Like his other novels, Doctorow has chosen to release Content both as a print book for sale and as a free-to-download CC BY-NC-SA licensed PDF. In his essay, “Giving it Away” (originally published in Forbes, December 2006 – republished in Content).
Twitter is hyped for some months now but I can’t see the cool thing about it. Maybe it’s because of its proprietary nature (you can’t transfer from twitter to another microblogging platform).
But there is a microblogging alternative which respects their users, their privacy and follows open standards: identi.ca
Identi.ca is an Open Network Service. Our main goal is to provide a fair and transparent service that preserves users’ autonomy. In particular, all the software used for Identi.ca is Free Software, and all the data is available under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license, making it Open Data.
The software also implements the OpenMicroBlogging protocol, meaning that you can have friends on other microblogging services that can receive your notices.
The goal here is autonomy — you deserve the right to manage your own on-line presence. If you don’t like how Identi.ca works, you can take your data and the source code and set up your own server (or move your account to another one).
If a microblogging service makes sense for you and adds value to your life is another question. But if you want to try it out, use Identi.ca so you are not getting stucked with a proprietary service.
Insecurity is “an Australian-made independently-funded feature film” with a ‘hacker’ plot line at its core. As “everyone involved in [Insecurity‘s] creation are, to one degree or another, involved in the IT industry or some other nerd subculture”, the film aims to be as technically accurate as possible. Released under a CC BY-NC-ND licence, you can stream the film live or download it for free here.
Two Bits: The Cultural Significance of Free Software is a new book by Christopher Kelty that explores the “history and cultural significance of Free Software”, narrating a time line about “the people and practices that have transformed not only software, but also music, film, science, and education” in contemporary society. Released in print by Duke University Press, Two Bits is also licensed under a CC BY-NC-SA license, making the text remixable, reusable, and in general more fluid.
Big Buck Bunny is a short animated film by the Blender Institute, part of the Blender Foundation. [1][2] Like the foundation’s previous film Elephants Dream, the film is made using open source software. Work began in October, 2007 and the film is scheduled to be released in April, 2008.[3] (wikipedia)
Online video is growing rapidly, but is also facing a crisis:
A few very large sites have dominant market share and cases of corporate censorship are happening every single day. Creators are stuck. Miro is leading the fight to ensure that video online can be open to every creator, anywhere in the world. This is truly a battle for the future of free speech and media access.
Our team cares deeply about our mission and we need to ensure that our work can continue. Two large donors have promised to commit funding if we can also build strong support from our users.
There is no more important time than right now for you to donate–we’re taking steps towards self-sustainability–in the meantime we urgently need your support.
I think its very important to have a open internet television infrastructure to allow free speech for individuals and companies alongside. NOW is the chance to establish
a form of media which is not top down driven and company centered like the established one but democratic and open for everybody!
All eBooks will be released under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial license. You’re free to reformat them into .CBR, Word docs, XML, whatever you like. You’re also free to archive and share them with others for free. They’re even small enough to email. Just don’t use them commercially.
As I’m exploring the countless video channels in miro, I have found a very interesting and fascinating one. Drawn By Pain
Taking online production to a new level, “Drawn by Pain” tells the story of a young woman pushed to the edge of insanity and the animated demons that are unleashed by her rage. A half-anime/half live-action series told in 12 parts, “Drawn by Pain” is created by a small passionate team of artists, all striving to bring a new and “never been done before” film series to the web.
The background music is thrilling and shivers will run down your spine. Which is quite astonishing in the web, which is populated by comedy.
