So if you've been on the internet over the last few months there is a chance you've heard something about SOPA. SOPA and PIPA are two bills that have been under consideration by the U.S. House and Senate over the last few months. The bills are put forth by the content industries ostensibly to provide them with new powers to fight piracy and protect intellectual property which, if you're inclined to believe them, will destroy them any day now.
Funny I thought we had this argument already back during the whole MP3 thing? It never ceases to amaze me how we have to essentially fight this battle over and over again for each different medium, movies, books, TV, etc. They just can't seem to learn the lessons that the Music industry did a few years back and is now reaping the financial rewards of as a result.
I like listening to music, watching movies, TV, etc. I believe in the right of the creators of quality content to be compensated for their efforts in creating it. However I do NOT believe that playing fast and loose with core infrastructure of the internet and arguably the first amendment as was proposed by the now, seemingly dead, DNS blocking provisions that were in SOPA and PIPA. Content and content creators absolutely need to be protected but messing with the foundations of the internet and giving unprecedented powers to the courts and content industry groups, is not the way to do it.
SOPA seems to have been left starved of air given developments over the last few days but this will not be the last we hear about this type of legislation. The industry lobbying groups have already declared this is not a fight they intend to give up. They will hang on to their old business models which tend to benefit them first and consumers second until the last possible moment. It will only end when consumers demand new models by speaking with their wallets.
This battle isn't over and my concern is that now that DNS has been stripped from SOPA and PIPA and the congressional floor managers have tabled these bills that the issue will fade from the collective consciousness and who knows what provisions will make it into the next bill while everyone's attention has been diverted elsewhere. Which is why I support the various blackouts that Wikipedia and other sites will be conducting tomorrow.
UPDATE: Ars Technica has the MPAA quoted as saying with regards to the blackouts and protests:
"A so-called “blackout” is yet another gimmick, albeit a dangerous one, designed to punish elected and administration officials who are working diligently to protect American jobs from foreign criminals."
Wait WHAT!?! Do they think we live in a police state? Last time I checked the right to peaceful protest was actually an expressly guaranteed power of the people. If there's an clearer evidence for why this fight goes on I can't think of it.
Read up on the SOPA issue:
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This got me thinking about a number of things. The first is why aren't we doing a lot better in 2012? I would wager that if you were to make a list of say the 5 most common computing tasks things like: How do I get my digital pictures off my camera? How to I make a playlist of music and copy it to my media player? How do I sync my calendar with my phone?, etc. Then took a sampling of folks and asked them to do those tasks and compared their success or failure to that of Windows 95 the results wouldn't be a lot different. These are basics tasks and they are things that generally non-technical people still stumble over, but actually really want to be able to do.
This got me thinking about what a waste some of that technology ends up being. For example you can do amazingly powerful things with iTunes and playlists but I am constantly running in to people who don't even bother to sync music to their phone. Take media for example if you spend the time to tag your photos and store them in a library type of application you can slice and dice them in all kinds of cool ways and yet people still default to the age old method of file system folders. At the risk of sounding elitist, it actually depresses me a bit, to see large numbers of consumers not using their devices to the fullest potential. Particularly when there is so much untapped power locked inside most of them.
This dilemma in turn made me wonder, who bares the responsibility for that problem? Is it the consumers who aren't interested in learning how their devices really work or taking the time to figure out how to use them? Or is it the hardware and software makers who simply aren't providing the user experiences required to surface that functionality and make it useful in a non-burdensome way?
Perhaps it's a catch-22. As technology gets easier to interact with it only enforces the idea that it should be effortless in the users mind. We take things like the iPhone for granted and don't stop to think that just 20 years ago you had to carry a mobile phone in a briefcase. This also leads to a situation where when something goes wrong or stops working users are increasingly impatient and they just don't think about the incredibly complex interdependent systems that make the magic in their hand possible. As the software intentionally hides it's inner workings from the user it also creates an environment where it is more difficult for the user to understand what is happening and why. Users should though bear some responsibility for understanding their technology, and also remember that it is a complex system and in many cases sensitive electronics. If you spill beer on to your laptop, or throw it down a flight of stairs don't be surprised when it doesn't last like it should. Don't start from the position that it must always just work and then get frustrated. It is a complex system and may require some systematic thinking. As with everything you are going to get out what you put in. The more time you take to understand and be familiar with the intended use and functions of your devices the more you will get out. In short the better you treat them, the better they'll treat you.
The question though is what responsibility do the software and hardware makers have in this equation? Why is it still so baffling to accomplish these basic tasks? In the case of Windows a major selling point of perhaps every single edition has been that it will make common media tasks easier to deal with. Yet it feels like we are still waiting for the promise to truly be fulfilled. Even take Mac and iTunes and iPhoto. They are both powerful and easy to deal with...IF...you subscribe to and understand their unique ideologies of media management. In fact they again try to hide the complexities from the users, who then wonder where all their pictures went, "What happened to my folder structure?", as an example. In fact the race to hide complexity and solve every single problem the user might ever have is a trap of software design and tends to result in very complex systems which are potential complex to the user.
I believe part of the problem lies in the fact that here we are in 2012 but we don't really have any modern operating systems. Windows and Mac and their UI paradigms both have their legacies in an era computing when the primary uses were Word Processing and Spreadsheets. UNIX goes back even further and has its roots in a time before even UI was prevalent. It makes me wonder what would an OS or computing system that started with the goal of fundamentally just being amazing at those 5 things users want to do 90% of the time look like?
Of course this inevitably leads to the question: Well doesn't the cloud just solve this problem? Maybe one day it will. Of course the first problem with that question is that it assumes there is just one cloud and a consistent way of doing everything there. Just in the cloud music space it is an almost dizzying array of services each with their own ideologies, quirks, and idiosyncrasies. The cloud also brings with it of course the issues or privacy, ownership, etc. I frequently run into folks are loathe to put their personal photos online privacy or controls or not. I confess I too fall into that category despite recently going all in on Google Music.
The reality is that the path forward is that both group need to acknowledge the responsibility they have. Users need to treat technology like the complex system and sensitive electronics is really is and not just magic in the palm of their hand. Software and hardware makers need to be mindful of the ideologies their apps present and the impact they have on the users ability, or very likely, inability to understand how they work. Lastly, society has an obligation to educate future generations in away that removes the mystique of the technological magic occurring in the world around them and inspires them to ask questions like how? and why? about that technology.
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I read the vast majority of the book on my iPad and write this now on my MacBook Air. However, in an amusingly ironic turn of events I started reading in the dark by candlelight. It was the midst of the October storm here in New England and I had been without power for about 24 hours with no sign of it returning. Earlier in the day I had finished the Kindle book I'd been reading earlier in the day and wanted to start something new but without internet access couldn't download anything. I purchased the hardcover book as a memento and so I lit a candle and made it through about the first 60 pages that night. The irony could not be escaped, reading about one of the most prolific technology figures and stories in history...by literal candlelight!
Overall I found the read enjoyable particularly being a fan of the early personal computer era and the dynamic between Apple/Microsoft/IBM in those early days. It's a fascinating time in technology and history and Isaacson does a good job and providing a summary for those readers who might not be as familiar with the time and events. I would have to say though that I agree with the criticism of others that the book doesn't tread a whole lot of new truly uncovered ground. I had already heard a lot of the stories and anecdotes either online, or other tributes, or history of Apple. Perhaps that is a consequence of the material being fresh and having lived through, while not all, much of it certainly the rebirth of Apple.
It also seems that some who've read it have come away feeling conflicted. There is a line that Jobs uses with a columnist about to publish what he perceives to be an unflattering expose on him he says something to the effect of "So you've discovered I'm an asshole, why is that news?" I wonder if some of the problem people have with seeing how the sausage is made is that it is uncomfortable. Most Apple products are perceived as objects of beauty or joy. In truth though a lot of pain and torment was suffered by those who brought us these products. I have to wonder if part of the issue isn't that we no more want to look at an iPhone and think of the engineer who was made to cry, or fired, etc. than we want to look at our jeans and think of the child in a factory who might have made them.
I think we also know deep inside that while it offends societal norms such dazzling products and advancements could not have come without and equal level of both sacrifice but also dazzling levels of ruthlessness, control and arrogance. Thinking about this made me remember and old episode of the original "Star Trek." In the episode there is a transport accident (isn't there always? hehe) involving Captain Kirk. The accident results in two Kirks one the "evil/ruthless" side and the other the "good/compassionate." The "evil" side ends up being confined to the brig, I think, while the "good" side attempts to resume command of the Enterprise. Unfortunately the purely good side is paralyzed as a leader unable to make decisive decisions, etc. It's an age old idea but we simple aren't ourselves without the flaws. For all the criticism I have to wonder if a similar situation had happened to Jobs what would Apple products look like? Could there ever have been an Apple at all?
One thing that the story of Jobs has done is made me think a lot about my own life, place in the world, what I'm doing, etc. Perhaps some of that is that I'm right now essentially the age Jobs was when he was ousted from Apple and decided to start NeXT. After leaving Apple he talks about how he's 30 and needs to make sure he keeps making and impact on the world. I suspect most of us would be pretty content with having created and entire industry and a billion dollar company, but hey. Equally inspiring/thought provoking is of course the unequaled Stanford Commencement Address with lines like "don't settle" and don't live anyone else's dream, etc.
It isn't long before you start asking questions like: "Have I settled?", "What is my dream?", "Who's dream am I living?" Perhaps that only serves to connect the story of Steve once again so directly with Apple, both have always challenged the status quo, traditional way of thinking, and made us question ourselves for the better. In other words of course to "think different." If the story, life and work of Steve Jobs inspires people to keep doing that I suspect future is bright both for Apple and in general. I hope that is a legacy which would have produced one of Jobs' perhaps rare but wry smiles.
]]>Frankly I am really enjoying this season. It has been a good mix of the things that make this show great, the relationships, and a healthy mix of bone chilling action/twists and gut splitting comedy. More than that though I really feel like the Chuck v. Morgan plot actually fit in well with the mythology of the show. It was about both of them discovering who they are and being OK with it. Chuck is a hero and he always has been with or without Intersect. Even from the very first episode he never needed it to save the day, he just had to be himself. I think now he is finally coming to realize that and it's a good thing. That the intersect would malfunction in Morgan's head (tonight's EPIC plot twist not withstanding, which for the record I did not see coming so whatever haters!) to me it makes sense. There is a reason why Bryce sent Chuck the intersect, he was special he had the intellect and pureness of character to handle it and keep the intersect in check. Morgan on the other hand was always more impulsive and I think we saw the intersect taking advantage of that.
As far as the wild roller coaster ride that was tonight's episode well where to even begin. It was one of my favorite and they've definitely setup some interesting stuff going forward both on the spy side but also, in perhaps one of most hilarious twists of the show ever, involving Jeff on the Buy More side as well. I'll be a fan of this show until the very last episode there is not doubt in my mind about that and it looks like Chuck will go out with a few bangs, a few laughs, and of course there's Charah! What more could we ask from our favorite show after five GREAT seasons? Nothing. To the cast and crew I hope this last season was as enjoyable to make and the same fun wild ride as it has been to watch so far.
Aces Charles. Aces.
]]>The Sing-Off is BACK!!
NBC's The Sing-Off is back for a third season. Season 3 maintains largely the same (admittedly a bit quirky) formula with a couple of, in my opinion welcome, changes. It's a longer season now not just a holiday special which means more episodes which means more groups competing, 16 now vs. 10 in previous years. That means the groups are broken into two "brackets" or groups of 8. The best change by far is the addition of A Cappella alum herself Sara Bareilles to the judging panel. Her presence, even in the first episode, adds a welcome injection of fun and light heartedness to the show. I'm not going to break down each episode this season. I'll just say about this season I don't have an early favorite yet, I agreed with all the judges choices in last night's first episode, oh and WOW...
AcaPolitics November Release?
AcaPolitics is a novel written by a former collegiate A Cappella alum focused on the drama, romantic entanglements, and cut throat competition of the singing groups at the fictional Brighton University. The origional, I guess manuscript, was released online some time ago. I read it and enjoyed it quite a bit. Now the final product is due to be published in November. I found the story to be a lot of fun and couldn't stop reading I think largely because I was never in a group and imagined or real I like getting the inside scoop on groups, even if it is a fictional one. I look forward to finally seeing how the story unfolds!
Sex, Dugs, and A Cappella
A recent discovery, for me at least is a new web-series known as "Sex, Drugs and A Cappella." The show bills itself as Glee set in the world of college A Cappella (which Glee's producers themselves actually briefly considered). As a result some might consider it a bit more 'risque' (interesting?) than Glee. Also of course it is A Cappella as opposed to show choir, score one already in my book! Story wise the Pilot covers familiar territory but definitely adds it's own take and humor. I especially liked the way they shot and presented "Let me Entertain You" in Part 1 of the Pilot. I had it cranked up pretty good this morning on the way to work and it's heard not to tap/bob something to it! At the very least take a look on YouTube and make your own judgement. If you like the music you can grab it on Amazon here.
]]>In September of 2001 I was a Junior attending college in Bristol, R.I. This year I had moved into one of the new dorms on campus with my roommate from the previous year. Move-In had likely been late August so the routine of classes, work, etc. had begun to take hold. Somewhere along the line my roommate had set the clock radio to wake to a public-radio channel which typically did news at the top of the hour.
I probably had a 9:30 class so that morning radio had gone off perhaps 8:30 or so. The radio went off and I stayed in my top-bunk for a while listening to the newscast. Among the stories was that there were early reports that a plane had hit one of the towers of the World Trade Center. I distinctly remember on hearing this first report not being alarmed in anyway. I knew in the back of my mind that small planes had in the past hit the higher buildings in NY, I assumed that this was probably an amateur Cessna pilot.
Eventually reports started to come in that the plane was at least a 737 size possible 747. I was more awake now at this point and that didn't seem possible to me, how would a plane that size being guided by air traffic make that kind of mistake? I climbed down from the top bunk and logged into my computer and pulled up the TV-Tuner app, by this point the CNN Anchors were on the roof and you could see the smoke billowing from the top of one of the towers. Eventually my roommate joined me by the TV and we realized what a big deal this was, then in the midst of debate, watched the second plane hit live over the shoulders of the CNN Anchors at about 9am.
I don't think anyone was quite sure what to do at this point but I ended making it to my 9:30 class some kind of math or accounting if I remember right. If there was a TV it was one and after that one class the university canceled all classes. I stuck with my routine and headed to work at IT where everyone was similarly glued to TVs and was soon sent home from work.
...From there I remember mostly isolated events and not the exact timeline. I remember watching TV and flipping through the channels and every channel except I think Nickelodeon and Cartoon network had transformed itself into a news channel. I remember hearing rumors of military activity so we went down to the Naval base in Newport, R.I. to see if we could see anything. I remember watching the House and Senate sing "God Bless America" on the steps of the United States Capitol. I don't remember if I saw the towers come down live or not but in recalling things this week it struck me how unprepared I think anyone was for that there's just no precedent for it two giant sky scrapers collapsing. It was all completely beyond imagination at the time.
I remember thinking in the initial days after that this would be something that America would move on quickly from. I still can't put my finger on why but I really believed that 10-years later it wouldn't be a big deal America would go on as it always had. Perhaps that was my way of rationalizing it all. I remember my parents and teachers being able to recount exactly where they had been when President Kennedy was shot and thinking how I'd never experienced that...until September 11th 2001.
To my knowledge I didn't know anyone personally who died in any of the attacks. To those that did I can't begin to imagine what it must have been...what it must be...like. It is important of course that we stop and remember them, their families, and the public servants who all sacraficed more then anyone should ever be asked.
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I look back on those 10 years and my life has changed perhaps as profoundly, as has this country. We hear it a lot but hey a lot can, and did, happen in 10 years. I made it to California and back, with a different job and a different state to call home upon my return. We've entered two wars as a country, elected the first African American President, and said goodbye to the national icon that was the Space Shuttle.
I must admit that when I look back I can't help but think of the Election of 2000. If it ever was a secret that I voted for Gore it must be the worst kept secret in history. I vote for Gore as did a majority of the people in this country. The Supreme Court chose to throw out 200+ years worth of democratic principle and install a new president. Several independent investigations of the votes left uncounted in FL have indicated that in all likelihood had they been counted Al Gore would have been president.
There's no doubt in my mind that would have set the country on a vastly different, I believe more prosperous, track. Some might just say "Let it go already!" We can't let if go because if we let it go we may be doomed to repeat that piece of history and we may never find our way out of the wilderness it is clear to many we are fumbling through right now as a country. We need to find a way back to "of the people, by the people, for the people" and not "Big Bad Government" v. "people" if we can't find our way back there then this great experiment has failed and we have failed all who have come before us and sacraficed for it.
]]>Question is do all of these things contribute to the adding of another bill to my life? I've always looked at satellite radio as just another bill when I have a 32GB iPhone worth of music at my disposal. I realized though that those two things aren't the same. There's the old adage that "free food tastes better." I wonder if music picked by someone else sounds different or feels different? I know that when a song comes up on "90s on 9" that I have a different reaction to it then if I were listening to it on my iPod. What is that all about?
I think it is the serendipity. Humans I think like that sense of not knowing, the sense (perceived or real) of discovery. If I put my iPod on even at the most minimal level I am making a choice that resulted in a particular song being played. Sure sometimes you want that but sometimes you just want to stumble across it. I believe this serendipity issue is something that personal media hasn't solved yet. For example there are times when even though I have full TV series archived on my media PC I will end up just channel surfing. I think maybe it's that the standard is higher when we choose to do something. Lots of times if I put a playlist on in the car I will end up skipping a number of songs I'm just not feeling at that point. Maybe it's just that I CAN skip. I'll end up looking at TV series I have archived and feeling like I'm not ready to invest right then. I suppose cynically we could say maybe it is just a desire for the mindlessness.
Whatever the psychological reasons for the phenomenon it has me wondering is maybe the investment in that bill might not be worth it? For a music fan I don't spend a lot of time 'discovering' music anymore. My iPod often stays locked on one of the same three playlists (even though I have several). Listening to new music is nice once and a while. Of course this could be a fail of my playlists as well, as evidenced by the fact that I recently found myself playing around with iTunes 'Genius' function more.
So I'm not sure exactly what the answer is. Maybe it is that this is clearly something that people are thinking about since iTunes Genius and Google Music Instant Mix exist and maybe it's just that the computer driven solution hasn't beat the human one (program director)...with the usual caveat....yet.
]]>A point that is proven easily by the quantity of fan authored stories already out there. Not to take away from them (and to be honest I haven't delved into any of them...fanfic's never really been my thing in any francise) the series of short films produced by Mainstay Productions inspired by "The Hunger Games" simply take the story-telling to a much more visceral level. When I first watched them I found myself realizing that seeing these stories come to life in a sense will be a new and powerful journey. So far there are two (embedded below, before you watch NOTE: *SPOILERS*) videos the first of which "Katniss & Rue" has recently reached 1 million views on YouTube!!
The two videos have drawn their subject matter directly from the book while putting their own, quite faithful, spin on things. The production is of very high quality, well acted, with good effects and stunts for the short films they are. Now from Mainstay and Down with the Capitol comes news that the next project will focus on two, arguably, second-tier characters of the trilogy and that the stories will be based on a series of fan authored short stories! Based on the track record of the current videos I'm excited and curious to see what they come up with.
I think the passion here is great and it's fun to have something new to look two while we wait for the more mainstream efforts of Lionsgate to bear fruit later in July. The whole thing reminds me quite a bit of the Star Wars Fanfilm craze at its height and for me Mainstay's work is the Troops of The Hunger Games universe. If you're finished the trilogy take a look and see what you think!
(*SPOILERS* Spoilers if you haven't read Book 1 "The Hunger Games")
(*SPOILERS* Spoilers if you haven't read Book 2 "Catching Fire")
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