Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/216099495/
Filed under: Cellphones, Portable Video
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Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/216355146/
Filed under: Cellphones
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Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/216445239/
Filed under: Features, Storage, Networking
Continue reading DroboShare Drobo NAS mini-review
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Source: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/215191929/tsas-nobid-dataleaki.html
The TSA's Traveler Redress Website was created by a no-bid crony contractor, leaked giant amount of personal information from hundreds of travellers (who had already been screwed over by the agency and were writing in for justice) and exposed them to identity theft. The House Oversight Committee concluded that the TSA totally, absolutely screwed up.They sure do a bang up job at stopping you from bringing water through the checkpoint though.
That's gotta count for something.
* TSA awarded the website contract without competition. TSA gave a small, Virginia-based contractor called Desyne Web Services a no-bid contract to design and operate the redress website. According to an internal TSA investigation, the "Statement of Work" for the contract was "written such that Desyne Web was the only vendor that could meet program requirements."Link (Thanks, Bill!)* The TSA official in charge of the project was a former employee of the contractor. The TSA official who was the "Technical Lead" on the website project and acted as the point of contact with the contractor had an apparent conflict of interest. He was a former employee of Desyne Web Services and regularly socialized with Desyne's owner.
* TSA did not detect the website's security weaknesses for months. The redress website was launched on October 6, 2006, and was not taken down until after February 13, 2007, when an internet blogger exposed the security vulnerabilities. During this period, TSA Administrator Hawley testified before Congress that the agency had assured "the privacy of users and the security of the system" before its launch. Thousands of individuals used the insecure website, including at least 247 travelers who submitted large amounts of personal information through an insecure webpage.
Update: If you want to read the world's greatest "TSA have lied and cheated and lied and cheated" rant, check out our Teresa's post in the comment thread on the five year old whom the TSA thinks is a terr'ist.
Source: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/215434332/using-rabies-to-deli.html
Marilyn sez, "Harvard Medical School researchers have developed an ingenious way to deliver drugs directly to the brain (in order to kill a tumor, for example), that uses the virus that causes rabies, which is extremely effective in infiltrating the blood brain barrier that blocks most other kinds of molecules."In this study, the drug was injected into the tail of the mice, targeting the blood vessels. Using small interfering RNA (siRNA) as a drug treatment for many diseases has been powerfully successful in other animal models, but the problem has always been the process of making it a practical drug for clinical application. Therefore, this new technology developed by Kumar et al sheds light into a new, non-invasive and feasible way to deliver siRNA specifically to the brain.Link (Thanks, Marilyn!)siRNA is gaining popularity as a preferred drug treatment method since its early conception in the past seven years. It takes advantage of the cell's ability to stop its own protein production as soon as a short RNA sequence corresponding to the protein is detected outside of the cell's nucleus. This triggers a powerful protein synthesis arrest, which can be harnessed to modulate or treat diseases such as diabetes, Hepatitis C, and even transplant rejection.
Source: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/214895356/
Beacon is interesting, as Zuckerberg puts it, because “What would you rather see? A banner ad from Bloomingdale's or that one of your friends bought a scarf?”
Exactly. Except there were two fundamental problems with Beacon. The first problem, now resolved, was that users were unwittingly participating and sharing this information. Now users can choose to opt out of Beacon. Not as good as an opt-in, but its a move in the right direction.
The second problem hasn’t been resolved, though. Facebook is allowing advertisers to use user images and names in their ads. So if one of your friends adds a third party application, you may see an advertisement that shows their picture, prints their name and says that they’ve added the application.
Certainly click throughs and responses increase with the addition of a recommendation from a friend in an advertisement. But all of this may be in violation of publicity rights in place in many states that prohibit the commercial exploitation of a person’s image and likeness without permission or contractual compensation. The image to the right is an example that a confused reader sent to me - he saw the ad on his profile and wondered if I was affiliated with Blockbuster’s Movie Clique application or with the Jackass movie.
As far as I can tell there is no point where users are agreeing to the use of their image and name in advertisements, explicitly or even buried in the terms and conditions of the site. Whether or not it violates people’s privacy rights is a legal issue, and one that doesn’t appear to have been pushed to the lawyers yet. But the ice is rather thin, and Facebook is treading away.
Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/214043197/supercharge-outlook-with-xobni
Windows only: Freeware Microsoft Outlook plug-in Xobni (that's inbox backwards) adds a handful of killer features to its new Outlook sidebar. Among those features: Email analytics, extraordinarily useful contact cards, fast search, threaded (Gmail-like) conversations, and more. The video above gives an excellent overview, so give it a look. Seeing as Xobni has successfully made Outlook appear exciting (which is no easy feat), this freeware, Windows-only plug-in looks like a winner. Currently Xobni is in a closed beta, but the first 50 readers to head to the download page and enter the code "lifehacker" can download. Once you're in, you should be able to invite friends, so if you use the code, keep an eye on the comments and help out a fellow Outlook user. Outlook lovers, let's hear how it works for you in the comments.
Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/214140481/gmail-mobile-for-google-apps
m.google.com/a on your mobile phone and download "Mail by Google." The icon is a blue envelope (instead of the regular Gmail Mobile red icon) and it's labeled "Mail by Google." You log in using your name@yourdomain.com address. You can have both Gmail Mobile and Mail by Google installed on the same phone, and it works on Symbian and other Java-enabled handsets like my Nokia 6682. Check out our screenshot tour of the Gmail Mobile 1.5 app to get a taste of Gmail Mobile 1.5. The Mail by Google mobile app is a free download direct to your handset.
The next time the robot called, it thought it was getting a dead line and dutifully erased the number from its system. Voila, automatons be gone. Some places have autodialers that don't (or have been tweaked) to respond to SIT tones, but if you've got a persistent unwanted robot caller, it's worth a shot.Of course, adding this to your answering machine greeting may confuse genuine human callers as well, but that may be worth scaring off the bots. Grab the tone as a WAV file from the Art of Hacking site. Photo by geishaboy500.
Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/214947375/
Filed under: Features, Handhelds, Tablet PCs
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Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/215009102/you-can-do-better-than-this-iphone-window-shot
Source: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/typepad/sethsmainblog/~3/212534534/music-lessons.html
Things you can learn from the music business (as it falls apart)
The first rule is so important, it's rule 0:
0. The new thing is never as good as the old thing, at least right now.
Soon, the new thing will be better than the old thing will be. But if you wait until then, it's going to be too late. Feel free to wax nostalgic about the old thing, but don't fool yourself into believing it's going to be here forever. It won't.
1. Past performance is no guarantee of future success
Every single industry changes and, eventually, fades. Just because you made money doing something a certain way yesterday, there's no reason to believe you'll succeed at it tomorrow.
The music business had a spectacular run alongside the baby boomers. Starting with the Beatles and Dylan, they just kept minting money. The co-incidence of expanding purchasing power of teens along with the birth of rock, the invention of the transistor and changing social mores meant a long, long growth curve.
As a result, the music business built huge systems. They created top-heavy organizations, dedicated superstores, a loss-leader touring industry, extraordinarily high profit margins, MTV and more. It was a well-greased system, but the key question: why did it deserve to last forever?
It didn't. Yours doesn't either.
2. Copy protection in a digital age is a pipe dream
If the product you make becomes digital, expect that the product you make will be copied.
There's a paradox in the music business that is mirrored in many industries: you want ubiquity, not obscurity, yet digital distribution devalues your core product.
Remember, the music business is the one that got in trouble for bribing disk jockeys to play their music on the radio. They are the ones that spent millions to make (free) videos for MTV. And yet once the transmission became digital, they understood that there's not a lot of reason to buy a digital version (via a cumbersome expensive process) when the digital version is free (and easier).
Most items of value derive that value from scarcity. Digital changes that, and you can derive value from ubiquity now.
The solution isn't to somehow try to become obscure, to get your song off the (digital) radio. The solution is to change your business.
You used to sell plastic and vinyl. Now, you can sell interactivity and souvenirs.
3. Interactivity can't be copied
Products that are digital and also include interaction thrive on centralization and do better and better as the market grows in size (consider Facebook or Basecamp).
Music is social. Music is current and everchanging. And most of all, music requires musicians. The winners in the music business of tomorrow are individuals and organizations that create communities, connect people, spread ideas and act as the hub of the wheel... indispensable and well-compensated.
4. Permission is the asset of the future
For generations, businesses had no idea who their end users were. No ability to reach through the record store and figure out who was buying that Rolling Stones album, no way to know who bought this book or that vase.
Today, of course, permission is an asset to be earned. The ability (not the right, but the privilege) of delivering anticipated, personal and relevant messages to people who want to get them. For ten years, the music business has been steadfastly avoiding this opportunity.
It's interesting though, because many musicians have NOT been avoiding it. Many musicians have understood that all they need to make a (very good) living is to have 10,000 fans. 10,000 people who look forward to the next record, who are willing to trek out to the next concert. Add 7 fans a day and you're done in 5 years. Set for life. A life making music for your fans, not finding fans for your music.
The opportunity of digital distribution is this:
When you can distribute something digitally, for free, it will spread (if it's good). If it spreads, you can use it as a vehicle to allow people to come back to you and register, to sign up, to give you permission to interact and to keep them in the loop.
Many authors (I'm on that list) have managed to build an entire career around this idea. So have management consultants and yes, insurance salespeople. Not by viewing the spread of digital artifacts as an inconvenient tactic, but as the core of their new businesses.
5. A frightened consumer is not a happy consumer.
I shouldn't have to say this, but here goes: suing people is like going to war. If you're going to go to war with tens of thousands of your customers every year, don't be surprised if they start treating you like the enemy.
6. This is a big one: The best time to change your business model is while you still have momentum.
It's not so easy for an unknown artist to start from scratch and build a career self-publishing. Not so easy for her to find fans, one at a time, and build an audience. Very, very easy for a record label or a top artist to do so. So, the time to jump was yesterday. Too late. Okay, how about today?
The sooner you do it, the more assets and momentum you have to put to work.
7. Remember the Bob Dylan rule: it's not just a record, it's a movement.
Bob and his handlers have a long track record of finding movements. Anti-war movements, sure, but also rock movies, the Grateful Dead, SACDs, Christian rock and Apple fanboys. What Bob has done (and I think he's done it sincerely, not as a calculated maneuver) is seek out groups that want to be connected and he works to become the connecting the point.
By being open to choices of format, to points of view, to moments in time, Bob Dylan never said, "I make vinyl records that cost money to listen to." He understands at some level that music is often the soundtrack for something else.
I think the same thing can be true for chefs and churches and charities and politicians and makers of medical devices. People pay a premium for a story, every time.
8. Don't panic when the new business model isn't as 'clean' as the old one
It's not easy to give up the idea of manufacturing CDs with a 90% gross margin and switching to a blended model of concerts and souvenirs, of communities and greeting cards and special events and what feels like gimmicks. I know.
Get over it. It's the only option if you want to stay in this business. You're just not going to sell a lot of CDs in five years, are you?
If there's a business here, first few in will find it, the rest lose everything.
9. Read the writing on the wall.
Hey, guys, I'm not in the music business and even I've been writing about this for years. I even started a record label five years ago to make the point. Industries don't die by surprise. It's not like you didn't know it was coming. It's not like you didn't know who to call (or hire).
This isn't about having a great idea (it almost never is). The great ideas are out there, for free, on your neighborhood blog. Nope, this is about taking initiative and making things happen.
The last person to leave the current record business won't be the smartest and he won't be the most successful, either. Getting out first and staking out the new territory almost always pays off.
10. Don't abandon the Long Tail
Everyone in the hit business thinks they understand the secret: just make hits. After all, if you do the math, it shows that if you just made hits, you'd be in fat city.
Of course, the harder you try to just make hits, the less likely you are to make any hits at all. Movies, records, books... the blockbusters always seem to be surprises. Surprise hit cookbooks, even.
Instead, in an age when it's cheaper than ever to design something, to make something, to bring something to market, the smart strategy is to have a dumb strategy. Keep your costs low and go with your instincts, even when everyone says you're wrong. Do a great job, not a perfect one. Bring things to market, the right market, and let them find their audience.
Stick to the knitting has never been more wrong. Instead, find products your customers want. Don't underestimate them. They're more catholic in their tastes than you give them credit for.
11. Understand the power of digital
Try to imagine something like this happening ten years ago: An eleven-year-old kid wakes up on a Saturday morning, gets his allowance, then, standing in his pajamas, buys a Bon Jovi song for a buck.
Compare this to hassling for a ride, driving to the mall, finding the album in question, finding the $14 to pay for it and then driving home.
You may believe that your business doesn't lend itself to digital transactions. Many do. If you've got a business that doesn't thrive on digital, it might not grow as fast as you like... Maybe you need to find a business that does thrive on digital.
The music business has always created celebrities. And each celebrity has profited for decades from that fame. Frank Sinatra is dead and he's still profiting. Elvis is still alive and he's certainly still profiting.
The music business has done a poor job of leveraging that celebrity and catching the value it creates. Many businesses now have the power to create their own micro-celebrities. These individuals capture attention and generate trust, two critical elements in growing profits.
13. Value is created when you go from many to few, and vice versa
The music business has thousands of labels and tens of thousands of copyright holders. It's a mess.
And there's just one iTunes music store. Consolidation pays.
At the same time, there are other industries where there are just a few major players and the way to profit is to create splinters and niches.
13. Whenever possible, sell subscriptions
Few businesses can successfully sell subscriptions (magazines being the very best example), but when you can, the whole world changes. HBO, for example, is able to spend its money making shows for its viewers rather than working to find viewers for every show.
The biggest opportunity for the music business is to combine permission with subscription. The possibilities are endless. And I know it's hard to believe, but the good old days are yet to happen.
Source: http://www.centernetworks.com/report-facebook-worst-performing-network
Some of the best scoring networks include: Pownce, Meetup, Xing, Geni and Flickr. Check out the full report to view each network. Which reported networks stand out to you?
Of the 104 sites monitored, 51 show a Site Performance Index (SPI) of 1000 or more, making them very slow in load time.
Here are the worst 10 performing networks:
Warning: This beautiful ballet of chemical reactions could make you trade your lava lamp for a magnetic stirrer.
When several clear liquids are combined, the mixture quickly changes colors -- back and forth -- over and over again. Like Mitt Romney speaking on social issues, the undulating brew just can't make up its mind.
In 1973, the spectacular demonstration was perfected by Thomas Briggs and Warren Rauscher, two amazing high school science teachers.
Over thirty-five years later, chemists are still trying to fully understand how it works.
What they do know: Several reactions take place at once. One of them produces iodine, which gives the amber color. Hydrogen peroxide reduces other chemicals into iodide ions. Along with normal iodine, the charged particles interact with starch to create it a blue-black color. The speeds of those transformations are constantly changing. As one overtakes the other, the color suddenly changes.
Source: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/214809667/miro-11-faster-torre.html
Miro combines BitTorrent (a downloading system that gets faster as more people download the same file) with the open VLC video player (which lets you watch every video format without worrying about which program you're using) and RSS technology, so that you can subscribe to any of thousands of channels and get the new videos when they're published. Miro comes from the nonprofit Participatory Culture Foundation, who also make Broadcast Machine, a tool that lets anyone publish channels for their own video.
Miro is also hiring hackers and fundraisers, so here's your chance to help keep the world safe for open video. Link
(Disclosure: I am on the Board of Directors for the nonprofit Participatory Culture Foundation)
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