[DOWNLOAD] "Somatic Networks and Molecular Hacking in Eastern Standard Tribe." by Extrapolation # Book PDF Kindle ePub Free
eBook details
- Title: Somatic Networks and Molecular Hacking in Eastern Standard Tribe.
- Author : Extrapolation
- Release Date : January 22, 2007
- Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines,Books,Professional & Technical,Education,
- Pages : * pages
- Size : 202 KB
Description
An ongoing battle in the contemporary cultural sphere has to do with the relationship between advanced technologies and consumerism, economics, and artistic creativity. The skirmishes and legal warfare over MP3 file-sharing, (il)legal file downloads, alleged copyright violations, and the very ownership of bits have given fodder to such groups as the Recording Industry Association of America and Hollywood studios to proclaim the impending demise of the music and/or film industries as a consequence of digital downloading and online piracy. This millennium has been marked by lawsuits launched against internet service providers, peer-to-peer software companies, and individual users and consumers. On the other hand, in 2006 Apple's iTunes reported its one-billionth legal music file download (at a per-download cost of 99cents) while Warner Brothers reached a deal with BitTorrent to allow online sales of its films, clearly demonstrating that profits can be netted through online mediums while also protecting artistic expression and intellectual property. The publishing industry is no different when it comes to facing the challenges of the digital marketplace. "Publishers Go Digital," an article in the January 2006 issue of Locus, reports that Random House, HarperCollins, and Amazon.com are all (beta)testing online delivery of texts: a per-page fee for both Random House and Amazon.com and a digital archive for HarperCollins. The article quotes Random House's corporate development president Richard Sarnoff acknowledging "that a generation is growing up that may not have the same visceral connection with the book format.... They have read as much on screens as they have on paper." The article then goes on to conclude that "[t]he consensus seems to be that digital publishing and online book publishing are inevitable--now it's just a question of how" (10). One of the most prolific figures in the science fiction community exploring the how of online publishing is Cory Doctorow. Doctorow's career has been marked by his intimacy with technoculture, including his work as an sf author, his tenure as the Director of European Affairs for the Electronic Frontier Foundation (2002-2006), his status as co-editor of the immensely popular Boing Boing internet blog, and his written contributions to such publications as Wired magazine. He is a figure whose prolific work has prompted Bruce Sterling to remark: "I know many science fiction writers engaged in the cyberworld, but Cory Doctorow is a native." What makes Doctorow particularly fascinating as a cultural figure of new media is not only the issues and territories he maps in his works but also the manner by which he takes full advantage of the digital marketplace to embody, distribute, and market his content. For example, his novels Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom (2003), Eastern Standard Tribe (2004), and Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town (2005) have been published in online formats and are freely available on his website (www.craphound.com). Down and Out in the Magic Kindgom has had fans submit alternative cover art, convert the novel into a poetry remix, and "translate" the novel into Opish. In addition, Doctorow's 2006 Hugo-nominated "I, Robot" is available as a 5-part podcast and his 2004 story "Unwirer," co-written with Charles Stross (whose 2006 Hugo-nominated Accelerando was available for free download from Amazon.com and is available for purchase in e-book format), was written "in public, using a Movable Type blog. We exposed the whole process to the public, letting everyone see (and participate in!) the writing process" (Doctorow, "Unwirer"). Finally, Eastern Standard Tribe is freely available in as many as 29 different file formats.