Futurelawyer

Why The New York Times Versus Microsoft And Open AI Litigation Will End In Settlement.

The New York Times Microsoft Litigation Will Likely End In Settlement. Kevin O'Keefe is a keen observer of tech trends, and I agree with his conclusion that the risks are too great for Content Creators and Generative AI not to reach some monetary settlement. AI is too important a tech advancement to allow it to be hampered by lack of access to the world's content and knowledge. The Times' and other content creators work product should not be used for profit by others. Such use is way out of line with the concept of "fair use". This is different than the first years after the invention of search engines like Google. It is the culmination of the application of human knowledge to our problems. Settle quickly, grasshoppers. The world wants and needs AI.

Newspapers Are The Death Of Journalism.

We hear a lot about the death of newspapers and competent journalism. The Internet is taking over, it is said. However, it is also true that society and our schools aren't producing good journalists. 

 

Make Your Own Comics Page.

GoComics. News and journalism have migrated to the Internet. With that migration, much of the content we used to get in our local newspapers is available in much broader quantity and quality on the Internet. News aggregators like Google, and other services, can create a curated, personal reading experience for the user who is willing to spend some time aggregating on his or her own. Longtime readers know that some of my blog posts are commentary on comic strips, which have given me respite from daily troubles and stresses since my youth. What began as a fascination with Dick Tracy, became a lifelong love of technology. These days, my favorites are Shoe, Pickles, Dilbert, and Pearls Before Swine. Like all humor, they make us laugh at the same time as they make us think. Thinking is a human activity that is too little done these days, no? So, if you can afford $19.99 a year, go to this website, and choose from hundreds of the best comics in the world. You don't have to rely on local editors to choose what you watch or read anymore. 

#TBT - PressReader - Still The Best Bargain On The Internet.

PressReader. My local paper, the Tampa Bay Times, only prints two copies a week these days. It has gone almost completely digital. Most of us get our news from Google, or some other Internet source. 1440.com is a daily non-political news digest that is ad supported, free, and neutral. The Times costs $11.75 a month, and, recently, even though I subscribe, wouldn't let me in at the site. After wasting 15 minutes, and sending an email, I had enough. PressReader, for $29.95 a month, gives me access to literally hundreds of newspapers and magazines that span the globe. Unlimited access on any device. I became a subscriber years ago, and, after a brief hiatus, resubscribed. You can try it out for 7 days free, and I recommend it. Fair warning, though, you can find yourself looking up after a session and finding several hours gone from your day. But, you will be entertained, informed, and have spent some enjoyable time afterwards, and you will have a good overall view of the many viewpoints of different locales and cultures. 

Invention Of The Pay Wall.

If you get annoyed when a news organization puts up a paywall online when you start reading an article, understand that they are trying to make a living, and need to supplement their advertising revenue. So, requiring paid subscriptions is a necessary evil. Annoying, but necessary. And, in case you wondered where the practice came from...

First Extraterrestrial Flight Powered By An Obsolete Qualcomm Mobile Phone Chip.

First Extraterrestrial Flight On Mars. Now, for something completely different. The little ultralight copter in the photograph is hovering above the Martian landscape. It is the first time in our history that a flight has been successfully attempted on another planet. On earth, this little copter would be a routine thing; but, in an atmosphere equal to the height of 3 Mount Everests on earth, and powered by a Qualcomm mobile chip that powered smartphones several generations back, it is a marvel of human engineering. I will be dead before man exploits the resources of other planets; but, you may be sure it will happen.

Remarkable 2 - It's Also An EReader.

I am spending a fun morning learning about my new Remarkable 2 tablet. While lovers of pen and paper and books might disagree (Michael Wade, is this you?), I prefer reading on electronic tablets. The Read On Remarkable browser extension puts an icon on the browser command bar that automatically sends a pdf of an article or page to the tablet for reading and marking up. The 8 Gigabytes of storage on the tablet won't support a whole library; but, will work well for most things that can be deleted or transferred to a computer before deleting. 

The Infantilization Of The American Mind.

It is slow. It is insidious. It is glacial in its corruption of the American mind. This interview with Jonathan Haidt, co-author of "The Coddling of the American Mind", is brilliant. We have raised a generation of Americans who are "triggered" my "micro-aggressions", and need "safe spaces" to avoid having their soft, malleable brains from being psychically injured by the words of others. How did this happen? Haidt traces it to around 2014 and 2015, and has an insight that struck me. My generation fought the restrictions on free speech of an entrenched bureaucracy. The coddling conspiracy has its origins in the millennials whom we have coddled their entire lives. Is it a surprise that these young people, who have been given "participation ribbons" just for showing up to competitions, feel entitled to be protected from all hurt and anguish? We need a new curriculum, a boot camp for young minds, at which we assault them with opposing ideas, and require them to formulate an intelligent response before they can pass. How will the next generation defend itself from evil in the world if they can't tolerate hostile rhetoric? 

The New York Times - What Happened To Adolph Ochs' Mission To "invite intelligent discussion from all shades of opinion.”?

Bari Weiss Resignation Letter. The Gray Lady has to be blushing today. Bari Weiss resigning because of workplace harassment and intolerance is intolerable in itself. But, the elitism that resulted in "the lessons that ought to have followed the election—lessons about the importance of understanding other Americans, the necessity of resisting tribalism, and the centrality of the free exchange of ideas to a democratic society—have not been learned. Instead, a new consensus has emerged in the press, but perhaps especially at this paper: that truth isn’t a process of collective discovery, but an orthodoxy already known to an enlightened few whose job is to inform everyone else," seems to still be running rampart at the one place where it should be tempered by rational discourse on both sides of the political aisle. Apolitical myself, except for my passionate belief in free speech issues, I am fearful that the cancel culture, and the orthodoxy of the elite few, have forever poisoned the free thinking, rational reasoning that used to make the New York Times the "paper of record". Shame on you, New York Times. You, of all of us, should know better.

Pressreader - Some Light Daily Reading For You

PressReader. What if I told you that you never had to get newsprint on your hands again, and that you could read thousands of newspapers and magazines online for $29.95 a month? Of course, nobody has the time to read that many; but, the choice of what to read is yours. For about the price of a subscription to the TampaBay Times, and a couple of magazines, I have access to thousands of papers and magazines from my computer. You can check out the offerings free for 7 days. The only problem you will have is that you won't have time for the rest of your life, once you get hooked. Learn to speedread. You will need the skill.