FM gets strong reception at CES. "The humble broadcasting technology, which ceased being a novelty around the time of Woodstock, re-emerges in several new and potentially significant permutations." [CNET News.com]
2:25:54 PM  #   your two cents []

Over this weekend, I should reach 10,000 visitors to this site since I started blogging at the end of the summer. That's pretty cool -- and of course humbling. It's a nice milestone. Thanks for reading.
12:54:17 PM  #   your two cents []

From Boing Boing Blog: Alien abduction dog-tags for humans. "Picture yourself lost in the galaxy...UFO sightings and Alien Abductions are on the rise...Will you return to tell the story? In case of alien abduction these dog tags may save your life. The crucial data an alien will need to get you back to Earth is die stamped into these dog tags. Money back guarantee! Should you ever be abducted by aliens and not returned back to earth, you will be entitled to a full refund... " Link
12:38:07 PM  #   your two cents []

New worm, Lirva, is spreading. Worm mentions singer Avril Lavigne [InfoWorld: Top News]
12:36:26 PM  #   your two cents []

My column in the Times today develops some thoughts I worked through on the weblog earlier this week, on the comparison between the troubles in Silicon Valley and whether they might transfer into our own, tech-dependent economy in Ireland. The jumping off point was a New York Times story on the California economy, and the recent, annual (un)employment report from Enterprise Ireland, (which surprisingly showed more job losses in indigenous industries rather than the multinationals):

Those figures immediately recalled to mind the moaning from certain quarters, back when the downturn really began to bite, about how the nation and economy were far too dependent on multinationals, especially multinational technology companies.

One union leader insisted at the time of the Gateway closure that the State should turn away from technology and multinational companies and instead embrace other Irish-born industries. Asked on Morning Ireland what those industries might be, he suggested textiles and farming. An incredulous Áine Lawlor asked: "Are you suggesting that we should abandon a 21st century industry and go back to two 19th century industries?"

Now here we are in the midst - or if we're fortunate, nearing the end - of the most severe global economic plunge in most people's memories, and it turns out that the homespun industries are the source of job losses, not the multinationals.

However, have we really considered the economic and social consequences of embracing a well-paying, fast-paced industry that has surely contributed to our high cost of living, rising prices, and levels of inflation? If you're interested, read it here [sub only] or here [free].

12:32:46 PM  #   your two cents []

Potentially depressing reading from today's Irish Times [sub only]:

...the intervention of the Minister for Communications has clearly strengthened the Commission's resolve to force Eircom to offer flat-rate internet to its rivals.

But don't bank on a summer of unlimited internet surfing just yet. The honeymoon period enjoyed by Eircom and the Commission since Dr Phil Nolan took over at Eircom may come to a grisly end in the courts over the issue.

Eircom believes the Commission may not have the legal power to force it to offer rivals a service it does not want to introduce itself.

12:18:10 PM  #   your two cents []

Is that "hot spot" hot or not?. "A group whose seal of approval is thought indispensable by wireless-gear makers turns its attention to places where wireless Web access is offered for a fee." [CNET News.com]
12:10:57 PM  #   your two cents []

The Irish Examiner's Bernie Goldbach (also blogging here) has a piece today on Ireland's proposed data retention bill:

The State erodes personal freedom when it takes custody of private records. Minister McDowell’s current legislation is the most invasive proposal conceptualised by the State. It threatens the very principles of personal freedom that are enshrined in the European Convention on Human Rights.

Expectation of privacy underpins civilised society. The Department of Justice should be protecting the Free State, not proposing laws that erode free expression.

12:05:49 PM  #   your two cents []

Support networks. "The internet is helping to break through the isolation that often accompanies mental illness, reports David Batty." [Guardian Unlimited]
12:00:12 PM  #   your two cents []

XBox hackers take up challenge again. "Distributed computing Neo Project aims to crack encryption key" [InfoWorld: Top News]
11:59:06 AM  #   your two cents []

Vampire Bat Saliva Compound Could Help Treat Strokes [Scientific American]
11:58:39 AM  #   your two cents []

Congrats to Dave Winer for getting a fellowship at Harvard! And hey, that was fast -- Dave, you should have had to starve and struggle first -- that's what academia's all about [grin]. PS: Of course you can do it.
11:52:56 AM  #   your two cents []

 From Boing Boing Blog: "Dan Gillmor defines "We Media". Dan Gillmor's latest piece in the Columbia Journalism Review extends his Journalism 3.0 thesis ("my readers know more than I do") and talks about "We Media:"

<<Interactive technology -- and the mostly young readers and viewers who use and understand it -- are the catalysts. We Media augments traditional methods with new and yet-to-be invented collaboration tools ranging from e-mail to Web logs to digital video to peer-to-peer systems. But it boils down to something simple: our readers collectively know more than we do, and they don't have to settle for half-baked coverage when they can come into the kitchen themselves. This is not a threat. It is an opportunity. And the evolution of We Media will oblige us all to adapt.>>

My perspective: Dan's always been way ahead of most others in seeing, from an on-the-ground level, how interactive media changes journalism utterly (thus, he was one of the very first print journos to blog). But most publications are too terrified to do much more than 1) create a website that primarily functions to repost print content, and 2) confine contact between hacks and readers to a mailto (ie no one else gets to read the response except the hack) or within a small discussion forum. Blogs are a new form that encourages (and celebrates) contact (though granted,  a problem is keeping the useless flames out of the discussion -- and also not allowing criticism to be censored). Blogs make written journalism more like a radio discussion show. At the same time, for reasons I've noted variously in the past, I just don't think that blogs will replace traditional journalism, or even that there is some titanic strugle going on between the two. They are (for the most part) complementary -- for the reasons Dan is noting above.

Meanwhile, Dave has this opposing perspective on Dan's piece:

I'm a bit more radical. The idea of "audience" is obsolete. The new medium is read-write. Low-low barrier to entry. Journalism is all about barriers. Today you have to be sure there's lots of value in your barriers, or else you have nothing to offer. That's hard to do.

11:46:42 AM  #   your two cents []

Berton Averre. "To err is dysfunctional, to forgive co-dependent." [Quotes of the Day]
11:36:38 AM  #   your two cents []

Graduate tax settles top-up fees row. "University students will have to contribute up to £3,000 a year." [Guardian Unlimited]
11:35:59 AM  #   your two cents []

Study: U.S. lags in cutting PC waste. "Japan and countries in Europe are ahead of their U.S. counterparts in requiring computer manufacturers to reduce their use of toxic materials, a report says." [CNET News.com]
11:34:49 AM  #   your two cents []

Gadget takes iTunes to the living room. "The HomePod wireless stereo, expected to hit the market in March, lets music stored on a Mac in the den be played on a home stereo in the living room." [CNET News.com]
11:32:18 AM  #   your two cents []