Monthly Archives: November 2012

Responding to Martin Geddes

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There are lots of social values created by internet use that aren’t adequately “paid for” by individual internet subscribers, and aren’t appropriately appropriated by network owners.  Innovation is one of those positive spillovers that we don’t want to allow a single property owner to own forever, because the second innovator might do a better job with the idea.  Same thing online — the network owners shouldn’t necessarily be allowed to internalize all of these externalities, because we can’t assume that optimal social values will be the result.  Rewarding a single innovator isn’t always the best thing to do.

via scrawford.net

This was a poor excerpt to illustrate the title, it’s just such a good point I wanted to bring it out.  Benefits that don’t accrue to the operator, essential, the more the merrier.  Relates to monopoly generally, telco, copyright, patent et al.  A point that those dismissing Metcalfe’s Law overlooked, no the n^2 factor does not accrue to the operator, leaving value on the table makes renting seats at the table easier.

More selected Martin Geddes

Cyber-bullying: education and narrow focus critical

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“We understand that physical bullying is far more prevalent than cyber-bullying and that cyber-bullying peaks in Years 9 and 10. It is clear to us that cyber-bullying cannot be addressed without simultaneously addressing bullying as a whole in schools.”

“While generally supportive of the legislative measures proposed by the Communications (New Media) Bill, InternetNZ has put forward 10 recommendations to address the policy issues it raises. In particular, InternetNZ recommends that the Communications Principles should be used for guidance and education only. Further, given a lack of evidence that a Tribunal is really required, those provisions should be removed from any new legislation developed. A review should be held after two years to determine whether a Tribunal is in fact really needed.”

via InternetNZ

The Release Windows Archaism

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As for the TV shows such as Homeland and others hits, there is not justification whatsoever to preserve this calendar archaism. They should be made universally available from the day when they are aired on TV, period. Or customers will vote with their mouse anyway and find the right file-sharing sites.

The ???Industry??? fails to assess three shifts here.

???The first one is the globalization of audiences. Worldwide, about 360m people are native English speakers; for an additional 375m, it is the second language, and 750m more picked English as an foreign language at school. That???s about 1.5 billion people likely to be interested in English-speaking culture. As a result, a growing proportion of teenagers watch their pirated series without subtitles ??? or scruples.

???Then, the ???spread factor???: Once a show becomes a hit in the United States, it becomes widely commented in Europe and elsewhere, not only because a large number of people speak serviceable English, but also because many national websites propagate the US buzz. Hollywood execs would be surprised to see how well young (potential) audiences abroad know about their productions months before seeing them.

???And finally, technology is definitely on the side of the foreign consumer: Better connectivity (expect 5 minutes to download an episode), high definition image, great sound??? And mobility (just take a high-speed train in Europe and see how many are watching videos on their tablets).

via mondaynote.com

The forces arrayed against geo-blocking.

LG Google TV update brings support for OnLive cloud gaming

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It looks like LG has some news for those using a Smart TV with Google TV. Specifically, for those using the G2 Series and fans of gaming ??? a recent update has brought support for the OnLive gaming service. While we suspect many of the Android Authority readers will be familiar with what OnLive has to offer, for those who don???t, they allow users to play games over the cloud without the need for a console.

via androidauthority.com

NZ to vote against governments taking over internet

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Information Technology Minister Amy Adams says New Zealand will try to block an international move by some governments to take over the running of the internet.

Mrs Adams made the announcement at the first regional internet community conference, NetHui South, in Dunedin on Friday.

Mrs Adams says New Zealand will vote againt the move, because the not-for-profit agencies including ICANN, which organise the worldwide web, are doing a good job.She says the current system allows stakeholders from governments, academia, business and the wider internet community to have input and has proven itself flexible enough to cope with rapid changes in technology.

Internet New Zealand chief executive Vikram Kumar applauded the New Zealand Government’s stance, saying it is a huge step forward as government control of the internet would kill its openness and innovation.

via radionz.co.nz

Impressive.

What the New York Times Should Have Asked

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This is what Apple “invented” the idea of sliding a latch to open something. But because they were doing it on a computer they got to patent it. Probably it cost some effort to work out the code to create the image and so forth – although if it cost them millions their programmers are incompetent – even tens of thousands seems high for that particular coding job. But here is the point: Nobody gets to copy their code with or without patents. The thing they actually paid for is protected.

via againstmonopoly.org