Technology and Regulation

November 23, 2005

“If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. If it stops moving, subsidise it.”

Alan Anderson of the Sydney Morning Herald notes that Ronald Reagan’s joke about the Government’s view of the economy has become United Nations policy toward the internet. The Belmont Club blog notes that placing control of the Web into the hands of UN regulators will have far reaching negative consequences: One of the reasons the Internet has been so successful is that it has so far escaped the restraints of Filipino judges, Tunisian government officials and United Nations bureaucrats. Continue Reading...

November 23, 2005

Digital rights fiasco

The newest phase in the fight for digital/intellectual property rights involves the recent Digital Rights Management software from Sony. Apparently, Sony’s “protected” audio CDs have been installing a “rootkit” onto your computer, and opening up your computer to yet more malicious software on the Internet (as if it isn’t bad enough already without a Sony rootkit). Continue Reading...

November 22, 2005

‘Your mind makes it real’

Check out this Marketplace story about real money being spent in the virtual world. The commodities of online gaming have real-world value to people, to the extent that a virtual island can cost upwards of $26,000 in the world of Project Entropia. Continue Reading...

November 18, 2005

Faith in science

To expand the “scientist” as “priest” metaphor a bit, you may find it interesting to read what Herman Bavinck has to say on the fundamental place of “faith” with respect to all kinds of knowledge, including not only religious but also scientific: Believing in general is a very common way in which people gain knowledge and certainty. Continue Reading...

November 17, 2005

Lime green trickle down machine

At the the UN net summit in Tunis, MIT’s Nicholas Negroponte has showcased his hundred dollar computer. The small, durable, lime colored, rubber-encased laptop is powered by a hand crank, and is designed to make technology more accessible to poor children in countries around the world. Continue Reading...

November 17, 2005

The priestly voice of science

Thomas Lessl, Associate Professor in the Department of Speech Communication at the University of Georgia, talks about the “priestly voice” of science. He argues that “scientific culture has responded to the pressures of patronage by trying to construct a priestly ethos — by suggesting that it is the singular mediator of knowledge, or at least of whatever knowledge has real value, and should therefore enjoy a commensurate authority. Continue Reading...

November 16, 2005

Yes, ICANN (no, you can’t)

The AP reports that a deal has been struck to continue primary management of the Internet by the United States, following weeks and months of controversy. The EU had been pushing for control of the web to be turned over to a supra-national body, such as the UN. Continue Reading...

October 18, 2005

The Post-Edisonian double eclipse

We’ve discussed textual interpretation a bit on this blog here before. Paul Ricœur, who is famous for his “attempt to combine phenomenological description with hermeneutic interpretation,” passed away earlier this year. Continue Reading...

September 22, 2005

1984 becomes closer to reality

George Orwell wrote 1984 in 1949, long before the PC came along. Tiny cameras were not available and Big Brother typically had to be physically watching you (either in person or from a stationary camera) to catch you at a crime (the book was political of course, and not technological). Continue Reading...

August 11, 2005

Vidiocy

Reading this story about a man who played video games to death, I find it likely that an already existing addiction will be newly documented: Vidiocy. My mom used to call me a “little vidiot” when I was a kid because I liked watching TV so much, but I submit this as a possible term for video game “addictions.” Continue Reading...