Posts from — September 2003

NLII – Educause Learning Ecosystems. Quote: “The NLII has argued that institutions of higher education operate within a sociotechnological context, and, as communication and knowledge technologies change, that context changes. Sometimes the implications are not straightforward. For example, because of new developments in technology, students can have more direct access to information without having to go through an intermediary. If we can immerse ourselves in a sea of information that used to be available only to specialists and experts (e.g., faculty), what role do those specialists and experts (and by extension, the institutions that sponsor them) play in learning?” [Serious Instructional Technology]

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this is a great find. its a good analysis of the way this learning ecosystem works and some of its implications, worth the read. i particularly like the role of the academy in knowledge ecologies section, because to some extent it is the academy that does the norm-setting in this arena.

You want hijacking? You want piracy?.

I give you VeriSign. Elliot Noss explains, in terms of stewardship, which VeriSign has, and is violating. He should know. He's the president & CEO of Tucows, and knows more about all this stuff than just about anyone else on Earth.

[The Doc Searls Weblog]

ICANN: Verisign has Created Internet 'Instability'. ICANN: Message from Security and Stability Advisory Committee to ICANN Board. VeriSign's change appears to have considerably weakened the stability… [Dan Gillmor's eJournal]

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moreon the icann-verisign debacle, i imagine the debate as two four year old boys arguing over who owns a rock, mine, mine mine, etc. etc. until finally, smack

i am not really a member of the ietf intellectual property rights working group anymore, i sort of swore off of it when i did a rough count of the overwhelming corporate interest seemingly voting as a block. in any case, it looks like they are beginning the process of silencing a few critics on that list. you can read their account at the link. interesting stuff really, i can see both sides.

for those that don't know what the ietf is:
http://www.ietf.org

My inner child is ten years old!

The adult world is pretty irrelevant to me. Whether
I'm off on my bicycle (or pony) exploring, lost
in a good book, or giggling with my best
friend, I live in a world apart, one full of
adventure and wonder and other stuff adults
don't understand.

How Old is Your Inner Child?
brought to you by Quizilla

this is the sort of story that brings back images of the social differentiation in trickle down economics, deficit spending, etc. this gentleman is going to be in a world of hurt for years because of the boom-bust economics that the current regime sponsors.

Breaking the silence. Breaking the silence Last night ITV1 in the UK ran a documentary that is unlikely to be shown in the USA. It is by a respected journalist called John Pilger and amongst other tidbits it shows Colin Powell saying in 1991 that Iraq poses no threat and also Condoleeza Rice confirming the same thing. It also quotes some US officials that the current bunch who seem to be running US foreign policy were known during the administration of Bush senior as “the crazies”. Plus much more. [MetaFilter]

Tim Berners-Lee Royal Society Webcast.

Bronwyn Stuckey from StageStruck Online said in Yahoo! com-prac just now:

Tim Berners-Lee Royal Society Webcast

http://www.royalsoc.ac.uk/live/

[It's all about people and networks]

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this looks like it will be an interesting webcast, I plan on watching it when i get to the office, so I'm blogging it too.

The
Day Internet Governance Mattered, by Michael Geist, in the Tornoto
Star, on the VeriSign Site Finder service and ICANN's ''intervention.'' [A blog doesn't need a clever name]

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this is also well covered on cavebear blog.

Stateless Transnationals.

[via Reuben]Business Week writes:

[A] new breed of high-tech companies is defying conventional wisdom about how corporations ought to operate. While most large companies have extensive worldwide operations, these companies go much further — aiming to transcend nationality altogether. C.K. Prahalad, a professor at the University of Michigan Business School, calls this the fourth stage of globalization. In the first stage, companies operate in one country and sell into others. Second-stage multinationals set up foreign subsidiaries to handle one country's sales. And the third stage involves operating an entire line of business in another country.

What's different about these outfits — call them transnationals — is that even the executive suite is virtual. They place their top executives and core corporate functions in different countries to gain a competitive edge through the availability of talent or capital, low costs, or proximity to their most important customers.

An example: Trend Micro, whose “financial headquarters is in Tokyo, where it went public; product development is in PhD-rich Taiwan; and sales is in Silicon Valley — inside the giant American market.” India's Wipro is also mentioned in the article.

[E M E R G I C . o r g]