I’ve long had a rule that whatever [tag]Microsoft[/tag] does, no matter how wonderful it sounds, and especially if loads of news stories appear saying it is wonderful, at some point it will end up screwing the very companies I want to succeed.
But what’s this? “Microsoft and Creative Commons Release Tool for Copyright Licensing.” Yes, Microsoft has come up with a free tool that lets you embed the [tag]Creative Commons[/tag] licence into your Word, Excel or Powerpoint document with just one click.
This is a *huge* boost to the Creative Commons movement which is as much a philosophy as it is a practical tool. Creative Commons is far more relevant for Americans than it is for Europeans because we’re not quite so insane over intellectual property “rights” over here, but the wave is coming so anything that can be done has to be good. Plus of course the Internet is blurring the boundaries more and more.
It is easy to see how this works in Microsoft’s favour – it gives it so much needed credibility at a time when the open source philosophy is becoming endemic. And it isn’t that much trouble or effort for the company, and it doesn’t upset anyone in particular. Even so though, I’m still pondering: how is Microsoft going to screw people with this?
As for [tag]Al Gore[/tag]. Well he can do no wrong at the moment thanks to [tag]An Inconvenient Truth[/tag] where he does what journalists should have done three years ago and points out the very real realities of global warming and the frankly Orwellian attempts by the US administration to shut this debate up.
Mr Gore is now a hero – for a short while – and another attempt at running for president has been attached to him. I don’t buy it – it’s like the Howard Dean presidential campaign, a media storm soon knocked down by harsh realities.
But let’s take a more critical look at this film and Mr Gore consciousness expanding efforts. For one, I am in the UK and simply cannot get hold of this film. If the message is so important why on earth hasn’t it been made available for download? Because underneath the altruistic exterior is a money-making machine. We may be saving the planet but there’s no harm in making a few bucks in the meantime.
I’ve even resorted to searching the Bittorrent websites to try to download a filmed version, but then the people that are so content to film the latest Hollywood Nonsensebuster in the cinema are strangely lacking when it comes to intelligent films. There is a huge demand for it though because people are knocking up fake versions of it and posting them and are being swamped with downloaders.
But what really gets me is the “pledge” on the official An Inconvenient Truth website at www.climatecrisis.net. Yes, as of this moment an incredible 210,506 people have pledged to, er, watch the film. You will note they have not pledged to cut down on their use of petrol, or pledged to lobby their Congressman, or pledged to do anything in fact. They have pledge to watch a film. Which no doubt makes provides them with all the justification they need when they jump into their 4×4 to drive five minutes to the cinema to watch it.
If it’s a revolution of thought, it’s a very American one.
