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Tuesday, April 16, 2002 |
Dave notes new blogs by traditional columnists Louise Kehoe (Financial Times) and Peter Lewis (Fortune). It's nice to see them taking advantage of the format (even if they don't seem to be taking advantage of the software), but they're still missing what is - to me - one of the most important features, namely news aggregation.
I know I go on and on about this, but what would be truly innovative here would be to add an RSS feed so that I can subscribe to their daily posts. That's how to hook me as a new reader since I read their publications (print and online) on an irregular basis at best.
11:59:44 PM Permanent link here
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Very cool - my alma mater will be launching a site dedicated to KU History, of which they have quite a bit. Some of it isn't even about basketball. ;-)
" This Week In KU History has adapted the format of the “Today in History” column published by most daily newspapers and taken that concept several steps further. Indeed, we have expanded this model to deliver an extensive, date-driven e-history of the University of Kansas on a weekly basis.
Starting in Fall 2002, you’ll be able to read original, richly illustrated articles about key moments in the history of KU every week. From what we’ve been able to determine, there’s nothing quite like it on the web."
I hope they'll consider implementing an RSS feed....
11:52:49 PM Permanent link here
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Randy was kind enough to send along a pointer to Singlefile. From the web site:
"Singlefile is an easy-to-use web-based service that helps you organize the books you own, the books you are reading, the books you've read and the books you want to read.
You can use it to keep track of the books you've loaned to friends, or books you haven't bought/read yet, or to find out how many non-fiction paperbacks with 275 pages you own, etc. Singlefile is also great for keeping a record of your books for insurance purposes. And, in affiliation with Amazon.com, you can discover and buy new books you might enjoy based on the authors in your collection!"
The free version of this service lets you manage up to 25 books, with a second level cost of $19.95/year for up to 500 books, and an unlimited account for $39.95/year. If I was reading as many books as I used to (I'm bemoaning my current state, not whining), I would definitely consider using this service.
11:34:44 PM Permanent link here
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Free Speech in Cyberspace
"The Supreme Court's ruling yesterday striking down a federal ban on "virtual" child pornography sent a clear message to would-be censors: The government must be scrupulous, when regulating obscene material, not to infringe on protected speech. The decision is especially welcome now, as a three-judge court in Philadelphia is poised to rule on a federal law that seeks to force libraries to censor the Internet use of their patrons.
The restrictions that the court struck down yesterday, portions of the Child Pornography Prevention Act, were Congress's attempt to ban computer-generated images so lifelike that they appear to be of actual children. By a 6-to-3 vote, the court ruled that the restrictions on such images were so vague as to be unconstitutional.
This same sort of overbreadth is one of the central problems with the Internet law being challenged in Philadelphia. In that case, a coalition of libraries, Internet sites and civil libertarians is challenging the Children's Internet Protection Act, a federal law that withholds federal technology aid from public libraries and schools that refuse to block sites that are "harmful to minors...."
The Supreme Court has repeatedly made clear that when the federal government hands out funds to private parties it cannot restrict what they say. Once the government decides to finance local libraries, the decision about what material will be made available to the libraries' patrons belongs with the libraries, not with censors in Washington.
These are critical times for establishing the scope of our freedoms on the Internet. Courts right now are laying the groundwork — principles that could last for generations — for how legal doctrines like freedom of expression and copyright will be applied in cyberspace. Guided by yesterday's powerful First Amendment ruling, the three-judge court in Philadelphia should waste no time in striking down the oppressive and unconstitutional restrictions of the Children's Internet Protection Act." [NY Times Op/Ed, via Scripting News]
10:50:21 PM Permanent link here
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There have been a few interesting articles this week about instant messaging. Here's a sample from each.
- Companions or Commercials?
"It's called SmarterChild.com, and it's ready to deliver a whole troop of buddy bots to your family's computer desktop. We're talking about bots who can simulate human interaction just well enough to fool — or at least confuse — our kids. And we're talking about a bot technology that may soon be as flexible and intuitive as it is alarming and intrusive." [ABC News, via Slashdot]
- Instant Messages Aren't Always Fleeting
"Just like e-mail or Web traffic, instant messages can be monitored by corporate network administrators -- whether those messages are sent to colleagues using a company's own software or flashed to friends across oceans using freely available programs from America Online, Yahoo! or Microsoft. Privacy advocates say they know of no major incidents so far of disciplinary action for IM abuse. But it may be just a matter of time." [CNN, via Library Stuff]
- Youngsters Targeted by Digital Bullies
"More than one in four youngsters in the UK has been threatened via their computers or mobile phones, according to a survey.... Of the 856 people aged between 11 and 19 asked, 16% had received bullying or threatening text messages, 7% had been harassed in internet chatrooms and 4% by e-mail." [BBCNews]
10:07:23 PM Permanent link here
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 "According to documents filed with the [FCC], the device uses America Online's instant messaging software and appears to be connected to networks run by T-Mobile. T-Mobile, which is owned by Deutsche Telekom, operates in the United States under the name VoiceStream. However, the company is in the process of adopting the T-Mobile name in the United States. The FCC's approval came Thursday....
Danger has not said which carriers will market the device, which can browse the Web, send and receive e-mail, and make phone calls. The unit, which has a screen that flips up to reveal a small keyboard, also has traditional organizer features such as a calendar and to-do list; and that information can be stored on the Web as well as on the device....
The company has said the device should sell for around $200 and will be aimed at consumers....
The unit can be dialed a number of ways, according to a draft user manual. Calls can be placed from the phone book, from a list of recent calls, from a speed dial list, by typing by name, and even the old-fashioned way, by dialing the 10-digit number.
According to the documents, the device can open e-mail from any standard POP3 account and can also open several types of attached graphics files such as JPEG, GIF and bitmap files. The device also includes a small digital camera for taking pictures and the unit can store and send photos as well.
Those who use AOL Instant Messenger can have multiple conversations at once and have access to their "buddy list." The device can also send and receive short text messages using the SMS standard." [Story: News.com, picture: PDABuzz]
If you haven't seen the Danger site before, definitely check out the demo for the Hiptop. I agree with many of the comments on the PDABuzz discussion forum that it's a killer toy, but that monthly fees will determine its viability (just ask Kate and Clare). It runs on its own Java Virtual Machine (JVM), so there is the potential framework for some boffo games.
I can't wait to get my hands on one of these to play with it, but here's the thing. I can see this device appealing to the target 18-34 demographic, but at this point in my life, I'm willing to pay up to $300 more for a device with cellphone, PDA, gaming, GPS, digital camera, voice recording, and MP3 functionality all rolled into one. With a color screen, too, because my Sony Clie has spoiled me to no end. Oh, and eventually I'll want Bluetooth capability embedded in it.
I'm tired of carrying around multiple devices that don't even do everything I want them to do. So while I'm interested in the design of the hiptop, I'm drooling far more over the Nokia 7650 and 9210i. If only they were ready for the U.S. market!
7:40:12 PM Permanent link here
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Digital Music Downloading 'Bigger Than Napster' - Study (note: all emphasis in the story is mine)
"According to a study released today by market research firm Odyssey, 31 percent of online users over the age of 16 - which translates to over 40 million U.S. consumers - have downloaded or transferred music online in the past six months.
Odyssey said respondents reported an average of 11 downloads or file transfers per week....
Fifty-three percent of online users under 30 said they have transferred or downloaded music in the past six months. However, because 20 percent of online users over 30 and 14 percent of those over 45 said they also have swapped music in the past six months, Odyssey said such behavior, 'is not something that this large base of young consumers is likely to outgrow over time....'
Odyssey said the recording industry should offer services that allow consumers to create their own "play lists" of songs, and transfer ("burn") the music to their preferred format. The firm said 60 percent of U.S. households have some interest in subscribing to such a service.
'The industry has taken so long to respond that an entirely new set of expectations has been created,' Nick Donatiello, president and CEO of Odyssey said in a written statement. 'Now record labels will have to climb walls that they are allowing to be built.'
The study said the music services offered by the record companies, such as MusicNet and Pressplay, do not meet the needs of consumers. Odyssey dismissed those services as something that solves the industry's problems, but does not meet consumers' needs.
What people want, the firm said, is to own, control and customize their music....
'We're seeing a sea change, and from the consumer perspective it looks as if the industry is still out shopping for boats,' Baenen added." [NewsBytes]
2:39:18 PM Permanent link here
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More consolidation. I just tried to do a search of some books at Fatbrain, only to find myself at Barnes & Noble reading the following:
"The Fatbrain web site has been renamed Barnes & Noble.com Professional, Technical and Business Bookstore. With one million titles in stock, all competitively priced and ready for immediate shipment, you will continue to get the same great service you've always received from Fatbrain, a Barnes & Noble.com company since November 2000."
When did this happen? I rarely use BN (Amazon has a much more robust and functional site), so now I'm really peeved because I can't even search their site by ISBN. I understand merges, but this implementation is just sad, sad, sad.
11:20:24 AM Permanent link here
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This week's special report from Businessweek is about The Corporate Net. Unfortunately, I don't have time to read these right now, but they (and the others I'm not listing) might be of interest to you.
- Business' Killer App: The Web - "No, this isn't Dot-Com Delusion Act II. It means adding a couple of points to profit margins -- and that's nothing to deride these days"
- The MD Meets IT - "Hospitals are using the Net to share info, do remote diagnoses, give patients faster access to results -- and cut costs"
- The Web at Your Service - "In the next phase, computers hooked to different Web sites will communicate behind the scenes, save money, and boost productivity"
- The Web's Weaver Looks Forward - "Tim Berners-Lee, chief architect of the World Wide Web, explains his vision of the next stitch in the process: The Semantic Web"
9:36:39 AM Permanent link here
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Point:
"Internet file-sharing and commercial CD-pirating operations share the blame for a 5 percent drop in the value of recorded music sales last year, according an international record- company trade group.
The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) said today that the slide in global revenue to $33.7 billion represented a 6.5 percent drop in unit sales of all recorded music formats, including full-length CDs, CD singles and cassette tapes.
Behind those numbers, said Jay Berman, the IFPI's chief executive, was 'a perfect storm (that) combined effects of mass copying and piracy, competition from other products and economic downturn.'
'The industry's problems reflect no fall in the popularity of recorded music,' Berman said, 'Rather, they reflect the fact that the commercial value of music is being widely devalued by mass copying and piracy....'
Figures for 2001 released by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) earlier this year said sales of full-length CDs - which represented 91 percent of all sales - dropped by 6.4 percent, but that price increases held the revenue drop to 2.3 percent." [NewsBytes]
Counterpont: George Scriban.
9:14:04 AM Permanent link here
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"In closed-door meetings, mammoth media companies and makers of electronics devices are hashing out details of how to protect digital TV broadcasts from being copied and sent on the Internet.
But consumer advocates say the outcome may reach much further, possibly resulting in a restriction of consumers' home recording of video and music in the near future.
It could give 'a small group of studios and consumer electronics companies control over how citizens watch and enjoy the television they pay for,' says Joe Kraus of the recently formed activist group DigitalConsumer.org.
'It's a dangerous precedent,' he says. 'Maybe a recording expires in 24 hours or seven days, or you are not allowed to take a tape of The Sopranos to your friend's house to watch.'
But Motion Picture Association of America executive vice president Fritz Attaway says that is 'not the intent of the discussions. The idea that we are uninterested in consumers and unaffected by consumer desires just couldn't be more wrong....'
Nonetheless, Attaway dismisses the notion that consumers are being sold out. 'I can't imagine that broadcasters or even cable services would ever prevent their customers from time-shifting. Consumers expect it, and any delivery system that refused to make that possible would be a failure.' " [USA Today]
I guess I'd believe Attaway more if his organization hadn't tried to do exactly what he's saying they won't - prevent their customers from time-shifting. I guess Jack Valenti was too busy to provide a quote because he would never go on record with a comment like that.
"Meanwhile, Hollywood is worried about its films being Napstered. Already, first-run movies and TV shows are available for download on the Net. Most are low quality and require hours of downloading, but in the rapidly advancing world of digital technology, that can change quickly."
What is the correct verb here - "Napstered?" I've seen it referred to as "Napsterized" in other places. I'm asking an honest question here - what do you think the verb form of "Napster" is?
"The industries expect Congress to pass legislation to increase anti-piracy enforcement, too. Hollywood appears to have the ear of Capitol Hill with a bill proposed by Sen. Ernest Hollings, D-S.C., to require that all new digital TV sets and other devices have built-in copy-protection technology."
No mention in this article of GeekPac, Boucher, or Leahy. Very poorly written (and no, I wasn't expecting anything more from USA Today).
9:07:37 AM Permanent link here
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In celebration of National Library Week: Library Usage Up in Wake of Recession
"Two new national studies released today show that Americans are using their libraries more than ever, and 91 percent of adults believe public libraries will play an important role in the future, despite all of the information available on the Internet....
In a separate survey also released today, the ALA found that, overwhelmingly, adults are satisfied with their public libraries (84 percent compared to 7 percent who were not satisfied)....
The survey also found:
- Of adults visiting libraries, those aged 25-34 visit the most often - 24 times per year. On average library users head to the library an average of 13 times a year;
- More than two-thirds of adults with children under 18 say they visit libraries with their children;
- Sixty-two percent of adult Americans say they have a library card. Adults with children are most likely to have a library card (73 percent);
- The library is most often used for educational purposes (46 percent), followed by entertainment (41 percent)."
[American Library Association, via Library Stuff]
12:23:42 AM Permanent link here
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OpenLink's Virtuoso Is Truly a Universal Server
"The marriage of SQL and XML, in the church of Web services, will reshape our industry. Virtuoso works hard to consummate the union. It's a visionary product that can be configured as an e-mail message store, an NNTP server, an application server, a content-management system, a Web-services gateway, and much more. It requires, and will reward, multidisciplinary developers who can turn data into information, and information into knowledge." [Jon's Radio]
Andy B. - I wish I knew enough to say why, but I thought this might be of interest to you!
12:02:08 AM Permanent link here
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© Copyright 2004 Jenny Levine.
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