Mirko Tobias Schäfer / Assistant Professor
University of Utrecht Department for Media and Culture Studies
Mirko Tobias Schäfer / Assistant Professor
University of Utrecht Department for Media and Culture Studies
if software patents become legalized or if the digital culture and software remains free to evolve in Europe.
The decision is less about technology as some rightists suggest, it is rather a decision on cultural freedom and the free market. Software patents will stifle economic growth and innovation, they are used by monopolistic companies to regulate markets and to rule out competitors.
There will be a demonstration against the directive pushed through by the commission lately on July 5th in Strasbourg. The Economic Majority will show up and demonstrate against the attempts of the few big corporations, their lobby and the corruptionists to restrict the economic development of European companies.
Tags Opinion
Date April 2005 / Category News
Gott ist tot: aber so wie die Art der Menschen ist wird es vielleicht noch jahrhundertelang Höhlen geben, in denen man seinen Schatten zeigt.
[God is dead; but given the ways of men, there may still be caves for thousands of years in which his shadow will be shown.]
Friedrich Nietzsche (Die fröhliche Wissenschaft)
Tags Opinion
Date January 2005 / Category News
Last summer Marianne van den Boomen and me were working on an article on open source software. We noticed that open source has become a metaphor for democracy, freedom, transparent work processes and collective legends of a better society. Our attempt to map the metaphors travelling through society resulted in the article "Will the revolution be open sourced? How open source travels through society".
The article is published in the book "How open is the future. Economic, Social and Cultural Scenarios inspired by Free and Open Source Software" edited by Marleen Wynants and Jan Cornelis. The editors and a Brussel University and industry network, are launching the book with a one day seminar on Open Source on February 3rd 2005.
The book is released under the creative commons license and is available online as well. Download the book at Crosstalks.
Tags Book
Date December 2004 / Category News
das Biedermeier ist zurück.
Im neuen Lifestylemagazin Fleisch werden alte, heimelige Werte neu gefeiert. Auf der Strecke bleiben politische Kritik und gesellschaftliches Engagement. In dem Artikel "So viel ist unsicher" will Chefredakteur Markus Huber das Bild der „Generation Golf“ zur „Generation Unsicherheit“ korrigieren.
Der nicht vorhandene Bausparvertrag, das unmöglich gewordene „Vollkaskoleben“ der Elterngeneration und die Unwahrscheinlichkeit der sicheren Pension führen laut Huber zu Unplanbarkeit und Unvorhersehbarkeit. Da muß jeder Moment genossen werden, denn wer weiß wie lange das noch geht. Der Lifestyle der „Generation Unsicherheit“, oszilliert zwischen 60er Jahre Möbeln, Schinken-Käse Toast, Apple Powerbook, der Melange aus Designermode und H&M und dem Leben für den Augenblick. ->
Date November 2004 / Category News
Of course I am deeply concerned about the tendencies going on in Europe lately. Dumb people exploring their proud into "their" nation. I can only refer to Schopenhauer's excellent comment on this problem:
"Every miserable fool who has nothing at all of which he can be proud, adopts as a last resource pride in the nation to which he belongs; he is ready and happy to defend all its faults and follies tooth and nail, thus reimbursing himself for his own inferiority."
Arthur Schopenhauer, Aphorisms
"Aber jeder erbärmliche Tropf, der nichts in der Welt hat, darauf er stolz sein könnte, ergreift das letzte Mittel, auf die Nation, der er gerade angehört, stolz zu sein. Hieran erholt er sich und ist nun dankbarlich bereit, alle Fehler und Torheiten, die ihr eigen sind, mit Händen und Füßen zu verteidigen."
Arthur Schopenhauer, Aphorismen
And I think, we don't need these fools around. So we all should tell them to **** off and to leave for another planet!
Tags Opinion
Master students of Utrecht University (Institute for Media en Re/presentation) are organizing a media festival (May 26th-27th).
Inside the Magic Bubble refers to the idea of an immersion into virtual worlds. The festival is presenting student projects on lifelike experiences in virtual reality, the vanishing of interfaces and the blurring between real life and virtual reality.
Inside the Magic Bubble
Festival Inside the Magic Bubble will take place on:
Thursday the 26th and Friday the 27th of May 2005
at Studio T - Kromme Nieuwegracht 20 - Utrecht
Entrance fee: 2,50 Euro
Op 26 en 27 mei 2005 zullen nieuwe media projecten van studenten uit heel Nederland eenmalig tentoongesteld worden op het festival Inside the Magic Bubble. Tijdens dit festival, georganiseerd door negen studenten van de Universiteit Utrecht, zal het begrip immersie onder de loep genomen worden. De vraag die centraal staat tijdens dit event is hoe nieuwe media onze ideeën over immersie hebben beïnvloed. Een vraag waarop de bezoeker spelenderwijs zelf een antwoord zal formuleren. Meer is er te zien op op de website.
Tags Event
Date March 2005 / Category News
On Monday March 7th the EU Commission accepted the directive on copyrights and software patents against the will of the EU Parliament. The M$ lobby won. Software patents are about to be legalized in the EU; Europe won't make a difference any more. It will harm our cultural freedom, it will stiffle innovation and slow down economic growth. The future won't be open.
Unfortunately the EU Commission is obviously neither representing the people nor Europe.
Council Presidency Adopts Software Patent Agreement Against Council's Rules
De website van NoSoftwarepatents.com in het Nederlands: Geen Softwarepatenten.
Tags Opinion
Date December 2004 / Category News
"60 years of liberation, 50 years State Treaty, 10 years EU membership. The so-called jubilee year of 2005 must be expected to bring Austria another surge of historical distortions, of victim myths and assorted national constructions of identity." The right wing administration will celebrate themselves and launch a neo-nationalist/patriotic romaticism. Concerned citizens are using the platform to formulate necessary critique: Austria 2005
hier is een artikel in het Nederlands over het Oostenrijkse dilemma (gepubliceerd in Cut Up) “Die Monstershow”, Oostenrijk en de voorbereidingen voor het jubileumsjaar 2005.
Date November 2004 / Category News
Very interesting how the EU administration is pushing directives that help monopolists to regulate markets and to avoid competition. Next monday the directive on software patents will be adopted by the council for agriculture, environment and fishing (I guess these guys really know how software works).
According to a recent survey of the Deutsche Bank Research software patents will stiffle innovation and market growth. According to a HP memo published earlier this year software patents will help Microsoft to keep open source out of the market.
More information:
FFII
Free Software Foundation Europe
Tags Opinion
Date November 2004 / Category News
In het kader van het Dutch Electronic Art Festival 2004 organiseert V2_
op 10 november a.s. een bijeenkomst over samenwerking tussen universiteiten, hogescholen, bedrijven en r&d instellingen in kunst en mediatechnologie. Studenten nieuwe media worden opgeroepen mee te discussiëren met sprekers uit onderwijs en bedrijfsleven; in samenwerking met het bedrijfsleven van invloed op de kwaliteit van het hoger onderwijs? Hoe is het om met studenten van een andere opleiding samen te werken in interdisciplinaire projectgroepen?