Back in August, I gave the closing keynote at the second Decentralized Web Summit, entitled "Big Tech's problem is Big, not Tech; the Internet Archive released video right afterwards, but now they've cleaned up the video and rereleased it for your viewing pleasure.
For decades, we fought complacency over Big Tech. That's over. The techlash is here, and with it, a new and scarier problem: that we'll tame big tech by regulating it with expensive compliance rules that no startup could match, enthroning Big Tech as permanent (regulated) monarchs of the digital age.
In this keynote address, author and advocate, Cory Doctorow, argues that Big Tech is a problem, but the problem isn't "Tech," it's "BIG." Giants get to bend policy to suit their ends, they get to strangle potential competitors in their infancy, they are the only game in town, so they can put the squeeze on users and suppliers alike.
Surrender is premature.
Nerds don't take it or leave it: they take the parts that work and block the parts that don't. That's what we have to offer to everyone else: the training and tools to decide what tech can do with us, our data, and our communications. The MOST democratic future is one where everyone gets to hack, where we seize the means of computation and distribute it to everyone.
The Green European Journal has published a package on the proposed new European Copyright Directive: first, an outstanding interview with the rebel Pirate Party MEP Julia Reda (previously); and then a new science fiction story I've written to show what a future where our speech is governed by unaccountable black-box copyright censorbots might look like: […]
Popcorn is the delightful synth instrumental penned by Gershon Kingsley in 1969 for his classic LP “Music to Moog By.” It was later covered by countless other artists including this gentleman, Jacques Perrot, who performs it on his face. (via Popcorn Song)
The Alien Chestburster Christmas Ornament is just the thing to finish your nerdmas tree; it's from Pittsburgh's Creature Replicas, who will also sell you a life-size 'burster, a fossil Tremors graboid, or some damned fine Aliens magnets.
For the true audio enthusiast, there’s a lot of difference between putting on some songs “for background music” and a true listening experience. For the latter, there’s nothing like a pair of sturdy headphones and the powerful speakers that come with them. And the wireless variety doesn’t get much more powerful than the TREBLAB Z2 […]
Digital or analog, there’s a path of least resistance for any project. Finding that path is what the Agile methodology is all about, which is why proficiency in it is a must for any project management position – and the paycheck that comes with it. And the quickest path to learning Agile? The Agile Project […]
Everybody’s flown a paper airplane. But what if you could fly on a paper airplane? Until we invent shrink-ray technology, the PowerUp X FPV Video Paper Airplane Kit will have to do – but it’s as fun as that sounds and more. The original version of this creative toy added drone tech to the old, […]
