By Stephen Downes
October 10, 2003
Beta Release of OAI Static Repository
Specification
From the press release: "A Static
Repository is an XML file that is made accessible at a
persistent HTTP URL. The XML file contains metadata records
and repository information [a lot like an RSS file, in
other words - SD]. A Static Repository provides a simple
approach for exposing relatively static and small
collections of metadata records through the OAI-PMH. The
Static Repository approach is targeted at organizations
that have metadata collections ranging in size between 1
and 5000 records, can make static content available through
a network-accessible Web server, and need a technically
simpler implementation strategy compared to acting as an
OAI-PMH Repository, which requires processing OAI-PMH
requests." Perfect. Just what the doctor ordered. By Carl
Lagoze and Herbert Van de Sompel, Open Archives Initiative,
October 10, 2003
[Refer][Research][Reflect]
The Beginning of the End of the
Internet?
The U.S. Federal Communications
Commissioner (FCC) warns that the internet "may be dying"
because of changes in legislation that may allow major
corporations "to control the internet's choke points" and
dictate what innovations may be allowed, what content may
flow. "Think about what could happen if your broadband
internet provider could limit or retard your access to,
say, certain news sources or political sites." PDF. By
Michael J. Copps, New American Foundation, October 9, 2003
[Refer][Research][Reflect]
Princeton Report
Critical
Yesterday's parody has become today's
news: SunnComm Technologies Inc., the developer of the DRM
technology that can be bypassed with the use of the shift
key, is suing the Princeton student who authored the paper,
Alex Halderman, for significantly damaging the company's
reputation and causing the stock to drop $10 million
(though there may be more to that than meets the eye). Argues
the company, "No matter what their credentials or
rationale, it is wrong to use one's knowledge and the cover
of academia to facilitate piracy and theft of digital
property." So let this be a warning to you: if you
knowingly press the shift key, you too are a pirate and
should be tossed into jail. Update: in an interview
published today in the Daily Princetonian, SunnComm
indicated that it may have had a change of heart. "I don't want to be the
guy that creates any kind of chilling effect on research,"
Jacobs said. By Press Release, SunnComm Technologies Inc.,
October 9, 2003
[Refer][Research][Reflect]
Parents Sue School Over Wireless
Network
The complete lack of any medical
evidence not being a barrier to their campaign, a group of
parents has filed suit against a pioneering school
districtdemanding that it remove wireless internet systems
from its buildings. By Daniel Sorid, Yahoo! News, October
9, 2003
[Refer][Research][Reflect]
Beyond "Efficient Dissemination of Timely
Information"
It's a very short article, which
is too bad, because it makes an important point worth
elaborating upon. The point, specifically, is that
knowledge management (and by extension, online learning) is
about more than disseminating timely information to staff.
For one thing, such an approach doesn't ask why you would
want to do this, which in turn leaves no means of
distinguishing between useful and useless information. It
also converts the internet into a publishing medium, which
belies its real strength as a communications medium. By
James Robertson, CM Briefing, October, 2003
[Refer][Research][Reflect]
Music Label Cashes in by
Sharing
This is a very nice story about a music
publisher, Magnatune, which has adopted the open
publishing approach to selling its tunes. "The idea is to
let users try music before they buy, and when they do, to
give half of every sale to the artist." It was so
refreshing to find a music site online that doesn't treat
me like a criminal. Oh yeah, and they're making money, too.
"The website now brings in $15,000 to $20,000 a month, 80
percent of it from downloads, the remaining 20 percent from
licensing deals." By Chris Ulbrich, Wired News, October 8,
2003
[Refer][Research][Reflect]
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