First day of class
Lecture notes: PowerPoint, PDF
Reading assignment for 9/11:
- Chapter 1 of Information Rules, Shapiro and Varian, Harvard Business School Press, 1999. [available only in print form]
- Executive Summary of The Digital Dilemma, National Research Council, 2000.
- "The Myth of Internet Time", Andrew Odlyzko, 2001.
Course overview
Lecture notes: PowerPoint, PDF
Reading assignment for 9/13:
- Appendix C of The Digital Dilemma.
- "How Domain Name Servers Work", from HowStuffWorks.com.
- Section 1.2 of Computer Networks: A Systems Approach, Peterson and Davie, Morgan Kaufmann Publishers, 1999. [available only in print form]
How does the Internet work?
Lecture notes: PowerPoint, PDF
Reading assignment for 9/18:
- "TCP and UDP", Steven Steinke, from NetworkMagazine.com. PDF version [Local PDF] for printing also available.
- "Rethinking the design of the Internet: The end to end arguments vs. the brave new world" [PDF], Clark and Blumenthal, 2000.
- Optional: Chapter 2 of RFC 1812, "Requirements for IPv4 Routers". PDF version [Local PDF] for printing also available.
How does the Internet work? (continued)
Professor Feigenbaum's office hours are cancelled today for the religious holiday. The TA will still hold the review session / office hours in WLH 002 from 7-8pm.
Lecture notes: PowerPoint, PDF
Reading assignment for 9/20:
- "The Heavenly Jukebox", Charles C. Mann, in The Atlantic Monthly, September 2000. PDF version [Local PDF] for printing also available.
- Addendum to Chapter 4 of The Digital Dilemma (Sections 106, 107, and 109 of U.S. Copyright Law). PDF version [Local PDF] for printing also available.
- Chapter 5 of The Digital Dilemma.
- Optional: Chapter 1 and Appendix E of The Digital Dilemma.
For more information on the routing protocols discussed in class (not required reading), see the following articles from Connected: An Internet Encyclopedia:
The Netscape story; Introduction to online content distribution
Lecture notes: PowerPoint, PDF
Homework: first written assignment [PDF] due in class 9/25.
For more information on some of the topics covered in class, including an overview of the WWW, HTML, and HTTP, see Section 5: Hypertext of the Programmed Instruction Course at Connected: An Internet Encyclopedia.
Online content distribution: technical protection services
First written homework assignment [PDF] due. This homework covers readings and lectures through 9/20. Solutions [PDF] are now available.
Lecture notes: PowerPoint, PDF
Reading assignment for 9/27:
- Appendix G of The Digital Dilemma.
- DVD/DeCSS Forum FAQ from OpenLaw at the Berkman Center for Internet & Society, Harvard Law School.
- US v. Sklyarov FAQ List from the Electronic Frontier Foundation.
(Optional) For another introduction to the Sklyarov case, see "U.S. Arrests Russian Cryptographer as Copyright Violator" [Local PDF], from The New York Times, July 18, 2001.
(Optional) "New Copyright Bill Heading to DC" from Wired News, Sept. 7, 2001, is an article about the Security Systems Standards and Certifications Act, a bill scheduled to be introduced to the U.S. Senate. Among other things, it requires implementing security measures in content-distribution devices.
Online content distribution: copyright law
Professor Feigenbaum's office hours are cancelled today for the religious holiday. The TA will still hold office hours.
Lecture notes: PowerPoint, PDF
Reading assignment for 10/2:
- Peer-to-Peer Copyright Whitepaper, from the Electronic Frontier Foundation.
- "Napster reaches settlement with publishers", from CNET News.com.
- "RIAA sues Aimster over file swapping", from CNET News.com.
- "How Internet Radio Works", from HowStuffWorks.com.
For a short Q&A article on Product Activation in Microsoft Windows XP (optional), discussed today in class, see the September 10 issue of ZDNet Anchordesk.
Online content distribution: business models
Lecture notes: PowerPoint, PDF
Reading assignment for 10/4:
- Chapters 3 and 4 of Blown to Bits, Philip Evans and Thomas Wurster, Harvard Business School Press, 1999 [available only in print form].
The solutions to the first homework [PDF] are now available.
Introduction to B2C
Lecture notes: PowerPoint, PDF
Homework: second written assignment [PDF] due in class 10/9.
B2C commerce, continued
Second written homework assignment [PDF] due. Solutions [PDF] are now available.
Lecture notes: PowerPoint, PDF
Reading assignment for 10/11:
- "Entering the 21st Century: Competition Policy in the World of B2B Electronic Marketplaces" [PDF], Federal Trade Commission staff, October 2000.
The VeriSign Story; Introduction to B2B
Lecture notes: PowerPoint, PDF
Reminder: first hour exam in class 10/16.
The solutions to the second homework [PDF] are now available.
First hour exam
Professor Feigenbaum's office hours are cancelled today, but the TA will still hold office hours.
First hour exam [PDF] given today, in class. Topics include:
- Information economy
- Internet architecture
- TPSs, encryption
- Online content distribution
- Copyright law
- B2C commerce
Solutions [PDF] to the exam are now available.
Invited lecture
Title: Some Basics of Venture Capital
Notes: See a list of terms Dr. Kearns will cover in his talk about venture capital.
Slides from the talk: PowerPoint, PDF.
Abstract: In the first part of this talk, I will present some of the rudiments of typical venture capital work --- what VCs do, what they look for in propsective investee companies, and how they evaluate those companies' market potential. I will also cover the basic parameters of a standard VC deal, including the notions of pre- and post-money valuation, anti-dilution clauses, drag-along and tag-along rights, and rounds of funding.
In the second part of the talk, I will offer a more personal perspective on different areas of active technology investment, and their relative strengths and weaknesses. These will be illustrated by some brief case studies.
Short Bio: Dr. Michael Kearns is Chief Technology Officer of Syntek Capital, a European technology investment firm with offices in Munich, Milan, London, Tel Aviv and New York. Prior to joining Syntek earlier this year, Dr. Kearns spent a decade in basic research at AT&T/Bell Labs, where he headed the AI and Machine Learning research groups. His research interests include AI, computational aspects of game theory, spoken dialogue and natural language systems, cryptography and network security. His research web site is http://www.cis.upenn.edu/~mkearns.
B2B Commerce
Lecture notes: PowerPoint, PDF
Reading assignment for 10/25:
- "Technical Introduction to XML", Norman Walsh, O'Reilly XML.com, October 3, 1998.
Introduction to XML
Lecture notes: PowerPoint, PDF
For more information about XML, see the resources listed below. These may be useful as background for the homework assigment.
Solutions [PDF] to the first hour exam [PDF] are now available.
C2C Commerce
Homework:
- prepare for invited lecture on Thursday (see reading below).
- third written homework assignment [PDF] due in class 11/6. TA will hold review session / office hours tonight from 7-8pm in WLH 002.
- "Examples of Document Type Definition in XML" [PDF], Sheng Zhong, Yale University, March 2001.
- Lecture notes from Robert Glushko's invited talk from last semester's class: PowerPoint, PDF.
- xCBL DTD samples from XML Common Business Library (xCBL). xCBL is a standard established so XML document types are compatible between businesses. xCBL was discussed in Robert Glushko's talk (see above).
Invited lecture
Professor Feigenbaum's office hours and the TA's office hours are cancelled today. If necessary, e-mail the TA to schedule an appointment for another time.
Invited lecture by Ernest Miller of Yale Law School.
Title: Intellectual Property Law and Its Alternatives
Abstract: What is intellectual property, and why do we have it? The first half of the lecture will look at the peculiar economics of information goods - excludability and non-rivalrous consumption - and the purposes and reasons behind intellectual property law. Given the economics and purpose of intellectual property law, the second half of the lecture will look at various alternatives, both technical and legal, to intellectual property law.
Short bio: Ernest enlisted in the US Marine Corps in 1986, graduated with honors from the US Naval Academy in 1992 and served five years as a naval officer in Asia before attending Yale Law School. He interned for the Center for Democracy and Techology and the Department of Justice. As a fellow of the Information Society Project, he writes on cyberlaw policy issues and assists the Electronic Frontier Foundation in cyber civil liberties litigation.
Readings for this lecture:
- "Lochner in Cyberspace: The New Economic Orthodoxy of `Rights Management'", version without footnotes [Local PDF], Julie Cohen, originally published in the Michigan Law Review, 1998.
- (Optional) "Lochner in Cyberspace: The New Economic Orthodoxy of `Rights Management'", full version [PDF] (see above).
- (Optional) "Alternatives to Intellectual Property", Intellectual Property in Cyberspace 2000 series, Berkman Center for Internet & Society, Harvard Law School.
Invited lecture
Third written homework assignment [PDF] due in class today. Solutions [PDF] are now available.
Invited lecture by Lorrie Cranor of AT&T Labs-Research.
Title: Online Privacy: What are People So Concerned About and What is Being Done About it?
Notes: Slides in PowerPoint or PDF.
Abstract: New Web applications are enhancing businesses' abilities to gather data about their online customers that helps them to provide customized services and targeted advertising. By learning more about their customers, online businesses can develop more personal relationships with them, allowing them to better anticipate and meet their customers' needs. However, many of the Web-based data collection systems being deployed raise many privacy concerns. These concerns are gaining increased attention from the news media, the public, and policy makers. In this talk I will discuss the privacy concerns raised by online data collection practices. I will also discuss the efforts to address these concerns through laws, self-regulation, and technology.
One of the technologies I will focus on is the emerging Platform for Privacy Preferences (P3P) standard being developed by the World Wide Web Consortium. P3P provides a simple, automated way for users to gain more control over the use of personal information on Web sites they visit. P3P-enabled Web sites make statements about how they handle user data available in a standard, machine-readable (XML) format. P3P enabled browsers can "read" these statements automatically and compare them to the consumer's own set of privacy preferences. P3P enhances user control by putting privacy policies where users can find them, in a form users can understand, and, most importantly, enables users to act on what they see.
Short bio: Dr. Lorrie Faith Cranor is a Principal Technical Staff Member in the Secure Systems Research Department at AT&T Labs-Research Shannon Laboratory in Florham Park, New Jersey. She is chair of the Platform for Privacy Preferences Project (P3P) Specification Working Group at the World Wide Web Consortium. Her research has focused on a variety of areas where technology and policy issues interact, including online privacy, electronic voting, and spam. [Full bio]
Readings due for this lecture:
- "P3P and Privacy: An Update for the Privacy Community", from the Center for Democracy & Technology.
- "The Architecture of Privacy" [PDF], Lawrence Lessig, Stanford Law School.
- "The Policy Agenda", from Database Nation: The Death of Privacy in the 21st Century, Simson L. Garfinkel.
- Chapter 6: "To Know Your Future", from Database Nation: The Death of Privacy in the 21st Century, Simson L. Garfinkel.
Invited lecture
Invited lecture by Brian LaMacchia of Microsoft.
Title: Web Services
Notes: Slides in PowerPoint, PDF.
Abstract: In this talk I'll present Web Services. If you follow the trade press you know that "Web Services" is one of this year's hot topics in the computer software and service industry. Some of the questions I'll answer in this talk include:As time permits we'll discuss some specific Web Services (e.g., Microsoft Passport) and the social issues that arise from the spread of Web Services and distributed computation.
- What the heck is a Web Service anyway?
- Why are Web Services interesting?
- What e-commerce business models do Web Services enable?
- What security and privacy issues need to be addressed for Web Services to be successful?
- What the heck is Microsoft's .NET Platform all about, and how do Web Services fit into it?
Short bio: Brian LaMacchia received S.B., S.M. and Ph.D. degrees in Electrical Enginnering and Computer Science from MIT in 1990, 1991 and 1996, respectively. Since April 1999 he has held the position of Development Lead for .NET Framework Security at Microsoft Corporation in Redmond, WA. From August 1997 until March 1999 Dr. LaMacchia was the Windows 2000 Program Manager for core cryptography. Before joining Microsoft Dr. LaMacchia was a member of the Public Policy Research Group at AT&T Labs -- Research in Florham Park, NJ.
Readings for this lecture:
- "Introduction to Web Services", local version taken from MCPCentral.com.
- "More than just a new interface: Get ready for Web services by creating business models", local version taken from TechRepublic, originally by Mike Rosen, Software Magazine, August 17, 2001.
- "The next stage of evolution for e-business", from IBM developerWorks, September 2000.
- (Optional) "The Programmable Web: Web Services Provides Building Blocks for the Microsoft .NET Framework", Mary Kirtland, Microsoft MSDN Magazine, September 2000.
- (Optional) "Web Services: It's So Crazy, It Just Might Not Work", Clay Shirky, O'Reilly XML.Com, October 3, 2001.
Review
Reminder: second hour exam in class 11/15.
- There will be a review in class today.
Lecture notes: PowerPoint, PDF - TA will hold office hours / review session in WLH 002 from 7-8pm today.
Solutions [PDF] to the third written homework assignment [PDF] are now available.
Second hour exam
Second hour exam [PDF] given today, in class. Solutions [PDF] are now available.
This exam will cover all topics through November 8, with heavy emphasis on material discussed after the first exam. Topics include, but are not limited to:
- B2B Commerce
- C2C Commerce and Auctions
- XML
- Privacy and P3P
- Venture Capital
- Web Services
Web Searching
Lecture notes: PowerPoint, PDF
Reading for 11/29:
- Google Reviewer's Guide
- Google Company Overview (including pages that are linked from here, e.g., "Company Milestones")
- "How Internet Search Engines Work", HowStuffWorks.com
Portals
Lecture notes: PowerPoint, PDF
Homework for 12/4:
- Fourth written homework assignment [PDF] due 12/4.
- This homework covers readings through those assigned for Benkler's invited lecture (see below, 12/6), so you should go through this reading along with those on web services and web searching.
- For more information about Kleinberg's framework (question 3a-b), the following readings are suggested:
- The introduction (Section 1) of "Authoritative Sources in a Hyperlinked Environment" [PDF], Jon Kleinberg, SODA 1998.
- "The Structure of the Web", Jon Kleinberg and Steve Lawrence, Science, November 2001.
- Solutions [PDF] are now available.
Open Source
Professor Feigenbaum's office hours are cancelled today. The TA will still hold office hours.
Fourth written homework assignment due today, in class. (See note above for additional information.) Solutions [PDF] are now available.
Lecture notes: PowerPoint, PDF
Homework for 12/6: prepare for invited lecture (see below).
Last day of class; Invited lecture
Invited lecture by Yochai Benkler of Yale Law School (visiting from NYU)
Title: Free Software as a Model for Commons-Based Peer Production and its Policy Implications
Notes: Slides in PowerPoint, PDF.
Abstract: The emergence of GNU/Linux as a viable alternative to the Windows operating system and of the Apache webserver software as the leading web server have focused wide attention on the phenomenon of free or open source software. Most of the attention to the economic aspects of the phenomenon has been focused on the question of incentives-why, it is asked, would anyone invest effort in a productive enterprise in whose fruits they do not claim proprietary rights of exclusion-and has been devoted to studying this phenomenon solely in the context of software development. This lecture will be focused more on understanding open source software production as one instance of a much wider phenomenon--commons based peer production of information.
In the lecture we will cover three main things. First, we will talk about how in the past there have been different models for organizing information production, and how these different models are affected by intellectual property rights. Second, we will discuss how peer production is emerging as a particularly new and interesting variety of one of these strategies, and third we will try to map this emergence on policy issues--in particular the DMCA and related copyright issues that you have studied.
Short bio: Yochai Benkler is a Professor at the New York University School of Law. He is the Director of the Engleberg Center for Innovation Law and Policy, and of the Information Law Institute. His research focuses on the effects of laws that regulate information production and exchange on the distribution of control over information flows, knowledge, and cultural production in the digital environment. He has written about rules governing infrastructure, such as telecommunications and broadcast law, rules governing private control over information, such as intellectual property, privacy, and e-commerce, and constitutional law. Professor Benkler teaches information law and policy in the digital environment, communications law and property law. Before coming to NYU, Benkler clerked for Associate Justice Stephen Breyer of the United States Supreme Court, and had earlier been an associate in the corporate practice group of Ropes & Gray in Boston. He received his J.D from Harvard Law School and his LL.B. from Tel-Aviv University. At both schools he was an editor of the law review.
Readings for this lecture:
- "Coase's Penguin, or Linux and the Nature of the Firm" [PDF], Yochai Benkler, 29th TPRC Conference, 2001.
- "The Battle Over the Institutional Ecosystem in the Digital Environment" [PDF], Yochai Benkler, Communications of the ACM, February 2001.
- (Optional) "Anarchism Triumphant: Free Software and the Death of Copyright", Eben Moglen, Columbia Law School, December 1999.
Reading week