This week I didn't get to the lecture (someone was killed on the train tracks on my way from Brisbane - I have a good excuse!), but hopefully I can try and get my head around the lecture notes.
This weeks topic is Free Culture and Free Society. When I was looking at the lecture notes I saw a quote that really stood out for me: "Our current culture is one in which creators get to create only with the permission of the powerful, or of creators of the past" - Lawrence Lessige. This was something that really stood out for me, it seems like we have to be so careful with the words we use and how we use them, especially if someone has said something similar previously.
The lecture notes talk about www.creativecommons.org, an organisation where copyrighting something is more flexible in it's terms and conditions. Usually when you get a copyright from Creative Commons, you're work can be reproduced and distributed as long as the reproducer or distributor acknowledges the work is yours.
The lecture notes then move on and talk about Free Software. In 1981, Richard Stallman a system using only free software. In the lecture notes the idea of free software was compared to a historical bazaar, where anyone was allowed to contribute and add to it.
Also discussed were source codes, which make up a program, and give computers instructions. I have a feeling these source codes are what we see when we're restarting our computers. This is something that went right over my head, and I really wish I could have made it to the lecture!
Another interesting thing was the difference between Propriety and Open Source programs. Microsoft Office and Apple are two examples of Propriety, and Mozilla and Open Office are examples of Open Source.
The Tute*Spark for this week is to download an Open Source program, and use it for ten days. Seeing as I already use Mozilla instead of Internet Explorer, that rules that out! I think I'll used dilandau.com, a website where you can download music. This is a common alternative to iTunes, and also an alternative to Limewire which I usually use. A friend of mine showed me this website the other day, and I haven't had time to check it out yet.
Update:
For the last week and a bit I've been using Dilandau to download my music. It's faster than Limewire, and downloads straight to iTunes (I still can't figure out how to make Limewire do that!). Some songs were a bit hard to find, and there weren't as many choices as Limewire. When I typed in a song title a lot of the time other random things would pop up as well. I'm definitely going to keep using it, it's so fast!
That's all for this week, thanks!
Emily
Also discussed were source codes, which make up a program, and give computers instructions. I have a feeling these source codes are what we see when we're restarting our computers. This is something that went right over my head, and I really wish I could have made it to the lecture!
Another interesting thing was the difference between Propriety and Open Source programs. Microsoft Office and Apple are two examples of Propriety, and Mozilla and Open Office are examples of Open Source.
The Tute*Spark for this week is to download an Open Source program, and use it for ten days. Seeing as I already use Mozilla instead of Internet Explorer, that rules that out! I think I'll used dilandau.com, a website where you can download music. This is a common alternative to iTunes, and also an alternative to Limewire which I usually use. A friend of mine showed me this website the other day, and I haven't had time to check it out yet.
Update:
For the last week and a bit I've been using Dilandau to download my music. It's faster than Limewire, and downloads straight to iTunes (I still can't figure out how to make Limewire do that!). Some songs were a bit hard to find, and there weren't as many choices as Limewire. When I typed in a song title a lot of the time other random things would pop up as well. I'm definitely going to keep using it, it's so fast!
That's all for this week, thanks!
Emily
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