YAHOO! 360 BETA... WANT AN INVITE?
As I wrote in my column at AlwaysOn, the Yahoo 360 service is pretty good. I believe it will be successful, especially since they are looking to gather more feedback and improve upon the service during this beta trial. The initial response to their product seems upbeat, and remember that this product is for the masses not the mature sloggers of the world. Anyway, here is my public Yahoo! 360 blog if you want to check it out.
Also I wasn't going to, but I'm too lazy to email many of these invites out to friends, so if you want an invite just email me and I'll try to send you one as soon as possible.
Junto Boyz
Thursday, March 31, 2005
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"KOREAN BLOGGERS MAKING A DIFFERENCE"... CNN ON OHMYNEWS
HatTip to Rich, Joe, and Valerie who all sent me an email link to this article. Interesting that CNN picked up a story on OhMyNews, which was the first citizen journalism site in the world and helped Roh Moo-Hyun get elected as president. I'm not happy about the latter, but the former achievement of creating this new breed of journalism by Oh Yeon Ho is pretty cool.
The English version of the site actually has posted a couple of my articles reprinted from AlwaysOn, which I posted before. Todd, the editor for the English version, was nice enough to feature them in their technology section. I'm actually working on an article just for them, which I hope to finish within the week as long as my friend gets back to me with some necessary information (dude, hurry up!).
Korean bloggers making a difference
by Kristie Lu Stout
Thursday, March 31, 2005
SEOUL, South Korea (CNN) -- It's a typical newsroom in downtown Seoul: reporters rush to meet deadlines and editors eye copy for mistakes.
But in this newsroom, some of the stories are being filed from a lingerie shop.
Just outside Seoul, lingerie shopkeeper Lee Eun Wha is preparing for a winter sale, but when there's free time, she hits the keyboard and begins working as a budding "citizen reporter" for Internet media site "Ohmynews."
The Web site is paving the way for a new kind of journalism in South Korea, where every reader can be a reporter and the establishment is being forced to take notice.
One of Lee's most recent stories, about hardships of small business owners, made a difference, she says.
"The public wasn't aware that small business owners were suffering so badly. But after my article went out, people were able to really see that small business owners were having difficulty just making ends meet," says Lee.
Lee has earned $5,000 from her work as a citizen reporter, but she says she is not in it for the money.
"By writing, I've been able to look more closely at my own surroundings and take a more proactive view of things."
"Ohmynews" draws half a million visitors a day -- most are young and male, but nearly all are tech-savvy Koreans out to challenge the elite. (full article)
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HatTip to Rich, Joe, and Valerie who all sent me an email link to this article. Interesting that CNN picked up a story on OhMyNews, which was the first citizen journalism site in the world and helped Roh Moo-Hyun get elected as president. I'm not happy about the latter, but the former achievement of creating this new breed of journalism by Oh Yeon Ho is pretty cool.
The English version of the site actually has posted a couple of my articles reprinted from AlwaysOn, which I posted before. Todd, the editor for the English version, was nice enough to feature them in their technology section. I'm actually working on an article just for them, which I hope to finish within the week as long as my friend gets back to me with some necessary information (dude, hurry up!).
Korean bloggers making a difference
by Kristie Lu Stout
Thursday, March 31, 2005
SEOUL, South Korea (CNN) -- It's a typical newsroom in downtown Seoul: reporters rush to meet deadlines and editors eye copy for mistakes.
But in this newsroom, some of the stories are being filed from a lingerie shop.
Just outside Seoul, lingerie shopkeeper Lee Eun Wha is preparing for a winter sale, but when there's free time, she hits the keyboard and begins working as a budding "citizen reporter" for Internet media site "Ohmynews."
The Web site is paving the way for a new kind of journalism in South Korea, where every reader can be a reporter and the establishment is being forced to take notice.
One of Lee's most recent stories, about hardships of small business owners, made a difference, she says.
"The public wasn't aware that small business owners were suffering so badly. But after my article went out, people were able to really see that small business owners were having difficulty just making ends meet," says Lee.
Lee has earned $5,000 from her work as a citizen reporter, but she says she is not in it for the money.
"By writing, I've been able to look more closely at my own surroundings and take a more proactive view of things."
"Ohmynews" draws half a million visitors a day -- most are young and male, but nearly all are tech-savvy Koreans out to challenge the elite. (full article)
TERRI SCHIAVO DIES AFTER 13 DAYS OF STARVATION
May she rest in peace and may God be with her and her family:
Terri Schiavo, the severely brain-damaged woman who spent 15 years connected to a feeding tube in an epic legal and medical battle that went all the way to the White House and Congress, died Thursday, 13 days after the tube was removed. She was 41.
Schiavo died about 9 a.m. at the Pinellas Park hospice where she lay for years while her husband and her parents fought over her in what was easily the longest, most bitter and most heavily litigated right-to-die dispute in U.S. history.
Michael Schiavo was at his wife's bedside, cradling her, when she died a "calm, peaceful and gentle" death, a stuffed animal under her arm, and flowers arranged around the room, said his attorney, George Felos. Her parents, Bob and Mary Schindler, were not at the hospice at the time, he said.
"Mr. Schiavo's overriding concern here was to provide for Terri a peaceful death with dignity," Felos said. "This death was not for the siblings, and not for the spouse and not for the parents. This was for Terri."
The feud between the parents and their son-in-law continued even after her death: The Schindlers' advisers complained that Schiavo's brother and sister had been at her bedside a few minutes before the end came, but were not there at the moment of her death because Michael Schiavo would not let them in the room.
"And so his heartless cruelty continues until this very last moment," said the Rev. Frank Pavone, a Roman Catholic priest. He added: "This is not only a death, with all the sadness that brings, but this is a killing, and for that we not only grieve that Terri has passed but we grieve that our nation has allowed such an atrocity as this and we pray that it will never happen again."
Felos disputed the Schindler family's account. He said that Terri Schiavo's siblings had been asked to leave the room so that the hospice staff could examine her, and the brother started arguing with a law enforcement official. Michael Schiavo feared a "potentially explosive" situation and would not allow the brother in the room, because he wanted his wife's death to take place in a calm and peaceful surroundings, Felos said. (full article)
MORE: "Bush Offers Condolences to Terri Schiavo's Family"
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May she rest in peace and may God be with her and her family:
Terri Schiavo, the severely brain-damaged woman who spent 15 years connected to a feeding tube in an epic legal and medical battle that went all the way to the White House and Congress, died Thursday, 13 days after the tube was removed. She was 41.
Schiavo died about 9 a.m. at the Pinellas Park hospice where she lay for years while her husband and her parents fought over her in what was easily the longest, most bitter and most heavily litigated right-to-die dispute in U.S. history.
Michael Schiavo was at his wife's bedside, cradling her, when she died a "calm, peaceful and gentle" death, a stuffed animal under her arm, and flowers arranged around the room, said his attorney, George Felos. Her parents, Bob and Mary Schindler, were not at the hospice at the time, he said.
"Mr. Schiavo's overriding concern here was to provide for Terri a peaceful death with dignity," Felos said. "This death was not for the siblings, and not for the spouse and not for the parents. This was for Terri."
The feud between the parents and their son-in-law continued even after her death: The Schindlers' advisers complained that Schiavo's brother and sister had been at her bedside a few minutes before the end came, but were not there at the moment of her death because Michael Schiavo would not let them in the room.
"And so his heartless cruelty continues until this very last moment," said the Rev. Frank Pavone, a Roman Catholic priest. He added: "This is not only a death, with all the sadness that brings, but this is a killing, and for that we not only grieve that Terri has passed but we grieve that our nation has allowed such an atrocity as this and we pray that it will never happen again."
Felos disputed the Schindler family's account. He said that Terri Schiavo's siblings had been asked to leave the room so that the hospice staff could examine her, and the brother started arguing with a law enforcement official. Michael Schiavo feared a "potentially explosive" situation and would not allow the brother in the room, because he wanted his wife's death to take place in a calm and peaceful surroundings, Felos said. (full article)
MORE: "Bush Offers Condolences to Terri Schiavo's Family"
Wednesday, March 30, 2005
WICTORY WEDNESDAY!
From PoliPundit:
When President Bush nominates a conservative judge to the Supreme Court, you can be sure that virtually every Democrat senator will filibuster. Every Republican, however, will vote to end the filibuster.
Winning elections does matter; every seat does count. That’s why you should donate to the 2006 Senate re-election campaign of Lincoln Chafee (R-RI).
Chafee is one of the more independent members of the Republican caucus. But he casts the two most important votes that count:
1. To keep Republicans in charge of the Senate, so that ultra-liberals like Patrick Leahy do not chair key committees.
2. To give the president’s judicial nominees a fair up-or-down vote.
Every seat matters. Please support Chafee’s campaign with an online contribution.
Today is Wictory Wednesday. Every Wednesday, hundreds of bloggers ask their readers to donate to an important Republican campaign.
If you’re a blogger, you can join Wictory Wednesdays by e-mailing me at wictory@blogsforbush.com. I’ll add you to the Wictory Wednesday blogroll. I’ll also send you a reminder e-mail every Wednesday, explaining which candidate to support that day.
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From PoliPundit:
When President Bush nominates a conservative judge to the Supreme Court, you can be sure that virtually every Democrat senator will filibuster. Every Republican, however, will vote to end the filibuster.
Winning elections does matter; every seat does count. That’s why you should donate to the 2006 Senate re-election campaign of Lincoln Chafee (R-RI).
Chafee is one of the more independent members of the Republican caucus. But he casts the two most important votes that count:
1. To keep Republicans in charge of the Senate, so that ultra-liberals like Patrick Leahy do not chair key committees.
2. To give the president’s judicial nominees a fair up-or-down vote.
Every seat matters. Please support Chafee’s campaign with an online contribution.
Today is Wictory Wednesday. Every Wednesday, hundreds of bloggers ask their readers to donate to an important Republican campaign.
If you’re a blogger, you can join Wictory Wednesdays by e-mailing me at wictory@blogsforbush.com. I’ll add you to the Wictory Wednesday blogroll. I’ll also send you a reminder e-mail every Wednesday, explaining which candidate to support that day.
TECHNORATI SEARCHLET
Pretty cool. Technorati put out their beta Searchlet a little while ago, but I just placed it in my sidebar (underneath the poll). If you don't know what Technorati is, it the leading search engine for the blogosphere. You can enter a URL to see who links to that specific address within the blogosphere, or you can enter a word or phrase to see who in the blogosphere has posted on that topic most recently. Technorati can be addictive for bloggers in their early stages or even afterwards. Some bloggers call it "crack-norati."
Like other blog directories, aggregators, and search engines, they have a running Top 100 list which you can visit here.
Also if you sign up as a member and claim your blog, you can get some additional information. Such as where your blog ranks in the blogging universe the company tracks. So here are the blogs I write at to whatever degree:
Junto Boyz
Technorati Rank: 5,141
Coro Blog
Technorati Rank: 1,106,894
BeefChickenPig
Technorati Rank: 1,106,894
So I have a decent ranking with Junto Boyz, but I believe the Coro Blog and BeefChickenPig, where I'm just playing around with the Friendster beta, are rock bottom since they are tied. Maybe Technorati just doesn't rank the lowest end blogs any lower than 1,106,894 since they claim to watch 8,281,658 blogs. Maybe I'll ask the Technorati people about this soon.
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Pretty cool. Technorati put out their beta Searchlet a little while ago, but I just placed it in my sidebar (underneath the poll). If you don't know what Technorati is, it the leading search engine for the blogosphere. You can enter a URL to see who links to that specific address within the blogosphere, or you can enter a word or phrase to see who in the blogosphere has posted on that topic most recently. Technorati can be addictive for bloggers in their early stages or even afterwards. Some bloggers call it "crack-norati."
Like other blog directories, aggregators, and search engines, they have a running Top 100 list which you can visit here.
Also if you sign up as a member and claim your blog, you can get some additional information. Such as where your blog ranks in the blogging universe the company tracks. So here are the blogs I write at to whatever degree:
Junto Boyz
Technorati Rank: 5,141
Coro Blog
Technorati Rank: 1,106,894
BeefChickenPig
Technorati Rank: 1,106,894
So I have a decent ranking with Junto Boyz, but I believe the Coro Blog and BeefChickenPig, where I'm just playing around with the Friendster beta, are rock bottom since they are tied. Maybe Technorati just doesn't rank the lowest end blogs any lower than 1,106,894 since they claim to watch 8,281,658 blogs. Maybe I'll ask the Technorati people about this soon.
TEXAS HOLDEM TECH STYLE... ALWAYSON COLUMN IS UP
My column went up today, which is a day early. After going back and forth on last minute edits with my editor, Jill, this morning, it got sent to Rich, the chief editor, where he decided to put it up today around 11:00am. I initially thought it was a mistake, but he explained the regular Wednesday columnist passed on this week, so he decided to go with mine today. All good.
Anyway, it's not the best piece of writing, but I just geeked out and had fun writing this comparison of the tech world with the world of poker. Check it out!
The 2005 World Series of Poker ... Tech Style
As Yahoo previews its new blogging service, the rest of the players evaluate their hands and place their bets on what will and won't work in the search/portal space of the future.
Last week, I attended a preview session of Yahoo's new blogging and social networking service, Yahoo 360, in which nine people in the slogging space gathered to provide feedback. The discussion was interesting and insightful—and of course everyone was wondering how Yahoo will integrate Flickr, the photo-sharing service it just acquired, into the offering.
In the end, many of these "influencers" indicated they wouldn't use the service—either because it's too simple or because it's closed (among other reasons). Some said that if their friends were heavily integrated into Yahoo products (for example, Yahoo Messenger or Groups), they would recommend it. Only one person stated she would definitely use it. In one of the few positive comments, AlwaysOn editor-in-chief Tony Perkins voiced his belief that the service would work due to Yahoo's huge installed base and the service's tight integration with other Yahoo products. I happen to agree—with the caveat that two additional factors will drive that success: integration with the company's photo products and well-thought-out privacy controls. (full article)
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My column went up today, which is a day early. After going back and forth on last minute edits with my editor, Jill, this morning, it got sent to Rich, the chief editor, where he decided to put it up today around 11:00am. I initially thought it was a mistake, but he explained the regular Wednesday columnist passed on this week, so he decided to go with mine today. All good.
Anyway, it's not the best piece of writing, but I just geeked out and had fun writing this comparison of the tech world with the world of poker. Check it out!
The 2005 World Series of Poker ... Tech Style
As Yahoo previews its new blogging service, the rest of the players evaluate their hands and place their bets on what will and won't work in the search/portal space of the future.
Last week, I attended a preview session of Yahoo's new blogging and social networking service, Yahoo 360, in which nine people in the slogging space gathered to provide feedback. The discussion was interesting and insightful—and of course everyone was wondering how Yahoo will integrate Flickr, the photo-sharing service it just acquired, into the offering.
In the end, many of these "influencers" indicated they wouldn't use the service—either because it's too simple or because it's closed (among other reasons). Some said that if their friends were heavily integrated into Yahoo products (for example, Yahoo Messenger or Groups), they would recommend it. Only one person stated she would definitely use it. In one of the few positive comments, AlwaysOn editor-in-chief Tony Perkins voiced his belief that the service would work due to Yahoo's huge installed base and the service's tight integration with other Yahoo products. I happen to agree—with the caveat that two additional factors will drive that success: integration with the company's photo products and well-thought-out privacy controls. (full article)
HP SAYS "CALL ME KODAK"
A lot of activity is going on in the online photo space with Yahoo! buying Flickr, HP buying Snapfish, and Kodak retooling their Ofoto site into Kodak EasyShare. HP had to make that acquisition to protect their photo-printing business. With all their profits coming from their printing division, it's sort of weird seeing HP potentially transformed into a competitor of Kodak. Maybe in a few years they will be competing with Kinko's too. :)
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A lot of activity is going on in the online photo space with Yahoo! buying Flickr, HP buying Snapfish, and Kodak retooling their Ofoto site into Kodak EasyShare. HP had to make that acquisition to protect their photo-printing business. With all their profits coming from their printing division, it's sort of weird seeing HP potentially transformed into a competitor of Kodak. Maybe in a few years they will be competing with Kinko's too. :)
EVDB RAISES $2.1 MILLION
HatTip to PE Week Wire. Pretty good list of seed investors:
EVDB Inc., a La Jolla, Calif.-based developer of an event and venue information database, has raised $2.1 million in Series A funding. Draper Fisher Jurvetson led the deal, and was joined by the Omidyar Network. The company's seed funding round had included Esther Dyson of CNET Networks, Half.com founder Joshua Kopelman; Pyra and Odeo co-founder Evan Williams, Tribe Networks CEO and co-founder Mark Pincus, Dan O'Neill, EVP and CTO of Trusonic, Inc. and Thomas Sammon, co-founder of PersonaLogic.
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HatTip to PE Week Wire. Pretty good list of seed investors:
EVDB Inc., a La Jolla, Calif.-based developer of an event and venue information database, has raised $2.1 million in Series A funding. Draper Fisher Jurvetson led the deal, and was joined by the Omidyar Network. The company's seed funding round had included Esther Dyson of CNET Networks, Half.com founder Joshua Kopelman; Pyra and Odeo co-founder Evan Williams, Tribe Networks CEO and co-founder Mark Pincus, Dan O'Neill, EVP and CTO of Trusonic, Inc. and Thomas Sammon, co-founder of PersonaLogic.
Tuesday, March 29, 2005
LA TIMES' DAVID SHAW'S IGNORANCE OF BLOGGERS
Amusing piece by Slate's Jack Shafer on David Shaw's recent rant against bloggers. Goes to show there is still much ignorance about blogs and the world of blogging even among the well-read.
Don't Fear the Blogger
Will somebody please help the Los Angeles Times' David Shaw get a grip?
By Jack Shafer
Monday, March 28, 2005
In yesterday's (March 27) Los Angeles Times, media reporter and critic David Shaw demonstrates Oscar Wilde's maxim that modern journalism is important—if only because it keeps us in touch with the ignorance of the community.
Giving every indication that he's read a lot of stories about bloggers but not that many actual blogs, Shaw disparages the form as the error-filled rants of amateurs in his piece, "Do Bloggers Deserve Basic Journalistic Protections?" It's a "solipsistic, self-aggrandizing journalist-wannabe genre," Shaw writes. (full article)
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Amusing piece by Slate's Jack Shafer on David Shaw's recent rant against bloggers. Goes to show there is still much ignorance about blogs and the world of blogging even among the well-read.
Don't Fear the Blogger
Will somebody please help the Los Angeles Times' David Shaw get a grip?
By Jack Shafer
Monday, March 28, 2005
In yesterday's (March 27) Los Angeles Times, media reporter and critic David Shaw demonstrates Oscar Wilde's maxim that modern journalism is important—if only because it keeps us in touch with the ignorance of the community.
Giving every indication that he's read a lot of stories about bloggers but not that many actual blogs, Shaw disparages the form as the error-filled rants of amateurs in his piece, "Do Bloggers Deserve Basic Journalistic Protections?" It's a "solipsistic, self-aggrandizing journalist-wannabe genre," Shaw writes. (full article)
SILICON VALLEY SIMILAR TO DETRIOT?
Interesting piece by Steve Lohr at the NY Times though I think it's a bit early to say Silicon Valley is losing its edge. Until other societies develop a culture of entrepreneurship and innovation on par with America's, I don't thing it will lose its leadership position. Even for the sake of conversation if another nation developed to the same point culturally, it would be a while before the same web of academic, government, and industry research and collaboration is created to copy Silicon Valley's hotbed of innovation.
HAS the technology industry - a big and undeniably important slice of the economy - become a business whose best days are behind it?
In other words, is Silicon Valley turning into Detroit?
That is certainly the way things look now to some industry observers. They believe that Silicon Valley is destined to see its competitive stature erode, as new global rivals undercut American technology companies on price and increasingly wrest the lead from the United States in innovation.
More near-term support for the "graying industry" view of technology came two weeks ago from Goldman Sachs. The economy may be doing nicely and corporate capital spending picking up, but it will not help the technology industry much, according to the investment bank's survey of corporate spending plans. In 2005, corporate spending on information technology will rise less than 4 percent, the Goldman analysts predicted. "Technology looks to be firmly in the cyclical category for now," the report stated.
Yet another, somewhat longer, view suggests that America's technology industry will not inevitably decline. The more optimistic outlook rests not on the prospects for Wall Street investors, but on the nature of information technology.
Computing is an almost infinitely malleable, universal tool. Software can be programmed to do all manner of tasks. So computing is more like biology - it evolves - than like traditional industrial technologies such as steam, electricity and the internal combustion engine.
Information technology moves on, up the ladder of economic evolution. The PC Forum, an annual gathering organized by the technologist Esther Dyson, known for her free-ranging and often incisive intellect, provided a glimpse last week of where the technology is headed. The conference is a kind of "show, tell and schmooze" for a few hundred industry executives, venture capitalists and start-ups.
One way new technology is moving ahead is by increasing its focus on the uses of technology in specific fields, instead of being narrowly fascinated with the tools themselves. So the technology, Ms. Dyson noted, becomes interesting to a wider world, beyond "engineers from Silicon Valley." (full article)
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Interesting piece by Steve Lohr at the NY Times though I think it's a bit early to say Silicon Valley is losing its edge. Until other societies develop a culture of entrepreneurship and innovation on par with America's, I don't thing it will lose its leadership position. Even for the sake of conversation if another nation developed to the same point culturally, it would be a while before the same web of academic, government, and industry research and collaboration is created to copy Silicon Valley's hotbed of innovation.
HAS the technology industry - a big and undeniably important slice of the economy - become a business whose best days are behind it?
In other words, is Silicon Valley turning into Detroit?
That is certainly the way things look now to some industry observers. They believe that Silicon Valley is destined to see its competitive stature erode, as new global rivals undercut American technology companies on price and increasingly wrest the lead from the United States in innovation.
More near-term support for the "graying industry" view of technology came two weeks ago from Goldman Sachs. The economy may be doing nicely and corporate capital spending picking up, but it will not help the technology industry much, according to the investment bank's survey of corporate spending plans. In 2005, corporate spending on information technology will rise less than 4 percent, the Goldman analysts predicted. "Technology looks to be firmly in the cyclical category for now," the report stated.
Yet another, somewhat longer, view suggests that America's technology industry will not inevitably decline. The more optimistic outlook rests not on the prospects for Wall Street investors, but on the nature of information technology.
Computing is an almost infinitely malleable, universal tool. Software can be programmed to do all manner of tasks. So computing is more like biology - it evolves - than like traditional industrial technologies such as steam, electricity and the internal combustion engine.
Information technology moves on, up the ladder of economic evolution. The PC Forum, an annual gathering organized by the technologist Esther Dyson, known for her free-ranging and often incisive intellect, provided a glimpse last week of where the technology is headed. The conference is a kind of "show, tell and schmooze" for a few hundred industry executives, venture capitalists and start-ups.
One way new technology is moving ahead is by increasing its focus on the uses of technology in specific fields, instead of being narrowly fascinated with the tools themselves. So the technology, Ms. Dyson noted, becomes interesting to a wider world, beyond "engineers from Silicon Valley." (full article)
JESSE JACKSON JOINS IN THE FIGHT FOR TERRI SCHIAVO
Cool. It's not often I side on Rev. Jesse Jackson's point of views or actions, but he's now joining the fight for Terri Schiavo's life:
The parents of brain-damaged Terri Schiavo were joined by prominent civil rights campaigner the Rev. Jesse Jackson on Tuesday in an 11th-hour appeal to Florida lawmakers to prolong her life.
But it was unlikely the Florida legislature would change its mind and intervene 11 days after Schiavo's feeding tube was removed, thrusting a long and bitter family feud over her fate into a highly politicized national spotlight.
"She is being starved to death, she is being dehydrated to death. That's immoral and unnecessary," Jackson told reporters after meeting Schiavo's parents, Bob and Mary Schindler, near the hospice in Pinellas Park where she is being cared for. (full article)
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Cool. It's not often I side on Rev. Jesse Jackson's point of views or actions, but he's now joining the fight for Terri Schiavo's life:
The parents of brain-damaged Terri Schiavo were joined by prominent civil rights campaigner the Rev. Jesse Jackson on Tuesday in an 11th-hour appeal to Florida lawmakers to prolong her life.
But it was unlikely the Florida legislature would change its mind and intervene 11 days after Schiavo's feeding tube was removed, thrusting a long and bitter family feud over her fate into a highly politicized national spotlight.
"She is being starved to death, she is being dehydrated to death. That's immoral and unnecessary," Jackson told reporters after meeting Schiavo's parents, Bob and Mary Schindler, near the hospice in Pinellas Park where she is being cared for. (full article)
Monday, March 28, 2005
YAHOO! RELEASES CREATIVE COMMONS SEARCH
HatTip to A Whole Lotta Nothing. Yahoo! is definitely making some moves in the right direction towards the next stage of the web. Impressed.
Yahoo just released a Creative Commons Search that kicks all kinds of ass, drawing upon their massive database of webpages featuring CC licenses. In my tests it is returning as good or better results than the main Creative Commons search, and it's doing it instantly thanks to Yahoo's muscle.
I used to think of Yahoo as the CBS of search engines -- it's the search engine your grandma probably uses to find Murder She Wrote episode guides. But in the past few months they've really turned it around. My Yahoo continues to impress, they picked up Flickr, and now Creative Commons search is baked in. This is not your father's search engine anymore.
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HatTip to A Whole Lotta Nothing. Yahoo! is definitely making some moves in the right direction towards the next stage of the web. Impressed.
Yahoo just released a Creative Commons Search that kicks all kinds of ass, drawing upon their massive database of webpages featuring CC licenses. In my tests it is returning as good or better results than the main Creative Commons search, and it's doing it instantly thanks to Yahoo's muscle.
I used to think of Yahoo as the CBS of search engines -- it's the search engine your grandma probably uses to find Murder She Wrote episode guides. But in the past few months they've really turned it around. My Yahoo continues to impress, they picked up Flickr, and now Creative Commons search is baked in. This is not your father's search engine anymore.
PEGGY NOONAN ON THE SCHIAVO SITUATION
Great article by Peggy Noonan. I have so many bookmarks and links I wanted to post, but simply did not have the time to do so and it might be too late. I almost wanted to avoid the news and debate on Terri Schiavo's situation, but last week I couldn't as I watch through a couple news shows that captured my attention and humanity. Outside of the politics that surround the topic of Terri Schiavo's life, the positioning of the husband just seems a bit shady and selfish. If her parents want to care for her, why not let them? Even though much of America seems to be for pulling the tube, I don't believe most of them have the correct information and facts that people worse than Terri Schiavo have come back and lived healthy and happy lives. Where there is hope, there is always a way, and there are countless stories of love that have proven this within our modern times. Her husband seems to be lacking the areas of love and hope.
In Love With Death
The bizarre passion of the pull-the-tube people.
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
by Peggy Noonan
Thursday, March 24, 2005
God made the world or he didn't.
God made you or he didn't.
If he did, your little human life is, and has been, touched by the divine. If this is true, it would be true of all humans, not only some. And so--again, if it is true--each human life is precious, of infinite value, worthy of great respect.
Most--not all, but probably most--of those who support Terri Schiavo's right to live believe the above. This explains their passion and emotionalism. They believe they are fighting for an invaluable and irreplaceable human life. They are like the mother who is famously said to have lifted the back of a small car off the ground to save a child caught under a tire. You're desperate to save a life, you're shot through with adrenaline, your strength is for half a second superhuman, you do the impossible.
That is what they are trying to do.
They do not want an innocent human life ended for what appear to be primarily practical and worldly reasons--e.g., Mrs. Schiavo's quality of life is low, her life is pointless. They say: Who is to say it is pointless? And what does pointless even mean? Maybe life itself is the point.
I do not understand the emotionalism of the pull-the-tube people. What is driving their engagement? Is it because they are compassionate, and their hearts bleed at the thought that Mrs. Schiavo suffers? But throughout this case no one has testified that she is in persistent pain, as those with terminal cancer are.
If they care so much about her pain, why are they unconcerned at the suffering caused her by the denial of food and water? And why do those who argue for Mrs. Schiavo's death employ language and imagery that is so violent and aggressive? The chairman of the Democratic National Committee calls Republicans "brain dead." Michael Schiavo, the husband, calls House Majority Leader Tom DeLay "a slithering snake."
Everyone who has written in defense of Mrs. Schiavo's right to live has received e-mail blasts full of attacks that appear to have been dictated by the unstable and typed by the unhinged. On Democratic Underground they crowed about having "kicked the sh-- out of the fascists." On Tuesday James Carville's face was swept with a sneer so convulsive you could see his gums as he damned the Republicans trying to help Mrs. Schiavo. It would have seemed demonic if he weren't a buffoon.
Why are they so committed to this woman's death? (full article)
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Great article by Peggy Noonan. I have so many bookmarks and links I wanted to post, but simply did not have the time to do so and it might be too late. I almost wanted to avoid the news and debate on Terri Schiavo's situation, but last week I couldn't as I watch through a couple news shows that captured my attention and humanity. Outside of the politics that surround the topic of Terri Schiavo's life, the positioning of the husband just seems a bit shady and selfish. If her parents want to care for her, why not let them? Even though much of America seems to be for pulling the tube, I don't believe most of them have the correct information and facts that people worse than Terri Schiavo have come back and lived healthy and happy lives. Where there is hope, there is always a way, and there are countless stories of love that have proven this within our modern times. Her husband seems to be lacking the areas of love and hope.
In Love With Death
The bizarre passion of the pull-the-tube people.
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
by Peggy Noonan
Thursday, March 24, 2005
God made the world or he didn't.
God made you or he didn't.
If he did, your little human life is, and has been, touched by the divine. If this is true, it would be true of all humans, not only some. And so--again, if it is true--each human life is precious, of infinite value, worthy of great respect.
Most--not all, but probably most--of those who support Terri Schiavo's right to live believe the above. This explains their passion and emotionalism. They believe they are fighting for an invaluable and irreplaceable human life. They are like the mother who is famously said to have lifted the back of a small car off the ground to save a child caught under a tire. You're desperate to save a life, you're shot through with adrenaline, your strength is for half a second superhuman, you do the impossible.
That is what they are trying to do.
They do not want an innocent human life ended for what appear to be primarily practical and worldly reasons--e.g., Mrs. Schiavo's quality of life is low, her life is pointless. They say: Who is to say it is pointless? And what does pointless even mean? Maybe life itself is the point.
I do not understand the emotionalism of the pull-the-tube people. What is driving their engagement? Is it because they are compassionate, and their hearts bleed at the thought that Mrs. Schiavo suffers? But throughout this case no one has testified that she is in persistent pain, as those with terminal cancer are.
If they care so much about her pain, why are they unconcerned at the suffering caused her by the denial of food and water? And why do those who argue for Mrs. Schiavo's death employ language and imagery that is so violent and aggressive? The chairman of the Democratic National Committee calls Republicans "brain dead." Michael Schiavo, the husband, calls House Majority Leader Tom DeLay "a slithering snake."
Everyone who has written in defense of Mrs. Schiavo's right to live has received e-mail blasts full of attacks that appear to have been dictated by the unstable and typed by the unhinged. On Democratic Underground they crowed about having "kicked the sh-- out of the fascists." On Tuesday James Carville's face was swept with a sneer so convulsive you could see his gums as he damned the Republicans trying to help Mrs. Schiavo. It would have seemed demonic if he weren't a buffoon.
Why are they so committed to this woman's death? (full article)
Friday, March 25, 2005
YAHOO! 360 FEEDBACK SESSION... BETA LAUNCHES MARCH 29TH
Got in last night to Chicago, so I didn't have a chance to blog yesterday. Thursday morning I was at Yahoo! seeing a preview of their new Yahoo! 360 service and participated in a feedback and discussion session. Since Tony is friends with Jerry, I got to tag along since I cover the blogging and social network space for AlwaysOn. I was in the session with Danah, who already posted on her thoughts. I also wasn't going to post the screenshots of Yahoo! 360, but since Forrester's Charlene Li already did I decided to go ahead and do it (cropped and resized in photoshop):
Yahoo! 360 screenshots
I'm writing more of my thoughts in my column for next Thursday, but I can say I believe the service will be successful for three primary reasons:
- Yahoo!'s huge installed base of users
- Integration of photo sharing (i.e. Flickr)
- Advanced privacy controls
The last two are based on what I know as the top two driving factors for CyWorld's incredible growth in Korea, which I touched upon here. The Yahoo! team has done of good job of thinking through this service and how it fits into the greater blogosphere.
UPDATE: I didn't really read Charlene's post until after my initial post, but have to disagree with her statement here:
This fundamental concept of linking people through their updated “stuff” is what makes Yahoo! 360 unique – and inherently will drive usage of the service higher than traditional social networks.
I assume she hasn't tried Microsoft's Wallop since the first thing I thought when I saw the "Latest from My Friends" section was, "They must of saw Wallop... Definitely from Wallop." Also I don't believe this "fundamental concept" will be a driver for usage. I haven't spoken with the Microsoft Research people on Wallop's usage patterns or survey of key features, but I have to assume this is not and will not be a primary driver or feature that people love on Yahoo! 360.
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Got in last night to Chicago, so I didn't have a chance to blog yesterday. Thursday morning I was at Yahoo! seeing a preview of their new Yahoo! 360 service and participated in a feedback and discussion session. Since Tony is friends with Jerry, I got to tag along since I cover the blogging and social network space for AlwaysOn. I was in the session with Danah, who already posted on her thoughts. I also wasn't going to post the screenshots of Yahoo! 360, but since Forrester's Charlene Li already did I decided to go ahead and do it (cropped and resized in photoshop):
Yahoo! 360 screenshots
I'm writing more of my thoughts in my column for next Thursday, but I can say I believe the service will be successful for three primary reasons:
- Yahoo!'s huge installed base of users
- Integration of photo sharing (i.e. Flickr)
- Advanced privacy controls
The last two are based on what I know as the top two driving factors for CyWorld's incredible growth in Korea, which I touched upon here. The Yahoo! team has done of good job of thinking through this service and how it fits into the greater blogosphere.
UPDATE: I didn't really read Charlene's post until after my initial post, but have to disagree with her statement here:
This fundamental concept of linking people through their updated “stuff” is what makes Yahoo! 360 unique – and inherently will drive usage of the service higher than traditional social networks.
I assume she hasn't tried Microsoft's Wallop since the first thing I thought when I saw the "Latest from My Friends" section was, "They must of saw Wallop... Definitely from Wallop." Also I don't believe this "fundamental concept" will be a driver for usage. I haven't spoken with the Microsoft Research people on Wallop's usage patterns or survey of key features, but I have to assume this is not and will not be a primary driver or feature that people love on Yahoo! 360.
Wednesday, March 23, 2005
ALWAYSON'S INNOVATION SUMMIT @ STANFORD... IMPRESSIVE LIST OF ATTENDEES
I just got an email update from Tony on the AlwaysOn Summit that is coming up this July 19-21. Even though I write for AlwaysOn, I'm not always up-to-date on what is happening with this year's conference. I don't know how he does it, but this list of attendees and speakers is pretty kick butt in my opinion. Here are some of the ones stuck out for me:
- Richard Branson, Chairman, Virgin
- Sergey Brin, Cofounder & President, Google
- Marc Cuban, Owner, Dallas Mavericks
- Bill Gates, Chairman & Chief Software Architect, Microsoft
- George Gilder, Gilder Technology Partners
- Bill Joy, Partner, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers
- Shimon Peres, Former Prime Minister, Israel
- Governor Schwarzenegger, Governor, The State of California
- Howard Stringer, Chairman & CEO, Sony
- Jerry Yang, Cofounder & Chief Yahoo, Yahoo
- Ed Zander, Chairman & CEO, Motorola
Pretty awesome! I'm a chill dude and last year's list was okay, but I'm psyched for this one.
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I just got an email update from Tony on the AlwaysOn Summit that is coming up this July 19-21. Even though I write for AlwaysOn, I'm not always up-to-date on what is happening with this year's conference. I don't know how he does it, but this list of attendees and speakers is pretty kick butt in my opinion. Here are some of the ones stuck out for me:
- Richard Branson, Chairman, Virgin
- Sergey Brin, Cofounder & President, Google
- Marc Cuban, Owner, Dallas Mavericks
- Bill Gates, Chairman & Chief Software Architect, Microsoft
- George Gilder, Gilder Technology Partners
- Bill Joy, Partner, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers
- Shimon Peres, Former Prime Minister, Israel
- Governor Schwarzenegger, Governor, The State of California
- Howard Stringer, Chairman & CEO, Sony
- Jerry Yang, Cofounder & Chief Yahoo, Yahoo
- Ed Zander, Chairman & CEO, Motorola
Pretty awesome! I'm a chill dude and last year's list was okay, but I'm psyched for this one.
"VCS REALLY ARE JERKS"
Amusing and interesting post and links about venture capitalists (wait, not all vcs are jerks, especially those that invest in my startsup:). Also this is a plug for alarm:clock , which I recently stumbled across. It's run by some former Red Herring guys and covers the investment dealflow in tech and other related news. Great blog, so check it out! (i don't know them at all)
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Amusing and interesting post and links about venture capitalists (wait, not all vcs are jerks, especially those that invest in my startsup:). Also this is a plug for alarm:clock , which I recently stumbled across. It's run by some former Red Herring guys and covers the investment dealflow in tech and other related news. Great blog, so check it out! (i don't know them at all)
NASA TECHNOLOGY AT WORK... BRINGING WATER TO IRAQI AND ASIA FLOOD VICTIMS
Pretty cool application of technology originally meant for astronauts.
There are plenty of wells in Iraq, but the dead animals dumped there when Saddam Hussein was in power have contaminated them. There are plenty of streams in southeast Asia, but the recent tsunami polluted them with salt from the ocean.
How do you quench someone's thirst when there is plenty of water, but not a drop of it is drinkable?
It's a question NASA researchers have pondered for nearly two decades, but villagers in Iraq and tsunami victims in Asia will get a taste of their answer as early as this fall — before any astronaut in space does.
The Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., has been testing a device intended for the space station that would recycle astronauts' sweat, respiration and even urine into drinking water purer than any found in a tap.
"They just breathe and exercise, urinate into the urinal and our system handles the rest," said Robyn Carrasquillo, chief of the environmental control and life support division at Marshall.
It could be two years before the water system — as large as two refrigerators — is loaded onto a shuttle to serve an American astronaut and Russian cosmonaut living in space. But smaller and simpler versions will soon be put to use on earth.
Reno, Nev.-based investment firm Crestridge and the charity Concern for Kids are developing the systems for humanitarian purposes in nations lacking a reliable water supply, starting with Iraq and countries in southeast Asia. (full article)
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Pretty cool application of technology originally meant for astronauts.
There are plenty of wells in Iraq, but the dead animals dumped there when Saddam Hussein was in power have contaminated them. There are plenty of streams in southeast Asia, but the recent tsunami polluted them with salt from the ocean.
How do you quench someone's thirst when there is plenty of water, but not a drop of it is drinkable?
It's a question NASA researchers have pondered for nearly two decades, but villagers in Iraq and tsunami victims in Asia will get a taste of their answer as early as this fall — before any astronaut in space does.
The Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., has been testing a device intended for the space station that would recycle astronauts' sweat, respiration and even urine into drinking water purer than any found in a tap.
"They just breathe and exercise, urinate into the urinal and our system handles the rest," said Robyn Carrasquillo, chief of the environmental control and life support division at Marshall.
It could be two years before the water system — as large as two refrigerators — is loaded onto a shuttle to serve an American astronaut and Russian cosmonaut living in space. But smaller and simpler versions will soon be put to use on earth.
Reno, Nev.-based investment firm Crestridge and the charity Concern for Kids are developing the systems for humanitarian purposes in nations lacking a reliable water supply, starting with Iraq and countries in southeast Asia. (full article)
Tuesday, March 22, 2005
READER SURVEY FOR BLOG ADVERTISING
Interesting survey from Henry Copeland, who heads Blogads. Some interesting bits:
Last year, we got 17,159 responses. This year, 30,079 blog readers responded.
Last year, 61% of responding blog readers were over 30 years old. This year, 75% are over 30 years old.
.....
The most interesting news comes in section 8. Aficionados of PR-speak will recognize these questions as benchmark tests to identify who is an opinion maker, a member of the ten percent of Americans who are believed to set the agenda and steer the opinions of the other 90%. To qualify as an official "influential," RoperASW, the leading firm consulting in the field, you have to answer 3 of those questions (excluding a petition) in the affirmative. Clearly the blogosphere is crawling with certified grade A opinion makers. (When we can get SurveyMonkey's filtering software to behave properly, we'll be able to tell you exactly how many.)
Also the survey shows 75.3% of the people read blogs for "News I can't find elsewhere" and 74.6% for "Better perspective." 39.3% were Democrats and 27.3% were Republican.
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Interesting survey from Henry Copeland, who heads Blogads. Some interesting bits:
Last year, we got 17,159 responses. This year, 30,079 blog readers responded.
Last year, 61% of responding blog readers were over 30 years old. This year, 75% are over 30 years old.
.....
The most interesting news comes in section 8. Aficionados of PR-speak will recognize these questions as benchmark tests to identify who is an opinion maker, a member of the ten percent of Americans who are believed to set the agenda and steer the opinions of the other 90%. To qualify as an official "influential," RoperASW, the leading firm consulting in the field, you have to answer 3 of those questions (excluding a petition) in the affirmative. Clearly the blogosphere is crawling with certified grade A opinion makers. (When we can get SurveyMonkey's filtering software to behave properly, we'll be able to tell you exactly how many.)
Also the survey shows 75.3% of the people read blogs for "News I can't find elsewhere" and 74.6% for "Better perspective." 39.3% were Democrats and 27.3% were Republican.
Monday, March 21, 2005
OURMEDIA LAUNCHED
Congratulations to Marc Canter, J.D. Lasica, and Brewster Kahle. From Slashdot:
"From the people who gave you the Internet Archive comes Ourmedia, a place for grassroots media to flourish. Upload anything, maybe a video, some pictures, your custom applescript, and it gets hosted for free, for life. Drupal is hosting the site, and the Internet Archive is providing hosting and bandwidth for the files."
Marc was the founder of Macromedia (originally MacroMind) and one of the largest voices in the blogosphere and social network space. He's also currently an advisor to the startup I'm involved in, which I'll write about later. Anyway, here is their press release.
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Congratulations to Marc Canter, J.D. Lasica, and Brewster Kahle. From Slashdot:
"From the people who gave you the Internet Archive comes Ourmedia, a place for grassroots media to flourish. Upload anything, maybe a video, some pictures, your custom applescript, and it gets hosted for free, for life. Drupal is hosting the site, and the Internet Archive is providing hosting and bandwidth for the files."
Marc was the founder of Macromedia (originally MacroMind) and one of the largest voices in the blogosphere and social network space. He's also currently an advisor to the startup I'm involved in, which I'll write about later. Anyway, here is their press release.
GBN SPARTANS STATE CHAMPS
I have to plug for my old high school, Glenbrook North, in Northbrook, IL. They just won the Illinois Class AA Basketball state championship. I think it's their first boys athletic championship since 1993 when my younger brother's volleyball won state (program which my friend, sang, and i started:).
Jon Scheyer, a junior, was a stud with 27 points in the final game and a total of 134 for the state tournament, which was "nine shy of the Class AA record set by Marcus Liberty of King in 1987."
Also from another angle, it's somewhat amusing that an all-Jewish team (with no one bigger than 6'7") won a tournament traditionally dominated by schools and teams that are predominantly African American. A bit Hoosiers-like.
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I have to plug for my old high school, Glenbrook North, in Northbrook, IL. They just won the Illinois Class AA Basketball state championship. I think it's their first boys athletic championship since 1993 when my younger brother's volleyball won state (program which my friend, sang, and i started:).
Jon Scheyer, a junior, was a stud with 27 points in the final game and a total of 134 for the state tournament, which was "nine shy of the Class AA record set by Marcus Liberty of King in 1987."
Also from another angle, it's somewhat amusing that an all-Jewish team (with no one bigger than 6'7") won a tournament traditionally dominated by schools and teams that are predominantly African American. A bit Hoosiers-like.
YAHOO! BUYS FLICKR
Om Malik called it a while back and Yahoo! finally completes the deal. Yahoo! is buying the popular photo site, Flickr, for an undisclosed amount, but people are estimating between $30-$35 million. More from Flickr's blog here and Jeremy Zawondny's blog here.
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Om Malik called it a while back and Yahoo! finally completes the deal. Yahoo! is buying the popular photo site, Flickr, for an undisclosed amount, but people are estimating between $30-$35 million. More from Flickr's blog here and Jeremy Zawondny's blog here.
DEBRA SAUNDERS CHIMES IN... KABOOM! WHACK! BAMM!
Debra Saunders chimes in a recent debate started by syndicated Columnist, Susan Estrich, and delivers some great blows. Great piece:
LUCKY ME. No one can accuse me of being a token female columnist, because I'm the only full-time columnist writing for this opinion page. (Editorial writer Ken Garcia writes a weekly column.)
Last month, when syndicated columnist Susan Estrich went public with her feud with Los Angeles Times Editorial Page Editor Michael Kinsley for not running enough columns by women and local writers, she put the gender card back on the table.
Credit Estrich for getting the pack journalists to find a big story in a phenomenon any rube can see. Stop the presses: Most opinion writers are men.
It doesn't help Estrich that the Los Angeles Times is not the worst offender. In the first nine weeks of 2005, the L.A. Times reported, 20 percent of its op-ed pieces were written by women, while just 17 percent were at the New York Times and a mere 10 percent at the Washington Post. Editor & Publisher, the news industry's trade magazine, looked at eight news syndicates and found that 24 percent of their opinion writers are women.
It also doesn't help Estrich that she went ballistic on this issue after the L.A. Times ran a piece written by a woman -- Charlotte Allen of the conservative Independent Women's Forum.
.....
Estrich may say she wants to promote diversity of opinion as well as gender diversity, but I've been watching the diversity game for some years. In journalism, diversity is a club the left uses to increase the hiring of lefties. Feminists say they want more female columnists when what they really want are only more liberal female columnists. Or, in their lingo, they want "authentic" women.
.....
Recently a Bay Area journalism professor actually told me that conservatives shouldn't be journalists because conservatives are less likely to question the status quo. I disagreed with his definition, but I responded that this region is filled with liberals, so if you want reporters who will question the status quo, you should push Bay Area media to hire more conservatives. To this, he said nothing, and then left the room. There went his noble reason for muzzling the opposition.
The other question I hear is: How do I survive at The Chronicle? And that question has nothing to do with the fact that I am a woman. (full article)
MORE INFO on the debate here.
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Debra Saunders chimes in a recent debate started by syndicated Columnist, Susan Estrich, and delivers some great blows. Great piece:
LUCKY ME. No one can accuse me of being a token female columnist, because I'm the only full-time columnist writing for this opinion page. (Editorial writer Ken Garcia writes a weekly column.)
Last month, when syndicated columnist Susan Estrich went public with her feud with Los Angeles Times Editorial Page Editor Michael Kinsley for not running enough columns by women and local writers, she put the gender card back on the table.
Credit Estrich for getting the pack journalists to find a big story in a phenomenon any rube can see. Stop the presses: Most opinion writers are men.
It doesn't help Estrich that the Los Angeles Times is not the worst offender. In the first nine weeks of 2005, the L.A. Times reported, 20 percent of its op-ed pieces were written by women, while just 17 percent were at the New York Times and a mere 10 percent at the Washington Post. Editor & Publisher, the news industry's trade magazine, looked at eight news syndicates and found that 24 percent of their opinion writers are women.
It also doesn't help Estrich that she went ballistic on this issue after the L.A. Times ran a piece written by a woman -- Charlotte Allen of the conservative Independent Women's Forum.
.....
Estrich may say she wants to promote diversity of opinion as well as gender diversity, but I've been watching the diversity game for some years. In journalism, diversity is a club the left uses to increase the hiring of lefties. Feminists say they want more female columnists when what they really want are only more liberal female columnists. Or, in their lingo, they want "authentic" women.
.....
Recently a Bay Area journalism professor actually told me that conservatives shouldn't be journalists because conservatives are less likely to question the status quo. I disagreed with his definition, but I responded that this region is filled with liberals, so if you want reporters who will question the status quo, you should push Bay Area media to hire more conservatives. To this, he said nothing, and then left the room. There went his noble reason for muzzling the opposition.
The other question I hear is: How do I survive at The Chronicle? And that question has nothing to do with the fact that I am a woman. (full article)
MORE INFO on the debate here.
DILLER BUYING ASK JEEVES FOR $2 BILLION
AC/InterActiveCorp, holding company for Internet properties such as CitySearch, Match.com, and Expedia, is buying AskJeeves for $2 billion. Diller's company is trying to shed ZeroDegrees, the failed professional social networking company, and pick a growing player in the online world. It will be interesting to see how effectively AskJeeves is integrated into Diller's online grouping of Internet properties.
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AC/InterActiveCorp, holding company for Internet properties such as CitySearch, Match.com, and Expedia, is buying AskJeeves for $2 billion. Diller's company is trying to shed ZeroDegrees, the failed professional social networking company, and pick a growing player in the online world. It will be interesting to see how effectively AskJeeves is integrated into Diller's online grouping of Internet properties.
Friday, March 18, 2005
TOM EVSLIN'S VIEW ON VENTURE CAPITAL
I forgot to put up this this excellent post by Tom Evslin from a few weeks back. If you're an entrepreneur or want to be in the future, read part one and part two. Summary points:
Lesson #1: there are times when raising venture capital is a bad idea.
Lesson # 2: there are times when it makes sense to raise venture capital.
Lesson #3: raise your venture funding as late as possible.
Lesson #4: pick your VCs well.
Lesson #5: ask VCs about their firm’s “exit strategy”.
Lesson #6: look for VCs who can and do distribute.
Lesson #7: check VC references.
Lesson #8: Choose VCs you’d trust with your own money.
Lesson #9: use your VCs relentlessly.
Lesson #10: push to speak to the Limited Partners.
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I forgot to put up this this excellent post by Tom Evslin from a few weeks back. If you're an entrepreneur or want to be in the future, read part one and part two. Summary points:
Lesson #1: there are times when raising venture capital is a bad idea.
Lesson # 2: there are times when it makes sense to raise venture capital.
Lesson #3: raise your venture funding as late as possible.
Lesson #4: pick your VCs well.
Lesson #5: ask VCs about their firm’s “exit strategy”.
Lesson #6: look for VCs who can and do distribute.
Lesson #7: check VC references.
Lesson #8: Choose VCs you’d trust with your own money.
Lesson #9: use your VCs relentlessly.
Lesson #10: push to speak to the Limited Partners.
SOCIAL NETWORK SPACE JUST GOT BUSIER... YAHOO!'S BETA, MYSPACE, AND FRIENDSTER
Yesterday Yahoo! announced their beta for a new blogging and social networking service called "Yahoo 360." It will be interesting to see how their service does against MySpace, who recent got a $37.8 million investment from Redpoint Ventures and Intermix Media. Also Friendster recently launched their beta for a blogging service that is integrated into their site, which was licensed from Six Apart. It took them forever to do something significant. Anyway, I tested it out since it's part of my job, and made a casual blog for my random stupid thoughts. I never thought I would make a Xanga-type blog, but I did. I'm not sure how long this will last, but it does have one signicant entry... my jambalaya recipe, which is honestly the best:)
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Yesterday Yahoo! announced their beta for a new blogging and social networking service called "Yahoo 360." It will be interesting to see how their service does against MySpace, who recent got a $37.8 million investment from Redpoint Ventures and Intermix Media. Also Friendster recently launched their beta for a blogging service that is integrated into their site, which was licensed from Six Apart. It took them forever to do something significant. Anyway, I tested it out since it's part of my job, and made a casual blog for my random stupid thoughts. I never thought I would make a Xanga-type blog, but I did. I'm not sure how long this will last, but it does have one signicant entry... my jambalaya recipe, which is honestly the best:)
AKAMAI BUYS SPEEDERA
Akamai buys Speedera for about $150 million. Interesting since the startup I'm with might be affected in a good way by this deal.
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Akamai buys Speedera for about $150 million. Interesting since the startup I'm with might be affected in a good way by this deal.
Thursday, March 17, 2005
CONGRESSIONAL HEARINGS ON BASEBALL AND STEROIDS... ACTUALLY PRODUCTIVE
I saw watched some of the Congressional hearings today as I ate breakfast. My biases were initially against the hearings since I thought it was Rep. Tom Davis and others on the Government Reform Committee seeking some publicity and brownie points in their home districts. As I listened, I heard the stories of high school athletes becoming bi-polar and committing suicide and the heartbreak and anger of their parents against steriods. I listened to some of the medical researchers' findings on steriods and how it affects the body without the ignorant spin of Jose Canseco. I began to change my mind on these hearings and saw how they are telling stories that need to be told and information that needs to be highlighted or presented to the public that might not be aware of the detrimental effect steriods has on people and the overall system of sports such as baseball.
One sad outcome of these hearings so far is the damaged reputation of Mark McGwire. ESPN's Jayson Stark has a good article on this here.
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I saw watched some of the Congressional hearings today as I ate breakfast. My biases were initially against the hearings since I thought it was Rep. Tom Davis and others on the Government Reform Committee seeking some publicity and brownie points in their home districts. As I listened, I heard the stories of high school athletes becoming bi-polar and committing suicide and the heartbreak and anger of their parents against steriods. I listened to some of the medical researchers' findings on steriods and how it affects the body without the ignorant spin of Jose Canseco. I began to change my mind on these hearings and saw how they are telling stories that need to be told and information that needs to be highlighted or presented to the public that might not be aware of the detrimental effect steriods has on people and the overall system of sports such as baseball.
One sad outcome of these hearings so far is the damaged reputation of Mark McGwire. ESPN's Jayson Stark has a good article on this here.
ALWAYSON COLUMN UP... ON CHRIS PIRILLO
My weekly (well, almost every week) column is up now. Check it out!
Do You Know Chris Pirillo? You Should ...
That's because as web personality, tech evangelist, and the creator of a million-member strong online community, he knows a thing or two about life on the digital edge.
Chris Pirillo is something of a Renaissance man. He's also representative of a new breed of pioneer at the edge of the digital universe—a web personality, tech evangelist, and all-around geek, who through his energy, dedication, and passion for technology has become a prominent figure in the online world and a voice to be listened to on the topics of blogging and new mediums of information and community. In 1996, Mr. Pirillo started Lockergnome, a website and community that brings together people who are passionate about technology. In the intervening years, that community has grown to more than 1 million subscribers—an active and loyal following that translates into some hefty marketing power for Mr. Pirillo, who's also an author, an entrepreneur, a conference organizer, a columnist for Computer Power User and PC Today Magazine, and an advisor to various technology companies. (full article)
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My weekly (well, almost every week) column is up now. Check it out!
Do You Know Chris Pirillo? You Should ...
That's because as web personality, tech evangelist, and the creator of a million-member strong online community, he knows a thing or two about life on the digital edge.
Chris Pirillo is something of a Renaissance man. He's also representative of a new breed of pioneer at the edge of the digital universe—a web personality, tech evangelist, and all-around geek, who through his energy, dedication, and passion for technology has become a prominent figure in the online world and a voice to be listened to on the topics of blogging and new mediums of information and community. In 1996, Mr. Pirillo started Lockergnome, a website and community that brings together people who are passionate about technology. In the intervening years, that community has grown to more than 1 million subscribers—an active and loyal following that translates into some hefty marketing power for Mr. Pirillo, who's also an author, an entrepreneur, a conference organizer, a columnist for Computer Power User and PC Today Magazine, and an advisor to various technology companies. (full article)
Wednesday, March 16, 2005
RIM PAYS $450 MILLION TO SETTLE PATENT LAWSUIT
I was wondering about this lawsuit from a while back. I wonder if RIM's founders knowingly infringed on NTP's patents? I'm sure they did a prior art search when they launched their company with their attorneys, and maybe they decided to take the risk and move forward without contacting NTP. Strike one up for the little guys.
Some more commentary at Tyler Hamilton's blog here and at Engadget here.
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I was wondering about this lawsuit from a while back. I wonder if RIM's founders knowingly infringed on NTP's patents? I'm sure they did a prior art search when they launched their company with their attorneys, and maybe they decided to take the risk and move forward without contacting NTP. Strike one up for the little guys.
Some more commentary at Tyler Hamilton's blog here and at Engadget here.
NEWMASHING... CHANGING BLOGGING FOREVER?
Paul Boutin over at Slate has an interesting take on an old technology that never took off. Remember E-Quill? Anyway, check out Paul's article:
Editors and relatives often ask me if there's an application that lets you scrawl notes on a Web page. Instead of e-mailing a link to a news story, you could circle what you think is important before passing it on; rather than bookmarking a page, you could slap on a sticky note. The funny thing is, that kind of Web page annotation software has been around since before Netscape. Yet hardly anyone uses it, and none of the top browser makers has embraced it.
In 2001, Microsoft bought Web page markup technology from a company called E-Quill but hasn't incorporated any of its features into Internet Explorer. The iMarkup toolbar, which debuted to rave reviews in 2000, hasn't gotten much buzz since. You can still get iMarkup—a 30-day trial is free and it costs $39.95 if you want to keep it after that. One screenshot says it all: You can highlight parts of a page, post sticky notes, draw freehand, and insert arrows, links, file attachments, and sound bites. Taking notes on the Slate home page won't change what other surfers see. But when you revisit the page, iMarkup will remember what you wrote and slap your notes atop the live site. In one simple step, you can e-mail your annotations (or a screenshot of your annotations) to a friend. Using a free iMarkup plug-in, they can then view your notes overlaid atop the live site.
After playing around with iMarkup for just five minutes, I was convinced that it's a useful tool. But after a few more days of tinkering, I realized that Web page annotation has flopped because it doesn't offer a compelling reason to change how we use computers. You could take notes in iMarkup, but it's more straightforward to jot down your thoughts in Word. You could also use it to collaborate with colleagues, but it's easier to send an e-mail or instant message. Then it hit me—there is a compelling reason to scribble on Web pages and news stories. This is the killer app for political bloggers. (full article)
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Paul Boutin over at Slate has an interesting take on an old technology that never took off. Remember E-Quill? Anyway, check out Paul's article:
Editors and relatives often ask me if there's an application that lets you scrawl notes on a Web page. Instead of e-mailing a link to a news story, you could circle what you think is important before passing it on; rather than bookmarking a page, you could slap on a sticky note. The funny thing is, that kind of Web page annotation software has been around since before Netscape. Yet hardly anyone uses it, and none of the top browser makers has embraced it.
In 2001, Microsoft bought Web page markup technology from a company called E-Quill but hasn't incorporated any of its features into Internet Explorer. The iMarkup toolbar, which debuted to rave reviews in 2000, hasn't gotten much buzz since. You can still get iMarkup—a 30-day trial is free and it costs $39.95 if you want to keep it after that. One screenshot says it all: You can highlight parts of a page, post sticky notes, draw freehand, and insert arrows, links, file attachments, and sound bites. Taking notes on the Slate home page won't change what other surfers see. But when you revisit the page, iMarkup will remember what you wrote and slap your notes atop the live site. In one simple step, you can e-mail your annotations (or a screenshot of your annotations) to a friend. Using a free iMarkup plug-in, they can then view your notes overlaid atop the live site.
After playing around with iMarkup for just five minutes, I was convinced that it's a useful tool. But after a few more days of tinkering, I realized that Web page annotation has flopped because it doesn't offer a compelling reason to change how we use computers. You could take notes in iMarkup, but it's more straightforward to jot down your thoughts in Word. You could also use it to collaborate with colleagues, but it's easier to send an e-mail or instant message. Then it hit me—there is a compelling reason to scribble on Web pages and news stories. This is the killer app for political bloggers. (full article)
WICTORY WEDNESDAY
From PoliPundit:
Minnesota presents the best opportunity Republicans have to pickup a Senate seat in 2006. Mark Kennedy, the talented Republican candidate, has a web site where you can make contributions. Make an early donation today and help scare off any significant Democrat opposition. If Kennedy can win this seat in a walk, we can then focus our resources elsewhere.
Today is Wictory Wednesday. Every Wednesday, hundreds of bloggers ask their readers to donate to an important Republican campaign.
If you’re a blogger, you can join Wictory Wednesdays by e-mailing me at wictory@blogsforbush.com. I’ll add you to the Wictory Wednesday blogroll. I’ll also send you a reminder e-mail every Wednesday, explaining which candidate to support that day.
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From PoliPundit:
Minnesota presents the best opportunity Republicans have to pickup a Senate seat in 2006. Mark Kennedy, the talented Republican candidate, has a web site where you can make contributions. Make an early donation today and help scare off any significant Democrat opposition. If Kennedy can win this seat in a walk, we can then focus our resources elsewhere.
Today is Wictory Wednesday. Every Wednesday, hundreds of bloggers ask their readers to donate to an important Republican campaign.
If you’re a blogger, you can join Wictory Wednesdays by e-mailing me at wictory@blogsforbush.com. I’ll add you to the Wictory Wednesday blogroll. I’ll also send you a reminder e-mail every Wednesday, explaining which candidate to support that day.
SKYPE KICKING BUTT... PATH TO GREATNESS
Skype recently hit 1 million users of their premium service, SkypeOut, and over 86 million downloads of their software. They spread virally to an astounding degree and now they have the negotiating power to strike deals with the wireless handset makers. What an ideal path of growth and positioning. I'm not sure if that is the strategy they planned for, but in hindsight it looks great.
Niklas Zennström made a name for himself as cofounder of the Kazaa peer-to-peer file sharing service. Now the entrepreneurial Swede hopes to make his latest venture, the Skype p-to-p voice service, a household brand. In recent weeks, the CEO of Luxembourg-based Skype Technologies has signed a string of deals with wireless handset manufacturers. Carrier Devices, for instance, has agreed to install proprietary Skype VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) software in its i-mate branded Pocket PC phones with Wi-Fi capability. Motorola is also on board to integrate Skype software into a number of its new wireless devices. Another big-name manufacturer on the list is Siemens.
In a crowded booth at Cebit with music blaring in the background, soft-spoken Zennström fielded a number of questions from IDG News Service. Contrary to reported customer complaints about call latency, failed connections, and voice quality with Skype, Zennström said the VoIP offering is much better than traditional phone service. Don't expect this shrewd businessman to knock his own service in free editorial space. Zennström takes pride in boasting that his company is adding millions of customers without paying a cent on large advertising campaigns.
IDGNS: Your service appears to be growing strongly. What are your numbers?
Zennström: Skype is growing extremely rapidly: We have 29 million users and are adding 155,000 users each day. Most of them run the software on their computers, but we also have around 1.3 million Pocket PC users.
IDGNS: Last year, you entered into an agreement with RTX Telecom A/S to develop a line of cordless phones. How do these work?
Zennström: You can connect the cordless phone to a normal socket and use it as a normal phone. But it also has a USB connection to your computer, which runs the Skype software. When you push a designated button on the handset, you can use Skype to make a VoIP call. (full interview)
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Skype recently hit 1 million users of their premium service, SkypeOut, and over 86 million downloads of their software. They spread virally to an astounding degree and now they have the negotiating power to strike deals with the wireless handset makers. What an ideal path of growth and positioning. I'm not sure if that is the strategy they planned for, but in hindsight it looks great.
Niklas Zennström made a name for himself as cofounder of the Kazaa peer-to-peer file sharing service. Now the entrepreneurial Swede hopes to make his latest venture, the Skype p-to-p voice service, a household brand. In recent weeks, the CEO of Luxembourg-based Skype Technologies has signed a string of deals with wireless handset manufacturers. Carrier Devices, for instance, has agreed to install proprietary Skype VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) software in its i-mate branded Pocket PC phones with Wi-Fi capability. Motorola is also on board to integrate Skype software into a number of its new wireless devices. Another big-name manufacturer on the list is Siemens.
In a crowded booth at Cebit with music blaring in the background, soft-spoken Zennström fielded a number of questions from IDG News Service. Contrary to reported customer complaints about call latency, failed connections, and voice quality with Skype, Zennström said the VoIP offering is much better than traditional phone service. Don't expect this shrewd businessman to knock his own service in free editorial space. Zennström takes pride in boasting that his company is adding millions of customers without paying a cent on large advertising campaigns.
IDGNS: Your service appears to be growing strongly. What are your numbers?
Zennström: Skype is growing extremely rapidly: We have 29 million users and are adding 155,000 users each day. Most of them run the software on their computers, but we also have around 1.3 million Pocket PC users.
IDGNS: Last year, you entered into an agreement with RTX Telecom A/S to develop a line of cordless phones. How do these work?
Zennström: You can connect the cordless phone to a normal socket and use it as a normal phone. But it also has a USB connection to your computer, which runs the Skype software. When you push a designated button on the handset, you can use Skype to make a VoIP call. (full interview)
Tuesday, March 15, 2005
KOREAN MOBILE MARKET... REVIEW BY TAPIO ANTTILA
Thought this was interesting that Tapio, who writes a popular newsletter, Mobile Entertainment Opportunity Watch (MEOW), finally visited the leading wireless markets in the world:
March 8, 2005
I just returned from my trip to Japan and Korea. I had to go and see Korea in particular as it is rumored to have an amazing lead over the rest of the world. True enough, they are ahead and there are some interesting phenomena emerging. The question is how they can play in the global market as a service provider and a content and software exporter. The success of Samsung and LG is not helping a lot, they are pure hardware companies who focus very little on content. More about all that later in the blog.
.....
Japan - My first impression when arriving in Japan was 'where are all the small phones?'... The Japanese market has suddenly adopted the idea of dragging along clunky smartphones. That is probably because they have seen the need for added functionality such as mobile payments. The smart card trials of Sony and DoCoMo have matured to a point where the rest of the world needs to take notes. We were pitching mobile phone as a personal trusted device back at Ericsson in 1998 or so - now it is suddenly starting to happen on the marketplace with Japan in the lead. Moreover, these innovations around mobile payments are largely exportable to the rest of the world, unlike most of the Japanese content or their social culture. You may want to check out the latest market insights around this at the sources below.
Eurotechnology: Store
Wireless Watch Japan
Benjamin Joffe's Blog
Korea - If Japan is all about mobile payments, Korea is all about mobile TV. And we talk about the real mobile TV, DMB - direct satellite broadcasting to the handset - not streaming cellular mobile TV. They will have 50 channels broadcasting by May this year - all free to the end user during the launch phase. The price of those very cool devices is high, though - in the range of $1,000. Is the hype about Korean mobile use substantiated? When you listen to the market numbers and to the services launched it appears to be so. But when you spend time in the streets and trendy spots in Seoul you will have to concede that the use is still fairly conventional: SMS (high school kids average 53 SMSs per day), games, WAP. I did not yet see much of those high-end handsets in use by normal people, even in affluent and trendy spots. People use their phones ALL THE TIME for data in particular but hey, this is not America so what's the big deal...
I spoke extensively with Simon Bureau, a consultant and Korean industry expert who has recently written (together with Benjamin Joffe) a great report on mobile music services in Japan and Korea. He gave me a lot of market insights and I warmly recommend you take a look at the fresh new report here.
My main takeaways from the Korean experience were the following:
1. There are no mobile enterprise applications, solutions or phones to speak of - it is all about the consumer market.
2. SK Telecom is the big money-maker, not the content providers
3. SK Telecom is becoming a mobile publisher through its Mobile Licensing Bank initiative
4. SMS is only 20% of data revenues, i.e. mobile content is a significant revenue generator
5. Original content plays a big role (e.g. ringback tones are often based on latest soap opera content). This focus on dynamic content is very promising in my opinion.
6. Online world 'Cyworld' has had enormous success (both broadband and mobile): 10 million citizens have joined this online community (25% of the population). This is huge!
7. Broadband and WiFi have penetrated very well and plans are in place for WiMAX - will they ever even need mobile professional solutions from Cellular providers?
8. The focus on privacy and security seems to be limited - open WiFi access points are the majority and experts were pointing out how little privacy protection for example the online community Cyworld has.
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Thought this was interesting that Tapio, who writes a popular newsletter, Mobile Entertainment Opportunity Watch (MEOW), finally visited the leading wireless markets in the world:
March 8, 2005
I just returned from my trip to Japan and Korea. I had to go and see Korea in particular as it is rumored to have an amazing lead over the rest of the world. True enough, they are ahead and there are some interesting phenomena emerging. The question is how they can play in the global market as a service provider and a content and software exporter. The success of Samsung and LG is not helping a lot, they are pure hardware companies who focus very little on content. More about all that later in the blog.
.....
Japan - My first impression when arriving in Japan was 'where are all the small phones?'... The Japanese market has suddenly adopted the idea of dragging along clunky smartphones. That is probably because they have seen the need for added functionality such as mobile payments. The smart card trials of Sony and DoCoMo have matured to a point where the rest of the world needs to take notes. We were pitching mobile phone as a personal trusted device back at Ericsson in 1998 or so - now it is suddenly starting to happen on the marketplace with Japan in the lead. Moreover, these innovations around mobile payments are largely exportable to the rest of the world, unlike most of the Japanese content or their social culture. You may want to check out the latest market insights around this at the sources below.
Eurotechnology: Store
Wireless Watch Japan
Benjamin Joffe's Blog
Korea - If Japan is all about mobile payments, Korea is all about mobile TV. And we talk about the real mobile TV, DMB - direct satellite broadcasting to the handset - not streaming cellular mobile TV. They will have 50 channels broadcasting by May this year - all free to the end user during the launch phase. The price of those very cool devices is high, though - in the range of $1,000. Is the hype about Korean mobile use substantiated? When you listen to the market numbers and to the services launched it appears to be so. But when you spend time in the streets and trendy spots in Seoul you will have to concede that the use is still fairly conventional: SMS (high school kids average 53 SMSs per day), games, WAP. I did not yet see much of those high-end handsets in use by normal people, even in affluent and trendy spots. People use their phones ALL THE TIME for data in particular but hey, this is not America so what's the big deal...
I spoke extensively with Simon Bureau, a consultant and Korean industry expert who has recently written (together with Benjamin Joffe) a great report on mobile music services in Japan and Korea. He gave me a lot of market insights and I warmly recommend you take a look at the fresh new report here.
My main takeaways from the Korean experience were the following:
1. There are no mobile enterprise applications, solutions or phones to speak of - it is all about the consumer market.
2. SK Telecom is the big money-maker, not the content providers
3. SK Telecom is becoming a mobile publisher through its Mobile Licensing Bank initiative
4. SMS is only 20% of data revenues, i.e. mobile content is a significant revenue generator
5. Original content plays a big role (e.g. ringback tones are often based on latest soap opera content). This focus on dynamic content is very promising in my opinion.
6. Online world 'Cyworld' has had enormous success (both broadband and mobile): 10 million citizens have joined this online community (25% of the population). This is huge!
7. Broadband and WiFi have penetrated very well and plans are in place for WiMAX - will they ever even need mobile professional solutions from Cellular providers?
8. The focus on privacy and security seems to be limited - open WiFi access points are the majority and experts were pointing out how little privacy protection for example the online community Cyworld has.
I'M AN OFFICIAL GEEK... T-SHIRT TO PROVE IT
I came across a free t-shirt offer from Bloglines and filled out. I found out a few days ago that I won. Cool. I'm geeked now.
Dear Bernard,
Congratulations on being one of the first 200 people to email Ask Jeeves about receiving a free "I love Bloglines t-shirt." We will send your t-shirt to the address that you have provided on March 14, so you should be receiving it in the near future.
If you have any questions/comments, feel free to let us know.
Kind regards,
Paul Loeffler (Fellow Bloglines Enthusiast)
Ask Jeeves, Inc.
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I came across a free t-shirt offer from Bloglines and filled out. I found out a few days ago that I won. Cool. I'm geeked now.
Dear Bernard,
Congratulations on being one of the first 200 people to email Ask Jeeves about receiving a free "I love Bloglines t-shirt." We will send your t-shirt to the address that you have provided on March 14, so you should be receiving it in the near future.
If you have any questions/comments, feel free to let us know.
Kind regards,
Paul Loeffler (Fellow Bloglines Enthusiast)
Ask Jeeves, Inc.
EBBERS GUILTY!
I'm sure most of you read or watch this news today since it was everywhere. I'm very glad this was the end result. I never liked Ebbers before the scandal hit since his arrogance and ego turned me off, but besides my personal feelings I believe this was an important verdict to keep corporate America in check (yes, very vague and fluffy) and a calming of the storm for the general public.
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I'm sure most of you read or watch this news today since it was everywhere. I'm very glad this was the end result. I never liked Ebbers before the scandal hit since his arrogance and ego turned me off, but besides my personal feelings I believe this was an important verdict to keep corporate America in check (yes, very vague and fluffy) and a calming of the storm for the general public.
LEFT-WING BLOGGERS CRY OUT TO MAJOR MEDIA... FOLLOW UP ON STUDY OF BLOG BEHAVIOR
A follow up to the prior post on the study of the political blogosphere, The New York Times has an article on how liberal bloggers are reaching out to the mainstream media to be heard over their right-wing counterparts. Sort of funny, huh? Why don't they just write stuff or coordinate an effort that will be worthy of press? It's like the second child crying out to the parents for more attention.
Even as online pundits criticize traditional news organizations as slow, biased and technologically challenged, a group of bloggers is trying to use old-fashioned telephone conference calls to share their ideas with newspaper and television journalists.
The bloggers, who describe themselves as liberal or progressive, say the conference calls are intended to counter what they regard as the much stronger influence of conservative pundits online. Bob Fertik, president of Democrats.com, the host of the two calls so far, views them as a step toward getting their reports out to mainstream news organizations.
While there is no way to know precisely who dialed in, reporters from news organizations including CBS, The Washington Post, Newsweek, MSNBC and The National Journal asked for a call-in number, according to one participant.
"We hope to build a bridge," Mr. Fertik said, adding that different bloggers would be invited to share their reporting on each call. "We hope that good credible stories that are broken on the Internet find their way into coverage in the mainstream media."
.....
Some on the right disagree, arguing that the news reported by traditional media is tainted by liberal bias. "We learned years ago that the mainstream media just weren't going to pay attention to us," said Kristinn Taylor of the Web site FreeRepublic.com.
But bloggers on all sides agree that the left has made less effective use of the opportunities to organize and wield influence afforded by the Internet. The reasons, though, are more complex than they might appear. "It's not just a story about the blogosphere," said Jack M. Balkin, a professor and director of the Information Society Project at Yale Law School. "It's a story about the conservative social networks of which the blogosphere is a part. The important thing is the network - and I mean the social network." (full article)
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A follow up to the prior post on the study of the political blogosphere, The New York Times has an article on how liberal bloggers are reaching out to the mainstream media to be heard over their right-wing counterparts. Sort of funny, huh? Why don't they just write stuff or coordinate an effort that will be worthy of press? It's like the second child crying out to the parents for more attention.
Even as online pundits criticize traditional news organizations as slow, biased and technologically challenged, a group of bloggers is trying to use old-fashioned telephone conference calls to share their ideas with newspaper and television journalists.
The bloggers, who describe themselves as liberal or progressive, say the conference calls are intended to counter what they regard as the much stronger influence of conservative pundits online. Bob Fertik, president of Democrats.com, the host of the two calls so far, views them as a step toward getting their reports out to mainstream news organizations.
While there is no way to know precisely who dialed in, reporters from news organizations including CBS, The Washington Post, Newsweek, MSNBC and The National Journal asked for a call-in number, according to one participant.
"We hope to build a bridge," Mr. Fertik said, adding that different bloggers would be invited to share their reporting on each call. "We hope that good credible stories that are broken on the Internet find their way into coverage in the mainstream media."
.....
Some on the right disagree, arguing that the news reported by traditional media is tainted by liberal bias. "We learned years ago that the mainstream media just weren't going to pay attention to us," said Kristinn Taylor of the Web site FreeRepublic.com.
But bloggers on all sides agree that the left has made less effective use of the opportunities to organize and wield influence afforded by the Internet. The reasons, though, are more complex than they might appear. "It's not just a story about the blogosphere," said Jack M. Balkin, a professor and director of the Information Society Project at Yale Law School. "It's a story about the conservative social networks of which the blogosphere is a part. The important thing is the network - and I mean the social network." (full article)
DELL BEING "ANAL RETENTIVE"?
Interesting post and discussion at Beautiful Atrocities. It seems the problem might be more with the contractor than Dell, but let's see what happens.
30 Dell computer employees, Somalian Muslims, walked off the job after Dell refused to allow them 5 minutes a day for prayer, as required by their religion. Despite the typical wisdom from the Lucianne.com crowd ("Go back to Somolia [sic], half starve & pray all freakin' day"), this is probably a violation of EEOC, & doesn't seem unreasonable.
Turns out Martin at Blogbat used to work for Dell, & as he shows, such behavior is typical. Among Dell's more outrageous illegal business practices: violated federal law by allotting only 5 minutes per day for bathroom breaks, & requiring employees who need more time to present a doctor's excuse. (full post)
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Interesting post and discussion at Beautiful Atrocities. It seems the problem might be more with the contractor than Dell, but let's see what happens.
30 Dell computer employees, Somalian Muslims, walked off the job after Dell refused to allow them 5 minutes a day for prayer, as required by their religion. Despite the typical wisdom from the Lucianne.com crowd ("Go back to Somolia [sic], half starve & pray all freakin' day"), this is probably a violation of EEOC, & doesn't seem unreasonable.
Turns out Martin at Blogbat used to work for Dell, & as he shows, such behavior is typical. Among Dell's more outrageous illegal business practices: violated federal law by allotting only 5 minutes per day for bathroom breaks, & requiring employees who need more time to present a doctor's excuse. (full post)
DEMOCRACY WILL BE A BEAUTIFUL THING... 800,000 PRO-FREEDOM DEMONSTRATORS SHOW UP
HatTip to Power Line:
In a stunning show of force, an estimated 800,000 anti-Syria, pro-freedom demonstrators turned out in Beirut today, implicitly responding to, and far exceeding, Hizbollah's impressive effort of a few days ago.
Does it matter? Sure. The Syria-Hizbollah-terrorist alliance got a major shot in the arm from Hizbollah's demonstrations. A bloodless revolution is possible, but only if it's supported by a clear majority of the populace, who are willing to show that they are no longer afraid to say what they think for fear of being shot. That's the practical definition, I think, of the proverbial "tipping point." Today's show of strength went a long way, I hope, toward showing the Syrians and their Lebanese allies that the tide of history is moving inexorably against them.
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HatTip to Power Line:
In a stunning show of force, an estimated 800,000 anti-Syria, pro-freedom demonstrators turned out in Beirut today, implicitly responding to, and far exceeding, Hizbollah's impressive effort of a few days ago.
Does it matter? Sure. The Syria-Hizbollah-terrorist alliance got a major shot in the arm from Hizbollah's demonstrations. A bloodless revolution is possible, but only if it's supported by a clear majority of the populace, who are willing to show that they are no longer afraid to say what they think for fear of being shot. That's the practical definition, I think, of the proverbial "tipping point." Today's show of strength went a long way, I hope, toward showing the Syrians and their Lebanese allies that the tide of history is moving inexorably against them.
100 STREET GANG MEMBERS JAILED... ALWAYS GOOD NEWS
Every little bit helps. Good news to read about:
More than 100 members of the violent street gang Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13, have been arrested in a sweeping nationwide anti-gang initiative called "Operation Community Shield," including 25 in the Washington area and 10 in Baltimore.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, working with state and local law-enforcement authorities, arrested members of the Central America-rooted gang -- this country's largest and most violent criminal organization -- in six cities on charges ranging from murder to immigration violations.
MS-13 members in the United States have been tied to murders, robberies, burglaries, carjackings, extortion, rapes and aggravated assaults, including at least seven killings in Virginia and Maryland, and machete attacks in Virginia in the past nine months that mutilated a 16-year-old Alexandria boy and a 24-year-old Fairfax man.
With as many as 20,000 gang members active nationally and 5,000 in Virginia and Maryland operating in groups known as "cliques," authorities said MS-13 gangs have targeted not only civilians, rival gang members and clique traitors, but also have issued "green light" notices to kill police officers in both states.
"Operation Community Shield is an important public safety initiative for the Department of Homeland Security that targets the proliferation of gang violence throughout the country," said Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Michael J. Garcia, who heads ICE. (full article)
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Every little bit helps. Good news to read about:
More than 100 members of the violent street gang Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13, have been arrested in a sweeping nationwide anti-gang initiative called "Operation Community Shield," including 25 in the Washington area and 10 in Baltimore.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, working with state and local law-enforcement authorities, arrested members of the Central America-rooted gang -- this country's largest and most violent criminal organization -- in six cities on charges ranging from murder to immigration violations.
MS-13 members in the United States have been tied to murders, robberies, burglaries, carjackings, extortion, rapes and aggravated assaults, including at least seven killings in Virginia and Maryland, and machete attacks in Virginia in the past nine months that mutilated a 16-year-old Alexandria boy and a 24-year-old Fairfax man.
With as many as 20,000 gang members active nationally and 5,000 in Virginia and Maryland operating in groups known as "cliques," authorities said MS-13 gangs have targeted not only civilians, rival gang members and clique traitors, but also have issued "green light" notices to kill police officers in both states.
"Operation Community Shield is an important public safety initiative for the Department of Homeland Security that targets the proliferation of gang violence throughout the country," said Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Michael J. Garcia, who heads ICE. (full article)
ORB NETWORKS HAS STREAMING MEDIA SOLUTION FOR XP
Startup Orb Networks is moving along:
Orb Networks, Inc., a developer of streaming media software and services, today announced that the company’s groundbreaking streaming media software, Orb Media, is now available to the millions of Windows® XP operating system customers in the United States. With this announcement, more “on-the-go” consumers can gain spontaneous access to the digital home-media content locked up in their home.
Orb Networks’ software and service provides a simple way for consumers to spontaneously access their music, photos, videos, live TV and other digital content located on their home PC from virtually any Internet-enabled device, from anywhere in the world. Orb’s intuitive solution simply streams a consumer’s own content from their home PC to the Web browser and player on their cell phone, PDA, or notebook, creating a consumer’s own “personal media portal”. Consumers also have the capability to remotely record TV programs using Orb’s Digital Video Recorder (DVR) function and then view those recorded programs at any time on any of their mobile devices.
"Now that broadband access has hit critical mass, the use of the home PC as an entertainment device has become a reality," said Jim Behrens, CEO, Orb Networks. "Additionally, as the market is getting flooded with mobile devices capable of accessing digital home content through Orb — combined with broader and better wireless connection access — the digital home is now available outside the home. We can’t always be at home, but we don’t have to sacrifice all the comforts of home when we are on the road. With Windows XP support, we are making it easier than ever for consumers to have this type of access for their ever-evolving digital lifestyles."
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Startup Orb Networks is moving along:
Orb Networks, Inc., a developer of streaming media software and services, today announced that the company’s groundbreaking streaming media software, Orb Media, is now available to the millions of Windows® XP operating system customers in the United States. With this announcement, more “on-the-go” consumers can gain spontaneous access to the digital home-media content locked up in their home.
Orb Networks’ software and service provides a simple way for consumers to spontaneously access their music, photos, videos, live TV and other digital content located on their home PC from virtually any Internet-enabled device, from anywhere in the world. Orb’s intuitive solution simply streams a consumer’s own content from their home PC to the Web browser and player on their cell phone, PDA, or notebook, creating a consumer’s own “personal media portal”. Consumers also have the capability to remotely record TV programs using Orb’s Digital Video Recorder (DVR) function and then view those recorded programs at any time on any of their mobile devices.
"Now that broadband access has hit critical mass, the use of the home PC as an entertainment device has become a reality," said Jim Behrens, CEO, Orb Networks. "Additionally, as the market is getting flooded with mobile devices capable of accessing digital home content through Orb — combined with broader and better wireless connection access — the digital home is now available outside the home. We can’t always be at home, but we don’t have to sacrifice all the comforts of home when we are on the road. With Windows XP support, we are making it easier than ever for consumers to have this type of access for their ever-evolving digital lifestyles."
Monday, March 14, 2005
STUDY ON BLOG BEHAVIOR... CONSERVATIVES HAVE A STRONGER SENSE OF COMMUNITY
HatTip to The Washington Monthly (wow, i'm tipping to a liberal rag:). Neat study on the political blogosphere by Lada Adamic and Natalie Glance. Interesting conclusion that Kevin Drum emphasizes below about how conservatives have a stronger sense of community in the blogsphere, but doesn't that reflect the offline world? Without trying to be partisan, but doesn't the strength of the ideas and principles from the right make a stronger bond than those on the left?
The authors collected a sample of 40 political blogs, 20 from the right and 20 from the left, and then plotted the links between them over a period of time. The top diagram shows all connections, the middle diagram includes only connections that have at least five reciprocal links, and the bottom diagram includes only connections that have at least 25 reciprocal links. I'm represented by blue circle #16, for example, and if you think that I link frequently to Matt Yglesias, Josh Marshall, Tapped, and Brad DeLong — well, now you've got geometrical proof of it.
There are a few interesting observations here:
-The conservative blogosphere has a generally denser web of relationships than the liberal blogosphere. More on this later.
-However, it also includes the least connected major blogs. In the bottom diagram, the only large blogs without a single connection are both on the right: Andrew Sullivan and RealClear Politics.
-Generally speaking, there aren't very many ongoing relationships between right and left. You only need five links to get a connection in the middle diagram, but even so there are only three connections between right and left: Sullivan-Marshall, Sullivan-Kos, and Volokh-Crooked Timber.
The primary finding of the study (or at least the finding I think is the most interesting) is that conservative blogs have a stronger sense of community than liberal blogs — a quality that I often wish liberals could emulate. Here's what Adamic and Glance found:
-Conservatives link to other conservative blogs at a much higher rate than liberals link to other liberals: .20 links per post compared to .12 links per post.
-Conservative bloggers have a more "uniform voice" than liberal bloggers, as measured by what they link to. If you count only links to blogs, not media reports, the difference in uniformity is even greater. (However, on another measure, the "echo chamber" quality of liberal and conservative blogs is about the same.)
-Liberal bloggers tend to link to a fairly small subset of other liberals. Conservatives spread the link love around. (full post)
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HatTip to The Washington Monthly (wow, i'm tipping to a liberal rag:). Neat study on the political blogosphere by Lada Adamic and Natalie Glance. Interesting conclusion that Kevin Drum emphasizes below about how conservatives have a stronger sense of community in the blogsphere, but doesn't that reflect the offline world? Without trying to be partisan, but doesn't the strength of the ideas and principles from the right make a stronger bond than those on the left?
The authors collected a sample of 40 political blogs, 20 from the right and 20 from the left, and then plotted the links between them over a period of time. The top diagram shows all connections, the middle diagram includes only connections that have at least five reciprocal links, and the bottom diagram includes only connections that have at least 25 reciprocal links. I'm represented by blue circle #16, for example, and if you think that I link frequently to Matt Yglesias, Josh Marshall, Tapped, and Brad DeLong — well, now you've got geometrical proof of it.
There are a few interesting observations here:
-The conservative blogosphere has a generally denser web of relationships than the liberal blogosphere. More on this later.
-However, it also includes the least connected major blogs. In the bottom diagram, the only large blogs without a single connection are both on the right: Andrew Sullivan and RealClear Politics.
-Generally speaking, there aren't very many ongoing relationships between right and left. You only need five links to get a connection in the middle diagram, but even so there are only three connections between right and left: Sullivan-Marshall, Sullivan-Kos, and Volokh-Crooked Timber.
The primary finding of the study (or at least the finding I think is the most interesting) is that conservative blogs have a stronger sense of community than liberal blogs — a quality that I often wish liberals could emulate. Here's what Adamic and Glance found:
-Conservatives link to other conservative blogs at a much higher rate than liberals link to other liberals: .20 links per post compared to .12 links per post.
-Conservative bloggers have a more "uniform voice" than liberal bloggers, as measured by what they link to. If you count only links to blogs, not media reports, the difference in uniformity is even greater. (However, on another measure, the "echo chamber" quality of liberal and conservative blogs is about the same.)
-Liberal bloggers tend to link to a fairly small subset of other liberals. Conservatives spread the link love around. (full post)
BILLION PC MARKET
The US has the largest number of PCs in use, with over 220 million. That's more than three times the number in Japan. The US, with about 4.6% of the world's population, accounts for over 27% of all PCs in use.
PC usage is growing rapidly in China, which is expected to surpass Japan in 2007. PC usage is also growing strongly in many populous countries such as Brazil, India and Russia. (full clip)
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The US has the largest number of PCs in use, with over 220 million. That's more than three times the number in Japan. The US, with about 4.6% of the world's population, accounts for over 27% of all PCs in use.
PC usage is growing rapidly in China, which is expected to surpass Japan in 2007. PC usage is also growing strongly in many populous countries such as Brazil, India and Russia. (full clip)
YAHOO ATTACKS GOOGLE'S BUTTER
Yahoo! is launching a competing product to Google's Adsense program. Smart, but what took them so long? I'm sure Microsoft is soon to follow.
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Yahoo! is launching a competing product to Google's Adsense program. Smart, but what took them so long? I'm sure Microsoft is soon to follow.
Friday, March 11, 2005
MICROSOFT BUYS GROOVE... RAY OZZIE BECOME ONE OF THREE CTOS
Not a surprise move by Microsoft this past week, but interesting to see how this will all pan out for Microsoft and how much of an impact Ray Ozzie, founder of Notes (Lotus) and Groove, will have on the company. Good interview of Ray Ozzie by CNET's Martin LaMonica:
As a Microsoft chief technology officer, will you remain focused on collaboration? Chairman Bill Gates mentioned some other areas--such as authentication, encryption and peer-to-peer--where you could contribute. Do you want to reach beyond the Office group and make an impact on the operating system and perhaps other areas?
Ozzie: Certainly beyond Office. Most of what I do and have done to date in my whole career has been focused on what Microsoft refers to as "information work." And the majority of the products in that realm are in (group vice president) Jeff Raikes' Information Worker group. But there are pieces that are not, like Exchange--that's part of the Windows organization.
I think everyone would like a unified story and deliverables to support those across the organization. There are aspects of what we built, however, that have a platform flavor to them.
I think what Bill is referring to is that some of those technologies, particularly security, have more general applicability than the general collaboration offerings. It's too soon to know or discuss what the specific impact will be, but I will be working with the platform group to see (how) those things that we've done can be generalized. (full article)
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Not a surprise move by Microsoft this past week, but interesting to see how this will all pan out for Microsoft and how much of an impact Ray Ozzie, founder of Notes (Lotus) and Groove, will have on the company. Good interview of Ray Ozzie by CNET's Martin LaMonica:
As a Microsoft chief technology officer, will you remain focused on collaboration? Chairman Bill Gates mentioned some other areas--such as authentication, encryption and peer-to-peer--where you could contribute. Do you want to reach beyond the Office group and make an impact on the operating system and perhaps other areas?
Ozzie: Certainly beyond Office. Most of what I do and have done to date in my whole career has been focused on what Microsoft refers to as "information work." And the majority of the products in that realm are in (group vice president) Jeff Raikes' Information Worker group. But there are pieces that are not, like Exchange--that's part of the Windows organization.
I think everyone would like a unified story and deliverables to support those across the organization. There are aspects of what we built, however, that have a platform flavor to them.
I think what Bill is referring to is that some of those technologies, particularly security, have more general applicability than the general collaboration offerings. It's too soon to know or discuss what the specific impact will be, but I will be working with the platform group to see (how) those things that we've done can be generalized. (full article)
SADDAM BRIBED A WMD INSPECTOR?... REALLY? WHY BRIBE WHEN NOTHING TO HIDE?
I'm sure there will be more to come within the year:
Saddam Hussein's regime offered a $2 million (£1.4 million) bribe to the United Nations' chief weapons inspector to doctor his reports on the search for weapons of mass destruction.
Rolf Ekeus, the Swede who led the UN's efforts to track down the weapons from 1991 to 1997, said that the offer came from Tariq Aziz, Saddam's foreign minister and deputy.
Mr Ekeus told Reuters news agency that he had passed the information to the Volcker Commission. "I told the Volcker people that Tariq [Aziz] said a couple of million was there if we report right. My answer was, 'That is not the way we do business in Sweden.' "
A clean report from Mr Ekeus's inspectors would have been vital in lifting sanctions against Saddam's regime. But the inspectors never established what had happened to the regime's illicit weapons and never gave Iraq a clean bill of health.
The news that Iraq attempted to bribe a top UN official is a key piece of evidence for investigators into the scandal surrounding the oil-for-food programme. It proves that Iraq was offering huge sums of cash to influential foreigners in return for political favours. (full article)
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I'm sure there will be more to come within the year:
Saddam Hussein's regime offered a $2 million (£1.4 million) bribe to the United Nations' chief weapons inspector to doctor his reports on the search for weapons of mass destruction.
Rolf Ekeus, the Swede who led the UN's efforts to track down the weapons from 1991 to 1997, said that the offer came from Tariq Aziz, Saddam's foreign minister and deputy.
Mr Ekeus told Reuters news agency that he had passed the information to the Volcker Commission. "I told the Volcker people that Tariq [Aziz] said a couple of million was there if we report right. My answer was, 'That is not the way we do business in Sweden.' "
A clean report from Mr Ekeus's inspectors would have been vital in lifting sanctions against Saddam's regime. But the inspectors never established what had happened to the regime's illicit weapons and never gave Iraq a clean bill of health.
The news that Iraq attempted to bribe a top UN official is a key piece of evidence for investigators into the scandal surrounding the oil-for-food programme. It proves that Iraq was offering huge sums of cash to influential foreigners in return for political favours. (full article)
IPOD TAX? ANOTHER REASON TO VOTE REPUBLICAN
This is stupid. Really stupid. Talk about trying to level the playing field the wrong way. Wow, some dumb people are in positions of power. Go figure.
Legislators in Wisconsin are mobilizing against a proposal they call the "iPod tax," in a battle over online music and movies that could soon spread across the United States.
At issue is whether consumers need to pay tax on digital downloads such as movies or songs purchased from Apple Computer's iTunes store. In a few states, those who don't voluntarily pay a few extra cents of tax on their 99-cent downloads are already technically breaking the law.
Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle now wants his state to start collecting taxes on digital music, videos and software. Key Republicans in the GOP-dominated legislature say they will block the proposal, but administration officials say they're just trying to make things fair. (full article)
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This is stupid. Really stupid. Talk about trying to level the playing field the wrong way. Wow, some dumb people are in positions of power. Go figure.
Legislators in Wisconsin are mobilizing against a proposal they call the "iPod tax," in a battle over online music and movies that could soon spread across the United States.
At issue is whether consumers need to pay tax on digital downloads such as movies or songs purchased from Apple Computer's iTunes store. In a few states, those who don't voluntarily pay a few extra cents of tax on their 99-cent downloads are already technically breaking the law.
Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle now wants his state to start collecting taxes on digital music, videos and software. Key Republicans in the GOP-dominated legislature say they will block the proposal, but administration officials say they're just trying to make things fair. (full article)
Thursday, March 10, 2005
ANNIVERSARY OF THE BUBBLE BURSTING
A few articles on the dotcom crash or Internet bubble burst:
Happy anniversary Internet bubble
The best tech/Net born after the bust
By Bambi Francisco
The crash, five years later
Trillions of investor dollars piled up and then gave way in a spectacular avalanche of greed and bad timing. Could it happen again? Sure -- and here's why.
By Jim Jubak
With Five Years To Reflect, Dot-Com Mania Still Astounding
Tony Perkins and I are quoted in Investor's Business Daily's coverage of the 5th anniversary of the bursting of the Internet Bubble.
By Eric Janszen
(original Investor's Business Daily article's link was dead, so I'm just linking to the referral link. also subscription required after the free day)
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A few articles on the dotcom crash or Internet bubble burst:
Happy anniversary Internet bubble
The best tech/Net born after the bust
By Bambi Francisco
The crash, five years later
Trillions of investor dollars piled up and then gave way in a spectacular avalanche of greed and bad timing. Could it happen again? Sure -- and here's why.
By Jim Jubak
With Five Years To Reflect, Dot-Com Mania Still Astounding
Tony Perkins and I are quoted in Investor's Business Daily's coverage of the 5th anniversary of the bursting of the Internet Bubble.
By Eric Janszen
(original Investor's Business Daily article's link was dead, so I'm just linking to the referral link. also subscription required after the free day)
"WHY YOUR BROADBAND SUCKS"... PROF. LESSIG SPEAKS
Great piece by Stanford's Prof. Lawrence Lessig. I completely agree. Cable and telecom have dragged this broadband thing through the mud and sandpits far enough. Broadband will hit 60% of U.S. households by the time my grandchildren reach their dreams of becoming an NBA player, PGA golfer, and AVP beach volleyball star (yes, i'm going to live my dreams through them). While it isn't good to compare with the Korean market, since the dense population and landscape is different than the U.S., there are a few things U.S. government entities can learn from the Korean government's initiatives in the late 90s.
I wonder what we can do to help push back against the industry giants and get governments involved in the push for broadband?
You'll be pleased to know that communism was defeated in Pennsylvania last year. Governor Ed Rendell signed into law a bill prohibiting the Reds in local government from offering free Wi-Fi throughout their municipalities. The action came after Philadelphia, where more than 50 percent of neighborhoods don't have access to broadband, embarked on a $10 million wireless Internet project. City leaders had stepped in where the free market had failed. Of course, it's a slippery slope from free Internet access to Karl Marx. So Rendell, the telecom industry's latest toady, even while exempting the City of Brotherly Love, acted to spare Pennsylvania from this grave threat to its economic freedom.
Let's hope this is just the first step. For if you look closely, you'll see the communist menace has infiltrated governments everywhere. Ever notice those free photons as you walk the city at night? Ever think about the poor streetlamp companies, run out of business because municipalities deigned to do completely what private industry would do only incompletely? Or think about the scandal of public roads: How many tollbooth workers have lost their jobs because we no longer (since about the 18th century) fund all roads through private enterprise? Municipal buses compete with private taxis. City police departments hamper the growth at Pinkerton's (now Securitas). It's a national scandal. So let the principle that guided Rendell guide governments everywhere: If private industry can provide a service, however poorly or incompletely, then ban the government from competing. What's true for Wi-Fi should be true for water. (full article)
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Great piece by Stanford's Prof. Lawrence Lessig. I completely agree. Cable and telecom have dragged this broadband thing through the mud and sandpits far enough. Broadband will hit 60% of U.S. households by the time my grandchildren reach their dreams of becoming an NBA player, PGA golfer, and AVP beach volleyball star (yes, i'm going to live my dreams through them). While it isn't good to compare with the Korean market, since the dense population and landscape is different than the U.S., there are a few things U.S. government entities can learn from the Korean government's initiatives in the late 90s.
I wonder what we can do to help push back against the industry giants and get governments involved in the push for broadband?
You'll be pleased to know that communism was defeated in Pennsylvania last year. Governor Ed Rendell signed into law a bill prohibiting the Reds in local government from offering free Wi-Fi throughout their municipalities. The action came after Philadelphia, where more than 50 percent of neighborhoods don't have access to broadband, embarked on a $10 million wireless Internet project. City leaders had stepped in where the free market had failed. Of course, it's a slippery slope from free Internet access to Karl Marx. So Rendell, the telecom industry's latest toady, even while exempting the City of Brotherly Love, acted to spare Pennsylvania from this grave threat to its economic freedom.
Let's hope this is just the first step. For if you look closely, you'll see the communist menace has infiltrated governments everywhere. Ever notice those free photons as you walk the city at night? Ever think about the poor streetlamp companies, run out of business because municipalities deigned to do completely what private industry would do only incompletely? Or think about the scandal of public roads: How many tollbooth workers have lost their jobs because we no longer (since about the 18th century) fund all roads through private enterprise? Municipal buses compete with private taxis. City police departments hamper the growth at Pinkerton's (now Securitas). It's a national scandal. So let the principle that guided Rendell guide governments everywhere: If private industry can provide a service, however poorly or incompletely, then ban the government from competing. What's true for Wi-Fi should be true for water. (full article)
CHARLES TOWNES, NOBEL PHYSICIST, WINS TEMPLETON PRIZE
Another great scientist who gets it:)
Charles Townes, the UC Berkeley professor who shared the 1964 Nobel Prize in physics for his work in quantum electronics and then startled the scientific world by suggesting that religion and science were converging, was awarded the $1.5-million Templeton Prize on Wednesday for progress in spiritual knowledge.
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The co-inventor of the laser, Townes, 89, said no greater question faced humankind than discovering the purpose and meaning of life — and why there was something rather than nothing in the cosmos.
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Townes said that it was "extremely unlikely" that the laws of physics that led to life on Earth were accidental.
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"The fact that the universe had a beginning is a very striking thing," Townes said. "How do you explain that unique event" without God?
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Another great scientist who gets it:)
Charles Townes, the UC Berkeley professor who shared the 1964 Nobel Prize in physics for his work in quantum electronics and then startled the scientific world by suggesting that religion and science were converging, was awarded the $1.5-million Templeton Prize on Wednesday for progress in spiritual knowledge.
.....
The co-inventor of the laser, Townes, 89, said no greater question faced humankind than discovering the purpose and meaning of life — and why there was something rather than nothing in the cosmos.
.....
Townes said that it was "extremely unlikely" that the laws of physics that led to life on Earth were accidental.
.....
"The fact that the universe had a beginning is a very striking thing," Townes said. "How do you explain that unique event" without God?
Wednesday, March 09, 2005
WIRED'S ANN HARRISON FLATTERS ME
I hope I'm not assuming too much since the timing of her article ("Machines Not Lost in Translation") and mine ("The Blogosphere: Lost in Translation?" target=_blank) are very close. Ms. Harrison's title flatters me a bit, but I also thought that she should have been more original. I guess she can do such things since her publication has a higher circulation than AlwaysOn's current niche market. Maybe she did think of her title without seeing mine? Who knows? Actually, I don't really care.
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I hope I'm not assuming too much since the timing of her article ("Machines Not Lost in Translation") and mine ("The Blogosphere: Lost in Translation?" target=_blank) are very close. Ms. Harrison's title flatters me a bit, but I also thought that she should have been more original. I guess she can do such things since her publication has a higher circulation than AlwaysOn's current niche market. Maybe she did think of her title without seeing mine? Who knows? Actually, I don't really care.
GOOGLE LAUNCHES PERSONALIZED NEWS... THEY SHOULD JUST FESS UP
It's Inevitable That They Will Become A Portal (They Need To Own The Login)
(Just posted the following at AlwaysOn) I came across this news from CNet,"Google personalizes news site":
Google began testing new customization features on its news aggregation site Wednesday in a salvo against competition from Microsoft.
Google News, still in its test or "beta" phase after launching in 2002, says it will let people specify what categories of news to display on the page, giving an array of choices including results chosen by keyword.
"We've made a number of improvements to Google News that allow you to customize your News front page by creating sections that focus on topics you care about, for instance, your favorite sports team, technology, or celebrity," reads a Google News page posted Wednesday. "You can also design your custom front page by mixing and matching existing standard sections from the 22 regional editions of Google News from around the globe."
I just tried it out. Simple layout. Multiple languages available. Nice. This new service along with their maps and other running "betas" all seem to be separate moving parts that eventually need to be aggregated into one place. Like Yahoo! or MyYahoo! or MSN. They eventually need to capture their audience in a more meaningful way and be a bit evil. The barrier for people to switch search engines is nil and their leadership in search is slowly falling. They need to make people sign into a universal login to access these personalized services and stay within the Google universe. I don't know if they have plans to, but if they don't they are being a bit naive.
Even for personalized news site, they assume or ask people to maintain their cookies:
How does Google News remember my settings?
The settings for your customized Google News page are stored on your computer. In order to save these custom sections, you need to have cookies enabled on your browser (more info about cookies).
How annoying would this be? I don't know about you, but I clear my browser of its cookies every few weeks. It would be annoying to set up a new news site everytime. Does Google think it's evil to have people login and create their own MyGoogle? Do they want to avoid the inevitable association or label of being a portal?
If it looks like a duck, sounds like a duck, and walks like a duck, it's a duck. Quack.
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It's Inevitable That They Will Become A Portal (They Need To Own The Login)
(Just posted the following at AlwaysOn) I came across this news from CNet,"Google personalizes news site":
Google began testing new customization features on its news aggregation site Wednesday in a salvo against competition from Microsoft.
Google News, still in its test or "beta" phase after launching in 2002, says it will let people specify what categories of news to display on the page, giving an array of choices including results chosen by keyword.
"We've made a number of improvements to Google News that allow you to customize your News front page by creating sections that focus on topics you care about, for instance, your favorite sports team, technology, or celebrity," reads a Google News page posted Wednesday. "You can also design your custom front page by mixing and matching existing standard sections from the 22 regional editions of Google News from around the globe."
I just tried it out. Simple layout. Multiple languages available. Nice. This new service along with their maps and other running "betas" all seem to be separate moving parts that eventually need to be aggregated into one place. Like Yahoo! or MyYahoo! or MSN. They eventually need to capture their audience in a more meaningful way and be a bit evil. The barrier for people to switch search engines is nil and their leadership in search is slowly falling. They need to make people sign into a universal login to access these personalized services and stay within the Google universe. I don't know if they have plans to, but if they don't they are being a bit naive.
Even for personalized news site, they assume or ask people to maintain their cookies:
How does Google News remember my settings?
The settings for your customized Google News page are stored on your computer. In order to save these custom sections, you need to have cookies enabled on your browser (more info about cookies).
How annoying would this be? I don't know about you, but I clear my browser of its cookies every few weeks. It would be annoying to set up a new news site everytime. Does Google think it's evil to have people login and create their own MyGoogle? Do they want to avoid the inevitable association or label of being a portal?
If it looks like a duck, sounds like a duck, and walks like a duck, it's a duck. Quack.
Tuesday, March 08, 2005
GLASER KNOCKS JOBS AGAIN... BITTER, BITTER BOY
Rob Glaser is at it again. Still crying about Jobs shutting him out. He does bring up a point about the subscription model versus a per song charge. I lean towards favoring the long-term success of a subscription model, but I don't think it will be Real leading or ever succeeding on this front.
Glaser last year likened the iPod to a vestige of Soviet communism. At the iHollywood Forum Digital Living Room conference taking place in San Mateo, Calif., today, he called the Mac maker deceptive for not explicitly telling customers that iTunes songs can't be transferred easily to other devices.
"It doesn't say anywhere that you have to go through 57 different hoops to play a song on a different device," Glaser said.
He also added that Jobs, one day, will have to think in terms of subscriptions (like Real), rather than selling individual songs.
"The day that they introduce subscriptions is the day that Steve Jobs has the brilliant revelation that subscriptions are a good thing," Glaser said. (full post)
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Rob Glaser is at it again. Still crying about Jobs shutting him out. He does bring up a point about the subscription model versus a per song charge. I lean towards favoring the long-term success of a subscription model, but I don't think it will be Real leading or ever succeeding on this front.
Glaser last year likened the iPod to a vestige of Soviet communism. At the iHollywood Forum Digital Living Room conference taking place in San Mateo, Calif., today, he called the Mac maker deceptive for not explicitly telling customers that iTunes songs can't be transferred easily to other devices.
"It doesn't say anywhere that you have to go through 57 different hoops to play a song on a different device," Glaser said.
He also added that Jobs, one day, will have to think in terms of subscriptions (like Real), rather than selling individual songs.
"The day that they introduce subscriptions is the day that Steve Jobs has the brilliant revelation that subscriptions are a good thing," Glaser said. (full post)
"WAS BUSH RIGHT AFTER ALL?"... LEFTY INDEPENDENT GASPS WITH THIS POSSIBILITY
HatTip to Lucianne.com. Great article by Rupert Cornwell of The Independent. This reminds of an interview I saw on MSNBC's Scarborough Country this week. The person from the left was still harping on the fact that WMD were never found and how this was the primary reason for the invasion of Iraqi. Naive, stupid people. WMD was never the real reason, but an excuse for the neoconversative agenda to plant a flag of democracy in the Middle East. As I wrote a while back, even my good friend, JB, a left-wing operative knew the real reason, so either these people should stop acting dumb or actually being dumb so they don't lose credibility.
As Syria pulls out of Lebanon, and the winds of change blow through the Middle East, this is the difficult question that opponents of the Iraq war are having to face.
Trucks carrying Syrian soldiers began to file out of Beirut yesterday. As they departed, Syria's President, Bashar Assad, under intense pressure from the US, promised to withdraw all 14,000 troops to eastern areas of Lebanon by the end of this month. The White House almost immediately dismissed the plan as failing to set a deadline for total withdrawal from the country.
So this was too little, too slow for Washington. But however circumscribed, the first phase of Syria's withdrawal from Lebanon is another sign of change across the Middle East. The precise extent and implications of the pull-out (or to be more accurate pull-back) are still unclear, and the same goes for the host of other developments, from Palestine to Iraq, from Egypt to Saudi Arabia. Some may be sincere and lasting, others contrived and short-lived, but all suggest the political straitjacket that has long imprisoned the Arab world is loosening, if not yet coming apart at the seams.
It is barely six weeks since the US President delivered his second inaugural address, a paean to liberty and democracy that espoused the goal of "ending tyranny in our world". Reactions around the world ranged from alarm to amused scorn, from fears of a new round of "regime changes" imposed by an all-powerful American military, to suspicions in the salons of Europe that this time Mr Bush, never celebrated for his grasp of world affairs, had finally lost it. No one imagined that events would so soon cause the President's opponents around the world to question whether he had got it right. (full article)
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HatTip to Lucianne.com. Great article by Rupert Cornwell of The Independent. This reminds of an interview I saw on MSNBC's Scarborough Country this week. The person from the left was still harping on the fact that WMD were never found and how this was the primary reason for the invasion of Iraqi. Naive, stupid people. WMD was never the real reason, but an excuse for the neoconversative agenda to plant a flag of democracy in the Middle East. As I wrote a while back, even my good friend, JB, a left-wing operative knew the real reason, so either these people should stop acting dumb or actually being dumb so they don't lose credibility.
As Syria pulls out of Lebanon, and the winds of change blow through the Middle East, this is the difficult question that opponents of the Iraq war are having to face.
Trucks carrying Syrian soldiers began to file out of Beirut yesterday. As they departed, Syria's President, Bashar Assad, under intense pressure from the US, promised to withdraw all 14,000 troops to eastern areas of Lebanon by the end of this month. The White House almost immediately dismissed the plan as failing to set a deadline for total withdrawal from the country.
So this was too little, too slow for Washington. But however circumscribed, the first phase of Syria's withdrawal from Lebanon is another sign of change across the Middle East. The precise extent and implications of the pull-out (or to be more accurate pull-back) are still unclear, and the same goes for the host of other developments, from Palestine to Iraq, from Egypt to Saudi Arabia. Some may be sincere and lasting, others contrived and short-lived, but all suggest the political straitjacket that has long imprisoned the Arab world is loosening, if not yet coming apart at the seams.
It is barely six weeks since the US President delivered his second inaugural address, a paean to liberty and democracy that espoused the goal of "ending tyranny in our world". Reactions around the world ranged from alarm to amused scorn, from fears of a new round of "regime changes" imposed by an all-powerful American military, to suspicions in the salons of Europe that this time Mr Bush, never celebrated for his grasp of world affairs, had finally lost it. No one imagined that events would so soon cause the President's opponents around the world to question whether he had got it right. (full article)
"DOT-CON JOB"... INFOSPACE STORY
Interesting piece from The Seattle Times on Infospace. I remember even after the dot-com bust Naveen Jain, founder of Infospace, was bragging about how his company was going to be a trillion dollar company. And what is the problem with equity analysts like Merrill Lynch's Henry Blodget? He was much of a problem as Infospace's executives in spinning this deception.
The Times' investigation found:
- InfoSpace officials misled Wall Street and the public about how their company was doing, concealing that revenues were falling far short of expectations.
- Much of InfoSpace's reported revenue came from "lazy Susan" deals, whereby company officials invested in other firms that turned around and gave back the same money.
- Wall Street analysts, including famed dot-com guru Henry Blodget of Merrill Lynch, privately expressed grave concerns about InfoSpace while at the same time publicly touting its stock. In a private e-mail to colleagues, Blodget asked, "Is this really a world-class company, or just a world-class storyteller?" Soon after, he gave InfoSpace stock his highest rating.
- While investors clamored to buy InfoSpace's highly touted stock, company insiders were unloading it. Two executives later angled to get around trading restrictions by asking for demotions to sell stock before its value evaporated.
Jain himself accused several of his top executives of engaging in illegal insider trading by misleading shareholders and then dumping their stock.
When the game was up, the investors took a beating. Stock worth $1,000 in March 2000 was worth only $2.67 by June 2002. The company once worth more than Boeing fell to the value of two Boeing 777s.
Allen lost an estimated $400 million when InfoSpace shares collapsed. Hess, 65, saw her $40,000 investment shrink to $1,450.
"I scrimped and saved for 42 years, and I feel that I have been duped out of my hard-earned money," she said.
Hess explained that she plunged into InfoSpace after reading glowing reports from stock analysts and media accounts of Jain and InfoSpace. "I feel like the American public was lied to," she said. (full article)
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Interesting piece from The Seattle Times on Infospace. I remember even after the dot-com bust Naveen Jain, founder of Infospace, was bragging about how his company was going to be a trillion dollar company. And what is the problem with equity analysts like Merrill Lynch's Henry Blodget? He was much of a problem as Infospace's executives in spinning this deception.
The Times' investigation found:
- InfoSpace officials misled Wall Street and the public about how their company was doing, concealing that revenues were falling far short of expectations.
- Much of InfoSpace's reported revenue came from "lazy Susan" deals, whereby company officials invested in other firms that turned around and gave back the same money.
- Wall Street analysts, including famed dot-com guru Henry Blodget of Merrill Lynch, privately expressed grave concerns about InfoSpace while at the same time publicly touting its stock. In a private e-mail to colleagues, Blodget asked, "Is this really a world-class company, or just a world-class storyteller?" Soon after, he gave InfoSpace stock his highest rating.
- While investors clamored to buy InfoSpace's highly touted stock, company insiders were unloading it. Two executives later angled to get around trading restrictions by asking for demotions to sell stock before its value evaporated.
Jain himself accused several of his top executives of engaging in illegal insider trading by misleading shareholders and then dumping their stock.
When the game was up, the investors took a beating. Stock worth $1,000 in March 2000 was worth only $2.67 by June 2002. The company once worth more than Boeing fell to the value of two Boeing 777s.
Allen lost an estimated $400 million when InfoSpace shares collapsed. Hess, 65, saw her $40,000 investment shrink to $1,450.
"I scrimped and saved for 42 years, and I feel that I have been duped out of my hard-earned money," she said.
Hess explained that she plunged into InfoSpace after reading glowing reports from stock analysts and media accounts of Jain and InfoSpace. "I feel like the American public was lied to," she said. (full article)
Monday, March 07, 2005
BLOGGER GETS WHITE HOUSE PRESS PASS
Pretty big step in blurring the lines between mainstream media and homestead journalists:
Another signal moment for bloggers is to occur this morning, when Garrett M. Graff, who writes a blog about the news media in Washington, is to be ushered into the White House briefing room to attend the daily press "gaggle."
Mr. Graff, 23, may be the first blogger in the short history of the medium to be granted a daily White House pass for the specific purpose of writing a blog, or Web log. A White House spokesman said yesterday that he believed Mr. Graff was the first blogger to be given credentials.
He is being given a press pass as the editor of FishbowlDC (www.mediabistro.com/fishbowldc), a blog that is published by Mediabistro.com, which offers networking and services for journalists.
.....
In any case, Jay Rosen, a journalism professor at New York University and specialist in blogging, said Mr. Graff's odyssey was significant for two reasons. First, he showed that it was harder to get a pass than the White House said it was after the Guckert case.
Secondly, he said, Mr. Graff was expanding the definition of what constitutes the press, just as radio and television once pushed those boundaries. (full article/sign-in required)
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Pretty big step in blurring the lines between mainstream media and homestead journalists:
Another signal moment for bloggers is to occur this morning, when Garrett M. Graff, who writes a blog about the news media in Washington, is to be ushered into the White House briefing room to attend the daily press "gaggle."
Mr. Graff, 23, may be the first blogger in the short history of the medium to be granted a daily White House pass for the specific purpose of writing a blog, or Web log. A White House spokesman said yesterday that he believed Mr. Graff was the first blogger to be given credentials.
He is being given a press pass as the editor of FishbowlDC (www.mediabistro.com/fishbowldc), a blog that is published by Mediabistro.com, which offers networking and services for journalists.
.....
In any case, Jay Rosen, a journalism professor at New York University and specialist in blogging, said Mr. Graff's odyssey was significant for two reasons. First, he showed that it was harder to get a pass than the White House said it was after the Guckert case.
Secondly, he said, Mr. Graff was expanding the definition of what constitutes the press, just as radio and television once pushed those boundaries. (full article/sign-in required)
SOUTH KOREA'S FINANCE MINISTER RESIGNS
My father's old high school friend, Lee Hun Jai, resigned from his post:
Lee Hun Jai, South Korea's finance minister and top economic planner, resigned after legislators questioned property investments by his wife that contributed to a $6.5 million jump in his family's wealth.
President Roh Moo Hyun accepted Lee's resignation today, according to a statement from the president's office in Seoul, which didn't name a replacement. Ministry spokesman Kim Kyung Ho told a briefing Lee, 60, didn't speculate in real estate, but some transactions prompted ``regrettable'' questions.
Roh rejected an earlier offer by Lee to step down, persuading the two-time finance minister to remain in office until his measures of tax cuts and increased government spending revived growth. Lee's resignation shouldn't derail a recovery in Asia's third-largest economy as the government will likely continue with his policies, said Lehman Brothers' Yoon Yong Chul. (full article)
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My father's old high school friend, Lee Hun Jai, resigned from his post:
Lee Hun Jai, South Korea's finance minister and top economic planner, resigned after legislators questioned property investments by his wife that contributed to a $6.5 million jump in his family's wealth.
President Roh Moo Hyun accepted Lee's resignation today, according to a statement from the president's office in Seoul, which didn't name a replacement. Ministry spokesman Kim Kyung Ho told a briefing Lee, 60, didn't speculate in real estate, but some transactions prompted ``regrettable'' questions.
Roh rejected an earlier offer by Lee to step down, persuading the two-time finance minister to remain in office until his measures of tax cuts and increased government spending revived growth. Lee's resignation shouldn't derail a recovery in Asia's third-largest economy as the government will likely continue with his policies, said Lehman Brothers' Yoon Yong Chul. (full article)
V-RAMBO GIVES ISRAELI ARMY EDGE
Pretty cool stuff from Israel:
Israeli troops are now sporting gear that Dick Tracy would be proud of: tiny video screens, worn on the wrist, which display video shot by unmanned airplanes.
Similar screens have been in use for close to a year in the Israeli military's attack helicopters, helping pilots identify and strike Palestinian militants within seconds.
The technology, which is also in use in tanks and armored vehicles, was a closely guarded secret until the company that developed it offered reporters a rare glimpse at the system this week.
"We are fulfilling the science fiction movies that we see," said Itzhak Beni, chief executive of the Elisra Group's Tadiran Electronic Systems and Tadiran Spectralink companies.
Beni said the communications system has "shortened tremendously" the amount of time it takes to identify and strike a target.
"Before it was minutes, 10 to 12 minutes. Now it's a matter of seconds," he said.
Israel agreed to halt its policy of "targeted killings" under an informal cease-fire declared last month by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas. But after a Palestinian suicide bomber killed five Israelis last week, Israel said it would consider resuming the practice. (full article)
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Pretty cool stuff from Israel:
Israeli troops are now sporting gear that Dick Tracy would be proud of: tiny video screens, worn on the wrist, which display video shot by unmanned airplanes.
Similar screens have been in use for close to a year in the Israeli military's attack helicopters, helping pilots identify and strike Palestinian militants within seconds.
The technology, which is also in use in tanks and armored vehicles, was a closely guarded secret until the company that developed it offered reporters a rare glimpse at the system this week.
"We are fulfilling the science fiction movies that we see," said Itzhak Beni, chief executive of the Elisra Group's Tadiran Electronic Systems and Tadiran Spectralink companies.
Beni said the communications system has "shortened tremendously" the amount of time it takes to identify and strike a target.
"Before it was minutes, 10 to 12 minutes. Now it's a matter of seconds," he said.
Israel agreed to halt its policy of "targeted killings" under an informal cease-fire declared last month by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas. But after a Palestinian suicide bomber killed five Israelis last week, Israel said it would consider resuming the practice. (full article)
Friday, March 04, 2005
ODEO... NEW PODCASTING STARTUP
A new startup by Blogger co-founder and recent Google employee, Evan Williams, and Noah Glass. I wonder how Odeo and podcasting in general are going to affect companies like AudioFeast (who i wrote about after i visited their office when they were serenade systems last year and didn't have $10 million from Mayfield and others), who provide radio programming to MP3 users for a fee? Anyway, check out the NY Times piece on Odeo and read Evan's post on their company blog, which is pretty cool and about some of the vision behind the company:
The primarily amateur Internet audio medium known as podcasting will take a small, hopeful step on Friday toward becoming the commercial Web's next big thing.
That step is planned by Odeo, a five-person start-up that is based in a walk-up apartment in this city's Mission District and was co-founded by a Google alumnus. The company plans to introduce a Web-based system that is aimed at making a business of podcasting - the process of creating, finding, organizing and listening to digital audio files that range from living-room ramblings to BBC newscasts.
Audio files on the Internet are nothing new, of course. But the recent proliferation of portable iPods and other devices for storing and playing files in the MP3 audio format has created a mobile audience in this country - more than 11 million and growing - on whom podcasters are counting to listen to much more than downloaded songs and the occasional audio book.
The question for Odeo, and for the many other entrepreneurial efforts almost certain to come, is whether there is any money to be made from podcasting. Recall that the dot-com boom was full of start-ups betting on one or another notion of the Web's potential. But for every felicitous pairing like Google and keyword searching, there were dozens of broken marriages like Pets.com and online dogfood sales.
In podcasting, there are already a number of small commercial efforts to create audio programs especially for listening to as mobile downloads. And there are both hardware and software systems that make it possible to convert over-the-air and Internet radio broadcasts for mobile storage and listening on MP3 players. One recent example is Radio Shark, a small device that sells for $70 and enables users of Macintosh computers to automatically record over-the-air radio programs and convert them to MP3 files for later, on-the-go playback. (full article)
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A new startup by Blogger co-founder and recent Google employee, Evan Williams, and Noah Glass. I wonder how Odeo and podcasting in general are going to affect companies like AudioFeast (who i wrote about after i visited their office when they were serenade systems last year and didn't have $10 million from Mayfield and others), who provide radio programming to MP3 users for a fee? Anyway, check out the NY Times piece on Odeo and read Evan's post on their company blog, which is pretty cool and about some of the vision behind the company:
The primarily amateur Internet audio medium known as podcasting will take a small, hopeful step on Friday toward becoming the commercial Web's next big thing.
That step is planned by Odeo, a five-person start-up that is based in a walk-up apartment in this city's Mission District and was co-founded by a Google alumnus. The company plans to introduce a Web-based system that is aimed at making a business of podcasting - the process of creating, finding, organizing and listening to digital audio files that range from living-room ramblings to BBC newscasts.
Audio files on the Internet are nothing new, of course. But the recent proliferation of portable iPods and other devices for storing and playing files in the MP3 audio format has created a mobile audience in this country - more than 11 million and growing - on whom podcasters are counting to listen to much more than downloaded songs and the occasional audio book.
The question for Odeo, and for the many other entrepreneurial efforts almost certain to come, is whether there is any money to be made from podcasting. Recall that the dot-com boom was full of start-ups betting on one or another notion of the Web's potential. But for every felicitous pairing like Google and keyword searching, there were dozens of broken marriages like Pets.com and online dogfood sales.
In podcasting, there are already a number of small commercial efforts to create audio programs especially for listening to as mobile downloads. And there are both hardware and software systems that make it possible to convert over-the-air and Internet radio broadcasts for mobile storage and listening on MP3 players. One recent example is Radio Shark, a small device that sells for $70 and enables users of Macintosh computers to automatically record over-the-air radio programs and convert them to MP3 files for later, on-the-go playback. (full article)
DAVID BROCK, DAZED AND CONFUSED... MEDIA MATTERS FOR AMERICA BACKPEDALS ON SOROS FUNDING
David Brock doesn't seem like a forthright man nor does his group, Media Matters for America (wow, ranked 62 on Technorati...5,450 links from 2,531 sources. i didn't know they were that widely read. of course i'm in the cave from the right side, so i really don't know that many far left sites). There is definitely a dark side (of the force) brewing in the Democratic Party after the loss of the 2004 election, and Soros is funding a chunk of it. The empire is being established now. Howard Dean is the emperor... Evan Bayh is young Anakin Skywalker... John Kerry is Count Dooku (dude, he even looks like Christopher Lee)... Rudy Giuliani is Qui-Gon Jinn... George H.W. Bush is Yoda... George Bush is Luke Skywalker... Okay, I'll stop. :)
Media Matters for America, the group headed by conservative turned liberal writer David Brock, has changed course on its stated association with billionaire liberal financier George Soros.
After initially claiming on Dec. 1, 2004 that "neither Media Matters nor its president and CEO David Brock has received any money from Soros or from any organization with which he is affiliated," the group is no longer disavowing any connection with groups "affiliated" with Soros.
The Media Matters shift came after Cybercast News Service questioned the group's financial ties and demonstrated that there were numerous and extensive links between Media Matters and several Soros "affiliates" like MoveOn.org, the Center for American Progress and Soros ally Peter Lewis.
.....
David Horowitz is familiar with the practice of changing one's political ideology, but in Horowitz' case, he was a 1960s radical who became a conservative author. Horowitz charged that Media Matters' original claim that it had taken no money from Soros or groups affiliated with Soros was "a lie."
"This is typical of Brock's operation," Horowitz told Cybercast News Service . "They split hairs to present an untruth."
Media Matters can no longer deny its Soros affiliation because "once you have the names (of donors), once you know that Peter Lewis is involved, you can't deny it," said Horowitz, who as a conservative, co-founded the Los Angeles-based Center for the Study of the Popular Culture and Front Page Mag.com, a news and commentary website.
Horowitz said he is not surprised that Brock's group altered its statement after being questioned about donations. "[Brock is] a guy who turned on his friends. He was a sleazy gossip sort of writer when he was on the right, and he's a sleazy gossip writer on the left, and an unscrupulous one on both sides," Horowitz said. (full article)
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David Brock doesn't seem like a forthright man nor does his group, Media Matters for America (wow, ranked 62 on Technorati...5,450 links from 2,531 sources. i didn't know they were that widely read. of course i'm in the cave from the right side, so i really don't know that many far left sites). There is definitely a dark side (of the force) brewing in the Democratic Party after the loss of the 2004 election, and Soros is funding a chunk of it. The empire is being established now. Howard Dean is the emperor... Evan Bayh is young Anakin Skywalker... John Kerry is Count Dooku (dude, he even looks like Christopher Lee)... Rudy Giuliani is Qui-Gon Jinn... George H.W. Bush is Yoda... George Bush is Luke Skywalker... Okay, I'll stop. :)
Media Matters for America, the group headed by conservative turned liberal writer David Brock, has changed course on its stated association with billionaire liberal financier George Soros.
After initially claiming on Dec. 1, 2004 that "neither Media Matters nor its president and CEO David Brock has received any money from Soros or from any organization with which he is affiliated," the group is no longer disavowing any connection with groups "affiliated" with Soros.
The Media Matters shift came after Cybercast News Service questioned the group's financial ties and demonstrated that there were numerous and extensive links between Media Matters and several Soros "affiliates" like MoveOn.org, the Center for American Progress and Soros ally Peter Lewis.
.....
David Horowitz is familiar with the practice of changing one's political ideology, but in Horowitz' case, he was a 1960s radical who became a conservative author. Horowitz charged that Media Matters' original claim that it had taken no money from Soros or groups affiliated with Soros was "a lie."
"This is typical of Brock's operation," Horowitz told Cybercast News Service . "They split hairs to present an untruth."
Media Matters can no longer deny its Soros affiliation because "once you have the names (of donors), once you know that Peter Lewis is involved, you can't deny it," said Horowitz, who as a conservative, co-founded the Los Angeles-based Center for the Study of the Popular Culture and Front Page Mag.com, a news and commentary website.
Horowitz said he is not surprised that Brock's group altered its statement after being questioned about donations. "[Brock is] a guy who turned on his friends. He was a sleazy gossip sort of writer when he was on the right, and he's a sleazy gossip writer on the left, and an unscrupulous one on both sides," Horowitz said. (full article)
WISE OLD BYRD?... SENATOR BYRD COMPARES REPUBLICANS TO HILTER'S GERMANY
Senator Byrd seriously must be taking notes from Ted Kennedy. What an idiotic thing to say. Yes, Republicans say stupid things too, but this is definitely up there among the worst of them:
A U.S. Senator's likening of Republican strategy on blocked judicial nominees to Adolf Hitler's Nazi Germany drew condemnation on Wednesday from top Republicans and the Anti-Defamation League.
Sen. Robert Byrd on Tuesday compared Republican threats to change Senate rules to outlaw procedural hurdles that have blocked 10 of President Bush judicial candidates to Hitler jamming legislation through the German Reichstag.
"Hitler never abandoned the cloak of legality; he recognized the enormous psychological value of having the law on his side," the Democrat from West Virginia said. "Instead, he turned the law inside out and made illegality legal."
Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania, a member of the Republican leadership, said in a statement, "Senator Byrd's inappropriate remarks comparing his Republican colleagues with Nazis are inexcusable."
ADL Director Abraham Foxman said: "It is hideous, outrageous and offensive for Senator Byrd to suggest that the Republican Party's tactics could in any way resemble those of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party." (full article)
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Senator Byrd seriously must be taking notes from Ted Kennedy. What an idiotic thing to say. Yes, Republicans say stupid things too, but this is definitely up there among the worst of them:
A U.S. Senator's likening of Republican strategy on blocked judicial nominees to Adolf Hitler's Nazi Germany drew condemnation on Wednesday from top Republicans and the Anti-Defamation League.
Sen. Robert Byrd on Tuesday compared Republican threats to change Senate rules to outlaw procedural hurdles that have blocked 10 of President Bush judicial candidates to Hitler jamming legislation through the German Reichstag.
"Hitler never abandoned the cloak of legality; he recognized the enormous psychological value of having the law on his side," the Democrat from West Virginia said. "Instead, he turned the law inside out and made illegality legal."
Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania, a member of the Republican leadership, said in a statement, "Senator Byrd's inappropriate remarks comparing his Republican colleagues with Nazis are inexcusable."
ADL Director Abraham Foxman said: "It is hideous, outrageous and offensive for Senator Byrd to suggest that the Republican Party's tactics could in any way resemble those of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party." (full article)
Thursday, March 03, 2005
COLUMN ON RSS THIS WEEK AT ALWAYSON
This article contains my random thoughts so far on the RSS segment of the blogosphere. I'm new to analyzing the space, so again the forum of a blog is great since people more knowledgeable than me can post their thoughts and feedback on my article. Anyway, check it out!
RSS: Real Simple Syndication or Really Saturated Space?
As companies awaken to the revenue opportunities of RSS services and technology (think advertising!), players proliferate and the race to differentiate is on.
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This article contains my random thoughts so far on the RSS segment of the blogosphere. I'm new to analyzing the space, so again the forum of a blog is great since people more knowledgeable than me can post their thoughts and feedback on my article. Anyway, check it out!
RSS: Real Simple Syndication or Really Saturated Space?
As companies awaken to the revenue opportunities of RSS services and technology (think advertising!), players proliferate and the race to differentiate is on.
SEARCH NEWS AND OTHER WEB TOOLS... SPURL.NET, ZNIFF.COM, PICSEARCH
Microsoft recently signed a deal with Swedish company, Picsearch, to provide technology for MSN Search's image search services.
Also the same company that launched Spurl.net (competitor to del.icio.us, Furl, and others) has started a beta for a "human search engine," Zniff.com. It's based on the data collected from Spurl.net:
By humans, for humans
What you see is the very first version of a new breed of search engines. A search engine that uses human information from normal internet users to find and rank web pages. The results you see here are from a collection of roughly 1.5 million bookmarks gathered by the users of the Spurl.net bookmarking service.
The concept is similar to a Korean search engine that is kicking Google's butt in Korea, Naver.com. They have a service within their normal search where people can add information to about a local area, so the search results become more detailed and fresh.
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Microsoft recently signed a deal with Swedish company, Picsearch, to provide technology for MSN Search's image search services.
Also the same company that launched Spurl.net (competitor to del.icio.us, Furl, and others) has started a beta for a "human search engine," Zniff.com. It's based on the data collected from Spurl.net:
By humans, for humans
What you see is the very first version of a new breed of search engines. A search engine that uses human information from normal internet users to find and rank web pages. The results you see here are from a collection of roughly 1.5 million bookmarks gathered by the users of the Spurl.net bookmarking service.
The concept is similar to a Korean search engine that is kicking Google's butt in Korea, Naver.com. They have a service within their normal search where people can add information to about a local area, so the search results become more detailed and fresh.
Wednesday, March 02, 2005
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, YAHOO!
It's Yahoo!'s 10th today. Check out their site and get a coupon for free cream. They also have highlights of the Internet from the past ten years, "Yahoo! Netrospective: 10 years, 100 moments of the Web," which is cool.
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It's Yahoo!'s 10th today. Check out their site and get a coupon for free cream. They also have highlights of the Internet from the past ten years, "Yahoo! Netrospective: 10 years, 100 moments of the Web," which is cool.
WICTORY WEDNESDAY
From PoliPundit:
Minnesota is perhaps the best opportunity for Republicans to pick up a Senate seat in 2006. How sweet would it be if the state that gave us Humphrey and Mondale had two Republican senators and a Republican governor?
You can help make this happen. Mark Kennedy, the strongest Republican candidate, has a web site up and running, where you can contribute online. If he were to put up decent fundraising numbers this early in the process, he could dissuade any strong Democrat challengers from getting in the race. Even a small contribution from you could help make that happen. So please contribute whatever you can to Kennedy’s campaign.
Today is Wictory Wednesday. Every Wednesday, hundreds of bloggers ask their readers to donate to an important Republican campaign.
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From PoliPundit:
Minnesota is perhaps the best opportunity for Republicans to pick up a Senate seat in 2006. How sweet would it be if the state that gave us Humphrey and Mondale had two Republican senators and a Republican governor?
You can help make this happen. Mark Kennedy, the strongest Republican candidate, has a web site up and running, where you can contribute online. If he were to put up decent fundraising numbers this early in the process, he could dissuade any strong Democrat challengers from getting in the race. Even a small contribution from you could help make that happen. So please contribute whatever you can to Kennedy’s campaign.
Today is Wictory Wednesday. Every Wednesday, hundreds of bloggers ask their readers to donate to an important Republican campaign.
ROH IS MORE OF AN IDIOT... LOOK AT HIS LATEST JOB CREATION PLAN
Since South Korea's jobless rate has hit a three-year high of 3.6%, President Roh decided to provide over "360,000 jobs for elderly, disabled and poor citizens over the next five years." What an idiot. What type of band-aid, garbage solution is this? What an amateur political move. There are already so many useless jobs in Korea, such as people waving you forward in department stores or parking garages, that mask the country's true jobless rate, and Roh is going to add more to this statistic while ignoring his poor economic policies and incentive plans to spur Korean industries. Please leave South Korea. Actually the earth.
More from Tech Central Station:
Using a crafty political guise of strengthening the social safety net and improving public welfare, President Roh Moo-hyun approved a job "creation" plan. The stated intention is for the government to provide 360,000 jobs for elderly, disabled and poor citizens over the next five years.
The populist intent behind this decision was obvious in the suggestion that such steps will lessen the disparities between rich and poor. Other new spending would arise from establishing over 1,000 new childcare centers along with increased childcare leave and the provision of high-speed Internet service in rural areas.
Two things should be immediately clear. First, most decision concerning government policies in any democracy reflects the desire to remain in power. And so it is that the term populism describes choices based upon political opportunism.
Second, whenever government officials announce the introduction of bold new plans, hold onto your pocketbook. Whatever their plan will inevitably increase the tax burden on either present or future generations. This is because new spending obligations either require raising taxes now or running deficits that imposes higher taxes on taxpayers in the future.
Some of the features are worth considering. In the job "creation" category, jobs for the elderly would involve work as forest or culture tour guides while low-income individuals would be involved in caring for the sick and the disabled. Such "participatory welfare" may be worse than simple transfer payments if there is a need to increase government employees to oversee the new programs or the actual work while it is carried out. (full post)
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Since South Korea's jobless rate has hit a three-year high of 3.6%, President Roh decided to provide over "360,000 jobs for elderly, disabled and poor citizens over the next five years." What an idiot. What type of band-aid, garbage solution is this? What an amateur political move. There are already so many useless jobs in Korea, such as people waving you forward in department stores or parking garages, that mask the country's true jobless rate, and Roh is going to add more to this statistic while ignoring his poor economic policies and incentive plans to spur Korean industries. Please leave South Korea. Actually the earth.
More from Tech Central Station:
Using a crafty political guise of strengthening the social safety net and improving public welfare, President Roh Moo-hyun approved a job "creation" plan. The stated intention is for the government to provide 360,000 jobs for elderly, disabled and poor citizens over the next five years.
The populist intent behind this decision was obvious in the suggestion that such steps will lessen the disparities between rich and poor. Other new spending would arise from establishing over 1,000 new childcare centers along with increased childcare leave and the provision of high-speed Internet service in rural areas.
Two things should be immediately clear. First, most decision concerning government policies in any democracy reflects the desire to remain in power. And so it is that the term populism describes choices based upon political opportunism.
Second, whenever government officials announce the introduction of bold new plans, hold onto your pocketbook. Whatever their plan will inevitably increase the tax burden on either present or future generations. This is because new spending obligations either require raising taxes now or running deficits that imposes higher taxes on taxpayers in the future.
Some of the features are worth considering. In the job "creation" category, jobs for the elderly would involve work as forest or culture tour guides while low-income individuals would be involved in caring for the sick and the disabled. Such "participatory welfare" may be worse than simple transfer payments if there is a need to increase government employees to oversee the new programs or the actual work while it is carried out. (full post)
BRIGHTCOVE LAUNCHES INTO IPTV SPACE
HatTip to Mitch Ratcliffe. Jeremy Allaire is starting up a IPTV startup, Brightcove:
The theme of the "democratization of media" is one that goes all the way back to my origin interests in the Internet, and to some of the important ideas that framed and drove ColdFusion, and Allaire's other software franchises. We're onto the next phase of experiences on the Internet, and the much richer and expressive medium of video.
Funny timing since my column at AlwaysOn this week (thursday... almost every thursday, so check it out! please :) focuses on RSS, but touches upon the intersection of RSS and IPTV. I'm still not sold that IPTV will make a signficant dent in the U.S. television market, but globally I can see it become an industry that commands attention.
Anyway, check out Brightcove. Neatly designed site too, but no direct links to their press releases.
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HatTip to Mitch Ratcliffe. Jeremy Allaire is starting up a IPTV startup, Brightcove:
The theme of the "democratization of media" is one that goes all the way back to my origin interests in the Internet, and to some of the important ideas that framed and drove ColdFusion, and Allaire's other software franchises. We're onto the next phase of experiences on the Internet, and the much richer and expressive medium of video.
Funny timing since my column at AlwaysOn this week (thursday... almost every thursday, so check it out! please :) focuses on RSS, but touches upon the intersection of RSS and IPTV. I'm still not sold that IPTV will make a signficant dent in the U.S. television market, but globally I can see it become an industry that commands attention.
Anyway, check out Brightcove. Neatly designed site too, but no direct links to their press releases.
Tuesday, March 01, 2005
ACTIVISM GONE WRONG... WISDOM BEFORE ZEAL IS A GOOD RULE
Rachel Carson's "Silent Spring" Led to the End of DDT... And Millions of Deaths
I was reading last week's Forbes (February 28, 2005) when I came across Steve Forbes's column for issue and read the first section called "Deadly Prejudice":
Nearly every month almost as many people die from malaria as were killed by the tsunami waves in the Indian Ocean. Most of malaria's victims, some 2 million a year, are children under the age of 5. More than 300 million annually suffer from this debilitating disease that drains survivors of their mental and physical energies. Incredibly, there's an easy, proven and cheap way to eradicate most of the globe's malaria--DDT. Yet in one of history's more murderously myopic ongoing actions, most advanced countries and international agencies discourage its use. Why? Blame Rachel Carson's seismically influential--and now largely discredited--book, Silent Spring, first published in 1962. In it she blames DDT for imperiling birds and people, portraying it as a blight of almost biblical proportions. It ain't so. As Dr. Elizabeth Whelan of the American Council on Science & Health once put it, there "has never been a documented case of human illness or death in the U.S. as a result of the standard and accepted use of pesticides." The British medical journal The Lancet similarly notes that after 40 years ofresearch no significant health threat from DDT has been found.
Indiscriminate use of DDT will indeed have a deleterious impact on certain birds. But we're not advocating that. The use of tiny amounts inside a house or hut is all that's needed. As Nicholas Kristof observed in one of his New York Times columns, "Four hundred fifty thousand people can be protected [from malaria] with the same amount [of DDT] that was applied in the 1960s to a single 1,000-acre American cotton farm.… Humans are far better offexposed to DDT than exposed to malaria."
Yet Carson's book has made DDT taboo--with ghastly results. Some 30 million to 60 million people have perished unnecessarily. In 1996, for example, South Africa stopped using DDT, and its malaria cases increased tenfold. Four years later South Africa reversed itself and employed DDT again. The result: The incidence of malaria promptly dropped almost 80%. Nevertheless, too many health officials cling to alternatives that are only fractionally as effective. That various agencies, governments, health officials and environmentalists have deliberately dissuaded the world from using DDT is one of the most immoral moves of modern times. (sign-in required)
When I first read this on the plane back to San Francisco last week, I was disturbed. How could this happen? Why has this myth and miserable lie continued? What motivated Rachel Carson to write and paint an extreme picture of DDT's effects when there was no strong evidence (yes, hindsight is wonderful and i haven't read the book)? Did she let her passion and zeal cloud the facts, and even close the door towards the possibility that DDT would not have such a horrific effect? Was she just misled by poor scientific studies or her own information gathering?
Ms. Carson passed away in 1964 but if she was still alive I assume she was a person of principle and not driven by her own success, so she would have stepped forward and admitted her costly mistake that has negatively impacted our globe and killed millions of people. Maybe she would have had to cocoon herself from the harsh reality to prevent a breakdown or insanity from flooding her mind. Whatever her response might have been, it is difficult for me to respect her work after reading this column.
More disturbing is that a Google-search revealed she was one of Time magazine's Time 100, which is a list of the most important people of the 20th century. I know this is only one voice against her, but if it stands to be true, which I can't see a bending of facts in this situation, then it is a sad testament to our society and the heroes we create. How easily are they created by words, books and media back then and even more so now. Time magazine should take her off the Time 100, or at least move her from the "Scientist & Thinkers" category they placed her in to the "Artists & Entertainers" category since she was a non-fiction writer first and now a recognized fiction writer.
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Rachel Carson's "Silent Spring" Led to the End of DDT... And Millions of Deaths
I was reading last week's Forbes (February 28, 2005) when I came across Steve Forbes's column for issue and read the first section called "Deadly Prejudice":
Nearly every month almost as many people die from malaria as were killed by the tsunami waves in the Indian Ocean. Most of malaria's victims, some 2 million a year, are children under the age of 5. More than 300 million annually suffer from this debilitating disease that drains survivors of their mental and physical energies. Incredibly, there's an easy, proven and cheap way to eradicate most of the globe's malaria--DDT. Yet in one of history's more murderously myopic ongoing actions, most advanced countries and international agencies discourage its use. Why? Blame Rachel Carson's seismically influential--and now largely discredited--book, Silent Spring, first published in 1962. In it she blames DDT for imperiling birds and people, portraying it as a blight of almost biblical proportions. It ain't so. As Dr. Elizabeth Whelan of the American Council on Science & Health once put it, there "has never been a documented case of human illness or death in the U.S. as a result of the standard and accepted use of pesticides." The British medical journal The Lancet similarly notes that after 40 years ofresearch no significant health threat from DDT has been found.
Indiscriminate use of DDT will indeed have a deleterious impact on certain birds. But we're not advocating that. The use of tiny amounts inside a house or hut is all that's needed. As Nicholas Kristof observed in one of his New York Times columns, "Four hundred fifty thousand people can be protected [from malaria] with the same amount [of DDT] that was applied in the 1960s to a single 1,000-acre American cotton farm.… Humans are far better offexposed to DDT than exposed to malaria."
Yet Carson's book has made DDT taboo--with ghastly results. Some 30 million to 60 million people have perished unnecessarily. In 1996, for example, South Africa stopped using DDT, and its malaria cases increased tenfold. Four years later South Africa reversed itself and employed DDT again. The result: The incidence of malaria promptly dropped almost 80%. Nevertheless, too many health officials cling to alternatives that are only fractionally as effective. That various agencies, governments, health officials and environmentalists have deliberately dissuaded the world from using DDT is one of the most immoral moves of modern times. (sign-in required)
When I first read this on the plane back to San Francisco last week, I was disturbed. How could this happen? Why has this myth and miserable lie continued? What motivated Rachel Carson to write and paint an extreme picture of DDT's effects when there was no strong evidence (yes, hindsight is wonderful and i haven't read the book)? Did she let her passion and zeal cloud the facts, and even close the door towards the possibility that DDT would not have such a horrific effect? Was she just misled by poor scientific studies or her own information gathering?
Ms. Carson passed away in 1964 but if she was still alive I assume she was a person of principle and not driven by her own success, so she would have stepped forward and admitted her costly mistake that has negatively impacted our globe and killed millions of people. Maybe she would have had to cocoon herself from the harsh reality to prevent a breakdown or insanity from flooding her mind. Whatever her response might have been, it is difficult for me to respect her work after reading this column.
More disturbing is that a Google-search revealed she was one of Time magazine's Time 100, which is a list of the most important people of the 20th century. I know this is only one voice against her, but if it stands to be true, which I can't see a bending of facts in this situation, then it is a sad testament to our society and the heroes we create. How easily are they created by words, books and media back then and even more so now. Time magazine should take her off the Time 100, or at least move her from the "Scientist & Thinkers" category they placed her in to the "Artists & Entertainers" category since she was a non-fiction writer first and now a recognized fiction writer.
ZOOMING INTERFACES... PLUG AGAIN FOR INNOTIVE
Creator of Macintosh, Jef Raskin, Passes Away
I came across this post at Techdirt:
Some rather unfortunate news today, as it appears that Jef Raskin, creator of the Macintosh project at Apple passed away this weekend from cancer. Jef has continued to work on innovative user interfaces over the years, including efforts to make zoomable interfaces (demo page -- long load time) more common.
Update: News.com has more on Raskin.
Check out Raskin's work linked above here. It would have been awesome to meet such a great innovator. Also I wish I could have introduced him to Innotive. His recent work would have complemented Innotive's technology. You can see a demo here and read about last November's work with CBS News here.
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Creator of Macintosh, Jef Raskin, Passes Away
I came across this post at Techdirt:
Some rather unfortunate news today, as it appears that Jef Raskin, creator of the Macintosh project at Apple passed away this weekend from cancer. Jef has continued to work on innovative user interfaces over the years, including efforts to make zoomable interfaces (demo page -- long load time) more common.
Update: News.com has more on Raskin.
Check out Raskin's work linked above here. It would have been awesome to meet such a great innovator. Also I wish I could have introduced him to Innotive. His recent work would have complemented Innotive's technology. You can see a demo here and read about last November's work with CBS News here.
Business & Technology, Politics, and Random Posts from the Left, Right, and Elsewhere
Place of Birth: Seoul, Korea
Hometown: Northbrook, IL USA
Lived in: Seoul, Chicago (Villa Park & Northbrook), Madison, WI, Springfield, IL, St. Louis, New York City, Chicago (Glenview), Seoul, San Francisco
Also blogs at: AlwaysOn, Coro Blog, SportsBlog
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Max Yow
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Sports: combative sports, sports you play with a ball, sports with no swimming, sports you can play while drinking and smoking (pool, darts, bowling, video games).
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"You cannot go on explaining away things over forever or you will find that you have explained even explanation itself away. You cannot go on seeing through things forever because the whole point of seeing through something is to see something else through it." - C.S Lewis
December 11, 2005
"This telephone has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means of communication. The device is inherently of no value to us." - Western Union internal memo, 1876
December 4, 2005
"You cannot hope to build a better world without improving the individual. To that end each of us must work for his own improvement, and at the same time share a general responsibility for all humanity, our particular duty being to aid those to whom we think we can be most useful." - Marie Curie
November 27, 2005
"One cannot step into the same river twice." - Heratidus
November 20, 2005
"The death of democracy is not likely to be an assassination from ambush. It will be a slow extinction from apathy, indifference and undernourishment." - Robert Maynard Hutchins
November 13, 2005
"We are moving away from the old idea of leadership -- leadership has less to do (now) with heroism. We don’t look for... unblemished omnipotent heroes, but leaders who are complex, dependent, changeable... We do not need one dominant authority structure telling all our inner voices to shut up..." - Walter Truett Anderson
November 6, 2005
"To know oneself is to know one’s [country]. It is also... paradoxically a form of exile from that world... to know oneself is, above all, to know what one lacks. It is to measure oneself against Truth, and not the other way around. The first product of self-knowledge is humility, and that virtue is not conspicuous in any national character." - Flannery O’Connor
October 30, 2005
"Men content themselves with the same words as other people use, as if the very sound necessarily carried the same meaning." - John Locke
October 23, 2005
"In order to thrive in a world of change and chaos, we will need to accept 'chaos' as an essential process by which natural systems, including organizations, renew and revitalize themselves." - Margaret Wheatley
October 16, 2004
"Politics is perhaps the only profession for which no preparation is thought necessary." - Robert Louis Stevenson
October 9, 2004
"We will be better and braver if we engage and inquire than if we indulge in the idle fancy that we already know - or that it is of no use seeking to know what we do not know." - Plato
October 2, 2004
"Man's mind stretched to a new idea never goes back to its original dimensions." - Oliver W. Holmes
September 25, 2004
"What you learn intellectually lies in the shallow pools among the wrinkles of your brain. What you learn through the skin of experience sinks deep into your roots." - Hank Taft
September 18, 2004
"In commanding us to glorify him, God is inviting us to enjoy him." - C.S. Lewis
September 11, 2004
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September 4, 2004
"This is the true joy in life, the being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one; the being a force of nature instead of a feverish, selfish little clod of ailments and grievances complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy. I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the whole community and as long as I live it is my privilege to do for it whatever I can. I want to be thoroughly used up when I die, for the harder I work the more I live. I rejoice in life for its own sake. Life is no "brief candle" to me. It is a sort of splendid torch which I have got hold of for the moment, and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to the future generations." - George Bernard Shaw
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