Internet freedom is a difficult subject area to explain because so much of it happens daily, online, in the context of communications and commerce. It’s not physical, but ethereal, with places carved out of digital rather than physical spaces. As a result, many people don’t consider the Internet a threat to their environment, but it is, depending on where in the world one wants to exercise free speech and thought. Read more at the New York Journal of Books

If you have siblings, you might want to buckle up, because more than likely it’s going to be a bumpy life. If you are an only child, take some solace in learning to paddle your own canoe right from the very start.

Read more at the New York Journal of Books…

Cory Doctorow’s Context showcases his ability to explain how the many facets of technology impact the user and the marketplace. Context gives decision makers a blueprint for well-considered decisions in the costly and ever-changing digital world. A prolific author, journalist, and blogger, Mr. Doctorow has established himself as one of the more important voices of the Internet generation. He does his homework well, which sets him apart from many others who often rush to embrace the “new”—no matter what the downsides may be. Read more at the New York Journal of Books…

Point. Click. Scroll. Scan. Point. Click. Scroll. Scan. Repeat until you walk away or shut off the computer, smart phone, or tablet. This is how we communicate, get information, work, and even play. Most importantly, in the age of the Internet and the Word Wide Web, this is how our rewired brains are becoming comfortable with reading and writing.

The persuasive and comprehensive case for this current state of affairs is made by Nicholas Carr in The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains, the paperback release of this Pulitzer Prize finalist. read more >>

Love ‘em or hate ‘em no one can deny that tablets are coming. Consumerization has brought them to the enterprise, but now it is time for the enterprise to influence tablets to make them more useful. What does it take to make the tablet successful in the enterprise? The tablet isn’t yet ready for prime-time business usage, and it can’t replace the PC as the company workhorse. Maybe it’s not intended to. For the end user, five basic areas should be in place to enable meaningful work.

Check out the rest on Enterprise Efficiency

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And to think, The Godfather is the #1 film of all time. It’s a 19th century romantic story.

Clockwork Organge is so much better

Kindle, Nook, and other devices put the same text on different pages

By Tushar Rae

As e-reading devices gain popu­larity, professors and students are struggling to adapt them to an academic fun­damental: proper citations, which other scholars can use.

The trouble is that in electronic formats, there are no fixed pages. The Kindle, developed by Amazon, does away with page numbers entirely. Along with other e-book readers, the Kindle allows users to change font style and size, so the number of words on a screen can vary. Instead of pages, it uses “location numbers” that relate to a specific part of a book.

http://chronicle.com/article/E-Books-Varied-Formats-Make/126246/#top

By Douglas Coupland

I miss McLuhan, we need him now

Check out the book — it’s a good one.

From the review in the Times by David Carr:

“Coupland explains that it was Mc­Luhan’s ability to anticipate the homogenizing and dehumanizing effect of mass media when the phenomenon was in its infancy that made him remarkable. Both a prisoner and a product of academic life, McLuhan broke out because he recognized the toxic effects of media long before media became the air we all breathe. And he did it before there was any genuine understanding of how human beings process mediated information. As Coupland writes: “One must remember that Marshall arrived at these conclusions not by hanging around, say, NASA or I.B.M., but rather by studying arcane 16th-century Reformation pamphleteers, the writings of James Joyce, and Renaissance perspective drawings. He was a master of pattern recognition, the man who bangs a drum so large that it’s only beaten once every hundred years.”

Visit the posting at http://newyork.craigslist.org/mnh/wri/2121590527.html to contact the person who posted this.

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Seeking linguist to help name internet startup

Date: 2010-12-20, 12:26AM

We’re an Internet startup with such an unorthodox service we’re stumped coming up with a name.  Plus, everything we think of that comes close is already taken (i.e. it’s been registered as a domain name).  So, instead of thinking in English, we’re looking for someone who can think in other languages.  In fact, it can be any language, dead or alive.    We want you to provide us with at least ten company names (in any languages you want, including English), plus three associated words (to be described once you’re hired) for each name.  The name and words must be consistent.  E.g., if we were “The House Company,” associated words might be “door,” “window,” and “chimney” (assuming “door,” “window,” and “chimney” were related to the actual services associated with these words).  Plus, the name and words must be … catchy.    The actual deliverables are:  1.  The names and words.  These need not be exact, but may be varied to accommodate pronunciation, spelling (with un-accented English characters), catchiness, availability (see below), etc.  2.  The formal definitions of the words and names, or those on which the submissions are based.  Links to sources for validation are required.  3.  Their native languages (French, Urdu, Linear B, etc.).  Note that all the names MUST be available as .com domains.  You can check availability at whois.net (e.g., cnn.com is not available, but xyzzs.comis).    The business will be described in detail to you (if hired) under non-disclosure agreement.  This is a one-time, contract project; no benefits.  You can work anywhere you want, anytime you want.  We’d like you to start immediately, but, this being the holidays, we probably won’t be able to get everything lined up until the first week of January.  The project must be completed within five days of starting.  You will be paid $250 on delivery of the deliverables (above), plus another $250 if we use any of the submitted names or words.  The successful applicant will provide verifiable undergraduate or graduate academic training in linguistics or at least two languages other than English.  Please respond with qualifications, availability, and questions.  QISmaS DatIvjaj ‘ej DIS chu’ DatIvjaj!