David Bollier posted an essay this week which focuses on how best to protect the public commons online. No one can argue against the principle that academic knowledge grows and evolves best when it is readily available to other academics. Yet, in the absence of the Internet as a publishing medium, academic publishing has turned academic knowledge into a commodity. Unfortunately, the academy took the direction that Bollier warns against when talking about the public commons online,

The key challenge is not how to devise better business models per se. Our challenge is to recognize socially created value as a powerful force in its own right—and then find the best ways to protect and sustain that value over the long term. . . . let us start by recognizing and honoring the sovereignty of the commons as a separate category of value-creation, and work from there. Otherwise, we will squander a rich opportunity.

Here's my quote for the week. I found it in pembo13's signature line in a comment on Slasdot:

"Thanks for all the money you paid to us. We've used it to buy off ISO among other things" -Microsoft

Sad but true.

News at Ars Technica and Wired News while I was out of town at CCCC in New Orleans. Open XML has been approved as an ISO.

Good piece over at Ars Technica describing how to build a green PC. They have also provided some pre-configured build specs for those that simply want suggestions for a good set of components.

As Lessig point out, this is "the beauty of political remix":

For those who have seen Lawrence Lessig speak or viewed one of this presentations online, you'll want to see Lessig's video on why he is for Barak Obama. Very convincing argument. High quality quick time movie available here.