Lies and Statistics

Following up on SOPA/PIPA the Freakonomics folks give Hollywood’s estimates of loss to piracy a second look and it is not flattering.

The Invention of Hugo Cabret

The Invention of Hugo Cabret is a book by Brian Selznick. It has received critical acclaim and a movie, directed by Martin Scorsese, is now in theaters. I actually received the book as a Christmas gift in 2008 and have only made my way to it recently. The stack of books next to my bed is a daunting adversary. Here are some of my thoughts on this unique book.

When We Build

This presentation from Build by Wilson Miner will grab you and not let go. Clear 40 minutes of your day and watch it.

SOPA Continued

Marco Arment brings a well-reasoned end to the celebration over the temporary SOPA/PIPA defeat…

SOPA Protest

My site will be joining many others tomorrow by blacking out in opposition to the SOPA and PIPA bills making their way through Washington. This ill-informed law would turn over tremendous censorship and legal powers to heavily interested parties in the guise of fighting online piracy. Do you trust the entertainment industry not abuse this authority they are seeking? I do not. Not only would this stifle innovation, it wouldn’t even stop piracy. Anyone savvy enough to use the nether regions on the web where pirated materials dwell will bypass these measures in a heartbeat. The honest will suffer as social networks censor their members to avoid thuggish legal action. Contact your representatives.

There’s No Time Machine

Gruber linked to this earlier:

All I can think is: we gave you the Internet. We gave you the Web. We gave you MP3 and MP4. We gave you e-commerce, micropayments, PayPal, Netflix, iTunes, Amazon, the iPad, the iPhone, the laptop, 3G, wifi—hell, you can even get online while you’re on an AIRPLANE. What the hell more do you want from us?

Take the truck, the boat, the helicopter, that we’ve sent you. Don’t wait for the time machine, because we’re never going to invent something that returns you to 1965 when copying was hard and you could treat the customer’s convenience with contempt.

This sums up the disconnect between DRM in all forms and the forward march of technology. Embrace tech or die, people will pay you if you make it easy for them to do so.

MacBook Air

This weekend the MacBook Air I ordered arrived. Here is what I think of it:

Stuff

Shawn block wrote one of the best posts I’ve read it recent memory. It is an excellent reminder for anyone who defines themselves by materials things.

Process Leads to Simplicity

Anthony at UX Movement wrote an article that made me think quite a bit. I agree with some of his points and disagree with others. Let’s start from the top.

Solitude and Leadership

This article by William Deresiewicz has been getting noticed quite a bit over the last couple days. I wholeheartedly recommend reading it. Here is a sample:

We have a crisis of leadership in America because our overwhelming power and wealth, earned under earlier generations of leaders, made us complacent, and for too long we have been training leaders who only know how to keep the routine going. Who can answer questions, but don’t know how to ask them. Who can fulfill goals, but don’t know how to set them. Who think about how to get things done, but not whether they’re worth doing in the first place. What we have now are the greatest technocrats the world has ever seen, people who have been trained to be incredibly good at one specific thing, but who have no interest in anything beyond their area of expertise. What we don’t have are leaders.

Go read it, you will be happy you did.