Alan Graham is still on a roll about the current music industry and their proposed laws versus consumers and their fair uses, as well as a few other things. Exhibits A and B:

"Digital McCarthyism
Definition: 1. verbal and legislative assaults characterized by sensational tactics and unsubstantiated accusations towards consumers in regards to digital rights management. 2. the presumption that all consumers are thieves and cannot be trusted with technology.....

It occurred to me that in order to keep music industry lawyers at bay, Apple did not include a two-way path for the data. They built the MP3 equivalent of the Roach Motel, files go in, but don't come out. And although they did this, what does get Apple kudo points from me is that the iPod wasn't locked down with some freakish encryption monster that tied the tunes to the device."

"Predictions
Within two years we'll see individual privacy insurance policies. Your identity will be a tangible commodity, just like any property found in your home.

Within five years the problem of identity theft will become such a scourge of humanity that the gov't will allow you to purchase a new identity so that you may start from scratch. There will be software applications sold in every Staples store that help you hot sync the old identity with the new....

Within the next 20 years, we'll see example of the next step in human evolution, the Intro-Extravert. A socially interactive individual who can travel in public, yet is completely removed from the crowd. This person only communicates with others who are connected to their wireless "social chain." This chain of individuals are connected to each other 24/7, regardless of location or time. Space-time becomes irrelevant and the concept of private thought no longer exists. Shared thought and experience are the norm. Copyrights mean nothing." [via The Doc Searls Weblog]

Paging Howard Rheingold on this last one....

Speaking of Mr. Graham, you'll recall that he first proposed sending a book that is glued shut to our legislators to illustrate the point of public domain and fair use. My pointer to his proposal generated some interesting suggestions in my comments section, so feel free to add your own nomination (although the YACCS commenting service does seem to be down temporarily). Although he didn't leave it in the comments, Richard Allan Baruz suggests Uncle Tom's Cabin. Maybe we need an official vote on this topic?

Toshiba Bets on Bluetooth to Boost PDA Storage

"Toshiba has married its card-size hard drive with Bluetooth wireless technology to come up with a portable storage device aimed at PDA users who need large-capacity storage. The Hopbit will be publicly unveiled at the World PC Expo show that runs in Tokyo from next Wednesday, Toshiba says.

The device contains a 5GB version of one of Toshiba's 1.8-inch hard drives and offers about 80 times the memory storage space offered by Toshiba's Genio 550 PDA and 10 times the capacity of the largest memory card on the market. It will hold around 1,000 average-length MP3 audio tracks, 3,000 digital images from a 3-megapixel camera, or 37 hours of MPEG4 video encoded at 320 by 240 pixels and 15 frames per second, says Toshiba.

A Bluetooth transceiver embedded in the Hopbit means it can be accessed from the PDA and also from other devices equipped with Bluetooth, such as desktop PCs. Bluetooth's device-linking function and proprietary software should ensure that data remains accessible only by approved users, says Toshiba....

The device measures 4.3 inches by 2.8 inches by .9 inches and weighs 6.3 ounces. A rechargeable Lithium-Ion battery should allow the Hopbit to run in standby for around 200 hours or in operation for six hours off a single charge." [PC World]

This is great news, although I'm already spoiled and 5GB doesn't sound like enough to me. This one small drive holds more than twice as much as my second PC did!

For once, though, computer laws aren't keeping pace with what I want. They're not increasing as exponentially as I'd like, although the Archos Multimedia Jukebox (which still hasn't arrived :-  ) is getting closer. If only Archos had embedded WiFi or Bluetooth in it. Hmmmmm....

If you're using Frontier + Manila as a learning environment (rather than Blackboard or WebCT), can you please contact me? Thanks!

"Irishwan.org is an attempt by Irish Internet users, gamers, e.t.c. to create community run wireless networks all over the country. Already there are active networks in Antrim, Dublin, Limerick and Wexford, several sharing internet connections, and more to come. Click on Forums to discuss these topics, see if there is interest in your area, and so on. [via Smart Mobs]

David Carter-Tod found a very interesting blog called School Blog or Not. Its author, Bill, is trying to answer the question "should Bryant Elementary implement its new web presence using Web log tools?" by examining school web sites, reviewing them, and exploring the issues that surround such a decision. Reading through Bill's thoughts, it's obvious how blogging can help schools and school librarians.

#1 - "I've created a school site review blog for deconstructing other school web sites. Purely my own opinionated views but I wanted to keep track of them. I think I'm now seeing some patterns and uncovering some best practices. Overall the best sites also are the sites with most prominent news - at least, I don't think I'm imagining this correlation."

#2 - "I admire the accomplishment of the obviously hard-working folks who contribute to the ETHS web site. But I'd love to find a way to get there faster, cheaper, and better. I'm more and more convinced that a Weblog-centric implementation architecture with an RSS news feed information distribution mentality is the way to go."

#3 - "My preliminary take is that, while each parent, student, and teacher definitely will want to access Bryant Web information in different ways this does not need to be implemented by a personalization system withint the Bryant Web site itself, given that "deep" personalization isn't required. The primary need appears to be "I want to see the info that's relevant to me" choices which the news feed features built-in to the Web log model already deal with. For example, I want to stay on top of Mrs. Paulson's Kindergarten class, the Chess Club, as well as school info - but I will be able to simply subscribe to the appropriate Web logs, aggregating them in my news reader of choice, or getting email updates. And, even more simply, bookmarking as favorites the relevant three "nav entry" spots for my needs."

#4 - "I find it interesting that - if one presumes that Web log authoring will say be built-in to Office 2004 and Web log server technology will ship bundled with Windows Server that the question of "should Bryant use Web log tools in creating its web presence?" could almost be a non-sequiter like saying 'should Bryant use word processing tools in creating its printed documents?' "

There are lots of other great links at this site, so this is a great "weblogs in education" blog to track. And if you're at a SLS school library, please give me a call or drop me an email and we can talk about this further. I can even set up a test instance of a blog so that you can get a feel for this yourself.

"Stunning QuickTime VR photos taken with cameras attached to kites." [Boing Boing Blog]

I wanted to make sure my Dad saw this one.

Finding Fido (scroll down on the Wired News page)

"Finns are using global positioning system gadgets to track their hunting dogs.

One Finnish reader had this to say about a Wired News story about a GPS product for tracking kids:

'It was interesting to see how priorities vary in different parts of the world,' the reader wrote. 'Americans are worried about their kids and Finns are more worried about their hunting dogs.'

At least two Finnish companies, Pointer Solutions and Benefon, offer GPS products that run on Europe's wireless global system for mobile communications and can track pointer dogs' whereabouts. " [Wired News]

Of course, the Finns also use their cell phones to start their saunas on their drive home, so somehow I feel we are really behind the curve here.

Making Flash Usable for Users with Disabilities

"Flash used to be inaccessible for users with disabilities, but the 2002 release of Flash MX changed this by including support for accessibility. What was once a barrier has turned into an opportunity for making advanced Internet features available to users with disabilities....

Even our limited early research identified several usability issues with Flash designs when used by users with disabilities. We identified several key issues that designers must address when creating Flash for users with disabilities:

• Flash is unknown....
• Lack of alternative textual descriptions....
• Moving interface elements....
• Related items spaced too far apart....
• Overly complex functionality....

The full 40-page research report with 21 design guidelines for improving the usability of Flash for users with disabilities is available for download." [Alertbox]

For $54. Or, if you want to make copies within your organization, it's $148. Macromedia would have done better to work the partnership with Nielsen so that the results were released for free. This is a basically an ad stating that users with disabilities will have problems with Flash sites. Write a book explaining each guideline and visually illustrating examples, but it's ridiculous that the guidelines themselves are hidden behind a fee. Shame on Nielsen and his company.

I find myself asking the same question over and over in so many different arenas: where is common sense when you need it?

RCAP

"Work will begin shortly on the Remote Clue Application Protocol (RCAP). This protocol will answer the essential question of how do apply clue to a staffer in a remote office." [The Peanut Gallery]

The Book Club that Has Met for 58 Years

"Since Eleanor Roosevelt was First Lady. When few women of means worked outside the home. Before television, before the end of World War II, before the United Nations. When 'A Tree Grows in Brooklyn' and 'A Bell for Adano' were bestsellers.

That's how long the ladies of the First Friday book club have been meeting to formally discuss books -- 58 years.

So long that two founders are astonished to find themselves in their mid-90s. The other three founders have passed away, as have many of the early members. They have been replaced with women whom founder Sylvia Howard jokingly refers to as 'young chicks in their 70s and 80s.'

They can't find paperwork to document when the group formed, but Howard is quite certain it was 1944....

This isn't the kind of book group in which everyone reads the book (or at least is supposed to) and gets together to discuss the author's message and metaphors. Rather, this is a form popular with an older generation, in which one member reads a book, prepares a written report and reads it to the assembled group.

Most of the 18 First Friday members have a specialty. Shirley Zimmerman is an expert on family social policy. Dory Rose knows art. Miriam Karlins delves into mental disabilities. And Sylvia Howard's specialty, explains Dory Rose loudly to attract Howard's attention, is sex books.

That did get her attention. 'That's the only time I get any sex,' she countered dryly....

After her half-hour presentation, Friedman handed out song lyrics. She had typed them on her old Smith Corona electric typewriter, which died mid-task. She had attempted what she calls 'percussion maintenance' -- hitting or kicking a machine on the fritz -- but that wasn't effective this time. No matter. The copies were legible enough. The song lyrics included 'They Can't Take That Away from Me' by George Gershwin and 'The Ladies Who Lunch' by Stephen Sondheim. She asked members to read aloud the songs.

Some couldn't help but sing along. 'Now you understand why we're a reading group, not a singing group,' said Miriam Karlins." [StarTribune.com, via The Obscure Store & Reading Room]

The Curse of Product Convergence: Why It Hurts Marketers and the New Economy

"Why is so much advertising so deadly dull? Perhaps it's the lack of real product innovation. Products that are new and different and serve a real need.

One culprit, in our opinion, is the concept of product convergence. Instead of trying to create exciting new products, companies are spending billions trying to combine existing products....

With the press, the pundits and the high-tech community firmly behind the convergence concept, who could possibly doubt that one day it will all happen?

Any student of history, that's who. 'Those who cannot remember the past,' wrote George Santayana, 'are condemned to repeat it....'

The truth is, products and services don't converge. They diverge.

Radio used to be just radio. Today we have AM radio and FM radio. Also portable radios, car radios, headset radios, clock radios, cable radio and satellite radio. Radio didn't combine with another medium. It diverged.

TV use to be just TV. Today we have broadcast TV, cable TV, satellite TV and pay-per-view TV. TV didn't combine with another medium. It diverged.

The telephone use to be just the telephone. Today we have regular phones, cordless phones, car phones, mobile phones and satellite phones. Also analog and digital phones. The telephone didn't combine with another product. It diverged.

The computer used to be just a computer. Today we have mainframe computers, midrange computers, servers, personal computers, notebook computers and handheld computers. The computer didn't combine with another product. It diverged....

What would help the economy, the high-tech industry and the marketing community the most is a rejection of the convergence concept and a return to divergence thinking. Thinking that built new markets and new brands." [AdAge.com]

Except that, I can get AM and FM radio on the same device in my car, on my portable boombox, or on my home stereo. I guess that's not considered convergence.

And I can get local and cable (or satellite) channels on one television. But I guess that's not considered convergence either.

And haven't freezers and refrigerators converged? Haven't ovens and stoves converged? (Ours at home has.) Haven't weather news outlets converged with television and the internet? Oh, and computers certainly have converged - word processing, internet, music, CD burning, viewing and sending pictures, games, etc. - all in a laptop! (Pssst - I can also access mainframes, laptops, P2P networks, and PDAs from my PC, too.) And if we had cell phone number portability, I think we'd see a lot more convergence there than we're seeing now. Portable stereos have certainly converged well (radio, CD player, tape player). I'm positively giddy with anticipation waiting for my Archos Multimedia Jukebox to arrive.

I'm not saying everything needs to converge, but if there was a decent cell phone/PDA combo out there that was reasonably priced and was converged enough to let me do everything I want to do on it, you know I'd be walking into the store with my credit card already extended in hand. I want my ReplayTV to converge with the web. I want my wireless network to converge with the electrical infrastructure in my house (power over 802.11). I want caller ID to show up on the TV. I want GPS in my telephone handsets because I never know where they are. I want more convergence, not less!

And if you're an advertiser reading this AdAge article, you'd be a fool to think that the problem is convergence in other industries, rather than a lack of creativity in yours.