If you have been interested in the evolution of digital content, you may remember the Long Tail. This was a theory that saw life as an article by Chris Anderson in Wired magazine, and then as a hit book released in 2006. The theory states that so-called brick-and-mortar shops only Read more…
You may have come across Deep Dream, a visualization tool by Google that uses artificial intelligence to create unique, bizarre, and sometimes unsettling images. Deep Dream is an open source program that uses an artificial neural network to transform an image using mathematical methods used in machine learning that resemble Read more…
Last month we reported about a decision by the High Court of Justice that declared that a new law making it legal to make private copies of media you own contravened EU copyright law. As the decision was part of a judicial review procedure, and the judge asked the parties Read more…
The High Court of Justice has declared s1 of the Data Retention and Investigatory Powers Act 2014 to be unlawful and contrary to European Law. The article in question is part of emergency surveillance legislation enacted last year by the coalition government. The Court was responding to a judicial review Read more…
My social media timeline has been inundated in the last week with headlines warning that Whatsapp is about to be banned in the UK by the government. The UK’s mainstream media knows a good scandal when it sees one, and therefore it has picked up the story issuing hysterical headlines Read more…
Some times I feel like I am living in a bizarro alternative reality. The Tories. The Snowden revelations. Chelsea FC. Miley Cyrus. The Minions. The continuing success of the cinematographic works of Michael Bay. But the aspect of modern life that truly alienates me has been building for some time, Read more…
Besides being one of the world’s most popular pop stars, Taylor Swift is usually recognised for her masterful use of social media. Her Instagram and Tumblr accounts are wildly popular, but are also textbook examples of how to use the Internet to communicate a carefully curated image. The savvy online Read more…
My social media timeline is filled with links to an article on Torrent Freak by Rick Falvinge, the founder of the Swedish Pirate Party. The article is entitled “The Entire Copyright Monopoly Idea is Based on a Lie“. The article sets out to criticise the social contract that gives copyright Read more…
This has been a bad week for logic and reason. Or a good week for insane rulings, depending on your take on life. Last year we had a series of copyright reforms, including an exception for private copying; but now the British music industry has managed to get the High Read more…
The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has dealt a blow to existing intermediary liability rules in Europe in the case of Delfi v Estonia. The decision of the Grand Chamber reaffirms an earlier decision by the first section of the court. For years we have had a system of Read more…