Let me say right now that this is going to be the album for my coming summer, given that it’s got some tasty hip-hop beats and easygoing melodies.
The fact that he’s back collaborating with the Dust Brothers shows through, as it’s somewhat reminiscient of Odelay, though, I’d categorize this album as simpler and far less processed than Mutations, Odelay, or Midnite Vultures.
There’s a dense argument going on right now over whether or not software will be patentable in Europe. Not being the most politically educated person on the block, I found this recent overview, rebuttal, and re-rebuttal about the value of software patents quite enlightening.
I don’t know if anyone else caught it this morning, but I was quite amused. I checked the latest security vulnerabilities feed from SecurityFocus using Bloglines, and the end of every item was marked by a smiley face icon. The best part is that the image appeared to have been crafted in MS Paint. The idea that the feed about vulnerabilities may have been vulnerable tickles me pink.
Every now and then you happen upon something that strikes a chord, and the concepts you see before you seem to be taken from your own thoughts and desires about how the world is and how it should be.
Mark Cuban preaches a gospel of what it takes to truly be successful in business. Really, most of what he says applies to any craft/activity.
My third generation iPod was definitely worth getting at the time. Though, with greater competition now, as well as converging devices, I really don’t think I’ll be replacing my iPod when it dies. By the time that happens, I’ll be in the market for a single device, akin to the Motorola MPx, something to replace my phone, my iPod, and PDA. I can’t wait to have room in my pockets for a wallet again.
It irks me that WordPress 1.5 has nofollow plainly implemented in comments instead of providing an option to leave links as-is. Thankfully, Kim wrote the DoFollow WordPress plugin that makes sure every comment link is nofollow free. Lets just say, I believe in punishing spammers, rather than punishing legitimate commentors because of the spammers.
Lessig makes a case for municipal WiFi. Personally, I think we’ll realize one day that telecom infrastructure is just as important as roads are to our vitality as a sovereign state.
If you’re thinking of using Napster’s new and “improved” service, you might want to take a look at this users experience with their DRM. By way of Scoble’s link log.
The technology of Google’s AutoLink is dangerous no doubt, and the idea of inserting ads into someone’s content without their permission seems a bit dubious at first glance. Recently though, I hadn’t thought about AutoLink’s possible incompatibility with the non-commercial Creative Commons license I used to use, until Tim Bray pointed it out.
I thought this was a terrible legal fumble on behalf of Google, but then I realized that this isn’t Google pushing this type of behavior on people. Consumers are clicking a button that essentially asks Google to “add value” to the content that they are reading. Whether or not that value is indeed valuable to users remains to be seen, but that’s not the point.
An author’s right to control a work extends only as far the recipient’s right to consume, annotate, and discuss the work. You can’t enforce nor expect me to not highlight and annotate your work, yet. You can’t expect me to refrain from asking another person of their opinion. The only difference between my annotation and discussion of content with peers and AutoLink, is that AutoLink users are asking a commercial entity for annotations with the assistance of software.
I concede though, that I don’t know how AutoLink is implemented. If it’s storing these pages with added links and re-serving them to the client, I’d be inclined to say Google’s in the wrong because they’re actually redistributing this content. If they’re simply modifying the html on my screen, then I see no problems.
Not exactly breaking news, but Wordpress 1.5 is out. Michigan State’s spring break is next week, so I’ll have some extra free time. If this site isn’t upgraded by 12:00 AM EST on March 14th, I’ll shave my beard.
