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 ...
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 ...
As American progressives, especially New Yorkers, honor the passing this week of Mario Cuomo, editorials and eulogies in various forms will cite the former governor’s famous keynote address at the 1984 Democratic National Convention. In this speech, Cuomo challenged President Reagan’s statement that America is “a shining city on a hill,” which comes from Matthew 5:14; and it is a ...
Andrew Keen’s new book, The Internet is Not the Answer (Atlantic Monthly Press), goes on sale today. This is the third book Keen has written about the Internet and digital-age culture. A native of London, Keen first became an Internet entrepreneur in the US with the founding of Audiocafe.com in 1995, and this new book cites his own personal conversion from early ...
