- Ubuntu Software Centre to support PayPal
The H Open Source has the news that Canonical will be expanding its use of the popular micropayment service from just its Ubuntu One Music Store to the Software Center sometime before this Christmas. I give them considerable credit in terms of finding ways to help support FLOSS developers, enabling more models than the traditional free as in beer one. I doubt I am alone in my lack of thrill of PayPal as the processor of choice. I hardly find their past actions compatible with notions of openness and transparency. I hope Canonical, if successful, can exert a little leverage. I’d have been even happier if they’d just launched their own FLOSS compatible micropayment service. - Mint makers retain 50% of Banshee affiliate revenue
The H Open Source also had this story in the vein of FLOSS projects trying to find ways to support themselves. I am not sure how I feel about this. The makers of Mint clearly do their own worthwhile work in packaging and marketing; it is one of the faster growing new Linux distros. Starving, even partially, an upstream project of some of its revenue stream doesn’t seem like a fair move even if the amounts in question have so far been negligible. - The pirates of YouTube
From his site, craphound.com, Cory linked to his latest Guardian article, this time about not only the theoretical problems with YouTube’s Content ID copyright infringement filtering and takedown system but an incredibly well document series of abuses against uploads that originate from a project explicitly constitute to digitize public domain works. I am one of the volunteer scanners that helped work on many of the files in question itemized in Public.Resource.org’s report to the National Archivist. - New internet law limits privacy consumer choices, Bits at NYTimes.com
- Is Apple using patents to hurt open standards?, Ars Technica
- World’s first programmable quantum photonic chip, ExtremeTech via Slashdot
- Researchers Teach Subliminally; Matrix Learning not Far Away, Fellow Geek via Slashdot
- Largest-Ever Simulation of the Universe Revealed, Technology Review
- Clive Thompson on the Future of Printed Books, Magazine at Wired
- World’s smallest steam engine comes to life, TG Daily via Slashdot
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