The Sound of Brett

idk. i just dk. (thanks @jfawaz for the title)

Brett — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 00:18:00 +0000

I have about 10 open Firefox and Safari windows. They’ve been open for days…weeks even. Interesting articles that have popped up thanks to Google Reader and some widgets on my iGoogle page. Yes, all bow to the great Google. Anywho, I haven’t had time to read them yet. Clearly I thought, at some point, that they are worth my while. Clearly, I still think they are worth my while, because I have not X’d out of them yet. Here are three of them:

IP Strategies for True Innovation

Maybe you will find them interesting, too. And maybe one day, being a 1L will stop.

Copy[written], So Don’t Copy Me

Brett — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 15:40:00 +0000

http://www.whosampled.com/sample/view/5614/Jason%20Derulo-Whatcha%20Say_Imogen%20Heap-Hide%20and%20Seek/

1. Hip Hop sampling Imogen Heap? A recent song, at that. Very interesting. I don’t know how I feel about it. I don’t think I like it. I like both songs, but I feel awkward/guilty liking a song that straight up rips a hook from a relatively recent song. Its almost creative to the point of being not creative. Kind of like Kid Cudi’s Make Her Say (ripping off Lady GaGa’s Poker Face). YouTube them if you want to see…or, a good segue into point two, is

2. You can probably both those songs juxaposed at http://www.whosampled.com/
I just discovered this. Haven’t checked it out much, but looks like quite the interesting project. The tagline is “exploring and discussing the DNA of music.” I like the idea a lot, and I’m sure we can all learn a lot about sampling and its pervasiveness in how we make music today, given how wide and flexible the creative spectrum is now.

Tagged: linkedin

i love technology but…

Brett — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 20:16:00 +0000

I just don’t know what you can do with a 27 inch computer.

I got the email from Apple today about the new iMacs.

iMac

21.5 inches…ok. Big screen. Understandable.

But 27? Isn’t that a little much? I really want a 27 inch touch screen though. That would be cool.

Tagged: linkedin

It’s what you do with it

Brett — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 21:30:00 +0000

I know I said I don’t like Twitter. I guess I owe Twitter some clarification, now that I’ve realized a few things. I still don’t like using Twitter. But I actually think it has been quite the helpful service. See, there is enough content on the Internet. There’s so much content pumping through the veins of our networks trying to sort through it all would surely give anyone (even Google) a heart attack. While I won’t say that we don’t need more content — we do, and the purpose of the internet is just to amass an infinite amount of content — what we also need is a way to do more. Google’s success is based on the static data paradigm that we’ve been so used to: information is sitting, waiting for us to come find it. But now, enter the real-time data paradigm. Instant Facebook updates and Twitter tweets are the best examples of this: We don’t want to just send Google searching through a garbage dump of all the world’s information anymore. We want information to be brought to us, in the furtherance of our impatience due to technology.

This has been a long time coming – think of when we didn’t have email, instant messaging, and text messaging. How many of you would have an aneurysm if you were without your connectedness. I would. As our attachment to technology grows, the technology advances in a sort of natural selection way: the purposes for which we use the tech most and provide the most benefit to us will survive, and the purposes which are less favored don’t advance. We like things instantly. We like things before we ask for them, even. When we send an email, we want a response right after. We’re fast-paced. This isn’t new. But we’re only getting faster. And with that, the static-data paradigm is going to face resistance from the real-time paradigm that is quicker, more direct, and easier to get information out of.

Twitter can be used as real time search, not just a “tell everyone that I’m going to the bathroom” tool. People are pumping their thoughts, information, content through Twitter, and we can see instantly any trend for any subject in any part of the world. Look at the (supercool) Hype Machine for music as an example.

This real-time data search stuff has been looming for awhile now. It’s booming and its going to keep booming. It is interesting though, that Twitter as a real time service is more important than Twitter as a social networking tool.

Tagged: linkedin

BigContent v. Technology

Brett — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 11:18:00 +0000

This is a very helpful guide/brief history of Big Content v. Technology. Very glad Nate Anderson wrote this.

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2009/10/100-years-of-big-content-fearing-technologyin-its-own-words.ars

Tagged: linkedin

I don’t like Twitter

Brett — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 15:21:00 +0000

I don’t like Twitter. And when I have time I’m going to write about why I don’t like Twitter.

The Big Mean IP Machine

Brett — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 17:15:00 +0000

The World Economic Forum released a list of countries ranked by how strong their IP protection is. The U.S. was number 19, with a ranking of 5.4 (where 7 was strongest and 1 was weakest). The rankings were determined by business leaders polled by the WEF in their respective countries. Its no surprise that business leaders/content owners/the like all want stronger IP protection in the US — and abroad — because hey, the Internet/new media (which they all use to their advertising advantages) is (allegedly) destroying the value of content by distributing it all over the universe for free. If the US is ranked weak, well then doesn’t that present the idea of stronger IP here in a much more favorable light? Also interesting to note is that the UK, with its copyright term now at life of the author + 90 years (20 years longer than US copyright term), ranks below the US at #21, with a score of 5.3. So it looks like we’re about equal in the ranking there — but the UK has 20 years of copyright protection on us? It seems to boil down to the general ideas of a society; in other words, the US and the EU have different philosophies on what is strong protection. Look at the #2 country on the list: Sweden – home of the defunct-go-not-defunct Pirate Bay torrent hosting service. They think they have the strongest protection there? Something, somehow, somewhere, is skewing the minds of these American business leaders…

Thanks to Ars, as always. The List is here, on IP Watch

Tagged: linkedin

Joel Tenenbaum…FYL.

Brett — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 18:23:00 +0000

its old news but…

the RIAA wins again…(thanks to ArsTechnica)

The way this and the Jammie Thomas case played out was not what I expected, to say the least. There were very few correct turns made during these two cases, and although the court system worked as it should…the outcome is just not where it it needs to be at this point in time. Still, the bulk of the value of these outcomes are for publicity related RIAA goals: to get people to stop downloading (for free) and start buying music. It’s not as if the RIAA is going to get paid here…

But really…selling music not even the business they want to be in anymore: on iTunes you don’t “buy” music…you license it. You license it because you clearly dont own it and you cannot do what you please with it (within your own, arguable, legal rights). When you have a CD…can you rip it to your computer without breaking the law (or should you be able to?) – yes! You don’t own the content on the CD but you own the media, and you have individual rights to do things with that media, so long as you dont infringe on the owner of the contents’ rights.

The recorded music industry is not doing as bad as they say, and their business model is so convoluted that even when it makes sense it doesnt make sense. CDs are for cars and MP3s are for iPods/personal use, and the industry is not being the friend to the consumer that it needs to be in order to make people WANT to support the industry. I love music, I want to work in entertainment, but how can I, as a consumer, support a business that I know does not favor me as their client?

I will edit this post later. It’s a bit of a mess but I wanted to get it up here.

Boo, Mitch Albom

Brett — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 19:58:00 +0000

Mitch Albom:

I normally love your writing, and I normally agree with it. But, after your June 28 column chastising the American public for honoring Michael Jackson, I am disappointed.

Shame on you for turning a tragic event into a opportunity to insult. This is an offensive and unnecessary attack on Michael Jackson, his fans, and his legacy. Give credit where credit is due — and it is due unquestionably in the case of Jackson. Don’t use the sudden (and very recent) death of a true Icon to criticize the American public. You adequately point out that “Death aggrandizes life”, but you have to separate his personal life from yours. For his incredible talent and successes, Michael Jackson deserves all the praise he is being dealt. For once, America’s got it right, and you’ve got it wrong. We see him for his creative contributions to the music world and the enormous social impact he had. Spare me the crap about being in debt, veiling his children, changing skin color, and the sexual assault court case — his legacy is in his art, and that is really all you need to focus on.

And, please, what is so “un-real” about a man wearing lipstick. I thought you were more cultured, accepting, and understanding than that. That remark is purely offensive and nothing else.

Your column on those stupid, irresponsible “parents” taking their kids to see “The Hangover” is redeeming, and much more worthy of your pointing finger.

It Doesn’t Add Up

Brett — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 21:26:00 +0000

Two big stories on Ars today:

–The Jammie Thomas $2million-the-labels-will-never-see guilty verdict

and

–File-sharring isn’t hurting content creation

So the verdict in the Thomas case is grossly inappropriate and much too exorbitant for the actions the law is designed to dissuade. But, the actions, while hurting the music industry, aren’t hurting the creation of new works. So, while we have what, according to the Court, is copyright infringement, we don’t have said infringement hurting creation, which is what copyright law, codified in Article 1 Section 8 of the Constitution, exists to protect.

Seems a little counterintuative to me…

Tagged: linkedin