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What If Microsoft Redesigned the iPod Package?
“Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler.” – Albert Einstein
The White House Gets Pwned By Google
( Business andMatt's Posts andNews and Politics andScience and Technology )
In court papers, Google calls the Bush Administration’s search data request “so uninformed as to be nonsensical” “The very fact that the Government is so uninformed about the value of search and URL information and so dismissive of Google’s interest in protecting it speaks volumes about why the Court should protect Google from this compelled [...]
Tonight We’re Going To Party Like It’s 1599
Forget evolution, how about getting rid of the whole heliocentric model of the solar system in textbooks? Evidently a group called Catholic Apologetics International still thinks the earth is at the center of the galaxy and is offering $1000 for proof otherwise: CAI will write a check for $1,000 to the first person who can [...]
A Rare Moment of Common Sense in the US Senate
As a follow-up to the post about the RIAA/MPAA Broadcast Flag proposal seeking to stifle innovation, it appears that the Senate actually had a moment of enlightenment in the hearings on the bill. Senator John Sununu, a Republican Senator for New Hampshire: “The suggestion is that if we don’t do this, it will stifle creativity. [...]
The Anti-User Zealot Canadian Politician Loses
To quote Nelson from the Simpsons, “Ha Ha!”. From Boing Boing: The Canadian MP whom copyfighters loved to hate has lost her job and the election. Sam Bulte was the Liberal Party Member of Parliament for Parkdale/High Park [...] and she was embroiled in a scandal when it was revealed that she had financed her [...]
Confirmed: The RIAA/MPAA has a Collective Intelligence Equivalent to a Group of Retarded Chimps
Do you enjoy technology such as the VCR, TiVo, and the iPod? The People’s Republic of Neanderthals (a.k.a. Hollywood or “Big Content”) has reached in their bag of tricks to try to make sure that never again will such evil innovations rear their ugly heads. Enter the “Digital Content Protection Act of 2006″ just introduced [...]
Let the Google Bashing Begin!
Is Google bashing the new black for 2006? Signs point to yes after their underwhelming showing at CES. First, there was Google Video that took it on the chin: “This is a truly historical meeting of the established and new media,” said Les Moonves, the head of CBS, about his network’s new video partnership with [...]
Thoughts on Podcasts
So, one of the things we’ve been trying out with the new iPod is podcasts. Here’s some thoughts on ones that I’ve come across. If you have any to recommend, please leave comments! Beastie Boys Podcast: Kind of boring, it was more like some dinky extra that throw in on a DVD for no apparent [...]
Alberto Gonzalez Will Be At Your Doorstep If You Annoy Me With An Anonymous Comment
Further proof that Congress still has yet to understand the “Internets”. Annoying someone via the Internet is now a federal crime. It’s no joke. Last Thursday, President Bush signed into law a prohibition on posting annoying Web messages or sending annoying e-mail messages without disclosing your true identity. In other words, it’s OK to flame [...]
Your Phone Records Are Available For $110
A rather freaky revelation about just how easy it is to violate your phone privacy: The Chicago Police Department is warning officers their cell phone records are available to anyone — for a price. Dozens of online services are selling lists of cell phone calls, raising security concerns among law enforcement and privacy experts. Criminals [...]
Where’s Google Going With Their Advertising Next?
Robert X. Cringley speculates on where Google is going with their entry into video: So what are the data center trailers for? Well, right now, everyone in the country watching “American Idol” sees the identical commercials at the same time, except for two ads at every half-hour mark, which are inserted by the local station. [...]
Google OS?
Totally crazy speculation from the LA Times, right? Google will unveil its own low-price personal computer or other device that connects to the Internet. Sources say Google has been in negotiations with Wal-Mart Stores Inc., among other retailers, to sell a Google PC. The machine would run an operating system created by Google, not Microsoft’s [...]
Adding RSS Feeds
I was going to add some RSS feeds for my mom, so I thought I’d make a list of how to access feeds for some popular online blog services as a reference for myself and anyone else that may be interested. Blogger: The Blogger user needs to set up a Feedburner account to use RSS, [...]
Alexa and Snow Crash
Having thought some about the new Alexa service that is being offered where anyone can search their 100 TB of data for a modest fee, it made me think of one of the concepts from Neal Stephenson’s Snow Crash (Amazon link). If you haven’t read it and enjoy sci-fi that makes you think, I’d highly [...]
Is Google Bashing the New Black for 2006?
Here’s some interesting thoughts about Google’s purchase of 5% of AOL. The NY Times gives a more detailed look at the deal with some interesting revelations. Google has been providing Web search and search ads for AOL since 2002. In the new arrangement, Google will offer promotion to AOL in ways it has never done [...]
Random Tidbits
Via the Club for Growth: Consider this — the Army Corps of Engineers is, in large part, to blame for the levees breaking down in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina. Now, thanks to Republican Senator Thad Cochran, part of the funds being used to help pay for Katrina relief — approx. $13 million — will [...]
iPod Engraving
We finally got around to buying our Christmas gift this weekend. Because of the education discount, we bought our iPod straight from Apple. When we started to check out, we found that they offered free laser engraving on the back of the iPod. Of course, you feel obliged to get it because it’s free and [...]
The Latest Front in the Copyright Wars
Now, the MPA wants to shut down websites that publish lyrics: Guitar licks and song scores are widely available on the Internet but are “completely illegal”, he told the BBC. Mr Keiser said he did not just want to shut websites and impose fines, saying if authorities can “throw in some jail time I think [...]
European Publishers, Google, and the Impending End of Civilization
Ever wonder what it sounds like to hear a dinosaur go extinct? Just listen to the head of the European Publishers Council. European publishers warned Tuesday that they cannot keep allowing Internet search engines such as Google Inc. to make money from their content. “The new models of Google and others reverse the traditional permission-based [...]
Chasing Windmills
Here’s a NY Times editorial by a music artist that seems to understand reality much better than the record companies with their quixotic quests against piracy. This technological disaster aside, though, Sony BMG and the other major labels need to face reality: copy-protection software is bad for everyone, consumers, musicians and labels alike. It’s much [...]