Identi.ca's licensing is naive and a deterrent (03:21PM)

The hot topic today seems to be Identi.ca. Some people are dropping Twitter in favor it. I was even inspired to join identi.ca today but now I wish I didn't. I won't use it in its current form.

Currently, you must agree to license everything you share over it under Creative Commons Attribution 3.0. Evan Prodromou from Identi.ca did state on today's Gillmor Gang, this is something that will change in the future and that users will be able to choose their licensing but until this is done the service shouldn't be taken seriously.

Don't get me wrong. Creative Commons licensing is great and I do license some content I create using it. However, Identi.ca's forced CC licensing is a huge deterrent for me and it should be for you too.

Heck, I can't even upload an avatar of myself! I don't have a photo of myself that I took and I'm willing to Creative Commons license. Surely, I shouldn't upload a photograph of myself that was taken by another photographer....I don't have the right to license their work under Creative Commons! This is something you have to think about when you upload your avatar too.

Even put photographs aside since the service doesn't seem to give you a way to upload and share files yet but it seems that this is planned based on the wording on sign up. Currently, you're going to be licensing everything you share through Identi.ca under Creative Commons if you intended to or not.

Ok, I get that identi.ca is a new service and there are a lot of things left to complete but to force this extreme licensing now, which cannot be revoked, is ridiculous. Allow the publishers to reserve and retain all their rights until there is more granular control. Of course, if someone wants to Creative Commons their work they're still free to do so. Forcing it on people isn't really giving users the fair experience that Identi.ca is claiming they are.

For now, I'm sticking with Twitter. Follow me there.

:: Comments left behind ::

fair enough, though I must say that I don't like it because it's really no better than twitter, because it has all of the same flaws, it's just implemented differently.

when you licensee a work with one of these CC lisences, you're giving away rights to a specific instance, and to other people. As the holder--presumably--of all the rights to a photo, you're never restricted by the same terms that people using the CC work are. That is, unless you're a contributor to a collective work, in which case, as a contributor you can only resilience your specific contribution. Which makes sense.

And I think if you licensing your avatar under CC you're only licensing those 100x100 pixels, using anything more than that would still be infringement? I mean this is sort of an artifact of the idea that copyrights cover "things" (the text of a book, the data in an image, the reproduction of a sound recording/the lyrics/tune) not "ideas" (the story, the visual concept, the performance).

:: tycho garen July 21, 2008 04:36 PM

Drill here, drill now just isn't enough (03:21AM)
Congress and the Administration need to get their act together and do more to lower gas, oil, and energy costs and fast. They're playing political games with our future, by hoping they will have something positive to promote just in time for the November elections, while it's fresh in our minds. Meanwhile, we're all suffering now, and suffering greatly.

To make matters worse I feel that all the current proposals do not do enough. Besides the need for more domestic drilling in the US and off shore drilling, there still remains a huge need for more oil refineries and power plants. The construction of both can help greatly relieve our pain at the gas pumps in the future.

An idea I had is there are dozens of closed or closing US Naval bases along our coasts and I bet many of them would make perfect locations for new oil refineries due to their port locations, docks, and moorings. Where the bases/ports are not deep or large enough, they could be used for new nuclear power plants.

I think if the government built these on these Federal lands, they might be able to bypasses a lot of local and state permitting to speed up the process. The facility then can be leased to private corporations which will operate them.

The government makes a profit on the deal, the corporations profit by operating the facilities, jobs are created in these areas where there were job losses due to the base closings, and we save money on our fuel and power bills and at the pumps.

We have to build these somewhere, we might as well do it in communities that need the jobs.

:: Comments left behind ::

iPhone 3G Launches Friday, But Don't Look For It In Vermont (06:13PM)
Thanks to our greedy AG, there are no hopes of picking up an iPhone in Vermont this Friday. Sure one can go rent a mail box in Massachusetts or New York, and tell AT&T you live there, but the chances are pretty high that you'll eventually have it cut off for excessive partner use.

I toyed around with organizing a mock protest of sorts to coincide with the iPhone launch this Friday at 8AM. My thought was to form a line in front of Verizon Wireless in South Burlington, VT and say we're patiently waiting for the iPhone. Press coverage would have been guaranteed as long as we got a few dozen people to show. Ultimately, I had to rule it out as I have to be out of state.

I will be in Massachusetts though and it's very tempting for me to swing by an Apple store to try to get one. I even have a Mass mailing address that I can use. Even though I wouldn't be making many calls with the iPhone, I'm a bit concerned that data services may not be available at all here. If it is, I wouldn't be surprised if my "normal" usage would fall under what AT&T deems as "excessive." I really can't make up my mind if it's worth the risk.

What do you think?

:: Comments left behind ::

Nikon D700, Nikon SB-900 Flash!!!! They are real! (08:34PM)

Focus Numerique appears to be the first to publish real photos of the Nikon D700 and full details.

Nikon D700 highlights:

• $2,999.95 US, should be hitting the streets in September.
  
• Same FX sensor as the D3, 12.1 MP.
  
• 51 auto-focus points, Nikon Multi-CAM3500 FX auto focus type.
  
• 5 fps, 8fps with MB-D10 battery grip
  
• 0.12-second start-up speed
  
• 3" LCD, with # 920,000-dot VGA color monitor; 170-degree wide-angle viewing and tempered-glass protection
  
• Base ISO range from 200-6400 can be expanded to range from ISO 100 (Lo-1) to 25,600 (Hi-2)
  
• Live View mode
  
• Self-cleaning sensor, like on the D300
  
• Capture images to CF I/II cards; compliant high-speed UDMA CF cards that will enable recording speeds up to 35 megabytes/second
  
• The Nikon D700 may also be ordered in a kit with the 24-120mm f/3.5-5.6G ED IF VR Nikkor Zoom Lens.
  

Also reported by Focus Numerique, the new SB-900 Flash:

• Covers 17-200mm
• Compatible with i-TTL and CLS

UPDATE:

• Jul 01, 2008 01:41AM EDT (UTC-5): Lots more detail and a copy of the full press release in English at Rob Gabraith: Nikon unveils D700 full-frame digital SLR, Speedlight SB-900 tops Nikon flash lineup.
  

:: Comments left behind ::

My wife has the d300, always looking for more lenses but otherwise thrilled with it. :)

:: Matt Hartley June 30, 2008 08:48 PM

Yeah, baby!!
I think I'm looking at my next cam!
:D

:: QuBe June 30, 2008 09:46 PM

And now for all the details at DPReview....

dpreview.com/previews/nikond700

:)

:: QuBe July 1, 2008 12:11 AM

I can't wait for Quantum of Solace (01:40PM)

I hate going to movie theaters and nothing encourages me to go more than a new James Bond movie.

At the time I was very disappointed that Pierce Brosnan didn't get resigned, however I must admit now that I think Daniel Craig is doing a better job as 007. Actually, I think he's the best 007 yet.

I wish it was a summer release. I don't want to have to wait until Fall!

:: Comments left behind ::

Another D700 Spy Pic? (02:34AM)

What lens is that? Nikon 105mm f/2.0D AF DC, 135mm F2 D/DC, or something new?

The more I look at this one the faker I think it looks. Get a real Nikon D700.

:: Comments left behind ::

Yup, another fake.
The "7" on the strap is sharper than the "0's"...
That said, Nikon has indirectly confirmed the brochure photos making the rounds are authentic.
Fine by me...I was recently shopping a D3 and am glad I didn't pony up for one. From the test shots I made, I concluded that 70% of the total retail price is going towards premium build quality and high end features, as opposed to image quality. A D3 costs almost 10x what my old XT goes for, but it doesn't deliver 10x the image quality, even with the superior high ISO gain processing. I'd say it's more like about 2x the image quality. Other's mileage may vary, but it looks like the 700D will be right in the sweet spot for price, build and image quality for me.

:: Qube June 29, 2008 10:25 PM

Yup, another fake.
The "7" on the strap is sharper than the "0's"...
That said, Nikon has indirectly confirmed the brochure photos making the rounds are authentic.
Fine by me...I was recently shopping a D3 and am glad I didn't pony up for one. From the test shots I made, I concluded that 70% of the total retail price is going towards premium build quality and high end features, as opposed to image quality. A D3 costs almost 10x what my old XT goes for, but it doesn't deliver 10x the image quality, even with the superior high ISO gain processing. I'd say it's more like about 2x the image quality. Other's mileage may vary, but it looks like the 700D will be right in the sweet spot for price, build and image quality for me.

:: Qube June 29, 2008 10:25 PM

Nikon D700 and 24-120mm VR Spy Pic? (04:26AM)

Is this the new Nikon D700 and an updated 24-120mm VR lens?

If the rumors are to be believed it will be announced July 1st, and released in September or November with an FX format 12.1 Megapixel CMOS sensor (5MP in DX) and be priced around $2899-3,299.99 US.

I'm unimpressed, especially at that price. If I'm spending that much I'd much rather put it toward a faster D3. If it was closer to $2199-$2499 I might be game. What do you think?

UPDATE:

• Jun 27, 2008 10:50AM EDT (UTC-5): The photo was faked. Why do people do this?
  

:: Comments left behind ::

What's In My Camera Bags (01:57PM)

As a commercial and wedding photographer I do the majority of my work on location. For most shoots, traveling with lots of gear that required two or three assistants to pack/unpack and setup everything has become a thing of the past. My large and heavy strobe lights and battery packs have started collecting dust thanks to lightweight stands, Pocket Wizards, and Nikon SB-800 Flashes.

Now I show up with just two or three of my bags containing some of my gear and maybe one assistant if it's going to be a complex shoot or a large event/wedding. (Thanks Strobist!)

But what exactly do I take with me for more simple, every day type shoots? You can see in this video I recorded:

The bag is a Boda Dry and see this page for a nearly complete listing of all my gear.

:: Comments left behind ::