "new economic system" he thinks it's emerging "from such seemingly disparate developments as Web logs, open-source software development, and Google." If you read the interview, you'll see that "Rheingold is worried that established companies could quash such nascent innovations as file-sharing." He also says that the Nokias and the HPs of our world should give prototypes of their gears to 15-year-olds to discover what these creative young people can do with them, instead on relying on marketing people. You'll find selected excerpts in this overview. And if you haven't done it before, don't forget to read a previous interview of Rheingold about the US presidential election of 2004, "A Major Change in the Political Equation." [Smart Mobs] 6:17:54 AM    comment []