Author: Chad Kohalyk
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“The means of information”
Cory Doctorow’s new book Information Doesn’t Want to Be Free is ostensibly a guide for creators on how to approach the Internet, and does so in an extremely informative, yet conversational manner. Furthermore it is concise, making it very accessible. When people ask me why I care so much about copyright and DRM, I will…
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Mobile-induced disestablishmentarianism
Over 2014 I saw the rise of mobile in a new light. The web is diminishing as the window to the internet. Benedict Evans expressed it well in the most recent a16z podcast: New questions in mobile (I recommend the listen, but here is the article if you would read it instead.) Evans does some…
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The best of 2014
I logged 40 films and read 57 books in the year 2014. That is really 50 books when you remove the graphic novels, essays and lecture series. Considering my GoodReads Challenge this year was 45 books, I did well. Next year I am setting it to 50. Why not? I did two reviews for the…
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“Political platforms: A list of technology platforms and the political ideologies they are associated with.”
[This is an imaginary appendix for my imaginary dissertation I will write someday.]
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Disruptive politics
As Silicon Valley becomes the economic and cultural center of the US (and everywhere else, considering how “software is eating the world”) it is only natural that it will seek to become a political center. Hiring lobbyists — like Google, Microsoft, Facebook, Uber (and Netflix in Canada) have — is just the first step. In…
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Quarterly review: FY14Q4
[Each quarter I do a quick roundup of the book and film reviews on Goodreads and Letterboxd. These reviews are too short and off-the-cuff to be included with the more indepth reviews I do on this site.] Books The first book I completed this quarter was Douglas Coupland’s new Kitten Clone: The History of the…
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Emotional prisoner — a review of Without You, There Is No Us
Without You, There Is No Us: My Time with the Sons of North Korea’s Elite by Suki Kim After listening to her emotional interview on CBC’s The Current I quickly bought Suki Kim’s memoir of her two semesters teaching English in North Korea Without You, There Is No Us: My Time with the Sons of…
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Local startups! Protect our shared resource!
The internet is like the sea, a vast and shared resource that we all depend on. Unfortunately we do not have anything like UNCLOS to help protect that resource from the countries and companies that threaten it. So much of the innovation and content on the internet is the result of individual users like us.…
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Podcast devolution
This is my current roster of podcasts. It has been pared down severely from what it was a few years ago. It is a mix of Canadian news, tech law and philosophy, actual philosophy, movies and pop culture. I highly recommend them all. With all the talk about a podcasting renaissance recently, I thought I…
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Bye bye physical library!
I don’t read physical books anymore. I don’t like it (see How I read). But I still have a ton of physical books. So I am getting rid of them. I have scanned them into Goodreads and made a few lists. Have a browse, and if you want one, email me, leave a comment or…