Firefox Creator No Longer Trusts Google

I sense a slight falling out between Google and Firefox of late. Could be just me but it's just a feeling I have.

From the article
Google is now displaying “tips” that point searchers to Google Calendar, Blogger and Picasa for any search phrase that includes “calendar” (e.g. Yahoo calendar), “blog” and “photo sharing,” respectively. This is clearly bad for competitors, and it’s also a bad sign for Google. But I generally support anything that benefits users, including monopolistic packaging. I believe, for instance, that shipping Internet Explorer with Windows was a good move. So why are tips bad for users?

First, two notes. One, Yahoo and Ask already do this, but they didn’t build their businesses on the promise of being unconventionally trustworthy. And two, Google has been doing similar things for awhile. Search The Holiday and you’ll get a special box pointing to reviews of and tickets for the movie. The difference is that this is still a filter on the Web; the reviews link to their sources and the tickets link to Fandango. Google may share the Fandango revenue and certainly shuts out competitors, but as a user, I get better service than I would without the box.

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5 Predictions for Apple in 2007

Apple is hot at the moment. I see 2007 as a continuation of the momentum they have had in 2006. Apple will continue to gain market share.

From the article
2006 is coming to a close, and all anyone can think about (in regards to Apple, at least) is the upcoming Apple Phone…but what happens next? What are we going to be salivating over and speculating about after Macworld? What changes are in store for Apple in 2007? No one knows for sure…but it sure is fun to take a guess…

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Top 10 Blogger Babes of 2006

Bloggers get better looking every year. I would have had Amber Mac on this list but then that's just my opinion.

From the article
Since it's the day after Christmas and all, we GizBloggers are pretty much staring into space, and so instead of ogling at each other, we turn outward, to the utmost in feminine beauty in bloggerdom. Here they are, the Top 10 beautiful bloggers of 2006. We start with former Rocketboomer Amanda Congdon, pictured above, who's actually a video blogger (vlogger?) who made the jump from the blogghetto to the big-time ABC network this year.

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A MySpace for Moms

Just what moms need. A place to hang out, gossip and generally chat about whatever it is that moms chat about. I think this site is a good idea and I can see it doing well.

From the article
The Social Networking Awards turned up scores of new startups we’d never seen before. Among them, CafeMom - a new social network for moms.

Despite being late to the game, CafeMom is an impressive platform that allows you to create a profile, add a photo or choose from pre-made avatars, customize your profile’s color scheme and background, send messages and build a network of friends. You can also create sub-profiles for your kids, list your interests, upload and share photos, write a journal and list your interests (this is similar to tagging, since clicking an interest searches for other users who share that interest). All these sections have advanced privacy controls, meaning you can share them with everyone, only your friends or keep them private. Meanwhile, the journals and photo section both include tagging and YouTube-style filtering - you can find the most viewed, most popular and most recent blog entries and images. And speaking of YouTube, the journal feature also allows you to embed YouTube clips and browse posts with embedded videos.

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Tacking on uses to Google Earth

Google earth has certainly proven to be a success. The fact that scientists and the likes are using it just shows what a powerful offering Google Earth is.

From the article
For most of the 100 million people who have downloaded Google Earth, the biggest draw is the chance to look at 3-D satellite images of their homes, neighborhoods and favorite landmarks.

Next up: Google Earth views of hazards that could threaten those homes, from earthquake faults to landslides, tsunami zones and areas that can liquefy in a quake, all superimposed on the same detailed satellite images.

Some of these features are available now; others are under development at places such as the U.S. Geological Survey, which has been a leader in adopting the virtual globe technology.

``A real trick has been how to communicate that data to the public in an interesting and effective way,'' said J. Luke Blair, a geologist with the survey's Menlo Park office. ``You can essentially make your own map -- see where you live in the context of the geology of the Bay Area.''

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iPod inspires the 'iPad'

So the iPod is now influencing architecture. It will be interesting to see just what the finished building is like.

From the article
The "iPad." It brings to mind the home of an urban hipster/tech geek whose plasma TV, DVR, laptop, et al--along with the lighting scheme in his loft--can all be controlled by a single click wheel.

If only it were so.

So, what is the "iPad"? Think big. No, bigger. The "iPad," inspired by Apple's ubiquitous media player, is a skyscraper. Or rather, a building project in Dubai, according to a report in Wednesday's Guardian.

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People swapping PS3s for Wiis?

This must be of some concern to Sony. It does appear that the Wii is certainly the flavour of the month.

From the article
An online report is suggesting that some PS3 owners are trying to trade their PS3s with Nintendo Wiis. Interesting stuff!

A report at GigaGamez investigates the new phenomenon of PS3 owners trying to trade their Sony games consoles for Nintendo Wiis. The report writer looked up cragslist.com and did indeed find a number of attempts at the trade, something that is a little unusual because there were many more Wiis available to purchase than PS3s, and new stocks of Wiis are on the way.

Apparently, the price of PS3s have also been dropping on eBay, leading the report writer to conclude that perhaps some PS3 owners who managed to purchase more than one PS3 are trying to do a relatively fair swap for a Wii - some are asking for a Wii plus extra cash, others just want to do the swap.

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Travelers' Tech Takes Off for Holidays

With the number of gadgets around these days traveling (particularly long distance) is a lot more enjoyable than it used to be.

From the article
Flight attendants delivering the preflight safety lecture are having a harder time than usual finding attentive ears this holiday season, thanks to the proliferation of passengers using active noise canceling headphones, with microphones that electronically filter out unwanted sounds.

Between baggage check-in lines a mile long, overhead compartments overstuffed with gifts, and bumper to bumper traffic, the hassles of commuting during the holidays is enough to turn anyone into a Grinch. But for tech-savvy travelers this season, rest and relaxation may commence the moment the bags are packed and the train leaves the station.

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ZCubes: Browser in a Browser

This is rather cool. Anyone tried this site?

From the article
ZCubes, probably one of the net’s first good browser in a browser websites. Why would you need one? Well, aside from being a great portal/homepage (much more useful and customizable than the Google Homepage). Needing no complicated plugins whatsoever, ZCubes is a great portal application that lets you do anything and everything you ever dreamed you could do on a PC, all within the comfort of a single, online page.

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Google Wishlist for 2007

What do you want to see from Google in 2007? How about a nice search page that would be nice.

From the article
Google did a lot of great things in 2006. Think about it: in December 2005, we didn't have Google Calendar, Google Docs & Spreadsheets, chat in Gmail, Google Notebook, Google Trends, Google Earth for Mac and Linux, Google Checkout.

What would I like to see from Google in 2007?

- A better Gmail that lets you preview messages, search and manage attachments.

- A real Google Address Book with shared profiles that works in all Google services and it's easier to manage than the current Gmail Contacts.

- A way to search the content created using Google services (Gmail messages, calendars, Blogger posts, comments, Google Notebook, Google Groups).

- A central place for all the files uploaded to Google.

- Video conferences, call to phone numbers, spell-checker, interoperability with Skype, AIM, plugins in Google Talk.

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Google Going South

If this is true then Google are certainly spreading themselves around. It seems they are needing more and more premises to house there growing empire.

From the article
Google has possible expansion plans near the South Carolina coast. The company confirmed they were considering the Goose Creek area in Berkley County, which is around 20 miles from Charleston.

Google would not give details about the expansion but company spokesman Barry Schnitt said," We are expanding our technology infrastructure to support the strong and growing demand for our services. As a result, we are evaluating a number of sites, including Goose Creek. We hope to have additional details to announce in the coming months."

Last week a new company called Maguro Enterprises paid close to $17 million for 520 acres in Berkley County according to property records. Some of the documents from the sale were notarized in Santa Clara County, California. Google headquarters are also located there.

Schnitt would not comment on what Maguro purchased or the location. All parties involved have remained secretive about the deal. In October Berkley County approved tax incentives for development, which were called "Project X" and "Project Y".

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A Technical Guide to Anonymous Blogging

Interesting article for those who wish to hide their identity.

From the article
The Risks of Blogging

Sarah works in a government office as an accountant. She becomes aware that her boss, the deputy minister, is stealing large amounts of money from the government. She wants to let the world know that a crime is taking place but is worried about losing her job. If she reports the matter to the minister, she might get fired. She calls a reporter at the local newspaper, but he says he can't run a story without lots of additional information and documents to support her claims.

So Sarah decides to start a blog share her story with the rest of the world. To protect herself, she wants to make sure no one can find out who she is based on her blog posts. She needs to blog anonymously.

There are two main ways a blogger can get caught when he or she is trying to blog anonymously. One is if she reveals her identity through the content she publishes. For instance, if Sarah writes, "I'm the Assistant Chief Compliance Accountant to the Deputy Minister of Mines," there's a good chance that someone reading her blog is going to figure out who she is pretty quickly. (EFF's "How to Blog Safely" guide offers some great advice on how to avoid revealing your identity through the content of your blog.)

The other way Sarah can get caught is if someone can determine her identity from information provided by his or her Web browsers or email programs. Every computer connected to the Internet has — or shares — an address called an IP address, which consists of a series of four numbers from zero to 255 separated by dots (for example, 213.24.124.38). When Sarah uses her Web browser to make a comment on the minister's blog, the IP address she was using is included on her post.

With a little work, the Minister's computer technicians may be able to trace Sarah's identity from this IP address. If Sarah is using a computer in her home, dialing into an Internet Service Provider (ISP), the ISP likely has records of which IP address was assigned to which telephone number at a specific time. In some countries, the minister might need a subpoena to obtain these records; in others (especially ones where the ISP is owned by the government!), the ISP might give out this information very easily, and Sarah might find herself in hot water.

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Happy holidays for hackers?

I’m sure Microsoft and others are on red alert this year. Off course hackers may have already planted bugs that will attack over the Christmas/New Year period.

From the article
There wasn't a lot of holiday cheer for Microsoft Corp.'s Security Response Center late last year.

Just a few days after Christmas, criminals had found a new way to attack. By taking advantage of an unpatched bug in the way Internet Explorer processed an obscure graphics format, called WMF (Windows Metafile), they were able to install unauthorized software on PCs.

Soon reports started coming into Microsoft of malicious Web sites that were taking advantage of this bug to spread adware and spyware.

"Within 15 minutes, we were all on the phone and people were coming in and discussing it through the holidays," said Mark Griesi, senior program manager with Microsoft.

"People were literally here 24 hours a day," he said. "I really hand it to those guys. They came in and worked through the holidays ... It's a side of Microsoft that folks don't see."

A week later, Microsoft took the unusual step of issuing an emergency patch for the WMF problem. Still, critics said that the software giant had waited too long, given the scope of the attack.

So will there be another WMF-style outbreak next week?

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Mozilla Patches 10 Firefox Bugs

Good news for us Firefox fans. Shame they haven’t fixed the password-spilling one yet. I would have thought that would be considered a “critical” one. Oh well Firefox is still the best browser out there.

From the article
Mozilla patched 10 Firefox vulnerabilities late Tuesday, seven of them marked "critical," but left a password-spilling bug unresolved.

Firefox 2.0.0.1, the first update since the October debut of Firefox 2.0, fixes 10 flaws while 1.5.0.9 patches nine. Both Firefox 1.5.x and 2.x will alert their users that an update is ready to install, but impatient users can download the fixes from the Mozilla Web site.

According to the security advisories posted by Mozilla, the updates quash bugs in the layout and JavaScript engines, Firefox's implementation of SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics) comment objects, and LiveConnect, the bridge code that allows Java applets and Web-based JavaScript to communicate. Some of the vulnerabilities were also present in Mozilla's ThunderBird e-mail client and the SeaMonkey suite, which have been updated to 1.5.0.9 and 1.0.7, respectively.

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Robots Could Demand Legal Rights

Sounds pretty far fetched but then computers were once considered far fetched. Can anyone see this becoming a reality. It’s still a long way off in my opinion.

From the article
Robots could one day demand the same citizen's rights as humans, according to a study by the British government.
If granted, countries would be obliged to provide social benefits including housing and even "robo-healthcare", the report says.

The predictions are contained in nearly 250 papers that look ahead at developments over the next 50 years.

Other papers, or "scans", examine the future of space flight and methods to dramatically lengthen life spans.

"We're not in the business of predicting the future, but we do need to explore the broadest range of different possibilities to help ensure government is prepared in the long-term and considers issues across the spectrum in its planning," said Sir David King, the government's chief scientific adviser.

"The scans are aimed at stimulating debate and critical discussion to enhance government's short and long term policy and strategy."

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Change Would Do Yahoo! Good

The best comment in this article is “Yahoo! has effectively become the Microsoft of internet giants”. It would definitely seem that way. 2007 is shaping as a very important year for Yahoo to get things right.

From the article
In this last post in a series on browser-based calendars, we’re stepping out of the quaint rivers where items like Kiko and CollectiveX reside, and going back to the ocean of big-name players with the visit to Yahoo!’s scheduler. We started at Google Calendar, no doubt the king of the genre, and I thought it’d be appropriate to delve into what is perhaps its toughest competition - in numbers, that is.

While I take the first genuinely good look at Yahoo! Calendar, I’m struck by how much I like it. I migrated entirely from Yahoo! Mail to Gmail many seasons ago on the sole basis that its options menu better fit my tastes; free POP access stole me. I’ll state for the record that I continue to abhor Yahoo! Mail and its now historic UI. Even the beta is a sad, slow excuse for a replacement.

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YouTube Tries To Make New Friends in Japan

This news comes as no surprise. In fact I’m surprised there hasn’t been these warnings in multiple languages on the site prior to this.

From the article
YouTube, one of the world's most popular Web sites, has been busy taking steps to stave off possible copyright-infringement lawsuits. This week, the video-sharing portal has bowed to requests by authorities in Japan to post warnings about copyright laws -- in Japanese.

The Japan Society for Rights of Authors, Composers and Publishers -- or JASRAC -- noted that YouTube has responded to requests to implement changes aimed at preventing uploads that might infringe on copyright.

According to various news reports, the organization, which said it received complaints about YouTube from Japanese TV stations, entertainment companies, and other copyright holders, insisted in a letter to YouTube that measures be taken to stop the illegal distribution of their members' materials. YouTube reportedly responded, agreeing to post a notice in Japanese on its Web site to warn users not to upload copyrighted content.

In October, YouTube, which was acquired earlier this year by Google for some $1.76 billion, deleted nearly 30,000 files after receiving complaints from JASRAC of copyright infringement.

Rapid Growth

YouTube has grown dramatically over the last couple of years by providing users the ability to post and share videos with a worldwide audience, and has become one of the most-visited sites on the Internet.

However, of the millions of videos watched daily on YouTube -- approximately 60 percent of all videos watched online -- an estimated 90 percent violate copyright laws, according to analysts.

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Are upload speeds choking Web 2.0?

Short answer to this is yes. With the amount of content that people now upload and in particular video it’s time these speeds improved. Image Web 2.0 with upload speeds as quick as download.

From the article
While uploading a slew of pictures to a photo-printing site last week, I was reminded that the "A" in ADSL stands for "Asymmetric." The upload took twenty minutes—suddenly, I was back in my parents' house, downloading Wolfenstein 3D over a 2400 baud connection that was destined to fail when my mother lifted the upstairs phone from its cradle to make a call. Today's Net users don't like to wait, and they're not used to doing so, but as users increasingly become content creators, they may be forced to learn patience.

That's because few broadband connections in the US are symmetric; uploading and downloading occur at different speeds. AT&T's DSL, for instance, offers up to 1.5Mbps for $19.99 a month, but that only comes with 384Kbps of upload speed. Even superfast connections like Comcast's 8Mbps links are still stuck in the 768Kbps tar pits when it comes to upload speeds. It's a minor inconvenience to some, but a big deal to others, like 21-year old Jay Glatfelter of Raleigh, NC.

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12 Unwritten Rules of Cell Phone Etiquette

Some great rules here. I wish more people followed them and I include myself in that group. I am certainly guilty of not following some of these. How about you?

From the article
There are some hard, cold truths to the way we use our cell phones, but they’ve become commonplace to the point of forming an accepted, unwritten code. We all screen calls we should otherwise answer. We all reply to missed calls with texts. We pray to reach voicemail on calls we have to (but don’t want to) make. When we call someone and they don’t answer, and we know they looked at their phone and made a decision to ignore our call, we’re okay with that, because we likely, at some point in the day, did the same thing to someone else.

SIDE NOTE: I’ll say it straight out so there’s no confusion later: The greatest and most exploited feature of the cell phone is that no one really knows where you are and what you’re doing, and therein lies the basis for nearly all of the rules of cell phone etiquette.

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i-City: A City of the Future

This is amazing. I’m moving there. Is this a sign of things to come?

From the article
A cyber-city is in the making near Shah Alam, and it will offer amenties such as city-wide broadband, advanced security, "smart" parking lots, and "apps-on-tap" for businesses. It will also feature sci-fi-like technologies such as laser light shows and images on buildings

Images projected on buildings, sensory activated state-of-the-art lighting along the walkways, and ubiquitous Internet access... This is not Vegas; it is set happen in the Klang Valley in 2008.

This futuristic real estate project which covers over 72 acres is called i-City and is essentially the city for the digital age, a 21st century monument to the WiMAX generation.

Located along the Federal Highway in Shah Alam, the entire development is connected via high-speed broadband, both wired and wireless.

RM40mil will be spent on ICT (information and communications technology) infrastructure that will ultimately make the whole 72 acres a wireless hotspot.

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Google Tells Us How To Link

This is very interesting. I don’t think Google should be encouraging plagiarism.

From the article
When you are the number one company on the internet, I guess you can tell “who and what” and “when” you can do it. There is now a standard that came out from Google.

Basically if you are trying to enhance your page rank (who isn’t trying to do that?), you are screwed. My question is - if you can’t link to enhance your page rank, then guess what?

You guessed it. Rampant stealing and plagiarism. I think it’s great that Google has now helped the non-writing people (such as myself) basically copy and paste and claim it as my own. If Google says it, it must be the truth and the gospel of the internet. I guess you have to earn every piece of traffic you have come to your site now?

Technically Speaking, for those that didn’t learn from Napster - let me repeat the phrase for you — “You can’t shut pandora’s box after you have already opened it!” Google, you might all be billionaires, but go innovate or buy something new such as your “new” iPhone. Gee, how original is that!?!?!

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Why Good Hosting is Important

Response time is indeed a critical component of having any site hosted. Those that are slow will lose peoples interest very quick. Choose your host wisely.

From the article
Google knows an awful lot about the web, and one of the things the Googlebot tracks is the response time of your pages. If you know where to look, Google will also gladly divulge their data on your site via the Webmaster console, hidden away in the 'Crawl stats' section of the diagnostic tab.

Click on the 'Time spent downloading a page (in milliseconds)', and the goodies wil finally be revealed - a graph showing historical response time data on your site. If you're so inclined, you can also find out just how busy the Googlebot has been with your site.

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YouTube’s Chad and Steve

If you want to know more about Chad and Steve of YouTube fame then this is a great article from Time. These guys struck the deal of the century (well 2006) anyway when they sold YouTube to Google.

From the article
Let's say you're in your 20s and you start your first Internet company. Let's say 21 months later you sell it for $1.65 billion. What happens next?

At first, not much. Some of the money is tied up in escrow, and the traditions of modesty in Silicon Valley require a period of restraint before you spend in the big, life-changing way that your wealth will permit.

Still, the world wants to talk to you. Japanese television, Argentine newspapers, a bunch of French journalists and what seems like every news outlet in the U.S. Friends you haven't heard from in a long time send e-mails. Hey, how's it going? Long time no see! BTW I have this great business idea...

And so even though you've just left a photo shoot with an imperious, name-dropping L.A. photographer and ride to the airport in a jet-black Escalade, when you arrive at LAX, you have to stand in the United Economy line because you're still flying coach. Having removed your shoes to get through security—an indignity you'll never again endure if one day you spend an inconsequential few million on a jet—you walk past a newsstand to see your company on the cover of Wired and GQ.

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Growth and decay of social networks

This is an interesting article with some valid points. I think it’s a shame that the online world has meant that people are now socialising less with people in the “real” world. I think this is a problem that needs attention. Somehow we need to find a good way to balance our online lives with real life.

From the article
The growth of online computer-mediated social networks and the shrinking of real-world social networks nearly coincide in time. Both are examples of social networks, but nevertheless they are quite independent. We can easily connect online with our real-life friends, but the opposite direction—exporting an online friendship into the real-life friendship—is much harder. “Americans’ circle of confidants has shrunk dramatically in the past two decades and the number of people who say they have no one with whom to discuss important matters has more than doubled, according to a new study by sociologists at The University of Arizona and Duke University” (source).

An interesting question is whether online services are causing decay of real-life social networks or just filling the emptiness caused by extinction of their real-life counterparts due to other reasons. I tend to think in terms of the latter.

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The Trouble with Google Toolbar for Firefox

I'm surprised to hear this. I thought Google and Firefox were pretty tight therefore I didn't expect to hear of any problems. There "fix" to the problem is not ideal.

From the article
Google Toolbar 3 for Firefox has been recently launched, so I was curious to try the new version.

I couldn't open any bookmark. They were listed, but clicking on any bookmak didn't have any effect. The only option that worked was "open in new tab".

I enabled the Docs & Spreadsheets integration, but when I clicked on a doc/xls file, I got a message that said: "Firefox is already running but is not responding. To open a new window, you must first close the existing Firefox process, or restart your system." I tried restarting Firefox and the PC, but still nothing.

I reported the bugs to Google and here is the answer (partially edited):

Thank you for your note. We're sorry you're still having trouble using the Docs and Spreadsheets feature of Google Toolbar for Firefox. Many of our users report this. Please try the steps below:

1. Uninstall the Toolbar. 2. Open Firefox's "Tools" menu and then select "Add-ons." 3. Disable all the extensions in your "Add-ons" screen. 4. Restart your browser, then reinstall the Toolbar from http://toolbar.google.com. 5. If you're able to use the Docs and Spreadsheets feature, please enable your extensions, one by one, until you find the conflicting add-on. Please let us know which add-on caused the conflict.

Please let us know whether this resolves the problem.

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PayPerPost Does Something Right

This is a good move. I believe in as much honesty and transparency in blogging and media in general. This small change will goes a small way to providing some of that.

From the article
PayPerPost, a marketplace for advertisers to pay bloggers to write about their products, will make a significant policy change on Monday: Bloggers will now be required to disclose that they are being paid for their posts. This looks to be at least partially due to recent moves by the FTC to force word-of-mouth advertisers to disclose any financial incentives to promote products: “FTC” is mentioned five times in the press release that will be issued on Monday (a copy of the press release is below).

This isn’t a perfect fix for PayPerPost - advertisers can still require a positive post about their products, and the disclosure does not have to be within the post itself. The blogger can choose to “prominently” display an accurate disclosure policy on the site in lieu of disclosure within the post itself, although the disclosure policy being recommended by PayPerPost states that paid posts is the same as any advertising on a site. Still, it is a big move in the right direction.

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15 Things Apple Should Change in Mac OS X

It's not often your hear critisicm about Mac's OS. While the writer agrees it is better than Windows they do have some good suggestions to make it even better.

From the article
In many ways, it's easy to slam Windows XP and Vista: Just start counting security flaws or user experience nightmares. When you're the Goliath of the operating system world, everyone wants to hurl stones. But what about the proverbial David, or in this case Apple Computer Inc.'s Mac OS X? Looking for flaws in Apple's OS seems like picking on the little guy -- until you remember that Apple is doing very well these days and has made much of its vaunted UI and seemingly secure OS underpinnings.

Even though it's been out for more than 18 months now, Mac OS X 10.4, or Tiger, is a noticeably better operating system than XP or Vista. But it's not perfect. OS X has its own quirks and flaws, little irritants made all the more irritating by the fact that they come out of Cupertino, which should know better. There are some things about the way it works that aren't as flexible, usable or convenient as Windows.

Since we highlighted 20 Things You Won't Like About Windows Vista, it's only fair to take a look at the little things in Tiger that users find equally annoying. With perhaps one or two exceptions, our list isn't about making Apple's OS work like Windows. It's about making the Mac all it can be.

There are probably a lot of features and functions that Apple could -- and probably will -- add to OS X. But we're not pointing out missing features; we're focusing on 15 of the little things already in OS X that need refinement or rethinking based on our everyday use of Macs.

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Microsoft and AOL Release Top Searches of 2006

The AOL list is an interesting one. I wonder what the numbers are like. ie How many searches are done using AOL?

From the article
Microsoft released the top searches in 2006 on MSN Search and Live.com. Unlike Yahoo, whose list included mostly pop singers, the top search query on MSN/Live.com was "Ronaldinho". "Harry Potter" is at number 5, while Rebelde, a Mexican TV series, is at number 9. The top 10 gainers from last year starts with 3 football players: Bebo, Kaká and Zidane.

AOL, that uses Google for web search, also released the top searches. From what I've seen, AOL is the most honest, as it's the only search engine that has a top like this:

1. weather 2. dictionary 3. dogs 4. American Idol 5. maps 6. cars 7. gamers 8. tattoo 9. horoscopes 10. lyrics

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DRM-Free Music Sells, Major Labels Keep Pretending The Jury Is Still Out

Will we one day see the death of DRM and go the unprotected song root as eMusic has done? From a consumer point of view I sure hope so.

From the article
The idea that DRM-free music might just make good business sense smolders along, as eMusic is announcing they've managed to sell 100 million unprotected songs without the world coming to an end. As part of the promotion, the customer who purchased the milestone track will have a song written about him by the Barenaked Ladies, who'll include the song on as a bonus track for their upcoming album. The record labels have consistently claimed you can't be successful selling music that isn't copy-protected -- but eMusic's second place showing (behind iTunes) shows that's clearly not the case. They continue to sell more music than Rhapsody, Napster and MSN Music combined, all while catering to indie music fans by avoiding major label content. 2006 saw a growth in smaller content providers arguing that DRM-free content can be part of a sustainable business model, but there's still a shortage of major industry players acknowledging DRM's limitations.

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19 Ways To Make Social Sites Pay

They forgot to mention Newsvine. If you are looking for some extra cash then some of these services are good if you spend the time developing good and popular content.

From the article
With the top YouTube users becoming paid shills for Coke, and the top Diggers being accused of taking ‘cash for Diggs‘, it seems that the users of social sites are looking to be rewarded for their efforts. In fact, there are already plenty of services that will pay you for your participation. Here are nineteen of the best, plus a few bonuses.

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Defend Your Macbook with iSight

Cool. This is certainly a new and interesting take on security. I wonder if organisations will implement this type of thing on their macs?

From the article
If you’re the owner of Macbook, then I suggest you take a look at this authsight program that works in conjunction with iSightCapture. The concept is simple. Every time there is a failed login on your system, the iSight takes a snapshot of the person who punched in the erroneous info. And you can set it to automatically upload the images to an FTP so you can track the person on the Internets.

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Google Rankings Suck? Sue Whoever's Above You!

This is crazy! You can’t sue Google just because you don’t rank as high as you would like. If anyone succeeded with a lawsuit like this then everyone would be suing if they weren’t as high as they would like. Come on people lets get real. Make a quality site, get lots of people to link to it, adhere to the generally accepted techniques for search engine optimisation and you should get a decent ranking.

From the article
We've seen plenty of stories over the past few years from people who don't understand how Google works deciding to sue the company over poor rankings, somehow believing that they have a legal right to high rankings. The courts have made it pretty clear that these lawsuits are a waste of time as Google is free to rank sites however it wants. However, the idea of suing over piss poor rankings seems to be spreading to other people as well. Last month we had the story of a company suing the search engine optimizer they had used four years ago after their rankings on certain terms dropped (long after he worked for them). The latest story may be even more bizarre. It started over the weekend with a blog post that got plenty of attention concerning a representative of a (nameless) company complaining to a blogger that his blog ranked higher than their company site on a certain term related to their business. They even asked the blogger to request that Google remove his blog from their rankings. The guy (understandably) told them this was ridiculous.

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Google Open-Sources AJAX Toolkit

This is good news for developers. Great to see another big name fully embracing open source. Watch for some neat developments in the future as a result of this.

From the article
Google Inc has open-sourced its tool set for building Web applications, the Google Web Toolkit.

According to a notice issued by Chris Ulbrich, a spokesperson for Mountain View, Calif.-based Google, the company has open-sourced the GWT 1.3 release candidate. Previous versions of the GWT were only partly open-sourced, Ulbrich said.

In a Dec. 12 blog post, Bruce Johnson, technical lead for GWT at Google, said, "Today is quite a milestone for Google Web Toolkit: with the GWT 1.3 Release Candidate, our team is very happy to announce that all of GWT is open source under the Apache 2.0 license."

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How the 'MySpace fugitive' was caught

Some good work done here by the various agencies. The guy was a bit stupid using the same library at around the same times. Just goes to show that you can be tracked anywhere.

From the article
Darren Bates' capture last week as he was updating his MySpace page at the Philadelphia main library has been widely reported. But exactly how were U.S. Marshals able to capture the man wanted in Georgia and Massachusetts?

Bates, 35, was arrested Thursday morning at the main branch of the Philadelphia public library. He had been on the run since escaping from the Hancock County Jail in Georgia in June while being held on charges of auto theft. Bates is also a suspect in the beating of an 88-year-old Georgia woman in her home. And he was also wanted on sexual assault charges in New Bedford, Mass.

"We received information from officers in Massachusetts that he (Bates) had a continuing pattern of going to the library at a certain time to log in to his MySpace page," said John Patrignani, supervisory deputy of the U.S. Marshals Service Violent Crimes Fugitive Task Force.

Patrignani said his team was given that leading information from Deputy U.S. Marshal Robert Charette, who was tracking Bates.

"We were able to work in conjunction with MySpace to determine that he was utilizing a city of Philadelphia computer to log into his MySpace account. After gathering that info, I was able to work with the city of Philadelphia to determine what library branch computer he was using," said Charette.

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Google Base Has New Interface

Just in time for Christmas. Who out there use Google Base? I tried it once and didn’t like it.

From the article
Google doesn't like to do small things. When I saw the new interface for searching Google Base, it seemed to be the perfect answer for a Computer World story that said: "Google to boost product search in time for holiday season".

Google Base Blog announces today that the new interface is available for any kinds of data. You can check for yourself by going to Google Base and clicking on any category from the page. If you use the search box, you'll see the old interface - this feels weird.

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MySpace Passes Yahoo in Page Views

These numbers are a little unreliable but what must be of concern to Yahoo is the 5 percent decrease in average minutes spent per day by user. That is quite significant. As for MySpace, so much for a reported decline and people abandoning the site.

From the article
Yahoo’s page views were down 9 percent month-over-month in November, allowing MySpace owner Fox Interactive Media to take the overall lead in that category for the first time, according to comScore data highlighted in an emailed note today from UBS Investment Research.

UBS, while noting the unreliability of comScore data, cites Yahoo’s waning that use of Ajax may decrease its page views, making measurement of unique visitors and user engagement more important factors. Last month, Yahoo saw a negligible change in unique visitors, and a 5 percent decrease in average minutes spent per day per user.

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Up Up And Away For Apple

This is a huge deal for Apple and will only further cement the iPods place as the number one music and video device. Now we don’t have to worry about our iPods dying, especially on long haul flights.

From the article
Apple has announced that it has struck deals with Air France, Continental, Delta, Emirates, KLM and United to provide seamless integration for iPod on flights. Starting in early 2007, iPod owners will be able to plug their devices into seat adapters that will charge their players and play video on the seat displays. So that the next time you fly, you might be subjected to your single-serving-friend’s peculiar movie tastes.

This is an significant development for Apple and a heavy blow against Microsoft and it’s Zune. If Redmond is truly serious about making the Zune a contender it’s going to have to quickly develop relationships with other airlines (like Southwest) as well as develop an adapter that’ll let Zune users play their devices on iPod-planes.

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Microsoft makes a Basic mistake with Office 2007

Gees Microsoft, are you trying to kill the company? Apple & the mac are growing in popularity, so ignoring them is a huge mistake. It's these sorts of decisions that are why there is an increasing number of people who dislike Microsoft.

From the article
Microsoft Office isn’t among the apps that will run natively on Intel-based Macs—and it won’t be until the latter half of 2007, according to media reports. But when it does ship, Office will apparently be missing a feature so vital to cross-platform compatibility that I believe it will be the beginning of the end for the Mac version of the productivity suite.

Here’s the background. Back in August, Microsoft’s Mac Business Unit updated Mac users on the status of its development efforts for the next version of Office. According to the software giant, things were going well, and we learned that there will be free XML converters for current Office users to read the new Office for Windows’ file formats. (However, we’ve since learned that there will be a three to four month gap between the release of Office for Windows and the availability of the Mac converters. Those could be a few painful months to be a Mac Office user in a Windows environment.) The MacBU also noted that tens of millions of lines of code had been successfully transitioned to Xcode. Amidst all the good news, however, was this little lump of coal, as we reported it then:

Microsoft also indicates that it is discontinuing support of Visual Basic (VB) scripting in the next version of Office for Mac, but on the flip side, the company said it’s going to increase support for standard Mac scripting methods like AppleScript and Automator.

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Takkle Relaunches For the YouTube Crowd

Another site embraces the video age. I like these more niche type of social networks. They can provide for a better experience and it's easier to find like minded people.

From the article
Takkle is one my favorite social networks for sport, having appeared on the radar back in August following its $1.12 million Series A funding round from Greycroft Partners (this was finally announced at the end of November).

When Sid reviewed it, Takkle was your clichéd “MySpace for High School Sports”, but today they announced a relaunch that takes a little inspiration from YouTube and other video sharing sites: they’ve released a complete redesign that replaces the green design with blue and puts video on almost every page. The focus is on media sharing, contests and connecting with professional athletes like JJ Redick, Tracy McGrady, Freddy Adu and Mikey Powell. It’s a big improvement that’s probably indicative of where all social networks are headed: video provides some of the most compelling content for mainstream users, and the MySpace clones will no doubt add it soon. Heck, even MySpace themselves have littered the front page with links to MySpace Video. Unfortunately, Takkle has gone offline tonight, so a full review is off the cards.

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TV Networks Reportedly Discussing YouTube Rival

I think these companies would be better off embracing YouTube and working with Google on deals that are beneficially to all. Given YouTube's popularity then surely it's better to be on that site than try and build a competitor.

From the article
News Corp.'s Fox, Viacom, CBS and NBC Universal are in talks about creating a video Web site to compete with Google's YouTube, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday.

While a deal is still far off, the four media companies envision a jointly owned site that would be the primary Web source for videos from their television networks, the paper said in an online report on Wsj.com, citing people close to the situation.

The companies aim to cash in on the fast-growing market of Web video advertising and have also discussed building a Web video player that could play clips, the Journal said.

In less than two years, YouTube has grown from a Silicon Valley start-up to the most popular online video-sharing site that boasts more than 100 million daily views. It was acquired by Google in November for $1.65 billion in stock.

Many videos on YouTube are homemade clips uploaded by users but some of the most popular content is pirated TV shows. Some media companies have threatened to sue YouTube for copyright infringement while others, including CBS and General Electric's NBC, have struck licensing deals with the site.

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Zeedex – Customize Your Search

Another search engine for everyone to try. Like the idea of "helpful" lists showing relevant stuff relating to the search term you have entered and that the lists are based on users input.

From the article
You may be wondering what Zeedex can do for you. Well, for a start, Zeedex provides you lists to help narrow your search. When you find a term you’re interested in, click on it and that term will be put into the search box. For instance, let’s say you are searching for “Piano”. Zeedex might return a list of famous piano players, piano manufacturers, or songs with great piano solos. Looking at the Piano Players list, you click the box next to “Jane Campion”. That term is now added to your search box, and when you search again, you will see results for Pianos and Jane Campion.

Thinking where do the lists come from? Basically, they come from You! Everyone can contribute to the lists, wikipedia-style, to help make them better. After you have created an account, you are free to add into or edit any list on the website, or create your own.

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Google Offers PayPal Competitor At No Charge

The Google v’s PayPal battle is heating up. Will free be enough to entice more people to Google’s payment service? Guess we will know this time next year. I wonder if Google’s payment service hasn’t been the success they had hoped for and this is there last role of the dice to try and make it big.

From the article
Google is offering its online payment service at no charge to merchants through next year, apparently sending a message to rival PayPal that you can't beat free.
The promotion replaces Google's previous offer of processing for free $10 of Google Checkout sales for every $1 merchants spend on text ads distributed by the Mountain View, Calif., search engine. The new deal, which runs through Dec. 31, 2007, makes the service free to all merchants, whether or not they spend money on Google ads.

While marketed as a holiday promotion, the latest offer is seen as having less to do with Christmas and more to do with grabbing customers from PayPal. The eBay company has its own promotion, offering merchants free placement on its shopping site if they use links to PayPal Express Checkout. PayPal offers shoppers promotions, such as discounts and free shipping, to lure them to the site.

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Advice To Yahoo: First, Avoid Bad Advice

In times of crisis it’s amazing how much advice you get from all sorts of people. While some of it may be good advice plenty of it will be rubbish. Yahoo need to find the good advice and act on it.

From the article
Everybody knows that Yahoo is under a lot of pressure right now, and a lot of people in the media are playing the "what should Yahoo do now?" game. A lot talk has focused on management changes, some of which were announced earlier this week. Perhaps the most wild suggestion comes from Jupiter Media's Alan Meckler, who thinks the company should buy out Dow Jones (via Tech Trader Daily), the parent company of the Wall Street Journal. The way Meckler sees it, Yahoo already has a strong position in online finance, so it should consolidate its lead and put a focus on that. We hate to recap the recent history of the internet business for Meckler, but for some time it's been clear that trying to buy up all the good content doesn't work as well as positioning yourself as a place to find content elsewhere. Companies should make acquisitions if they think they can get a really good deal, or if they think the acquired company could really help transform the acquirer for the better (what some used to call synergies, before that become a bad word).

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Famous P2P user fined in France

While I don’t condone illegal downloads the problem has been caused by the content producers themselves. When are they going to get it that it’s there excessive pricing, DRM and general disregard for the consumer that is fuelling the growth in P2P. Fix the problem that is causing people to do this in the first place, don’t go after those who are downloading.

From the article
In the US, peer-to-peer file-swappers have had two choices when it comes to dealing with RIAA prosecutions: cough up a few thousand dollars to make the problem go away, or claim that IP numbers don't prove a thing and have your case dismissed. But what happens in, say, France? 29-year-old Anne-Sophie Lainnemé just found out.

Lainnemé was one of 50 consumers charged with copyright infringement back in 2004 for illicitly downloading hundreds of files using P2P networks. Instead of facing her trial quietly, Lainnemé became a poster girl for the P2P generation, appearing in magazines and newspapers to defend her actions.

She was still doing so at her trial in October of this year, according to France 2. Lainnemé told reporters, "I downloaded albums to discover new artists and to buy their albums or to go see them in concert," adding that she had no intention of causing harm.

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Amazon Invests in Wikia

This move by Amazon makes sense (mostly). Maybe they can link there sporting goods in with ArmchairGM?

From the article
Wikia said today it took a second round of funding provided entirely by Amazon (amount undisclosed). It also acquired online sports community ArmchairGM in a deal worth $2 million.

Wikia, founded by Wikipedia’s Jimmy Wales and led by Gil Penchina (formerly of eBay), provides a place for wikis on things that aren’t appropriate for an encyclopedia — most often fan pages for things like a team, product, or TV show. It had raised $4 million earlier this year. Developing product-oriented content makes a lot of sense for Amazon. The sports stuff? Not so much.

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Hawkee Becomes MySpace For Geeks

Another social networking site. I like the sound of this one. It’s a bit different to some of the others out there.

From the article
Traditionally, Hawkee has been a place for the developer community to share code, which is somewhat of a social network. As of today, however, the site is officially a bona fide social network.

Just in time for the holidays, Hawkee’s new focus is social networking for electronics shopping. Users can compare prices, opinions, and reviews on various electronics. Products are tagged and users can filter through a tag cloud to find what they want. They can also filter the tags to find the reviews written by people within their social network.

Scott Aikin, the founder of Hawkee, said he tried to make sure that he had all of the “basic social networking” features. So you can create a profile with a picture, leave comments for your friends, send private messages, etc. But you can also read your friend’s recommendations, snippets, and scripts, almost like their own personal blog. You can also search the electronics that they have tagged in their wishlists when it comes to gift giving time.

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Apple Eyeing Video Game Market

Wow first the rumored iPhone now a rumored Apple Gaming Console. What next? I wonder what form an Apple Gaming Console would take.

From the article
A recent series of checks by Prudential analyst Jesse Tortora indicate that Apple Computer has hired video game designers and may have aspirations of entering the video game market in long-term.

"We think the video game market represents a distinct possibility for Apple, especially considering that it recently announced the availability of video games for its iPod through its iTunes store," the analyst told clients in a research note on Monday.

Tortora said Apple's design superiority, along with its well-recognized brand name, is sure to provide the company an advantage should it decide to enter the market. He said the company could approach the video game sector in one of two ways -- via a home game console or a handheld device.

"The game console device could be morphed out of some combination of the MacMini and iTV, while the handheld player could be developed as an enhancement to a future version of the widescreen iPod," the analyst explained.

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Will Google Buy Plaxo?

Google already have their own successful email service. Still as this article indicates, Plaxo could be picked up quite cheaply.

From the article
If you use email (and who does not?), then there is a high chance that you have already received a few emails from Plaxo. With Plaxo, you can actually organize and manage your address book in an easier way. And an additional bonus is that you receive notification email whenever any of your contacts change their contact details.

It offers 2 different plans for you to choose from. If you’re convenient with the basic features, then, just go ahead with the free option. And if you think the unlimited option is what suits you better (with over 1,000 contacts and other attractive features), you can first try it for free for 30 days and only then you’ll need to pay under $50 for one year of use.

Plaxo has recently announced that their user database increased drastically during the last 6 months. And perhaps this is due to their marketing effort with America Online to integrate its contact management service with its AOL and AOL Instant Messenger products. This really turned out to be a success.

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The Chilling Effects Of A No Linking To Infringing Content Rule

I feel that it’s a little harsh to pick on the person who is linking to the content. Copyright laws are constantly being tested in the internet age.

From the article
Last Friday, we wrote about Fox's decision to send a cease-and-desist letter to a site that linked to (but did not host) videos of various TV shows. It was, basically, an aggregator of TV shows -- which could be quite useful if you wanted to see old episodes or catch up on an episode you missed. The question at hand, though, was whether or not this was a violation of copyrights. Simply linking to copyright infringement is not, by itself, against the law -- though, there do appear to be some situations where courts view it otherwise (see the 2600 case decision for example). In this case, it's possible that, based on the Supreme Court's decision last year in the Grokster case, this site could be seen as "inducing" infringement -- since all it does is aggregate and point to content that most likely infringes copyright. Even if you disagree with that concept, it's certainly how the case could be stronger than some suspect.

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Yahoo Shunned By TechCrunch

What is going on at Yahoo? The company seems directionless and is making some stupid decisions. These are serious times for the once mighty Yahoo.

From the article
Yahoo! is losing its way, claim many top names in the land of Web 2.0 according to Michael Arrington, from widely acclaimed blog, TechCrunch. The claim came after Yahoo! TV relaunched, just the other day. I reported on it for Profy and many people (inlcuding an angry commenter on Profy) had things to say about the new revamped service, which weren’t all smiles! The former head of Yahoo Entertainment, Mr Erick Schwartz even put his foot into the fray, writing on the Yahoo Yodel blog, also suggesting that the company had lost its way.

Even Yahoo! employees were dragged into the fray, responding to comments, complaints and general ranting. Sal Taylor Kydd was perhaps most active in communicating with the “bashers” (as TechCrunch puts them), after dealing with a handful of complaints and then going on to give a full blown status report on what changes were being made, and doing a general job of keeping the flamers under control.

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Yahoo Pushing IE 7 on FireFox Users

The browser war is alive and kicking. What did Microsoft pay Yahoo for this kind of promotion?

From the article
It appears that Yahoo is pushing downloads of the new IE 7 from Microsoft and including itself as the default search engine installed in the file menu area.

This is clearly a co-op deal page setup by Yahoo. I believe the setup file for IE 7 is actually hosted on Yahoo servers as well. This is closest thing I have seen to a graphics banner ad in a SERPs page - and is clearly targeted towards FireFox users. While not having a large impact on the results or being that obtrusive of an ad it definitely pulls into question the alliances between the search engines and the browser wars going on. Google is still packaging FireFox with its free Google Pack offering that also includes the Google toolbar.

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Who needs Adsense?

There is a growing number of Adsense competitors. Will any of them become big enough to knock Adsense of its perch as number one?

From the article
Adgridwork is a newly launched service that allows you to incorporate text ads onto your website, and advertise online for free. It’s a glorified link exchange of sorts, becoming the middle man for link swapping that has become key to start-ups and self-published websites in underground and mainstream web culture.

Your success in using adgridwork is synonymous with the site’s success, given the symbiotic nature of a link exchange system. So they’ve become rather eager in their efforts to quickly publicize their recent launch, and hope to gain members to utilize their service. With the simplicity of account set-up, site additions, and ad tracking tools, their usability is attractive, as are their anti-Google antics.

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Vista-Ready PCs On The Way

So just how much demand is there going to be going to be for Vista Ready PCs? From what I've read about Vista it certainly won't have me rushing to get one in the near future.

From the article
The launch of the Vista Enterprise, Business and Ultimate versions will jump-start the PC sales cycle for computer makers and resellers, Advani said, adding that the availability of Lenovo's Vista system with TVT gives channel partners additional opportunities to add value to Vista systems.

"There are definitely channel opportunities," Advani said. "Vista is going to drive a big PC refresh."

HP announced Thursday that all of its business PCs, notebooks and workstations are now available in Vista Premium-Ready configurations, and the company plans to provide business customers with free or low-cost Vista and Office 2007 upgrades.

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Apple files for patent on Zirconia iPhone

Is the iPhone still a rumour, a dream or a reality?

From the Article
In August, Apple filed for a patent that would protect the use of zirconia as a casing material for a number of wireless handhelds, including a certain still-unannounced-but-geez-where-is-it product: the iPhone.

Apparently, zirconia is a good material for any small device that needs to transmit radio frequency signals--like cell phones--in that it is strong enough to protect the internal components but wireless signals can still easily pass through, according to Apple's patent filing, disclosed Thursday by the U.S. Patent and Trademark office and spotted by numerous Apple watchers.

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Broadband Over Powerlines

Do we want Broadband over Power lines? Shouldn’t totally wireless broadband for everyone be the ultimate aim?

From the article
We've been hearing about the supposed wonders of "broadband over powerlines" (BPL) for many, many years. There were some reports in the mid-nineties about the technology, where it was made pretty clear that powerlines really couldn't handle BPL at any serious scale, but that hasn't stopped plenty of companies from trying over the years -- nearly all of which have received tons of hype from the press and the FCC (who desperately wants another offering to hit the market, so they can claim that there's real competition in broadband). Back in 1999, for example, we wrote about a company that claimed it was ready to offer exobit speeds over powerlines. Where are they now? Wish we knew, as most of us are surfing at megabits or kilobits. 2001 was supposed to be a big year for BPL too. That didn't happen. 2003 saw the story pop up again. In 2004, FCC chair Michael Powell declared it "the great broadband hope," when "great broadband joke" was much more accurate. Various hyped up trials were being shut down as failures. And on, and on and on again.

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