Back in October, Valve co-founder Gabe Newell explained the economics of video games as his company sees it. The Geekwire article is worth the read. For now, I’ll point out that he admits “We don’t understand what’s going on” and uses the language of co-creation of value, which I happen to believe is the current [...]

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OK, that title is a riff on a line from The Player. I loved it when the film came out and still do. It says so much of nothing, but captures a vibe that persists. Yet again it seems the film industry is in trouble, or rather doldrums. The Times reports that this year’s box [...]

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Some may remember Trading Places and the importance of the crop report on frozen concentrated orange juice to that movie. It turns out USDA commodities reports and their data are still important. For example, the Times reports that when the USDA decided to cut a program that produced “dozens of long-standing statistical reports on a [...]

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As Deano and others might say Baby, It’s Cold Outside. And, heating costs are no joke. Neither is about $250 for a thermostat. Nonetheless, data and networks are changing the way we manage heating. As Wired reports, Tony Faddell, founder of Nest Labs makes this compelling point:
Untold tons of carbon were being pumped into the [...]

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Some months ago I mentioned a textbook called Networks, Crowds, and Markets to Susan Crawford (hat tip for the book recommendation: Nicklas Lundblad). After I told her how the text helps explain the basics about networks, game theory, and more, she said that I had to tell people about the book. So now I am. [...]

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Recent readings and the time of year lead me to two lessons. First, for those of us who can, let’s give to those in need. Second, let’s use science, data, and reason to guide policy. Extreme views for or against modes of farming and issues of the environment lead to mistrust, failures, and, in this [...]

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Imagine you are a fisherman and haul in a catch with fish that are protected and that would get you in trouble. Quick! Hide it! Deny it! etc., right? Nope. The Times reports that a partnership among fishermen and the Nature Conservancy meant that this fisherman reported the catch so the overall area could thrive. [...]

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A New Wave is happening in publishing. Now I hear New Wave and think of the British invasion of the 80s. Today the new wave is happening in publishing in the U.S. And it may be that creative folks will not need the central publishing industries to reach their audiences. For the dream of interactive [...]

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Many IP profs watch legislation, and we write about the way proposed laws are good or bad or wise or imprudent. I think the way the IP and online space are going will require more on the technology side. For example, the recent debates on the PROTECT IP Bill and SOPA had some interesting comments [...]

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Ok so October is over, as is daylight savings, and cybersecurity awareness month. But, like all awareness months, I say why think about the issue for just that time? Nay, let us consider cybersecurity more often. Perhaps now. To start I offer Stefan Savage. Stefan is a professor of computer science and engineering at [...]

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Yes there is still more ambrosia, err cloud, to consider. I will keep this one brief. My colleague, Patrick Ryan, was a scholar in residence and now an Adjunct Professor in the Interdisciplinary Telecommunications Program at CU Boulder. He also works with me on Google’s policy team. Ronak Merchant, Sarah Falvey, and Patrick have a [...]

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Here are some pointed questions about science, innovation, and technological progress:
First: What can be done, consistent with military security, and with the prior approval of the military authorities, to make known to the world as soon as possible the contributions which have been made during our war effort to scientific knowledge?
The diffusion of such knowledge [...]

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“If you like Pina Coladas, and getting caught in the rain.
If you’re not into yoga, if you have half-a-brain.”
Bay Area radio struggles to have decent music. I tend to cycle through the few stations that may have something of interest. A recent addition to the dial focuses on 60s. 70s, and 80s. As a competitor [...]

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Analog: The Resurrection is coming to a store near you. At least it looks that way. The Times reports that vinyl is making a comeback. I happen to have a fair amount of vinyl from when I saved up to buy LPs as a kid. But now companies like Goota Groove are among about 20 [...]

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Right then. My plea for sharing good work on the cloud has failed. I did what professor/nerd types do. I researched a bit more. So I now taunt you with more sharing by me. Christopher Yoo appears to be diving into Ambrosia (as I like to call the cloud). His paper, Cloud Computing: Architectural and [...]

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Instead of cloud how about rain? No, no. Maybe ether? Blast, that’s taken. Ambrosia! Yes that’s it. Ambrosia services. But what are ambrosia services? That’s the same question we should ask about the cloud (I know, I know I succumbed, and rather quickly at that). I do not purport to be able to answer what [...]

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Yet again I say I am back. We’ll see how long it lasts; but as I will be moving closer to work, I am sanguine.
One reason I came to Google was to see what I might be missing. Cafes and more? Sure. But food for me is the tech knowledge that I, a humble unfrozen [...]

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Quick, everyone dropout because school will fail you, and you can go create JOBS! Jobs, not Steve but those things we all want and need, are the topic of the year. How do we generate them? What skills do new graduates (and really even us old ones) need? Is the future all digital or are [...]

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The New York Times reports that law clinics that take on large corporations are under pressure from private companies. The pressure has resulted in some saying that state dollars should not be used to allow clinics to take on “controversial issues.” Frankly, if educational institutions aren’t supposed to take on controversial issues, they will [...]

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Sandra Rierson, my colleague and co-author on Confronting the Genericism Conundrum, and I were emailing about the Tiffany v. eBay case the other day. She noted that the case furthers a mistake regarding contributory and vicarious liability. I asked her whether she’d like to write a special to Co-Op about the topic, and she agreed. [...]

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