Day: September 24, 2008

Even More Than Net Neutrality: Common Carriage On All Infrastructure

Post author By Ted Hope
Post date September 24, 2008

Last Monday I was on a panel on Net Neutrality at Independent Film Week in NYC that was moderated by David Rosen. David knows of what he speaks. He recently penned an article in Filmmaker Mag that is available right here.

Rosen chronicles the Telecoms and Cable Controllers attempt, with endorsement from the MPAA mind you, to create a separate — but far from equal — internet for exclusively video content that seeks to be fully immune from the demands of common carriage. He takes our battle a step forward:

“Net neutrality is a distraction,” argues Bruce Kushnick, of Teletruth, a broadband customer advocacy group. “As long as the telco and cable companies control the infrastructure and are allowed to vertically integrate all products (i.e., offer local and long distance, connection to the Internet, broadband and even wireless), they can control any activity or any competition over the networks, including all video. The only next step is to have common carriage returned: While the underlying infrastructure may be controlled by the incumbent, all applications and services should be allowed by all parties.”

Maintaining equal for all is the biggest battle the independent film community currently faces. Without Net Neutrality there is no assurance that information will be “distributed on a first-come, first-served basis no matter from which applications provider they come from or to which destination they are intended” (Rosen) — you know? Equality. Remember that?

The Next Good Idea

Promise To Vote And Wilco Will Give You Dylan

Post author By Ted Hope
Post date September 24, 2008

On one hand it’s absurd, what with the country in the shape that it is in, that anyone would need further incentive to vote. On the other, sometimes people need to pledge things to their friends and family in order to actually go out and do them.

And of course, if you’ve already delivered great music for over a decade, evolved, changed, and proven yourself in virtually every way, how do you earn even further allegiance.

And when presented with the opportunity to distribute creations far and wide with barely an expense, how do you use this gift in good ways to get more done (and perhaps help people realize what will soon be lost if we lose Net Neutrality…).

Well, Wilco looked at this world and came up with a really good idea.

thanks BoingBoing!