PhotoImpact Talk

Every time I view my stats it amazes me to see how many people arrive here from searches on WordPress.com or Google for PhotoImpact; amazes me even more since Corel has seemingly dropped development of PI in favor of PaintShopPro (formerly owned by Jasc), now called PaintShop Photo Pro.  Oddly, there aren’t more PI-centric (or PSP or PSPP) WordPress.com blogs out there, but I guess in the long run it’s better to be a big fish in a little pond than vice versa.

It also amazes me that in spite of the many PI-related visits, you’ve left almost no feedback on what you’re looking for when you arrive here.  To that end I’ve just opened up “PhotoImpact Talk“, a place where PI users can hang out and talk about their favorite app. Come on over and say “hi!”

Israeli grand slam in the Marcel Bezençon Awards 2010

Harel Skaat, Israel-photo by aktivioslo on flickr

While certainly not a dedicated Eurovision fan like Laurie (make sure to check out her Eurovision page), I enjoy watching the contest not only for the talent, but also for the cheese. This year again had plenty of both.

Israel was expected to do well this year, but ended up in 14th place, still better than some icons of the Eurovision Song Contest who ended up in last place. After surviving two tortuous hours, my two picks were Germany and Belgium and at least I was right on one account.

But even before the contest final itself, the Eurovision entries are judged for the Marcel Bezençon Awards which include three categories: the journalists’, the composers’ and the commentators’ award. In the eight years that these awards have been running, this year was the first time that a single entry took all three prizes, and that was Israel.

In hindsight, had the date of the ESC or the Bezençon Awards been delayed by a day or two, I have my doubts that the voting would have gone this way no matter how talented the Israeli delegation was. But that is something best left for a post of its own.

via Israeli grand slam in the Marcel Bezençon Awards | News | Eurovision Song Contest – Oslo 2010.

Image credit: aktivioslo

Customer Dissatisfaction

I really don’t have anything new to add to the discussions that have been going on all over WordPress.com and elsewhere about the new “Like/Reblog” utility that was introduced this week other than to say that besides the legitimate copyright and fair use concerns this utility raises, in my opinion there was a total misunderstanding, even mishandling, by WordPress.com to the reaction by concerned users.

It is correct that U.S. Copyright law allows use of a portion of a copyrighted work for “criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research” without the permission of the copyright holder.* “Fair Use” is balanced by four factors which mitigate what is considered “Fair Use” of a particular work. (For what it’s worth, CC Licenses are not covered by “Fair Use” but rather by the license chosen and its provisions.) The argument by WordPress.com that the “Like/Reblog” utility does nothing more than allow WordPress.com users to auto-post a snippet and cite another WordPress.com blog in a manner consistent with “Fair Use” may or may not be technically correct, but it’s missing the point. The issue now is about perceived control of one’s content and its dissemination. (Please see my comment below.)