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Inside, wide-eyed

A weblog on digital civil rights, Free Software and Access to Knowledge.

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Book on wireless networks in developing countries

gerloff

Friday 27 January 2006

There's a new book out that looks sympathetic even to a non-techie like me: Wireless Networking in the Developing World

The massive popularity of wireless networking has caused equipment costs
to continually plummet, while equipment capabilities continue to
increase. By applying this technology in areas that are badly in need of
critical communications infrastructure, more people can be brought
online than ever before, in less time, for very little cost. We hope to
not only convince you that this is possible, but also show how we have
made such networks work, and to give you the information and tools you
need to start a network project in your local community.

The whole thing is available under a Creative Commons - Share Alike License. So go ahead, test it and improve it.

It somewhat reminds me of Cory Doctorow's Someone Comes To Town, Someone leaves Town", which partly talks about setting up a free wireless network in Toronto.

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Music major comes to its senses

gerloff

Friday 27 January 2006

Finally, a music sort-of-major has noticed that suing your customers might not be the most effective form of marketing. As El Reg reports, the Canadian label Nettwerk, which manages Avril Lavigne and Dido, is intervening in a case where the RIAA is suing a family over alledgedly illegal downloads of music.

The privately-owned Nettwerk Music Group is intervening, it says,
because the songs downloaded by the Gruebel family include Avril
Lavigne, a Nettwerk management client. Nettwerk will fund the Gruebel's
defense.

"The current actions of the RIAA are not in my artists' best interests,"
said Nettwerk chief executive Terry McBride in a statement.

"Litigation is not 'artist development'. Litigation is a deterrent to
creativity and passion and it is hurting the business I love."

It seems that there are some intelligent and forward-thinking people left in the music business. Kudos to them.

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