I can' help but notice that this research has been funded by two government agencies, NASA, and the National Science Foundation.
While I for one am delighted to see that the usual low expectations of tax-dollar-funded research have in this case been confounded, I can't help but wonder how much genuine innovation has been stifled by the need for researchers to jump through the ususal hoops for their precious grant money, to say nothing of the frustration these researchers must feel as their hard work skips merrily off into the public domain.
All water under the bridge, I supppose. I wait with delighted anticipation for some hot for-profit startups to get ahold of this software and, with the invisible hand of the market as their guide, take this technology (and hopefully my mutual funds! ^_^) to astounding new heights.
If the cost of laying huge concrete pipes underground puts you bit over your budget, and you happen to be near the Calgary area, you can always console yourself with dinner at The House At Bag End, the world's finest Tolkien-themed restaurant!
As developing countries adopt technology more and more decisions will be made about what types of software will be adopted by different countries' governments, educational systems, and citizens.
It will be intriguing to see how Microsoft's strategy to penetrate markets in developing nations pans out. Gates seems to have the upper hand in India for the time being, but just donating product will only get you so far in terms of building a market.
Since Microsoft will not be able to rely on the gaming market to push units to, say, the Peruvian government, one suspects that the company will be touting MS Window's ease of use and wide range of hardware compatiblity in selling its products to developing countries.
Microsoft could also play up on the common preception that Free Software is prone to turn bloated and buggy as a result of developers being more interested in adding "cool features" than in developing a stable, effective product (e.g. the Mozilla/Phoenix schism). Microsoft's strategy in this area would be to emphasize the interests of a for-profit company in shipping a qualty product and backing it up with top-notch tech support, another area where Free Software efforts are lacking
Mircosoft will of course also need to market Windows at substantially lower prices than in the US (possibly selling stripped down export-only versions of its software?), not a difficult task given Microsoft's high profit margins. Of course strict trade controls would be lobbied for to prevent cheap versions of Microsoft products from trickling back into the US. It is easy to imagine the control-happy Gates pushing for such a crackdown...
If Microsoft fails to sell its products to developing nations, the world could find itself with a new kind of digital divide, with the developed countries using mainly Microsoft products on one side, and newly emerging economies using Free Software on the other. What will come of this will be anyone's guess. Interesting times...
Having read through Pamela Samuelson's paper entitled "Intellectual Property and the Digital Economy: Why the Anti-Circumvention Regulations Need to Be Revised", which was linked to in the writeup, I am struck by a major assumption on which Samuelson relies.
Throughout the paper, Samuelson assumes that the "New Economy" will be stifled by the "unpredictable, overbroad, inconsistent, and complex" anti-circumvention provisions of the DMCA. Clearly, Samuelson is trying to appeal to the economic interests of her to combat the restrictive nature of the DMCA. It can be seen, then, that in "Intellectual Property and the Digital Economy" Samuelson is positing a conflict between the interests of the "New Economy" and those of the "Old Economy", i.e., the media interests backing the DMCA
The problem with this approach is (of course) that the so-called "New Economy" is widely precieved at present to have been something of a bust, thanks mostly to the feeble state of the stock market, in particular the 60 per cent plus decline in the NASDAQ. Therefore, the "Old Economy" has a leg up in Samuelson's conflict of economic interests, which does not bode well for future instances of anti-copyright legislation.
Mr, Pavlovich has gotten off, as it were, on a technicality. Given the provisions of the DCMA, however, had he been a California resident, his fate may have been grim indeed, and given the advantages presently enjoyed by the "Old Economy" pro-copyright forces, it appears we will all have to deal with the DCMA for some time to come.
Rather than having scientists waste time and money digging up facts that the conspiracy paranoids are just going to ignore or come up with some nutty explanation for, efforts should be made toward eradicating the ignorance and fear that attract people to conspiracy theories in the first place.
First, conspiracy theorists are motivated by a profound mistrust of the government. This is understandable given the vast over-extension of Federal powers that has taken place throughout the last 30 years. Intrusive Fedderal agencies like the FBi, ATF, EPA, and OSHA, among others, should have their powers curtailed. The Bush administration has made some good strides in this area, though it has clearly failed in others (e. g. the dangerous and hyterical PATRIOT act).
Second, the miserable failure of our public education system needs to be addressed. A lot of public ambivalence toward scientific breakthroughs like computers, genetic engineering, and space travel stems from ignorance. It is time to admit that our public education system as it stands is simply not getting the job done. Alternative libertarian measures such as the voucher system to allow families to send their children to private schools, and more support (tax breaks, etc) for home-schooling efforts have to be encouraged.
If proper measures are taken to root out and eliminate the social causes of conspiracy nuttiness, we will see far fewer people blindly accepting the crackpot theories of the "no-moon-landing" crowd.
Slashdot Mirror
While I for one am delighted to see that the usual low expectations of tax-dollar-funded research have in this case been confounded, I can't help but wonder how much genuine innovation has been stifled by the need for researchers to jump through the ususal hoops for their precious grant money, to say nothing of the frustration these researchers must feel as their hard work skips merrily off into the public domain.
All water under the bridge, I supppose. I wait with delighted anticipation for some hot for-profit startups to get ahold of this software and, with the invisible hand of the market as their guide, take this technology (and hopefully my mutual funds! ^_^) to astounding new heights.
If the cost of laying huge concrete pipes underground puts you bit over your budget, and you happen to be near the Calgary area, you can always console yourself with dinner at The House At Bag End, the world's finest Tolkien-themed restaurant!
It will be intriguing to see how Microsoft's strategy to penetrate markets in developing nations pans out. Gates seems to have the upper hand in India for the time being, but just donating product will only get you so far in terms of building a market.
Since Microsoft will not be able to rely on the gaming market to push units to, say, the Peruvian government, one suspects that the company will be touting MS Window's ease of use and wide range of hardware compatiblity in selling its products to developing countries.
Microsoft could also play up on the common preception that Free Software is prone to turn bloated and buggy as a result of developers being more interested in adding "cool features" than in developing a stable, effective product (e.g. the Mozilla/Phoenix schism). Microsoft's strategy in this area would be to emphasize the interests of a for-profit company in shipping a qualty product and backing it up with top-notch tech support, another area where Free Software efforts are lacking
Mircosoft will of course also need to market Windows at substantially lower prices than in the US (possibly selling stripped down export-only versions of its software?), not a difficult task given Microsoft's high profit margins. Of course strict trade controls would be lobbied for to prevent cheap versions of Microsoft products from trickling back into the US. It is easy to imagine the control-happy Gates pushing for such a crackdown...
If Microsoft fails to sell its products to developing nations, the world could find itself with a new kind of digital divide, with the developed countries using mainly Microsoft products on one side, and newly emerging economies using Free Software on the other. What will come of this will be anyone's guess. Interesting times...
Throughout the paper, Samuelson assumes that the "New Economy" will be stifled by the "unpredictable, overbroad, inconsistent, and complex" anti-circumvention provisions of the DMCA. Clearly, Samuelson is trying to appeal to the economic interests of her to combat the restrictive nature of the DMCA. It can be seen, then, that in "Intellectual Property and the Digital Economy" Samuelson is positing a conflict between the interests of the "New Economy" and those of the "Old Economy", i.e., the media interests backing the DMCA
The problem with this approach is (of course) that the so-called "New Economy" is widely precieved at present to have been something of a bust, thanks mostly to the feeble state of the stock market, in particular the 60 per cent plus decline in the NASDAQ. Therefore, the "Old Economy" has a leg up in Samuelson's conflict of economic interests, which does not bode well for future instances of anti-copyright legislation.
Mr, Pavlovich has gotten off, as it were, on a technicality. Given the provisions of the DCMA, however, had he been a California resident, his fate may have been grim indeed, and given the advantages presently enjoyed by the "Old Economy" pro-copyright forces, it appears we will all have to deal with the DCMA for some time to come.
First, conspiracy theorists are motivated by a profound mistrust of the government. This is understandable given the vast over-extension of Federal powers that has taken place throughout the last 30 years. Intrusive Fedderal agencies like the FBi, ATF, EPA, and OSHA, among others, should have their powers curtailed. The Bush administration has made some good strides in this area, though it has clearly failed in others (e. g. the dangerous and hyterical PATRIOT act).
Second, the miserable failure of our public education system needs to be addressed. A lot of public ambivalence toward scientific breakthroughs like computers, genetic engineering, and space travel stems from ignorance. It is time to admit that our public education system as it stands is simply not getting the job done. Alternative libertarian measures such as the voucher system to allow families to send their children to private schools, and more support (tax breaks, etc) for home-schooling efforts have to be encouraged.
If proper measures are taken to root out and eliminate the social causes of conspiracy nuttiness, we will see far fewer people blindly accepting the crackpot theories of the "no-moon-landing" crowd.
I'd like to say USC has a machine in the top 100, but we don't. :(