“I don’t know how that bong got in my sock drawer! And what’s a bong anyway?” When was the last time you used the I Didn’t Know defense; or if you’re a parent, when was the last time you were confronted with the I Didn’t Know defense? Did it work? Not so much, right? But it often feels lately as ...

I have to direct readers’ attention to this blog post by composer and cellist Zoë Keating.  It is the clearest articulation I have yet read about the rock-and-hard-place terms demanded of artists who are considering participation in YouTube’s paid streaming service Music Key.  Keating outlines some of the non-negotiable terms she doesn’t like, for instance that her entire catalog becomes fair game ...

Ernesto (no last name) at TorrentFreak published a slightly sarcastic article about the fact that pre-release piracy did not do any apparent harm to the box office bonanza for the makers of American Sniper.  I have personally criticized pre-release piracy as a distinctly egregious form of theft and have stood by the principle that the behavior can cause harm to ...

Last week, Google announced that it will be halting the production and sale of its somewhat controversial product Google Glass. This eyeglass-style, wearable computer, retailing for $1,500, never really caught on with consumers; and based on reports about Google’s own rationale and future plans, I have to wonder if the company is right about why Glass flopped. Industry journalists report that ...

I have so far refrained from saying anything about the Charlie Hebdo murders.  For starers, I don’t like bandwagons and don’t feel a strong urge to restate the obvious. Naturally, we abhor this kind of violence and stand in solidarity with any creator, who at this moment is considering his/her own position on controversial free expression in the wake of ...