05 December 2002

Taxi Drivers Have to Pay Music Royalties ANANOVA -- The music industry has apparently convinced the Supreme Court in Finland that _taxi drivers need to pay royalties for the music they play in their cars. If the cab driver has the radio on, then he or she owes the music industry money for those "public performances". [Ananova and Techdirt]   [Comment on Shoptalk]

Generating Income from Intellectual Property McKINSEY QUARTERLY -- McKinsey's study of current intellectual property practices and valuations suggests that IPR assets could generate 5 to 10 percent of operating income. Yet only a small number of the companies that McKinsey examined earn more than 0.5 percent of their operating income from licensing. Unlike the top performers, which on average do at least one intellectual-property deal a month and earn licensing revenues of more than $10,000 annually for each active patent, most companies in the McKinsey survey complete only one or two deals a year and average less than $1,000 per active patent. [McKinsey Quarterly]   [Comment on Shoptalk]

Best Blogs 2001 Dave Winer -- Listing of favorite weblogs, by category. Nominated for the top category of "Blogger of the Year" in 2001 were Adam Curry, Camworld, Rageboy, Dan Gillmor, Doc Searls, Evhead, Glenn Fleishman, Heather Champ, JD Lasica, Joel Spolsky (he won), Lance Knobel, Rafe Colburn, Susan Kitchens, Wes Felter and Zeldman. [Scripting News and Shoptalk]   [Comment on Shoptalk]

Broadband Projects Delayed in Southeast Ireland ELECTRIC NEWS net -- Work on the first phase of a major broadband infrastructure project for southeast Ireland looks set to be postponed until 2004. John Cradden reported the project to construct 100km of fibre optic network in Waterford and five nearby towns was due to begin shortly, but is likely to be postponed by the South East Regional Authority (SERA). The project, known as SERPANT, is one of 19 schemes that were approved by the Irish government as part of an infrastructural plan to develop high-speed Internet technologies. SERA Director Thomas Byrne simply did not get the funding. That means no broadband construction. We would've had high-speed Internet access in Kilkenny if this project had received funding. SEISS needs this broadband linkage to fulfill its visionary objectives. The innovative work set in place by Sean Lynam, e-business manager for the South East Chambers of Commerce, won't reach the masses without broadband points of presence. [The Irish Times and Electric News]   [Comment on Shoptalk]

US Justice Department Must Respond to Information Request PC WORLD -- The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) in August requested information from the US Department of Justice concerning the agency's surveillance activities since passage of the USA PATRIOT Act. Jameel Jaffer of the ACLU said that the breadth of the surveillance powers included in the PATRIOT Act allows for the possibility of their abuse of personal liberties. When the government failed to respond to the Freedom of Information request, the organizations sued, and a federal judge has set January 15 as the deadline for a response. According to EPIC's general counsel, the Justice Department has compiled 300 pages of information in response to the request but has not decided to release it. EPIC and the ACLU have asked for statistics showing how often the government has used its new surveillance authority for activities such as wiretapping and intercepting e-mail. [PC World and EDUCAUSE]   [Comment on Shoptalk]

Content is Back in the Frame Word at AOL's stockholder meeting yesterday revealed that magazines, TV and films are coming to the rescue of the Internet. AOL plans to attract advanced email services allowing users to send things like movie trailers. According to David Teather in New York, although AOL is being forced into broadband by the demands of the market, the profit margins are lower than for the dial-up narrowband service, which accounts for the largest part of the existing business. Jonathan Miller, appointed to oversee AOL three months ago, believes the Internet has moved towards a traditional media model that depends on subscriptions and advertising. The days of free content are numbered. The idea of an Internet portal as a destination is a hangover term from the 90s. ["It's Back to the Future for Net Heads" by David Teather in The Guardian, 5 Dec 02]   [Comment on Shoptalk]

Jamie Oliver's Redemption Kitchen SHANOWEN HOTSPOT -- After watching Jamie Oliver for a month of Tuesday nights on Channel 4, I am not surprised that The Naked Chef has become a Media Saint. Oliver has tied to cajole 15 unemployed young people into becoming chefs for his new cooperative restaurant in London. Simultaneously, this week's profits statements from Sainbury's establishes Oliver as one of the most fascinating current public figures. The supermarket chain claims that Oliver was personally responsible for 20% of its profits last year and that his campaigns have increased its turnover by more than £1bn since the century began.   [Comment on Shoptalk]

Who Needs a Puppy? Ashley Norris -- Gadgets come and go, so you need to know the ones that aren't just for Christmas. Archose Multimedia Jukebox is the Swiss-Army knife of the gadget world. The Jukebox's 20GB hard dixk is capable of archiving up to 400 albums of MP3 music transferred from a PC or recorded directly from a CD player via the unit's onboard MP3 encoder. You can also use it with a plug-in camera and then review the pictures with the Jukebox' 320x240 colour screen. Sony Clie PEG NR-70V includes an integrated MP3/ATRAC3 audio players, gMovie and Picture Gear software. It has an on-board DSC with a swivel lens. Sony also offers Clie Remote Commander software, which means this device can change your television channels too. Philips Streamium MC-i200 not only includes an FM tuner alongside its CD player but also a web browser optimised to deliver Web radio stations via a connection to a broadband modem. Innogear Duex MP302 includes an integrated MP3 player and voice recorder. So you can carry your documents, files and tunes in your pocket. [The Guardian Online]   [Comment on Shoptalk]