Archives de l’auteur : Seek

That’s one great spoof

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Compare the Dow Chemical website with the Dow Ethics website

I asked myself if it was a spoof for a few seconds, until I looked up dowethics.com:
domain: DOWETHICS.COM
owner-address: Marylin Mircus
owner-address: 56, flowers road
owner-address: 321
owner-address: Bhopal
owner-address: India

And registered with gandi.net of course. Very well written though. Too well actually. I wonder how long it will last.

[via Cla]

Shifting job market

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The one thing that always bothered me about the law (as in the job) is that it’s not easily exportable.

I guess the same is true for all professionals but I’ve always felt law was extremely local in a way. Fizzz points me out this article about the new global job shift which makes me wonder if it’s not a good thing after all.

Meanwhile, the timing in interesting: I’m wondering where to apply for jobs. Apart from the « apply everywhere and see what happens », I’m split between the public sector / law firm / private corp debate and the big place / small place dilemma and the Montreal / wherever choice. Yeah, I’m optimistic: I assume I’ll be able to choose. Time will tell. Having all options theoretically open makes for some interesting reflexions on one’s goals in life though. I hate it.

[yeah, I think it’s on /. too]

Graphical Logs

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« This is pretty cool–I’m surprised I didn’t see it earlier. James Spahr used OmniGraffle and AppleScript to generate a visual mapping/representation of his website’s traffic. The result is quite interesting… »[ Mr. Barrett]

I also like the system he apparently has to log all the websites he reads. I’d love a way to do this on a semi permanent basis, with an easy way to opt out of logging certain sites after you realize they’re not interesting after all. I have my browser history, but it’s really not too useful just sitting there as it is. Logging outgoing links from my news aggregator (or flagging stories for the feeds that have the entire content included) would be a good start though.

WSIS and open source

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WSIS delegates fail to agree on a resolution about « supporting » open source software. The draft was changed to use « encourage » after objections by U.S.

What was the US doing at this conference? The little story has it that the summit, originally an Asian Regional Conference mutated into an Asia Pacific meeting because ESCAP insisted on participating. Here is the list of member states to the UNESCAP.

Update (03/02/03): The Register has an article on this story, which raises the same concerns.

Google’s speech

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Sniter points out that the recent Search King decision involving Google’s Page Rank technology could be viewed as the acknowledgement by the court that Google’s discretion in the construction of the Page Rank represents the expressive nature of such code.

Accordingly, the Court concludes that Google’s PageRanks are entitled to First Amendment protection.

Code is speech. It’s like a mantra. Chant early, chant often

LawMeme’s initial coverage and reaction to the decision.

A radical rethink

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The Economist on copyrights

Digital technologies are not only making it easier to copy all sorts of works, but also sharply reducing the costs of creating or distributing them, and so also reducing the required incentives. The flood of free content on the internet has shown that most creators do not need incentives that stretch across generations. To reward those who can attract a paying audience, and the firms that support them, much shorter copyrights would be enough. The 14-year term of the original 18th-century British and American copyright laws, renewable once, might be a good place to start.

Hey, why settle for less?

[Via Lessig]

Update: actually, the whole serie titled « Survey: the internet society » is quite interesting. It starts with « Digital Dilemmas« .

Good art is good PR: Artists..

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An interesting take on the evolution of culture and copyright

Good art is good PR: Artists used to be sponsored by the very rich, partly so that the patrons might be remembered by their association with a work of art valuable (and preserved) for its own sake. Today’s artists are sponsored by middlemen (broadcasters, content providers, music publishers, etc.) to create content for its own sake, which is then bundled with advertisements and sold or otherwise distributed to the public – but in a copyright-controlled fashion.

Coming soon to our universe: advertisers who sponsor art where « product placement » is an integral feature of the art itself. Check out www.bmwfilms.com as an example of cool content that wants to be free – and freely distributed. Will this kind of art outlast the product?

[via Bill Fitler’s HeisenBlog]