You may not have heard of Aaron Swartz but the internet has his fingerprints all over it.
Swartz was one of the early architects of Creative Commons. He coauthored RSS, co-founded Reddit and helped build a free public library at Archive.org to name just a few things, all of which makes his death at the age of 26 even more tragic.
Since his suicide in January 2013, Swartz has become a martyr for the freedom of online information (something he passionately supported during his lifetime) catapulting him to a status of reverence in many online circles.
As of yesterday, a new documentary titled ‘The Internet’s Own Boy: The Story of Aaron Swartz’ detailing his life and death – which reviewers have noted is rather one-sided given the refusal of many of the story’s antagonists to participate – is now available to download.
The video is available to rent for $6.99 (R74) and to buy for $9.99 (R105) from video provider Vimeo in a downloadable Creative Commons format which, contrary to what one would expect from CC content, is only available in the United States and Canada.
There are of course several ways around the geo-fencing which you can consider to download the movie, although we have a sneaking suspicion that, in true Aaron Swartz style, the internet will find a way to distribute the video freely.
[Source – BoingBoing]
