Month: December 2005

“It is wrong to describe the eight million French people who have downloaded music from the Internet as delinquents.”

French socialist Patrick Bloche, who probably wouldn’t like the RIAA’s proposed nickname “freedom thieves,” either, International Herald Tribune, 23 December 2005

“WWW was soon full of lots of interesting stuff, but not a space for communal design, for discource through communal authorship.”

World Wide Web creator Tim Berners-Lee, taking note of the existence of blogs half a decade late, MSNBC.com, 21 December 2005

“Our culture is about distraction, numbing oneself. There is no self-reflection, no sitting still. It’s absolutely exhausting.”

David Greenfield, a psychologist specializing in Internet addiction, on our need for broadband speed, CNN.com, 21 December 2005

“I wish I hadn’t done it. It’s in poor taste…. People have a lot of information about themselves but staying objective is difficult.”

Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales — or is that “cofounder”? — on editing his own entry on the website to minimize a colleague’s contributions and softpedal his involvement in a porn website, Wired News, 20 December 2005

“It is a digital holiday. Consumers are really responding to all things electronic.”

Walmart.com executive Raul Vazquez, on a wave of gadget buying that’s sure to end in tears at the tech-support call centers on Boxing Day, CNN.com, 19 December 2005