Last month, audiovisual content rights holders announced the new Copyright Alert System, a.k.a. "Six Strikes" that they and ISPs have put in place to discourage peer-to-peer file sharing of copyrighted files. Good luck! It's 2013, guys -- time to join the new century. Six Strikes is going to...

How can it be that almost every movie (and every big-grossing movie!) out there is VFX-driven, and yet one of the top companies in the industry, Rhythm & Hues, has to file Chapter 11? The company is Oscar-nominated for its visual effects in the movie Life of...

On July 14th, I was asked to give a TEDX Talk for TEDxSoCal in Long Beach, CA (home of the big TED event) on the theme of "The Alchemy of Transformation ... Our Selves, Our Work Places, Our Living Spaces." In looking at this question, it occurred to...

The MPAA and NATO are panicking because they don't know how to replace revenues lost not to piracy, but to newer legitimate commercial content platforms, like Netflix, or ad-supported platforms like YouTube. This is, I believe, a better explanation for the brinksmanship between Old Media and New Media companies over...

Reflecting on the July 4th weekend, I'm struck by how we traditionally use the holiday to commemorate our war heroes. While I have tremendous respect for those who serve in the military, 21st century citizenship needs to reframe the meaning of nationalism and civic pride as a commemoration of Peace,...

In the never-ending circus of bad judgment brought about by terminal narcissism, I am sure we will continue to see politicians implode on the altar of sexual and/or financial improprieties. I don't think it's so much the acts themselves that are at issue, unless (of course) laws are broken. We...

The Net Neutrality fire continues to smolder with Verizon's just-announced support of Comcast, in Comcast's dispute with internet backbone provider Level 3 Communications. In a letter to the FCC, Verizon opines that Comcast charging additional fees to Level 3 does not violate the FCC's new Net Neutrality rules....

The U.S.' low PISA scores do not represent a "sputnik moment" for U.S. education. China's high test scores mask a serious problem facing Chinese education: the lack of independence, critical thinking and innovation. With all of our problems, the U.S. education system, and most importantly, our education culture,...

When American education is in crisis, policy makers and thought leaders roll out the STEM argument, that the science, technology, engineering and math curriculum needs to be emphasized as the cornerstone of American competitiveness in a world where Chinese students do lightening drills on the periodic table of the elements...