The Buzz

Yesterday Google unveiled the new Google Buzz product. It is a social networking tool integrated into Gmail. Buzz appears to be a competitor to Facebook.
Wow, I didn't think it was possible for Google to host another aspect of our lives on the web.
This blog is on Google's Blogger platform. I use Google Maps to plan trips. Google's Gmail is my primary email. I use Google Scholar to research legal cases. I watch videos on Google's YouTube. I read documents in Google Docs. I see Google AdWords everywhere. Google is my search engine of choice. Google Wave allows online collaboration. Google Chrome is their new browser. The Google Chrome OS will be released later this year.
This morning Google announced their plan to build a high-speed broadband network in the U.S.
I do love Google, but I think we should pay attention to Siva Vaidhyanathan's blog, The Googlization of Everything, where he discusses "Why We Should Worry."
Google can potentially provide our access to the net and host all of the content that we access. It makes me laugh when I remember the Microsoft antitrust case from 1998.
There is a great discussion every week over on the TWiT network on This Week In Google.
I won't even bother to mention the Google v. China issue in this post. Or Nexus One. Or Google Books. Or Picasa. Or Google Earth.

Don't be evil.

I was pleased to see that Google was taking a firm stance against human rights abuses in China. The Official Google Blog today announced a "new approach."
Last month Google was the subject of cyber attacks originating in China. The Gmail accounts of human rights activists were a focus. Other accounts around the world have been the subject of surveillance.
They have announced that they will no longer censor search results in China. It is about time! They are considering the possibility of closing Google.cn.
This afternoon the announcement has become a huge news story and a Twitter trending topic. Rep. Anna Eshoo, member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, released a statement today in support of Google.
It will be interesting to see how this story unfolds over the next couple of weeks. Hopefully global support for Google's stance will continue to emerge.
Don't be evil!

What?!

While watching Avatar I couldn't help but think, "The new Sherlock Holmes movie was fantastic!" Maybe it wasn't fair to watch Avatar on the heels of such a fun movie.
Ignoring the criticism that I'd heard, I thought that all I would need are great images to entertain me. It wouldn't matter if the story wasn't good. I was wrong.
After hearing about Avatar for so many years, I was expecting an experience like watching Blade Runner for the first time. The visuals should have had an impact like seeing Toy Story and Jurassic Park in the theater.
Avatar's plot is a common colonialist story about the noble savage. One of "us" has to go and help "them" survive. Along the way we learn from "them" about our connection to nature. The story could have been so much more. Tim Burton, Terry Gilliam, Ridley Scott, or even Tarantino could have given Cameron a lesson.
The CGI in Avatar is phenomenal. The environment and characters look believable. It is too bad the rest of the film detracts from the visuals. An unnecessary narration, a Disney-esque score, and tired plot kept me from being immersed in the new world.
50 years from now, Blade Runner will still be a cool movie. Avatar will be dated. It will be interesting to see if a fan-edited version emerges that lets the imagery tell a compelling story.

Elementary!

Guy Ritchie's new interpretation of Sherlock Holmes is fabulous. I had concerns that it would be a hip, cool version full of fast cuts that was unfaithful to the source material. However, this is by far my favorite interpretation.
Robert Downey Jr.'s Holmes rivals that of Jeremy Brett. Jude Law is just right as Watson.
Although the story is new, it doesn't feel like a modern plot forced into a period piece. There are surprising elements from Arthur Conan Doyle's original stories. I won't give anything away.
London is beautifully ugly and brutal. You can smell the streets. It is quite a contrast from Basil Rathbone's clean, orderly Victorian England.
I gotta see it again.

Google Scholar

I really love Google Scholar. Google has made it easy to search academic journals.
I've been using the new feature that allows users to search legal opinions. While the results don't have all of the useful commentary of a Westlaw or Lexis/Nexis entry, it is a great way to quickly find citations. For those who do have access to the commercial legal sites, it seems like it is a good first stop before performing searches for which you have to pay.

Obama poster and fair use

The above poster has been the subject of a great deal of discussion about the concept of "fair use." Artist Shepard Fairey created the work basing it on a photo taken by AP photographer Mannie Garcia.

The AP claims that Fairey violated their copyright on the image. Fairey claims that his work is covered under fair use. A copyrighted work may be used in some ways for some purposes under fair use.

Fairey claimed that the photo he used was one of Obama sitting next to George Clooney in 2006. Much of the discussion of the issue centered around how much of the original image was used in the poster. Many comparisons of the two images have been made. Elements of composition and shading have been examined.

In October, Fairey admitted that he lied about which photograph he used as source material and deleted information to cover his tracks. He lied to his attorneys.

Although the poster may remain an important source of discussion around copyright issues, Fairey's case has been badly damaged. His attorneys from Stanford's Fair Use Project have withdrawn from the case.

It will be interesting to see how the case proceeds. By persisting in lying to his attorneys for months, Fairey proved that he is not a friend to artists nor a champion of fair use.