February 23, 2009

Automatic Content/ID/System

Category: Events,Fair Use,Politics — Biella @ 9:11 pm

Fred von Lohmman gave a lively talk tonight about public interest law (and I hope he inspired at least some NYUlawites to follow in that path) with a focus on Youtube’s content ID system now being used by Warner Music to automatically delete/censor videos, such as this one from Youtube. Go Google. Go Youtube. Go Warner Music.

February 22, 2009

hell_yes: debconf nyc 2010

Category: Uncategorized — Biella @ 3:48 pm


hell_yes, originally uploaded by the biella.

w00t. NYC has been chosen. I was equally excited about Boston so I did not really care about which city won out. But since it is in NYC, I will definitely be helping out and one of the first things I want to do is organize a 1/2 day trip to this sauna/spa mega-facility in Queens…

No final decision but I am excited!

Category: Debian — Biella @ 3:19 pm

I can’t believe Debconf will be on American soil next summer. This is exciting, whichever city (Boston/NY) wins!

February 21, 2009

Visualizing Copyright

Category: Academic,IP Law,Politics — Biella @ 5:59 am

Copyright Digital Slider and the Spinner

February 19, 2009

Debian Geek NYC

Category: Debian — Biella @ 7:58 pm

A Debian geek’s view of NYC

FVL at NYU

Category: Academic,IP Law,New York City,Politics — Biella @ 7:57 pm

As an die hard anthropologist, I never thought I would cavort so much with legal types. But given the nature of my project, it is pretty much impossible to avoid. Thankfully, the legal crowd dealing with digital issues, is pretty entertaining, interesting, and fun to listen to. And probably one of my favorite legal thinkers is coming to NYU to give a talk this coming Monday. If you are into this sort of thing and have not heard FVL speak, do make the time to join.

February 17, 2009

Medpedia

Category: Health,Politics — Biella @ 8:26 pm

Given the fact that patients have been shamelessly and copiously sharing information on the web since, well, it first sprung up, it is nice to see that the medical establishment has gotten on board with the idea of collaboration. Medpedia is firmly an expert project (though it looks like anyone can provide suggestions) and I am not bothered by this limitation. What I do hope to see is a recognition of the controversies that abound in the realm of medicine (Lyme disease, fibromylagia, and a real hot rod issue = autism). There is much about diagnosis and therapy in medicine that exists in the “I am not sure (how to diagnose/treat” category and I wonder if this will be reflected in this new project. I certainly hope so.

February 15, 2009

Ironic Technics

Category: Academic,Books/Articles — Biella @ 7:14 pm

The title of this book makes me realize how much a good and catchy title matters for a book. This one really caught my attention as I am fond of both irony and technics. Never thought of putting them together but someone surely has and it sounds like he has written a pretty nifty philosophical book on technology.

February 14, 2009

Overeducation for the ladies

Category: Gender,Humor — Biella @ 12:09 pm

Ok, so I know many have come across this as it was featured on BB but I would like to archive it here so I can find it later. It was just so well done

Joe Reagle on Wikipedia

Category: Academic — Biella @ 11:36 am

In this age of bits and bytes, there are many virtual organizations and networks which produce all sorts of stuff we use on a daily basis. My two favorite institutions are Debian (not a surprise) and Wikipedia, not just because they oh-so-useful to me and many others, which they are, but because the social organizations behind these two entities are so (at times maddeningly) complex and full of nuance, they provide for endless analytical fascination.

One of my friends, Joe Reagle, who has recently graduated from my home department, is presenting is work on Wikipedia and I thought some local New York geeks might be interested. Information below:

All welcome

4:30 – 6:00 PM, Tuesday February 17
206 Vanderbilt Hall, 40 Wash. Sq. So.

Wikipedia: Nazis and Norms

Joseph Reagle, NYU Department of Media, Culture, and Communication

Abstract: In 1990 Mike Godwin coined his “Law of Nazi Analogies” to capture the common devolution of Usenet discourse into insulting comparisons with Nazis or Hitler. Eleven years later, Jimmy Wales wrote that it was important that the Wikipedia community “preserve and extend our culture of co-operation, with all of us standing as firmly as possible against the culture of conflict embodied in Usenet.” I argue Wikipedia is a realization — even if flawed — of a long-held vision for a universal encyclopedia: a technology inspired vision seeking to wed increased access to information with greater human accord. And I claim Wikipedia’s collaborative culture is a big factor for this success: the norms of “Neutral Point of View” ensures that the scattered pieces of what we think we know can be joined and good faith facilitates the actual practice of fitting them together.