I’m quoted briefly in a story today in E-Commerce Times (see “Apple’s Patent Attack: This Too May be Overhyped” by Erika Morphy) about the patent lawsuit filed this week by Apple against rival mobile device maker HTC.
Apple, of course, produces the iPhone, while HTC makes Google’s Nexus One and other devices that run on Google’s [...]
Larry Downes is a consultant and speaker on developing business
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Apple v HTC: The Plot Sickens
March 5th, 2010
The Italian Job: What the Google Convictions are Really About
February 25th, 2010
I was pleased to be interviewed last night on BBC America World News (live!) about the convictions of three senior Google executives by an Italian court for privacy violations. The case involved a video uploaded to Google Videos (before the acquisition of YouTube) that showed the bullying of a person with disabilities. (See “Larger [...]
Note to eBay: A Chink in the Amazon Armor?
February 19th, 2010
I don’t usually blog “personal” stories, but this one is irresistible. It raises disturbing questions at the border of digital and physical life, and legal problems of trademark and the emerging issues of cloud computing and data liability.
EBay, as everyone knows, has been struggling to improve its customer experience in the light of disappointing results [...]
Google Books Redux: Technical Objections Remain
February 11th, 2010
I write today on CNET (see “Gripes over Google Books go Technical”) about the Department of Justice’s filing last week in the Google Books case. The Amended Settlement Agreement (ASA), released in November, will be discussed by the parties at a fairness hearing on Feb. 18th.
The DoJ continues to object to the settlement, but now [...]
The Other Side of Privacy
February 4th, 2010
After attending last week’s Federal Trade Commission online privacy roundtable, I struggled for several days to make some sense out of my notes and my own response to calls for new legislation to protect consumer privacy. The result was a 5,000 word article—too long for nearly anyone to read. More on that later.
Even [...]
The Growth of Digital Life in Numbers
January 26th, 2010
As I write in The Laws of Disruption, the pace with which digital life is developing and expanding is easy to measure but impossible to comprehend. Changes in the ways in which we interact, experience entertainment and other information content, and exist as citizens of a digital realm happen so fast they outstrip our ability [...]
The White House’s New Internet Policy, and thoughts on Comcast v. FCC
January 21st, 2010
I published the first of two pieces on CNET today about interesting and even encouraging developments in Washington over Internet policy. (See “New Year, New Policy Push for Universal Broadband”)
In short, I believe that over the past year the Obama administration has come to see Internet products and services as one of the best [...]
The Post-CES Hangover
January 15th, 2010
It’s taken me all week to recover from the information and sensory overload of the 2010 International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. I want to give particular thanks to the staff of Tech Policy Central, which put on a superb program of speakers and content.
Boiling down my notes from all the sessions, I’ve just [...]
Net Neutrality: Back Away Slowly
January 8th, 2010
My analysis on recent developments in the FCC’s proposed net neutrality rulemaking, based in part on comments I heard yesterday at a conference being held as part of the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, was posted this morning on CNET.
To me, these and other information crumbs suggest a more measured approach to keeping the [...]
Net Neutrality Doublespeak: Deep Packet Inspection is a Bad Idea, Except When it Isn’t
January 6th, 2010
An interesting tempest in a teapot has emerged this week following some overblown rhetoric by and in response to celebrity causemeister Bono. There’s a deeper lesson to the incident, however, one with important implications for the net neutrality debate. (More on that in a moment.)
In a New York Times op-ed column on Jan. [...]