18 2 / 2012
Over consumption
Right now I have 31 tabs open across 3 Safari windows. I have iTunes playing music, and I have Messages open with 5 conversations. I also have Mail running in the background, and Twitter hidden in my dock. On top of all that, I have a few books waiting for my attention. I think I’m stretched too thinly.
Okay, maybe not too thinly. But I’ve reached a point where I have so much content queued up, and more keeps pouring in. Sometimes I see myself closing old tabs with articles that I, at one point, wanted to read. But I know if I don’t close them they’ll sit there for another week before I get a chance to either read them, or close them anyways. I need to consume less, produce more.
I had a related thought today after reading some similar articles. Somehow it surprised me that we’re paying for entertainment. We’re paying to be unproductive. Call it whatever you’d like - some might describe it as social, others might defend it as their way to relax. You know what relaxes me? Listening to some nice, calm music. You know what doesn’t? Sitting through 20 minutes of an action show with 10 minutes of advertisements thrown in my face. I pictured a future where media companies have to beg us to consume their content, and throw it at us for free. I dream of a world where the social influence to watch television is the minority - something a bad friend would suggest. Much like how smoking a cigarette might be considered today.
Of course, we’re far from this future. But are we really? Maybe with the upcoming Apple TV (or at least what’s rumored), I think we’re on our way to a commercial-less viewing experience. For a price, still. And in the case of Apple, a high premium. But at least it’s one step closer, right? I can only hope.
20 1 / 2012
`The next SOPA`
Marco:
The MPAA studios hate us. They hate us with region locks and unskippable screens and encryption and criminalization of fair use. They see us as stupid eyeballs with wallets, and they are entitled to a constant stream of our money. They despise us, and they certainly don’t respect us.
Yet when we watch their movies, we support them.
Even if we don’t watch their movies in a theater or buy their plastic discs of hostility, we’re still supporting them. If we watch their movies on Netflix or other flat-rate streaming or rental services, the service effectively pays them on our behalf next time they negotiate the rights or buy another disc. And if we pirate their movies, we’re contributing to the statistics that help them convince Congress that these destructive laws are necessary.
They use our support to buy these laws.
A long quote, I know. But I could not say it any other way. Follow the link and read the whole article.
01 1 / 2012
Infinite loops: users of technology
Dave Winer:
It isn’t a reflection on the moral quality of the leaders of the companies, to want to control their users. But it’s a short-term proposition at best. Either the companies learn how to take the lead from their users, or they will be sidelined. Unless the laws of technology are repealed, and I don’t think laws like that can be repealed.
30 12 / 2011
`The Internet has really changed everything`
And thats when I realized the internet really has changed everything.
And then I stopped reading the reviews and just ordered the least expensive ladle.
Yes, you read that right. Checkout the whole article. After reading it, something hits you. A hint of nostalgia along with a smorgasbord of other senses.
26 12 / 2011
A glimpse of S.O.P.A.
Another amazing win for GoDaddy:
They had received a complaint about the content of a site, and that they were removing the DNS entries for weebly.com because of it. I asked him if they had contacted us previously — he responded that they hadn’t.
He goes on to say:
The very next day, we proceeded to transfer all of our domain names away from GoDaddy, to a registrar that actually cares about their customers.
None of this is looking too good for GoDaddy, not to mention their bipolar change of heart regarding S.O.P.A. Go team.
30 3 / 2011
Google is building their own fiber network.
Dan Frommer on Google’s upcoming fiber network:
Google benefits when there is fast Internet access, whether they are the provider or not. Although there are some added benefits it may be able to get by being both the application provider and the service provider, building or buying a telecom company is probably not in Google’s short list of expansion ideas.
