What’s Your Favorite Internet Radio Station?

With all of the choices for online music available it’s tough to decide where to turn when you’re looking for music. Every site represents a slight variation on the main theme of providing music and thus they all seem to have their own loyal following. So which Internet radio station do you listen to primarily? I’m a Pandora man myself…

Remix the Remixer

Copyfight Crusader Larry Lessig has just released his new book under a Creative Commons license and, to celebrate, there’s a competition to remix his works under way. From boingboing.net:

Here’s how the competition works: Find any video, interview, or written work of Lessig’s, mash it up with another piece of Lessig’s work and create something new. It can be a video (3 min max), photo or text. Just remix any of Lawrence Lessig’s existing work and create something that is new, unique and creative.

I’m always one for remixes/creative commons so don’t be afraid to get your hands dirty and make something fantastic.

Also, I’ve been following Lessig on Twitter lately and it’s fascinating the mix of the mundane and the world-changing that comes through. Definitely worth checking out.

Here’s a link to the BoingBoing article and here’s one for the competition’s Facebook page.

Some Great New (for me) Websites

It’s been quite awhile since I’ve posted anything here and in that time my Internet habits have changed quite a bit. Now, for anyone actively involved in the Nets none of this will be any news, but if you’re just getting involved in this fantastic, worldwide culture I have a few sites you might want to look up to get yourself heading down the right track:

1. Alright, let’s start with the best of the best (imho) : reddit.com

Now there’s an awful lot of talk about Digg, and Digg is a great site for some people, but Reddit is the cream of the crop as far as user generated content websites go. The simple UI and endless list of subreddits available for subscription. It doesn’t matter what you’re interested in Reddit has something for you; from conspiracy theories to food there’s a subreddit for just about everything. Along with the wealth of content the community is also extremely friendly and helpful and the amount of knowledge redditors bring to the table is sometimes just downright amazing. So what are you waiting for? Head over to the site and start building your karma!

PS: Here’s a great little site to get you started in the Reddit community.

2. Never worry about missing another TV Show with Hulu.com

There are thousands of ways to watch video on the web, from youtube to torrents to tv-links, but rarely do you find a high-quality source of video that is actually supported by the companies that own the content. That is just what Hulu offers. No longer do you have to squint through a low-quality feed to watch the new episode of The Office or The Simpsons, with Hulu you can stream HD quality content right through the site to your computer. Not only does Hulu have new episodes of tons of great shows but it also has entire series of some great older shows, including my personal favorite Arrested Development. The site is constantly adding new content and it is only primed to get better since Disney just bought a share of the site, bringing a whole new slew of programming to your computer.

3. Wile Away the Hours with Stumbleupon

I’ll admit it, I spend what some might consider entirely to much time on the Internet. Occassionally though even I will run out of things to look at on the web. That’s where stumbleupon comes in. A simple-to-install firefox addon (if you don’t run Firefox already please do yourself a favor and download it here, it’s free) that is tailored specifically to your interests will, with the click of a button, send random sites from the edges of the net your way. I find myself stumbling for hours and I still have never had repeat sites. Stumbleupon even learns what you like and don’t like through a simple thumbs-up, thumbs-down rating mechanism. A great time-waster for a rainy day (or work). So download the addon and enjoy!

FISA Vote Tomorrow! Act Now to Save America.

Tomorrow, July 9, Congress will vote on the FISA bill everyone on the net has been talking about. The passing of Jesse Helms has given the American people one more day to let their representatives in Washington know how they feel about illegal wiretapping and the Bush administration’s destruction of the Constitution.

Call your Senator now and tell them how you feel about the bill.

While you’re at it check out this excellent article from Salon.com that puts all of this into historical context in a way that also makes it interesting.

Article is here.

FUH2!

Found this entertaining (and informative) little site on the net today. I figured this would be a perfect way to return to blogging as it covers topics environmental, political and entertaining all while focusing around the high cost of fuel and the weak economy.

FUH2’s entire purpose is hating the Hummer H2. This gas-guzzling eye sore clogs up streets and gives obnoxious guys everywhere a way to voice their insecurities to the world. Seeing as I am from a place about 5 miles from AM General (the company that manufactures HUMMER) I have to put up with more than my fair share of these annoying behemoths and I’m glad someone made a website that so accurately expresses the way I have always felt about them.

I mean, if you’re going to drive an obnoxious gas guzzler at least get a REAL Hummer…

Check it out here.

Mark Ecko Star Wars Streetwear is FINALLY Here

After a long time waiting the new line of Star Wars inspired streetwear from Mark Ecko is finally here. Check it out over at Macy’s (here’s a quick link straight to the stuff, it seems like most of the good stuff is already sold out but I’m sure will be back in stock soon). The models all look like d-bags but the apparel itself is still pretty tight.

DRM is DEAD!

Finally, all the hard work that we on the net have put in seems to have paid off. The last major record label that has persisted in their use of DRM has given in to the tides of change. Sony BMG has announced that they plan on removing all DRM from their MP3 files before the end of the first quarter. Here’s some of the story from over at Giz:

“It’s over. The last major label to hold out on selling DRM-free MP3s, Sony BMG, is “finalizing plans” to sell music not locked down with DRM. It’ll be available sometime in the first quarter, apparently in time to get in on Amazon and Pepsi’s 1 billion song giveaway, which now looks like it’ll have tracks from every major label. So, how’d we get here?

We’ve been saying for a while DRM has cancer (is a cancer?), dying a long, drawn out death—cue Frucci’s “DRM Deathwatch” meme. EMI’s move was characterized as a desperate ploy by the weakest label—hence, it ran with iTunes, something we’ve been told the other labels wouldn’t have even sniffed at because of the dreaded iTunes hegemony (more on that in a sec).

But then Universal, the biggest label in the world, jumped. In large part to cut at iTunes, true. Regardless, the tide had turned. Warner and Sony BMG were wary holdouts. After Warner joined the party, Sony BMG really had little choice—it pretty much had to go open or go home, so we’ve been expecting this.

It’s no surprise Sony is throwing in with Amazon, either. Again, the fear of an iTunes paradigm is very real amongst the labels—if the last 10 years have taught us anything, they crave control more than money—and Amazon is in the best position to compete with iTunes. Especially now that it has something very powerful that iTMS doesn’t—DRM-free tracks from every major label.

The online music market just got a whole lot more interesting.”

Here’s a link to the story and the full comments: Link.

(I would like to point out that this means DRM is dead (basically) on MP3s. Everyone needs to keep fighting the kind of stupid and invasive DRM that still persists on movie rentals, DVDs and the like. Keep an eye out.)

OLPC Give 1 Get 1 Starts Today!

 

One laptop per child’s give 1 get 1 program started today and I am eager to see how the pitch goes. I for one plan on buying one of these just for the sheer pleasure of owning it, the giving one is just a huge bonus. I think this is all a great idea (and they look sweet to boot). You’ll also get a free copy of Simcity, which I guess is cool.

Check out the news over at OLPC news here.

Poker Bots Might Kill Online Poker

 

Ian Ayres writes over at the New York Times Freakonomics blog about how new and improved poker bots might put an end to online poker. Newer, better and harder to trace bots might make it impossible for gaming sights to guarantee the safety of their players. From the article:

“In the very near future, online poker may become a suckers’ game that humans won’t have a chance to win. Bots are quite scale-able and it will be virtually impossible to prohibit computer or computer-assisted online playing.

Poker sites are trying to assure customers that they will kick bots off their site and seize their assets. But unlike the statistical trail left by crude poker cheats at Absolute Poker, it is possible for bots to randomize their strategies and even hire individual humans to run them.

Ultimately the Albertus Polaris program and its offspring could be more effective than any Justice Department indictment in crippling the growth of online gambling. Indeed, our government might even think about subsidizing the development and use of these bots.”

Whether or not you like online gambling it’s amazing how something already so looked down upon could be made to look even worse. I have never trusted these sites to begin with, but this could very well put an end to what used to be fun, fairly harmless entertainment. It’ll be interesting to see what happens.

Link to the article here.

TV Links Shut Down

Alright, I’m a little late with this but I just wanted to discuss the closing of TV-Links.co.uk. This was possibly the one of the coolest sites on the internet, you could log on and watch basically any show or movie you wanted (including many hard to find documentary films). I started watching all kinds of shows on TV Links that I now own at least one season of and watch regularly on TV. I’ll admit that what TV Links was doing was illegal but the film and music industries both need to learn these sites are more likely beneficial to them than they are detrimental. Let me know how you feel.

Check out the full story on the shut down here.

And here’s a list of 38 sites to replace TV Links.

Edit: So apparently TV-Links is back up with a new domain at www.tvlinksdb.com. I haven’t checked it out yet, and nowadays there are better options most of the time anyway (read: hulu.com or The Pirate Bay if you’re into torrents) but it still might be worth checking out.