Event Horizon

The End of the Gates Era

The man who ushered in the information age is getting set to retire (CNET - Bill Gates Big Send Off). This is not only a milestone for him, but in a very real way, it's also a milestone for us, for everyone who sits down at a PC and still relates to information in desktop terms (files and folders) has had part of their world shaped by Bill Gates. Sure, applications may be moving from the hard-drive to the internet and data from drives to clouds, but still, this is the end of an era and one well worth dwelling over.

Blog Basics

Lore Sjöberg dissects the seven basic blog posts in this Wired article. Since I've evidently been a bit uninspired of late, I guess I'll try to take these to heart.

Internet Clogs

TechDirt calls out the AP on their sensational reporting that Video Is Clogging the Pipes! I suspect this kind of tabloid reporting represents some back-room collusion designed to allow the ISPs to start charging more for less. One has to wonder if the AP reporter is getting a little something extra from Comcast. I suspect there is also some continued maneuvering going on about Congressional action on the issue of internet neutrality, using the press to get out in front of the issue before the next Congressional battle. For the record, I support internet neutrality and oppose the obvious moves on the part of ISPs to limit bandwidth and charge more for less. As TechDirt notes, there's nothing wrong with network traffic and this sudden barrage of news reports about internet video slowing the net is bogus. Thank you TechDirt for calling them out and keeping the public informed.

Secret Life of Blogs

The current edition of Wired has an article in which Matthew Hurst dissects what happens to a blog post once you hit the 'publish' button (Wired News - The Life Cycle of a Blog Post, From Servers to Spiders to Suits — to You). I think I must be doing something wrong, I'm not getting any trackbacks or comments. Hmmn.

The Birth of Blogs

We have just passed an important milestone in the information age, the anniversary of the birth of the blog (Wired News - After 10 Years of Blogs, the Future's Brighter Than Ever):

Blogs have come a long way since Dec. 17, 1997, when Jorn Barger coined the term "weblog" to describe the list of links on his Robot Wisdom website that "logged" his internet wanderings. In the decade hence, blogs have come to dominate the net, from 100 million personal diaries to the breaking news sections of the august The New York Times. "It's the easiest, cheapest, fastest publishing tool ever invented," said Jeff Jarvis, news blogger, media pundit and director of the interactive journalism program at the City University of New York's Graduate School of Journalism. "The people have a voice they didn't have before."

Even though my efforts to maintain this blog have often lagged (as you may have noticed), it's that desire to have a voice that keeps me blogging. What an extraordinary thing it is to be able to share an opinion, an insight, or even a grievance, with the entire world. In the past, our opinions may have been shared with a relatively small circle of people, mainly close friends and family, and only professional writers, publishers, and politicians would have had a public soapbox with which to reach the world at large. Now, anyone with a blog can publish their thoughts (and words and actions) to the world. Perhaps we are a bit egocentric to think that any of it matters. Wouldn't it be ironic if our blogs are still being read only by the small circle of friends and family than in earlier days would have been solely privy to our ruminations. I would suggest thought that the real value of blogs lies not in providing a voice to those whose freedom and liberty already grant them access to the public square, but in providing a voice to those silenced by oppression and injustice. It's the bloggers in Iran (RadioFreeEurope - Iran: Internet Cafes Shut Down In Drive Against Un-Islamic Behavior) and other similarly repressive countries that truly demonstrate the power of blogging. Blog on.

Save Internet Radio, Part 7

In the latest chapter in the internet radio saga, the industry group that collects royalty fees has set per channel fees for internet broadcasters (International Herald Tribune - Music Industry Caps Fees for Webcasters):

SoundExchange, which collects royalties from Webcasters and distributes them to artists and record labels, said it would limit fees - at $50,000 a year - for online radio station companies that offer more than 100 channels to customers. [...] The ruling meant that large Webcasters, such as Pandora Media Inc. and Time Warner Inc.'s AOL, that stream hundreds of channels faced much higher payments to SoundExchange than in the past. [...] This deal comes two days after SoundExchange offered discounted royalty rates to small Webcasters - with less than $1.25 million in gross annual revenue and a certain audience size - through 2010.

So, what will happen? Negotiations will continue, of course, but I think the big broadcasters will sell out the small webcasters, who will then be driven out of business. I think the small webcasters should form their own industry lobby group and collectively decide to ignore SoundExchange, and then raise money to defend themselves in court. Why? SoundExchange is an industry group, it's not a government group (not like the IRS), not an elected body, it has no regulatory authority at all. Ignore SoundExchange, negotiate flat rate royalty deals directly with artists and get back to business.

Save Internet Radio, Part 6

The battle to save Internet Radio is not over (Seattle Post Intelligencer - Some small Net radio broadcasters reject pact):

Some small Internet radio broadcasters are rejecting a new offer from a music industry group to pay discounted royalty rates for streaming music online through 2010. [...] Rusty Hodge, who operates a small Internet radio station called SomaFM in San Francisco, said he also won't take the offer because the revenue and audience criteria are too small "by any type of radio standards." Instead, he said SoundExchange should follow the U.S. Small Business Administration's standard for a small broadcasting company, defined as earning $6 million or less in annual revenue.

Of course, SoundExchange, a private group (which is apparently allowed to set public policy), would never do something so sensible as adopting existing standards, not when such standards promote a healthy market to the detriment of their entrenched corporate sponsors. This is, I think, a case in which Republicans should remember their free market rhetoric and side, for once, with the little guy. Save internet radio!

Save Internet Radio, Part 5

So, I'm back at my campus office, drinking coffee, plowing through e-mail and doing web updates as usual, but there is one thing lacking - music. As I tried to tune in my favorite Internet radio stations I found that most of them are playing an annoying mix of sound samples and not the regular programming. What's going on? The answer was in an e-mail from Free Press, apparently all of my favorite net radio stations are observing a day of silence to protest the new royalty rates, which go into effect in mid-July and will run most of them out of business. They are encouraging listeners to contact their Congressional representatives and voice their support for the "Internet Radio Equality Act of 2007." Ok, will do, let's keep the music playing.

Netflix Gift Subscriptions

I received an e-mail from the movie subscription service Netflix last week inviting me to send a gift subscription to my dad for Father's Day. I've subscribed to Netflix for about a year now and I've been very happy with the service, so I was tempted to take advantage of their offer...that is until I read the fine print. The terms of the gift subscription include the following:

Recipients will need a valid payment method to redeem the membership and Recipient authorizes Netflix to charge for any movie the Recipient fails to return, as provided in our Terms of Use. Also, upon the conclusion of the Gift Subscription period, Recipient authorizes Netflix to begin to bill the payment method for monthly subscription fees and applicable tax unless the Recipient cancels prior to the end of the Gift Subscription period. Although the subscription is cancelable at anytime, there is no refund or credit for partially used periods.

This means that my dad, upon receiving the "gift" would have to take out his credit card and enter his payment info in order to start his gift subscription. And, then later, if he did not remember to cancel his subscription exactly when it expired (he wouldn't), Netflix would charge him for another month and continue to do so until he canceled the subscription. Now, I know my dad well enough to know that this would not fly with him. He raised me well enough to know that you don't give someone a gift and then expect them to pay for it, and this is exactly what Netflix was asking me to do. So, I balked at this very generous offer and instead sent Netflix the following e-mail:

Dear Netflixers,

Thank you for gift subscription offer, I did consider sending one to my dad for Father's Day. I balked, however, when I read the fine print, which makes it clear that the recipient of the "gift" is the one charged for the service. I would like to encourage you to change your gift subscription policy so that the gift giver (the current subscriber) pays for any charges incurred and then at the end of the gift subscription the recipient receives an invitation to provide their payment info and continue with their subscription. This is much more sensible than asking people to give a "gift" and then expect the recipient to immediately provide payment information so they can be charged...that is no gift at all.

I'll let you know if I receive a reply from them. Netflix is a great service and shouldn't have to resort to these disreputable practices to gain new members, especially when they are risking the goodwill of existing members who recommend their service to friends and family.

I Am Yoda

As part of the Star Wars 30th Anniversary celebrations, I took the Which sci fi character are you? test and found that I am, as many have suspected, actually Yoda. So, from now on, when you ask for my advice, just remember, it's not good to ignore your own Jedi Master.