Nintendo Wii Revelation Coming

Don’t you just love these sorts of announcements? Now we have to make something up until the “revelation” is revealed. So what do you think it is? * Nintendo waves the white surrender flag at Sony’s PS3. * Nintendo games will be free. Guess we will just have to wait and see.

From the article
For everyone planning on purchasing a Nintendo Wii next month, it seems like there is more good news coming our way. There’s been a rumor floating around that Nintendo of America President, Reggie Fils-Aime, told GameSpot, There will be another big Wii revelation around launch time.

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Windows Media Player 11 Hits The Street

This is the final XP version that Microsoft will release of this software so you had better like it. Next time around it will be on Vista.

From the article
Microsoft has released the final version of Windows Media Player 11 for Windows XP, which brings a new user interface, greater online store integration, and improved navigation for larger music libraries.

Microsoft is hoping that releasing Internet Explorer 7 and Windows Media Player 11 to current Windows XP users will encourage those users to get familiar with the programs, which will be even more robust in Windows Vista, due for consumer release in January 2007.

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MySpace Accounts Compromised By Phishers

I’m not surprised that Phishers have targeted MySpace. Even if they capture a minute percentage of users login details that still amounts to thousands of people. It again raises the question about just how safe and secure your details are on the Internet. People be careful out there.

From the article
Netcraft has discovered that the social networking site MySpace appears to have been compromised by phishers who have presented a spoof login form on the main site. This modified login form submits the victim's username and password to a remote server hosted in France.

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Google battles rivals in race to digitize the world's libraries

Everyone wants to take down Google. It’s good to have some competition but my feeling is that Yahoo and Microsoft can throw as much money they like at this scheme I don’t think it’s going to make much difference. Google are just too strong and I believe they will eventually win in their battle to digitize all books.

From the article
A race is on to digitize the world's books, pitting Internet juggernaut Google against a vast anti-Google coalition backed by rivals Yahoo and Microsoft.

In late August, Google restarted its Google Book Search project initiated in 2004 with the lofty aim of scanning every literary work into digital format and making them available online.

Google has formed partnerships with major universities such as Harvard, Oxford, the New York Public Library, Complutense of Madrid and the University of California to add their collections to its virtual book shelves.

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Yahoo's dilemma: Deal or no deal?

Having operated in the shadow of Google for so long, Yahoo really needs to pull of something big to regain some lost ground. It could be make or break time in the near future.

From the article
Yahoo must have a new appreciation of how Burger King feels about McDonald's: Constantly looking up at No. 1 gets vexing. So it should come as no surprise that Yahoo's chairman and CEO Terry Semel is mulling a number of moves that would impress Wall Street and steal the spotlight from the Google behemoth.

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Firefox 2 Downloads Top 2 million in 24 Hours

Is Firefox set to become the number one browser. These stats are certainly encouraging and a sign that they have at the very least captured the interest of plenty. It would be good bragging rights if they out do Microsoft in terms of downloads.

From the article
Firefox 2.0 has had over two million downloads in 24 hours with a peak rate of over 30 downloads a second. This means Firefox is well on track to beat IE7's three million in four days

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Hacker Skewers Airport Security

So much for tight airport security. Does it put you off flying? Not me but I’m not impressed. I get everything but my underpants confiscated and others seem to be able to take what ever they like and not even have id. Just doesn’t make sense.

From the article
Christopher Soghoian, the graduate student behind the Northwest Airlines Boarding Pass Generator, has been testing the Transportation Security Agency's airline security rules since June, when he was inspired by hearing John Gilmore challenge a government privacy advisory panel to attempt to fly home without identification.

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Game console put through its paces

The Wii is given a test run. How does it stack up against the Xbox 360 and PS3? You decide. I’m still not convinced and will be sticking with my plans to get a PS3.

From the article
CNET's Veronica Belmont puts Nintendo's Wii under close scrutiny. How does it compare with other consoles?

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Top Firefox 2 config tweaks

Now we have it we all want to tweak it. Firefox 2 is an outstanding browser but there’s always something you want to change. So for all of you out there who want to customize then this article has some good ones you might want to start with.

From the article
The Firefox homepage calls the web browser "fully customizable to your online life," and that's not just marketing claptrap. Beyond the extensive options available in its menus and dialogs, there's a lengthy set of advanced Firefox preferences that can customize the browser to your specific needs. Sure, your brother-in-law's not likely to edit Firefox's default configuration, but you? You're a power surfer and you want your web browser your way.

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Why Apple Bounced Back

Apple once a company that was in danger of disappearing has bounced back in grand style over the last few years. Obviously one of the reasons is the iPod but there is more to there revival than just that.

From the article
As noted in The Rise and Fall of Platforms: Planting Software Seeds, Apple had observed how Adobe's PostScript technology had driven the development of desktop publishing as a killer application for the Mac, and hoped to similarly deliver the basis of a new wave of multimedia applications using its own QuickTime software.

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Palm Targets Consumers

A new Treo from Palm that is specifically aimed at the consumer market. I thought Palm might have died a slow death but maybe the new Treo can revive them.

From the article
Palm announced on Oct. 12 the Treo 680, the first of the company's smart phones to specifically target the consumer market.

While Palm's smart phones are widely used within enterprises, this is the first Treo designed for a general audience. The Treo 680, released at the Digital Life trade show, also is the first Treo to have an internal antenna.

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Another Apple for the Big Apple

Apple’s expansion continues. News of a 3rd retail store in New York City is a clear indication that Apple are wanting to get a serious foothold in the bricks’n’mortar retail industry. If they keep this up then New York will truly be the Big Apple.

From the article
Apple is planning a third retail location in New York City, according to a new report. The company, which launched its second NYC location on Fifth Avenue in May of this year, will open its third Manhattan retail store at SL Green Realty Corp.'s retail joint venture at West 34th Street, just west of Fifth Avenue and south of the company's flagship Fifth Store location, which welcomed its one millionth visitor in mid-September--just under four months since it's opening.

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Zune to Pay You Back for Sharing Songs?

This is an interesting rumour. Will it save the Zune? No, it's still going to flounder against the all mighty iPod.

From the article
We know that the zinger for the Zune is the social networking/music sharing features. Briefly, it works thusly: if we have a song on my Zune we like, we can send it to your zune via WiFi. You can listen to the song three times for free within a 3 day window, then it will prompt you to pay for it ($1), lest it disables itself. If you do pay for the song we shared with you, then we would get a credit for turning you onto the song. Once we have enough credits, we can cash them in for free songs or other items from the Zune Marketplace. So it suits us to share, share, share. It’s sort of a backwards pyramid marketing scheme.

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Bloggers Required To Register Under Real Names

This is another example of more censorship control from the Chinese regime. If I was Chinese I would be too scared to blog just in case even the most innocent of blog entries was misinterpreted and I was killed because of it.

From the article
China has yet to take an official stand on whether to require bloggers to register under their real names, but a group that works closely with Beijing on Internet policy is recommending that such a system be implemented.

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YouTube Removes 30k Illegal Japanese Videos

Is this the start of things to come? I would think that now Google have ownership of YouTube they are going to get tougher on the copyrighted material that is being uploaded. Google certainly won’t want to get bogged down with multiple law suits. Watch this space.

From the article
It’s funny how when you sell for $1.65 billion, a lot of people start to notice you and realize how much content is worth. This is why everyone is scrambling to sue others, request cease and desist orders, and allege copy-infringement. There are debates on who owns the content and if it’s better to just give away the content for free, because it builds buzz.

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An Audio-Quality Arms Race?

Audio quality is an issue for many. It is also a very individual thing as not everyone has differing opinions on what is "quality" audio and what isn't. One things for sure, the quality of audio in the digital world does vary a bit. It's a battleground to produce the ultimate in quality audio.

From the article
Brad Blackwood, a Memphis recording engineer, is as serious about sound quality as they come.These days he often has an iPod in his pocket, although you aren't likely to find him with white Ipod earbuds draped around his neck. Like many audiophiles and sound professionals, he's upgraded to a pair of high-end headphones. But the fact that he has an MP3 player at all is a sign that digital audio is maturing.

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AOL to offer downloads for movie, TV shows

Seems everyone wants in on the movie and video download business. AOL have signed another deal. This potentially lucrative business has everyone wanting a slice of the pie.

From the article
Movies and television shows from Paramount Pictures will be available for sale through AOL's new video portal under a deal announced Monday.

Classics such as "Breakfast at Tiffany's" and "Chinatown" and newer releases like "Mission: Impossible III" will be sold for $9.99 to $19.99 each, comparable to fees at online services CinemaNow, MovieLink and Guba as well as sites operated by MySpace-owner News Corp.

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Feds Start Small on Smart IDs

Why are they calling them Smart IDs. People have had ID cards to access buildings for years. Now smart would have been having them for access to your IT systems as well but that hasn’t happened in this initial rollout.


From the article
Several federal agencies said last week that they’re ready to start distributing smart ID cards to workers by Friday, as mandated by a directive issued in 2004 by President Bush. But some of the initial rollouts will be very small and will focus solely on controlling access to buildings - not IT Systems

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Beheadings in vogue among Mexican gangs

Thinking of going to Mexico? This news might make you think twice. I just can’t for the life of me think how another human being could even think about let alone carry out beheading someone.

From the article
The drug lords at war in central Mexico are no longer content with simply killing their enemies. They are putting their severed heads on public display. In Michoacan, the home state of President-elect Felipe Calderon, 17 heads have turned up this year, many with bloodstained notes like the one found in the highlands town of Tepalcatepec in August: "See. Hear. Shut Up. If you want to stay alive."

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Google Acquires SpaceShipOne

What next for Google? Now that Google have conquered the Internet world it appears they want to conquer the galaxy. First step, buy a spaceship. Done!

From the article
Google has come one step closer to building their elevator to the moon! Google has acquired SpaceShipOne. In 2004 SpaceShipOne won the Asari X prize. Paul Allen and Burt Rutan led the team that launched the first private spacecraft capable of carrying three people into space (100 Kilometers above earth). SpaceShipOne will arrive at the Googleplex on Saturday, October 21st, 2006. It will be housed in building 43.

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Facebook’s News Feed Ads Go Live

As if there wasn’t enough advertising already, Facebook now had ad’s in their news feeds. The ads have been criticized by the Facebook community.

From the article
Facebook raised some controversy when it was announced that they’d be including ads in the widely-criticized news feed feature. That anger was tempered when it was noted that Facebook wouldn’t tell your friends about the ads you’d clicked, as some sources had reported. But today the ads are live, and they’re just as annoying as you might have feared.

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Getting Listed in News Search Engines

If you want to make it into the big time then you should consider trying to get into the big news search engines. It’s not an easy proves but these tips should help.

From the article
With Yahoo News being more popular than CNN or MSNBC, (comScore) there’s a tremendous opportunity for online marketers to gain visibility with consumers as well as those members of the media that research news stories, subject matter experts and press releases online.

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Google Hires Government Search Employee

Does this mean that Google will soon be searching top secret Government documents? I doubt that but as always with Google you can never be certain just what there intentions are.

From the article
FCW.com is reporting that Google hired M.J. Pizzella who used to work on the government search engine, FirstGov. How does this serve Google? Google is trying to better understand the government needs and wants so they can be a better service to the government.

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Employees the weakest link

“strong” password, locking your PC’s and not sharing logins I see plenty of my colleagues disregarding these rules on a daily basis.

From the article
If the definition of a good, strong password is at least 8 characters long, uses a combination of numbers, characters, and upper and lower case letters, and avoids spelling out an obvious word or phrase, it’s little wonder that one in three office workers have been reported to scribble it down as a reminder. This is the figure arrived at in a report by Nucleus Research and KnowledgeStorm, two research firms studying the effect of IT password measures on total corporate security. Employees have long been thought of as the wild card in any given security plan, eroding the fortress from within with dangerous downloads, inadequate lock-downs, and prohibited paper evidence of sensitive sign-ins. This report just adds one more nail to the coffin.

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Will Web 2.0 Sites Be Brought to Their Knees?

There is always someone who wants to knock off the successful companies or discredit them. The same can be said with successful websites.

From the article
In today’s Internet ecosystem, everything is about opening up the walled gardens, allowing contributions from all, and encouraging creativity and self-expression. The dark side is, with every successful company, there will be that whose business model is simply to destroy you. Today, techcrunch introduced one of many companies that were created to take down Digg or simply change the way Digg can run. This company, which I hate to name, spikethevote.com, uses a formula, which is virtually indestructible to promote stories to the front page. The founder’s beef with Digg is that it gives the illusion that it incorporates the wisdom of everyone to promote stories to the front page, where it is a very minute population that actually has the power. Digg wants to democratize the news, and spikethevote says that it’s far from a democracy.

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Bush Signs Torture Into Law

I didn’t know the George got his kicks from this sort of thing. These are worrying times and is another example of how the Bush administration have taken things a little to far.

From the article
Some of the most notorious names in the war on terror are headed toward prosecution after President Bush signed a law Tuesday authorizing military trials of terrorism suspects.

The legislation also eliminates some of the rights defendants are usually guaranteed under U.S. law, and it authorizes continued harsh interrogations of terror suspects.

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Firexfox 2.0 Is About To Ship

The much anticipated Firefox 2.0 is getting closer. I’m getting itchy feet. I will be downloading this as soon as it’s released. I see an even greater market share for Firefox in the near future.

From the article
Mozilla offered up Firefox 2.0 Release Candidate 3 tonight, bringing the official launch of version 2.0 all the closer. Most TechCrunch readers have probably tried previous release candidates but there are a number of things readers may be interested in considering as full scale roll-out of the new version approaches.

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New jail visitor dress code: Bras a must

We can’t have the prisoners getting too excited now can we?

From the article
Revealing tops are out and bras are now a must for women visiting prisoners at the Vanderburgh County Jail. Jail officials imposed a new dress code policy after several incidents in which women visiting the jail exposed themselves to male prisoners.

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Google to pocket 25% of all U.S. online ad revs in 2006

Phew! Big numbers. No wonder Google are able to fork out the money they do in buying other sites. Eg YouTube. It seems Google is a license to print money.

From the article
Google Inc. is on track in 2006 to become the first company ever to pocket 25% of all U.S. online ad spending in a calendar year, according to a new report from eMarketer, an online ad tracker.

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How long can Microsoft stick with Xbox?

While no one can argue that the Xbox has become very popular it has cost Microsoft big bucks. So why do they continue with it? Pride…They want to eliminate Sony’s Playstation at whatever cost.

From the article
Microsoft says it will stick with Xbox. But with years of heavy losses behind it, the pressure’s on for the gaming division to make good.

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Turning YouTube Into A Profitable Business

Now that Google have purchased YouTube for $1.65b, they will obviously be looking for a return on their investment. Given that YouTube is not making any money in it’s present form there is going to be some changes to turn it into a profitable business.

What form will those changes take?
Well the obvious one will be advertising. Google need to look at a way of earning some big advertising revenue from the site without turning off the customers. At present you can view the video clips free of advertising, which is one of the big plusses for the site.

So how will Google get advertising into the site?
One option of course is to have an advert at the start of each clip. Lets say a compulsory 10 – 15 advert. I think this would be a big mistake on Google’s part if they went down this track. I could see a big viewer revolt and a lot of people leaving the site if this was what happened. As far as advertising in the video clips themselves I do see some potential in having non invasive adwords ad’s displayed say at the bottom of the clip. This shouldn’t offend the user yet the potential earnings from this is huge. Isn’t it 100,000,000 clips downloaded a day. Lets say CTR is 1%. That’s 1,000,000 clicks a day on the ad’s. Phew! Show me the money! Why not let the users share in the income via adsense?

Product Endorsements?
Maybe content producers could include product endorsements in their clips for a share of the income? How about hot links in the clip itself? For example you like something you see in the clip, click on it and it takes you to a site where you can buy it.

As always these are just my views. What do you fine folk out there think?

Details on the PS3 Online Service

Going online with the PS3. I can’t wait

From the article
"As to the content that will be available, Sony is still playing its cards close to its chest to some extent - but one thing the giant firm is clear on is that the PlayStation Store will grow to encompass more than just new game content and demos. Alongside the free and paid-for game content, the store will also play host to a wide range of new titles developed specifically for download (the first of which, fl0w, was shown off at TGS - dozens more PlayStation Store exclusive titles are being worked on around the world thanks to an initiative which Sony launched at GDC last year) - and as Ken Kutaragi revealed at TGS last month, it'll also be possible to buy PSone and PS2 classics you missed out on, as well as a selection of PSP games, from the PlayStation Store, and download them directly to your PS3."

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Stars turn out to honour Clooney

George Clooney has had a great career. Ever since he first appeared in ER he has never looked back. He thoroughly deserves this award.

From the article
Actor and director George Clooney was joined by some of Hollywood's biggest names as he collected an award celebrating his career

The 45-year-old was presented with the 2006 American Cinematheque Award at a lavish Beverly Hills ceremony.

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Yahoo's Pyramid Scheme Collapses

This scheme was indeed very bizarre. I’m not surprised it has collapsed. What did it achieve? Well it got Yahoo some more publicity, good and bad.

From the article
Sure, Yahoo is ready for lift-off, but Mexico says it's a no-go. The digital time capsule planned by Yahoo will have to find another launch site. Mexican officials now say they will not allow Yahoo's time capsule to be launched by laser into space from their beloved 2,000-year-old Pyramid of the Sun in Teotihuacán.

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Eight Ways to Revitalize P2P

P2P is no longer generating the excitement it once was. Time it got a shot in the arm.

From the article
Times have been slow in the file-sharing world. There’s no greater evidence than the obvious reduction in news production on Slyck.com. Ask any file-sharing veteran, and they’ll attest to the relative snails pace of P2P activity.

This of course has little impact on the P2P or file-sharing population, which continues to grow at its typical rate. Rather, the excitement and community atmosphere associated with the file-sharing community has been rather dull. Yet like many things in life, this situation has come full circle and just about everyone ready to get back into the P2P saddle.

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Social Swarm News Response

The “breaking news” of the Manhattan Plane crash has seen many social news sites with articles on this.

However is the “Social Swarm” response to this sort of thing all it should be?

From the article
Digg wasn’t designed to respond to fast-action news like this. Yes, I’m talking about the Manhattan plane crash. Digg’s comment voting system was too clumsy to keep up. Voting critical news updates up through ranks of prankish jokes didn’t make sense given the gravity of the news underway. This time the “social” approach felt a bit slow.

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Googazon Could Dominate Web Retail

Imagine a Google / Amazon merger. Google are already so dominant on the Internet. A merger with Amazon would give them a dominant position in the online retail market as well. Then what?

From the article
"It's a scary scenario. A few major players could take over Web 2.0," said LeHong, suggesting that a merged entity such as Google and Amazon—call it Googazon—could mediate half of all online transactions.

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Newsweek covers up global warming in US

Selective journalism. What’s more important? A political scandal or the fact the planet is being ruined.

From the article
How the US press shields readers from the truth about global climate change.

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Why Microsoft Can't Compete With iTunes

Are we all in agreement that they cannot?

From the article
Here's the secret answers that expose a series of myths concerning Microsoft’s ability to own new markets, why its monopoly position won't be of any help, and why the company's consumer retail strategies aren't working.

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Google Shares at $1

While this is an unlikely scenario it is a remote possibility now that Google have purchased YouTube.

Prior to this deal, there was speculation that YouTube could end up getting sued by anyone and everyone and the share weight of the lawsuits would send them down the tube. Miraculously YouTube announced deals with some content providers just days before the Google purchase went public.

So Google have snapped up ($1.6billion) a YouTube with some deals in place. Certainly the deals YouTube have in place would go some way to possible limiting any lawsuits that may come their way. I feel though that they are not out of the water yet and have an awfully long way to go.

Should YouTube and therefore Google get sued by some of the heavyweights it’s going to turn into a very ugly, very time consuming and ultimately very expensive exercise.

Worse case scenario is that any suits bought against YouTube/Google end up winning. This would have a huge impact on Google and obviously send the value of the company downwards. Maybe not quite to the $1 a share but definitely significantly lower than what they are now.

200 mph+ Sports Car

We all like a little speed and now here is a car the delivers. Not only is it fast it looks cool too. I think it will look great in my garage.

From the article
Third-year students developed 14 super cars for project sponsors McLaren as part of their final-year project for the 2005-2006 academic year. The brief was to come up with a sports car capable of speeds of over 320 km/h (200 mph)

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Mobile search tool to list clickable ads

Just when you thought we had enough ad's, Microsoft have plans for advertising in their Windows Live Mobile search service. Don't you just love advertising.

From the article
Microsoft plans to place advertising on MSN's Windows Live Search for Mobile service that will let users click on an advertisement to place a call for more information.

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Social Media brings us the Important News

The new world of Social Media has changed the way we consume the news. No longer are we dictated to by the traditional media outlets.

The major players have traditionally dictated to us the stories that get published and what makes the front page. For years we have had anything involving war, what a politician said or who got killed stories rammed down our throats as being the important ones. Well not anymore.

Social Media has seen a revolution and the consumer is fighting back. While war stories, political stuff and murder always generate some interest they are no longer dominating the headlines. We are now seeing a much more diverse and interesting range of articles and for the first time we are getting a true reflection of just what the public finds interesting. Sites like Digg, Newsvine, Netscape etc are the perfect example of how this new world operates. Just check out what’s hot on any of these sites and you will find a wide range of articles.

Off course the traditional media outlets are trying to change but as yet they haven’t really grasped the whole idea of the Social Media thing. They still seem to think that the traditional lead stories are what the consumer wants. Come on guys move with the times.

Corrupt DMOZ Directory Editors

I think corrupt might be a bit harsh but how about paying a “donation” to the editor to get your site listed. Is that Corrupt?

From the article
Some others suggest for competitive categories if you send a “donation” or “seo consulting” fee to dmoz editor’s email on there profile page that you will get right in. Does anyone know about that? If It is true what would it be worth to you?

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Some Bush flip-floping through the ages

Is George Bush the most confusing or confused president ever? The guy just cannot stick to what he says. Over the years he has changed his mind too many times to count.

From the article
Remember all the talk about John Kerry flip-flopping in his 2004 presidential campaign? Well I think the current president (and victor of the aforementioned race) has a lot more to answer to in regards to drastic changed in policy.

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Zune Predicated as Biggest Flop of 2007

This is the sort of headline the Microsoft would hate to see. Michael Robertson has made the call that he thinks the Zune will be the biggest flop of 2007. Microsoft were hoping that their Zune would be able to unseat the iPod as the dominant music player. From all accounts they have a next to zero chance of that happening with their product and obviously Michael Robertson thinks so to.

From the article
The anti-tech-powerexec is known for founding MP3.com, Lindows / Linspire, Skype competitor SIPphone, and DRM-free online music sales biz MP3tunes, not to mention former employer of DRM freedom fighter Jon Johansen -- so it shouldn't come as much of a surprise that after the ruckus being raised around the Zune's crippled WiFi and worthless DRM system that he stepped in to take a potshot.

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GoogleTube would keep the lawyers busy

It sure would. Still I think it's a good move by Google (if true). The world's number one search site and the number one video site together under one roof.

I think it will be called Youooooogle!

From the article
The blogosphere, with its ferocious appetite for acquisition rumors, is chomping away at news reports citing unnamed sources that Google is considering buying YouTube for $1.6 billion.

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Hard Drive Future is Secure

For how long is it's future secure? I think it's days are numbered.

From the article
But although the hard drive is 50 this year, we have seen yet more growth in the technologies around it. The one terabyte drive is more or less here, we have perpendicular recording and they are getting smaller all the time.

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A Starbucks On Every Corner

Like your coffee? Well thn you're in luck because Starbucks are expanding.

From the article
Starbucks has increased its long-term store expansion target to 40,000 outlets around the world, more than triple the existing number.

The US coffee giant, which currently has 12,000 global outlets, sees half of the eventual 40,000 stores being in the US and the other half overseas.

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Hop on the Collective Intelligence Bandwagon!

Everyone needs a little help when it comes to investing. God knows I do.

From the article
It seems that every week there is a new website aggregating investors’ market sentiments and displaying them for users and investors alike to better predict market and equities movements.

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Audioblogger Joins DeadPool

Another one bites the dust......Who will I talk to now?

From the article
Odeo’s Audioblogger, which allowed users to post audio to a blogger.com blog via a telephone call, is being shut down as of November 1 and will enter the DeadPool. Existing files will continue to be hosted.

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Treat Patients Based On “Worthiness” Of Their Life

In this day and age of ballooning health costs and ever increasing waiting lists it has become ever more difficult for Health Care providers to prioritise and treat the most needy patients while keeping a lid on costs. There is also the long-standing debate around life support and prolonging life but that’s a whole separate issue..

I propose a radical new system to cut waiting lists and also cut costs when it comes to life saving procedures. The system I envisage would be based on the “worthiness” of your life. I can hear you screaming now but before you fly off the handle let me outline the idea.

How would it work?
Lets say you are on the waiting list for some procedure. Now you may not be sicker than most but should that be the only factor in determining your treatment priority. I say no. There should be a scoring system based on your life’s “worthiness”. It would take into account factors such as what you have achieved in your life, the work you have done, have you been a burden on society, your age, what would treating you achieve etc.

Now I know you are thinking I’ve lost the plot but hang on let me explain my reasoning some more. Imagine you are on the waiting list yet you find out that a convicted child molester is ranked ahead of you because they are deemed to be sicker (yes they are sick in the head but aside from that). Wouldn’t that piss you off? It certainly would me. Based on my system let’s say you have been a hard working individual who hasn’t been a burden on society etc then you would get treated before the child molester. Doesn’t that make more sense? An even better solution is too deny the low scoring patients treatment at all simply because they don’t deserve it. Instant cost saving!

The same goes for life support and procedures that prolong life. The more “worthy” get it and the less don’t. Again this would have the effect of cutting costs.

Obviously an awful lot of work would need to be put into how to calculate ones “worthiness” but in the long run I think there would be tremendous benefits for all.

Google should buy YouTube

Why doesn’t Google buy YouTube? YouTube is arguably the most popular video service on the Internet so it seems logical to me that the most popular search provider, Google should buy them. Google could somehow merge it in with the existing Google Video service.

I know there has been much speculation around how much YouTube is worth and even if it’s going to end up with so many law suits that it will go belly up. My answer to that is suck it and see. Google have already proven that they are happy to “bend” the copyright laws so I don’t see a problem here.

From a consumers point of view a probable downside of a Google takeover is that the videos would end up with Google’s adword’s ad’s scrolling across the bottom or something like that.

I see Youooogle in the near future!

Top ten geek business myths

Wanting to raise money for some new business venture. There is definitely a right way and a wrong way to go about it. Don’t get suckered in and fall for one of the many “myths” when it comes to raising the almighty dollar.

From the article
Since I've started my new career as a venture capitalist I have become keenly aware of some of the classic mistakes that geeks make when trying to raise money for a new business. Instead of writing the same comments over and over again I thought I'd try to summarize some of the mistakes that people

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E-mail is only for the old

According to teenagers it is. A recent study shows that teenagers much prefer instant messaging or text messaging. You only use E-mail to communicate with the “old”.

Seems like it was only yesterday that E-mail first came into being. Excuse me while I go dust off my walking stick.

From the article
they view e-mail as something you use to talk to 'old people,' institutions, or to send complex instructions to large groups. When it comes to casual written conversation, particularly when talking with friends, online instant messaging is the clearly the mode of choice for today's online teens

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FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives

Are you hiding one of these people? Here’s the pictures of the ones you need to be looking out for.

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Best Tech Gear Coming out this Fall

It is the season to be jolly…Well almost. As the holiday season is getting closer it’s the time of the year when all the cool gadgets come out to play. Not sure what to get that loved one then here are some of the coolest gadgets on offer.

Go on treat yourself. I know you want to.

From the article
Manufacturers are getting ready to send their latest models down the runway, and we have a sneak preview for you of the season's hottest gear

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Hamster On A Plane

Hard on the heals of Snakes on a Plane comes Hamster on a Plane. Except this wasn’t a movie. An Austrian Airlines flight had to make an unscheduled stop because some stupid passenger took an hamster on board which escaped.

What was the person? I hope they had paid for an extra seat.

From the article
The flight from Palma de Mallorca, Spain, to the southern Austrian city of Graz made a stop in Innsbruck so officials could search for the hamster and make sure it didn't gnaw through any wiring, the airline said.


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Yahoo Mail is going Open Source

This is a sign of the times. Even the big companies are now starting to embrace the open source idea. I believe this is a good move by Yahoo and we should see some good innovation come from it.

From the article
Officials of the world's largest Internet media company said on Friday it planned to give away the underlying code to Yahoo Mail, one of the crown jewels of its business, in a bid to encourage software developers to build new applications based on e-mail.

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