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Filesharers are all too often characterized as lawless neanderthals who “just want things for free.” Of course, the evidence shows that in fact, digital sales are increasing and many studies have suggested that sharers actually buy more. Unfortunately, two of the most popular conclusions from this completely overlook the nature (and power) of global information exchange. Continue Reading »

This season I’ve started following the television show House again and I’ve taken advantage of the “bye” week to catch up. I doubt any avid followers of the show have as much lag time between air time and watch time as I do, but in the off chance you fail worse than me: Spoilers Ahead. Continue Reading »

All too often my weekends pass by in a blur of responsibilities, visiting families, and going places that, after ensuring I am sufficiently dizzy, cruelly abandons me on Monday morning. I am left drinking coffee and asking myself just where that time went, and how long is it until Friday again? In a refreshing inversion, this wasn’t one of those weekends. Continue Reading »

I first started getting interested in “copyfight” and issues related to filesharing in college, where I was introduced to a local network where resident students across the university campus could connect and share what they loved on- and offline. As the music industry continued to ratchet up their anti-sharing campaigns, I thought that the iTunes Music Store, the EFF’s Voluntary Collective Licensing plan and later, Warner Music’s Choruss were effective ways to “monetize” widespread music trading. While at least the EFF’s idea isn’t horrible, I’ve more recently realized that creating “digital storefronts” that are essentially retooled versions of the record store are terribly lacking strategies for benefiting from 21st century technology. Continue Reading »

Remember how the AMCAS med school application website doesn’t work with any modern browsers? How I can’t upgrade Firefox past 3.0 on my Mac at work because there are no other supported OSX browsers, and at home I can only use IE 8 in compatibility mode? They haven’t fixed it yet. Continue Reading »

Last week, while the Senate Finance Committee was busily voting down health care reforms supported by doctors and more importantly, the American People, Utah Republican Orrin Hatch tossed in a $50 million line item for abstinence-only sex education. Continue Reading »

A number of people I have talked to claim that they do not engage in filesharing because “it’s wrong,” a sentiment that seems deeply rooted in the idea that sharing files involves taking something that doesn’t belong to you; that is, stealing. These people believe they are taking the “moral high ground” by refusing to participate in this “theft” even when millions of others around the world are doing so. For once I’d like to avoid getting into all of the specific reasons of why filesharing isn’t stealing at all and investigate the idea that this position is actually closer to a moral wrong. Continue Reading »

Aside from the occasional mishap, my colleagues and I do rather well managing the everpresent hazards of working in a research laboratory. Every so often, though, something happens that’s particularly interesting. Continue Reading »

The mantra of running a successful business in the 21st century is to “connect with fans and give them a reason to buy.” Successful companies take the time to provide quality service to each of their customers, knowing that building loyalty is more important than short-term bottom lines. Zynga, the startup responsible for the majority of those Facebook games your friends are always inviting you to join, still has a ways to go. Continue Reading »

I saw the movie 9 on Saturday night, after being sufficiently excited for it by the trailer. As the title of this post reveals, I left the movie with a richer understanding of its 56% on RottenTomatoes. The animation and action sequences were great; in fact, the movie was oozing with potential. Unfortunately, thanks to some horrible writing, what was teased as being “a new era in animated storytelling” unfolded more like a rejected screenplay for Madagascar 3. Potential spoilers follow. Continue Reading »