This week’s 4cast:
1. Wi-Fi Going Bye-Bye
Not so long ago, cities across the U.S. were chomping at the megabits to provide high-speed, wireless Internet access to every last corner of town. But with the recent demise of several high-profile projects, the odds of municipal Wi-Fi thriving anywhere in the country are suddenly looking slim.
- What’s Behind the Epidemic of Municipal Wi-Fi Failures? (Wired)
- Chicago’s decision to drop muni WiFi symptomatic of a troubled sector (Ars Technica)
- Citywide Wi-Fi sees a grim future nationwide (Machinist)
- S.F. citywide Wi-Fi plan fizzles as provider backs off (San Francisco Chronicle)
2.“Time is the New Currency”
There’s been another spate of talk about BookSwim, which offers a Netflix-like model for book delivery (see 4cast #40, item 4). Several library blogs have noted that although BookSwim membership is obviously more expensive than a library card, it’s the convenience factor (and lack of fines) that readers may ultimately care about more.
- BookSwim (It’s all good)
- Rent Books Netflix-Style with BookSwim (LibraryTechtonics)
- BookSwim: Renting out Books the Netflix Way (North Texas Regional Library System)
- The Netflix of… (Seth’s Blog)
3. Hey, No Fair Use!
Many of the biggest technology companies are teaming together to fight many of the biggest entertainment companies over the increasingly misleading, threatening, and possibly illegal copyright notices attached to practically every sporting event, DVD, and TV broadcast. An official complaint has been filed, calling for an investigation by the Federal Trade Commission.
- Defend Fair Use
- Google, Microsoft-backed group ready to Defend Fair Use (Ars Technica)
- The Tech Industry Wants You To Support The Fight For Fair Use (TechCrunch)
- Deceptive Copyright Notices (Coyle’s Information)
4. Google on the Go
Summertime usually means more people are outside surfing the waves, not inside surfing the web. But Google is reporting that this year, their mobile services were like, way more popular than expected.
- Google says mobile usage has surged this summer (Reuters)
- Unexpected Surge in Google Mobile this Summer (MobileCrunch)
- If you build it, they will come: Google sees big boost in mobile traffic (Ars Technica)
- More People Using Mobile Google Services (for bored mindz)
