July 2009 - nexa - server-nexa.polito.it

NYTimes: Even Google Is Blocked With Apps for iPhone

by J.C. DE MARTIN

From The New York Times: Even Google Is Blocked With Apps for iPhone By JENNA WORTHAM There is tension between the companies because Apple sometimes rejects Google’s applications for the App Store.... http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/29/technology/companies/29apps.html (sent from a mobile device)

July 29, 2009

NY Times: "The Music Streams That Soothe an Industry"

by J.C. DE MARTIN

THE NEW YORK TIMES July 26, 2009 Slipstream The Music Streams That Soothe an Industry http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/26/business/26stream.html?_r=1&ref=technology By BRAD STONE LIKE many teenagers, Josh Wilson, the 13-year-old son of the New York venture capitalist Fred Wilson, has on occasion visited the Internet’s peer-to-peer file-sharing services to download music and television shows. But recently, as Mr. Wilson recounted last week on his popular blog, A VC, Josh has started streaming television shows from Netflix under the family’s $24-a-month subscription plan and listening to licensed, ad-supported music videos from YouTube on his iPhone. Asked by his father why he was not using file-sharing services like BitTorrent to download shows like “Friday Night Lights,” Josh replied, “BitTorrent takes too long.” [... ampio pezzo centrale .....] Mr. Lefsetz believes that the answer is for the music industry to nourish the streaming sites and then push users toward subscribing to them for a monthly fee. “The key is to just get $10 from everybody,” he said. That, he said, might finally vanquish the demons of music piracy. Mr. Lefsetz uses himself as an example of this salvaged future. He used to turn to file-sharing sites to quickly sample new music he wanted to write about. Now he just streams songs free from Spotify. juan carlos

July 29, 2009

"Streaming and BitTorrent Sports Links Site Declared Legal"

by J.C. DE MARTIN

Streaming and BitTorrent Sports Links Site Declared Legal Written by enigmax on July 24, 2009 A site which carries links to both live streaming sporting events and BitTorrent downloads has had the case against it kicked out by a judge. Rojadirecta.com was initially reported for copyright infringement by sports rights holder AudioVisual Sports back in 2007, but it’s been decided they have no case to answer. In 2007, Rojadirecta, which describes itself as one of the world’s major Internet sports broadcast indexes (linking to many soccer events plus NBA, MLB, NFL, NPB, IPL etc), was reported for copyright infringement by sports rights holder Audiovisual Sport. The company, a subsidiary of Spanish communications group PRISA (which owns Canal+, SportMania, various satellite channels, radio stations and newspapers), accused Rojadirecta of facilitating copyright infringement on various sports broadcasts by providing access to them via the Internet. [...] http://torrentfreak.com/streaming-and-bittorrent-sports-links-site-declared… ciao, juan carlos

July 29, 2009

[Fwd: [A2k] Berkman: Google Books Settlement Open Workshop]

by J.C. DE MARTIN

-------- Original Message -------- Subject: [A2k] Berkman: Google Books Settlement Open Workshop Date: Tue, 28 Jul 2009 13:44:33 -0400 From: Manon Ress <manon.ress(a)keionline.org> To: a2k discuss list <a2k(a)lists.essential.org> http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/googlebooks/Main_Page quote: The proposed Google Book Search settlement creates the opportunity for unprecedented access by the public, scholars, libraries and others to a digital library containing millions of books assembled by major research libraries. But the settlement is controversial, in large part because this access is limited in major ways: instead of being truly open, this new digital library will be controlled by a single company, Google, and a newly created Book Rights Registry consisting of representatives of authors and publishers; it will include millions of so-called “orphan works” that cannot legally be included in any competing digitization and access effort, and it will be available to readers only in the United States. It need not have been this way. This workshop seeks to bring a fresh, unique perspective to a complex and widely debated topic. It will focus not on the specific merits and demerits of the settlement itself, or the particular antitrust and privacy and other objections that have been raised. Instead, it will examine the idea of possible alternative universes and offer specific proposals for scenarios that may arise whether or not the settlement is approved. What can libraries, or universities, or non-profits, or Congress, do in the current landscape? And how might these possibilities help us to define a better world than the one that we have today and, more importantly, than the one that will exist if the Google settlement is approved in its current form? Regardless of what happens with respect to the Settlement, what alternative possibilities could lead to a richer, more open and better information ecosystem than the one we have today or might have tomorrow with the Settlement? By exploring these alternatives, this workshop seeks, in the end, to help inform the debate over the Settlement and its terms and to illuminate some of the key policy considerations that are at stake. Its ultimate goal is to develop a series of options and proposals that could improve on the status quo in novel ways. end of quote *************************************************************************** Manon Ress manon.ress(a)keionline.org Knowledge Ecology International 1621 Connecticut Ave, NW, Washington, DC 20009 USA Tel.: +1.202.332.2670, Fax: +1.202.332.2673 _______________________________________________ A2k mailing list A2k(a)lists.essential.org http://lists.essential.org/mailman/listinfo/a2k

July 28, 2009

Re: [nexa] The Future of Newspaper secondo Wired

by bernardo parrella

greetings - se da una parte l'idea di estendere le norme del copyright ai link esterni e' fuori di testa, altrettanto vero e' che simili promesse di gadget e/o trovate tecnologiche alla fin fine non fanno che beneficiare la solita o la nuova cyber-elite (again & again: occidentale, urbana, affluente, educated, etc.) e quindi non la vedo affatto come soluzione per quel futuro dell'informazione aperto, partecipato e globale cui ormai non si puo' sfuggire; certo l'iperlocale torna utile in certi casi, ma il villaggio globale e' ben piu' ampio e diversificato, e tutto sommato certe tecnologie di comunicazione potrebbero (dovrebbero?) svolgere ruoli piu' vitali - watchdog governativi, sostenere il free speech, aiutare nella sussitenza quotidiana, etc. [en passant: tale futuro che ovviamente non va equiparato a quello dei giornali o dei giornalisti in quanto tali, oggigiorno tutt'altro che garantito e garantibile come per altre ventures e professioni (giustamente)] tant'e' che ora finanche le grosse testate occidentali vanno rifacendosi a strade poco battute, seguendo ad esempio modelli nonprofit ed emergenti, partecipati e decentrati, legati ai paesi in via di sviluppo.... esempi? ecco una bella serie di link relativi a "news organizations as nonprofits": http://www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=132&aid=163553 e una breve citazione, sul tema dei fondi, tratta da: New York Times Considers Foundation Funding for News: Craig Whitney, an assistant managing editor at the Times who serves as the paper's standards editor, said in a telephone interview Friday, "We've begun to ask ourselves whether it would be possible to get the kind of support that NPR does from foundations for its journalism." thanks, ciao, --b. =========================================== At 10:50 PM +0200 7/15/09, J.C. DE MARTIN wrote: >sempre su questo tema, segnalo questo bell'articolo di Wired, >che mi sembra piuttosto convincente: ><http://www.wired.com/dualperspectives/article/news/2009/07/dp_newspaper_wir…>http://www.wired.com/dualperspectives/article/news/2009/07/dp_newspaper_wir… > >juan carlos > > > >J.C. DE MARTIN wrote: > >>Una delle tante risposte alla proposta -a mio >>avviso, davvero bislacca- di Posner: >><http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/06/28/how-to-save-the-newspapers-vol-xii-out…>http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/06/28/how-to-save-the-newspapers-vol-xii-out… >> >>juan carlos >> >> >>Giancarlo Frosio wrote: >> >>>Di seguito il passaggio centrale di un post di >>>Richard Posner che invoca una riforma >>>espansiva delle norme sul diritto d'autore per >>>salvare l'industria della carta stampata (per >>>usare il termine analogico adottato da Posner, >>>ma forse sarebbe meglio parlare dell'industria >>>dell'informazione): >>> >>>Expanding copyright law to bar online access >>>to copyrighted materials without the copyright >>>holder's consent, or to bar linking to or >>>paraphrasing copyrighted materials without the >>>copyright holder's consent, might be necessary >>>to keep free riding on content financed by >>>online newspapers from so impairing the >>>incentive to create costly news-gathering >>>operations that news services like Reuters and >>>the Associated Press would become the only >>>professional, nongovernmental sources of news >>>and opinion (enfasi aggiunta). >>> >>>L'intero intervento di Posner è pubblicato su >>><http://www.becker-posner-blog.com/>http://www.becker-posner-blog.com/ (scorrere >>>fino a June 23, 2009). >>> >>>Giancarlo >>> >>>P.S. Provocazione, svista, o ponderata analisi >>>economica di Posner? In ogni caso >>>l'autorevolezza della fonte obbliga a prestare >>>particolare attenzione anche, e sopratutto, >>>per la forza persuasiva che questo intervento >>>protrebbe svolgere su eventuali processi >>>legislativi statunitensi. La roccaforte del >>>pubblico dominio è, comunque, sotto assedio >>>costante. Mi pare che le cinte di mura >>>perimetrali siano state prese ad una ad una >>>fino a porre in discussione la dicotomia >>>"fatti/idee-espressione" stessa. Questo, tra >>>l'altro, con uno scollamento sempre più >>>marcato tra norma, società e tecnologia. Cosa >>>resterebbe delle potenzialità offerte >>>dall'Internet se la tracima dei diritti >>>autoriali erodesse il publico dominio anche >>>nella direzione proposta da Posner? Ha davvero >>>un senso un diritto d'autore che sia arma >>>d'offesa a difesa di vecchi (e forse superati) >>>modelli di business? >>> >>> >>>_______________________________________________ >>>nexa mailing list >>><mailto:nexa@server-nexa.polito.it>nexa(a)server-nexa.polito.it >>><https://server-nexa.polito.it/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/nexa>https://server-nexa.polito.it/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/nexa >>> >>> >> >> >> >> >>_______________________________________________ >>nexa mailing list >><mailto:nexa@server-nexa.polito.it>nexa(a)server-nexa.polito.it >><https://server-nexa.polito.it/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/nexa>https://server-nexa.polito.it/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/nexa >> >> > > >_______________________________________________ >nexa mailing list >nexa(a)server-nexa.polito.it >https://server-nexa.polito.it/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/nexa

July 28, 2009

Open Cloud Manifesto

by Federico Morando

L'Open Cloud Manifesto era stato segnalato da Punto Informatico già qualche tempo fa (http://punto-informatico.it/2589549/PI/News/manifesto-segreto-del-cloud-com…) tuttavia non ricordo se fosse mai stato evidenziato in questa lista. Data l'importanza del cloud computing (e la facilità con cui si dimenticano i principi dell'apertura, quando non si deve installare un software proprietario sul proprio PC), mi permetto in ogni caso di segnalarvi il seguente link (homepage del progetto e link diretto al PDF del Manifesto): http://www.opencloudmanifesto.org/ (http://www.opencloudmanifesto.org/Open%20Cloud%20Manifesto.pdf) Saluti e buone vacanze, Federico

July 28, 2009

NY Times: "Advocates Ask Google for Privacy Guarantees in Online Library"

by J.C. DE MARTIN

July 23, 2009, 8:04 pm Advocates Ask Google for Privacy Guarantees in Online Library By Miguel Helft Three advocacy groups have asked Google to commit to protect the privacy of readers in its book search service, which is poised for a major expansion under a pending class-action settlement. The groups, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the American Civil Liberties Union and the Samuelson Law, Technology and Public Policy Clinic at the University of California, Berkeley, have asked Google to limit the data it collects about users’ reading habits, to commit to protect reader records by handing them over only in response to subpoenas or court orders, and to put into effect measures giving users control of their data. The groups made the requests in a letter to Eric Schmidt, Google’s chief executive. In an accompanying blog post, the groups are urging people to send e-mail messages to Mr. Schmidt demanding privacy protections. “We’ve asked that Google only respond to legitimate warrants when the government comes calling, for example, and we’ve asked that they not share your private reading data with third parties without your permission, among other things,” the groups wrote. On its public policy blog, Google said it shared many of the privacy goals raised by the advocacy groups. But Google also said that its expanded book search service would not be built until an landmark settlement of a copyright class action filed by authors and publishers is approved by a court. (That settlement, which will allow Google to build an expansive digital library, has attracted criticism and is currently being scrutinized by the Justice Department for possible antitrust problems.) Because the service has yet to be built, it was premature to draft a detailed privacy policy it, the company said. “The services authorized by the agreement haven’t been built or even designed yet,” Dan Clancy, engineering director for Google Books, wrote. “That means it’s very difficult (if not impossible) to draft a detailed privacy policy. While we know that our eventual product will build in privacy protections — like always giving users clear information about privacy, and choices about what if any data they share when they use our services — we don’t yet know exactly how this all will work. We do know that whatever we ultimately build will protect readers’ privacy rights, upholding the standards set long ago by booksellers and by the libraries whose collections are being opened to the public through this settlement.” Cindy Cohn, legal director at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, said that she decided to go ahead with the public campaign after months of discussions with Google. She said that Google’s response was insufficient and that the company should commit to guarantees in writing before the settlement is reviewed by a court in October. And she dismissed the argument that Google could not make privacy guarantees until the product was built. “Whether to hand data only in response to a warrant or not is not a tech decision,” she said in an interview. “Whether you are holding data for 30 days or longer is not a tech decision.” Other groups, including the American Library Association, have also raised concerns about privacy and have asked the court to exercise vigorous oversight of the settlement.

July 26, 2009

Re: [nexa] Conferenza Centro NEXA 2009: prof. Guedon

by J.C. DE MARTIN

Caro Arturo, Maria Chiara, che conosciamo da anni, la apprezziamo cosi' tanto che e' proprio la sua [1] versione italiana del testo di Guedon che abbiamo consigliato a tutti qui al Politecnico di Torino :-) http://bfp.sp.unipi.it/ebooks/guedon.html ciao, juan carlos [1] sua, ma anche di Brunella Casalini e di Francesca Di Donato. a.dicorinto(a)uniroma1.it wrote: > > Jean Paul Guedon è molto bravo. > Delle sue opere è pubblicata in italiano Per la pubblicità del sapere > nella collana Methexis (Edizioni Plus, Pisa UNiversity Press), grazie > agli sforzi della nostra amica Maria Chiara Pievatolo che immagino > conoscerete per l'eccellente critica alla privatizzazione della > conoscenza che conduce in ambito universitario da molti anni in > solitaria (prima che arrivasse <nexa :-)) >

July 24, 2009

Re: [nexa] Conferenza Centro NEXA 2009: prof. Guedon

by a.dicorinto＠uniroma1.it

Jean Paul Guedon è molto bravo. Delle sue opere è pubblicata in italiano Per la pubblicità del sapere nella collana Methexis (Edizioni Plus, Pisa UNiversity Press), grazie agli sforzi della nostra amica Maria Chiara Pievatolo che immagino conoscerete per l'eccellente critica alla privatizzazione della conoscenza che conduce in ambito universitario da molti anni in solitaria (prima che arrivasse <nexa :-))

July 24, 2009

Conferenza Centro NEXA 2009: prof. Guedon

by J.C. DE MARTIN

Carissimi, come sapete [1] il 28 novembre 2009 avra' luogo la prima Conferenza Annuale del Centro NEXA su Internet & Società. In proposito, sono lieto di anticiparvi che alla conferenza partecipera' anche il prof. Jean-Claude Guedon, (McGill University), autore, tra le altre cose, di: "In Oldenburg's Long Shadow: Librarians, Research Scientists, Publishers, and the Control of Scientific Publishing" http://www.arl.org/resources/pubs/mmproceedings/138guedon.shtml Il prof. Guedon sara' il keynote speaker dell'Open Access Day del Politecnico di Torino il giorno prima, ma ho appena saputo che, come speravo, si fermera' anche per la conferenza del Centro NEXA. Un caro saluto, juan carlos [1] http://server-nexa.polito.it/pipermail/nexa/2009-July/000129.html

July 24, 2009