Re: Kindle 2.0

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: "David P. Reed" <dpreed () reed com>
Date: February 10, 2009 9:46:47 AM EST
To: dave () farber net
Cc: ip <ip () v2 listbox com>
Subject: Re: [IP] Re:  Kindle 2.0

The day the Kindle ads start claiming it offers "access to the  
Internet", I hope people will think carefully about truth in  
advertising.  Access to the Internet is a well-defined term, and is  
what cable and fiber based companies offer today for a monthly  
subscription fee.  "The Internet" itself an all-encompassing term,  
which means best efforts delivery of packets to every reachable  
destination on the Internet.

Merely being able to access part of the World Wide Web is not access  
to the Internet.  It is simply "access to part of the World Wide Web".

See: http://www.dpsproject.org for a very clear and simple definition  
of this important issue in a legal context.

David Farber wrote:
> Begin forwarded message:
>
> *From: *"Michael Kende" <Michael.Kende () analysysmason com <mailto:Michael.Kende () analysysmason com 
> >>
> *Date: *February 9, 2009 1:51:30 PM EST
> *To: *<dave () farber net <mailto:dave () farber net>>
> *Cc: *<zittrain () law harvard edu <mailto:zittrain () law harvard edu>>
> *Subject: **RE: [IP] Kindle 2.0*
>
> Interesting question. In my view this should definitely not be limited
> by regulation, which in some ways would have a perverse effect. The
> device is aimed to access books, and only access books or other  
> content
> downloaded from Amazon (or documents sent to the device by the owner).
> If there was a net neutrality rule requiring access to web sites, this
> could simply lead to shutting off all web browsing, rather than  
> opening
> up the browsing, as browsing is clearly a secondary use of the device
> (indeed, if it is activated today, I haven't tried it). And is it a
> slippery slope to wonder whether net neutrality could then force open
> the interface to allow other content to be downloaded? Amazon does not
> hold itself out as an ISP, and the Kindle is not positioned as a web
> browser, so setting aside the general merits of net neutrality, I  
> cannot
> see the benefits of applying it in this case.
>
> Michael
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: David Farber [mailto:dave () farber net]
> Sent: Monday, February 09, 2009 1:27 PM
> To: ip
> Subject: [IP] Kindle 2.0
>
>
>
> Begin forwarded message:
>
> From: Jonathan Zittrain <zittrain () law harvard edu <mailto:zittrain () law harvard edu 
> >>
> Date: February 9, 2009 12:23:23 PM EST
> To: dave () farber net <mailto:dave () farber net>
> Subject: Kindle 2.0 [for IP?]
>
> Amazon has just introduced its second-generation Kindle book  
> substitute.
> As a reader, I'm intrigued -- I can download a bunch of books and
> apparently use it for days without a charge. Looking at the overall IT
> ecosystem, I'm also intrigued, but for opposite reasons.
>
> The downloading takes place over an "EVDO modem with fallback to  
> 1xRTT;
> utilizes Amazon Whispernet to provide U.S wireless coverage via  
> Sprint's
> 3G high-speed data network."[1] The connectivity needed to download
> books and browsing certain other sites is free of charge:
> "The Kindle Store enables you to download, display and use on your
> Device a variety of digitized electronic content, such as books,
> subscriptions to magazines, newspapers, journals and other  
> periodicals,
> blogs, RSS feeds, and other digital content, [*]as determined by  
> Amazon
> from time to time[*]."[2] ... "Amazon provides wireless connectivity
> free of charge to you for certain content shopping and downloading
> services on your Device. You may be charged a fee for wireless
> connectivity for your use of other wireless services on your Device,
> such as Web browsing and downloading of personal files, should you  
> elect
> to use those services."[3] So there appears to be a more generic Web
> browser -- how locked down it is I'm not sure, but the overall  
> platform
> does not allow third party apps, and I wonder if it even allows things
> like Flash -- and Amazon will charge fees TBD for going outside the
> sandbox.
>
> Suppose that Amazon does indeed get to (1) choose what Web sites its
> users can visit or (2) choose what Web sites will incur a wireless
> access fee (to the user). I'm curious whether people think either
> practice should be banned or limited by regulation, e.g. as a  
> violation
> of network neutrality. If a standard ISP did this, would it be a
> problem? Does the fact that Amazon is both ISP and hardware provider
> make the situation better or worse? At some level a specialized device
> won't substitute for "standard" Net access and one wouldn't complain
> about limitations, any more than one complains that standard cable TV
> service doesn't allow Web surfing, even if the set top box can tune  
> to a
> handful of specialized Web site front ends for "enhanced" content. (In
> fact, some televisions themselves now do this, along with Blu-Ray disc
> players.) On the other hand, it's clearly a platform convergent with
> everything else -- one could imagine bringing only a Kindle on a trip
> and managing web and primitive email access from it.
>
> I think we'll be faced with more and more of these hybrid Internet
> appliances. I'm worried about the end of the ethos of the mainstream
> hobbyist PC -- defined as the general public being able to define what
> code they want to run, without interference or undue shaping by
> gatekeepers -- and see appliances (and managed web services like the
> Facebook and Google apps platforms) as substitutes rather than
> complements.[4]
>
> Best,
> JZ
>
> --
>
> [1] - <http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00154JDAI>
> [2] -
> <http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=200144530&#c <http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=200144530&#c 
> >
> ontent
> >
> [3] -
> <http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html/ref=kin2w_ddp?nodeI
> d=200144530&#wireless
> >
> [4] - <http://www.futureoftheinternet.org>
>
> Jonathan Zittrain
> Professor of Law
> Harvard Law School | Harvard Kennedy School of Government Co-Founder,
> Berkman Center for Internet & Society <http://cyber.law.harvard.edu>
>
>
>
>
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