As Napster wavers, file-trading network Aimster is using an unusual shield to protect its users from snooping: copyright law sponsored by the recording industry. Wired.com Similar:This is what happened when a KDKA-TV journalist showed biasSocial media platforms are full of peopl…CultureDon't Be a Sucker (antifascist film from 1945)https://youtu.be/CXm3WxU–fM?si=E1BHac8J…CultureDownsides of being a convincing liarTest subjects whose…

Styron, Vonnegut E-Books Spark Random House Lawsuit

Publishing giant Random House goes after tiny RosettaBooks, which has published e-texts of some popular Random House authors. RosettaBooks says they got permission directly from the authors. —Styron, Vonnegut E-Books Spark Random House Lawsuit Similar:Adding a media project to a semester-long paper assignment is like adding a jetpack to a d…AcademiaTerms of ServiceFascinating example of…

Three-dimenstional Printers

A new generation of three-dimensional printers can create nearly any solid shape as easily as an inkjet printer creates a letter. The trick is to spray layer after layer of thin, fast-drying resin. Rick Overton Similar:First Day in the Theatre for Twelfth Night (May 3-12) Daughter: (is sad her “first day in …CultureAs Twinkle Twinkle…

Content is Not King.

“Content certainly has all the glamor. What content does not have is money.” Andrew Odlyzko.  —Content is Not King. Similar:What Twitter Changes Might Mean for AcademicsThis is one of the reasons I still consi…AcademiaAnnoyed and Bored by Lazy Anachronisms in The Great Gatsby MovieI just watched the recent Great Gatsby m…AestheticsFacebook, Now You Remind Me…

The History of Electronic Mail

Tom Van Vleck. (Rather dry reading, but offers an opposing view to The First E-Mail Message) —The History of Electronic Mail Similar:"This Is Probably Going to Kill Us:" How First 'Star Trek' Movie Avoided DisasterThis article left out someone important!…HistoryEvolution of Gambling: Pay by Phone CasinoWhat will we use our phones for next?&nb…BusinessAI researchers find…

You are in BRITNEY SPEARS

A reporter drops in on a Britney Spears chat room and talks about politics. Sort of. —You are in BRITNEY SPEARS Similar:Trouble importing UMA clothes from Blender 3.6In Blender3D, I created a jumpsuit, rigg…CybercultureStar Trek: "Wink Of An Eye"/"The Empath"Amusing, if cynical, reaction to some of…AmusingCan AI write good novels?I expect that this is probably…

E-Books Are Now on the Shelf

“In addition to selling e-books from their online sites, the stores will be testing numerous methods to cross-market e-books with traditional forms, including in-store kiosks, author appearances and e-book demonstrations.” M. J. Rose —E-Books Are Now on the Shelf Similar:Inside Voices — A Weekend MusicalCarolyn was in this short movie, conceiv…AestheticsAnti-globalism Is Common Factor in…

Noise and progress

go hand in hand; and nobody really wants to slow down progress. Jennifer Kahn —Noise and progress Similar:No girl wins: three ways women unlearn their love of video games – OffworldSeveral times I assigned Brenda Laurel’s…BusinessOpen Letter from a Millennial: Quit Telling Us We’re Not SpecialEven the things we do for fun – playing …BusinessRIP…

Behold the "Automatic Professor Machine"

A longtime technology critic has fashioned a prototype of a device that he says could do away with traditional colleges and teachers, replacing them with knowledge-dispensing terminals that look like A.T.M.’s. Jeffrey R. Young —Behold the “Automatic Professor Machine” Similar:A Robotic Dog’s MortalityFascinating video journalism from the Ne…CultureSeton Hill graduates its last "New Media Journalism"…

Navy experimenting with handheld computers

The Navy is providing handheld computers to almost all of its new officers and giving them to graduates of the Naval Academy and other naval programs. CNN.com Similar:NASA finally makes contact with Voyager 2 after longest radio silence in 30 yearsI was thrilled as a middle-schooler to s…Current_EventsCan't upload photos to Facebook from my MacBookI…

Typing of the Dead

More proof that the apocalypse is nigh: “Typing of the Dead” is a typing tutorial that also just so happens to be 3-D computerized gorefest. GamesDoman review of Typing of the Dead. Similar:You're not going to read thisI ask my students to contextualize links…BusinessThe Period, Our Simplest Punctuation Mark, Has Become a Sign of AngerYou…

Latest on Napster

(See also: Digital Hollywood- No Resolution) —Latest on Napster Update, Feb 27, 2021 The above links are dead, but here’s a screenshot of what the Yahoo News “Technology Full Coverage” section looked like on February 23, 2001.  (Courtesy the invaluable Internet Archive Wayback Machine) Similar:Why our future depends on libraries, reading and daydreamingNeil Gaiman tells…

Digital Copyright Reading List

Copyright: Your Right or Theirs? In Defense of Copyleft Timeline- A History of Copyright in the U.S. SUL- Copyright & Fair Use- Copyright FAQ Digital Copyright Reading List Similar:Do you get your news mostly from social media? I check NPR, Drudge, and news.google.com.Do you have a regular news-consumption r…CultureIn education, Apple must augment the reality…

Electron Band Structure In Germanium, My Ass

“Now, let’s look a bit more closely at this data, remembering that it is absolutely first-rate. Do you see the exponential dependence? I sure don’t. I see a bunch of crap.” Undergraduate physics student Lucas Kovar reconsiders his career choice. —Electron Band Structure In Germanium, My Ass Similar:Rare find discovered amid town's Old West kitschInstead…

Marjorie Garber’s Academic Instincts

“Amateur and professional are mutually interconnected. Amateurs are sometimes professionals; professionals are sometimes amateurs. Moreover — brace yourself — history exists.” Marjorie Garber‘s Academic Instincts blows kisses at the literary establishment. Review by Russell Jacoby. Similar:Classroom Vignette: MLA StyleStudent (shouldering backpack and headin…AcademiaA former student working in SEO shared this. I miss Google classic.AmusingDigital literacy…

Victor Borge’s “inflationary language”

“Twice upon a time there lived a boy named Jack in the twoderful land of Califivenia.” Read a sample of the late comedian Victor Borge’s inflationary language. Richard Lederer. Similar:Darmok (#StarTrek #TNG Rewatch, Season 5, Episode 2) Picard of the Federation, His Metapho…Rewatching Star Trek: The Next Generatio…CultureGo Forth and Conquer, but Postpone the Selfie“We…

Nearly 20 years after giving up on it, a grown man finds a walkthrough for the classic text game, “Savage Island.”

Nearly 20 years after giving up on it, a grown man finds a walkthrough for the classic text game, “Savage Island.” James Lileks revels in computer nostalgia.  Similar:Computers and Writing workshop on Inform 7. (Happening now. In an asynchronous way.)https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLa8nP…AcademiaNested (procedurally generated game of expanding drop-down lists)A text game that you play by opening fol…AwesomeA…

Are Users Stupid?

“Typically, when project managers observe their design undergoing a usability test, their initial reaction is: Where did you find such stupid users? Jakob Nielsen —Are Users Stupid? Similar:When you need to record footsteps on a sidewalk, and the carpeted studio has a brick wall.AmusingPresenting at #NEMLA session 8.1 Friday. “Hacking English: Examining a multimedia sandbox…