Product Description

"An indispensable primer for those who want to protect their digital rights from the dark forces of big media."
–Kara Swisher, author of aol.com
The first general interest book by a blogger edited collaboratively by his readers, Darknet reveals how Hollywood′s fear of digital piracy is leading to escalating clashes between copyright holders and their customers, who love their TiVo digital video recorders, iPod music players, digital televisions, computers, and other cutting–edge devices. Drawing on unprecedented access to entertainment insiders, technology innovators, and digital provocateurs–including some who play on both sides of the war between digital pirates and entertainment conglomerates–the book shows how entertainment companies are threatening the fundamental freedoms of the digital age.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #797033 in Books
• Published on: 2005-05-24
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 320 pages

Review
"An absorbing book...highly recommended." (Library Journal, May 1, 2005)

From the Inside Flap
"That was a very nice presentation," a Hollywood studio chief said to a delegation from TiVo after seeing the device in action. "Now go set yourselves on fire."

What happens when the irresistible force of technological innovation meets the immovable object of big entertainment? For starters, Hollywood moguls start shooting themselves in the foot. It′s easy to forget now that the big media companies were against VCRs in the ′80s and CDs in the ′90s. They′re currently working on dumbing down your TiVo, iPod, and DVD burner. We′ve entered a new age of Prohibition, like in the 1920s, but with your home entertainment system at stake instead of your home bar. In both cases, the laws are so senseless and out of touch with the public that they′re turning millions of us into digital outlaws.

J. D. Lasica argues that many of the future gadgets we long for might already be here if we were better able to balance the needs of Hollywood and the public it supposedly serves. Darknet takes you behind the scenes and into the trenches of this widening conflict, pulling back the curtain on the Hollywood insiders, tech innovators, and wily provocateurs who lurk in the darkest corners of cyberspace. He reveals how profoundly technology has shifted the balance of power between corporate media and regular people, and how determined many media powers are to turn back the clock, lock down our devices, and curtail fair use.

This insightful collection of stories introduces you to the people at the center of this epic struggle, from the earliest adopters of the digital lifestyle and pioneers of next–generation television to a host of ordinary people who use interactive technologies to enrich their own lives and others′. You′ll meet the pastor who uses illegal movie clips to illustrate his sermons, the college counselor who runs his own digital radio station, the media employee who works undercover as a movie pirate, and the teenagers who reshot Raiders of the Lost Ark. You′ll also meet the media executives and creative professionals who feel threatened by this wave of appropriation as well as the authorities charged with enforcing an increasingly Byzantine tangle of copyright law.

Lasica warns against a future in which Internet–based media serve not the user, but the interests of Hollywood and the music industry. To discover a much richer world of personal media, participatory culture, and digital rights, start reading Darknet today—then spread the word.

From the Back Cover
Praise for DARKNET

"Darknet is both fascinating and important. J.D. Lasica provides a detailed inside view of a culture many Americans are barely aware of, and vividly describes struggles that are already shaping the long–term balance of economic, creative, and ideological power around the world."
—James Fallows, National Correspondent for The Atlantic Monthly

"J.D. Lasica skillfully tells the story of the critical battle between free speech and copyright in the age of the Internet. If an intellectual property lockdown ever comes about, Darknet will remind us of the creative bounty we′re missing."
—Steven Levy, author of Crypto: How the Code Rebels Beat the Government—Saving Privacy in the Digital Age

"Over the next several years, there will be no more important issue for the future of the Internet and, indeed, all media than the battle that will be fought between corporate giants and consumers over who will control the information future. J.D. Lasica′s new book, Darknet, is an indispensable primer and guide to the copyright wars for those who want to protect their digital rights from the dark forces of big media that seek to take them away. So, rip, mix, and burn, and most of all, read his book if you want information to be as free as it should be."
—Kara Swisher, author of There Must Be a Pony in Here Somewhere: The AOL Time Warner Debacle and the Quest for a Digital Future

"Lasica pulls no punches in this compelling report from the front, as he introduces us to the technology, politics, and people who are right now deciding the future of entertainment and ideas. A terrific read."
—David Weinberger, author of Small Pieces Loosely Joined and coauthor of The Cluetrain Manifesto

Customer Reviews

I'm a wiser man after reading this book!!.
Darknet, by J.D. Lasica is one of the most informative books i've read for a long time.It is about the Media's battle and woes about the pending digital revolution that is gathering force against the current 'spoon fed' TV/radio and music/movie choice that has the majority influence in our lives today.

The book covers file sharing,blogging,movie and internet radio possibilities for the masses ie you and i.Ok if you are reading this and you are thinking,"i no all about this stuff",well thats what i thought untill i started reading the book;this book is cutting edge info. After you read it you will be a lot wiser and motivated by what Lasica has written.

The book also covers a lot about 'LEGAL' issues(the author is a legal affairs writer after all)but!,dont let this scare you off;Lasica has written it in plain English which doe's not detract from the intellectual content and quality.

Darknet!,what doe's it mean?.Well i'm not going to give that away in this review,as it will spoil the book for you.So if you want to find out get the book!!...I highly reacomend it,it's writen for us(anyone who uses the internet);and on a personal note the book has influenced,educated,and most definitely motivated me to push forward and be a part of the digital generation......read the book don't get left behind!!....