Forwarded from: "Rob, grandpa of Ryan, Trevor, Devon & Hannah" <rslade@private> BKDRKNET.RVW 20050603 "Darknet", J. D. Lasica, 2005, 0-471-68334-5, U$25.95/C$33.99/UK#16.99 %A J. D. Lasica %C 5353 Dundas Street West, 4th Floor, Etobicoke, ON M9B 6H8 %D 2005 %G 0-471-68334-5 %I John Wiley & Sons, Inc. %O U$25.95/C$33.99/UK#16.99 416-236-4433 fax: 416-236-4448 %O http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0471683345/robsladesinterne http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0471683345/robsladesinte-21 %O http://www.amazon.ca/exec/obidos/ASIN/0471683345/robsladesin03-20 %O Audience n- Tech 1 Writing 2 (see revfaq.htm for explanation) %P 308 p. %T "Darknet: Hollywood's War Against the Digital Generation" The introduction defines a darknet as a collective system for sharing media files, especially those involved with the removal or circumvention of copy protection technologies. As such, it is basically what is also referred to as a file sharing or peer-to-peer (in the non-technical sense) network, and later the book says that *the* "Darknet" is the merging of all such networks. Lasica also notes other possible implications of the term Darknet, such as the fear that excessive copyright and digital rights restrictions may having a chilling effect on creativity and free speech. (Neither the consistency of capitalization nor the usage of the term darknet become any more definite as the book progresses.) Chapter one provides some stories from the world of "personal media": works created by individuals. There is not much analysis of the content, although there are lots of anecdotes and quotes. Gambits, particularly by movie producers, to extend copyright protections and restrict use, are covered in chapter two. "Release groups," discussed in chapter three, break copy protection and distribute new movies over the net. Personal media gets more coverage in chapter four. Chapters five and six review various new technologies, first for compression and transmission, then for modified usage, such as systems that automatically "G-rate" restricted movies. The point of chapter six is somewhat confused, and this turmoil is even more evident in chapter seven, where accounts of people doing "good works" with pirated material seems to be intended to raise some kind of issue with respect to copyright. (Lasica has a brief mention of a new kind of fair use which he calls "digital rights," but the topic is abandoned undefined.) Chapter eight is back to personal media (with personal broadcasting), and nine has more modified use technologies such as TiVO, ad skipping, and modified pay-per-view. Music gets special attention in chapters ten and eleven, first with collections and playlists, and then with modified use. Chapter twelve provides some historical notes on early file sharing networks. Gaming, and the trading of game "content," is discussed in chapter thirteen. And there is yet one more run at "personal media" in chapter fourteen. As can be seen by the outline, the same themes and topics tend to be repeated several times. The stories are easy to read, but the social ramifications promised in the early parts of the text do not materialize. The narratives are fun, but there is nothing here that hasn't been said before in the mass of magazine articles that have been written on the subject. copyright Robert M. Slade, 2005 BKDRKNET.RVW 20050603 ====================== (quote inserted randomly by Pegasus Mailer) rslade@private slade@private rslade@private The genius of you Americans is that you never make clear-cut stupid moves, only complicated stupid moves which make us wonder at the possibility that there may be something to them we are missing. - Gamel Abdel Nasser http://victoria.tc.ca/techrev or http://sun.soci.niu.edu/~rslade _________________________________________ Attend the Black Hat Briefings and Training, Las Vegas July 23-28 - 2,000+ international security experts, 10 tracks, no vendor pitches. www.blackhat.com
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