Get Off My Lawn!
Someone sent me a link to this web comic today and it made me laugh because I have been involved with the internet or BBSes since I was about 14 years old. The thing is though I don’t agree with the final premise because, for all its faults I love the internet we have today for the most part.
What do I miss from the older stuff? Because I like lists here is one of what we have today:
- Easier to use
- Prettier
- Faster
- The possibility of services like Netflix, iTunes, rdio, and their ilk
What I don’t like
- More Noise
- Flash
- More malware
- Pop under ads
I am sure I could come up with a more comprehensive list of both but I think what really matters to me is that I see the Internet as it has always been a growing, exciting place that opens up a lot of possibility. This is the internet I grew up with and hope to see continue. That is why issues like Net Neutrality are so important. It’s also why groups like the EFF, whom I don’t always agree with, are also so important. So I hope everyone will support both to keep the internet what it is about – possibility.
ebook fraud
This is a very interesting post about something I had not thought much about – ebook fraud. The lesson here is really to be aware of what you are getting and from whom you are getting it. It is very much the new content farm. The original article is here.
This is the bit that really made me go WTF:
Which brings us to the reason for this post here, right now. S.K.S. Perry is a Canadian writer. He had a hard time getting an agent interested in his novel,Darkside, so he posted it on his web page.
A couple of weeks ago someone suggested that he put it on Kindle as an e-book. He thought that was an excellent idea. Someone else agreed: To his surprise he found that person already had. He posted about this on his LiveJournal on March 30 (two days ago), and since then has found that Amazon doesn’t care.
It seems not only is content being stolen and repackaged, but that the people acting as gatekeepers don’t really care unless forced. I am sure a DMCA notice would work, but it sounds like it’s only that which makes them care. Not any dedication to the authors. Surprised? I guess not really but kind of disappointed.
April Fool’s
See I tricked you into thinking this would be a meaningful post.
Reading
