Episode 0018, 10/07/2007
Title: Cyborg Memory, Free Music,
RIAA Wins, Dr. Microsoft, One Laptop Per Child
Welcome
to Course Technology's CourseCast of the week, Episode 18, recorded October
7th, 2007.
This
is Ken Baldauf bringing you this week's technology news and information.
This
CourseCast is brought to you by Course Technology. Check out www.course.com for innovative textbooks and
creative electronic learning solutions.
Story
1 - Computer-Assisted Memory
A
recent study has found that younger generations have more difficulty
remembering standard personal information than their predecessors.
Neuroscientist Ian Robertson polled 3,000 people. When asked a relative's birth
date, 87 percent of respondents over age 50 had no problem, while less than 40 percent
of those under 30 could manage it. When asked their own phone number, one-third
of the under 30 group were unable to provide it. The resulting assumption is
that the generation growing up with cell phones, Blackberrys,
thumb drives and online personal information management tools, have learned to
offload the burden of memorizing dates, numbers, and to-do lists to their
devices. The younger generation is extending personal mental tasks to outboard
devices. The line between wetware storage and hardware storage is becoming
blurred. The author of this week's Wired article on
the topic wonders if this isn't an indicator of the first phase towards our
inevitable cyborg future?
Source:
Your
Outboard Brain Knows All (Wired)
Story
2 - Bands Experiment with Music Distribution Models
The
British band Radiohead has decided to experiment with
their upcoming album "In Rainbows" to be released October 10. They
are making the album available for download at www.inrainbows.com and allowing consumers
to pay whatever they want or can. When checking out, a textbox allows the
customer to enter any amount. Band spokesman Murray Chalmers says that so far,
on average, customers are offering to pay what would be charged at a retailer.
Meanwhile
British Rockers, The Charlatans, are providing their upcoming album as a free
download through www.xfm.co.uk. Band
manager Alan McGee figures ""the band will get paid by more people
coming to gigs, buying merchandise, publishing and sync fees. I believe it's
the future business model," he stated in an interview on Xfm.
Sources:
Radiohead album bets on fast release (Reuters), Radiohead Spokesperson: Fans Paying Close
to Retail for Pricing-Optional Album (Wired), The Charlatans to give new
album away free (NME)
Story
3 - RIAA Wins Precedent-Setting Piracy Case
Supporters
of Free Culture were riveted to the news this week as the Minnesota Federal
Courts tried the first RIAA law suit to be presented before a jury. You'll
recall that the RIAA, the Recording Industry Association of America, is making
efforts to stop illegal music file sharing primarily by pressing charges
against file-sharers. The thousands of previous cases that have resulted in
empty bank accounts for thousands of college students were all settled out of
court. Those hoping the RIAA would fall flat on its face in front of a jury
were extremely disappointed when 30 year old Jamie Thomas was found guilty of
sharing 1,702 songs online and fined $222,000. Hundreds of thousands of dollars
more than the amount she would have paid if she had settled out of court.
Sources:
RIAA Wins
Landmark File-Sharing Trial (NewsFactor), Minnesota
jury orders woman to pay RIAA $222,000 for illegal music sharing
(Computerworld)
Story
4 - Microsoft Manages Health Records
This
week Microsoft launched a new health records management system called HealthVault. HealthVault marks
the beginning of Microsoft's long anticipated move into the health care market.
The system allows users to "store and share health records online, to
collect and manage health data on a variety of home devices, and to search for
health information" explains an article in PCWorld.
Several big names in the industry have signed on to HealthVault
including the American Heart Association, Johnson & Johnson LifeScan,
Sources:
Microsoft
Offers System to Track Health Records (NYTimes), Microsoft Intros
Medical Records Site (NewsFactor), New
Microsoft Service Stores Health Records Online (PCWorld),
Microsoft
wants your health care records (ars technica)
Story
5 - A Laptop with a
The
One Laptop per Child (OLPC) social welfare organization set out several years
to design a $100 laptop computer that could be distributed to children in
developing and poor countries. That laptop is now ready for deployment. The
bright green solid state, notebook that is waterproof, dirt proof, and drop
proof, has no hard drive, or CD drive, and would be of little use to an adult.
But for teaching and inspiring grade school kids its a
technological wonder. Unfortunately, OLPC was unable to keep the price tag to
$100, but at $200 it is still an amazing achievement. Unfortunately, third
world countries have not been jumping at the opportunity to purchase OLPC's new notebook called the XO 1. So to drive adoptions,
the organization is making a limited time opportunity to those of us in
developed countries. Beginning November 12, for two weeks, you can purchase
your own XO1 for $400 and a second one will be delivered to a poor child in
your name. Its a buy-one-get-one sale that helps the
world. Check out David Pogue's video review of the XO1 using the link in the
show notes.
Source:
Laptop
With a Mission Widens Its Audience (NYTimes)
News
Briefs
That's
it for this week's CourseCast. Links to this week's stories and many more news
and information resources are provided at the CourseCast Web site at www.course.com/coursecasts. Until
next time, have a great week and be sure to take advantage of the Power -- of
Technology!