Street Cake

Online Library Gets FBI To Back Off On National Security Letter

Fri, 09 May 2008 10:32:26 -0400

Online Library Gets FBI To Back Off On National Security Letter:

Brewster Kahle is at it again. Man, I love this guy. It’s crazy to think of someone like Kahle being silenced by a gag rule, and, I have to admit that I had forgotten the government is still plugging away, relatively unchecked.

On another note, I wonder what the FBI’s website looked like 1996.
::Crosses fingers for animated .GIFs::

Post comments to Tumblr!!!

Tue, 25 Mar 2008 16:21:00 -0400

Post comments to Tumblr!!!:

Meaghan and I were talking about how excited about Tumblr but how disappointed we were that we (or anyone else not logged in) couldn’t post comments. I think someone in internet-o-sphere was listening, because we just happened across another tumblr user’s site that had comments. How he’d do it??? With Disqus. It was so easy to set up — you just have to put the code into the “customize html” area. Literally took us 3 minutes.

So glad someone figured this out. Go forth and comment!

Hopes for Wireless Cities Fade as Internet Providers Pull Out

Sat, 22 Mar 2008 09:14:02 -0400

Hopes for Wireless Cities Fade as Internet Providers Pull Out:

via the NYtimes

It’s scary to think that such a massive project rested in the hands of just one company: Earthlink. Projects in Philly, San Francisco, and Tempe, Ariz., and Portland, Ore. were all affected by the company’s sudden pullout, a decision made after its pro-Wireless CEO died from cancer and a new head took over. According to the new CEO, the Earthlink model was neither profitable nor sustainable. But Meraki, a project that uses mesh networking to provide wi-fi, is catching on in San Francisco (of course!). My brother attached one of their repeaters to his roof deck (with his landlord’s blessing, I’m sure!). Meraki has had success in other, smaller, rural towns, too. I can’t say that I fully understand how this works, but I think this is a more reliable way to build the network infrastructure. It’s like th web 2.0 way of building the web: give the community the tools and they will build it themselves, without needing the lean on larger, corporate outfits that are simply profit-driven.

What to Do With Wikipedia

Thu, 20 Mar 2008 08:54:00 -0400

from InfoLitLand

In his well-thought out argument of the numerous controversies that academics and anti-wikipedians have over the e-resource, William Badke’s really hit the nail on the head. He’s at his best when he specifically references how Wikipedia digs at the academic power structure:

The elites of the academic world have a message for the rest of us: “We are the people who know things. If you want to know things, you have to come to us.” But notice how very analog that is, just as much of academia remains analog and simply has not bought into the amazing power of the digital Information Age…

Wikipedia users appear to be abandoning a world of certainty for an intangible universe made up of half-blown ideas and blatant errors. The problem is, they have not abandoned anything. They have never been part of the analog generation. Wikipedia is their world, and it has met their needs wonderfully.

Here’s how librarians can easily ditch the old rags of a our analog past (okay, fold nicely and stow them away in a cedar closet) and slip into our new digital dancing shoes. Badke cites a perfect example of how to enter into a world of participatory librarianship. I think this is what all of us 2.0 librarians have been waiting for, no?

A long ways away from Haight and Ashbury.

Mon, 17 Mar 2008 01:40:00 -0400

A long ways away from Haight and Ashbury.

Don't be an Idiot-ech

Mon, 29 Oct 2007 12:13:12 -0400

There’s been a lot of hype around the new Radiohead album, and I’m the first to admit that after I played OK Computer to it’s death, I kind of moved on to other bands. After they announced they were literally giving their album away via downloading from the band’s website, I took notice again. Talk about owning the means of production!

I just downloaded In Rainbows and even the way they’ve set the site up defies current internet commerce. It’s so surreal, they have to tell you twice. Even if you’re not a Radiohead fan, appreciate it for what it means for the DIY marketplace — and for future of the corporate record company.