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Brightcove 3 (Leaked ScreenShots)Brightcove, the Web video distribution platform used by media companies including Dow Jones, Warner Music, and the New York Times, is getting a massive makeover. Most people won’t see it, but its customers will. A new version of the Web-based software that they use to upload, manage, and distribute their videos is rolling out soon. It will be called Brightcove 3. We received the leaked screenshots below, and paired them with the corresponding current sections of the Web software. As far as we know, they’ve never been seen before. Judging by the screenshots, Brightcove 3 is much more visual, intuitive, and offers Web video publishers a ton more options than before. Click on each screenshot for a larger image. Here is the new start page (top) versus the current dashboard (bottom):
Brightcove lets customers customize their video players. Here is the new video player styling editor (top) versus the current one (bottom):
Here is the new title editor (top) versus the current one (bottom). Notice how the ability to add tags and pick video stills and thumbnails is put right up front:
The advertising options are also being expanded. Brightcove 3 (top) looks like it will have options for different ad policies and ad types (pre-roll, mid-roll, post-roll) per player. Currently (bottom), users can pick “advertising” or “no advertising”:
And, I think this might be new, Brightcove 3 will create “multiple renditions” of each video in different standards (VP6 and H.264) and different bit rates (360, 512, 900, and 1,500 kbps), depending, presumably, on the viewer’s bandwidth and software:
Crunch Network: CrunchBoard because it’s time for you to find a new Job2.0 Source: TechCrunch | 12 Oct 2008 | 1:10 pm The Rise of the (Financial) MachinesBartlebyScrivener writes "A New York Times Op-Ed quoting Freeman and George Dyson wonders if Wall Street geeks and 'quants' outsmarted themselves with computer algorithms to create the current financial debacle: 'Somehow the genius quants — the best and brightest geeks Wall Street firms could buy — fed $1 trillion in subprime mortgage debt into their supercomputers, added some derivatives, massaged the arrangements with computer algorithms and — poof! — created $62 trillion in imaginary wealth. It's not much of a stretch to imagine that all of that imaginary wealth is locked up somewhere inside the computers, and that we humans, led by the silverback males of the financial world, Ben Bernanke and Henry Paulson, are frantically beseeching the monolith for answers.'" The quoted essay from George Dyson is available at Edge.Read more of this story at Slashdot. Source: Slashdot | 12 Oct 2008 | 12:32 pm FCC Report Supports Use of White Spaces For Wireless - Slashdot
Source: Google News - Sci/Tech | 12 Oct 2008 | 11:34 am FCC Report Supports Use of White Spaces For WirelessAfter the FCC's tests mentioned early last month, andy1307 submits word of the FCC's report (released Friday), writing that "the major telcos disagree with the FCC's report that concluded that using white spaces to provide free wireless internet 'would not cause major interference with other services. ... The FCC concluded that sufficient technical protections would prevent major problems.' FCC chairman Kevin Martin's proposal is to auction off the spectrum, with some rules attached. 'Some of the spectrum would be used for free Internet service, which would have content filters to block material considered inappropriate for children.'"Read more of this story at Slashdot. Source: Slashdot | 12 Oct 2008 | 11:31 am American space tourist blasts off in Soyuz rocket - The Associated Press
Source: Google News - Sci/Tech | 12 Oct 2008 | 11:11 am Gary Bogue: Poisoning Ground Squirrels -- is It Right?By Gary Bogue It definitely feels like fall. Dear Gary: I moved to beautiful Dana Hills, in Clayton, 15 years ago, in order to be next to open space at the base of our majestic Mount Diablo.Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 12 Oct 2008 | 11:00 am DLO offers TransDock Direct for iPods (Macworld.com)Macworld.com - Digital Lifestyle Outfitters (DLO) on Friday announced it's shipping the TransDock Direct, a new dock and charging system for the iPod. It costs $59.99.Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 12 Oct 2008 | 10:30 am 83 Pieces of Eco-Friendly Home Decor - For Spreading Stimulus Package Green (CLUSTER)(TrendHunter.com) With another stimulus package reportedly up for discussion in the House of Representatives, its time to think about how youll spread some of that green around; our hope is that you...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNBlogTech | 12 Oct 2008 | 9:34 am Slingbox iPhone: Feedback from Apple phone owners - Product Reviews
Source: Google News - Sci/Tech | 12 Oct 2008 | 9:22 am 3D Printing On DemandIddo Genuth writes "The Netherlands based company Shapeways is beta testing a new service allowing people to print three-dimensional models. Customers can upload designs or use a creation tool hosted at the Shapeways website, then order a printed model of their designs for less than $3 per square centimeter. The printed items are shipped to the customer in ten days or less, bringing 3D printing to consumers and not just companies large enough to afford their own printers."Read more of this story at Slashdot. Source: Slashdot | 12 Oct 2008 | 9:00 am MashLogic: Take Back The Web (By Getting Awesome Links)
They say (and they’re not alone) that the web today is driven by page view economics and search engine optimization goals, which leads publishers to link to themselves too often. The result is a less than optimal web experience. There are Greasemonkey scripts that strip out these inefficient links, and various services like Adaptive Blue are adding browsing and link options for users via a plugin. Another startup, Sphere, acquired by AOL earlier this year, is a pop up window triggered by users that shows other content they might be interested in based on an index of the current page. It worked, well enough to get them acquired at least. MashLogic is a more direct approach. Users must download a Firefox plugin to use it, but there’s no toolbar. Instead, you simply change the settings to tell it what kind of information you’d like to have included on web pages. Links to Wikipedia is an easy one. But it also has company links to LinkedIn to show you people there you might know. And a currency converter. Etc. It’s like a frickin Swiss Army Knife for hyperlinks.
One setting I like - the ability to remove all links on a page, and then only MashLogic links appear. For a lot of sites, the user experience is vastly superior. You can also create blacklists of domains that won’t show up in links on the page, even if the original publisher put them there.
Their goal is to save you from having to go back to the search engine to find the next thing you’re intersted in but isn’t linked on the site. So far in my testing, they’ve nailed it. Instead of linking Bessemer Venture Partners in the first paragraph to Crunchbase or their website, I left it blank. The result was a great MashLogic Link bringing in Crunchbase information and other information relevant to Bessemer. If a user doesn’t like that info, they can just make a few changes and go right to Wikipedia, or a search engine, or wherever. And if you mouse over a link to a sound or movie file, it will play the file right in the popup.
We have 500 beta installs available now, here. Once they’re gone, you’ve got to find someone who’ll be willing to hand one over. Lucky for all of us we have InviteShare to bring givers and takers together. MashLogic should be up and running there by morning.
The easy money will be by adding links to ecommerce items, leading to affiliate fees from splits. But the service will also be a central hub of data and linking activities, which can be monetized in different ways as well. MashLogic is also encouraging distribution to users from publishers. Yeah, you heard that right. The idea is that if everyone is going to be using this, you’ll do better by getting it to users first, pre-stocked with your sites as resources. Those users can change all of those settings, but many won’t. And your passionate readers will find themselves flying back to your content, no matter where on the web they’ve wandered off to. Once enough users find that they love this product, licensing it directly to the browsers may makes sense. And then the revenue opportunities sort of hop into the pot themselves. I’m putting this on my must-have list of Firefox addons. Crunch Network: MobileCrunch Mobile Gadgets and Applications, Delivered Daily. Source: TechCrunch | 12 Oct 2008 | 8:46 am MashLogic: Take Back The Web (By Getting Awesome Links)Bessemer Venture Partners is launching an incubated startup called MashLogic into private beta today, with the audacious promise of helping people "take back the web." They say (and they're not alone)...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNBlogTech | 12 Oct 2008 | 8:46 am India's unmanned lunar mission ready for launchIndia is making final preparations for its first mission to the moon, officials said over the weekend. Lunar spacecraft Chandrayaan-1 will be launched on October 22 by a...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsTech | 12 Oct 2008 | 8:20 am Cityhood for Rowland Heights Nears RealityBy Bethania Palma Markus ROWLAND HEIGHTS - Residents of this unincorporated community of about 50,000, fed up with development and traffic problems, have been pushing for years to turn their once rural paradise into a city.Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 12 Oct 2008 | 8:00 am Rain Bird Crowns Winners of the 2008 Intelligent Use of Water Film CompetitionRain Bird, the leading manufacturer and provider of irrigation products and services, tonight announced the winners of the 2008 Intelligent Use of Water(TM) Film Competition (http://www.iuowfilm.com), an environmentally focused film competition that gave both amateur and experienced filmmakers the opportunity to showcase their talents and use the power of film to bring about a greater awareness of the need for responsible water use.Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 12 Oct 2008 | 8:00 am Sewage Seeps into Colorado LagoonBy Pamela Hale-Burns A sewage spill caused the closure of Colorado Lagoon on Saturday morning. City Health Officer Dr.Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 12 Oct 2008 | 8:00 am Fire Gear Contract Suspended After SuitBy Nathan McIntire A $30 million plan to provide standardized breathing equipment for every fire department in Los Angeles County has been suspended after a lawsuit alleged the contract process was mishandled and firefighters complained about the quality of the equipment.Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 12 Oct 2008 | 8:00 am Call of the WildBy Johnson, Lisa Marie I've recently found myself musing on why, in this age of luxury linens and 24-hour room service, an increasing number of lifestyle initiatives are so keen to reacquaint us with our wild side.Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 12 Oct 2008 | 8:00 am Sunday's Letters to the EditorUnclogging sewer lines A letter was published Tuesday ("Expensive Trees") regarding the need for homeowners to pay for lateral line sewer repairs under public parkways and streets.Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 12 Oct 2008 | 8:00 am Credit Where It's DueBy Spencer, Charles This is a time for making the most of small mercies. One of the greatest of these, as the financial system collapses around us, is the splendid joke that is Robert Peston of the BBC.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 12 Oct 2008 | 8:00 am NEC Computers Returns to GITEX in DubaiNEC Computers, a subsidiary of NEC Corporation, has announced that it will be returning to the Gitex Technology week scheduled to be held between 19th and the 23rd October at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 12 Oct 2008 | 8:00 am Carwash to Raise Scholarship FundsALHAMBRA - The Unity and Peace Sammantha Salas Scholarship Fund will hold a fundraising carwash from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Oct. 26 at Alhambra American Legion Post 139, 24 N. Stoneman Ave. Carwash tickets will be $5. Proceeds go toward scholarships for local students.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 12 Oct 2008 | 8:00 am Take a Gander..And Cash Too ; Pounds 10 Tee-EmailBy Edited by Katie Stirling WHILE she's playing Mother Goose to three goslings, the real mum is stealing banknotes from her purse. Thanks to Jim Paterson, of Perth, who sent the the photo to win my tenner.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 12 Oct 2008 | 8:00 am Battle to Axe Hookers' Sex Adverts on the NetANTI-VICE campaigners have urged Ministers to close a loophole allowing hookers to advertise on the web. Labour Justice spokeswoman Pauline McNeill revealed there is now a boom in prostitutes offering sex for sale online because new laws failed to include the internet.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 12 Oct 2008 | 8:00 am Larry Wilson: There's Only One Discussion TopicFRIDAY afternoon at the studios of 55 KPAS, Pasadena's government cable TV station, we were going over what we should talk about prior to taping a show with guest Rep. Adam Schiff, the city's congressman.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 12 Oct 2008 | 8:00 am SUNDAY SESSION: Done OverBy Andy Bollen THE pounds 500billion bail out talks this week were done over an Indian takeaway. Wonder if they gave a big tip? (c) 2008 Sunday Mail; Glasgow (UK). Provided by ProQuest LLC.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 12 Oct 2008 | 8:00 am SUNDAY SESSION: CHRIS TarrantBy Andy Bollen CHRIS Tarrant is to host another new prime-time quiz show called the Colour of Money on ITV1. Well, with his divorce proceedings kicking in, it was either a new show or phone a friend.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 12 Oct 2008 | 8:00 am 'Sample the Sciences' at the University of RedlandsREDLANDS - University of Redlands Town & Gown and the university's Science Center students and faculty invite the community to "Sample the Sciences" Oct. 16.Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 12 Oct 2008 | 8:00 am Digression: Mount Whitney, Age and AMSInteresting new research paper in one of my favorite journals (Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise). Two things caught my eye. First, that the likelihood of developing acute mountain sickness...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNBlogTech | 12 Oct 2008 | 7:51 am US video game guru heads for space as tourist (AFP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 12 Oct 2008 | 7:39 am Paul Wilmott: The Death of HamletI missed this 9/17 NY Times column by quant finance svengali Paul Wilmott. Nicely timed and delivered market call: Ive taken to comparing the current situation to Hamlet. Weve had the deaths of Polonius,...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNBlogTech | 12 Oct 2008 | 7:21 am American space tourist blasts off in Soyuz rocketTwo Americans and a Russian are on their way to the international space station. A Russian rocket with a Soyuz capsule carrying American computer game millionaire Richard Garriott has...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsTech | 12 Oct 2008 | 7:11 am Saturday Night at the MoviesApropos of nothing in particular, this movie snippet has been running through my head all week. It just felt right, like it explained something or another that had been troubling me. General Jack...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNBlogTech | 12 Oct 2008 | 7:09 am Quote du Jour: Banks (& Bankers) Should Be Boring"We do what we understand, and no one understood those [subprime loans]," [Burke & Herbert Bank president] Burke explained. "We look dull and plodding." "Because...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNBlogTech | 12 Oct 2008 | 6:39 am Goldman vs. Morgan: The CEO Townhall DebateMy friend Keith at Research Edge has been on a roll of late, and he is irked at Goldman. The reason? Its shelf registration of "indeterminate amount" that GS dropped on the market after...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNBlogTech | 12 Oct 2008 | 6:31 am Rumor: iPhone heading to Wal-Mart
According to an anonymous source, Apple's iPhone will soon be sold at Wal-Mart. Boy Genius Report's insider says that sales will begin on November 15. The truth or falsity of this claim will be a nice litmus test of either (a) how far retailers will go to accommodate Apple, or (b) how far Apple will go to conquer the world. Wal-Mart typically demands heavy compromises from its suppliers, including control over distribution and packaging. For Apple to agree to this would go far beyond demonstrating that it never wanted to be a "cult," or that it has no interest in maintaining an elitist image: it would mean the hot breath of The Other America on the back of Steve Jobs' neck. More likely is that Wal-Mart has simply agreed to take iPhones the way Apple sends them, as Best Buy does, (and remember, Best Buy had to retrain staff and sell at close to cost, hoping to profit on accessories), or that the rumor is bogus. iPhone 3G may be coming to a Walmart near you [BGR] Source: Boing Boing Gadgets | 12 Oct 2008 | 6:25 am A Robot To Destroy Breast Cancer CellsRoland Piquepaille writes "Researchers at the University of Maryland are developing a robot able to detect and destroy breast cancer cells in a single session. After a tumor is located on an MRI, the robot will perform a biopsy of the breast while the patient is inside the scanner. 'If the biopsy displays cancerous cells, the robot will then insert a probe into the breast until it reaches the tumor. The probe will then burn the cancer cells until they are destroyed.' This looks great, but the researchers have only built a prototype. After they refine this robot, they'll need to go through clinical trials and obtain FDA approval. So this is not a robot that will appear on the medical market before several years."Read more of this story at Slashdot. Source: Slashdot | 12 Oct 2008 | 6:03 am 47 Ways to Prepare for Hurricane Norbert (CLUSTER)(TrendHunter.com) In the wake of news that Hurricane Norbert is getting ready to hit the Pacific Coast, its time for left coasters to batten down the hatches. If weve learned anything from Hurricane...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNBlogTech | 12 Oct 2008 | 5:31 am Apple switching to NVIDIA chipset for sure - like we told you
I’m happy to hear that such an interesting change is definitely coming over what will likely be my next laptop — let’s just hope we don’t have an epidemic of cracked solder. Source: CrunchGear | 12 Oct 2008 | 5:21 am Mesmerising Lesson of How Now Echoes Then ; America is Seen As a Land of Plenty. A Country of Opportunity Where Optimism Counts for a Lot. But, As Simon Schama's Intelligent New Series Shows, History is in Serious Danger of Repeating Itself As the CountdoAmerica is seen as a land of plenty. A country of opportunity where optimism counts for a lot. But, as Simon Schama's intelligent new series shows, history is in serious danger of repeating itself as the countdown to a crucial presidential election begins.Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 12 Oct 2008 | 5:00 am Artists' Colourful Journey Through Inspiring County ; The Stunning County of Devon Has Many Changing Faces, From the Shifting Shades of the Seasons Across Dartmoor to the Ebbing Tides of the Shorelines.The stunning county of Devon has many changing faces, from the shifting shades of the seasons across Dartmoor to the ebbing tides of the shorelines.Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 12 Oct 2008 | 5:00 am Child Porn Man Was Hate Figure ; A Devonport Dockyard Electrician Was Taunted and Spat at By Colleagues and Neighbours After Being Caught Downloading Child Pornography From the Internet, a Court Has Heard.By GRAHAM BROACH Herald Reporter A devonport Dockyard electrician was taunted and spat at by colleagues and neighbours after being caught downloading child pornography from the internet, a court has heard.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 12 Oct 2008 | 5:00 am The Ruins (Cert 18)Paramount Home Entertainment DVD Pounds17.99Diligent medical student Jeff (Jonathan Tucker) and his girlfriend Amy (Jena Malone) soak up the sun on a well-earned break with Amy's best friend Stacy (Laura Ramsey) and her slacker boyfriend Eric (Shawn Ashmore).Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 12 Oct 2008 | 5:00 am 60 Yacht and Boating Innovations (CLUSTER)(TrendHunter.com) Luxury yachts are a must-have when you reach the level of the super wealthy. When the rich want to travel the seas, there are plenty of lavish floating homes to choose from. Wally,...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNBlogTech | 12 Oct 2008 | 4:59 am Earphones Made of Braided Hair - Limi Feu S/S 09 Hairphones (GALLERY)(TrendHunter.com) Weve featured a few freaky innovations made of hair, but human hair headphones are certainly a first for Trend Hunter. Instead of a traditional black strap and ear covers, these...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNBlogTech | 12 Oct 2008 | 4:39 am Booming global demand for security products prompts Global Sources to launch new China Sourcing Fair: Security Products in Hong KongSecurity Products Pavilion at China Sourcing Fair: Electronics & Components to expand into new show at AsiaWorld-Expo Oct. 12-15, 2009 HONG KONG, Oct. 12...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsTech | 12 Oct 2008 | 4:30 am Biggest-ever China Sourcing Fair: Electronics & Components hosts Private Buyer Meetings for Carlsberg, IBM, Intelbras, Halfords UK, Lexmark, Li & Fung, Lowe's, Philips, RCG, Samsung Corporation,...Global Sources Electronics & Components Fair set to run Oct. 12-15 at Hong Kong's AsiaWorld-Expo showcases over 2,900 booths of consumer electronics, telecommunications, computer...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsTech | 12 Oct 2008 | 4:30 am Van driver's work in Mass. aided Nobel winners - Boston Globe
Source: Google News - Sci/Tech | 12 Oct 2008 | 4:14 am BlizzCon 2008: Modeling the depths of hell - GameSpot
Source: Google News - Sci/Tech | 12 Oct 2008 | 2:53 am A 3D Curve Sketching System For Tabletsdominique_cimafranca writes "The Dynamic Graphics Project of the University of Toronto has released a pretty nifty 3D curve sketching system. Apart from the large drawing area, the tablet software looks very intuitive to artists. From the site: 'The system coherently integrates existing techniques of sketch-based interaction with a number of novel and enhanced features. Novel contributions of the system include automatic view rotation to improve curve sketchability, an axis widget for sketch surface selection, and implicitly inferred changes between sketching techniques. We also improve on a number of existing ideas such as a virtual sketchbook, simplified 2D and 3D view navigation, multi-stroke NURBS curve creation, and a cohesive gesture vocabulary.'"Read more of this story at Slashdot. Source: Slashdot | 12 Oct 2008 | 2:53 am Financial crisis clouds EU's climate change plansThe financial crisis and slumping economic activity are threatening Europe's ambitious plans to slash greenhouse gas emissions, with governments eager to avoid saddling companies with...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsTech | 12 Oct 2008 | 2:27 am Verizon charging content pushers 3 cents per text message - IntoMobile
Source: Google News - Sci/Tech | 12 Oct 2008 | 1:07 am Profit Maximization V. Survival Maximization
The criticism is coming from people who don’t understand that the world has changed in the last week and that companies need to change with it. And so they’re asking why VCs waited until now to tell everyone to conserve cash. Others are saying the boom is the VCs fault, and for them to lecture companies on conserving cash is ironic. Fred Wilson wrote about this issue today and says VCs have a responsibility to give their best advice to their portfolio companies: “It’s all about acting responsibly and making sure we all survive to fight another day.” But he doesn’t address the issue head on. I will. What we’re talking about is the goal of profit maximization, which is what every for profit business needs to aim for or go out of business. In the good times, that means growing intelligently. In the bad, it means maximizing your chances of survival. Irrational Argument No. 1: The VCs Made This Happen First, the downturn has nothing to do with the venture capitalists (in fact, it has nothing to do with Silicon Valley, this time). They have one job: generate the best return they legally can from their investors’ money. In boom times deals get competitive and VCs make independent decisions on what deals to bid for. Companies also have to pay more for people, resources, office space and advertising in boom times, which means they spend more money and have to raise more money. If you think venture capitalists are being irresponsible (or worse, evil) by investing money in those companies that they think are good bets, you’re just not getting how the whole system works. Let me put it this way - if VCs ignored the economy and always invested super conservatively so that no one could accuse them of being irresponsible, they’d go out of business after their first fund failed to return capital to investors. Irrational Argument No. 2: VCs Should Have Told Companies To Conserve Cash All Along This is another argument that ignores the fact that people try to adapt to a changing world. At all times companies need to profit maximize. That means maximizing revenue and minimizing costs. Those goals are not aligned, however. Sometimes a company spends money on research and development to create future revenue streams. How much they spend is based on their own rational decisions on their financial health, the state of the economy, and their projections for the demand of a new product. In good times, when core businesses are relatively safe, it makes sense to expand by hiring new people and developing new products. Or spending money on advertising and PR. When times are tough, companies have to change strategies. They’re still maximizing profits, but they need to plan for tighter capital markets (really important to unprofitable startups) and harder revenue as advertising and other spending decreases. Just like a bear in the woods (I imagine) has to slow its activity in the Winter as food supplies dwindle, startups need to go into cash conservation mode to increase their chances of survival when the market slows. They need to be prepared for a hit in revenue, and they know they can’t necessarily go to the capital markets to get money to stay in business. But to argue that a company should always cut costs to the bare minimum is the same thing as asking that bear to act like it’s Winter in the Spring, just because someday Winter is definitely going to happen. All you end up with is a dead bear. Crunch Network: CrunchBase the free database of technology companies, people, and investors Source: TechCrunch | 12 Oct 2008 | 12:55 am Open Office Plans To Party Like It's Version 3.0penguin_dance writes "The Register reports that 'OpenOffice.org is throwing a launch party in Paris on 13 October' to celebrate eight years, and hopefully announce the release of version 3.0. Some notes: [OpenOffice.org 3.0] will support the OpenDocument Format 1.2 standard, and be able to open files created by MS Office 2007 and Office 2008 for Mac OS X." As maj_id10t notes, though the OO.o site does not yet carry an announcement, "Lifehacker has posted an entry stating the final release of OpenOffice 3.0 is available for download via their distribution mirrors."Read more of this story at Slashdot. Source: Slashdot | 12 Oct 2008 | 12:11 am IBM invests in business partners' training
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 E Canada Now | Apple dumping Intel chipsets for NVIDIA's in new MacBooks Apple Insider - By Kasper Jade & Aidan Malley Apple will announce as part of its special media event Tuesday a new family of MacBooks that will abandoned Intel's integrated graphics chipsets for those part of NVIDIA's new mobile platform, AppleInsider can confirm. Apple's October 14th MacBook release preview Apple will repair MacBooks that have faulty Nvidia GPUs |
IndieCade is happening right now in Seattle, and if you’re into indie games and/or development, it’d be a really great thing to check out. Unfortunately I can’t make it, but it’s right over there in Bellevue so take a drive to the east side and see what the new generation of gamers has to offer.
And if you’re like me and have to stay home today, at least check out some of the games featured on this week’s Bytejacker. If you don’t know it, Bytejacker is a great gaming video podcast that tracks and reviews downloadable games, from Mega Man 9 to this week’s standout (for me), Armed Generator Doom Machine. Hit it up.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Freedom Not Fear: the Big Picture unveiled on Parliament Square (Thanks, Becky!)
I've just come back from Parliament Square in London, where about 30 of us have spent the morning building a giant picture of Prime Minister Gordon Brown out of photos of CCTV cameras and other surveillance state ephemera. Take a look at some of the photos of the day (http://www.flickr.com/search/?w=all&q=FnFBigPicture&m=tags) - it looks fantastic (and the great weather helped!)Last week, Boing Boing helped us put out a call for people to capture the database state on their cameras.
Today, to celebrate an international day of action for democracy, privacy and free speech, we put those images together into a huge 4m x 6m collage, depicting a very Big-Brother-esque Gordon Brown against a background of barbed wire, handcuffs and double helices. Our message was that although as individuals we only see incremental invasions of our privacy, put together, these creeping changes constitute a wholesale shift towards a society predicated not on freedom, but on fear.
As you can see from the photos of the event, despite the seriousness of our message, we had a lot of fun delivering it to Parliament. Thanks to Christopher Scally for artwork and Tom Ackers for coordinating the collage, and to everyone who contributed photos of surveillance state ephemera, or turned up the day to help us build the "Big Picture".
AFP - Confidential data on 30 million German phone users could be consulted on the Internet as a result of an error until the phone company locked access, a spokesman for Deutsche Telekom said Saturday.
If that headline doesn’t get excited, may as well move on to the next story. Nothing to see here, folks! Except for a bad-ass processor that’s about to drop on November 17. If you’ve been following the Nehalem story, you know that it’s Intel’s microarchitecture “tock” to the 45nm process Penryn “tick.” You may have heard it referred to as “Core i7″ as well.
Basically, it means you’re going to be getting the most out of the silicon starting next month, or more likely early next year, since the ones coming out next month are super high-end, not really for end users like you and me. Still, it’s time to start checking under those cushions for spare nickels, because upgrade time cometh! [via Expreview and ZDNet]
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
The promise of Wi-Max is nothing less than high-speed wireless internet practically anywhere you go. Of course, the reality falls short, as it often does, but it still shows itself a worthy successor to normal 3G and wi-fi. This industrious tester zoomed around Baltimore and tested it out in different areas (70% of the city is covered at the moment), finding that speeds were generally on the order of 3-4Mbps, or about 400KB/s. That’s plenty for me, personally, which is good because technical max of 20Mbps probably isn’t going to happen unless you’re perched on the WiMax tower.
Right now you can really only hit up the WiMax in Baltimore, but Sprint is working on dropping another $5bn into the rollout of a nation-wide network. Deep pockets! Maybe Sprint can help with the national debt.
I simply can’t wrap my head around this. Whatever it is that’s on display here as broken my mind. And apparently there is a whole forum for people who play with multiple accounts at the same time. Oh man, WoW addiction just took on a whole new level for me.
Normally about $80 to $100, Office Max has the IOGEAR Mobile Digital Scribe for $60 until October 18th. The device captures your writing from just about any normal paper surface (up to Letter or A4 size) and then digitizes it to be archived on your computer. You can also hook the Mobile Digital Scribe directly up to your computer and record your handwriting in real time. Seems like a great gadget for note-taking students or anyone who has a “real” job with meetings and whatnot.
[via dealnews]
If someone asked me to help them steal a gigantic cactus, I’d be like, “Have you ever touched a cactus? Those things are really prickly. Find yourself another cohort, kind sir.” But apparently the giant Saguaro cactus, found mostly in Arizona, can sell for over $1,000 which, in turn, has given rise to a pretty active poaching trade.
In order to cut down on such thievery, officials at Arizona’s Saguaro National Park will test the effectiveness of implanting RFID microchips – similar to the ones that people implant in their pets – inside the types of cacti that are getting stolen most often. Park officials will then be able to wave a wand scanner over cacti found in truck beds and even local nurseries to detect whether or not a particular cactus has been stolen.
[via Jaunted]
Here’s a piggy (piggity?) bank of Glenn Quagmire sitting atop a zebra-striped blanet on a black leather couch. I’m not quite sure where you’re supposed to stick the coins (ewwww) but I think I see a little slit on the top of the sofa, so hopefully that’s it.
It’s $40, plus whatever your therapist charges you per hour after the thing finally creeps you out. After a while, it’s gonna seem like those eyes are following you.
Family Guy Quagmire Couch Bank [faboo via Nerd Approved]
Samsung’s impending NC10 netbook is up for pre-order on two US online stores. The price is nice, too, at $480 – that’s less than we originally thought. The first store, PCNation, lists the netbook at $480.56 with free three-day shipping. The item’s status is backordered, saying it usually ships in 1-2 weeks.
The other site, Bottom Line Telecommunications, gives us some more detailed information, saying that it’s got a total of 750 units on order and that the ETA for all 750 is 10/23/2008 – a little under two weeks from now. That’s earlier than we though, too. The site is selling the NC10 for $480.21 with free ground shipping.
[via Engadget]
What it is: Atlas Power Ascender
What it's used for: Rapidly pulling people and their gear up the side of a building or canyon
The prototype of the Power Ascender was not easy to use. The battery-powered, waist-mounted climbing assistant yanked people up a dangling rope at a blistering 10 feet per second — almost 7 mph — fast enough to snap their limbs back. So Atlas, a company run by four mechanical engineers outside Boston, set the maximum speed to a more reasonable 5 feet per second and added a variable- speed trigger like on a power drill. Now customers — such as US military personnel — simply clip the 25-pound device onto a climbing harness, push any nonbraided rope through the top, and let it fly. Inside the gizmo, a network of grippers scurries up the line and ensures that it threads cleanly out the side. The Ascender's 10-kilowatt output can lift up to 350 pounds, which is no easy task. "Having that much power that close to your crotch is a huge engineering challenge," says Atlas' Bryan Schmid, "and frankly a bit risky." Sounds pretty ballsy.
 Washington Post | This week in Apple: New notebooks, new writers, and more Woz Ars Technica - By Jacqui Cheng | Published: October 11, 2008 - 09:30AM CT This week's most-read Apple news was all over the map, but in a good way. Next Week Apple Puts The Spotlight On Notebooks Don't Buy A Mac Laptop* |
We are witnessing either an epic financial meltdown or a long overdue resetting of existing business practices and the hollow markets they create. Or, perhaps we’re experiencing both of these phenomena. Either way, it has the nation gripped with fear, uncertainty, and an unsettling eruption of questionable advice confusing everyone, everywhere.
While the floor is crumbling for many industries much in the same way it did for Silicon Valley during the dotbomb years, the sky isn’t necessarily falling on the startup industry – at least not for those with marketable technology or products, dedicated and capable teams, an executable business plan, and access to the resources necessary to help it reach users and customers.
For those startups that are building and marketing something of value for consumers or businesses, there is much work to do. While there is always a need to attract mainstream users, this isn’t the time to stretch or over-commit resources to hit everyone all at once. Branding is an expensive proposition, one that requires time, capital, diligence, dedicated teams, enthusiastic customers, and patience. As counter intuitive as it may seem, this is exactly the right time to market into the echo chamber to earn the support of influentials who will create significant, concentrated brand visibility and momentum to carry you forward.
Your business can grow with the groundswell and doesn’t necessarily require the instant adoption by the masses in order to succeed in the short term.
Usually, when the economy slides, the first natural reaction is to cut expenses, conserve cash, and hunker-down to weather the storm. All good advice. But don’t forget also that this could be your time to shine, albeit, in a strategic and intelligent way.
Great entrepreneurs build value and market-share in down markets. They go to work seven days a week and the(y) breakout when other folks check out. — Jason Calacanis
Now’s the time to get your head in the game and focus on what it is you do, and go do it better than anyone else. You’re either on the field or you’re on the sidelines.
Any company that intentionally pulls itself from the radar screen of their customers will be absent from customer decisions and referrals. In the process, you create a frictionless opportunity for your competitors to swoop in and fill the void.
There are always customers making decisions, so make sure that you’re part of the equation and process, wherever they go for information and insight.
Influence and adoption historically have migrated from the edge to the center. Or using a more common example, customers and word-of-mouth referrals travel from left to right along a bell curve that starts with Innovators and Early Adopters, peaks with the Early Majority and the Late Majority, and finally permeates with reaction from Laggards.
If you dissect the art and science of technology marketing using a car as a simple metaphor, your product serves as the chassis, your cash as the fuel, Social Media, Interactive/Web, Sales, SEO, and PR as the accelerator, marketing strategy and execution as the gears, RPMs as a market indicator for listening and responding, the speedometer to convey inertia, and you, as founding executive, sitting in the driver’s seat, steering and controlling the entire operation.
Marketing to the echo chamber, believe it or not, is how you get that car rolling, starting everything in first gear. Appealing to those who can help spark word of mouth is how you can accelerate, gain enough speed to shift into second, and subsequent higher gears, and attract new users and evangelists along the way, growing in distance and reach at every turn. It is the echo chamber that can help you efficiently gain velocity in order to progressively reach greater audiences and command additional financing and also revenue in the process. With its support and assistance, it is almost like starting with a colossal push.
You have to start by engaging those who’ll get it, and in turn, share it with their peers. It’s an ongoing process that strengthens with each cycle.
Hopefully you are building your business in a way that is independent of the stock market.
— Kevin Ryan
The world doesn’t flock to new things en masse. It takes a focused and progressive strategy that evolves and matures over time. In a down economy, this is non-negotiable.
Digg and Twitter are among some of the best examples of how alpha users can help promote a company or service by embracing these new solutions and religiously demonstrating why they are pervasive and useful. And, emphatic users also contribute to the community building process, assisting in the translation of the value proposition for different markets as well as enticing and compelling their peers to join them, which offsets and relieves the company from carrying the bulk of the responsibility for promotion and guerilla marketing.
But, where are Digg and Twitter in respect to the adoption cycle? They’re not as far along as you think judging by the buzz and permeation of your social graph. These companies still have oceans to swim until they become household brands. But, that’s OK. They’re building a business, cultivating legions of dedicated user communities, evolving and improving their product, and still conserving cash. Remember, it took brands such as eBay, Youtube, Google, and Amazon hundreds of millions of dollars and armies of enthusiasts and partners to achieve saturation – and many would argue that there’s still much work to be done.
I would bet on any company that earned the support of innovators and early adopters and took the time to listen to feedback in order to iterate based on real world needs, preferences, pains, and new ideas.
Without influence, you’re going to spend precious resources, more than you can afford, convincing people that they should pay attention. Peer-to-peer marketing is priceless and still your best bet for having a shot, and more importantly, making a long-term impact.
But you first need a spark, something to start that avalanche that grows as it races downhill.
The echo chamber is bigger than we think or give it credit for. In fact, think of the echo chamber as its own bell curve. Most of the blogs and users that naturally come to mind, may reside on the left side, leaving a wide array of technology enthusiasts to uncover and pursue.
Innovators and early adopters are global citizens and do not solely reside in Silicon Valley. Figure out who your market is today, tomorrow, next month, and set goals for user acquisition so that you can tweak your product and tailor your messages to those very people, as they’ll uniquely connect to your story, and also share it differently among their peers, as it traverses across the bell curve.
Remember, reporters, bloggers and online tastemakers (aka trendsetters) who spotlight innovation can send tens of thousands of new and loyal users to you almost instantly. I’m not just referring to unique visits of those who sign up, test things out, and then leave to try the next shiny service. When done right, the echo chamber can generate real world interest and support. It is these very users who tell you everything about what works, what doesn’t, and how to improve. These same individuals and networks also augment and complement your marketing efforts by legitimizing you’re products, associating credibility and providing pseudo endorsements, and in turn, giving you unprecedented access to their invaluable and highly connected networks of early adopter friends.
This is the time to focus on user acquisition. This is edgework. Everything starts with an intimate understanding of the markets you’re trying to reach and an even deeper connection to the peers, voices, and other channels that influence them. Most of you are not marketing iPhones, gaming consoles, premium spirits, or new music artists. At the very least, you are redefining how people communicate, collaborate, connect, and ultimately work.
There’s a prevailing necessity to educate your markets and introduce not just new products and services, but also change the daily routines of everyday people.
Therefore the goal to race from zero to 60 and hit mass penetration immediately is not necessarily the primary goal. If we look at business development and communications as a series of strategic stages, we realize that there are focused activities that we must pursue and smaller, reachable voices we must reach and convince to help us carry and adapt our story from stage to stage – each time, addressing the needs and pain points of the individual, respective groups.
Of course, as you learn, internalize feedback, change, adapt, and engage with your markets, the foundation for your business solidifies and begins to afford and beget expansion. It is at this point in time, when you can continue to expand your focus and reach to attract and inspire users residing outside of the echo chamber.
Nothing beats a killer product idea and an impressive, objective, and focused team to carry it forward. Expectations count and will determine how you channel information and progress. Think too big and you’ll miss your target and burn through resources before you can ever earn any significant market traction. Aim too low and the market will pass you by.
In this volatile economic climate, the echo chamber can be your direct connection to success, or at the very least, help to kickstart market adoption of your products. It is a global incubator designed to help you grow, gain momentum, and ultimately propel your business across the bell curve to appeal to and attract a wider, active base of customers.
We live in interesting times and it’s up to us, and only us, to define our future.
(Photo by Wetwebworks).
Crunch Network: CrunchBoard because it’s time for you to find a new Job2.0
When you are suffering from a chronic disease, sometimes the only people who can understand what you are going through are other people with the same condition. But when that condition is rare, it can be difficult to find them. WeAre.Us wants to help. It is a platform of 16 social networks that connect people with chronic illnesses. And it just launched a revamped version (which mainly features an improved user interface). The site entered the crowded health 2.0 market last April, but stands out with its focused internal framework and commitment to supporting the patients who use it.
In contrast to health platforms like DailyStrength or Revolution Health, which serve as a contact point for health-related topics of any kind, WeAre.Us connects people affected by severe illnesses only. In that sense, it is more like PatientsLikeMe. But rather than create an all-encompassing site, WeAre.Us decided to take more of a niche social network approach.
Given that these patients deserve special attention, the company decided to set up separate sites with individual domain names. The subsites, such as WeAreFibro.org (for users suffering from fibromyalgia, a chronic pain disorder) or WeAreCrohns.org (Crohn’s is a gastric disease), run on the same core engine but are independent from each other.
WeAre.Us tries to avoid Ning-like scattering effects by allowing users to create communities only if more more than 1,000 members can be expected. CMO Robert Patterson says another differentiator is the active, individualized support the company provides all WeAre.Us members.
The approach seems to work: While Ning has over 50 Crohn’s-based (mostly inactive) micro social networks, for example, WeAre.Us’ single Crohn’s community boasts over 2,000 members. One weakness is the lack of a cross network ID and profile system (such as that used by Ning). But according to Patterson, demand for such a system is so far almost non-existent.
The site’s 16 social networks are being monetized by a full sponsorship model (one sponsor per site per month) and a lead generation system: WeAre.Us collects anonymized health data from its users and passes it on to pharma companies, which can cut costs on recruiting suitable patients for clinical trials.
WeAre.Us’ strategy of self-controlled sites, vertical focus, unique branding for each interest group, and human-powered user support is paying off so far: The user base, while still small, currently grows 35% month-over-month (expecting to pass the 10,000 member mark this month), with each member spending two hours on the site per visit.
WeAre.Us will also soon officially announce it took the first prize in the premiere VenCorps Community Driven Capital Contest ($50,000 in cash and accolades), which is backed by New York-based private equity firm Spencer Trask. (VenCorps, for those who follow these things, is what emerged from the now-defunct Cambrian House).
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Once you’ve got the tool configured, smart links will start popping up all over the place. Professional Athletes get their playing stats, Politicians get a real time poll of their progress towards the White House. Currencies are *zap* converted. You can even see a map for any street address.
Comment by Jeremy M. Berg, Ph.D., Director
A lot of criticism has been aimed at venture capitalists the last few days. The VCs are telling their portfolio companies to get ahead of the curve and 
Akihabara News has some 
There’s nothing like a bit of luxury when staying at a nice hotel. Be it in-room dining or the staff waiting on your every need, feeling like a king for a day is a matter of taking advantage of the hotel’s services. Unfortunately, the systems in place for requesting such things are years behind, teetering on the edge of archaic. You can stare at the minuscule writing on the phone handset in hopes that dialing the listed numbers won’t throw you into an infinite loop of forwards and “accidental” hang ups or, at some hotels, you can click your way through a sluggish and ancient feeling TV interface. They may as well be using pneumatic tubes.
