"Our freedom to innovate is not necessarily going to be as free as it was in the pre-Internet era," he cautioned. "We are at a pivotal point in the history of technology and a lot of assumptions should be questioned."
Rheingold said the explosive growth of Internet-connected PCs, handhelds and cell phones had dramatically altered the cultural landscape. Thanks to connected computers, passive consumers have been transformed into active users, who create as well as consume content.
But vested interests -- the music and movie industries, telecommunications companies and governments -- are starting to clamp down politically and economically to protect their interests.
"They would very much like to get us back to the days when there were three radio stations and one telephone company," he said. "Were going to have to fight to remain users and not be turned back into consumers."
http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,58601,00.html
Wednesday, April 23, 2003
Popular Posts
-
...These measures, based on the US Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) give far too much power to publishers, at the expense of individu...
-
William Gibson's latest novel, Spook Country is awesome. Not as frantic or kinetic as Pattern Recognition or All Tomorrow's Parti...
-
This is not bad. A mix of 70s rock and 80s punk with some good lyrics. Songs range from boring to excellent. Id give it a B+. http://www.ama...
-
The challenge of having the United States as a neighbour was one of the topics discussed Tuesday during a meeting with Mexican President Vic...
-
Here's my (edited) journal entry for this event dated 12/01/98: Wow. I just sessioned and started reading "The Tao of Physics"...
-
nother bottle of the doublewood -- arguably one of my favorite scotches. Balvenie just doesnt make a bad blend. A fab birthday gift from my ...
-
"The International Space Station will have ultra-sensitive clocks on board, and it is a good place to test the theory," said Dr. A...
-
Finally went out and picked up a Nintendo Wii. My god the thing is fun. Ridiculously, ludicrously fun. Hiyat and I had to tear ourselves...
-
This is from a 1932 episode of The Little Rascals . Man, I've had jobs like that. http://www.boingboing.net/2007/10/23/perpetually...
-
OK, if you have to go, this is the way to do it. Just like Spock in Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan. I'm serious. http://www.eter...