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An interview with John Kennedy
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Andrew Orlowski
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In an interview from the music business annual Midem, we speak to John Kennedy, chairman and CEO of the IPFI, the international trade group representing record labels. Here he talks about the new ISP strategy, and the future of the big label. [Full interview at The Register here]…
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The Big Switch by Nick Carr
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Andrew Orlowski
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Nick Carr’s weblog is one of the rarest things on the web: intelligent technology criticism that you’d actually want to read for pleasure. He’s an elegant writer with a waspish wit, and I’ve a special reason for seeing him prosper. Back in 2002 I was living in San Francisco, a city that was in the…
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Rebranding the RIAA
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Andrew Orlowski
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Last week, we reported the possibility that the lobby group that represents America’s sound recording owners (RIAA) might merge with the global sound recording owners lobby group (IFPI). This raised the awful possibility that the Recording Industry Ass. of America would disappear – making all those “Boycott the RIAA”-type domains useless. Zut alors! The new…
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Sadville bans usury
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Andrew Orlowski
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The global financial crisis has encroached on that escapist Garden of the Id, Second Life. Linden Labs is to ban virtual banks from the virtual playground, the operator said in a statement yesterday. The problem is that the virtual money-lenders operate rather too much like their real world counterparts. wrote Ken D., yesterday “Since the…
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A Puny Wind
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Andrew Orlowski
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Domestic “microwind” turbines, recently championed as “power from the people” by opposition leader David Cameron, are about as useful as a chocolate teapot. A study of domestic turbines was published by renewable energy consultants Encraft in December. According to the study, only one of the 15 household wind turbines generated enough to power a 75W…
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Kevin Kelly: the first human/Martian hybrid?
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Andrew Orlowski
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Interbreeding between humans and aliens is a recurrent theme of science fiction – and late night talk radio. But could an example we’ve unearthed from near San Francisco, California, prove to be the first living example? Scientists have been able to identify human DNA for over 40 years. And here at The Register, we have…