From MichaelGeist.ca: In June 2008, the Canadian government introduced Bill C-61, new copyright legislation that closely followed the U.S. Digital Millennium Copyright Act. The public response to the bill was both immediate and angry - tens of thousands of Canadians wrote to the Minister and their local Members of Parliament, leading to town hall meetings, negative press coverage, and the growing realization that copyright was fast becoming a mainstream political and policy issue. This film, produced by Michael Geist and Daniel Albahary, asks Canadians from across the country and from a wide range of sectors the question - “why copyright?”.
You are currently browsing the archive for the new media category.
I get my TV through an … err, alternative delivery mechanism. One that for me, makes more sense than channel surfing, remembering to program the PVR, or sitting myself down in front of our aging TV set at an appointed time and being subjected to idiotic commercials and the bombastic media hype of an industry in its death throes.
In the US, interesting developments in free online TV and movies have evolved over the last couple of years, from Joost to Hulu. Even YouTube is talking about streaming movies in the near future.
Unfortunately geo-blocking is preventing us from accessing much of this content in Canada, but the business model for content delivery will change here too, quickly.
Here’s an interesting podcast on why and how this will all come to pass.
Article link: Legal and Free: TV Shows and Movies on the Net
Podcast link: Listen
(via Bill St-Arnaud)
YouTube now supports widescreen 16:9 aspect ratio video display on their site. Which is great. [example]
The new aspect ratio can be used in embedded video as well. By changing the width and height parameters in the embed code in the example below I was able to use the full width available to me in this blog column. This example is 500 x 300 pixels. (I’m also forcing high quality video playback)
[pimp for BCScene]
I enjoyed Podcamp Ottawa yesterday. Thanks to Mark, Andrea and Bob for organizing.
The conversation was frank and informative and it was nice to reconnect with the likes of Julien and Charles who I haven’t seen in a while.
After much conceptual talk in the morning session about context and content and connections, Hugh McGuire did a great job “rebooting” our conversation when he led off the afternoon with a poignant reminder of why, I think, most of us in the room choose to spend the entirety of a Sunday in November sitting on the floor — lovely as the plush red carpet was — talking about podcasting.
Hugh played a clip from well-known Canadian podcaster Scarborough Dude which very effectively reminded us it’s about the audio; that audio, whether it’s online, on the radio, or on a portable device … that audio has a way of communicating to us, of engaging us, of captivating us in a way that the written word or visual media simply cannot.
Chalk it up to the primacy of language, the power of the spoken word, or the theatre of the mind, the fact remains, audio is the most powerful form of communication we have.
And our love of audio is why we choose to spend 6 hours numbing our butts at the NAC yesterday.
Sez friend Hugh McGuire:
I don’t know how Obama’s presidency is going to go, and I don’t hold my breath for any miracles. Any president of the USA has one hell of a challenge on his (or her) hands, and the O-man has inherited a bigger mess than anyone can clean up.
But, man if he wanted to make me happy, he could not have started in a place nearer to my heart than his Tech/Science platform, released today.
[read article] and listen to podcast
Forward-thinking reform to copyright is possible: laws that recognise the growth and importance of the Internet, open source software, and new business models for creators. Canada could take the initiative, and lead the world.
Instead, new legislation proposed by this government will be a complete sell-out to the United States’ government and media’s demands. The Digital Millennium Copyright Act — a law that the U.S. passed in 1997 and has been widely seen as a damaging failure — will be imported wholesale. Instead of inviting a new era, Canada will repeat all the mistakes of the last decade.
This will not be a copyright law for Canadians. It will be a copyright law from entrenched U.S. lobbyists and politicians. Join us, and fight back!
While I’m at it, here’s a link to the Podcast 101 piece done by Kevin Rose and Dan Huard of Systm. Take notes, there’ll be a quiz tomorrow.
Mike Kujawski posted a link on the Podcamp Ottawa Wiki to a very useful, and funny, video explaining RSS in a way anyone can understand. This is going to save me least a couple of hours a week.
Prompted by the release of Apple’s iPhone in the UK, yesterday the BBC announced an optimized download directory of BBC podcasts for the iPhone (and iPod Touch).
Now, that’s moving fast.
The BBC also say they plan to release versions for other mobile devices soon.
For now, point your iPhone or iPod Touch to:
bbc.co.uk/podcasts
Mark Blevis yesterday announced Podcamp Ottawa to be held Novermber 25 in the Panorama Room of the National Arts Centre (go figure ;-)
The idea here is a back-to-basics “UNconference” day of discussions including an Audacity presentation by Mark’s Canadian Podcast Buffet co-host, Bob Goyetche, and a WordPress session lead by Charles Hodgeson.
Updated: Registration is free. Attendees will be asked to make a $10 donation to the Snowsuit fund. Check out the wiki and register soon; attendance is capped at 80.