IPcentral Weblog: September 2005 Archives

September 2005 Archives

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09.30.2005

And Speaking of Schumpeter . . .

The Telecosm conference made clear just how dead-on Schumpeter was, when he talked about gales of creative destruction. The level of innovation in computers, telecom, nanotech, name it, is extraordinary. And so is the level of risk -- but the risk is to individual companies the bet wrong, not to the overall economy or to the tech sector as a whole.

In particular, there are a passel of idea about pushing real broadband -- gigabits -- out into the world, over fiber, copper, and wireless. There are new ideas about network computing, and nanotech applications in medicine.

It is perfectly clear that regulatory thinking, particularly in the areas of telecom and medicine, is becoming more and more disconnected from the realities and possibilities. One almost expects Congress or the FCC to require fiberoptic providers to install oat bins every 10 miles so that the Pony Express riders can feed their horses.

The only sensible regulatory policy is to set some fundamental rules at a general level, and then let 'er rip.

posted by James DeLong @ 3:41 PM | General

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Shades of Schumpeter

PFF has just published The American System: A Schumpeterian History of Standardization, by Andrew Russell. The theme:

Continue reading Shades of Schumpeter . . .

posted by James DeLong @ 3:21 PM | Standards

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Telecosm Conference

I just returned from George Gilder's ninth annual Telecosm conference, which featured Ray Kurzweil, author of The Singularity is Near (2005), Chris Anderson of Wired and The Long Tail, Steve Forbes of Forbes, and numerous corporate and financial types.

It was a firehose of information, pumped through a two-day long pipe at jet speed.

It was pleasant to be at a session which focused on reality -- what is the technology, where is it going, and how can we make money out of it? In contrast, Washington seems to consist mostly of over-lapping imaginary worlds conjured up by government officials, whose beliefs never get marked to market because they are both exempt from market processes and surrounded by people whose major interest is in peddling some special delusion of their own.

posted by James DeLong @ 2:45 PM | General

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Patent Reform

Sarah Lai Stirland reports on the status of patent reform proposals in Intellectual Property Watch, together with a description of the latest filings in the MercExchchange case.

PatentlyO has some MercExchange amicus briefs, and will doubtless soon have others.

posted by James DeLong @ 2:37 PM | Patents

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09.28.2005

BitTorrent Goes Legit!

BitTorrent seems to be bucking the trends (see Solveig's blog earlier this week). This week, BitTorrent announced they successfully raised over $8 million from the venture capital firm DCM-Doll. Considering that BitTorrent's huge marketshare in fileswapping realm, the movie industry should be smiling.

Continue reading BitTorrent Goes Legit! . . .

posted by Amy Smorodin @ 1:05 PM | Internet: P2P, Search Engines...

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No More Smuggling In The Tape Recorder

Well, it has taken decades but the music industry has finally figured out a way to counter all those people smuggling in audio recorders to concerts. (Yes, I realize I'm showing my age by the tape recorder reference in the title.) As explained in the Wall Street Journal article titled, "Bootlegs Go Corporate," entertainment companies are undertaking the monumental task of selling legitimate copies of live shows and making them available immediately after a concert.

Continue reading No More Smuggling In The Tape Recorder . . .

posted by Amy Smorodin @ 12:15 PM | DRM & Watermarks, etc.

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09.27.2005

Fighting Overseas Piracy with Price Discrimination: Will It Work?

The Wall Street Journal reported today that, in an effort to combat rampant movie and music piracy overseas (especially in China), some media companies are radically cutting prices on their DVDs and CDs to undercut the pirates. Warner Brothers, for example, plans to drop DVD prices to roughly $2 to $4 in China and NBC Universal is apparently planning a similar response for Russia.

I find this business strategy very interesting because I think it has legitimate chance of helping to undercut a significant chunk of the piracy that the studios have to deal with in China and other foreign markets. After all, I would think that many Chinese consumers would be willing to spend a dollar or two more to get the legitimate studio version of a film since its quality is likely better and it probably contains a host of extras not available on the pirated versions. And, hopefully, at least some Chinese consumers will also realize it's the right thing to do instead of robbing the content companies of any compensation for the wonderful products they produce.

On the other hand, I'm also wondering if this new strategy might backfire on the movie and music studios. In particular, I'm wondering (a) if this will open up global arbitrage opportunities; and (b) if this sort of price discrimination will rub a lot of other consumers back here in the States the wrong way.

Continue reading Fighting Overseas Piracy with Price Discrimination: Will It Work? . . .

posted by Adam Thierer @ 10:56 PM | International

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Working Together

CNET/ZDNET's Stephen Shankland describes them as "[t]wo companies on opposite sides of the open source philosophical divide," but Microsoft and JBoss have announced a partnership. They'll work to ensure JBoss' Java application server software is compatible with Microsoft Windows Server products. Here's a key passage:

Most of JBoss' software is governed by the LGPL. Unlike the GPL, the LGPL makes it possible to tightly integrate LGPL code with software that uses proprietary code.

Jim has written in the past about how GPL conflicts with the proprietary world. MS wisely has chosen to work with an open source company that has a constructive view toward licensing. Fortunately JBoss hasn't pursued the alternative, quasi-religious path that both excludes nonbelievers and co-opts the work of adherents.

posted by Patrick Ross @ 1:21 PM | Software

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Evidence the Market Works

Awhile back I wrote about e-textbooks, welcoming them as a less expensive alternative to bound textbooks. There was a big backlash to the launch, with lots of folks upset at the DRM restrictions on the e-texts. I was baffled, as I figured that if the restrictions prevented sales, the publishers would relax them.

Well, it appears that's exactly what they've done. Among the original complaints: 1) If my computer crashes I'm out of a book. 2) I can only print a few pages. 3) The book "expires" after a few months and I no longer have it. Here's how most e-books are now being offered, according to a story in Oregon's Register-Guard: 1) The publisher will replace your e-book if your computer dies. 2) You can print as much as you want. 3) You get a lifetime license.

That's the market at work. The campus bookseller in the article says e-textbooks are selling, but not like wildfire. That's what I'd expect for a product that requires a mental shift like this. I still haven't made the full shift; I think I'd still want some old-fashioned textbooks, even though e-textbooks are priced less than used bound books. But this was never about replacing bound books, it was about introducing alternatives to the market.

posted by Patrick Ross @ 11:22 AM | Books

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