Confessions of a Ranting Lunatic

This statement makes me agree with Barack Obama for one reason, because the Internet is the ultimate super high-way of free thought and expression. Not only can somebody Blog with somebody else from halfway around the world about the current state of foreign trade, but people can access goods and stores that would have otherwise been completely out of reach for the consumer. Censoring the Internet, in ANY WAY, would be the only thing to (excuse my language) piss off Americans enough that they would go into a full on revolution.

Obama also advocate increased privacy protection for American Internet users. Although this is a topic I share interest with him on, I believe that if Obama’s gonna fudge on any topic, It would be this one. If I have learned anything at my 3 months at IPR, it is that ANYBODY can hack ANYTHING. I do not believe that their would be an amount of Internet protection the government could provide us with that would be, effectively, any safer that what we have going right now.

Question: Explain why video games are outperforming other entertainment media in the marketplace, and whether you think the trend is good or bad.

Answer: I believe that Video games are popular because they allow the player to briefly engage in actions they would normally never have the opportunity to partake in. For example, who would not love to be an Army commander on a planet in the farthest reaches of the universe? The best thing? If you die, you just start over at the last save point. On the newer version of games, choices are given to the player that will effect the story line of the game. In these cases, the Player is not only Action Hero Superb, but he is playing Mr. Movie Director as well. As for this new trend being a bad thing…I’m not totally convinced of that yet. While some videos games are mindless, others are incredibly interactive and require a lot of mental thinking and good hand-eye coordination. Because of the social networking tools that comes with some games like Halo, people are aloud to play games with each other from thousands of miles away. I don’t see a fault in that. People have point out in the past that the violent aspect to video games could have contributed to the escalation in teen violence. I, personally, place the blame for the rise in teen violence on parents. Who is really at fault when a child was not raised to understand the difference between reality and fantasy. Can we honestly blame Grand Theft Auto 4 for every car-jacking committed by somebody under the age of 18? I believe that if parents played a more involved, healthier roll in a child’s development, these games could be beneficial.

Question: Aided by the RIAA, which formed SoundExchange (now independent) to collect royalties on behalf of artists and labels whether they wanted the royalties or not (to collect, you have to join SoundExchange, which costs money), broadcast media giants have done their best to wipe out net radio…and, so far, failed. )Go here and here for information on the Webcaster Settlement Act of 2008.) Share your thoughts on the situation. A little assistance: Who does internet radio help more—artists in various undergrounds (extreme metal, experimental music, hardcore, modern folk, etc) and specialized areas (world music, classical, etc.), or mainstream artists already getting airplay? Does broadcast radio do anything at all to address the tastes of web-empowered listeners? For that matter, does broadcast radio serve anybody’s needs but its own? To what extent is web radio a labor of love?

Answer: Web Radio is almost EXCLUSIVELY a labor of love. Many Web and Net radio stations operate illegally, and because of that, have to change their IP addresses and Servers. Many have gotten caught and prosecuted, while the ones that haven’t are constantly running from the RIAA; and some have done this successfully for years now. Web Radio is as amazing for underground art today as tape trading was in the 80’s. Internet radio seemingly ONLY benefits the artists who are featured on it (Because it’s free exposure BABY!), and is almost a pain for the people who run it. Broadcast Radio stations are nearly all owned by Freaking Clear Channel, and because of that, they play a select list of songs, over, and over again. Clear Channel will also only play artists on labels who have direct relations to Clear Channel and affiliated people.(HmmHmmRupertMurdockHmmHmm.) So, Broadcast Radio really only benefits, well, Broadcast Radio. The Web-casters Settlement Act of 2008 I believe is a step in the right direction, allowing web radio broadcasters to negotiate royalty agreements with SoundExchange, but if Intellectual Property Law in itself is going to be looked at, this will need to be revisited.

Question: In September, Google filed a patent application for an open wireless network that—based on signal strength, price, and other factors—would essentially let users choose carriers on a minute-by-minute basis. After reading this blog post , discuss the prospect. Hint: Would most people benefit from open wireless networks? If so, how?

Answer: As a Internet consumer/customer, I believe that this model of open Internet is genius. So at all times, we, the consumer, would be automatically wired onto which ever wifi service provider has the fastest, cheapest Internet. This is a dream come true if you are like me, constantly wired up whether in your car, or in the shower! This day in age, it seems that the Map feature on the Iphone is many peoples only means of accessing travel information. I know a few people personally who use their smart phone as their ONLY Internet provider. Broadening the wireless network would be most beneficial to the phone companies and the consumers. I do see this being a major problem for Internet providers. Not only would they be struggling to keep up with the competitive prices and trying to maintain the fastest Internet, I feel they could run themselves into the ground trying to do so. I believe, However, that if a phone service provider could strike deals with several wireless providers, these deal could be very beneficial for both parties