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Large File Alert | Feb 17, 2006 10:33
It's taken an unseemly time to get together, but we have the video of the interview with the BBC's Ashley Highfield from the Karajoz Great Blend last year. Grab it here as a tasty 73MB, 51-minute MP4 file, or feel free to view a rather blockier Flash video version over at Google Video.
If you're not up for the full glory of video, Matt has kindly made audio-only MP3 versions at 32k (11.5MB) and 96k (34.7MB).
It's the first time I've uploaded to Google Video, and I was quite impressed with the process. The file can be freely shared on a non-commercial basis, so feel free to upload it to other relevant sites, or get it on the torrent. Just flick me an email to let me know. We'll consider releasing a higher-quality version if there's demand.
Of course, we're not the only ones offering video for download. Check out this puppy. Hot on the heels of BSkyB, Sky New Zealand has launched Sky By Broadband, which offers extra via-Internet content to Sky Sports and Movies subscribers. But it's Windows Media 10 DRM = sod off if you use a Mac. Boo.
Kudos to the producers of Maddigan's Quest, the Margaret Mahy adaptation jointly produced by South Pacific Pictures and the BBC which debuted on TV3 (in an excellent 7pm slot - when did you last see TVNZ offer that kind of opportunity to a local family drama?) last Saturday. There's a good official website, and actual episodes archived online in Flash video format. There's also a podcast, but contrary to appearances, it offers accompanying material, but not the episodes themselves. Still, good effort - and I liked the show too.
Meanwhile, Computerworld editor Paul Brislen had a salient comment on yesterday's The End of the Internet post:
Don't forget that this is EXACTLY what Telecom's next generation network is all about ... a walled garden approach to the internet where you will be billed based on what you want to do. Voice? That'll cost Xc/minute. Video? That'll be $Y/movie. Gaming? $XYZ/month.
And if they can do it to the likes of us end users, you can bet they'll be doing it to the content deliverers as well. Trade Me wants to use our network? It can pay!
Smart networks suck. That is all.
Indeed. Yay for stupid networks.
Neil Smart also pointed out The Jeff Pulver Blog, which is hot on this stuff at the moment.
BTW, we had our first really bad My Sky failure last night: it appeared that the EPG was offline ("Listings updating - Please wait …" - for hours) - which meant not only no listings, but no recording, pausing or anything but watching the pretty pictures. But it appears the problem may have been in the box. Switching it off then on didn't help at all, but this morning I got round the back and disconnected the power lead for a few seconds. We had our functionality back. Interesting.
I got a wee advance peek at The Dagg Sea Scrolls, a documentary about the life and work of John Clarke, focusing on the Dagg years, which will screen on Monday March 6 on TV One. It's really very good, not least for the chance to see a lot of archived Fred Dagg Dagg video. I was a huge fan as a kid - I listened to Fred Dagg on the radio, watched him on TV, wore the t-shirt, got one of the books for Christmas, and could recite back a number of his finest works. I still have two copies of Fred Dagg's Greatest Hits - a couple of times as a live DJ I even mashed some of that up with Madonna ("y'ever thought about opera?"), which just goes to show either that I was way ahead of my time on the mash-up tip, or that I never got over my childhood.
Te Ara has a short clip from Country Calendar, and naturally there's a Fred Dagg wiki. Would it be too much to ask for the copyright owners (presumably Clarke, TVNZ and EMI) to celebrate the doco by letting a little vintage Dagg media out into the wild? I, for one, would be grateful.
PS: Thanks for all the entries for the Public Address Virtual Super 14 list. I'm just off to add the latest batch of names and make my picks. Whatever I say the Blues will do, they will doubtless do the opposite …
Everything is at stake | Feb 16, 2006 09:31
If you need an excuse to distrust big telcos, and Keith's last post didn't do it for you, check out The End of the Internet on the website of The Nation. It looks at a lobbying effort by Verizon and others to implement what it describes as "an alarming set of strategies that would transform the free, open and nondiscriminatory Internet of today to a privately run and branded service that would charge a fee for virtually everything we do online."
I'll write a more layperson-friendly account of the issues for The Listener, but basically, it comes down to this. Let's say you have a choice between competing online auction services from Companies A, B and C. Company A is the big, wealthy player, but you prefer Company C - because they have a better interface, they're the little guys, you like their attitude, whatever.
But you wake up one morning and you can barely get a page to load on Company C's site - while Company A's site is like lightning. That's because Company A has paid your ISP (or done some other deal you have no control over), and Company C hasn't.
Or perhaps you suddenly find that Skype won't work properly on your broadband connection - but a competing (but objectively inferior) IP telephony service will, because its owners have - you guessed it - paid the money demanded by your ISP. What the hell happened to your choice? Or to the great meritocracy of the Internet?
Don't believe it couldn't happen here. The irony in New Zealand, of course, is that we've already had a little look at this kind of world, both through regulation (ISPs who re-sell Telecom DSL connections aren't allowed to offer "real time" services such as IP telephony over those connections, and the network is crippled to make sure they can't), and in the case of the suits over-ruling the geeks in the de-peering fiasco.
(Speaking of regulation, with NBR, the Herald, the Dom Post and Fran O'Sullivan suddenly lining up to urge Labour to jolly well do something about Telecom and broadband, the government has a free pass to decree unbundling of Telecom's network. This would not seem to have been lost on Helen Clark. But here's the thing: have all those centre-righters bitching about Labour needing to do something had a fit of amnesia about the farcical back-to-the-90s telecommunications policy that National took into the election last year? I mean, the lurch to practicality is welcome and everything, but really.)
But back to The End of the Internet. In the US, in 2004, the FCC declared four principles of network neutrality (short version: just deliver the bits, dammit). The big telcos need to roll this annoying effort to protect choice, and they're doing it by, among other things, funding The Progress and Freedom Foundation, whose website is full of faux-libertarian bullshit arguing for the right of big companies to wreck the Internet.
Of course, "real" libertarians can be just as silly: the Cato Institute published a peculiarly masochistic paper on the issue back in 2004. Look guys, no one likes regulation and it would be preferable if it wasn't necessary, but the real world doesn't actually work according to your pollyanna visions. And seeing as you don't really get it, could you be a little less patronising? The optimum future network structure - with the intelligence at the edges - is clear to anyone who actually cares, but it is a structure that doesn't really need a big, ticket-clipping, switch-throwing telco in the centre. And that's their problem.
DPF noted this disturbing trend last month on the InternetNZ blog, citing the threat it posed to "an open and uncapturable Internet". The Marginal Revolution post he pointed to leads to a wealth of other material. There's also a useful Washington Post story, and the great Vint Cerf (who now works for Google) said what needed to be said before a US Senate Committee. When Vint says it, you can take it to the bank. He began thus:
The Internet's open, neutral architecture has proven to be an enormous engine for market innovation, economic growth, social discourse, and the free flow of ideas. The remarkable success of the Internet can be traced to a few simple network principles – end-to-end design, layered architecture, and open standards -- which together give consumers choice and control over their online activities. This "neutral" network has supported an explosion of innovation at the edges of the network, and the growth of companies like Google, Yahoo, eBay, Amazon, and many others. Because the network is neutral, the creators of new Internet content and services need not seek permission from carriers or pay special fees to be seen online. As a result, we have seen an array of unpredictable new offerings – from Voice-over-IP to wireless home networks to blogging – that might never have evolved had
central control of the network been required by design.Allowing broadband carriers to control what people see and do online would fundamentally undermine the principles that have made the Internet such a success. (His emphasis.)
And concluded like this:
The Internet has become an immense catalyst for economic growth and prosperity, in this country and around the world. However, our nation is risking the loss of that catalyst, just when the broadband era should be creating the most benefits for the most people. Allowing the interests of network owners to shackle the Internet could severely undercut our nation's ability to compete effectively in the global market. We must do all we can to preserve the fundamental enabling principles of the Internet: user choice, innovation, and global competitiveness.
Google looks forward to working with this Committee to fashion carefully-tailored legislative language that protects the legitimate interests of America's Internet users. And that includes the future interests of the next Google, just waiting to be born in someone's dorm room or garage.
Thank you.
Such a polite man.
And, finally, there's a good explanation of what's at stake here:
As Internet historian Randall Stross explains: "Rather than having network operators select content providers on our behalf - the philosophy of the local cable company - the Internet allows all of us to act as our own network programmers, serving a demographic of just one person."
The brilliance of this end-to-end network is that the intelligence resides at the edge of the network; the wires in between simply pass information between individual users. The network's only job is to move data - not to stifle user innovation by selecting which services to privilege with higher speeds.
As a result of this openness, anyone can try out a new idea without having to cross a cable or telephone company's permission barrier ... Without safeguards against corporate meddling, the Internet's open road to innovation will become a closed hi-way for big media and their self-selected allies.
So that's what's at stake. Everything.
Born to Text | Feb 15, 2006 10:36
Our 11 year-old is back in school, after several months' complete estrangement from the system, and - fingers crossed - it seems to be going pretty well. Part of the arrangement was that he'd get a mobile phone, and after a frustrating hour of trudging around yesterday (is Noel Leeming at the St Lukes Megacentre the most difficult place in the country to actually buy something at?) we found the right phone at the right price.
The thing is that without actually being told how, he's texting like a pro. I got an extensive message from him at school this morning, and replied to tell him that he was born to have a mobile phone. "Hehe," he shot back, "I learn quick."
Clearly. I think a bravura performance in a tricky class spelling test has boosted his self-confidence in the new environment. He explained to me why he did so well: many, many hours playing MMORPGs. "That's where I learned those words," he explained. "Like 'suffice'. Everyone else spelled that with one 'f'."
I'm not surprised. I don't think it would pass the sniff test for home-schooling, but I did think that for most of last year he was getting more educational engagement out of World of Warcraft and its cultural ephemera (hell, he may even know how spell "ephemera") than the system. (NB: This isn't a criticism of any of the people who taught or helped him at primary school - we got huge support from his school - just the reality of conventional classrooms for some kids.)
Meanwhile Autism Diva touches on something we thankfully haven't had a problem with - bullying - in an intriguing post on the social skills of presumed normal people.
No Right Turn has a non-shrill look at the Labour Party's referral to the police on the issue of campaign overspending - and isn't impressed, while noting that in a broader sense, the campaign spending rules are a mess. The rules around the leaders' funds - which in theory can't be used for electioneering - are bent by every party in Parliament, but if Labour was in fact clearly warned as to the status of the pledge card spending before the election, and then ignored the advice, somebody's in big trouble. On the other hand, I find it hard to believe they don't have a slightly better defence than "we did it last time and the rules are unclear". He also looks at private members' bills in the ballot, including a stupid one from New Zealand First, which Labour has agreed to support to committee stage as part of the coalition deal.
When Christiaan Briggs emailed a pointer to a post titled 'They murder while we accidentally kill' with the subject line "Do you think the photo's too much?" I hesitated: I don't much like looking at pictures of dead and dismembered people. But I had a look eventually, to discover that the photo is in fact a portrait of David P. Farrar. The horror …
We've had a number of new entrants for the Public Address Virtual Super 14 leader board since I blogged on Monday - and we have a new leader! John Pagani has overcome the considerable disadvantage of being in France to score 47 points in week one, just edging out James 'Outrageous Fortune' Griffin on 45. The full list of Public Address Playas can be viewed here. (We've had a few new entrants since I saved the page, so they'll be in next week's list.) If you're playing Virtual Super 14 and would like to join our crew, just hit the reply button below and tell me your player name.
Meanwhile, Hadyn Green and his mates have launched a rugby podcast called Dropkicks. Go listen.
And one of our players has a little job working for a telecommunications company in Brisbane. He blogs it. " "FYI," he notes in one post, "don't try to cure a hangover with a laxative. It doesn't 'get it out of your system'." Well, obviously …
Matt Fordham notes Not Your Usual Bollocks, a podcast/blog whose slogan ("… because mainstream radio is shit") may seem oddly familiar. That's because it's run by Marenco Kemp, a London-based New Zealander who learned the way and the truth as a bFM listener. The podcast focuses on unsigned artists and is attracting quite a lot of attention.
Who says journalists are no good for anything? The Herald's Alan Perrott tells me he's now busting some grooves as the DJ at (where else?) the Shakespeare on Friday nights, from 8.30-ish to midnight. It'll be "totally old school of all shades."
Alan also notes that he managed to score some Kanye West tickets, but wonders if it'll work for him, because, well, rap gigs usually don't. I know what he means. I have golden memories of seeing Boogie Down Productions at the Brixton Academy and Public Enemy in a variety of venues (the last being their feel-good gig at the Power Station), but I've also come away underwhelmed from shows by rap acts I've loved on record.
Elsewhere, Akweli Parker asks what the hell's wrong with hip-hop. Damn right. Just quietly, most of the best rap music these days is being made by little girls from London. Specifically, MIA and Lady Sovereign. Lady Sov's riotous single 'Random' is available as a free MP3 download.
On quite another tip, WFMU has found something amazing: a 1966 album of Batman-themed music for children - performed by an uncredited band consisting of most of Sun Ra and the Arkestra. The main Batman theme is brilliant.
And from the same source, the perfect thing to spring on yer mate when he's tripping: Composer Thomas Dimuzio has cut 'Stairway to Heaven' into 666 pieces, reversed the pieces and then reassembled it in forward order to retain the melody. It's very strange.
PS: Thanks to everyone at the Hero Debate on Monday night. You gotta love gay (well, mostly gay) audiences. Full value for every joke.
PPS: Look out tomorrow for some stuff on the campaign to roll over "network neutrality", aka The End of the Internet. You should be afraid.
The Bright Side of Insurgency | Feb 13, 2006 10:49
There was a fabulous effort leading the Herald's letters column last Thursday, under the heading 'End the Bush bashing': "Bush is an under-rated president," it read. "First, he recognised al Qaeda is an enemy without borders, so, at the same time as he ousted Iraq's tyrant dictator, he created a battlefield that flushed out al Qaeda operatives. The war against terror is going on in Iraq, and, while American casualties are a negative, insurgent casualties are a positive."
Gee. Brilliant! But clearly, I missed the memo that promised a bloody, steadily-escalating three-year war against foes we still don't really understand, the disastrous reinvention of Iraq as a jihadist training base and the continuing slaughter of innocents.
Meanwhile, Iraq's utilities have still not recovered to their pre-war level, despite billions of dollars being spent. A startling $US8.8 billion in disbursements from the Coalition Provisional Authority is unaccounted for:
Stuart Bowen, special inspector general for Iraq reconstruction, says $8.8 billion is unaccounted for because oversight on the part of the Coalition Provisional Authority, the entity governing Iraq after the war, "was relatively nonexistent."
The former No. 2 man at the Coalition's transportation ministry, Frank Willis, concurs. "I would describe (the accounting system) as nonexistent." Without a financial infrastructure, checks and money transfers were not possible, so the Coalition kept billions in cash to pay for its multitude of projects. "Fresh, new, crisp, unspent, just-printed $100 bills. It was the Wild West," says Willis.
And at least one "reconstruction" company, Custer Battles, appears to have been pretty much a fraud:
In a memo obtained by 60 Minutes, the airport's director of security wrote to the Coalition: "Custer Battles has shown themselves to be unresponsive, uncooperative, incompetent, deceitful, manipulative and war profiteers. Other than that, they are swell fellows."
Instead of removing Custer Battles, the Coalition praised them and continued to give them contracts. One of those contracts involved procuring trucks for moving cash around the country — some of which were inoperative and had to be delivered via tow truck.
"I don't really know (how they got away with it)," says British Col. Philip Wilkinson, to whom the trucks were delivered. "The assumption that we had was that they had to have high political top cover ..."
Meanwhile, the Washington Post got its hands on a report produced by an 11-member House select committee of Republicans that indicates the Bush administration is capable of being just as incompetent at home as it is on its foreign adventures:
Hurricane Katrina exposed the U.S. government's failure to learn the lessons of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, as leaders from President Bush down disregarded ample warnings of the threat to New Orleans and did not execute emergency plans or share information that would have saved lives, according to a blistering report by House investigators.
Speaking of which, I've been unsuccessfully looking for a torrent for the recent BBC Horizon documentary The Lost City of New Orleans. Anyone got a link? (Yeah, sure I'm going to sit tight and hope that a New Zealand channel picks it up …)
The New York Times goes troppo in yesterday's editorial:
We can't think of a president who has gone to the American people more often than George W. Bush has to ask them to forget about things like democracy, judicial process and the balance of powers — and just trust him. We also can't think of a president who has deserved that trust less.
And just when you thought it was really, really time for mobs in far-off countries to stop taking exagerrated and violent offence at the Danish cartoons, up pops another story to stir the pot: British soldiers staging a pack beating of Iraqi teenagers, complete with an almost pornographic commentary from the cameraman.
Meanwhile, yesterday's dispatch from Today in Iraq seems more endlessly grim than ever - and includes a report from Riverbend on her family home being raided.
A WMV clip purported to be a message from the Iraqi insurgency to Americans has been circulating for the past couple of weeks. I'm still not absolutely convinced it's for real, and it's strikingly naïve in places, but it's quite interesting. There's a download here and via BitTorrent. (Note that it is placed in the new free speech section of TorrentSpy created for the Danish cartoons - and note, ironically, the string of deleted comments accompanying it.)
I'll look at something completely different - and much happier - tomorrow, in the form of lovely and intriguing free music, but for now, congratulations to The Hood, who topped the Public Address Virtual Super 14 leader board on opening weekend, with 40 points, just ahead of The Dropkicks and James 'Noizyboy' Guthrie. I managed a respectable 36 points, despite having been under the mistaken impression that the Blues would have more fortitude than the Hurricanes on Friday night. Professional Hurricanes fan John Campbell currently languishes in the bottom third of the table with 26 points. If you'd like to join in, just click reply below and tell me your name. Points of interest: the list currently includes no Highlanders fans and only one girl (go Holly Walker!).
Also, if you fancy a laugh, you can pay at the door ($30) for tonight's Great Auckland Central Hero Debate, from 6.30pm at the Hopetoun Alpha in Auckland. I think I have gathered at least thirty bucks' worth of rude jokes …
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