Month: April 2009 Page 1 of 3

Copyright Law fun and games

On April 29, 2009

The evolution of copyright and the (often bad) laws that flow out of that evolution, especially when it comes to how it gets interpreted on the Internet, usually doesn’t lend itself to a funny, insightful article.

But that’s exactly what Cory Doctorow (of Boing, Boing bloggin fame and noted science fiction author) accomplishes in this lengthy piece written for Internet Evolution which bills itself as “The macrosite for news, analysis and opinion about the future of the Internet.” I highly recommend the site if you’re interested in this sort of thing.

But back to Cory’s article, titled “Big Entertainment Wants to Party Like It’s 1996.”

Here’s a sample, about some of the stuff that’s been happening here in Canada:

It’s not that these companies can’t get their laws on the agenda, and not that they can’t cook the process to make it run favorably for themselves. For example, when Canada was considering its own version of the WCT, the entertainment giants saw to it that the parliamentarians in charge of the process only talked to multinational entertainment giants, without conducting any kind of embarrassing public consultation. They wouldn’t even talk to the Canadian record companies — just the multinationals. The proposed laws — Bill C60 and Bill C61 — were complicated and took a lot of explaining. But here’s what didn’t take any explaining at all: “Your government is about to introduce sweeping, controversial regulations to the Internet, and they won’t talk with anyone except the jerks who are suing all those music downloaders in the States about it — they won’t even talk to Canadian record companies!” This made the Canadian lawmakers who backed the proposal look like sellouts (which they were); made the laws look like conspiracies (which they were); and made the geeks who cared about this stuff look like heroes (which they were). The complicated story about the law became a simple story about the process.

Here’s the link to the full article.

Voting for change in BC

by dave

On April 28, 2009

In Uncategorized

Voters in BC have a chance to make Canadian electoral history on May 12. (See my earlier post on this topic for more background on this issue.)

They’ll be choosing a new provincial government, of course, but for some people, that’s almost beside the point. What really matters is that they’ll also be voting in a referendum on whether to adopt a new way of electing politicians in the next provincial election.

The process is called a single transferable vote (or STV).

Yesterday, the pro-STV campaigners put out a new TV ad, which they’re hoping will help influence voters. You can see the add here or watch it below and donate to the cause, if you’re interested.

I’ve got a campaign sign up on my lawn. I’ve been a fan of proportional representation for years. It’s an idea whose time has come and I hope this time the referendum passes.

If you’re interested in this issue, there are some websites that are dedicated to explaining the process, such as:
British Columbians for BC-STV
Fair Voting BC
Fair Vote Canada

The Internet is getting crowded

by dave

On April 27, 2009

In Uncategorized

It’s amazing how busy a weekend can get around tax time. Which is a weak way of explaining why the updates have been slow the past few days. I’ve got a couple more deadlines to work through, then we should be back to regular postings.

In the meantime, I’ve been enjoying the amazing speed of my brand new 24″ IMac, which arrived last week. I can’t believe how much fun its been doing regular things, like surfing the Internet or playing with pictures (when I probably should have been working on my taxes!)

It’s another wonderful procrastination tool, although I’m finding that the diversions aren’t taking as long, which leaves me back with the task at hand far quicker than I’m used to.

Unfortunately, according to this article I came across this morning, all this extra speed I’m now blessed with may be a moot point in just a year or two. A study by a US think tank is predicting that the Internet’s explosive growth will overwhelm the infrastructure, forcing people to accept slower speeds and limited capacity. This is not a good news scenario, especially for those of us who have come to depend on the Internet to handle our work – heck our entire life’s – activities.

Here’s an excerpt:

Internet users face regular “brownouts” that will freeze their computers as capacity runs out in cyberspace, according to research to be published later this year.

Experts predict that consumer demand, already growing at 60 per cent a year, will start to exceed supply from as early as next year because of more people working online and the soaring popularity of bandwidth-hungry websites such as YouTube and services such as the BBC’s iPlayer.

It will initially lead to computers being disrupted and going offline for several minutes at a time. From 2012, however, PCs and laptops are likely to operate at a much reduced speed, rendering the internet an “unreliable toy”.

Link to full article.

What Susan Boyle means for all of us

by dave

On April 22, 2009

In Uncategorized

Like most of you, I participated in the global phenomenon that was Susan Boyle’s YouTube version of her now-famous performance. (If, by some chance, you haven’t seen it, you can see the video here.)

Since my first viewing of it (and yes, I teared up – actually, I cried like a baby) I’ve been wondering what the incredible response from around the world to this lady from Scotland really means. So far, I haven’t come up with any blinding insights, but today, I did come across a blog post from Bob Cringlely that does a good job at tackling some of those questions, so I thought I’d pass it along.

Here’s the link.

And if you have any more insights, please add them to the comments.

A silent protest speaks volumes

by dave

On April 22, 2009

In Uncategorized

A silent protest speaks volumes
Originally uploaded by Dave Traynor

My photo for today is not one that I took. Instead, I’m posting one from last weekend’s IV Peoples’ Summit, held in Trinidad & Tobago, at the same time as the political leaders were attending the V Summit of the Americas.

Common Frontiers Canada’s coordinator, Rick Arnold, was in Trinidad and I was helping him post his materials to a special website we created for the Summit on the Common Frontiers website. (I’m the webmaster for the CF site.)

This photo was taken by Rick and shows a silent protest being staged by some of the participants.

If you’d like to learn a bit more about the IV Peoples’ Summit, visit the special CF site. You can also see some more photos from the event at the CF Photo Gallery.

Last one out, turn out the lights

by dave

On April 21, 2009

In Uncategorized

Last one out, turn out the lights
Originally uploaded by Dave Traynor

I spent last Friday touring local Victoria media outlets with the Vancouver Island chapter of the Canadian Public Relations Society (of which I am one of the Board members.)

It was an interesting day, especially given the kinds of pressures that a lot of the media outlets are feeling these days. Ironically, our tour of the local paper, the Victoria Times Colonist, didn’t work out quite as planned. We were supposed to see the press in action (that’s a view of it in the photo) but it wasn’t running in the afternoon. (It’s usually printing flyers or something at that time of the day.) The silence of the place was deafening.

There are a lot of people out there predicting that newspapers like this one will be out of business very soon. I wonder…

I’ll have more pics from our tour later this week.

Time for a major upgrade

by dave

On April 20, 2009

In Uncategorized

For those of you that have been following my 1aDay posts, you’ll notice that there’s been an interruption recently. I’ve been battling some computer problems which have affected my ability to edit photos.

My trusty Apple Powerbook laptop, which is my primary computer, is getting cranky. My photo software resides on this computer but in recent days, the colours on my monitor have gone wonky. I’m still able to work on it, but the colour shifts are all over the place, which makes adjusting photographs a bit of a crapshoot.

So, I’ve decided that it’s time to upgrade the computer I use for my photo and web work. Today, I ordered a new 24″ IMac, just like the one pictured here. It’s a nice machine – very fast, with an outstanding monitor. Needless to say, I’m pretty excited and looking forward to its arrival. That should be sometime this week, assuming that Fed Ex can find its way to the Island.

I’ll be sure to let you know when it arrives.

This is a commercial that will make you smile

by dave

On April 16, 2009

In Uncategorized

You may have already come across this T-Mobile TV Spot, but I hadn’t seen it before. It’s a great piece of theatre – all designed to look spontaneous.

There’s a really interesting backstory to the making of the commercial, which you can find here. I read the backstory first, then tracked down a copy of the video and watched it. I’m not sure which order is the better way to do it. I don’t think it matters.

I loved the way that the dancers involved the bystanders. I’m not sure how I’d react if I was a part of it, but I suspect I’d enjoy it.

Here’s the link to the video clip.

And here’s the link to the story in Boards magazine.

You’ll enjoy this.

UPDATE – If you were having any trouble with the links above, I found a copy of the commercial on YouTube. You can view it below. Click on the HQ button at the bottom for the best quality.

A good day

by dave

On April 15, 2009

In Uncategorized

A good day
Originally uploaded by Dave Traynor

I want to put together a set of photos from our trip to Haida Gwaii last summer. It’s been a long time between being there and starting to work on the photos.

As I was going through some of them (the majority of the photos were taken with my wife’s camera, but I did have mine along with me) I was struck by just how gorgeous the weather was when we were there.

We had arrived expecting the normal weather the Queen Charlottes’ provides in the summer – lots and lots of rain. Instead, we were treated to a week of glorious sunshine, warm weather and little wind. It as a perfect setting for a kayaking adventure.

We had chartered a boat to transport us around, the Anvil Cove. That’s it anchored off in the distance in this photo. It’s a great way to kayak – especially when you’re a relative rookie with issues about sleeping on the ground, etc. The bunks in the Anvil Cove were perfectly good at night, and the cook onboard fed us great meals.

I like this photo because it sums up the best parts of the trip. The weather, of course, and the spectacular, unspoiled wilderness. Most of the time we felt like we were the only people in the whole park.

I recommend a visit to Haida Gwaii, if you haven’t been in your life. It’s worth it.

Fallen forest

by dave

On April 14, 2009

In Uncategorized

Fallen forest
Originally uploaded by Dave Traynor

The forest has many moods. When there has been cutting, the logs lay where they fall. This isn’t logging for profit. The cuts are being done by the local municipality to bring down winter storm damage and remove trees that could cause damage or are a threat to people using the parks.

But in the early morning light, they create a mysterious landscape that I enjoy. This photo is an attempt to recreate that feeling by playing with the colours and texture of the photo. A photograph can be many things. It is a record of what we saw but it can also be a view into what we see. Snapshots capture what we’re looking at and today’s cameras do that beautifully. But when we are in a photo, we experience the sounds, smells, heat, cold, light, dark, taste – information that we retain in our memory, whether conscious or not.

Sometimes a photo can bring those memories back. That’s what I’m experimenting with here. It will take awhile for me to understand how the various options available through this new software work and how they can affect the image you’ll see. But I’ve got lots of time and lots of memories to work with.