Grokster Decision

June 28, 2005 1 Comment

By now, I'm sure you've heard about the Grokster decision (PDF). While I was extremely disappointed at first, upon further inspection it may not be quite as bad as some of the original stories made it out to be. While it's still disappointing, I guess it could have been worse. Basically, “one who distributes a device with the object of promoting its use to infringe copyright, as shown by clear expression or other affirmative steps taken to foster infringement, is liable for the resulting acts of infringement by third parties.”
The problem is going to be that litigious bastards will do everything in their power to say that some very legitimate apps, such as bittorrent, are being promoted this way. I wonder if Bram Cohen is worried? I haven't seen him publicly comment. I can say that we use bittorrent for 100% legitimate purposes – namely distributing content for LQ Radio. I can also say that it saves us a considerable amount of bandwidth. Thanks Bram! It was great to read that Podcasts were actually used as an example of legitimate non-infringing use for P2P apps.
Another problem I see here is that companies always err on the side of caution when it comes to potential litigation. That means that this case will almost definitely have a negative impact on innovation, which is a real shame. Here's was Scoble and Doc had to say on the issue. As Mark Cuban points out, there was no response from Wall Street on this news, which would seem to indicate that they don't think illegal P2P downloads have any impact on the bottom line of companies like Warner Media Group. I couldn't agree more (and the numbers surely seem to support this). I think Mark sums it up extremely well when he says “The MGM Grokster decision won't help the content business make more money. It wont help artists make more money. This deal gave something to both sides, but it gave the most to lawyers and lobbyists.“. Like the lawyers and lobbyists need more…
–jeremy
Update (06/29/05): Ouch – Maybe Bram does have something to worry about. Goes to show that you never know what comment will come back to bite you four years later (even if your opinion since then has changed).

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Gnomedex Linux Discussion

June 26, 2005 1 Comment

It's no secret that I like Firefox (and Mozilla, actually). Every time I talk to Asa, I like it a little more. He gets Open Source and you can tell he really cares about users. He also knows how to market Open Source to a “mainstream” audience. During our chat at the subject of Linux came up and it was with great interest that I listened to his complaints. He's clearly not someone that doesn't like or doesn't get OSS, so I listened closely to his criticisms and took them as constructive. I have to admit that most of the conferences I attend are Linux or Open Source related, so it was good for me to get a different perspective on a lot of things in Seattle. You can read some of Asa's issues here, but he had some other issues that I think are more important. I think sometimes as a community we can end up being a little defensive (mainly because we are often put on the defense by continual FUD) and IMHO it's extremely important to listen when we are getting valid criticisms by people who want to see us succeed. I'll likely be picking Asa's brain for a little while to get a clear understanding and then try to pass a summary on to some people that can actually make a difference. …and that's one of the great things about Linux – it's continually improving and anyone can make a difference. We've come a long long way, but it's important for us to realize that we still have a long way to go. I'm just glad to be able to be part of the fantastic ride.
–jeremy

Filed under Linux, Main Page

Gnomedex – Microsoft RSS

June 24, 2005 Leave a comment

The keystone by Dean Hachamovitch of Microsoft is just wrapping up. Once again it's clear that there really are some people at Microsoft that “get it”. We got the first public preview of IE7 here at Gnomedex and RSS integration looks to be very tightly integrated into Longhorn. Some great ideas on the horizon here and I look forward to some of them making there way into my Linux desktop. Dean seemed to be a bit defensive in his talk though. Someone asked why Microsoft was once again doing their own thing and not getting input from the community and working with the community. The question wasn't answered at all. Later on, someone commented that this really seems like good old “embrace and extend” lite. That also wasn't really addressed fully. It's clear that Microsoft is changing (for the better) and kudos to them for releasing this under CC by-sa, but it seems that the change is still happening on an individual level and not yet a company level. More information about what was talked about here should be available here at about noon Gnomedex time.

–jeremy
Update: Here's the noon update.

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Gnomedex Google Party

June 24, 2005 Leave a comment

Sitting in the Cove (as of now, there are eight of us) and the conference just started. The Google sponsored party last night was great. Met a bunch of people and the discussion was fantastic (and the Heineken was on Google). I can say that Web 2.0 is here and a bunch of companies have some *awesome* things on the way. Much of the discussion was “off the record”, and I am going to respect that, but very cool things are happening behind the scenes. Web applications are maturing and a couple of things I heard were really exciting. I'll update this blog as the day progresses.

–jeremy

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Arrived in Seattle

June 23, 2005 Leave a comment

I have arrived in Seattle and am already checked into my hotel. The connection here is nice and fast. I can see the conference center where Gnomedex is being held from my room, which is a bonus. Looking forward to the show.
–jeremy

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Steve Jobs Stanford Commencement

June 21, 2005 Leave a comment

Just got pointed to the full text of the Commencement that Steve Jobs gave at Stanford. I have no idea how /. spun this in a negative way. Three Stories…that's it. Read it twice.
–jeremy

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An interview with Linus Torvalds

June 21, 2005 Leave a comment

Good Morning Silicon Valley has an interesting interview with Linus. The interview is mostly about what Linus thinks of Microsoft and the future of proprietary software models. Linus brings up some good points. Unlike what some people think, Microsoft is not going anywhere any time soon. Nor will they be irrelevant any time soon. They have too much market share, are willing to do almost anything to keep that market share and just as importantly really understand their markets (and how to exploit their dominance in those markets). Linus also says that he doesn't see proprietary vendors going away, just moving up the stack as the lower part commoditizes. Here's a good quote from the article:
I do not believe that anything can “replace” Microsoft in the market that MS is right now. Instead, what I think happens is that markets mature, and as they mature and become commoditized, the kind of dominant player like MS just doesn't happen any more. You don't have another dominant player coming in and taking its place — to find a new dominant player you actually have to start looking at a totally different market altogether.
The interview is definitely worth a read.
–jeremy

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The Rise of Open Source Java

June 20, 2005 Leave a comment

Tim has found something interesting. Even though Java isn't Open Source, books on Open Source Java Projects such as Spring, Struts, Lucene, and AspectJ have caused a reversal in the downward trend of Java book sales. Once again Open Source is causing a market to shift. I also think the consistent dive that VB books have taken over the last year when mentioned with the fact that there is not a corollary increase in the .NET books, is significant. I look forward to seeing Tim present his full report at OSCon.
–jeremy

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LinuxQuestions.org Turns Five

June 18, 2005 2 Comments

Two days ago, LinuxQuestions.org officially turned five. It still amazes me how far we have come in five years. For those of you how have spoken to me about LQ, you know that it's far exceeded my original expectations. We currently have almost 180,000 registered members and over 1,700,000 posts. We have participation from 8 of the top 10 most popular distributions. We're trying to build the largest general Linux knowledgebase on the web (all creative commons license for now, also looking into GFDL). LQ ISO has facilitated almost a million downloads. Our Linux Hardware Compatibility List has over 2,500 entries. We even have our own Linux Radio Show and Podcast. The list goes on and on. Additionally, we have a ton in store for the near future – including both adding enhanced features at existing sites and adding new sites. But most importantly despite our huge size we have managed to maintain a friendly open atmosphere that is conducive to both newbies and experts alike. I'd like to thank the terrific mod team and each and every member for that. They are what make LQ.
–jeremy

Filed under Linux, Main Page, podcast

Cove Gnomedexer

June 18, 2005 Leave a comment

As I mentioned earlier, I'll be attending the upcoming Gnomedex. The main room sold out and since I was a procrastinator, I'll be in the cove. What I'm wondering is, who else is in the cove? Only 30 tickets were made available and some still are available – I hope it's not just me in there ;) This will be my first Gnomedex and it looks like Chris has put together a really great package. I'm looking forward to attending. If you can make it, you should be there. If you haven't registered yet, you can even join me in the cove.
–jeremy

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