October 2009 - nexa - server-nexa.polito.it

NYTimes: Sergey Brin, "A library for ever"
by J.C. DE MARTIN Oct. 10, 2009

Oct. 10, 2009

October 9, 2009 Op-Ed Contributor A Library to Last Forever By SERGEY BRIN Mountain View, Calif. “THE fundamental reasons why the electric car has not attained the popularity it deserves are (1) The failure of the manufacturers to properly educate the general public regarding the wonderful utility of the electric; (2) The failure of [power companies] to make it easy to own and operate the electric by an adequate distribution of charging and boosting stations. The early electrics of limited speed, range and utility produced popular impressions which still exist.” This quotation would hardly surprise anyone who follows electric vehicles. But it may be surprising to hear that in the year when it was written thousands of electric cars were produced and that year was nearly a century ago. This appeared in a 1916 issue of the journal Electrical World, which I found in Google Books, our searchable repository of millions of books. It may seem strange to look back a hundred years on a topic that is so contemporary, yet I often find that the past has valuable lessons for the future. In this case, I was lucky — electric vehicles were studied and written about extensively early in the 20th century, and there are many books on the subject from which to choose. Because books published before 1923 are in the public domain, I am able to view them easily. But the vast majority of books ever written are not accessible to anyone except the most tenacious researchers at premier academic libraries. Books written after 1923 quickly disappear into a literary black hole. With rare exceptions, one can buy them only for the small number of years they are in print. After that, they are found only in a vanishing number of libraries and used book stores. As the years pass, contracts get lost and forgotten, authors and publishers disappear, the rights holders become impossible to track down. [...] Continua qui: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/09/opinion/09brin.html

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Prossimo "mercoledi' di NEXA"
by J.C. DE MARTIN Oct. 8, 2009

Oct. 8, 2009

*Per il ciclo di incontri "Mercoledì di NEXA"* "/*Libertà di espressione e Internet"*/ *Mercoledì 14 ottobre 2009, ore 18-20* *Corso Trento 21, Torino* *Ingresso libero* Mercoledì prossimo nella sede di NEXA, Centro di Ricerca su Internet e Società, si parla di *libertà di espressione e Internet* con *Andrea Cairola,* esperto di sviluppo dei media e libertà di stampa. La libertà di espressione è uno dei diritti fondamentali che distinguono una società democratica da una che non lo è. Questo diritto, sancito nel 1948 quando l'Assemblea Generale delle Nazioni Unite proclama la Dichiarazione Universale dei Diritti Umani. Dopo la stampa, la radio e la televisione, Internet sta ora enormemente ampliando la libertà di espressione. E' in questo contesto che si colloca l'incontro, nel corso del quale verrà anche presentata l'impostazione preliminare di una nuova ricerca del Centro NEXA sul tema di libertà di espressione e Internet. Tra l'altro si discuterà se Internet è condizionabile alla stessa maniera degli altri /media/ e come misurare/ /l'effettivo grado di pluralismo della Rete. Con Andrea Cairola, si confronteranno su questi temi i co-direttori e i fellows del Centro NEXA, nonche' tutti quanti vorranno intervenire. *Andrea Cairola* Andrea Cairola è un esperto di sviluppo dei media e libertà di stampa in ambito internazionale. E' stato funzionario dell'UNESCO, l'agenzia Onu che ha il mandato di promuovere il libero flusso dell'informazione e la libertà di espressione. Si è occupato di cooperazione allo sviluppo di media pluralisti, indipendenti e professionali in Afghanistan, in Nepal, in Kazakhstan, in Repubblica Centrafricana, nel Caucaso e nei Balcani. Ha gestito progetti per la creazione di media di comunità, la cooperazione tra le TV nei Balcani e la creazione di una rete di monitoraggio degli attacchi ai giornalisti in Somalia. Si occupa anche di legislazione comparata sui media e del libero accesso all'informazione detenuta dalle autorità pubbliche.Rientrato in Italia Andrea Cairola continua l'attività internazionale come consulente con Onu e ONG specializzate. In Italia, come giornalista ha curato inchieste per la trasmissione Report di Rai 3, collaborato con La Stampa,con La Stampa Web. Nel 2003 ha scritto e co-diretto il documentario "Citizen Berlusconi", inchiesta sul mestiere di giornalista ed il conflitto di interessi, prodotta dall'americana PBS e da un pool di televisioni europee, andata in onda in oltre 20 paesi. *Lettura consigliata *(tra le tante possibili) Cass R. Sunstein, "Republic.com: Cittadini informati o consumatori di informazioni?", Il Mulino, 2003 (nonché l'edizione successiva, "Republic.com 2.0", non ancora tradotta). *Prossimo mese:* *Mercoledì 11 novembre 2009, ore 18-20:* "*La Internet Governance"* Lo sviluppo di Internet e il suo impatto sugli aspetti sociali, economici e politici su scala globale hanno fatto emergere la necessità di discutere una nuova "governance" della rete. Antonella Pizzaleo, esperta di Governance di Internet e ricercatrice del Centro NEXA, presenterà i risultati preliminari della sua ricerca. *Che cosa è il ciclo di incontri "Mercoledì di NEXA"* *Il Centro di ricerca NEXA su Internet e Società apre le sue porte non solo agli esperti e a tutti coloro i quali lavorano con Internet ma anche a tutti i semplici appassionati. Mercoledì 14 ottobre alle ore 18 riprende il via il ciclo di incontri ideato per approfondire i temi legati al web e al suo sempre più ricco mondo: Google, Creative Commons, Social Networks, Open Source/Software libero, neutralità della rete, fiile sharing e molto altro.* Al centro di ogni incontro un ospite pronto a dialogare e confrontarsi sugli argomenti scelti per il dibattito e sugli ultimi fatti legati al web, con i Direttori di Nexa, il Prof. Juan Carlos De Martin del Politecnico di Torino (responsabile italiano del progetto Creative Commons) e il Prof. Marco Ricolfi dell'Università di Torino, lo staff e i /Fellows/ di Nexa e con tutti quanti vogliano intervenire proponendo quesiti e nuovi percorsi di indagine. *Il Centro di Ricerca NEXA su Internet e Società del Politecnico di Torino (Dipartimento di Automatica e Informatica), **è** un centro di ricerca indipendente*/* */*che studia sotto diversi punti di vista le varie componenti di Internet, la "più grande invenzione del secolo" secondo il Premio Nobel Rita Levi Montalcini. * Per questo il Centro NEXA, che tra l'altro lavora in stretto collegamento col Berkman Center for Internet & Society della Harvard University, attraverso il lavoro di ingegneri, giuristi ed economisti, si sforza di gettare nuova luce sui complessi, e a volte dirompenti cambiamenti prodotti da Internet. *Con i suoi "mercoledì", il Centro NEXA intende creare nuove opportunità di divulgazione e di scambio di idee, aprendosi e comunicando non solo con il settore della ricerca, ma anche con pubbliche amministrazioni, imprese, associazioni e semplici cittadini.* Un modo per dialogare su Internet, un mondo che già da tanti anni influisce sulla nostra vita, e che ancor più lo farà negli anni a venire. *L'ingresso è libero ed è aperto a tutti gli interessati*. *Tutti gli incontri possono essere anche visti e ascoltati in streaming su www. nexa.polito.it/events.*

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(no subject)
by Mariella Berra Oct. 7, 2009

Oct. 7, 2009

http://www.economist.com/businessfinance/displayStory.cfm?story_id=14563636… interesting article. About the Lodo Alfano I would like remember what Wodrow Wilson said about the beautiful constitution :"It is harder to run a constitution than to write a new one "Saluti Mariella

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Bits of Freedom counterattacks
by Philippe Aigrain Oct. 7, 2009

Oct. 7, 2009

After the announce by BUMA/Stemra (the music collective management societies in the Netherlands) of a new on-line music rate to be charged for blogs who embed music tracks (without distinction between commercial and non-commercial, 630 € / track), Bits of Freedom has launched a great collective process for elaborating a position paper in response : http://www.co-ment.net/text/1639/ We got 250+ visitors per hour from the Netherlands, with revisions every few minutes at some times. The mobilization was done through micro-blogging and Internet-related collaborative media platforms. -- Philippe Aigrain Sopinspace

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QdN: "Memo: Debunking the Council's Arguments Against Amendment 138"
by J.C. DE MARTIN Oct. 7, 2009

Oct. 7, 2009

FYI "Just before a new round of meetings between the negotiators of the Telecoms Package, La Quadrature du Net sent a letter to the Members of the European Parliament, as well as a 4 page memo debunking the Council of EU's arguments against amendment 138, which is an essential safeguard of citizens' fundamental rights and freedoms." URL: http://www.laquadrature.net/en/memo-amendment-138-debunking-the-councils-ar… juan carlos

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Nuova traduzione: "Il mondo sta andando verso il flat-rate" di Volker Grassmuck
by J.C. DE MARTIN Oct. 6, 2009

Oct. 6, 2009

Il Centro NEXA su Internet e Società è lieto di presentare "Il mondo sta andando verso il flat-rate", ovvero, la traduzione italiana dell'importante lavoro di Volker Grassmuck apparso in lingua inglese nel maggio 2009, "The World is Going Flat(-Rate)". URL della traduzione: http://nexa.polito.it/world-going-flat-rate Si ringraziano i traduttori, Lorenzo Benussi e Irene Cassarino, fellow del Centro Nexa su Internet & Società, e tutti coloro che hanno contribuito all'opera. cordiali saluti, juan carlos de martin

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[Fwd: Digital rights: call to all citizens to fight back]
by J.C. DE MARTIN Oct. 5, 2009

Oct. 5, 2009

Ricevo e volentieri condivido con voi. juan carlos -------- Original Message -------- Subject: Digital rights: call to all citizens to fight back Date: Mon, 5 Oct 2009 07:31:48 -0500 From: contacto(a)exgae.net To: director(a)nexa.polito.it "The battle for access to information and the Internet is the mother of all battles, the one that will allow us to keep going autonomously and creatively in crisis times, regardless of what the powers that be "organise" for their own interest..." /Zaphod Beeblebrox, Digital Thoughts/ *Because in times of crisis, the European Parliament is discussing how to take away one of the few remaining ways that allow citizens to get ahead -- open access to the Internet -- and to hand it over to the multinationals (this is not science fiction; it is happening now - follow the links below [1]); Because we must be able to benefit from spreading our works without middlemen; Because we are fed up with plundering by royalties management organisations; Because artists are being used as an excuse to restrict legal rights to expression and development; Because copying and sharing information is our right to culture, to knowledge and to communication, and they want to give it away to the entertainment industry (this isn't science fiction either -- the American Chamber of Commerce is pressuring worldwide for changes to the Intellectual Property Laws to prevent the right to copy and share information [2]); Because their business is not our culture; Because it is important for artists to be able to make a living from their work if they wish to; Because "greed breaks the sack" as we saw in this crisis that has shown us that we live in a system that expects us to protect the interests of banks and multinationals, in the hope that they might one day give us a job in exchange for the crumbs of their profits. The philosophy of free culture, inherited from the free software movement, is the best empirical proof that a new kind of ethics and a new kind of business are possible. It has already created an alternative production space that works, based on an artisan or trade model in which the author-producer doesn't lose control of his or her output and doesn't need the mediation of big monopolies. A kind of production that is committed to autonomous initiatives in solidarity with others, to sharing based on each person's abilities and opportunities, to the democratisation of knowledge, education and the means of production and to fair distribution of earnings based on work carried out. * And because actions speak louder than words, thousands of individuals and organisations, hundreds of artists, have joined forces... we welcome back in Barcelona, Spain... * * * The oXcars *29th of octobre 2009* *the biggest free culture event of all time http://oxcars09.exgae.net And, for the first time, we introduce *The International Free Culture Forum: ** Organisation and Action* 30th of octobre to 1st of novembre 2009* * which will put down in black and white the politics of the digital age as conceived by citizens, by you and by me (this is not science fiction!). http://fcforum.net/ This is an invitation extended to everybody, and an invitation extended to over 1000 institutions that legislate on our rights worldwide, an invitation to listen and to understand, because the way of life and development of citizens is at stake. On October 25 we will reveal how each and every one of them has responded. The oXcars and The Free Culture Forum are open to everybody. Come along, find out about absolutely everything and participate. This is unstoppable, we can only win. The civil society have its word to say on access to knowledge and culture in the digital age. Please, spread the info. *http://oxcars09.exgae.net/ http://fcforum.net/* "It was the same with the inquisition: digital progress is also unstoppable, the only issue is how many years of suffering, stagnation and obscurantism we will have to but up with before they admit that their interests are not the centre of the universe". /Cayce Pollard, Vogons Proverbs/ [By the way, this message is illegal en Europe. It is illegal to use quotations except for research and educational purposes. Quotes for information purposes are not permitted... And this is not science fiction]. *____________ Related material of interest:* *[1] *-- During the Free Culture Forum you will be able to collaborate, in the flesh, with the organisations that are lobbying the European Parliament exactly during these days in which the fearsome Telecoms Package is being debated. You can see what it's all about here: http://www.laquadrature.net/en/we-must-protect-net-neutrality-in-europe-ope… http://www.euopeninternet.eu Here is information about who is on the committee, how they have voted (from red to green, from more favourable to citizens to more favourable to multinationals), and who we have to lobby in each country (if you know some of them, talk to them; if you don't know them, ring them up. These links show you how): http://werebuild.eu/wiki/index.php/Operation_revelation http://www.laquadrature.net/wiki/Telecoms_Package-Conciliation_Committe-Par… What do we tell them?: to defend the original article 138, not the "soft" version. That is: no private entity can monitor your digital communication"prior ruling by the judicial authorities". Send to the Europarlementiers the following sentence (this action is carried out all over Europe): ""*Prior ruling by the judicial authorities*" is a condition of democracy. Don't restrict basic freedoms. Using internet access is now instrumental to basic freedoms. Defend the real Amendment 138". (Don't insult them if not they will spam you. Here their telephone and emails: http://www.laquadrature.net/wiki/Telecoms_Package-Conciliation_Committe-Par…) *[2]* - EEUU Industry "anti-piracy" plans (Spain and Canadá are in the 3rd and 2nd position): http://www.ustr.gov/about-us/press-office/reports-and-publications/archives… _______________________ If you don't want to receive anymore information, please send us back this email with the word "delete" in the Content and apologise. -- If you do not want to receive any more newsletters, este enlace <http://conservas.tk/phplist/?p=unsubscribe&uid=223e077e752db9b6eb3f159e0a15…> To update your preferences and to unsubscribe visit este enlace <http://conservas.tk/phplist/?p=preferences&uid=223e077e752db9b6eb3f159e0a15…> Forward a Message to Someone este enlace <http://conservas.tk/phplist/?p=forward&uid=223e077e752db9b6eb3f159e0a156e42…> Powered by PHPlist2.10.9, © tincan ltd <http://www.phplist.com>

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[Fwd: [Oa-italia] 5 università firmano uno statement per sostenere il modello author-pays]
by J.C. DE MARTIN Oct. 4, 2009

Oct. 4, 2009

-------- Original Message -------- Subject: [Oa-italia] 5 università firmano uno statement per sostenere il modello author-pays Date: Thu, 17 Sep 2009 15:12:21 +0200 From: Maria Cassella <maria.cassella(a)unito.it> Reply-To: Lista di discussione su temi relativi all'accesso aperto <oa-italia(a)openarchives.it> To: Lista di discussione su temi relativi all'accesso aperto <oa-italia(a)openarchives.it> 5 università (Cornell University, Dartmouth College, Harvard University, MIT e UC Berkeley) hanno firmato uno *statement* congiunto per sostenere "reasonable publication charges for articles written by its faculty and published in fee-based open-access journals" . la notizia su Library Journal http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6696797.html?rssid=191 saluti mc -- _______________________________________________ OA-Italia mailing list OA-Italia(a)openarchives.it http://openarchives.it/mailman/listinfo/oa-italia PLEIADI: http://www.openarchives.it/pleiadi/

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Fw: [CREIS] INRIA et le logiciel libre
by Mariella Berra Oct. 3, 2009

Oct. 3, 2009

----- Original Message ----- From: "Jacques Vetois (au lieu de chantal richard <le.creis(a)orange.fr>)" <jacquesvetois(a)yahoo.fr> To: <membres(a)creis.sgdg.org> Sent: Saturday, October 03, 2009 2:02 PM Subject: [CREIS] INRIA et le logiciel libre Bonjour, une information qui peut vous interesser : L'INRIA annonce la création du Centre d'innovation et de recherche en informatique sur le logiciel libre, un projet fédérateur porté par Roberto Di Cosmo pour créer un lieu de recherche et d'innovation pour le logiciel libre ouvert à tous les acteurs de la chaine de l'innovation <http://www.inria.fr/actualites/espace-presse/cp/pre201.fr.html> Amicalement Jacques Vetois

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cc.org: "Dutch Public Broadcaster VPRO Releases CC-licensed Documentaries"
by J.C. DE MARTIN Oct. 2, 2009

Oct. 2, 2009

http://creativecommons.org/weblog/entry/18128 Dutch Public Broadcaster VPRO Releases CC-licensed Documentaries Fred Benenson, October 1st, 2009 Paul Keller, one of our project leads for CC Netherlands just let us know about an exciting development from their public broadcaster, VPRO, who on Wednesday released 2 full length (and one more coming soon) documentaries under our CC-BY-NC-SA licenses. What’s great is that these documentaries are current pieces, not old selections from the back catalog or archives – they’ve all aired within the last 10 days. Additionally, VPRO is also offering DVDs of the films for sale. The documentaries, available in both Dutch and English are available to download in an almost-HD resolution of 640 by 380, but are also posted on mininova.org here and here. Here’s an excerpt from the project’s press release: According to Bregtje van der Haak, coordinator of the VPRO’s Century of the City project, releasing these documentaries under a Creative Commons license contributes to efforts to better serve the VPRO’s public: “We are producing a lot of documentaries that are of interest to specialized communities. In the case of urbanization this includes architects, urban planners and students. From research we know that a growing segment of the VPRO’s audience is watching less and less television but continues to highly value this type of content. By offering content for download we are increasing the life cycle of these programs and enable a whole number of new forms of re-use of our productions. As a public broadcaster we have the obligation to make our productions available to the public in an as flexible manner as possible.” Congratulations to VPRO!

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