Technology Without A Cause
This essay in the Guardian reminds us of technology's downside (if not downright meaninglessness):
[IF...,] "one of technology's ends is to reduce our lives to such blob-like stasis that we hardly ever have to interact with other human beings. Another is to distract us from the shame we feel about our decadent lifestyles. Our response to being bored and rich is not to discard our possessions and live more simply, but to buy more stuff to reduce the space in which we might contemplate our shame."

And while Nokia boasts of connecting people, it does so with people discussing what their cellfons can do rather than what they REALLY DO WITH the technology. Too much technology can even compromise personal relationship.

Technology Evangelism
A sort of a zealous follow-through of Information Rules, Tech Evangelism examines how Micro$oft could churn out technology that becomes an industry standard. As the book puts it, "Evangelism is war," and Micro$oft appears to be the victor--for now.

Edison and "Music Piracy"
Here's a series of articles (1 | 2) that might predict the outcome of the battle against "music pirates" by RIAA, the mafia-like body that has assumed "a retrogressive stance to [innovation in the industry]."

Good Ol' Adam
Notes on the range of intellectual sensibilities of Adam Smith, as exemplified by his two books:

The Theory of the Moral Sentiments (1759). Part II: Of Merit and Demerit; or, of the Objects of Reward and Punishment Consisting of Three Parts, Section II: Of Justice and Beneficence:

-Chap. I: Comparison of those two virtues: "the violation of justice is injury"

- Chapter III: Of the utility of this constitution of Nature: "All the members of human society stand in need of each others assistance, and are likewise exposed to mutual injuries. Where the necessary assistance is reciprocally afforded from love, from gratitude, from friendship, and esteem, the society flourishes and is happy. All the different members of it are bound together by the agreeable bands of love and affection, and are, as it were, drawn to one common centre of mutual good offices."

An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations, (1776) The Modern Library edition, New York, 1937:

-"It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer and the baker, that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest. We address ourselves, not to their humanity, but to their self-love, and never talk to them of our necessities but of their advantages" (p. 14).

Globalization blues
I thought I never have to blog anything on this topic, apart from my school assignment. But the temptation of a good site, like Yale's, is hard to resist. YaleGlobal is Online Magazine is a goldmine of info relating to globalization.