Google continues its march forward towards total global information domination by introducing two intriguing new dimensions to its offerings, to wit Google Print and Google SMS (both in beta). The former’s mission statement reads as follows: “Google’s …

http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/12713

I’m up to 112 audio books… and wanted a cool way to keep it organized the program is free and awesome. All you need to do is go to the amazon.com find the ISBN number (it’s in the product description) copy and paste and bam!!! Try it… a simple but amazing program.

Can you imagine an institution of higher education without an extensive, _free_ library? Start doing so.

I don’t have all the solutions to this problem, but I know the answer is to not totally capitulate in fear of corporate interests. Let’s face it – there has got to be a reality check here between a “crime” of sharing audible.com book content and, say, shooting someone in the face. Remember those “skateboarding is not a crime” stickers from the 80s? Perhaps we need an “information sharing is not a crime” campaign for the aughties.

Finally, you can actively subvert this “everything is a piece of [someone's] property” paradigm by doing things like releasing your original works for free to the world community at large. Use Creative Commons to put the restrictions or parameters for use on your material that you are comfortable with. But, for heaven’s sake, don’t believe the hype that this model we’re now being smashed under is the only game in town. It’s not. It’s nonsense.

I recall reading Snow Crash for the first time and thinking how other-worldly the economy of information that existed in Hiro’s reality seemed to be to me. Not anymore. It was a portent, and we’re living that reality now.

As for the iPod, don’t hate too much on it. It may appear to be somewhat “closed” as you see it, out of the box, but recognize that Apple had to make some concessions to get the thing from concept to market. After all, it’s just really a glorified hard drive. The ways to use it are as endless as your imagination.

Can you imagine an institution of higher education without an extensive, _free_ library? Start doing so.

I don’t have all the solutions to this problem, but I know the answer is to not totally capitulate in fear of corporate interests. Let’s face it – there has got to be a reality check here between a “crime” of sharing audible.com book content and, say, shooting someone in the face. Remember those “skateboarding is not a crime” stickers from the 80s? Perhaps we need an “information sharing is not a crime” campaign for the aughties.

Finally, you can actively subvert this “everything is a piece of [someone's] property” paradigm by doing things like releasing your original works for free to the world community at large. Use Creative Commons to put the restrictions or parameters for use on your material that you are comfortable with. But, for heaven’s sake, don’t believe the hype that this model we’re now being smashed under is the only game in town. It’s not. It’s nonsense.

I recall reading Snow Crash for the first time and thinking how other-worldly the economy of information that existed in Hiro’s reality seemed to be to me. Not anymore. It was a portent, and we’re living that reality now.

As for the iPod, don’t hate too much on it. It may appear to be somewhat “closed” as you see it, out of the box, but recognize that Apple had to make some concessions to get the thing from concept to market. After all, it’s just really a glorified hard drive. The ways to use it are as endless as your imagination.

1. want to make sure they can get every penny for everything (sharing is aweful, the publishers association actually considers libraries the worst offenders in terms of profit loss… just think about it, libraries let people read books WITHOUT buying them! the HORROR!)

2. built by people who are either antisocial to begin with or largely choose to ignore that people use technology not for the technology but for the social interactions that technology has the potential to create/augment/change/motivate…

I consciously choose to not use the ipod for its intense anti-sharing qualities. I will never subscribe to audible or anything else that tries to force me not to share. I’ve bought more CD’s because someone else burned me a copy of something and I liked it and bought more and bought it for others, than I have just because I found out about it through advertisement. I’ve bought books because I borrowed one and loved and wanted to give it to someone else, but the social rules of borrowing meant that it would’t be proper to lend a lent book. There are social structures and norms that already exist in cultures that use sharing as a form of propagation both of knowledge and of consumption. Companies that produce forms of entertainment like books, music, etc… don’t seem to realize that… they have put so much effort into trying to stop people from the fundamental social act of sharing and they wonder why it doesn’t work…

A paper book is something that you can’t read when you lend it to someone, but an audio book would be. It’s essentially the same issue with most DRM/digital right issues.

Honestly, I can’t think of a better resource for your query than Lessig’s “Free Culture”, which you can download, listen, lend, rip, mix and burn.