Let Change Come

In his lecture, Rip, Mix, Burn Sue, Ed Felten talks about a lot of things related to copyright protection and infringement, the future of technology and its role in the creation and distribution of media.

The main topic that resonated with me was the concept of control, the way that consumers attempt to harness the media that they purchase and the technology used to manipulate that media. This article also made me consider the way that broadcasters and movie studios wish to distribute content to consumers, but want to control the way that consumers experience this content.

The very forward-thinking concept of the 1930's, the Church-Turing Thesis, is more applicable than ever today. Now, we have powerful computers and machines that allow us limitless possibilities in media manipulation. With computers that we use every day, we can literally do anything.

While I understand the need to generate revenues and control the way that people experience digital content in order to keep the revenue streams flowing, I believe that allowing the public to experience and generate change is positive for the advancement of technology. As Felten states, change will challenge us to create the technology of tomorrow, which in turn will push the makers of media to take consumers to new heights with their work.