Facebook caved to the pressure of its users who felt their privacy was being violated by the social network's recently announced Beacon advertising program. Late Thursday Facebook said it would make changes to a Web tracking feature that notifies one's Facebook friends when a user visits affiliated Web sites. Nearly 50,000 people signed a petition demanding a change to the program.
The question remains: now that Facebook took corrective actions, was it enough? I don't think so.
Facebook issued its official statement last night, outlining the numerous ways it has scaled back the use of the advertising Beacon. Facebook now says its Beacon ad system is an opt-in choice for its users. Under the original plan, Facebook users were automatically enrolled in the Beacon ad program. If they choose not to participate in the program Facebook users had to pro-actively opt-out. Now only those who pro-actively opt-in to the program will participate.
This isn't the first public attack on the three-week-old ad program either. Just days after its announcement, a number of law professors expressed their concern with the ads' failure to adhere to common privacy torts.
As I see it, Facebook may have survived the first wave of attacks, but I doubt the war will be over until the company does away with the program all together. It might not hurt to take one of those Google-like corporate pledges to "do no evil" either.
I'm surprised Facebook didn't just kill the feature. I'm also disappointed. In fact, as a Facebook user I'm not hearing a very strong apology. Judging from a statement posted to Facebook's Website it seems determined to continue the program despite the backlash:
"Stories about actions users take on external websites will continue to be presented to users at the top of their News Feed the next time they return to Facebook. These stories will now always be expanded on their home page so they can see and read them clearly."
Is Facebook's goose cooked in the eyes of its members? Probably not. As even angry MoveOn.org petitioners noted, "A lot of us love Facebook--it's helping to revolutionize the way we connect with each other. But they need to take privacy seriously."
Seems to me this entire episode is a good example of Facebook users keeping its beloved social network in check. Watch out Facebook, now we're keeping close tabs on you.
Today Google announced its plans to bid on the 700MHz wireless spectrum. Earlier this week Verizon Wireless said it plans to open its wireless network and allow any compatible device and its applications to run on its network in 2008.
No matter if its Google, Verizon, or even a third company that creates an open network first, next year will likely be a watershed year for wireless devices and services to either be introduced to consumers or (if nothing else) be hyped.
For its part Verizon has announced technical standards for how its "open" network will work. So far the most likely open network scenario is a two tiered service offering from Verizon. One tier would be similar, if not identical, to what Verizon offers today. Verizon would also offer a second tier of service that would allow consumers to use a device of their choice, as long as the device is approved by Verizon. Users of the Verizon open network would pay a metered usage fee when using it, experts predict.
Meanwhile, Google is doing its best to turn the wireless-world on its head in its own way with today's spectrum announcement coupled with its previously announced mobile device strategy (aka Android OS). Both Google announcements have spurred the U.S. wireless market to move more quickly than ever before to offer an "open" wireless network that resemble something close to the concepts promoted by network neutrality advocates. Not only would consumers be able to use a variety of handsets in Google?s wireless plan, but a host of wireless devices would bloom such as cameras, music players, gaming devices, and electronic books that will take advantage of cellular networks - not just WiFi networks.
Continue reading "Google vs. Verizon, Who Will "Open" the Airwaves First?"
You may want to try www.measuredup.com for mobile phone companies comments and reviews.
It's free to use and pretty easy
(PC World contributor Harold Dudley took a look at today's news about the possibility of faster iPhones coming soon. Here is what he found)
If the idea of giving or receiving an iPhone this holiday season is lingering in the back of your mind, you may want to hold off on that purchase because a significant iPhone upgrade may be coming sooner than you think.
In a meeting yesterday in California, Randall Stephenson, AT&T's chief executive officer said that a 3G variant of the iPhone will be available next year, according to Bloomberg. Stephenson added that a price for the revised iPhone has yet to be determined and that Apple's CEO, Steve Jobs, would be the one to set the price.
Since the iPhone's launch this summer, one of the primary complaints has been slow data speeds, as result of the decision to limit the iPhone to EDGE speeds. Jobs said that the decision to not include 3G support in the iPhone initially surrounded how it would impact the iPhone's battery life. He called the chips used for 3G technology "real power hogs" and that battery life of 3G devices hover in the sub-five hour range. Currently the iPhone has a rated battery life of eight hours. In PC World lab tests the iPhone had a battery life of 10 hours.
Apple has made it very clear it has a 10 million unit sales goal is set for the end of 2008. A significant upgrade such as 3G speeds to the iPhone may be the boost needed to accomplish the goal, as long as Apple can still maintain a reasonable battery.
The 3G iPhone would be the second big iPhone upgrade slated for 2008. Previously, Apple announced that a Software Developers Kit would be made available for the handset in February, opening up potential for homegrown applications on the iPhone. The idea of 3G speeds on the iPhone also opens up the idea for more powerful applications that require broadband-like speeds to be utilized by the iPhone, such as mobile TV and other streaming media applications.
Don't hold your breath for an exact release date. Apple isn't known for early and timely release date announcements, especially after pushing the iPhone release until the last possible minute (June 29 at 6:00 pm) of its original June-release target date. With Apple's largest event, MacWorld, more than a month away, we can only hope that more information will be made available then, especially given that MacWorld 2008 will be the iPhone's one-year announcement anniversary.
Facebook is taking a pounding by privacy rights groups highly critical of the social networking site's new advertising program. The addition of Social Ads and what are called Beacon ads, which Facebook announced earlier this month, are in the crosshairs of privacy rights groups who say Facebook goes too far in sharing its users' personal information with marketers and the public.
Facebook Social Ads are designed to tell members which of their friends have signed on as "fans" of advertisers working with Facebook. Beacon ads notifies Facebook members' friends about their purchases on sites other than Facebook. The new advertising systems allows more than 60 companies working with Facebook on the ad program to gather insights into users' activity on Facebook, according to Facebook.
Facebook does allow users to opt-out of participating both advertising programs, however privacy rights groups say the opt-out process needs to be easier.
Continue reading "Facebook Blasted Over Online Advertising Plan"
"Facebook is taking a pounding by privacy rights groups highly critical of the social networking site's new advertising program."
Looks like Facebook is following many of these social networking sites that eventually cave in to giving up the privacy and respect.of their users..... eventually they all want to make money and thus they need that informationfor the ads...in fact it looks like Facebook is already doing this. I saw a blog where they are asking everyone to strike on 12/16/07 by not visiting their page at Facebook. Have you heard of this?
Security experts are warning Google search results for phrases such as "christmas gift shopping," "christmas holiday sales," and "holiday shopping fun" have been steering users toward malware-laced Web sites.
Trend Micro warns that Google is likely being targeted by Russian Business Networks who have worked for months to rig thousands of malicious sites to show up high in Google search results. These sites host exploits that attempt to install malware on computer systems that do not have the most recent security patches installed.
Trend Micro's security expert Paul Ferguson says Google appears to have removed many of the dangerous search results from its index, however he estimates thousands of dangerous links still exist.
Dangerous Web sites found in search results are nothing new. However Ferguson says cyber criminals are particularly devious this time around by using holiday phrases and search engine optimization techniques to maximize the damage to Google users.
The news comes on the heels of a report from Sunbelt Software which detailed yesterday that hundreds of legitimate phrases searched for using Google lead to similar dangerous malware-spewing sites.
Sunbelt observed those Google searches were not holiday related and included phrases such as "how to cisco router vpn dial in" and "how to teach a dog to play fetch," according to an IDGNS report.
(This is an image of Google search results that link to malware infected sites, courtesy of Trend Micro)
"Since September, cyber criminals have been boosting their search engine rankings using a variety of methods such as 'comment spam' and 'blog spam' in preparation for the Christmas period," said Raimund Genes, CTO of Trend Micro. "With shoppers visiting these sites likely to purchase goods online after infection, their credit card details become a main target for cyber criminals looking for financial gains this season."
(PC World contributor John Troynousky took a look at today's news from Carnegie Mellon University. Here what he found)
Carnegie Mellon University says it has digitized an astounding 1.5 million books as part of its Universal Digital Library project. The ambitious task, launched in 2002, set out to digitize nothing less than all of humanity's published works. In 1000 years, the plan is, there will be a complete record of all books from the Gutenberg Bible to today's latest romance novel by Danielle Steel.
So far with 1.5 million books digitized, the project estimates it's one percent done with a long way to go.
Books are online today and accessible for free through the Universal Digital Library Web site. However I've experienced major headaches trying to access the online library and have received more browser errors than books. I'm guessing this has to do with the media attention the library is getting today that is translating into more Web traffic than the site can handle.
CMU exceeded its original goal of one million books this past April, and it is showing no signs of slowing down. Over 7000 books are scanned across the globe daily, according to CMU. There is, however, something standing in the project's way. Because of copyright concerns over scanned books the program is playing it safe.
What is available today is mostly books that are in the public domain or are books where the copyright holder has given the UDL permission to make a title available. When and if there is a question about a book's copyright only 15 percent of the book is published online ? however the entire book is scanned and archived.
My review of the UDL revealed that it is playing it safe indeed. Only 15 percent of the public domain book Alice in Wonderland, by Lewis Carroll, for example is available at UDL.
Project director Michael Shamos explained to to CNET in a story it has to play it safe because the project doesn't want to spend the university's endowment for the initiative on legal fees.
Shamos and the UDL are actually less concerned with short term access to books. Their goal is to preserve books for access hundreds of years from now, according the project's mission statement.
I can only hope my ancestors don't have to deal with today's copyright laws.
CMU efforts compete with similar initiatives by Google (Google Book Search), the Internet Archive (Text Archive), and Project Gutenberg.
Seems like you're right, the copyright laws themselves don't seem overly cooperative. Perhaps the "1.5" (I realize it was a mistype, the percent was meant to be given) is a direct result of the legal pressures in their way.
Let's face it... this might be an outstanding idea but it's a lost cause. Over the past few years many non-profit groups have sought to digitize books on a global level and failed.
One particular example comes from a site a while back (sorry can't remember the site address) that tried to at least scan all the world's religious texts. This was a very cool idea at the time but halfway through they went bankrupt.
More and more books are being digitized by average joes ? no common website ? just people breaking copyright laws and offering books on their simplistic websites. I?m more inclined the think that this method will do more to preserve books hundreds of years from now.
Or who knows? we might not even be using these boxy things with buttons on it.
The Federal Communications Commission delayed its plan to more heavily regulate cable TV operators Tuesday evening, after the agency's own commissioners questioned data that would push through a proposal.
Some of the issues at stake for consumers, industry watchers say, are whether cable providers such as Comcast and Time Warner would have to justify more clearly to the FCC customer rate hikes before implementing them. More FCC oversight might also provide customers a choice of individual channels on an a la carte basis as apposed to the way cable companies package channels today.
At a meeting last night FCC Chairman Kevin Martin intended to expand the FCC's powers over cable companies by proving the industry had reached a large enough U.S. audience to require increased government oversight. Under what's known as the "70/70 rule" of the Cable Communications Act of 1984, when 70 percent of U.S. households have the ability to subscribe to cable TV and 70 percent of those that can actually do subscribe the FCC would be given more regulatory authority over the cable industry. This would prevent the cable industry from gaining too much power.
What killed the FCC's chances of gaining more oversight of cable companies was a failure by the FCC's five commissioners to agree on whether the conditions of the 70/70 rule had been met. While commissioners did agree 70 percent of U.S. consumers have access to cable they could not reach agreement as to whether 70 percent of those that could subscribe to cable actually do.
Chairman Martin argued the 70/70 had been met and pointed to a Warren Communications News report that the supported the claim, according to reports. Fellow commissioners insisted otherwise.
The commission did approve a plan to force cable providers to hand over the numbers of subscribers each had and the number of homes serviced between 2006 and 2007 within the next 60 days.
Cable operators don't want FCC oversight. They argue the Cable Act of 1984 is antiquated, and claim that competition from video services offered by satellite and phone companies provide consumers ample alternatives to cable and keep them in check.
Who knew Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg was making his rounds in the Xbox Live community?
Starting December 4, Microsoft will release a fall update to its Xbox 360 Dashboard, allowing online players to now browse the friends of their own friends and (ideally) create new gaming contacts. The announcement has nothing to do with Facebook, except for the fact it's a push by Microsoft into the social networking space - albeit aimed at gamers and not college students. Granted, there is a lot of overlap between college students and gamers.
According to reports of the new Xbox dashboard players will be able to open up their friends list to everyone or block access entirely.
If Microsoft's introduction of this feature goes anything like what happened with Facebook's addition of the news feed, users could be up arms over the ability of strangers to monitor what they do online and "see" their friends.
On the other hand, my guess is Xbox Live users will care less about Xbox associates and what games they're playing and will be more concerned about whether or not their competition can frag them first in Halo 3.
Cyber Monday is the first Monday after Thanksgiving when droves of online shoppers are expected to log online (even from work) and kick-off an online holiday buying frenzy. It's the cyber equivalent to Black Friday.
Early indicators suggest Cyber Monday is not just marketing hype from online retailers hoping to convince you to spend money online. Strong online holiday sales have already been reported. And as you might imagine there are some great bargains online to be had.
Here are some tips for finding the best bargains online today.
Start with sites that round up the bargains for you.
Remember when you actually had to search the Web for bargains by going from site to site? Those days are gone. Here are sites that aggregate the best deals from sites around the Web.
Ben's Bargains (www.bensbargains.net)
Black Friday 2007 (www.bfads.net)
Dealnews (www.dealnews.com)
DealTaker (www.dealtaker.com)
FatWallet (www.fatwallet.com)
FreshBargains (www.FreshBargains.net)
SlickDeals.net (www.slickdeals.net)
SearchAllDeals (www.searchalldeals.com)
Techbargains (www.techbargains.com)
Google and PayPal Offer Checkout Savings
Leading online payment companyPayPal is offering incentives for shoppers to pay using its PayPal system. For a limited time PayPal is offering a promotion where you can receive as much as 20 percent cash-back on orders at select merchants. The catch is the maximum total amount of cash back per PayPal account is $50. PayPal purchases must be made between 11/26/2007 and 12/10/2007.
Naturally you'll want to review the terms and conditions carefully first. Some of the participating merchants include Dell, Eastbay, Hewlett-Packard, Newegg, Overstock, Sierra Trading Post, and ToysRus.
Google, which is eager to muscle into the online payment business, is using the holiday online shopping frenzy to promote its PayPal alternative, Google Checkout. Google Checkout is offering frequent flier miles, cash discounts, and free shipping at select merchants when you shop at anyone of 100 merchants that use Google Checkout.
Google's airline rewards program include earning frequent flier miles with Alaska Airlines, Continental Airlines, Delta Airlines, Midwest Airlines, Northwest Airlines, US Airways, and United Airlines. You earn two frequent flier miles for every dollar spent through Google Checkout.
A breakdown of what deals each Google Checkout merchants are offering are listed at Google Checkout site.
Still Having Trouble Finding the Best Deal?
For many bargain hunters, comparison shopping engines have become the first port of call. Services such as Shopzilla.com, Shopping.com, NextTag.com, and Yahoo! Shopping have dedicated holiday gift categories. These sites are great letting you filter results by brand, price, or merchant user rating.
However, while these comparison engines are terrific way to save money, they don't always reflect the big short-term promotions offered today and this week. You'll also be advised to do your homework on how comparison shopping engines work to make sure you're always getting the best deal.
If you're lucky you'll save some money and have all your holiday shopping done before you know it and without battling for a parking spot at the mall.
In the spirit of the holiday season, the One Laptop Per Child Program (OLPC) is extending its "Give One, Get One" (G1G1) promotion until December 31. The program, which for $400 allows U.S. and Canadian customers to purchase one XO laptop and donate another to a child in a developing country, was scheduled to end today.
OLPC founder and chairman Nicholas Negroponte attributes the promotion's extension to "an outpouring of support from the public" since the OLPC launched the program on November 12. "Because so many people have asked for more time to participate, either individually or in order to organize local and national groups to which they belong, we have decided to extend Give One Get One through the end of this year," Negroponte said. "During this extended period we will solicit input and transition to a program of giving only at the beginning of 2008."
Users have also been pushing for the continued availability of the XO laptop even after the G1G1 promotion's ends. The Web site XOforall was launched to encourage the LPC to continue its XO sales in a "non-limited fashion."
Fujitsu innovates again in the world of lightweight portables. This time, the company introduced the LifeBook S6510 notebook. The hook? This 14-inch widescreen notebook weighs just four pounds. Fujitsu claims that's nealry a full pound lighter than same sized notebooks from the competition.
The funny thing about this notebook: You pick it up, and don't expect it to be so lightweight. You wouldn't expect it be light, after all: In addition to physically being large enough to support a 14-inch WXGA widescreen display, this model has a generously-sized keyboard, and is packed with components, including an optical drive in the modular bay.
Fujitsu has figured out how to maximize the screen size for use in a smaller PC--which in turn helps the company reduce the overall system weight. I look forward to seeing what Fujitsu can do to reduce system weight on other models. Pricing for the LifeBook S6510 starts at $1529.
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Nokia announced today that it began shipping its N810 Internet Tablet. The last time I looked closely at the Internet Tablet was when it was first introduced. Now, in its third-generation, the device seems far more appealing than its earlier efforts.
For one thing, this model is slimmer and easier to hold. For another, Nokia finally adds a slide-out keyboard. Together with the generous 4.3-inch WVGA (800 by 600) touchscreen display, suddenly Nokia's WiFi (802.11b/g) only device makes more sense as a communications device. The keyboard is a huge improvement, but in use I found the top row of buttons just a smidge too close to the display, to the point that it impeded use.
The Linux-based device is priced at $479--about twice what the N800 sells for now.
The group that makes the Firefox browser Mozilla has released a preview of the next Firefox 3 Web browser that aims to boosts security, speed, and ease of use. The release is tad delayed than originally expected, but from the early looks of the Firefox 3 beta 1 browser it was worth the wait.
The software is available for download today for Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux. But a word of warning to those eager to start using the latest Firefox browser - this beta still has some bugs and not all Firefox extensions work with this beta release.
A number of meaningful improvements are noticeable with this release, chiefly the speed. In my first look at Firefox I noticed the browser shuts down and loads noticeably faster on my PC as do Firefox's tabs as well.
(Here is an error Firefox delivered when visiting Yahoo Mail)
Web pages with this release are supposed to render faster ? especially Web 2.0 sites that use advance coding. I didn't notice this to be true in my limited testing. I will say some sites such as Yahoo Mail, that are heavily dependent Ajax, displayed several error messages.
On the other hand you'll also notice with this beta Firefox has made some nice design improvements to make common browser tasks easier. One handy new search feature automatically allows you to scour your browser history straight from the address bar. Start typing keywords of Web sites you've visited and Firefox pre-populates the URL in the address field of the closest match.
(Searching Web history is easy. Just start typing the site you're looking for in the address bar.)
On the security front Firefox 3 now more prominently highlights site forgery protection alerts as well as including a redesigned SSL error pages - both designed to keep you from falling prey to a fake Web site prompting you to hand over personal identifying information. Also now baked into the browser is anti-malware protection for Web sites along with Firefox's download manager's new ability to work with existing anti-virus software to scan downloads.
There is no announced date for the final release of Firefox 3.
I am an ie7 fan and can tell you that ie7 allows searching of web history from day one.
I'm using firefox 2 right now and you can search the history in the address bar, been able to do that for as many versions of firefox as I can remember. It's hardly a new feature.
I think that this means that not only can you search addresses in the history, but keywords as well.
On Friday evening, T-Mobile issued an advisory noting that the company had ceased sales of its new Sidekick Slide. According to the statement, the move comes after handset manufacturer Motorola confirmed that some devices may power off when the slide door on the front side of the phone is opened or closed.
This is a shame: I had some time with the slide prior to its release, and liked its slider mechanism and slightly more compact size as compared with the new Sidekick LX. T-Mobile goes on to say that Motorola is working to identify the root cause of the power cycle issue; however, the company doesn't give an estimate as to when we can expect sales to resume.
I hear so much about music and movie piracy I've become a bit numbed to what's at stake and the real challenges facing copyright holders. But Ars Technica has a review of a movie download service called ZML that has me shocked and pondering the piracy question once again. This site is selling DRM-free recently released Hollywood movies such as Spider-Man 3, The Simpsons Movie, and Transformers priced between $1.99 and $4.99.
As Ars Technica writer Jacqui Cheng aptly compares, this service is like the Russian music download site Allofmp3.com. The recording industry has battled to shut down allofmp3.com, which it accuses of selling cut-rate music without paying royalties to artists or music labels. Allofmp3.com does not appear operational today, but other iterations of the controversial music site keep popping up elsewhere for example MP3Sparks.com.
These music sites claim to have found loopholes in the copyright systems of their native countries to legally sell music at ridiculously low prices. Many of these sites are under intense legal pressure to shut down, or already have. As with the music sites I'm 99.9999 percent sure ZML doesn't own worldwide distribution rights to the movies it's selling.
ZML is selling downloads of movies such as The Simpson Movie (which is being sold for around $16 at U.S. retailers) for $2.99. ZML offers movies in a number of formats at different prices. For example, a high-res "DVD" download ($4.99), DivX ($2.99), iPod/PDA format ($1.99). There are some catches to this service, so you may want to read Ars Technica's review first.
The ZML movie download site makes the current writers' strike seem like the least of Hollywood's problems.
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Maybe for the first time ever, somebody in the recording industry has admitted in public what a colossal screw-up the labels' approach to the Internet and digital media has been.
Here's Warner Music CEO Edger Bronfman speaking at a recent industry conference in Macau:
?We used to fool ourselves. We used to think our content was perfect just exactly as it was. We expected our business would remain blissfully unaffected even as the world of interactivity, constant connection and file sharing was exploding. And of course we were wrong. How were we wrong? By standing still or moving at a glacial pace, we inadvertently went to war with consumers by denying them what they wanted and could otherwise find and as a result of course, consumers won.?
After years of the DRM-happy and "sue everybody" attitude of the music biz and its RIAA front men, Bronfman's words in Macau are little surprising to say the least. (Can you hear that sound? That's hell freezing over.)
His words are also a little late. There's no telling how many innovative new technology ideas have been crushed by threats of copyright lawsuits from the RIAA over the last 10 years. Bronfman's words are probably also of little interest to thousands of people who've already been sued for file sharing.
See the rest of Bronfman's surprising comments here and here.
Actually, Bronfman is not the first major record executive to take this position. Iin the early days of Napster Jimmy Iovine (the ears behind Interscope, Death Row, Shady and G-Unit, as well as the Beatles and others in an earlier era) was shouted down when he suggested that the record business was pitting itself against its best customers. He lost prestige with his colleagues by taking that stance in the Los Angeles Times. He then went on to pummel those same colleagues on the record charts, proving that he was more in touch than they. The record business is arrogant and archaic. They better get a clue before long. They'll find the lesson they need to learn on page 1: The customer is always right.
Online gamers are finding out the hard way the rules of the virtual world are no different from those of the real world: In-game crime leads to real-life ramifications.
This week a Dutch teenager was arrested for allegedly stealing virtual furniture from other users in the online community Habbo Hotel. The 17-year-old is said to have looted over $5800 (4,000 euros) worth of virtual furniture, the BBC reports. Five 15-year-olds are being questioned by police.
A spokesman for Sulake, which runs the game, told the BBC: "The accused lured victims into handing over their Habbo passwords by creating fake Habbo Web sites."
Although scamming has been "problematic for quite a while," says the spokesperson, this is the first case in which police have become involved.
In Habbo Hotel, users create an avatar and obtain a guest room, which they can decorate and furnish with in-game furniture. The virtual community is currently home to over 80 million virtual characters, with 6 million unique users checking in each month. As in Second Life, Habbo Hotel's in-game currency converts to real-life money.
A similar case emerged last month in Second Life, where a Brooklyn man was accused of peddling unauthorized copies of products from six virtual merchants. The case landed in a New York federal district court.
Stealing virtual furniture? How do you get arrested for stealing something that does not exist? What's next, arrested for assaulting the Tooth Fairy?
Virtual Furniture was created by a unique effort of a person.
Another person taking that work and using it for financial gain
without the creator's okay is stealing.
That people have made unusual efforts to be able to obtain these
virtual commodities indicates that the commodities are worth
money and that the people performing the theft knew that what
they were doing was not acceptable.
If you steel digital photos off the internet that is illegal as well. Someone took the time to create the photo and therefore it is thier property. The same goes for anything else that someone creates. If its real furniture or virtual someone took the time to make it either way. Thats why it costs money to buy a game. The value is not the CD or DVD that the game is burned onto but the digital data that it contains.
A California Comcast subscriber filed suit against his Internet service provider claiming the company is engaging in unfair business practices because it limits download speeds of peer-to-peer file sharing programs such as BitTorrent.
Jon Hart, the Comcast customer which the lawsuit was filed on the behalf of, bases his claim on an investigation by the Associated Press that reported, "Comcast actively interferes with attempts some high-speed Internet subscribers (make) to share files online." The Electronic Frontier Foundation conducted similar test on Comcast's network and came to the same conclusions. The EFF also outlines nicely how it believes Comcast "interferes" with user traffic and compares it to techniques used by Internet censors in China.
A look at the actual suit(PDF) against Comcast outlines Hart's case.
Hart case is based on Comcast marketing claims the ISP offers "lightning fast" and "mind-blowing" speeds and that it advertises "unfettered access to all the Internet has to offer." Hart claims that Comcast intentionally and severely impedes the use of "certain Internet application" to the customers by "slowing such applications to a mere crawl or stopping them altogether."
The lawyers representing Hart argue Comcast actions, in light of its marketing claims, constitute an unfair and fraudulent business practice under California consumer laws. Lawyers are seeking "contract" damages and compensation for impeding service.
The suit seeks class action status. If granted a class action suit would mean Comcast might have to face the possibility of compensating its California Comcast customers.
The lawsuit was filed in the Alameda County Superior Court in California on Tuesday.
Comcast has firmly states it does "not block access to any Web site or applications, including BitTorrent," according to a statement posted on its Web site. Comcast does state: "We never prevent peer-to-peer activity or block access to any peer-to-peer applications, but rather manage the network in such a way that this activity does not degrade the broadband experience for other users."
Comcast, the second largest ISP with 12.9 million Internet subscribers, is facing heat from consumer groups including SaveTheInternet.com and legal scholars Yale, Harvard, and Stanford who have formally asked the Federal Communications Commission to make Comcast clarify its bandwidth policy.
The groups are also asking the FCC to prevent Internet service providers from degrading file-sharing applications in the future. Some of the groups are asking the FCC to fine Comcast $195, to each of the ISP's subscribers.
It'd be quite interesting to see how this all turns out.
It'd be quite interesting to see how this all turns out.
"lol, Comcast can moderate its network however they want, its still their network even tho you pay for it, and they have a responsibility to ensure that the network is consistent for all customers, so when one person downloads terabytes of data, it effects everyone, so they throttle it. Comcast should make a call to the RIAA and have Jon Hart's hard drive searched for illegal content, since thats probably what hes trying to do on bittorrent" Stop crying and deal with it."
It's mentality like this that erodes privacy for everyone. Wonder how this person would react to invasion to his privacy -
"Stop crying and deal with it." Reminds me of what the 8 year-old beauty queen on Kid Nation kept saying.
Apple Wednesday issued another massive update for Mac OS X that you'll want to get if you're a Mac user. It also updated the latest beta of Safari running on Windows. It issued similar updates in late July.
The Mac update, which is available for both client and server versions of OS X 10.3.9 and OS X 10.4 through 10.4.10, fixes a total of 41 security bugs ? more than 40 percent of which I'd label "critical." The current update is numbered 2007-008.
The portions of the system that are patched are all over the map ? ranging from a hole in the Flash Player plug-in that could lead to complete takeover of your Mac, to one in the Safari browser that could have the same result. There are also holes in the kernel as well as in networking code.
As I've said before, when the potential outcomes section of a vendor's security alert says "may result in arbitrary code execution," that's code language for "complete takeover." Those are the ones that I always personally label as "critical." I count 17 of the 41 fixes that include that description.
And even if they're not critical, the results of a successful exploit can still be unpleasant, including theft of personal information from onscreen forms, or even something that's seemingly minor, if annoying and a little scary, like causing a system crash for no apparent reason.
You can get more info and a link to the OS X patched update at Apple's security update page. You can get the update automatically or manually download it.
Meanwhile, Apple isn't neglecting other platforms either. It's put out a Safari 3 beta update that fixes several holes, at least three of them critical, in the beta of version 3 of the browser running on Windows XP and Vista. The patched version is numbered 3.0.4.
Thanks to Ryan Naraine, who first noted this on his Zero Day blog.
Sure there's a lot of excitement at the NewTeeVee Live conference about made-for-Web video and low-quality user-generated video, but it's hard to deny that many here would like to get the approval, and the participation of, the big movie studios.
Obviously, the studios continue to be frightened off by the amount of content piracy that goes on online.
I've been more than a little critical in our blog of the studios' cautious, defensive posture toward Web video. One of the critics I heard today actually works for one of those big content owners.
MTV's Ty Ahmad-Taylor raised a perfect example: Led Zeppelin is about to put its music on iTunes after resisting doing so for years and years. Ahmad-Taylor says that when content owners don't make their content available for sale at legitimate sites, people will just go to some file sharing site and pirate the stuff.
"If you're not making your stuff available online, you're basically just telling people to go steal it," Ahmad-Taylor says."It's just giving away money."
I'm blogging today from the NewTeeVee Live: Television Reinvented event today in San Francisco, a gathering of practically everybody in the business of pushing video on the Internet.
This morning's first session lined up some key players from Turner Broadcasting, BigFantastic, MTV, as well as YouTube crossover star Lisa Donavan (Lisa Nova) to talk about the blurring of the lines between traditional TV and Internet Video.
Lisa Donavan, AKA Lisa Nova explained how she went from being a writer/performer to being offered a gig as a regular cast member on Fox's Mad TV series. Donovan says a Mad TV producer saw one of her videos online, called her in for an interview, and signed her up shortly after.
BigFantastic's Douglas Cheney says his company's breakthrough moment was when TV mega-player Michael Eisner took a meeting with them after seeing their videos online. Eisner decided to go into business with the small company, and was executive producer of their second video effort, "Prom Queen." During its 12-week run, "Prom Queen" got more than 15 million views and was nominated for an Emmy for Best Outstanding Broadband Drama.
At the BigFantastic site you'll find a little mission statement that includes the line: "We believe that web video will not be limited to skateboard wipeouts."
Another example of crossover madness is MySpaceTV's new series "Roommates," which is basically the same in production value and content as MTV's Real Life series. The show--about four bitchy coeds living together in the big city--is almost unwatchable, but could one of the big TV networks eventually pick it up? Definitely, if it gets enough traffic at MySpaceTV.
So video born on the Net is crossing over to the TV screen more and more. But it works the other way too.
Continue reading "The Line Between TV and Web Video Is Blurring"
Remember when you'd actually have to wait until Thanksgiving to find out what the big day-after sales would be? Well, wait no more: Bargain hunting shoppers can get an early start on their shopping strategy by previewing the post-Thanksgiving, "Black Friday" sales at sites like TGIBlackFriday.com and Black Friday 2007. In the retail world, the Friday after Thanksgiving is referred to as Black Friday, since the sales on this popular shopping day can push retailers' profits into the black.
Both sites are being updated as new sale circulars are leaked. Some retailers, including Best Buy and Wal-Mart, are planning to release their ads early on their own, to try and beat the Web sites from spoiling their fun (too late: many, if not all, of Best Buy's specials are already detailed online). You can search by store, by item, or by keyword, finding most everything on your shopping list, from computers and electronics to clothes and toys.
Personally, I'm not keen on getting up before daybreak to catch a special on an HDTV. With the help of sites like these, though, at least I know what I'll be missing in those early-bird sales--and I can plan my shopping for other items accordingly.
What electronics items are on your shopping list this holiday season?
The Wall Street Journal, one of the last major U.S. newspapers that still charges for online access to its content, may soon go free. According to News Co. Chairman Rupert Murdoch, who has signed an agreement to acquire the Journal's parent company Dow Jones & Company, he plans to make access to WSJ.com free.
Speaking at a shareholders meeting in Australia on Tuesday, Murdoch said, "We are studying it and we expect to make that free." As a result, Murdoch anticipated having 10 to 15 million worldwide subscribers as opposed to the current 1 million.
In related news yesterday the WSJ.com site became populated with social-bookmarking site Digg buttons. According to a blog post by Digg founder Kevin Rose, the Journal will allow its users to submit WSJ.com articles to Digg and Digg users will also have free access to any WSJ.com article submitted to the service.
In September, the New York Times ceased its TimesSelect service, which previously cost subscribers $49.95 a year.
The Wall Street Journal currently charges $79 a year for its online edition.
Intel's top brass, including CEO Paul Ottelini, came to San Francisco's swanky Ritz Carlton hotel last evening to share the chip giant's leap to 45-nanometer with its energy-efficient Penryn.
Intel calls the significant shrinkage -- and shift from silicon dioxide to hafnium to get there -- a "breakthrough"; the biggest in 40 years.
In reality, Penryn is more evolutionary, says the general manager of high-performance gaming PC maker Falcon, Bradd Berdelman, who demonstrated the yet-unreleased photo-realistic PC game Crysis for the crowd on his company's first Penryn machine, a water-cooled 3.0 Ghz model.
Penryn replaces the current Core 2 Duo architecture chips, which are 65nm. 32nm chips will follow in two years' time roughly, in the third quarter of 2009. The bigger bump up will be felt more clearly by the end of next year, when Intel releases the full realization on 45nm with its Nehalem chips.
We asked freelancer Nick Mediati what today's announcement of DivX support for the Sony PlayStation 3 means. Here's what he told us:
"If you spend too much time playing with your Sony PlayStation 3 as it is, rejoice, and prepare to lose even more productivity to your favorite toy (Is that really such a bad thing?).
"The announcement that DivX video support is on its way to the PS3 makes this gaming console much more interesting. For the uninitiated, DivX is a popular video format; the company currently makes a player for both Windows and Mac OS X. DivX is also supported on a number of consumer electronics, such as digital cameras, DVD Players, and cell phones.
"The PS3 can already play DVDs, CDs, and Blu-ray discs, as well as numerous other audio and video formats, so it can already serve as more than just a gaming console. DivX support only solidifies the console's role as a media center, especially if you already have a collection of DivX-formatted videos.
"DivX support goes beyond simple playback support on the PS3. Not only will you be able to play DivX files on the Sony game console, but developers will be able to use DivX in their games as well (likely for in-game cinematic clips). Developers will need to upgrade to version 2.00 of the PS3 Software Development Kit (released November 2) to take advantage of DivX.
"When can you expect to get your hands on a PS3 with DivX support? Right now, DivX isn't saying much, aside from the fact that they are "currently working to certify PS3 and deliver a superior digital media technology to consumers in the near future." I know that this sort of thing can be unpredictable, but I would sure like to get a better idea of when we can expect a release. Come on, guys.
"If you currently own a PS3, don't worry, you won't be left out in the cold. DivX support will be made available to current PS3 owners via a future system software update. Again, no release date or date range has been specified.
"Personally I?m just a casual gamer, so gaming capabilities and horsepower aren?t the biggest draw for me. If you can develop a gaming console that is also a great media center, though, I?m there."
Thanks, Nick!
As expected, Microsoft Tuesday patched a serious security bug in the way Internet Explorer 7 works when it's running on Windows XP.
It's about dang time. But given that today is "Patch Tuesday," and how critical the bug is, any time is a good time to fix this one.
This hole, if you recall, is referred to as the "URI Handler" bug, which I've written about several times over the past several months. (Remember that you're safe if you're running IE7 on Windows Vista.)
It first popped up last summer when it came out that a malicious uniform resource identifier or URI ? like a poisoned link, for instance -- could be fed to IE7 on XP that would subsequently trigger an attack that broke into your PC via Mozilla's Firefox browser. Researchers later found that the same type of attack could be worked using IE7 on XP and Adobe's Acrobat and Reader. (Windows Server 2003 running IE7 is also at risk.)
The problem is in the way a system resource that is provided by IE7 passes control off to a third-party product (like a browser or a document reader or any other piece of software that uses IE7's URI handler). Part of my angst over this particular bug wasn't just how long it took for Microsoft to patch it, however, but also how long it took to admit it was at least partly at fault.
The problem, as I said, surfaced last summer but it was mid-October before Microsoft issued an advisory and said it would patch the problem from its end.
Instead, the initial argument was that IE7 was behaving the way it was designed to. I can open the door to my 1981 Triumph TR7 [it's an aging British sports car] while it's zipping down the road too, and the door is functioning as designed. But most modern cars automatically lock them when you start out.
Both Mozilla and Adobe quickly patched their products to block such attacks. However, that still left open an unknown number of applications from an unknown number of other vendors out there that are potentially still vulnerable.
So functioning as designed, or not, Microsoft wisely came to realize that the only thing to do was to patch the bug at IE's end of things. Otherwise, you might be patching dozens of programs, one by one, over the course of the next couple of years.
"It's like gating an entire community or putting bars on the windows of each house," one security researcher told me this afternoon. But given that the Internet can sometimes be a dangerous place no matter where you go, he suggests that you not only get and install Microsoft's patch, but also keep the other software you use up to date.
If you have automatic updates enabled, your PC will automatically download and install this patch. If you're like me, however, I have auto updates configured to download the patches automatically, but only install them when I choose. Maybe it's just me, but I like to wait a day or two to hear whether anyone has serious problems with a new patch before I let the installation proceed. A lot of corporate IT departments do the same thing.
If you want to set your computer to download but not automatically install updates from Microsoft, in XP, go to the Start menu and click on Control Panel. Then click on the icon labeled Automatic Updates. This gives you a range of choices from "Automatic" to "Turn off Automatic Updates." The second one down is "Download updates for me, but let me choose when to install them."
If you want to change the settings in Vista, here are Microsoft's directions:
To Disable or Configure Automatic Updating on a Computer Running Windows Vista1. While logged on with an administrator account, click Start, click All Programs, and then click Windows Update.
2. Click Change settings.
3. Choose from the available options.
If, like me, you haven't received notice of the patch yet, you can get it manually, along with further discussion, at Microsoft's security bulletin.
Universities could lose financial aid for students if they are not able to reduce the amount of illegal file-sharing taking place on their college networks, according to a new education bill introduced into Congress on Friday.
The bill (PDF), under a section titled "Campus-Based Digital Theft Prevention," would require all institutions participating in the financial aid program to take further measures in both displaying and enforcing its policies on illegal downloading.
Specifically, the bill would force universities to "develop a plan for offering alternatives to illegal downloading or peer-to-peer distribution" as well as "explore technology-based deterrents" to illegal P2P sharing. Many believe that such "alternatives" could include university-wide subscriptions to services like Napster or Ruckus an ad-supported music service that offers free music to college students.
According to the bill, failure to comply with the recommendation would mean drastic consequences.
In response to the bill, university faculty have written an open letter to the bill's primary sponsor, Congressman George Miller, stating: "?it is our understanding that the consequences of the Secretary deciding that a targeted institution has failed to prevent illegal file sharing would be loss of Title IV student aid eligibility. Such an extraordinarily inappropriate and punitive outcome would result in all students on that campus losing their federal financial aid."
That's right ? all students, even those who don't participate
in illegal downloading or own a computer period would be impacted by this bill.
The letter, which was signed by the presidents of Stanford and Penn State, the chancellor of the University of Maryland and the general counsel of Yale, makes the point that universities are already taking measures to reduce illegal fire sharing.
Additionally, universities point out that the proposal applies only to higher-education schools -- "which industry leaders admit are responsible for only a small fraction of illegal file sharing"-- as opposed to other ISPs associated with the problem.
Given the strong opposition, we can only hope that the proposal is struck down for its sweeping punishments before amendments are made to the Higher Education Act. After all, what sense does it make to punish all students for the actions of a few?
Internet service providers have started replacing the "server not found" error message your Web browser displays when you mistype a Web address with their own Web page that shows ads and referral links. ISPs Charter, Cox, Earthlink, Time Warner Cable, and Verizon are among those that have reportedly begun the switch, according to Broadband Reports which has been tracking the issue.
(Charter "server not found" page from Broadband Reports)
The move is likely to irk some Web surfers who are familiar with seeing non-commercial "server not found" error pages when they mistype a URL. Some Web surfers will likely also be angry if they have configured their browser to display a page that is associated with their browser's default search engine in the event they mistyped a URL.
According to Broadband Reports, ISPs are using their domain name servers (DNS) to redirect the traffic to ISP-run pages. Redirecting error page traffic to commercial sites that sell ads without user consent or clear knowledge has been been considered a deceptive practice when done by adware companies. In the past Ask, Google, Microsoft, and Yahoo have each faced criticism by users who have been surprised when installing the Web site's toolbar only to find out later "server not found" error pages delivered branded Web pages with commercial links.
The "server not found" error message is displayed when a browser requests to access an Internet server that does not exist. It's not to be confused with "404 page not found" browser errors which indicate the Web browser was able to connect to a Web server, but not able to find the exact Web page requested.
Starting today U.S. and Canadian residents can buy the much touted "$100" One Laptop per Child notebook for $400. By paying extra for the XO laptop you'll also be donating one to be given to a child in the developing world. Today's program is being called G1G1 (Get One Give One). The G1G1 offer runs through November 26 when the OLPC stops taking orders.
T-Mobile is offering one year of complimentary T-Mobile HotSpot access to people who donate an XO laptop to a child in a developing country through the campaign. Another incentive, according to the OLPC, is that $200 of the $400 cost is tax-deductible.
Today marks the first chance the public has been able to buy an XO laptop. The XO notebook is the brainchild of MIT Professor Nicholas Negroponte, who in 2002 set out to create a $100 laptop to "provide a means for learning, self-expression, and exploration to the nearly two billion children of the developing world with little or no access to education," according to the OLPC.
Cost overruns and component shortages have been blamed for raising the initial price of the XO laptop which had been hoped to be $100. Today the cost of one XO laptop is $190. The $400 deal for two laptops includes some padding for the cost of sending one of the laptops to a remote location.
A fee-based tech support service will be available for XO customers. The OLPC explains buyers of the XO laptop should view themselves as "participants in the G1G1 initiative (and) to think of themselves as members of an international educational movement rather than as 'customers.'"
Has this ever happened to you?
I know better than to keep anything liquid near my desk. However, late one night this week, while working on my Inspiron 9300 laptop, my wrist gently bumped the cup of tea I had set down nearby, spilling it over the entire right half of the PC.
Aside from instantly cursing a blue streak, I tipped my laptop onto its side to let as much liquid as possible drain from it. There was a lot. (Editor's Note: Here is Amber sans laptop. Amber is PCW's On Your Side columnist.)
I unplugged the laptop and removed the battery while listening to tiny explosion noises come from inside the machine. It sounded like someone was playing the game Doom inside my laptop. This was not good.
Continue reading "Laptops and Liquids Don't Mix"
You could also use a travel mug with a lid that has a sliding piece that covers the hole in the lid. It does minimize spills.
Had the same thing (sort of) happen to me a couple years ago. Laptop on coffee table, big cup of tea (paper, covered) behind screen. I pushed the screen back to show somebody something (don't remember what) and bumped the tea, spilling hot water on the screen, causing an instant white-out.
Fortunately, I knew the WinKey+U, H shortcut to Hibernate. I was very distressed about it, but after cleaning off the water/tea and letting it dry out overnight, I tried turning it on the next morning and had no trouble. Phew!
Now, of course, I use online services for most of my critical data, so a crashed computer shouldn't do too much damage (I still need to backup Firefox profile and application/Windows settings though). Glad to hear you got through it relatively unscathed.
dude, all you have to do is remove the hard drive and put it in an external enclosure and you can access all your data via another computer. No need to boot up your fried laptop.
The battle between Apple and iPhone and iPod Touch owners who like to modify their devices in ways Apple never intended is getting hotter. A hacker claims to have cracked Apple's latest firmware update v1.1.2 for the iPod Touch in advance of Apple pushing the firmware update to iPod Touch owners.
According to Engadget, which forced a firmware update on an iPhone, the v1.1.2 firmware disables unauthorized Apple customization of iPhones that people created using the popular Jailbreak installer program. The iPhone firmware update adds language support to the iPhone and also adds minor features and some fixes, according to Engadget. Similarly the iPod Touch v1.1.2 firmware is expected to reverse unsanctioned Apple modifications as well.
The site The Unofficial Apple Webblog is reporting that a hacker named "planetbeing" has installed the Apple iPod Touch v1.1.2 firmware an iPod Touch and cracked it already. The hack thwarts Apple's apparent attempt at limiting user customization of its iPod Touch interface and features. It also potentially would allow iPod Touch owners the ability to update their device's firmware without having to sacrifice unsanctioned modifications to their iPod Touch. The hack for the iPhone, it's speculated, will follow shortly.
On Thursday Apple did post a v1.1.2 firmware update for the iPhone to its site and posted a v1.1.2 firmware update for the iPod Touch. However, neither iPhone or iPod Touch users are being prompted to download the update when they sync either device with the iTunes software yet.
One of the main battlefronts between Apple and those that like to customize either their iPhone or iPod Touch is at AppSnapp's site Jailbreakme.com. This site offers a one-touch wireless "jailbreak" tool for the iPhone and iPod Touch devices. Jailbreak is becoming a popular term used to describe unofficial modifications to the iPhone and iPod Touch.
The Unofficial Apple Webblog report says Planetbeing has screen shots to prove his hack and will reveal details of the hack soon.
What would a week in the tech-world be without another questionable lawsuit against Apple? Apple is already facing a lawsuit for dropping the price of the iPhone and another one filed on the behalf of someone who iBricked his iPhone and is mad.
This time around Apple is being sued by a Florida resident Frederick Black who filed a class-action lawsuit against Apple, claiming the company is attempting to establish a monopoly over the digital media market by "illegally" tying iPods to the iTunes Store.
According to Apple Insider, Black asserts, among many things, that Apple acts unlawfully in not letting its consumers transfer iTunes-purchased content to a non-iPod device or transfer other online vendors' content to their iPods. Also, if consumers happen to lose or break their iPod, the lawsuit asserts users are unable to transfer songs purchased through iTunes to a non-Apple device and have to repurchase an iPod as a result.
There are so many things troubling about this case I don't know where to start. First did someone forget to tell Black about how to add DRM-free files to iTunes that are purchased from online music stores like Amazon music download service or eMusic? ITunes also allows anyone to buy iTunes Plus tracks with no DRM that can be played on any device.
Also, if you feel your Apple iTunes' library is imprisoned by iTunes software there are ways to convert Apple AAC files. There are several programs such as AppleMacSoftware DRM Converter for Mac, Magic AAC to MP3 Converter, and MP3&WAV Converter that will get the job done.
A few years back PC World wrote about how to beat the music download blues which gives some great tips on how frustrated folks can solve their music download problems without getting their attorney involved.
The case, which was filed in Florida district court in August, has made it to the US District Court for the Southern District of California. Black is seeking in excess of $15,000 in damages, even up to $45,000 for attorneys' fees, damages and any further relief.
Can we beat these people up? I swear, it is precisely because of people like Mr. Black... (who is a communist), that our free market struggles. Use the market Mr. Black! If you don't like a product, then don't buy it. If it turns out different than your pre-conceived notion of it... too friggin bad... live with it. But quit suing to ruin people's hard work. Quit suing to take another bite out of capitalism. He does not want to let Apple do business as they see fit. They're not stopping the competition... they're stomping the competition.. big difference.
hey, leave Mr. Black alone, the lawsuit might be overblown, however he does have some good points. remember, ituen only recently started to offer DRM free tracks. However, the whole world goes nuts over an overpriced mp3 player like ipod. i believe in choices and mostly likely will never own an overpriced "steve jobs" techie toy such as the ipod or the iphone. i believe in choices and i love my sandisk sansa mp3 player..
This is a typical frivolus lawsuit. Let it die in court and let Mr. Black pay for it when he looses.
I?m tired of all this ?my computer is better than yours, so I?m going to sue your computers maker for some percieved injury to my person because my computer doesn?t do what yours does? mentality. If you did your research properly when you made your purchase in the first place, you?d be happy now with what you have. If you didn?t do any research about your purchase and you are unhappy about it now, then too bad. Maybe in the future you will learn and next time you?ll think before you buy the shiny new toy that doesn?t work and buy the one that does.
Yes, I?m a Mac user, and I use iTunes and an iPod, if I could afford the prices ATT charges for their cellphone service, I?d have an iPhone, but I can?t afford the ATT charges. As far as priprietary services are concerned, you?ll find that when you are using a Mac, you get refused access to many, MANY websites that are trying to get you to download their music, free or not. I am used to getting the ?We are sorry, but we don?t support Mac? message when I try to use some websites. Even though my Mac will play nearly all formats, but hey, it?s their loss. Even my local TV stations are PC proprietary, they require you to be using only Windows products to access their video products. Yep we?re used to it.
Maybe it?s time we sue Microsoft for proprietary software that doesn?t work? Or how about the websites that use Microsoft products that don?t let you spell your name properly if you have the gaul of having an apostrophe in your name (anybody with an O? will know what I?m talking about).
My two cents......
Will Facebook's new ad strategy turn the social network into an ad network for corporate America? I hope not. A new advertising strategy could have Facebook users getting far chummier with marketers than ever before.
As part of a new Facebook advertising scheme, businesses, bands, and even celebrities are invited by Facebook to have their own custom-designed Facebook page and profile. Facebook is also allowing these businesses, who first must get consent from you, to display your photo and profile next to ads which it will blast out to your Facebook friends.
Facebook sees this as a more direct way for users to connect with specific brands or businesses, assuming ads (which will now tailor to your interests) weren't doing the job in the first place.
Here is an example of how it would work. Suppose you do check out the Facebook Page of a major restaurant chain and decide to write a review of it. Next, you'll be asked if you'd like to share your review with your friends. If you agree your Facebook friends will receive a Facebook message alerting them you reviewed the restaurant and invite them to read it. Now, if you've agreed, Facebook is also allowing the restaurant to launch an advertisement with your profile and picture smack dab next to it.
The commercial hooks go even deeper. Facebook is working outside of Facebook with companies like Blockbuster to hook you back to pitching products on Facebook.
Say you visit Blockbuster.com and add a movie to your rental queue, now thanks to Facebook you will see a message asking whether you want to tell your friends about Blockbuster.com and your movie rental. If, for some odd reason, you want everyone to know that you just rented the first five season of Sex in the City from Blockbuster.com you can do so.
This puts Facebook users in a weird place. Some may be more than happy to be walking billboards championing products like Coca-Cola to all their friends. Some may see it as an annoying even to be asked to do it. My question is how will your friends feel about your eagerness to share ads with them?
I'm also curious why there isn't more in this for Facebook users. If I'm promoting products, driving traffic to commercial Web sites, and potentially inspiring sales - where is my cut? After all, there are loads of affiliate advertising programs that pay you money for driving traffic to a commercial site. Amazon's Associate program is a good example.
At the very least this new Facebook offering will have a lot of Facebook users rethinking who they really want as their Facebook friend.
I will not be too eager to deliver my friends into the always-grasping hands of marketers & advertisers. I take great pains to wear clothing with no labels because I have no desire to be a, as the blogger so succinctly put it, "walking billboard" for anyone. I am nobody's shill. On the other hand, when a company has impressed me with their quality of product or service then I am eager to spread the good news and my friends depend on my experiences. In some areas of commerce I am an opinion leader. If you DO want to recommend something to someone, shouldn't it be YOUR message and not the creative bleatings coming from your favourite brand? Their products may rock but their ads may suck. As for whether I would be willing to get a kickback for delivering my friend's eyeballs to the advertiser's not-so-tender mercies, I humbly suggest that it would seriously challenge the authenticity of any endorsement I may be offering. Can you say "advertorial"? The only exception to this would be if the compensation could be cash to a favourite charity. Nuff said?
You have to give Yahoo credit for giving social networking that good old college try, again. This time around Yahoo is launching Kickstart, a social network site for college students who may want something a bit more professional than Facebook and not as uptight as LinkedIn. The launch comes barely two months after Yahoo debuted social networking site Mash.
I took a look at Kickstart as it is available today in "preview mode" and think it's a bright idea, but is in need of a few fixes.
Yahoo Kickstart tries to be different than other social networking sites such as MySpace and Facebook by appealing to students and college alumni who are looking for a "kickstart" into the professional world. In Yahoo's words Kickstart is "is a professional network with a distinct purpose," as current college students and recent grads can use the service to find internships or jobs, or even garner career advice if they need it.
Getting Started with Kickstart
Assembling a profile is pretty straightforward: you just give Kickstart your name, your university, as well as any optional info like job experience or resume-esque skills and interests. In fact, when you're done creating your profile it looks closer to a traditional resume than a profile you might expect to find on a social networking site. Bottom line, your profile actually works in the same way a resume does: the more experience you've tacked on or people you've networked with, the better your profile looks. Yahoo's own Scott Gatz has a pretty striking example of what a completed profile can look like.
Continue reading "First Impressions: Yahoo's Kickstart Social Network"
Rumors have swirled for years about the rebirth of the Newton. Rumors have also swirled for years about Apple finally entering the thin-and-light space with an ultraportable notebook. Now, I'm seeing those rumors being put together--that Apple may be working on a tablet-style PC that builds on the technologies we've seen in Intel-based MacBooks and multi-touch iPhones and iPods.
The idea of Apple entering this space is an exciting one: I'd be intrigued to see what Apple brings to the design table--especially considering that Tablet PCs have been stuck in neutral for years. However, I'm not convinced that a solely tablet device is what Apple needs right now.
I say this as an enthusiastic advocate of miniature computers and touchscreen devices. Unfortunately, I'd posit that even an Apple-designed tablet would run the risk of being relegated to niche entertainment gadget (like Archos' 704 WiFi); it certainly wouldn't be able to enter the corporate vertical markets Tablet PCs have thus far appealed to--that's a Windows-only club.
What I can see, however, is Apple trying to fill the gaping hole in its existing notebook lineup by releasing an ultraportable computer, one with Apple design influences and a touchscreen.
Why do I note the lack of an ultraportable as a "gaping" hole? A lifelong PC user, I've been supplementing my PC use with a Mac now for the past few months. Boot Camp and software like Parallels make it more plausible for me to consider switching to a Mac-capable portable. But I, personally, won't consider buying a large notebook--and to me, the MacBook is too large, in both physical dimension and weight. I've carried a subnotebook for years--my current model is a two-year-old Fujitsu LifeBook P7010D--and I won't consider going back to lugging something heavier around.
Now, I have my reasons for not wanting my notebook's weight to creep higher than 3.5 pounds; your own mileage may vary, but I do know I'm not alone in my thoughts about Apple's notebooks (in all fairness, Apple's MacBook is far lighter than many of the desktop replacement PC luggables I've seen in the last year, too). And that's the point: Buying a notebook PC is a far more personal purchase than buying a desktop PC.
Ross Rubin, an analyst with The NPD Group, echoes the personal purchase perspective, and notes that this is why Apple has had so much success with its notebook line, even though Apple's notebooks are more expensive than competing PC notebooks. Consumers, he says, are more willing to spend bucks to get the notebook style they want. That may be--and clearly, Apple has attracted a userbase with its MacBook and MacBook Pro designs. But what about the rest of us who want...dare I say it...more choice?
The Apple notebook line is currently minimalist and streamlined--to the point that it ends up constraining Apple's growth and outreach to the rest of us that want more choice in what we buy. If Apple were to flesh out its current offerings with compact notebook, though, that's a design idea that not only could I get behind, but also one that makes sense for Apple given its existing lineup.
Take that idea one step further, now: What if Apple were to release an ultraportable convertible notebook that combined the best of the tablet-and-touch worlds, and had a keyboard, too? Conceptually, that would take the rumors of both a reborn Newton and a compact notebook full-circle--all while delivering a device that would fill a void in Apple's current offerings. Realistically, a tablet, Newton-style PDA in the era of iPod Touch and iPhone, well, that doesn't make sense for the mainstream. Plus, others have tried this approach, with devices like the Nokia N810 Internet tablet (with keyboard) and the Archos 704 WiFi (no keyboard). Ultra-mobile PCs (UMPCs) are still struggling to find their niche, too.
Somehow, though, I think Apple could be the game changer in ultramobile computing. If Apple were to add its well-honed design sense and apply its famous level of integration between software and device, Apple might succeed taking the concept mainstream, in ways others have not. So let the rumors keep coming: We'll see what direction Apple decides to explore when the company is ready to reveal its hand.
If they build it, they will come.
You're absolutely right! Most notebooks, including Apple's, are still too heavy to carry around without getting irritating because they try to do it all, while Palms and newer UMPC's are able to do all you need to do while outside the home, but are too small to be practical for easy, everyday computer use. What the market needs but nobody builds is a 12-13" screen (touch functions would be cool, but not absolutely necessary), paired to Apple's amazingly thin keyboards that still offer perfectly easy text input. Add enough flash memory to keep it light and incredibly thin, a couple USB ports and an expresscard 54 slot with a MoGo mouse instead of a mousepad, and it would do it all while away from home. 2-3 pounds of spiral-paper-notebook sized practical portable computer that then easily connects to a dock with a bigger hard drive/optical drive and more ports at home would be way more practical than all current UMPC's, yet as functional as current laptops. Build it already!!!
Microsoft is reporting "limited" attacks on Windows Server 2003 and Windows XP systems that are being made through a security hole in a copy protection program from Macrovision that it includes with those systems. Windows Vista is not affected by the vulnerability.
The affected program is called SafeDisc and the hole is in a file called secdrv.sys.
News of the flaw came in a Security Advisory that the company issued late Monday afternoon. Microsoft says they are working on a patch which they'll release as part of the company's regular Patch Tuesday process.
In the meantime, Macrovision itself has issued a patch of its own.
Symantec's Security Response Weblog discussed the hole in general in mid-October but didn't give enough details to help the bad guys.
A successful attack could result in escalation of privileges, which could lead to a complete takeover of your PC, but successful exploits are harder to pull off than your garden variety "critical" bug. Security researcher Secunia, for instance, lists this one as only a "less critical" hole ? the second lowest tier of its five-tier severity rating system.
Still it's a good idea to get the patch. You never know when someone will tweak the exploit code to make it do much more serious damage.
From the hype leading up to today's announcement you'd think Google had invented a mobile phone capable of solving global warming. But in reality Google didn't announce a phone. Instead Google announced during a press conference an open mobile operating system called "Android" that developers can build applications for.
That may not sound too sexy, but the implications are huge for consumers who are largely stuck with mobile devices with a limited ability to surf the Web, play games, and connect to popular services like Facebook. Sure, you're mobile phone today already lets you do a lot, but if Google and its 30-plus Open Handset Alliance partners have it their way, you haven?t seen nothin' yet when it comes to advanced mobile applications.
Google anticipates Android will deliver a vast array of mobile applications from social networking services that can alert you when a friend is nearby, to easy access to multiplayer mobile games, to services that allow you to customize your cellphone's start screen.
If you were hoping for a gPhone, you'll be disappointed by today's news. Google left open the possibility of a creating hardware for its mobile OS, but says it has no announced plans. Instead you can expect during the second half of next year Google partners to come out with cell phones, mobile devices, and even GPS gear running the Android mobile operating system.
Continue reading "What Google's Entry into Phone Biz Means to You"
Google plans to take the wraps off its much anticipated mobile phone strategy today. In a joint press conference to be held at 12p.m. EST with T-Mobile, HTC, Qualcomm, and Motorola Google says it will "discuss the development of Android, the first truly open and comprehensive platform for mobile devices, and the announcement of the Open Handset Alliance, a multinational alliance of more than 30 technology and mobile industry leaders."
Today's press conference comes amid intense speculation the the company will offer a mobile operating system that would free a cellphone to run a vast array of mobile applications not tied to one specific wireless carrier.
Handsets based on the Google's software are expected to be offered by a number manufacturers including HTC, LG, Motorola, and Samsung and made available through U.S. carriers T-Mobile and Sprint. But don't expect to see the handsets soon. Google says its handsets won't be available unit the second half of next year.
Google explains its mobile ambitions in a press release sent in advance of today's press conference:
"With nearly 3 billion users worldwide, the mobile phone has become the most personal and ubiquitous communications device. However, the lack of a collaborative effort has made it a challenge for developers, wireless operators and handset manufacturers to respond as quickly as possible to the ever-changing needs of savvy mobile consumers. Through Android, developers, wireless operators and handset manufacturers will be better positioned to bring to market innovative new products faster and at a much lower cost. The end result will be an unprecedented mobile platform that will enable wireless operators and manufacturers to give their customers better, more personal and more flexible mobile experiences."
Sports fans who own an Xbox 360 are in for a treat. Microsoft has announced that, starting today, it will bring select ESPN programming to the Xbox Live network, including NCAA games and sports-centric reality shows.
Confirmed programming includes full-length NCAA basketball and football games, X Games competitions, and even "Madden Nation," which pits the best Madden NFL gamers against one another, according to a story posted to ESPN . News wire service Reuters reports "World Series of Poker" and the reality boxing competition, "The Contender" to the list.
Xbox 360 owners can purchase the programs in either standard- or high-definition formats. Commercial-free NCAA games, to be available within 48 hours of the game's conclusion, will go for $3 in standard-definition and $4.50 in hi-def. The other ESPN shows will go for a bit less: $2 for SD, $3 for HD.
For some time now Microsoft has offered programing for download through Xbox.
The first ESPN Xbox Live offering will be a replay of Saturday's USC vs. Oregon State college football game.
After much ado this summer about gargantuan iPhone bills that ratcheted up so high because of international data roaming fees, AT&T has introduced two flat-rate data plans. Heavy Internet and mail users will appreciate the $60 Data Global Plan, offers 50MB of data per month in 29 Asian and European countries; more casual users will like the $25, 20MB plan.
AT&T instituted the changes to accommodate customers who traveled overseas with their iPhone--only to be astounded by the high roaming charges when they returned home. The phone automatically goes off and seeks new messages in the background, a process that can get costly when you're roaming on an international network.
That AT&T took this step at all is interesting to me on two somewhat related levels. For one, international travel has typically been something cell carriers considered a heavy business user activity. T-Mobile has had a $20 unlimited bucket of mobile data minutes for three years, but their plan is only valid for BlackBerry devices--which until recently were aimed more at business users than consumers.
The iPhone isn't really aimed at business users. The iPhone doesn't work with corporate America's e-mail and security infrastructures. And yet, AT&T felt compelled to take action with an international data plan. Why? Perhaps the trendy iPhone's appeal has transcended the need for the usual business device requirements. Perhaps mobile business users have an iPhone for personal use, to supplement their BlackBerry or Windows Mobile device for work use (after all, the iPhone is the best iPod ever made, according to Steve Jobs--this side of the iPod Touch); in that scenario, if a user traveled overseas, even if they only used their iPhone as an iPod, they'd be sunk by high data roaming fees. Or, maybe it just means that in spite of economic concerns and the dollar's pathetic value overseas, gadget-wielding Americans are traveling aborad in droves.
The reasons for AT&T introducing its international data plans could be a combination of all of the above. The bottom line being, whatever the split, a notably high enough number of iPhone users are traveling overseas with their iPhone to warrant AT&T taking steps to keep its customers happy and away from unnecesary, $4000 bills.
You left out the most important aspect of roaming: It can easily be turned off. Those travelers racked up thousands of dollars in roaming fees because they failed to turn roaming off. Another solution was to buy the roaming plan AT&T already had -- not as generous, but much better than paying full cost.
Your also are wrong about the iPhone and Microsoft Exchange. The iPhone can use Microsoft Exchange if the administrator allows it access. Over time, more and more will. Meantime, there are third-party services that provide the iPhone/Exchange link.
The Federal Communications Commission has been formally asked to look into whether Comcast blocks or slows access by its customers to peer-to-peer filesharing services. Comcast has come under fire in recent weeks when a report by the Associated Press claims the Internet access provider blocks its customer from accessing the popular and controversial BitTorrent service.
Yesterday SaveTheInternet.com along with Internet scholars from Yale, Harvard, and Stanford filed a complaint to the FCC asking Comcast to clarify its bandwidth policy. The groups are also asking the FCC to prevent Internet service providers from degrading file-sharing applications in the future.
In a separate petition (PDF), both groups Free Press and Public Knowledge are asking Comcast to pay $195,000 to each of the ISP's estimated 12.4 million per Comcast customer.
Meanwhile Comcast continues to deny any wrongdoing issuing this statement:
"Comcast does not, has not, and will not block any Web sites or online applications, including peer-to-peer services, and no one has demonstrated otherwise. We engage in reasonable network management to provide all of our customers with a good Internet experience, and we do so consistently with FCC policy."
Last month Comcast also publicly denied blocking of BitTorrent and other popular file-sharing services, however its executives admitted that it occasionally "delays" P2P file transfers in an effort to conserve bandwidth.
Many see the Comcast matter as the first true test of Internet neutrality, the oft-debated principle meant to maintain bar ISPs from blocking or slowing Internet traffic on their networks.
In 2005, the FCC issued a policy statement which granted itself jurisdiction over regulating ISPs to ensure they operate neutrally as well as outlining consumer privileges PDF. Both the filed petition and complaint ask the FCC to stay true to its words, in vowing if "we see evidence that providers of telecommunications for Internet access or IP-enabled services are violating these principles, we will not hesitate to take action to address that conduct." - quote from Appropriate Framework for Broadband Access to the Internet over Wireline Facilities, 20 F.C.C.R. 14853, 14904.
While the near $200,000 per user sought by Free Press and Public Knowledge seems unlikely to be upheld in full this is prime time for the FCC to make good on its words. And unless Comcast can dance around its semantics of how reasonably it maintains P2P traffic, it could be in for some serious trouble.
It's not just filesharing and bit-torrent. It's any P2P applications, as well as any streaming media. I get effected in Youtube, Google Video, Sirius Radio, battle.net, all mmorpgs, etc etc.
When I demanded an answer from Comcast customer service rep, they first dodge the issue and then state their policy that comcast connections is for browsing the web only. When asked to produce documentation to support that statement, none were offered. This has started recently (a few month ago) since I have been a comcast customer for over 3 years and it has gotten worse as time went by.
Another rep I spoke to admit to using network traffic management software to regulate bandwidth for bit-torrent as well as p2p. When I asked if the software is intelligent enough to only regulate when bandwith usage exceeds what they set as a cap, rather then specifically targeting certain customers based on IPs. He claim it was the former. However evidence points to the contrary.
While I applaud the fact that someone is finally taking out an action against Comcast for its deceptive practice of crippling bittorrent uploads, I do see a real, possible downside if an injunction is issued against them.
Comcast could choose to implement a tiered access policy (mentioned in the petition itself) wherein people who only use Comcast's services for email, Web browsing and other so-called "normal" Internet protocols would pay the base subscription amount (around $45) and anyone else who used more than some arbitrary bandwidth limits imposed by Comcast would be required to pay a substantial increase for that particular tier of service.
If Comcast chooses to go that route then I will certainly terminate my account with them and seek another ISP (DSL is the only alternative in my area) in spite of the lower speeds.
Never mind all of that talk about a cheap HD DVD player from China (Venturer who? Exactly. Move along.). Today you can get a Toshiba HD DVD player virtually free.
In a one-day sale, Best Buy stores burned through their stock of second-generation Toshiba HD DVD player, the HD-A2, with a $100 firesale. According to Dealcatcher.com, Best Buy has sold out of these players. The third-generation replacement, the HD-A3, sells for $300. Makes me wonder what the backlash towards HD DVD will be when the price returns to something resembling normal. It also makes me wonder how many people will actually buy the HD DVD movies to go along with the hardware: That is something only time, and video sales numbers, will tell.
The Toshiba HD-A2 will also be selling for $100 at Wal-Mart's "Secret Sale" starting this Friday, according to Dealcatcher. Previous reports indicate that Wal-mart will have a sub-$200 HD DVD player as well.
That aggressive pricing is somewhat stunning considering that you can get five free movies by mail along with your HD DVD player purchase. And, that pricing is right in line with the pricing of an upconverting DVD player--which makes these deals a doubly good bargain (heck, no matter how the format war turns out, you still have an upconverting DVD player, for barely any premium). At $100, all of a sudden the paradigm changes: The buying mindset shifts from one of upgrading to a new format to getting support for the new format as a no-risk bonus.
Want to play play Cars or Ratatouille ? For that, you'll need a Blu-ray Disc player, since those titles are exclusive to rival format Blu-ray Disc.
Meanwhile, Blu-ray Disc players will continue to come with their own free movie incentive, too. Blu-ray Disc players will also drop in price heading into the holiday season, says Richard Doherty of the Envisioneering Group. But not nearly by as much as HD DVD: "Our research shows Blu-ray players will be at $348 for Black Friday," he adds. "And we think that you'll have no trouble finding a Blu-ray player for under $400."
If price alone were going to determine this format war, HD DVD clearly has the lead there (granted, we're talking about the loss-leader, lower-end 1080i HD DVD players to 1080p Blu-ray Disc players, but the point still stands). Under $400 for a Blu-ray player will be a terrific move considering the players cost more than double what they did a year ago. But $400 is still a long way from being a casual upgrade from buying an upconverting DVD player.
About 2x what it's worth!
Just being honest people.
http://fakesteveballmer.blogspot.com
This comment is for Sanya1422 & the rest of you morons that think the average consumer care about tech numbers: THEY DON'T!
Perfect example of a less powerful gadget, that no retailer can keep on their shelves: The Wii. It is both LESS POWERFUL, & LESSER IN VISUAL CANDY than both the PS3 & XBOX 360, but IT HAS MADE PROFITS TEN-FOLD then both the PS3 & XBOX 360 combined. The PS3 is still on the accounting RED & THE X360 is barely making any profit, with the help of HALO 3.
Average Consumers understand the value of money, not the tech gravy inside the electronic box.
Oh yeah, HD-DVD is FULLY capable of handling 1080p (in their newer models). The consumers WILL BUY THE LESSER PRICED HD player.
Unless Blu Ray players match the HD-DVD's LOW retail price (which they won't due to Blu Ray's terribly high manufacturing cost) this holiday season... BLU RAY IS THE NEXT BETAMAX.
Blu-Ray has a pretty nice product. Unfortunately, HD DVD has a nice product too, for less cost. When comparing tech numbers you'll still get better value for your dollar with HD DVD, and that's with the high end side by side comparison. 3-pack of HD DVD writable media is $30, which is the same as Blu-Ray 1-pack. The cost to press a HD DVD is virtually the same (and uses nearly all of the same equipment) as a regular DVD. Blu-Ray requires a complete overhaul of equipment and components are all pricey.
People have been saying it's the number of movies available that will make the difference. Another falsehood. BetaMax beat market for VHS, but rental stores went with VHS because the cost was lower. Disney is with Blu-Ray and people say Blu-Ray is better quality and is funding most of the movie releases. Disney did the same thing with LaserDisc.
History repeats itself if you don't learn from it. I don't see Sony learning anything from it's past.
Radiohead's pay-what-you-want release of its album In Rainbows is starting to catch on. Today spoken-word hip-hop artist Saul Williams releases his album, The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of Niggy Tardust!, via his Website. Users can choose to either get it for free or offer a donation of at least $5.
Behind today's release is some heavyweight help from Nine Inch Nails' frontman Trent Reznor who has been a vocal supporter of releasing music directly to fans via the Web.
A quick look at Williams' Web-debut of his album shows improvements over a lot of things Radiohead was chastised for, primarily offering their album at a bit rate significantly less than the 256K bps standard.
(This is a screen grab from Williams' site)
The Saul Williams Website, in a Web layout similar to that of Radiohead's In Rainbows, details exactly what fans who donate or don't will get with the album. Paying users will get the album in one of either three formats, 192Kbps MP3, 320Kbps MP3 and FLAC lossless audio. The free version of the album is only available the 192Kbps MP3 version. All downloads come with a PDF of artwork and lyrics and all files are 100 percent DRM free.
The release model could also be the method of choice for the next Nine Inch Nails album. Speaking to New York Magazine, Reznor, who produced the Williams album, said, "If I had [an album] that was done, I would [release] it today in exactly the same way." Nine Inch Nails is currently a free agent, as announced on the band's blog last month.
Only time will tell where the In Rainbows effect might show up next.
You'd call security if you spotted me tailing you and taking notes on where you went and what you looked at when you visited your local mall. Next you'd call the police when I popped out of the shadows and tried to sell you diet pills when I saw you at the food court wolfing down a Cinnabon. For some reason we have never felt as aghast when online marketers tail us online.
Today in Washington the Federal Trade Commission is holding meetings about online privacy. Once again in the hot seat will be online advertisers who are under pressure from privacy rights advocates who have proposed a U.S. do-not-track list that would allow consumers to opt out of advertising efforts that track their movements online. The proposal is modeled after the popular Do Not Call telephone list.
I don't have high hopes in a Do Not Track list becoming a reality anytime soon. But my fingers are crossed that online advertisers like Advertising.com, DoubleClick, 24/7 Real Media, and smaller online advertisers will be forced to be more transparent about their user profiling and ad targeting tactics.
Companies like DoubleClick do make available privacy information and opt-out tools to the public. But too often these terms of service and privacy policies are too obtuse and seem to be written by lawyers for lawyers with express intent of being so vague the company could never be sued. After reading DoubleClick's privacy policy and using its "ad cookie opt-out" tool I'm still told that I haven't opted out from ad programs run by DoubleClick subsidiaries and its affiliates. Come to think of it, I still don't know how or when I opted in to DoubleClick's ad tracking network either.
Online advertisers don't like the idea of giving consumers a Do Not Track option. The better online advertisers can profile you, the better it can target ads to you that you are interested in. More than a few online advertisers have told me contextually relevant ads are a benefit to consumers. If that's the case than what is to fear about a Do Not Track option for consumers? Let the consumer, not online advertisers, decide whether they want the benefit.
Others online advertisers sound like they are straight out of the movie Thank You for Smoking arguing the case for status quo. The Network Advertising Initiative (NAI), a cooperative of online marketing and analytics companies, seems intent on using scare tactics to dissuade public opinion arguing government is bad and self policing of online advertising is good.
The NAI, in a press release, states a government-run program wouldn't work. The proposal would create a government-run list that would force computers to "call home to the government on a regular basis."
Sounds like a reasonable caution to consider, but putting my trust in the online advertising industry doesn?t seem like a good option either. There is plenty still broken in 2007 with the current online advertising system similar to what PC World found in 2005.
Creating a Do Not Track list seems like an oversimplified solution to a global problem. Right now a Do Not Track proposal seems like a pipe dream. As one security expert told me "I like flowers and puppies. So let's make that part of the Do Not Track proposal to the FTC."
"Your paranoia is unfounded."
I take that to mean you haven't read this article about it:
Facebook's Beacon More Intrusive Than Previously Thought
http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,140182/article.html?tk=nl_dnxnws
In Europe, Opt-in is the only legal method for using consumer data. So what is wrong with asking the user: you can get Facebook for free if you are willing to accept banners and advertisement, even an email per month with some promotional offers, or you pay 5 dollars a month?.. I indeed think Facebook did enough. It is nice that investors are willing to invest in the development of free apps, but in the end somebody has to pay for the development costs. Unless you have a different business model. And this touches uppon any business. If a company can afford to supply a product for free cause they are making enough money with other products (Google fi) , the rest is out of business.... I just don't hope they pick my app.. I wish Facebook all the best.
In Europe, Opt-in is the only legal method for using consumer data. So what is wrong with asking the user: you can get Facebook for free if you are willing to accept banners and advertisement, even an email per month with some promotional offers, or you pay 5 dollars a month?.. I indeed think Facebook did enough. It is nice that investors are willing to invest in the development of free apps, but in the end somebody has to pay for the development costs. Unless you have a different business model. And this touches upon any business. If a company can afford to supply a product for free cause they are making enough money with other products (Google fi) , the rest is out of business.... I just don't hope they pick my app.. I wish Facebook all the best.