Thursday, March 17, 2005

SXSW Day 1: Elvis Costello rules the day. Costello gives an extraordinary two-hour performance and reveals his equally extraordinary ego. [Salon.com] 10:15:34 PM    comment []

IAEA: N Korea bigger nuclear threat than Iran. On CNN [NewsIsFree: Popular Items] 10:15:33 PM    comment []

More faux news. Two video "news" releases produced by Bush's Interior Department were posted on the Web today. [Salon.com] 10:07:53 PM    comment []

Is that a spreadsheet on your screen - or solitaire?. Some state lawmakers want goofing off on the cubicle computer to stop. [Christian Science Monitor | Top Stories] 10:05:02 PM    comment []

SOCIAL EXPERIMENT, CONTINUED. ... are the nightclub venues popular with residents because they help fulfill a basic human need... or because they're the easiest and most accessible Second Life locations to visit? That's the question I posed more than a month ago in "Social Experiment", in response to recently-implemented Linden Lab policies that ended financial support for sponsored events-- which many nightclubs had been depending on for their economic survival. From then on, the Lindens only paid out a Linden Dollar cash stipend to Events with educational value. What's most essential to human nature? Being a social animal, or taking the path... [New World Notes] 7:21:22 PM    comment []

As File Sharing Nears High Court, Net Specialists Worry. The pro-technology camp is growing increasingly anxious as the bitter debate over computer file sharing heads toward the Supreme Court. By JOHN MARKOFF. [NYT > Technology] 7:32:00 AM    comment []

Fiona Apple Teaching Sony A Lesson About The Long Tail. Fiona Apple was a musical sensation half a decade ago, but has dropped out of the spotlight since then. Apparently, that was supposed to have changed two years ago when she delivered a new album to Sony -- who immediately shelved it, claiming they "didn't hear a single," which probably means the computers over at Hit Song Science didn't appreciate the songs. However, in the last few weeks, a DJ got his hands on the album and has been playing the tracks, which fans seem to really like quite a bit. It's a lesson in the long tail for Sony. Rather than focusing on just "the hits," they should at least be willing to put out other albums that have niche supporters. Of course, considering Sony's recent statements, it's really no surprise that they really don't understand how to handle this new market. Of course, it's probably only a matter of time before they try to shut down those who are offering up this music that they refuse to release. Via Techdirt [unmediated] 7:29:39 AM    comment []

Taggs Rule!. Yesterday, a team from BBC Radio showed how it allowed listeners to "tag" songs using their cell phones - thanks to Phonetags - and they pointed out how this information helps to organize songs in different ways -- suggesting new playlists for DJs, but also helping people find other songs, albums, or shows of interest. [via E-Media Tidbits] In their own words: With Phonetags you can 'bookmark' any song you hear on BBC 6 Music. Just text X to 64046 when you hear the song. Then rate, tag and share your songs online. Tagging rules!. Spell with flickr is a word generator that uses tagged photos from the Flickr archive. Fabulous! Simply type in a word and see what happens. Created by kastner. [via ektopia] You can do something similar over at amaztype - an Amazon visualiser. Type in a word and the result will be cover art from Amazon. You can click on the books and they show up in amazon. [via pasta and vinegar] See also Clive Thompson's post in collision detection on Krazydad's Color Fields Colr Pickr enabling anyone "to point to a particular color on a color-wheel, and the app displays a set of Flickr photos that are all precisely that hue". [Smart Mobs] 7:28:27 AM    comment []

The School Auction as Economic Indicator. Schools across the city hold benefit auctions, which have served as a way to gauge the economic recovery of New York's most lucrative professions. By JENNIFER STEINHAUER. [NYT > Education] 7:28:02 AM    comment []

Copyright Bull***t (Donna Wentworth). Siva Vaidhyanathan @ Sivacracy, unearthing yet another demonstration of fair use dying a slow death: Apparently Princeton Professor Harry Frankfurt does not understand his own job. As a professor and author of the new book Bullshit, he has taken it upon himself to be a copyright cop as well. He sent a personal cease-and-desist letter to Paul Schmelzer, author of the brilliant and essential blog, Eyeteeth: A journal of incisive ideas. Why? Because Paul quoted [a small portion] of his book. ...Here is text from his (copyrighted, of course) cease-and-desist letter: Dear Mr. Smelzer: It has come to my attention that you have placed a copy of my essay "On Bullshit" on your website. I appreciate the compliment. As you may know, however, the essay has recently been published as a book by the Princeton University Press. The management of the Press and I are concerned that your use of my essay may interfere with sales of the book. In any case, it constitutes a clear infringement of my copyright. I must ask you, therefore, to remove the essay from your website as soon as possible. Sincerely, Harry Frankfurt Now, I seriously doubt that Princeton University Press objects to a blogger quoting from one of their books for commentary or criticism. I would shudder to think that a major academic publishing house would be that ignorant of or hostile toward fair use. In the spirit of using fair use before we lose it, Siva has some additional advice: If you have a blog out there, copy and paste the exact text that got Paul in trouble. Post in on your blog. See what happens. Better yet, someone at Princeton should scour Professor Frankfurt's body of work for his use of quotes from copyrighted material. Could he really have made a career without quoting? [Copyfight] 7:20:46 AM    comment []