When will Tech Companies figure out that it’s actually GOOD business to have a DRM that isn’t draconian?

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There’s a big todo about EA’s DRM – and rightly so. It’s  no wonder Spore is being pirated at amazing rates. You know – many people would be willing to pay for it (and NOT try to steal it) if EA would only permit you to actually own what you bought.

The Penny Arcade provides a lovely analogy:

“Imagine, though, an unsuspecting bibliophile returning home with their copy of The True-Born Englishman
only to discover that once they’ve read it, the pages turn to ash. Or maybe they can read it and let a couple of friends borrow it, but that’s it. No more reads, thank you very much. What if they find that there is someone lurking outside their library window, watching them, making sure no one else catches a glance of page 32? Or, god forbid, they try to go and sell the book back?”

Be reasonable and you’ll find thefts go down.

Really, Will, I know you’re a reasonable man, can’t you do anything about this?

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Kids These Days (sheesh)….

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Net Gen kids cheat, they say….

OK, this annoys me.  Apparently, we learn very little through the millennia.

“The children now love luxury; they have bad manners, contempt for authority; they show disrespect for elders and love chatter in place of exercise. Children are now tyrants, not the servants of their households. They no longer rise when elders enter the room. They contradict their parents, chatter before company, gobble up dainties at the table, cross their legs, and tyrannize their teachers.” ( Attributed to SOCRATES by Plato ~400BC)

The Net Generation Cheating Challenge
Valerie Milliron and Kent Sandoe, Innovate, Vol.4 No 6
“ABSTRACT:
Academic integrity is the cornerstone of the best we have to offer in higher education. Integrity flourishes in an environment that encourages mutual respect, fairness, trust, responsibility, and a love of learning and that is maintained by safeguards like clear expectations, fair and relevant assessments, and vigilant course management (McCabe and Pavela 2004). Compelling evidence of widespread academic dishonesty among Net-Generation students threatens to undermine both the environment of trust that nourishes integrity and the safeguards that ensure it.

Net-Generation students’ disregard of societal norms regarding academic honesty coupled with their nearly constant connectivity to each other can severely undermine assessment, whether it is done online or via more traditional methods (Exhibit 1). Our experience with unauthorized online quiz collaboration demonstrates how students can subvert the quality of online grading and how initial infractions can spread to pollute the learning environment, raising the question of whether the grades assigned are valid measures of what the enrolled student has learned. The results of our study reinforce the importance of using the latest technology to design a more secure learning environment and foster an appreciation for academic integrity.”

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Yet another “Trouble in River City” Article – this one by SUSAN GREENFIELD

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I’ve actually been pondering this since it first came out. I’m getting pretty tired of the “Games are bad for society” rhetoric. Why can’t people get past hating things and look at something that can actually make a difference, like *how*  are they useful; what are they good for; is there something we can do better with games than with other media?…  I’ve decided that rather than try and draft a careful response to this article, I’ll just give a somewhat emotional one. I’ve taken the liberty of re-printing large parts of the article; the link to the original is just below:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-565207/

Modern-technology-changing-way-brains-work-says-neuroscientist.html#StartComments

The original text is in green and my responses are in black italics just so there is no confusion about who said what.

The REAL brain drain: Modern technology – including violent video games – is changing the way our brains work, says neuroscientist

By SUSAN GREENFIELD – Last updated at 22:17pm on 9th May 2008

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The University of Calgary (my alma mater) wins an award!! –for bullying its faculty

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Richly deserved: http://bulliedacademics.blogspot.com/2008/05/university-of-calgary-in-alberta-canada.html

AND:

http://bulliedacademics.blogspot.com/2008/05/university-of-calgary-in-alberta-canada_21.html

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Videogames – Ya Got Trouble!~

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Some years ago I was at a conference where Dmitri Williams was talking about the social history of videogames. He made reference to this song as a way of illustrating how the societal reaction to videogames isn’t really new. Since then I’ve thought about re-working (OK maybe perverting a little) the lyrics to match the current denunciation of our newest medium (with apologies and all due respect for the original composer Meredith Willson (1902-1984). For a dictionary of the original terminology, see: http://www.sewickley.org/~kcerny/LowerSchool/divisionmusical/TheMusicManDictionary.htm

Ya Got Trouble (original lyrics found here)

Read on to see my updated lyrics….

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A Fun place to visit online:

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It is not new, but I recently came across a fun site to visit…. [I Can Has Cheezburger]

cat
more cat pictures

And there is also it’s “sister”site [I Has A Hotdog]:

breed
see more dog pictures

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U of Calgary to disallow payments via credit

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While many schools are trying to advance into the 21st century, others are, … well, … I really don’t know how to describe this. Words fail me. I’m not surprized though. Clearly, a university that claims to cherish the undergraduate experience can’t go around making their lives easier…

I think it would be fun to see the university handle having EVERY student pay their fees with loonies – all at the same time – with the press watching….. Or maybe, they could go to a school that actually cares about them.

From the Gautlet: http://gauntlet.ucalgary.ca/story/12288

U of C to disallow payments via credit
Sara Hanson
Gauntlet News

March 20, 2008

Earlier this week, a notice was posted on the University of Calgary’s enrollment services webpage notifying students of the change; however, the university has yet to publicly announce the reasons behind the decision.

In 2004, the nearly $1 million in credit card processing fees was raised as an issue of concern, as the university noted the money could be better spent on other services for students. At the time, however, the Students’ Union stressed that credit card payment was a necessity for those students who need extra time to earn enough money to cover their fees.

SU president Julie Bogle stated that while the SU was notified of the decision two weeks ago, they were not adequately consulted in the process.

“It is really unfortunate that after the SU has worked in collaboration with the university successfully on so many other projects that there was not any appropriate consolation on a policy of this magnitude,” said Bogle. “We really would have like to see something like a one year time line which would have allowed students to prepare and make the appropriate financial commendations.”

The policy change comes into effect Jul. 1, 2008.

University administration could not be reached for comment before press time.

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Resisting the Corporatization and Militarization of University Education

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I just love this:

http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=8342 

This is from the University of British Columbia 

 To effectively resist the commercialization of public space and the corporatization and militarization of education, students at the University of British Columbia (UBC) created a political group in the summer of 2007 called Students for a Democratic Society (SDS). SDS-UBC consists of students who are unafraid to use direct-action to enact radical social change.  We actively resist the corporate and military funding of our education, and we believe that students should have a meaningful role in the decision-making processes at the university.

Some concrete issues that came out of Resisting the University which SDS-UBC hopes to realize:

  • Banning military recruitment at UBC.

  • Banning military funding for the Arts and Sciences (eg from the Security and Defence Forum of the Canadian military).

  • Stopping the rise of sessional teachers by changing the university’s hiring policies.

  • Changing the tenure process so that it breeds less fear, conservatism and complacency.

  • Stopping commercial development on campus: affordable student, staff and faculty housing only!

  • Equalizing the allocation of funds so that departments that don’t exist to generate a profit secure adequate funding for quality research and permanent staff.

  • Pressuring the provincial government to better fund post-secondary education.

  • No more Tuition Fees! Zero student debt and zero fees to ensure the university is accessible to all.

  • Transforming UBC’s governance structures into more transparent, representative and accountable bodies by empowering the Senate; jettisoning appointed seats; allowing students to easily place an item on the Board of Governors agenda; and eliminating corporate presence on the Board.

  • An official acknowledgement that UBC is built on stolen land and that the Coast Salish, and the Musqueam people in particular, have a right to it.

  • Coalition building among sessionals, faculty, and other activists organizations to realize these goals.

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