LG U+ cloud service links connected devices, requires a relocation to South Korea to enjoy -- Engadget

Posted by Kyle Cameron Studstill

 
 
Microsoft's Steve Ballmer is probably dreaming of three screens and a cloud right now, so it makes sense that his company has extended its hand to LG in order to build out the new U+ cloud storage service. Launched over in South Korea, this new service is expected to provide a "seamless connection" between a smorgasbord of connected devices -- everything from TVs to digital photo frames to PMPs to tablets (plus a few we're missing). The goal is to allow any connected device to enjoy the same content, and rather than putting it on each individual consumer to setup their own wireless NAS (or use Air Sync), LG's taking some of the load off while adding a few nifty extras (streaming VOD, anyone?). The standard U+ box arrives with 1GB of storage, but consumers can opt for a 10GB package as well as the ability to access their material across the country via LG's U+ WiFi hotspots. Actual costs don't seem readily apparent, but given that paltry storage maximum, we're guessing the majority of you won't even bother to investigate.
via engadget.com

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Most College Students Don’t Think Twice Before Plagiarizing From The Web

Posted by Kyle Cameron Studstill

 
 

College Students Don't Think Twice Before Plagiarizing From The Web

New York Times reports on a disturbing trend among college students who are simply unmindful or intentionally involved in plagiarism when it comes to using resources from the web. Several surveys conducted have proved that many students do not cite the author or credit the source when copying from a site, even believing its not “serious cheating”. The Times adds that the Internet may be changing the way how students understand the concept of authorship on the web.

Now we have a whole generation of students who’ve grown up with information that just seems to be hanging out there in cyberspace and doesn’t seem to have an author,” said Teresa Fishman, director of the Center for Academic Integrity at Clemson University. “It’s possible to believe this information is just out there for anyone to take.

But why is this phenomenon of plagiarism so widespread in the digital world? Sarah Brookover, a student at the Rutgers University provides an apt explanation:

This generation has always existed in a world where media and intellectual property don’t have the same gravity. When you’re sitting at your computer, it’s the same machine you’ve downloaded music with, possibly illegally, the same machine you streamed videos for free that showed on HBO last night. Because you’re not walking into a library, you’re not physically holding the article, which takes you closer to ‘this doesn’t belong to me,’ ” she said. Online, “everything can belong to you really easily.”

NY Times: “Plagiarism Lines Blur for Students in Digital Age”

via psfk.com

A fantastic discussion brewing around this development. On one level this is about the form/style of attribution, and it's relation to academic honesty, etc. On another it reflects the impact of digital accessibility to/ephemeralization of content - most notably manifested in notions like Faris' idea of recombinant culture/remix culture; one critical question here is "to what extent is one person's ideas their own?" It's a question that can now be asked and studied in a meaningful way directly because this digitization.

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