Sounds terrific. I’d love to see this passed here in Boston but for cyclists as well. Boston cyclists are ass-nozzles and break every vehicle law there is.
via clint:
Passed yesterday:
Amends the Illinois Vehicle Code. Provides that a person commits crowding or threatening a bicyclist when a person driving a motor vehicle recklessly drives the motor vehicle unnecessarily close to, toward, or near a bicyclist. Provides that every person convicted of crowding or threatening a bicyclist shall be guilty of a Class A misdemeanor if the violation does not result in great bodily harm or permanent disability or disfigurement to another. Provides that if a crowding or threatening a bicyclist violation results in great bodily harm or permanent disability or disfigurement to another, the person shall be guilty of a Class 4 felony.Provides that a person commits Projecting or throwing missiles at bicyclists, a Class A misdemeanor, when a person projects or throws any missile (defined as any object or substance) at or against a bicyclist. Effective immediately.Three cheers for cycling safety.
marco:
What if copyright infringement were made completely impossible? What if we had perfect enforcement at the technical level?1
I’ve spent the past several years doing digital art, doing what I could but mostly pining that I had more space, more tools, more time, and more talent. The more of those things I had, the better that my digital artwork could be. Then I realized I was preoccupied with a bunch of bullshit. Instead of trying to get a realistic watercolor brush going in Photoshop why not just paint with watercolors on paper? Painting with real watercolors on real paper leaves no choice but to make it look like a watercolor painting. The best way to achieve something is the most direct way. It may be more difficult. It may take more time. But the results are real.
The direct way to deter copyright infringement is to not use restrictively copyrighted materials in the first place. A technical means of preventing use of copyrighted works has always been overcome by those who wanted to find ways to get around it. It doesn’t change anything. It’s a digital change pretending it’s a real change.
This morning I was thinking of the merits of paper versus digital note taking. It’s essentially the same sort of thing. I’m down to two choices: Does writing notes directly on paper creates stronger memory associations in the brain than typing notes and saving files? Do digital (searchable) archives of my notes bolster my brain’s memory? Which is more direct?
A thought occurred to me while weighing the merits of both — converting from one system to another is no simple task. A government or large company would take several years to make a major change. The music industry itself is in that same position. There is going to be a transitional period where needs and the rules that go along with them gradually change. Individuals (the musician, distibutor, promoter, and consumer) should find the most direct way, the best way, for what they want and go with it.
1. As always Marco’s post is worth reading to get an idea of his thoughts on it. I chopped it out for clarity but Marco acknowledges that digitally enforcing copyright really isn’t possible but that this is a “thought experiment.”
Capitol Records can suck a fuck. The “Vimeo Lip Dubs” – which there is a sample of on the link – have been some of the most refreshing and awesome displays of people who love music being creative and showing that love to others.
It feels more like Capitol decided that they could not make any money from it and so decided the best way would be to sue for it.
Who benefits?
I can’t really sum it up better than Mr. Albatross but it’s great that people are ganging up on that stupid EDGE guy because I’ve been trying to buy that damn game for the better part of a year and every time… OH! IT’S DOWN AGAIN.
Things are getting dicey in the indie games community this week. Spearheaded by fans and developers from TIGsource, the close-knit community has undertaken a parodic protest in opposition to Edge Games president Tim Langdell’s continued attempts to have games containing the word ‘edge’ taken down from Apple’s iPhone App Store. But instead of the usual online petitions and angry blog posts, the indie devs have gone several steps further: They’re calling Langdell out by changing the titles of their own games to include the word ‘edge,’ and in the process, instigating a large-scale public mockery of the CEO’s repeated transgressions against game developers.
Within just a few short days, the sardonic protest has achieved meme status, attracting hordes of notable sympathizers to its cause. As of yesterday, Canabalt and Eliss, two of the most popular games on the iPhone App Store were renamed ‘Canabedge’ and ‘Edgeliss’ by their respective developers. Polytron’s 2D/3D platformer Fez is now called ‘Fedge.‘ Even Capybara’s adorable and addictive puzzle game Critter Crunch is being re-branded as ‘Critter Credge.’
Needless to say, the whole debacle is generating an amazing sense of solidarity amongst members of the indie dev community. If you’re feeling lost on this whole issue, TIGSource has a pretty extensive article that explains the long history of Langdell’s incessant trademark bullying. We can only hope that after all of this public humiliation, Langdell will finally come to his senses and leave his parasitic ways behind.
(via tiff)
