Kindle review of Free Ride: How the Internet is Destroying the Culture Business and How the Culture Business can Fight Back

Free Ride: How the Internet is Destroying the Culture Business and How the Culture Business can Fight Back by Robert Levine was something I recently read on my beloved kindle. Anyhow, I know its been reviewed in other places. Anyhow, here goes.
Robert Levine's book looks at the impact of companies like Google, Apple and Piratebay.
Levine discusses how these three companies (as examples) leverage there companies as platforms for music (Apple and Itunes) and Books (google and google news and google books). They do this without producing themselves, but making money via adverts or ipods.
Obviously, Bill Gates Open Letter to Hobbyists in which he wrote:-

Why is this? As the majority of hobbyists must be aware, most of you steal your software. Hardware must be paid for, but software is something to share. Who cares if the people who worked on it get paid?


More recently Pete Townsend underlined this in the John Peel lecture, when call apple 'digital vampires'.

I found the book interesting, and far removed from people like Lawrence Lessig's approach.

I found the book a pretty good read and would certainly recommend it.

Free film on Piracy

I discovered a free documentary called Steal this film. The film deals with Bit torrent technology. The film talks to such people as the piratebay founders, mininova founders, the electronic frontier foundation. They talk to Howard Rheingold, Siva Vaidhyanathan and Yochai Benkler.
The film looks at how the MPAA tried to bring down Piratebay in 2006 and failed. That trying to stop torrent technology is like one person said 'trying to stop someone pissing out the swimming pool.'
he film looks at the power of the network and history of the network. One thing, the sound is not brilliant and a few years old (2006).

BBC and book piracy

Over on the BBC website, they have an article entitled Are we due a wave of book piracy? Coming as it does with other discussions on the subject, such As Tim Spalding's article and other bloggers comments, its another interesting look at the problems and advantages of e-books.