Scion PR offers a glimpse into social marketing

Source: Gizmodo | 17 Jan 2009 | 12:10 am

Obama to KEEP his Blackberry

The tech world has been on fire with speculation about if President-elect Obama will be able to keep his beloved Blackberry. According to ABC World News, he will be able to keep it only for personal use. Anything government related will have to be handled on a NSA-approved phone. The smartphone option, the Sectera Edge, is a NSA approved brickphone. (pics after the jump). Anyway, good for Barack. There is nothing like losing your Blackberry.

Crunch Network: CrunchBase the free database of technology companies, people, and investors

Source: MobileCrunch | 17 Jan 2009 | 12:04 am

Obama to KEEP his Blackberry

The tech world has been on fire with speculation about President-elect Obama keeping his beloved Blackberry. According to ABC World News, he will be able to keep it only for personal use. Anything government-related will have to be handled on a NSA-approved phone. The smartphone option, the Sectera Edge, is a NSA approved brickphone. (pics after the jump). Anyway, good for Barack. There is nothing like losing your Blackberry.

Source: CrunchGear | 17 Jan 2009 | 12:00 am

Wisconsin Man Arrested for Threatening to Assassinate President-Elect Obama

JACKSON, Miss., Jan. 16 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Steven Joseph Christopher was arrested by agents of the United States Secret Service today for making threats against...
Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 17 Jan 2009 | 12:00 am

Amazon: Will It Benefit From Circuit City’s Demise? [Voices]

By Eric Savitz, Blogger and Columnist, Barron's, Tech Trader Daily

J.P. Morgan’s Imran Khan theorized in a research note this afternoon that Amazon.com (AMZN) could eventually be a beneficiary of the demise of Circuit City (CC), which earlier today said it would close all of its remaining stores and liquidate.

In the short run, it’s not likely to help, as the inventory from the company’s 567 remaining stores is sold off in a giant going-out-of-business sale that could pressure pricing in the already soft consumer electronics sector. But Khan also estimates that the company did $1.2 billion to $1.4 billion in online sales in its most recent fiscal year; he notes that, according to ComScore (SCOR), CircuitCity.com was the 11th largest Internet retailer by unique users through November. The company will stop operating the site as of Jan. 18, it said today. Khan thinks Amazon could inherit as much as half of Circuit City’s online business.

Read the rest of this post

Source: All Things Digital | 16 Jan 2009 | 11:58 pm

Report Claims 95% of Music Downloads Are Illegal

Un pobre guey writes "The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) press release claims that 95% of music file downloads in 2008, an estimated 40 billion files, were illegal. Oddly enough, digital music sales are up: 'The digital music business internationally saw a sixth year of expansion in 2008, growing by an estimated 25 per cent to US$3.7 billion in trade value. Digital platforms now account for around 20 per cent of recorded music sales, up from 15 per cent in 2007. Recorded music is at the forefront of the online and mobile revolution, generating more revenue in percentage terms through digital platforms than the newspaper (4%), magazine (1%) and film industries (4%) combined... Despite these developments, the music sector is still overshadowed by the huge amount of unlicensed music distributed online. Collating separate studies in 16 countries over a three-year period, IFPI estimates over 40 billion files were illegally file-shared in 2008, giving a piracy rate of around 95 per cent.'"

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Gizmodo | 16 Jan 2009 | 11:50 pm

When the Lights Go Down in Circuit City [Digital Daily]

Source: All Things Digital | 16 Jan 2009 | 11:45 pm

More proof Transformers 2 will be a huge GM ad spot

The original Transformers movie was obnoxiously filled with shiny General Motor’s rides and it seem that theme will continue in the sequel. The latest GM wonderkund, the Chevy Volt, was apparently forced onto the writers at the latest minute ‘ccording to a web chat with the film’s head writer. Who knows how much GM is padding the producers pockets but at least we get to watch our tax dollars in work this coming summer.

Quote:
Originally Posted by llamatron
Sounds like my home made movies.

Looking forward to it, Bob!

Oh and was the Chevy Volt TF kind of shoved into the film by GM and not really in the script? I understand that you might not be able to answer this.

Yes. Had to figure it out last minute.

TFW2005 via Jalopnik

Source: Gizmodo | 16 Jan 2009 | 11:30 pm

News flash: You had better have decent eyesight if you want to fully appreciate HDTV

The Daily Mail (now home to the best sports columnist writing in the English language, Martin Samuel) has a healthy reminder for those of you about to take the plunge into high-definition: be sure to have your vision checked. Vision Express, an optometry chain in the UK, found that 60 percent of Britons haven’t had an eye exam in the past two years—breaking that number down a bit, as much as 79 percent of Scots haven’t seen the ol’ eye doctor in two years. This matters to us because even a slight vision deficiency can prevent you from fully appreciating HDTV in all its glory.

Now, this could well be a plot created by the notorious Eye Council designed to get as many people to read that little letter chart as possible, but it makes sense on some level. Of course, if your vision is horrendous, as mine is, dagnabit, you definitely need glasses or contacts to appreciate the benefits of HDTV. Then again, if your vision is as terrible as mine, you need glasses or contacts to appreciate any kind of television, high-definition or otherwise.

There are other factors here, of course, such as distance from the TV and how large it is, but those are subjects for another day. Quickly, the larger your TV is, the further back you’d have to sit from it to appreciate, say, 1080p versus 720p.

But the overall moral of the story is, make sure you can see properly if you’re gonna spend a bunch of money on a fancy new TV.

Photo: Flickr

Source: CrunchGear | 16 Jan 2009 | 11:20 pm

Microsoft Sued Over Unified Communications Deal

Source: Gizmodo | 16 Jan 2009 | 11:10 pm

QOTD [Digital Daily]

QOTD

Why don’t you guys leave me alone.

Why is this important?”

– Apple CEO Steve Jobs to a Bloomberg reporter

Source: All Things Digital | 16 Jan 2009 | 11:04 pm

Science fiction writer in residence gig open at Toronto's wonderful Merril Collection

The Merril Collection of Science Fiction, Speculation and Fantasy has an opening for a science fiction writer in residence, paying $16,000 for four months' work at 14h/week. The work consists of "public readings, workshops, evaluation of submitted manuscripts, and one-on-one meetings with writers from the general public," with leftover time for your own projects.

My first experience with a real writer was when Judith Merril was the writer in residence at the Merril Collection (then called The Spaced Out Library). Judy read and critiqued my manuscripts and mentored and tutored me, and inspired me to be a writer. The collection is the largest public sf/f reference collection in the world -- you can get lost in the stacks for days.

There's one week left to apply for the position -- this is quite an opportunity!

Eligibility Criteria:

• Canadian citizen or permanent resident of Canada

• Minimum of five novels or short story collections of science fiction, fantasy or horror, published by a professional publishing house

• Active in the writing profession

• Experience in teaching creative writing

• Intend to work on a new project, normally intended for book-length publication

PDF Link

Source: Boing Boing | 16 Jan 2009 | 11:03 pm

Violence in Games, Once Again, Not That Compelling

One of the great arguments of the digital age has been over the effects of video games on aggression — especially if you have ever heard the name Jack Thompson. A recent study suggest the counterpoint once again, that violent video games really don't have that much impact. "The authors performed six studies in total, but they were in broad agreement, so we'll only discuss the more compelling ones here. For the experimental portion, these involved playing an essentially identical game with different degrees of violent content. One group of participants was randomly assigned to play the game House of the Dead 3 on the different extremes of its gore settings, while a second was split between those who played the normal version of Half-Life 2, and a those who played a modified version that turned the adventure into an elaborate game of tag. In both cases, the primary influences on enjoyment were the sense of competence and satisfaction, along with the immersive nature of the game. Generally, females rated immersion as more important, while males went for competence (and consistently rated their own expertise very highly). Violence didn't register when it came to enjoyment, even for those with pre-existing violent tendencies."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 16 Jan 2009 | 11:01 pm

AMD cutting more of their workforce

AMD announced today that they are reducing headcount yet again,  this time by 1,100 people. This equals about 9 percent of their current workforce. While this is the 3rd round of layoffs that the company has had in the last year, it is expected to be the last. Any future reductions should be covered by people leaving on their own, and the expected spinoff of their manufacturing business later in the year.

At least for a change it’s not just the workers who are taking a hit. The CEO and other management and salaried employees are taking major reductions in pay. Hopefully this will be enough that no one else will have to lose their jobs.

Source: Gizmodo | 16 Jan 2009 | 10:50 pm

Jobs: “Why don’t you guys leave me alone - why is this important?”

Bloomberg has published a spectacularly irresponsible piece just now saying that Steve Jobs is “considering a liver transplant.” Their sources are “people who are monitoring his illness,” a nice vague group which includes me and you. Steve did not say he was considering a liver transplant, and neither did Apple, and neither did his doctor. An endocrinologist did say that it was a possibility for people with his (presumed) condition. Steve’s response in a phone interview was “Why don’t you guys leave me alone - why is this important?” Good question.

I’ve stated my position that whether Steve is healthy enough to lead the company or not is shareholder business because he has willingly personified the company. But this story, and certainly many more stories to come shortly, are crossing the line from journalism to vulturism. He may or may not be getting a treatment, and whether he does or not, it may or may not have an effect on his place at Apple. There’s no consequence to this flimsily-sourced “news” other than the further humiliation of a man in a very difficult position.

I’ll be the first to write up any real news on the man, but this kind of morbid hovering is distasteful and, more importantly, useless.

Source: CrunchGear | 16 Jan 2009 | 10:49 pm

Hawaii officially shuts-off analog broadcasts 100%

The great state of Hawaii is the first in the Nation to make the switch exclusively to digital. The change happened at noon Thursday with the state’s 20 stations broadcasting just a PSA on their analog signals stating, ” All full-power Hawaii TV stations are now digital.” So far the conversion has been made with minimal customer outrage. The FCC did setup phone lines for and they have been lit up which is to be expected. But why did the state switch over before the rest of the country on February 17th? The state bird, that’s why.

It seems that the Hawaiian dark-rumped petrel (which I almost killed a bunch of cruising down Mount Haleakala on Maui - seriously) nesting season coincides with the national DTV conversation date. Conservationist types and park rangers wanted the switch to take place before hand so all the required work done on the towers could be completed before the birds come home.

The rest of the country’s broadcasters are probably keeping a watchful eye on Hawaii’s transition though. No matter if the switch happens for us next month or later in the summer, it is coming and hopefully most Americans will be prepared. Hopefully, but probably not.

Source: CrunchGear | 16 Jan 2009 | 10:40 pm

Conficker Worm Attack Getting Worse: Here's How to Protect Yourself (PC World)

PC World - Millions of Windows computers have been infected by a new computer worm dubbed "Conficker." The situation is "not getting better," but rather is "getting worse," according to security software vendor F-Secure.
Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 16 Jan 2009 | 10:35 pm

Senate Republicans block delay in TV transition (AP)

AP - Senate Republicans on Friday blocked a bill that would have delayed next month's nationwide shutdown of analog TV signals until June 12, but Democrats vowed to bring the measure back for a vote next week.
Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 16 Jan 2009 | 10:25 pm

Elevator Pitch Friday: Sqworl (One Link To Rule Them All)

This week’s Elevator Pitch comes from Sqworl. I picked it because it looks like it was filmed in this guy’s college dorm room, yet he manages to get across what his site does succinctly: condense a collection of URLs into one URL. Points off, however, for not mentioning the business model (advertising, obviously).

Sqworl lets you put together a collection of links and share those with one Sqworl link. You can also take notes below each Website thumbnail, which could come in handy when you are researching a purchase and want to keep all of your links in one place (see screenshot below), or simply want to share a collection with others. (Like the one I made of awesome tech blogs). The actual process of adding links is a bit clunky. You have to cut and paste each URL into the site. A browser add-on that lets you bookmark pages as you browse would be better.

But I like the idea of collapsing an entire group of links into a single URL.

Crunch Network: CrunchBoard because it’s time for you to find a new Job2.0

Source: TechCrunch | 16 Jan 2009 | 10:23 pm

Mumbai police wardriving against terrorism

After November’s terrorist attacks in Mumbai, blame was flying thick and fast and some of it landed on Google Maps. That was embarassing, but now the understandably jumpy residents are worrying about a new threat: open wi-fi networks.

When it was revealed that terrorists had hacked a tourist’s computer in order to send an email shortly before the attacks, cybersecurity became a pressing issue. Mumbai police are now cruising around the metropolis looking for unsecured routers and poorly protected connections. The behavior is commonly called wardriving, and usually the idea isn’t to secure the points, but to build a database of them.

Sanjay Mohite, Deputy Commissioner of Mumbai Police, says:

“It’s an awareness campaign, where the police officials will educate the users about security aspect of Wi-Fi networks. And the officer’s team will visit homes, schools, colleges and offices to check unsecured networks.”

Well, any campaign to increase the amount of people protecting their wi-fi is a good thing, but as a police action this really is a red herring, isn’t it? An attack of any sophistication wouldn’t rely on finding an open wi-fi connection.

[via TechDirt]

Source: CrunchGear | 16 Jan 2009 | 10:20 pm

Wireless Internet Access Uses Visible Light, Not Radio Waves

An anonymous reader writes to tell us that a company has demonstrated a new form of wireless communication that uses light instead of radio waves. "Its inventor, St. Cloud resident John Pederson, says visible-light embedded wireless data communication is the next step in the evolution of wireless communications, one that will expand the possibilities in phone and computer use. The connection provides Web access with almost no wiring, better security and with speeds more than eight times faster than cable."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 16 Jan 2009 | 10:09 pm

Mumbai Police Crack Down on the Scourge of Open Networks

After November's terrorist attacks in Mumbai, blame was flying thick and fast and some of it landed on Google Maps. That was embarrassing, but now the understandably jumpy residents are worrying about a new threat: open Wi-Fi networks. When it was revealed that terrorists had hacked a tourist's computer in order to send an email shortly before the attacks, cybersecurity became a pressing issue. Mumbai police are now cruising around the metropolis looking for unsecured routers and poorly protected connections. The behavior is commonly called wardriving, and usually the idea isn't to secure the points, but to build a database of them.

Source: TechCrunch | 16 Jan 2009 | 10:08 pm

The connected book (and how to make soda water)

Ed Note: Boingboing's current guest blogger Steven Johnson is the author of six books, most recently The Invention Of Air: A Story of Science, Faith, Revolution and the Birth Of America, for which he is currently on book tour. He's also the co-founder of the hyperlocal community site outside.in.

One of the major themes of The Invention of Air, and one that will have special appeal to BoingBoing readers, is how committed Joseph Priestley and the American Founders (particularly Franklin and Jefferson) were to the open flow of ideas. Priestley used every available information network of the day to share his discoveries and insights: he published nearly five hundred books and pamphlets over the course of his life, and wrote endless correspondence to his colleagues, documenting in exhaustive detail the techniques behind his experiments.

When you read through those original documents and letters, there's a distinctly open source vibe to the approach that they all took. Franklin argued for sharing his scientific discoveries--sometimes before he was even convinced of their accuracy--because releasing early and often would "attract the attentions of the ingenious" who would then go on to improve his original discoveries. Priestley famously invented soda water during experiments at a neighboring brewery, and then happily gave away his formula to anyone who would listen. (Anticipating Cory's wonderful OpenCola project by a couple of centuries.)

I've been talking about this quite a bit on the various stops on the book tour, and it's naturally caused some people to ask about my own research method. And it turns out there's a pleasing symmetry between the story the book tells and the information networks of our own time, because this is the first book that I have written where Google Books played an absolutely indispensable role. An amazing number of Priestley's original writings (along with other texts from that period) are available from Google as downloadable PDFs, with scans of the original page design and typography, along with full-text searching. Many of these are texts that would be very hard to find even in a major research library, and of course, even if you could find them, you wouldn't be able to search them. (You'd barely be able to turn the pages, given how old the books are.) There are also some fantastic archives of correspondence available online, most notably the Franklinpapers.org site, which has a searchable database of every surviving letter Franklin wrote or received.

One thrilling thing about these Google Book resources is that you can now link directly to an individual page of a book that has potentially been out of print for centuries. We need to think a bit more about how to standardize these links, given multiple editions and multiple library sites that might have digital copies. But what you can see happening, slowly but surely, is the Memex and Xanadu and the Information Superhighway -- all those inspiring dreams of information utopia -- finally crossing crossing over into the vast universe of books. Slowly, over time, a page typeset in 1771 might start to get a whole new life, thanks to the growing authority we grant it through that elemental gesture of making a link.

So to bring things full circle, I offer up a link to the page where Priestley describes his discovery and technique for manufacturing soda water. I think he'd be delighted to know his words were still in circulation more than two centuries later.

Source: Boing Boing | 16 Jan 2009 | 10:01 pm

For the child who’s not spoiled enough, there’s the $480 Porsche sled

If you constantly find yourself with a backache caused by sitting on all of the $100 bills in your wallet, you might consider dropping $480 on a sled made by Porsche.

Yes, it’s a sled. A sled. An aluminum sled. Available since November, now might be the perfect time to try one of these things out considering it’s been –500 degrees in just about every part of the country since January started.

So what makes it so special? There’s a Porsche logo on it. Oh, and a waterproof leather seat – wait, scratch that – it’s imitation leather, not real leather. So $480 for a sled and I can’t even get real leather? Oh, thank God – there’s a high quality carrying bag and the sled’s been tested by the German safety standards agency.

Aluminum Sledge [Porsche via Likecool]

Source: CrunchGear | 16 Jan 2009 | 10:00 pm

FDA warns of lidocaine risk

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is warning of potentially life-threatening side effects of skin numbing products. The products, known as topical anesthetics contain lidocaine, tetracaine, benzocaine and prilocaine in a cream, ointment or gel.
Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 16 Jan 2009 | 9:51 pm

How to get rid of Vimax ads

Neil Chase at our advertising parter company, Federated Media says:

Several authors have recently found every ad zone on their pages filled with ads for Vimax, which is supposed to enlarge a certain body part. We don't run ads for stuff like that, and of course no FM author or staffer could possibly need it anyway.

But there's malware floating around out there that hijacks your computer's DNS settings and puts its own ads into your zones. Unlike regular viruses, it can attack both PCs and Macs. It seems to often come with free video-processing software.

If it happens to you, rest assured that it's happening only in your Web browser and not to your readers. Here's what to do:

* For Mac users: Apple's forums have info about a couple fixes in this thread

* For PC users, several people suggest Trend Micro's free HijackThis tool.

Source: Boing Boing | 16 Jan 2009 | 9:42 pm

You know, for beekeepers

What does this have to do with tech you ask? You didn’t? Well you should. It’s actually pretty interesting.

Normally, beekeepers have to purchase rather expensive equipment in order to extract the honey from the combs. There is however, a DIY alternative out there that you can make if you’ve got an antique washing machine, a few 2×4s and a welder. If you’re interested in building one yourself, this is a great resource.

Of course, with 15 steps and quite a lot of engineering involved, it’s hardly a lazy Sunday project. Still, if you’ve been waiting for a reason to try out that sandblaster you got for Christmas, I can’t think of a better one.

Source: CrunchGear | 16 Jan 2009 | 9:40 pm

CBI and WHRB ask Copyright Royalty Board to Extend Deadline to File Comments on Expanded Webcasting Rules

WASHINGTON, Jan.
Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 16 Jan 2009 | 9:40 pm

First Facebook, Now MySpace - Power.com Denied

Social network aggregator Power.com was off to a hot start when it launched in late November. The service, which lets users access and share content among several social networking sites at once, raised $5 million in venture financing from Silicon Valley-based Draper Fisher Jurvetson and attracted a whopping 5 million users during its private beta period. Things were looking good.

Then Facebook sued them for inappropriately storing user credetials and scraping data from the Facebook site.

That lawsuit has since been resolved, although Power had to make significant changes to its service. Now, MySpace says they’ve blocked Power.com from accessing user accounts for similar reasons.

Power.com chooses not to use MySpace’s OAuth authentication mechanism, instead directly storing user credentials on its servers. That’s a big security issue, MySpace told me earlier today, and negotiations with Power.com to change its authentication process haven’t been resolved to MySpace’s satisfaction. That leaves them no choice, they say, but to block Power.com to protect users.

Frankly, MySpace is 100% right. Unlike Facebook, they’re not being unreasonable about sharing user data. But the authentication issue is very serious, and Power.com needs to make changes.

MySpace is also concerned with the abundant use of their logo and name on the Power.com site, which could give users a false sense of security when entering their credentials. MySpace is mentioned multiple times on the Power.com sign-in page.

MySpace’s statement is below:

MySpace has been in talks with Brazilian Website Power.com to express our objections with how the company has been collecting user data from the global MySpace community and to persuade Power.com to implement MySpace’s secure log-in authentication process.

From the home page of their site, Power.com is soliciting MySpace users for their private credentials including username and password in order to gain access to MySpace profiles and is using the MySpace trademark in doing so. Power.com’s actions violate our Terms of Service and their methodology to collect this information implies an affiliation with MySpace that confuses our community and gives our users a false sense of security that MySpace has endorsed the practices of Power.com. In fact no official partnership or other affiliation between the two companies exists. While we are in conversations with Power.com, their failure to implement MySpace’s secure log-in authentication process in accordance with our Terms of Service presents us with a unique set of security challenges. Per our stringent safety policies created to protect sensitive user information, effective immediately, MySpace will no longer allow Power.com to gain access to user accounts.

It’s imperative that MySpace is able to effectively manage site security. The tactics being used by Power.com are compromising our ability to keep user data safe, private, and within our users’ control. Our goal is to help create a more social Web but key functionalities such as a simplified and secure log-in authentication process must be protected and maintained. As of today, Power.com is refusing to implement a simple technology provided by MySpace that would secure this process for our global users. We are confident that we’ll come to a resolution with Power.com quickly.

Crunch Network: MobileCrunch Mobile Gadgets and Applications, Delivered Daily.

Source: TechCrunch | 16 Jan 2009 | 9:25 pm

Researchers Find Key protein that May Cause Cancer Cell death identified

Singapore scientists report findings in Molecular CellResearchers at A*STAR's Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology (IMCB) have become the first to discover and characterize a human protein called Bax-beta (Baxβ), which can potentially cause the death of cancer cells and lead to new approaches in cancer treatment.
Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 16 Jan 2009 | 9:25 pm

Weill Cornell Science Briefs

Gene Therapy Studied for PreeclampsiaNew Clues to a Mysterious Pregnancy ConditionTo better understand preeclampsia, a sudden rise in maternal blood pressure and onset of kidney disease during pregnancy, researchers from Cornell University and Weill Cornell Medical College are studying mice that have the same affliction.
Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 16 Jan 2009 | 9:22 pm

Circuit City Closes Their Doors For Good

bsharma is amongst the hordes of people wanting us to share the news that long beleaguered retailer Circuit City has finally decided to close for good, asking for court approval to close the remaining 567 US stores. "Whalin said management mistakes over the past few years combined with the recession brought down Circuit City. 'This company made massive mistakes,' he said, citing a decision to get rid of sales people and other mismanagement. What's more, given the credit market freeze, Whalin added that no manufacturer wants to sell to any retailer who doesn't have money to pay for the merchandise. At the same time, Whalin said there's still a very slim chance that one or more firms that have expressed an interest in buying Circuit City could still buy it out of bankruptcy over the next few days."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 16 Jan 2009 | 9:19 pm

A Study Finds Light Pollution Blocks out Stars

A survey suggests that a growing number of people are unable to see the night sky because of glare from poorly designed outdoor lights in built up areas.In an attempt to study these conditions, the Campaign to Protect Rural England and the British Astronomical Association had some 1,829
Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 16 Jan 2009 | 9:05 pm

Largest Security Detail Planned for a Presidential Inauguration Relies on Text Messaging System from Cooper Notification

ARLINGTON, Va., Jan.
Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 16 Jan 2009 | 9:05 pm

Extension to MEN Micro's Managed Ethernet Switch Product Line Enables Faster, More Secure Communication

AMBLER, Pa., Jan.
Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 16 Jan 2009 | 9:03 pm

If You Can't Beat Them ... Join Them! Tabula Digita Opens Registration for 2nd Annual Educator Multiplayer Educational Video Game Tournament at 2009 FETC

NEW YORK, Jan.
Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 16 Jan 2009 | 9:03 pm

Is It Time To Switch Ad Partners?

I don’t make any advertising or revenue decisions around here, that’s left to our CEO Heather Harde. But I’m nervous about our ad partner Federated Media, which supplies about a third of our total revenue. They’re going through layoffs (I read this on their blog), and payments from them have dipped substantially in recent months (which isn’t a surprise given market conditions).

We’ve stuck with Federated Media through the years, despite our love/hate relationship with them.

But as advertising dollars become harder to come by, staying with Federated becomes more costly. The biggest issue is that as a market leader among tech blogs, we end up subsidizing others. An example - an advertiser comes to us with, say, a $100,000 spend. They are referred through to Federated, who if they make the sale gets a 40% cut. That cut is fine. But what Federated then does is spread that $100k around to many different blogs. In the end we may only see a small fraction of it spent on TechCrunch. This works in our favor as well when leads come in from other blogs. But given how much higher profile we are than many of the other blogs in the Federated network, a disproportionate share of leads comes in through us.

In effect, we’re subsidizing our competition. As ad dollars become more scarce, the effect of that subsidy is more pronounced.

These and other reasons led Digg, GigaOm and others to leave the Federated Media network. Are we next? That’s Heather’s call. But we’ll be sure to let Federated Media know what we’re thinking via a blog post, the same way they delivered their news today.

Crunch Network: CrunchGear drool over the sexiest new gadgets and hardware.

Source: TechCrunch | 16 Jan 2009 | 8:56 pm

Irvine Sensors Receives Nasdaq Notice Regarding Stockholders' Equity, Market Value of Listed Securities and Net Income From Continuing Operations

COSTA MESA, Calif., Jan.
Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 16 Jan 2009 | 8:45 pm

MySpace Traffic Flow is Up Due to Bad Economy

MySpace and other online social networks have found ways to capitalize on the job slump in the United States.MySpace's jobs site has seen a big rise in traffic during the past year, particularly after the onset of the financial meltdown.Angela Courtin, senior vice president
Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 16 Jan 2009 | 8:45 pm

Problem of saggy-pants "much bigger" than Constitution, says Mayor

Jackson, Mississippi Mayor Frank Melton says that even though the city council voted against an ordinance making it unlawful for people to wear saggy pants he still intends to issue an executive order enforcing the dress code. The city council voted 4-2 against the ordinance, saying it was unconstitutional.

"I certainly respect the Constitution," Melton said, "but we have some issues that are much bigger than the Constitution."

I'm not going to argue with him. Anyone smart enough to fold a handkerchief like that (see above pic) must know what he's talking about. Here are a few simpler ones you can try.

(Via The Agitator)

Source: Boing Boing | 16 Jan 2009 | 8:43 pm

AMD: Putting the Micro Back in Advanced Micro Devices [Digital Daily]

“Difficult, but prudent, actions.” That’s how AMD describes its decision to sack 1,100 employees and reduce the base pay of those who remain. Come February, the chipmaker will reduce its workforce by roughly nine percent. It will suspend its 401(k) match for employees. It will reduce the salaries of vice presidents and other execs by 15 percent, the salaries of overtime-ineligible employees by 10 percent and those of executive chairman Hector Ruiz and CEO Dirk Meyer by 20 percent.

More ugly news for a company that suffered through a 10 percent workforce reduction last April and another three percent cut in November. Said a company spokesman, “These actions, while difficult, will allow AMD to better navigate the turbulent economic conditions while protecting our core capability to execute our technology roadmaps and position AMD for long-term success.”

Hope so. Right now AMD (AMD) shareholders are sitting on upward of 90 percent losses.

[Image Credit: Someecards]

Source: All Things Digital | 16 Jan 2009 | 8:41 pm

The Dawn of Ads [Voices]

By Nitrozac and Snaggy

Source: All Things Digital | 16 Jan 2009 | 8:38 pm

Airline Accidents More Survivable

Thanks to better training, everyone has survived recent airline accidents.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 16 Jan 2009 | 8:35 pm

Set Up Your Own Blogging Network And Split AdSense Revenues With Fair Blogs

Want to set up your own blogging network on the fly and automatically share the ad revenue among the contributors? That’s the premise behind Fair Blogs, a new service from Fair Software. The idea is simple: you organize a blogging network or a virtual company through Fair Software, where each contributor enters their own Google AdSense ID and Fair Software then rotates ads from each members’ account accordng to their ownership share of the blog or blog network.

Fair Software CEO Alain Raynaud explains:

If you have a blog with Google AdSense making some money, you can open a project on FairSoftware and hire people. Let’s say you hire one contributor and give him 30% of the project shares.

On your blog, you replace the Google AdSense javascript by a script we provide. Then, every time someone visits your blog, we serve an ad from one of the members of the project, following the share ownership. So in my example, 30% of the time the ad will belong to the new hire. Then Google just pays each person directly.

This is the same model Fair Software has for software projects (minus the Google AdSense part). It launched at TechCrunch 50 with a way to create virtual shares for companies building software, but the model can be applied to other businesses as well. Fair Software offers a quick and dirty way to pull together teams and allocate a portion of revenues based on each person’s contribution.

Fair Blog is a good idea, but limited in its capabilities. At the very least, I’d want to be able to tie the revenue split from AdSense to each blogger’s performance as measured by Google Analytics. So that the percentage each person gets could be based on pageviews and automatically adjust every payout period.

The other thing Fair Blogs needs is to incorporate more ad networks. AdSense is usually the bottom of the barrel in terms of how much it contributes versus other types of blog ad inventory. But it does have the advantage that everybody uses it. Raynaud plans on adding Amazon affiliate accounts next, and then will move on from there.

Crunch Network: MobileCrunch Mobile Gadgets and Applications, Delivered Daily.

Source: TechCrunch | 16 Jan 2009 | 8:35 pm

iPhone App Store crashes through 500 million downloads

If you were amongst the crowd claiming that the iPhone App Store’s success was a trend sure to quickly taper, you might want to exchange that crystal ball of yours. After 60 million downloads in one month, 100 million by September, and an absurd 300 million at the beginning of December, Apple has now disclosed that over 500 million applications have been downloaded since launch.

Since launch, each months download numbers have worked out to around 2.1 million per day. In the 42 days since the last landmark announcement (300 million, on December 5th), over 200 million apps have been downloaded, meaning December pulled in approximately 4.76 million downloads each day. It makes sense, really - December means Christmas, and Christmas means lots of iPhones and iPod Touches for all the girls and boys.

Crunch Network: CrunchGear drool over the sexiest new gadgets and hardware.

Source: MobileCrunch | 16 Jan 2009 | 8:31 pm

Western Governors University to Award Degrees to Career-Focused Online Students from Across the U.S.

Commencement Speaker Scott McNealy Champions WGU's Online Approach for Delivering Affordable, Workforce-Ready Educational Programs SALT LAKE CITY, Jan.
Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 16 Jan 2009 | 8:31 pm

Report Shows Music Piracy Outweighs Legal Downloads

A report by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) has shown that up to ninety-five percent of music downloaded online is illegal.This is the biggest challenge artists and record companies face as they miss out on payments, the global music trade body said.
Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 16 Jan 2009 | 8:30 pm

Planet of the Apes font

Planet of the Apes font, free for the taking. (Via Filled With Chocolate Pudding)

Source: Boing Boing | 16 Jan 2009 | 8:25 pm

Clueless hack tapped to be Obama's Transport Czar

WorldChanging's Alex Steffen sez, "Politics is never a matter of perfection, but from time to time, politicians make decisions so massively wrong that they stun us. Such is the appointment of Ray LaHood for Transportation Secretary, whose qualifications are minimal and ideas are anachronistic:"

In case you haven't been following the news, LaHood is a conservative Illinois Republican with little transportation expertise and almost no administrative experience, who has earned a LCV lifetime voting score on critical environmental issues of 27 percent, and who maintains deep financial connections to the very industries he's now supposed to regulate. He may be no worse than most of those who've lead the Department of Transportation, but his appointment is a profoundly uninspiring vote for business as usual at a time when we need change, and an strong indication that the administration doesn't get that energy policy, technological innovation, urban planning, environmental sustainability and transportation are all bound up together, and no solution to our problems can be had without tackling them all together.

LaHood's appointment is so disappointing to transportation advocates who've been waiting eight years for change, that they're boiling with indignant disbelief, branding him "an unbelievably disastrous pick," "Status quo we can believe in" and "same.gov" (a dig at the Obama transition site, change.gov). As one insider summed it up: "It's a real read-it-and-weep moment."

LaHood supporters point out that the president-elect promised to appoint Republicans, and LaHood is trusted by White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel. Obama had to throw Republicans a bone somewhere, they argue: why not Transportation?

Because given the crises we face, the U.S. Department of Transportation is not a minor agency. This year it had a $58 billion budget and employed almost 60,000 people. What's more, the Secretary of Transportation will guide the spending of vast amounts of stimulus spending, oversee the auto industry bailout and be responsible for a raft of critical policy decisions that will dictate the shape of our cities and the choices we have for getting around for decades -- and thus indirectly our energy policies as well, since transportation is where much of our energy use goes. In fact, in an era of climate change, energy crisis and economic distress, Transportation may be one of the most important posts in the president's cabinet.

Ray LaHood and Changing our Thinking About Transportation (Thanks, Alex!)

Source: Boing Boing | 16 Jan 2009 | 8:20 pm

Britain’s Conservatives Unveil Plan for ‘Energy Revolution’

Britain’s conservative Torie party has plans for an “energy revolution” that among other things include energy efficient loans for homes, plug-points along streets for electric cars and smart meters.Unveiling what the party calls its green paper on low carbon, leader David Cameron said the Tories seek to create jobs, lower emissions and cut back on the amount of oil and gas Britain now imports.A $1.5 billion (£1bn) upgrade for Britain’s national grid could persuade some people to generate their own power and increase renewables, he said.However, the Liberal Democrats said the Conservatives could not be relied upon to "deliver" on combating climate change.But Mr.
Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 16 Jan 2009 | 8:20 pm

Complex Passwords Help to Avoid Most Serious Computer Worm Outbreak in Years

Security Patch and Passwords Defend Against the Downadup Worm More than 10 Million Computers Infected This Week WASHINGTON, Jan.
Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 16 Jan 2009 | 8:20 pm

AMD to cut 1,100 workers, 9 pct of staff (AP)

AP - Advanced Micro Devices Inc. plans to cut 1,100 jobs, 9 percent of its global staff, and slash the remaining employees' pay as the chip maker hopes its third round of layoffs in a year can help it get through a brutal market for computer sales.

Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 16 Jan 2009 | 8:12 pm

Mars to NASA: Forget Water, Follow the Methane

In the search for life beyond Earth, NASA is following a new trail on Mars: methane gas.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 16 Jan 2009 | 8:10 pm

SLIDE SHOW: Images in the News

From methane on Mars to Neanderthal weaponry, join us for a visual tour of the week's news.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 16 Jan 2009 | 8:10 pm

Czech artist tells European Union to lighten up

Czech artist David Cerny was given £350,000 from his government to oversee the creation of a sculpture featuring the work of artists from all 27 European Union nations.

Instead, he got together with his pals and made an eight-ton sculpture called "Entropia" that depicted Romania as a "Dracula theme park," the Netherlands as being underwater "with only the tops of minarets sticking out," Bulgaria "as a series of squat toilets," Sweden as being "packed into an IKEA box" and so on.

I think he should be paid double.

The original intention was indeed to ask 27 European artists for participation. But it became apparent that this plan cannot be realised, due to time, production, and financial constraints. The team therefore, without the knowledge of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, decided to create fictitious artists who would represent various European national and artistic stereotypes. We apologise to Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek, Deputy Prime Minister Alexandr Vondra, Minister Karel Schwarzenberg and their departments that we did not inform them of the true state of affairs and thus misguided them. We did not want them to bear the responsibility for this kind of politically incorrect satire. We knew the truth would come out. But before that we wanted to find out if Europe is able to laugh at itself.

At the beginning stood the question: What do we really know about Europe? We have information about some states, we only know various tourist clichés about others. We know basically nothing about several of them. The art works, by artificially constructed artists from the 27 EU countries, show how difficult and fragmented Europe as a whole can seem from the perspective of the Czech Republic. We do not want to insult anybody, just point at the difficulty of communication without having the ability of being ironic.

Grotesque hyperbole and mystification belongs among the trademarks of Czech culture and creating false identities is one of the strategies of contemporary art. The images of individual parts of Entropa use artistic techniques often characterised by provocation. The piece thus also lampoons the socially activist art that balances on the verge between would-be controversial attacks on national character and undisturbing decoration of an official space. We believe that the environment of Brussels is capable of ironic self-reflection, we believe in the sense of humour of European nations and their representatives.

Statement by Czech artist David Cerny

Source: Boing Boing | 16 Jan 2009 | 8:07 pm

EU Taunts Microsoft a Sixth Time [Digital Daily]

Fewer than 60 percent of Europeans browse the Web with Microsoft’s Internet Explorer, according to Web measurement outfit XiTi Monitor (about 31 percent use Mozilla’s Firefox). So it’s understandable that Microsoft (MSFT) would try to bolster that figure a bit by bundling IE with its popular Windows operating system abroad.

It’s also apparently illegal. In a Statement of Objections, European antitrust regulators this week notified Microsoft that its “preliminary view” is that the bundling of IE with Windows violates European competition law. Seems the EU feels that it prevents other browsers from competing fairly in the market.

Microsoft, which has been slugging it out with the EU–apparently since the beginning of time–is reviewing its objections. “We are committed to conducting our business in full compliance with European law,” the software giant said in a statement. “We are studying the Statement of Objections now. Under European competition law procedure, Microsoft will be afforded an opportunity to respond in writing to this Statement of Objections within about two months. The company is also afforded an opportunity to request a hearing, which would take place after the submission of this response. Under EU procedure, the European Commission will not make a final determination until after it receives and assesses Microsoft’s response and conducts the hearing, should Microsoft request one.”

PREVIOUSLY:

• European Commission Announces Microsoft Antitrust Fine Ultimate Edition™
• EC on Microsoft Interoperability Declaration: Is It April Fools’ Day Already?
• Funny, I Didn’t See ‘Windows Protocol Documentation’ in the Microsoft Holiday Gift Guide
• Opera Asks EU to Make IE Stink Less

Source: All Things Digital | 16 Jan 2009 | 7:53 pm

How to buy the badass Japan-only 1.86GHz Vaio P

Early reviews of Sony' Vaio P credit its minuscule form, high quality and general sexiness, but ding it for performing little better than netbooks half its price. It's got 2GB of RAM, so what gives? Vista, for one thing, but also the choice of an ultra low-power 1.3GHz processor.

One can ditch Vista by upgrading to the Windows 7 beta or downgrading to XP. But there's only one way to speed up the hardware: order a foreign Vaio P, equipped with 1.86Ghz processors. Dynamism will ship them direct from Japan from Feb. 12.

You'll pay a lot extra: upwards of $1,500. You'll also have to wait until mid-February to receive it. Moreover, Japanese Vaio P's don't have 3G radios or GPS. One the other hand, you'll have better HD video and gaming, and a 3-year retailer warranty.

Sony Vaio P Series Direct from Japan [Dynamism]

Source: Boing Boing Gadgets | 16 Jan 2009 | 7:49 pm

Clean water could be killing cockles

A Welsh report says sewage treatment may be making water in Burry Estuary too clean for cockles to survive. Researchers from University College Bangor say mass deaths of the small clams, which had previously been blamed on high levels of sewage spilling from a nearby treatment plant, may now
Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 16 Jan 2009 | 7:42 pm

No One Questioned Microsoft’s Viability When Gates Left… [Digital Daily]

What Apple might do if CEO Steve Jobs does not return from his medical leave of absence and how the company would fare without him have been the subject of much jawing this past week. And not without good reason. Wednesday’s announcement was certainly a stunner–one that shook Apple investors to the core of their timid little hearts.

Apple (AAPL) has portrayed itself over the past decade as a company gloriously resurrected by a single man. And now that that man is ailing, the company is paying the price. But the fact of the matter is that Apple has never, EVER, been in a stronger position that it is currently. And while it will always be better off with Jobs as its leader, his absence doesn’t suddenly make it as if the iPhone or the iPod or the Mac never happened.

Someday, someone will take over for Jobs–the company OBVIOUSLY has a succession plan; it’s just not willing to share it at this point– and while there be a major upheaval in Apple’s share price, there won’t be one in its operations or performance. Certainly, that’s the opinion of many of the analysts who cover the company.

“A lot of people think Jobs is responsible for every single decision made at Apple,” says Gartner analyst Van Baker. “The reality is that’s not true. Just go down the executive line. He’s got a very competent team there.”

J.P. Morgan Securities’ Mark Moskowitz agrees:
“In our view,” Moskowitz said in a recent research note, “[Apple COO Tim] Cook and the other members of the Apple management suite have played a critical role in monetizing the vision and mandates of Mr. Jobs in recent years. Here, we do not expect any changes during this difficult period, and we expect the R&D pipeline to remain robust.”

As does Pacific Crest Securities analyst Andy Hargreaves:
“You’re getting a company that is a leader in smartphones, that has been gaining share in the PC market and probably continues to do so,” says Hargreaves. “It’s dominant in digital media and has a very talented management team regardless of whether Steve Jobs is there or not.”

And Kaufman Brothers analyst Shaw Wu as well.
“The fact of the matter is that Apple has become an institution, a culture, that transcends more than one individual,” Wu told Reuters. “… If you look at Apple’s growth prospects compared to a lot of these other companies, it’s arguably the most promising….The fundamentals haven’t really changed. Apple still has big competitive advantages. We think a lot of the innovation, a lot of his style, his thinking, a lot of that has been ingrained into the company’s DNA.”

You’d think that after all these years, that’d be the case. Just as it has been the case at other iconic companies. When Bill Gates ceased his day-to-day involvement at Microsoft (MSFT), the company didn’t suddenly grind to a screeching halt.

No one questioned the company’s continued viability either.

Source: All Things Digital | 16 Jan 2009 | 7:31 pm

How many AAAAAs in Khaaaaaaaan?

As can be seen in this chart, "Google search results for "KH(Ax)N" for x=1 to 100," there's a real spike of "AAAAA"s around 40 and 50. That's a lot of reptitious typing! Also, you have to admire the bloody-minded preserverence of the folks over there at 97-100 "AAAAA"s. Also, RIP, Ricardo Montalban.

Google search results for "KH(Ax)N" for x=1 to 100 (via Negatendo)

Source: Boing Boing | 16 Jan 2009 | 7:12 pm

Neurons Show Sex-dependent Effects

When it comes to keeping brains alive, it seems nature has deemed that females are more valuable then males. As reported in this weeks' JBC, researchers found that nutrient deprivation of neurons produced sex-dependent effects.
Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 16 Jan 2009 | 6:51 pm

A month with VIA's Artigo A2000, a beefy barebone NAS

VIA's Artigo A2000 is network attached storage for those who roll their own.

An attractive black box about 5 inches square and a foot deep, it comes with the motherboard, gigabit ethernet and a 1.5GHz C7-D CPU, but requires the user to supply up to 2 SATA drives and the memory. There's also a compact flash card slot built in to the mobo: a good place to stash an operating system to keep the hard drives free for storage.

As befits its DIY style, the included Mini-ITX motherboard also has VGA out, USB ports and audio I/O for everyday use. Though the $300 price tag makes it a poor choice for a basic desktop machine, it's O.K. for a good-looking and robust NAS with benefits.

So my two drives could be used in a RAID configuration, I installed FreeNAS on a standard CF card and let it configure the box for me: as a result, I've got an idiotproof machine that runs not just files but a web server, bittorrent, iTunes and much else besides. Given the crankiness of some companies' NAS software, it's nice to have some versatility, even if you do have to build and install it all yourself.

Another good option is Windows Home Server, though you have to pay for it. Windows XP and other cuts of Linux are also compatible with the hardware. If you don't install the operating system on a CF card, you'll be best off doing it the standard way with an external USB optical drive.

There are shortcomings. With only VGA output and VIA's integrated video, it's not particularly tempting to hook it up to a TV set for use as a home theater. WiFi adds another $50 to the price tag. The power brick is also pretty big: they could have integrated power into the box itself, given the empty space left even when both drive bays are occupied.

Product Page [Via]

Source: Boing Boing Gadgets | 16 Jan 2009 | 6:45 pm

A DIY Test for Your Broadband Provider’s Net Neutrality [Voices]

By Christopher Rhoads, Internet Policy Writer, Wall Street Journal

Worried that your broadband provider is slowing down your Web traffic?

If so, you might want to download the aptly named “Switzerland”–a tool that tests whether your Internet provider is violating the principles of so-called “network neutrality.”

Network neutrality, which prevents carriers from blocking traffic or manipulating the speeds of traffic from certain Web sites, became a hot-button issue several years ago when carriers suggested they should be allowed to charge content providers more for using faster lanes on their networks.

The issue resurfaced last summer when the FCC determined that Comcast (CMCSA) had interfered with its subscribers’ use of a file-sharing technology, called BitTorrent, a free application used to distribute sometimes large software and media files. Comcast is contesting the ruling.

Read the rest of this post

Source: All Things Digital | 16 Jan 2009 | 6:30 pm

Zumodrive Takes Cloud Storage And Syncing Up A Notch

Cloud storage and file synchronization is becoming increasingly important as users access the Internet and their data via a plethora of devices - desktop computers with large hard drives, laptops with smaller drives, and netbooks and mobile devices with relatively small internal storage. There are a lot of online storage/syncing startups and products out there to choose from, ranging from Microsoft Foldershare, dropbox and Sharpcast to pure online storage services like Wuala, box.net and drop.io.

Newcomer Zumodrive, from Y Combinator startup Zecter, enters this space with an interesting twist. Like other syncing services, Zumodrive creates a drive on your device that is synced to the cloud. But instead of syncing those files with all of your other devices, Zumodrive tricks the file system into thinking those cloud-stored files are local, and streams them from the cloud when you open or access them.

That’s not such a big deal when in comes to PC-to-PC syncing where hard drive storage isn’t an issue. But I have far more music files than will fit on even my laptop. Zumodrive lets me access them (even via iTunes) in a way that makes them appear local. And when it comes to netbooks and mobile devices with very limited hard drive space, Zumodrive is a Godsend. It just appears to make your hard drive limitless in size.

One other thing Zumodrive does that’s smart is it actually syncs files you use a lot across all your devices. That way you’ll have access to those important files when you’re offline. You can right click on any file to make it local on that machine. The service also makes guesses as to other files that should be synced locally.

The product is launching into private beta today. If you’d like to try it out, we have 1,000 invitations, just use the invite code ireadtc or click here.

And that’s not all. Zumodrive will soon have an iPhone application to allow users to access files from that device. If you are interested in testing out an early private version of the iPhone app, you can sign up here once you have registered for Zumodrive.

The Zecter guys previously launch a product called Versionate, an office-wiki product, that we first covered in July 2007. We wrote about them again a year ago. Work on the product is on hold for now as the founders focus on Zumodrive, but they say they may develop it further in the future.

Zecter has raised a total of about $1 million and is based in San Mateo, California.

Crunch Network: CrunchBase the free database of technology companies, people, and investors

Source: TechCrunch | 16 Jan 2009 | 6:18 pm

Salesforce Keeps Ahead Of The Conversation

Marc Benioff has an uncanny sense of how to stitch together the multutude of social media and Web service resources that dominate the technology space. While many of the audience decry the notion of the enterprise applicability of these tools, Benioff and Salesforce think they're on the way to what he calls "the next billion dollar opportunity" on top of this realtime platform. On stage at Salesforce's announcement of its Service Cloud, vendors like Google, Facebook, Plantronics, and even the Obama/Biden transition team are solving business problems with existing services. Salesforce spaces these announcements out over time at about one every two months. Sometimes the progress seems substantial, other times more incremental. Stitched together into a CRM service spanning Google Search, social media communities, and best practices databases, the net result delivers real value at just the time corporations are looking for leapfrog technology.

Source: TechCrunch | 16 Jan 2009 | 6:15 pm

Will Air France-KLM’s Social Network Bluenity Fly? I Like Dopplr Better.

Airline group Air France-KLM, formed after the merger of Société Air France and the Royal Dutch Airlines and currently the largest airline company in the world in terms of operating revenues, has recently launched a social network for travelers called Bluenity to connect its +75 million customers when traveling (presumably so that they can meet up with strangers).

An airline moving into social networking is interesting, so we decided to take a look and see how it compares to internet startups who are looking to monetize social platforms catered to travelers. Unfortunately, in this case, it turns out to be not much more than a marketing exercise.

In terms of features, Bluenity doesn’t bring anything new to the table, but you’ll find all the necessary basics: you can edit both your leisure and business profile and you get to share your regular departure airport, favorite destinations, number of flights you take per year, and countries you’ve visited in the past. Bluenity lets users interact with other members, connects to their Facebook profile and enables users to share travel tips with each other. I think they would have been better off integrating tips and reviews from other travel communities that have been around for years and offer valuable content in abundance (e.g. TripAdvisor) and letting you choose which profile (e.g. LinkedIn) you would like to point to.

I also suspect they will moderate the hell out of the service because their Traveler Charter reads “the Bluenity community encourages travelers to choose good humor over conflict and positive advice over negative criticism. Optimism and enthusiasm are essential to maintaining a friendly atmosphere.” So honesty is fine, just be positive when you’re being critical. Right.

(Stowe Boyd even had his profile picture rejected because it was pixelated.)

I still like Dopplr better (other comparable services include TripIt, TravelMuse, TripSay and more), because it doesn’t make a distinction about which airline you’ve chosen to travel with—if you were in doubt, Bluenity only lets you share trips that includes one of Air France-KLM’s flights—and are open to include relevant information and multimedia content from third-party sources (e.g. photos from Flickr) rather than keeping the network a walled garden. Another major advantage to using something like Dopplr instead, is that the service leverages your existing relationship rather than trying to get you to hook up with total strangers.

What’s odd about Bluenity is that it displays travel tips and comments about hotels, restaurants, and attractions in all the languages the service is available in: French, Dutch and English, even when you indicate in which language you would like to browse the social network.

Last but not least, I think it’s a shame that they decided to boast about being the very first airline to launch a social platform for travelers, when that is clearly not the truth (cases in point: British Airways has Metrotwin while Lufthansa operates both GenerationFly and GenFlyLounge).

To conclude: I think there’s value in airlines engaging their customers in a more social way, as long as they realize that people are generally not loyal to either one airline company nor to a single social network. But it would be better for airlines to launch platforms that are open, or plug into existing communities by partnering with social networking services who have been doing a great job at building and maintaining groups of travelers for years now. Otherwise the barriers to adoption are just too great. Would you want to be friends with the people sitting next to you on a plane? No, you want to get away from those people as soon as the plane lands.

Crunch Network: MobileCrunch Mobile Gadgets and Applications, Delivered Daily.

Source: TechCrunch | 16 Jan 2009 | 6:12 pm

Meet me at the gun show with your gold

Click for full-size image.

(I'm actually a rather big fan of gun ownership, but I'm amused at the dire, apocalyptic overtone to this newspaper ad. Democrats are coming for your guns! Buy gold! Sell gold! While you can!)

Source: Boing Boing Gadgets | 16 Jan 2009 | 6:11 pm

Rudy Rucker's trip to New York City

On his blog, Rudy Rucker writes about his recent visit to New York City. In addition to the many nice photographs he took, he included this old YouTube clip of Camper Van Beethoven's video, "Take the Skinheads Bowling," because he saw the band with his daughter Georgia, while he was there. (Georgia was the designer of The Happy Mutant Handbook.)

I’ve always loved Camper Van. They were big when we moved to California 25 years ago; Marc Laidlaw introduced me to their music. By now, the lead singer, David Lowry, reminds me of an eccentric old professor -— fit, dedicated, and prepared to speak out. My twin. They sang their big hit, “Take the Skinheads Bowling.” What a masterpiece.

“Last night I had a dream—it was about nothing.

Picturing New York by Rudy Rucker

Source: Boing Boing | 16 Jan 2009 | 5:50 pm

Tweetie developer offers PEE platform for "guaranteed App Store success"

Atebits, developers of the excellent iPhone Twitter client "Tweetie" have added a new "Popularity EnhancEr" — "PEE", for short — that adds a "secret formula for App Store success", comprised primarily of "a flashlgiht...and dirty wet fart sounds!!!" Super intense.

I'm loaded the latest version of Tweetie on to my phone as we speak. Except a review never. (The whole infomercial/CDC-style pitch on the Atebits page is pretty hilarious.)

App Store Popularity EnhancEr (PEE) [Atebits.com]

Update: Don't think the development community will leave this just to Apple. Quoth Palm software engineer Andrew Shebanow:

Source: Boing Boing Gadgets | 16 Jan 2009 | 5:46 pm

Mainstream Media to Webheads: Thanks for the Free Content! [MediaMemo]

Yesterday, in the wake of the amazing U.S. Airways Flight 1549 story, I suggested that the chief benefit of Twitter and “citizen journalism” reports is that they’re very, very fast. That speed is why Twitterer Janis Krums, who took that amazing photo as his ferry headed over to pick up passengers from the downed plane, is now an instant celebrity. Did you catch him on “Good Morning America” today?

But this morning I got a missive from an employee at one of the cable news networks, who tells me I’ve got it all wrong. Speed is nice, but these days, there are other considerations that are much more important for media companies:

It’s not the speed of Twitter photo that’s remarkable. It’s that it’s FREE. In the past, we would have got that pic from one of the agencies. We didn’t need anything from the agencies yesterday. Anything we couldn’t get from our own crews, people sent us FOR FREE.”

See? Who says old media has been slow to adapt to the Web?

There are some Webby start-ups premised on this idea, too. NowPublic, notably, is trying to organize amateur reporters and photographers into something resembling a newswire, or at least an interesting site. But those guys still have to figure out how turn that into a business.

But the big guys already have a business. It’s a pretty good one, too: Selling TV airtime to advertisers for a lot more money than the Web guys will ever hope to get. And if they can squeeze a few more dollars out of free Internet content, via outlets like Twitter and Time Warner’s (TWX) CNN iReport site, so much the better.

Source: All Things Digital | 16 Jan 2009 | 5:29 pm

ALL ENGINE FLAME OUT: How to land an Airbus A320 with no engines

Below, an excerpt from an older flight crew training manual for the Airbus Industrie A320/A321 airliner, the same model that was ditched yesterday by pilot Chesley Burnett "Sully" Sullenberger, III in New York's Hudson River after losing both engines to birdstrike. There were no deaths and — baring one unfortunate person who broke both legs — no casualties.

How would you put a 150-passenger plane into a river with no engines? According to the training manual in another related emergency scenario (All Engine Generators Fault), it pays to keep your head on straight: "Remember one of the golden rules; fly the aircraft. "

I also asked a pilot buddy of mine, Rick Sanders, what he thought about the whole episode:

My first thought is: the whole incident shows that the "system" works. It's virtually unheard of for an aircraft to lose both engines, but after it did, the pilot drew on his training, kept calm, and flew the aircraft to a safe landing. Then the flight attendants, using their training, quickly evacuated the passengers. And the fire department and coast guard were there very soon to pick up the survivors.

Another way to put this is: even when everything goes wrong, the ultimate goal (of keeping everyone alive) is usually met.

The "system" consists of more than just pilots learning to fly from point A to point B, it's a complete set of tasks and procedures, given to a whole team of people, that deal with all likely scenarios, and many very unlikely ones. And it works, because the safety record for commercial aviation is absolutely amazing.

Image: Caribb

A319/A320/A321
FLIGHT CREW TRAINING MANUAL
REV 21 MAY 98
POWER PLANT

ALL ENGINE FLAME OUT

01 - TRAINING OBJECTIVE
• To establish a safe flight path.
• To recognize the indications of a dual engine failure.
• To carry out correct procedure.

02 - SCHEDULE
Briefing duration : 20 minutes

03 - EQUIPMENT

DOC references :
• QRH 1.01 to 1.04 (Systems remaining)
• QRH 2.18 (Engine relight in flight)
• FCOM 1.70.80 (Ignition and starting)
• FCOM 3.02.70 (Engine Dual Failure)

04 - INSTRUCTOR’S ACTIONS

Briefing of the following key points.

MAIN
• Monitoring of flight path and parameters.
• Choice of optimum speed.
• ECAM actions (APU use, relight parameters...).
• Situational awareness.
• Relight monitoring and system recovery.

SECONDARY
• Aircraft status : systems, F/CTL law..
• Minimum RAT speed.
• Communications (ATC, transponder, cabin).
• Related consequences (Pressurization, forced landing, ditching...).

05 - TRAINEES’ ACTIONS

Following a dual engine failure the flight deck indications change drastically as generators drop off line, the RAT is deployed and ECAM prioritizes checklists. Control of the aircraft must be taken immediately by CM1, and a safe flight path established.

It is important at this stage to correctly identify the failure as it can be easily confused with all engine generators fault. ECAM will prioritize checklists so to avoid confusion read ECAM carefully to correctly identify the failure. It is vital to establish good crew communications and to apply efficient task-sharing.
Establish communications with ATC, stating nature of emergency and intentions. Consider use of transponder emergency code.
The ECAM actions can be commenced, with attention to optimum relight speed . If there is no relight within 30 sec ECAM will order the engine master switches to be placed off for 30 sec and then on again. This is to permit ventilation of the combustion chamber. Start the APU.

Maximum gliding range is achieved at green dot speed. Think ahead and plan the approach. Depending on the airplane’s position, a forced landing or a ditching may be required if the relight is unsuccessful. Find the relevant QRH page and review the procedure.

The list of affected systems is long and flight controls will be much degraded. If the relight attempts are successful, consider the options of immediate landing versus continuing the flight. If the engines failed simultaneously, was there a common cause ?

At all times, maintain correct speed and situational awareness.

06 - COMPLETION STANDARDS

• Establishes immediately a safe flight path.
• Makes correct analysis and carries out procedure.
• Ensures strict application of task-sharing and good crew communications.
• Makes appropriate decision according to outcome of relight attempt.

07 - COMMON ERRORS

• Incorrect speed choice and lack of monitoring.
• Confusion with ELEC EMER CONFIG.
• Lack of situational awareness.
• APU started too late.
• Engine relight not monitored (stopwatch/parameters).
• Lack of communication.

Source: Boing Boing Gadgets | 16 Jan 2009 | 5:26 pm

Year of Astronomy Marks Galileo's First Observations

Astronomers officially launch the International Year of Astronomy.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 16 Jan 2009 | 5:19 pm

Circuit City ist kaputt

RICHMOND, Va., Jan. 16 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Circuit City Stores, Inc. announced today that it will seek Bankruptcy Court approval to begin the process to liquidate the assets of the company.

"We are extremely disappointed by this outcome. The company had been in continuous negotiations regarding a going concern transaction. Regrettably for the more than 30,000 employees of Circuit City and our loyal customers, we were unable to reach an agreement with our creditors and lenders to structure a going-concern transaction in the limited timeframe available, and so this is the only possible path for our company," said James A. Marcum, vice chairman and acting president and chief executive officer for Circuit City Stores, Inc.

Circuit City Stores, Inc. to Liquidate [PRNewsWire.com]

Image: *bri*

Previously:

• Circuit City selling "liquidated" HTDVs for more than their ...
• I went to a Circuit City - Boing Boing Gadgets
• Reports: Circuit City to close 155 stores - Boing Boing Gadgets
• Circuit City stores ordered to destroy copies of Mad Magazine that ...
• One percent is 5 percent in Circuit City math - Boing Boing Gadgets
• Report: Circuit City deliberately selling broken Acer computers ...
• How Circuit City Committed Suicide - Boing Boing Gadgets
• Circuit City apologizes to Mad Magazine for parody purging ...

Source: Boing Boing Gadgets | 16 Jan 2009 | 4:51 pm

Some Airports More At Risk for Bird Strikes

Proximity to water and quieter airplane engines increase the risk of bird strikes.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 16 Jan 2009 | 4:00 pm

CES Video: We Did It!

Our last — and dare I say least essential to the gadget nerd — video from CES is above for your enjoyment. It's also probably the one that most accurately portrays our day-to-day on the showfloor.

I have to say, I had a blast at this year's CES, hanging out with all the BBG and Boing Boing Video crew, as well as many of our friends within the industry. We puttered around like the dilettantes we are, drinks in hand, and just tried to enjoy the spectacle and the company, while still skimming off the strangest and most interesting products around.

But we couldn't have pranced around the place in good conscience if it weren't for the diligence of sites like Gizmodo, Engadget, CrunchGear, Oh Gizmo!, Shiny Shiny, Wired, Ars, and dozens of other gadget and tech writers out there sifting through products to sort the inspired from the insipid. There's no shame in having a good time when you're working, but I want to acknowledge the hard work of others when I see it. We may all be competitors in the loosest sense, but when you're walking the floors packed primarily with local action news teams, morning madhouse DJs, and lifestyle section stringers for Ladie's Home Journal, it's hard to see all the other online tech writers out there hustling as anything other than friends.

If you prefer a direct MP4 download, well then just go ahead and download it why don't you?

See if you can spot my love handles in the special features!

Source: Boing Boing Gadgets | 16 Jan 2009 | 3:58 pm

Designing the Vaio P

Interviewed by Chinese site cool3c and translated by Engadget Chinese's Andy Yang, Vaio P designer Takuma Tomoaki shares the inspirations that went into Sony's incredible laptop.

Central among the concepts was designing it around the experience of typing. This shows, if nothing else, that Sony understands netbooks well, even if it ostensibly wasn't trying to make one. Compare to Apple's coy and deliberated mismeasure of the niche: "the iPhone is our netbook."

Other highlights: Takuma Tomoaki drives a Mini Cooper; they had to make the display a little smaller to fit the radio antennas in, and different parts of the chassis are made of different materials to match the likely circumstances that each side typically gets dropped on. A collection of delightfully weird accessories were ultimately left out to keep the price tag under $1,000.

Seeing Takuma's sketches makes me want it more than any slick marketing copy or clever art-promos. The single best ad for the Vaio P is the man who made it, saying it was designed to be the smallest possible laptop that still has a decent keyboard.

Engadget translation [Engadget]
Original interview [Coolc3]

Source: Boing Boing Gadgets | 16 Jan 2009 | 3:57 pm

The leakless alkaline battery

Hitachi has invented an alkaline battery it can charge more than 25 cents for, because it never leaks. From Tech-on:

The new product (also called "Voltage") will be released April 1, 2009. The company developed a new zinc alloy to reduce the amount of residual, undischarged zinc, which causes leakage.

According to the results of Hitachi Maxell's survey, over-discharge accounts for 55% of all leakage causes. When a battery is over-discharged, hydrogen gas is rapidly produced inside it, raising the internal pressure. Therefore, to prevent explosion, batteries have a safety valve to discharge hydrogen gas. However, when this valve works, alkaline solution flows out together with the gas.

Perfect for leaving in remote controls you never use, forever.

Hitachi Maxell to Release 'Leak-free' Alkaline Battery [Maxell Tech on via Crunchgear]

Source: Boing Boing Gadgets | 16 Jan 2009 | 3:47 pm

Australia’s ‘Agora’ Android phone gets agoraphobia, delayed indefinitely

That Agora phone from Australia that everyone got so moist about may never see the light of day, unfortunately. The phone’s manufacturer, Kogan, said that it’d be delayed indefinitely “due to future interoperability issues,” according to News.com.au.

Read the rest of this entry >>

Crunch Network: CrunchBoard because it’s time for you to find a new Job2.0

Source: MobileCrunch | 16 Jan 2009 | 3:00 pm

Peek + unlimited service for $299 (today only)

Whoa, ho, ho there. Take a look at this. If you’ve been intrigued by the e-mail-made-simple Peek device but thought the $20 per month outlay for service was a bit too steep, you can get the device with unlimited service for $299 today.

Read the rest of this entry >>

Crunch Network: TechCrunch obsessively profiling and reviewing new Internet products and companies

Source: MobileCrunch | 16 Jan 2009 | 2:30 pm

Singing Began in Fish, Perfected by Birds

Bird song is far more complex than originally thought.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 16 Jan 2009 | 2:19 pm

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