Yesterday was the 100th anniversary of Marshall MacLuhan’s birthday, and the event was greeted by many as an opportunity to reflect on his life and works. McLuhan has become the prophet of modern media, his writings and phrases are cited everywhere as being eerily prescient. I was reminded of McLuhan Read more…
After the spectacular hacking of The Sun newspaper and News International websites that took place earlier this week, hacking collectives like Anonymous, LulzSec and AntiSec seem unstoppable. This air of invulnerability was part of LulzSec’s gloating the night the attack on The Sun’s web services took place. [blackbirdpie url=”https://twitter.com/LulzSec/status/93093868379193344″] However, Read more…
The European Court of Justice has finally ruled on the landmark case of L’Oréal v eBay (C-324/09) . It is true that the term “landmark case” gets used quite a lot in these virtual pages, but in this situation is more than accurate. The case has been a long-running legal Read more…
To encourage more interaction I’ve now added a WordPress plugin called Social Connect. This allows you to login using your Twitter, Facebook, Google, Yahoo or WordPress.com accounts. Enjoy.
There is a revolution currently taking place online. This is a revolution against the status quo, centralised authorities, political establishment, existing business models, and creative paradigms. This has the shape of generational warfare because most of the players are so-called Millenials, but it is actually a revolution prompted by ideals Read more…
“Hell is other people” says Sartre. If that is so, then Facebook is a glimpse into hell. I’ve had a rocky relationship with FB (“it’s complicated”); after leaving Facebook for almost two years and then coming back, I have been very self-conscious about my use of the social network, and Read more…
Gikii will start next Monday. Alas, I will not be joining this year, but the programme looks amazing. If you are not attending, have an Android phone, and would like to get the full lolcat experience that is Gikii, why not download our very own Gikii Lolcat Builder? (based on Read more…
BitTorrent Inc has been sued for patent infringement by a company named Tranz-Send Broadcasting Network. I usually suspect the presence of a patent troll when it seems impossible to find the website of the claimant in the patent dispute, and when most of the Google results for the company include Read more…
Could the next revolution in payment systems be already here? Bitcoin is a non-fiat cryptographic electronic payment system that purports to be the world’s first cryptocurrency. In other words, it is a peer-to-peer, client-based, completely distributed currency that does not depend on centralised issuing bodies to operate, the value is Read more…
So, the Gay Girl in Damascus ended up being Tom MacMaster, a 40 year-old American student at the University of Edinburgh. It is needless to rehash what has been said, I highly recommend Ethan Zuckerman’s excellent article on the subject. There is however one aspect of the affair that has Read more…