Week 7 - Tute

So this weeks tute is researching some topics and discussing what I find. Here I go....

1. What is creative commons and how could this licensing framework be relevant to your own experience at university?

Creative Commons was introduced to us in the lecture, I had never herd of it before but I like the sound of it. I think while copyrights have their place in protecting a persons creative works. There are situations where the rigidity of the copyright doesn't allow for current uses of works. I got this quote from the Creative Commons website to help explain;

"Creative Commons is a world wide project that encourages copyright owners to allow others to share, reuse and remix their material, legally. We offer a range of free licences that creators can use to manage their copyright in the online environment, each providing its own specific protections and freedoms. We have built upon the “all rights reserved” of traditional copyright to create a voluntary “some rights reserved” system."

While I don't think Universities would accept some works from other artists even under a creative common license, there could be a way for it to work. Just as with an essay you provide a bibliography, if you where to create art or music with creative common work you could provide a reference to the original piece and the creator....

This may not be a area that I use a lot of academically but it will definitely by something I'll be using personally and professionally.

2. Find 3 examples of works created by creative commons and embed them in your blog.

This question I had a bit of trouble with. I found it easy to get creative commons licensed work, many search engines now provide a "creative commons" option and sites like flickr have heaps of examples. However I found it difficult to find a creative work which was made from the use of creative common licensed work.

3. Find an academic article which discusses creative commons using a database or online journal. Provide a link to and a summary of the article.

I found this article called "Made for Sharing" by Eliza Williams it gave an overview of creative commons and it's beginnings as well as the benefits and pitfalls of the licenses. I have provided a link to the full article and bellow is an abstract.

Abstract:
"AB The Creative Commons company has created a system of alternative copyright licenses. The company was formed in 2001 by a group of cyberlaw and intellectual property experts, an MIT computer science professor, and an Internet publisher. According to co-founder Lawrence Lossig, the company is attempting to generalize the free cultural production approach of the computer software movement. Its licenses aim to provide an alternative copyright system that is more in line with the sharing ethos of the Internet and the creative possibilities of digital technology. For example, the Attribution license allows others to use a person's work as long as that person is credited as the creator. "

4. Have a look at Portable Apps (a pc based application) – provide a brief description of what it is and how you think this is useful.

This is another new topic for me "portable apps". A quick search showed me that they are pretty much a program that doesn't store information on the computers hardware. I found this awesome site called gizmo's freeware review which has a whole heap of portable apps. and some info explaining what they are for the uninitiated like me. The benefit that I see of these types of programs is that you don't need to have it installed onto the computer so you can use it where ever you go, internet cafe, uni, friends place.