links for 2005-06-30
-
Amazing picture by some friends of a firefighting plant dropping fire retardant.
« May 2005 | Main | July 2005 »
Cryptonomicon author Neal Stephenson's essay for the NYT links the final trilogy episode with our somewhat strained relationship to high tech.
"Nothing is more seductive than to think that we, like the Jedi, could be masters of the most advanced technologies while living simple lives: to have a geek standard of living and spend our copious leisure time vegging out."
Although he links it to the very first episodes, thirty-odd years ago, I'd argue that the societal issues he's pointing to are really recent -- and probably go hand-in-hand with the increasing presence of computers in daily life rather than any other technology. It's not that the technology is so high tech -- nobody stress over the tech in their airplane or cell phone -- it's that the interface is often so bad. The experience most of us have with technology is not improving as fast as our need to utilize it.
Glenn McDonald on why even a loyal music customer started downloading. A great piece showing why the persistence of music piracy online has its roots in a deeper dissatisfaction among music consumers beyond the simple issue of cost, and showing why the industry needs to start thinking about how to evolve its model rather than maintain status quo.
The world is all connected now, we are not beholden to you for information. An import copy of this record would cost me $26. The domestic copy will cost me $13 at most, probably less. I refuse to pay you to play these pointless games with arbitrary dates and obsolete borders. I can outlast you. I refuse to pay you twice for withholding music when it's supposed to be your job to bring it to me.