“We don't know what to do to keep all the users Google sends us.”
http://techdirt.com/articles/20090624/1244475352.shtml
According To WSJ, Google Not Just A 'Thief' But A 'Digital Vampire'
from the oh-please dept
There's an absolutely huge business out there of folks trying to get more traffic from Google, called Search Engine Optimization. It's a big deal. Traffic to your website is the lifeblood of most internet business models, and so any way to get more traffic is a good thing. Except if you're in the newspaper business for some reason. Lately we keep seeing odd stories of newspaper business folks complaining about the fact that Google sends them traffic. The latest? Dow Jones CEO Les Hinton, who called Google a "digital vampire" claiming that it's "sucking the blood" out of the newspaper industry (found via Mathew Ingram). He then goes on to suggest that at least some of this is the newspapers' own fault for giving "Google's fangs a great place to bite."
So, uh, Mr. Hinton, here's a suggestion: there's a little thing called robots.txt. You can block Google from indexing your websites. Then everyone's happy, right? That stops the bloodflow right there.
Except, perhaps the real issues is that, as everyone in every other business seems to recognize, traffic is important, and it's up to the website receiving that traffic to capitalize on it. So, either Hinton doesn't know this, or he's simply lying. Neither one makes Dow Jones look particularly smart.
(Related) Oh look, Microsoft is admitting they were wrong! Or perhaps they never really looked at the corporate market beyond all those desktops?
Microsoft-Backed Firm Says IBM Is Anticompetitive
Posted by timothy on Friday June 26, @08:15AM from the ibm's-suffered-under-the-antitrust-whip-before dept. microsoft ibm supercomputing government business
BBCWatcher writes
"Microsoft has long claimed that the mainframe is dead, slain by the company's Windows monopoly. Yet, apparently without any mirror nearby, Microsoft is now complaining through the Microsoft-funded Computer & Communications Industry Association that not only are mainframes not dead, but IBM is so anticompetitive that governments should intervene in the hyper-competitive server market. The Wall Street Journal reports that Microsoft is worried that the trend toward cloud computing is introducing competition to the Windows franchise, favoring better-positioned companies including IBM and Cisco. HP now talks about almost nothing but the IBM mainframe, with no Tukwila CPUs to sell until 2010. The global recession is encouraging more mainframe adoption as businesses slash IT costs, dominated by labor costs, and improve business execution. In 2008, IBM mainframe revenues rose 12.5% even whilst mainframe prices fell. (IBM shipped 25% more mainframe capacity than in 2007. Other server sales reports are not so good.) IBM mainframes can run multiple operating systems concurrently, including Linux and, more recently, OpenSolaris."
At last Apple is getting into a truly innovative industry (and then getting out again...)
http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2009/06/porn-comes-to-the-itunes-app-store/
Porn Comes to the iTunes App Store
By Charlie Sorrel Email Author June 25, 2009 9:12 am
Apple has finally allowed pornography into the iTunes App Store. The application, called Hottest Girls, costs $2 and includes “2200+ images of topless, sexy babes and nude models”.
UPDATE: TechCrunch is reporting that Apple has pulled the app from its App Store, stating, “it appears someone over at Cupertino [has] ultimately decided to reject the first such app.” However, the removal of the app is only a temporary one, according to the app’s developer, who states the he made the decision to stop distributing the app himself.
It is always amusing to note that everything that we know isn't quite true. Access to large amounts of data and reasonable analysis tools (and asking the right questions) seems to be changing “common knowledge,” if we would only listen...
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13846_3-10273344-62.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-5
Myths and realities of teen media trends
by Dave Rosenberg June 25, 2009 4:51 PM PDT
Nielsen is out with a new report on media consumption by teens and the results are counter-intuitive to what we commonly believe to be the norm. According to the How Teens Use Media report (PDF), "teens exhibit media habits that are more similar to the total population than not."
Key takeaways from the report:
Teens are not abandoning TV for new media: In fact, they watch more TV than ever, up 6 percent over the past five years in the U.S.
Teens love the Internet, but spend far less time browsing than adults: Teens spend 11 hours and 32 minutes per month online. Far below the average of 29 hours and 15 minutes.
Teens watch less online video than most adults, but the ads are highly engaging to them: Teens spend 35 percent less time watching online video than adults 25-34, but recall ads better when watching TV shows online than they do on television.
Teens read newspapers, [Do newspapers write for teens? Bob] listen to the radio, and even like advertising more than most: Teens who recall TV ads are 44 percent more likely to say they liked the ad.
Teens play video games, but their tastes aren't all for the blood-and-guts style games. Just two of their top five most-anticipated games since 2005 have been rated "Mature."
Teens' favorite TV shows, top Web sites and genre preferences across media are mostly the same as their parents: [Well, not everything can be positive. Bob] For U.S. teens, American Idol was the top show in 2008, Google the top website and general dramas are a preferred TV genre for teens around the world.
(Related) Is this true, or just “Yellow Bird” journalism?
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13846_3-10273382-62.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-5
Sesame Workshop: Video games good for kids
by Dave Rosenberg June 25, 2009 5:03 PM PDT
A new report (PDF) published by the Joan Ganz Clooney Center at Sesame Workshop discusses the potentially positive effects of video games in educating children and promoting their physical well-being. (And if you can't trust the fine people at Sesame Workshop, who can you trust?)
Studies that look at the effects of video games on kids have been mostly positive of late, with a focus on safe virtual worlds, and devices such as the Nintendo Wii that encourage physical activity.
(Related) “All that is not mandatory is forbidden.”
Australian Web Filter To Censor Downloaded Games
Posted by timothy on Thursday June 25, @03:03PM from the we've-already-got-these-cool-filters-in-place dept. censorship games
Xiroth writes
"The Australian Federal Communications Ministry has confirmed that they intend to use the planned filter to block the download of games that have been refused by Australia's classification authority, the OFLC. As an Electronic Frontiers Australia spokesman noted, 'This is confirmation that the scope of the mandatory censorship scheme will keep on creeping.'"
So, what have we learned?
http://www.pogowasright.org/?p=846
Kaspersky gets “good samaritan” immunity
June 26, 2009 by Dissent Filed under Court, Internet, U.S.
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals filed its opinion in Zango v. Kaspersky yesterday. Zango had sued Kaspersky Labs because Kaspersky’s software blocks Zango’s software. Kaspersky claimed that it was immune to lawsuit under the safe harbor provision of the Communications Decency Act of 1996 § 230.
The district court had granted summary judgment in Kaspersky’s favor, but Zango appealed. The Court of Appeals agreed with the district court and affirmed (pdf) their decision.
(Related article)
Kaspersky blocks Zango in court case that raises big question about Web filtering
Posted by Brier Dudley
… But one judge said the case raises questions about vague language in the act that could enable computer security and filtering companies to abuse their immunity, blocking competititors without informing users, for instance.
Zango had argued that Kaspersky Internet Security (KIS) disabled the Zango toolbar that displays ads related to a user's Web searches. Whenever Zango's software tried to access the Internet, KIS would display a warning and ask users if they wanted to block the program.
Big news for data analytics! Also for Privacy!
IBM Claims Breakthrough In Analysis of Encrypted Data
Posted by timothy on Thursday June 25, @02:13PM from the scrambled-in-the-shell dept. encryption ibm math security
An anonymous reader writes
"An IBM researcher has solved a thorny mathematical problem that has confounded scientists since the invention of public-key encryption several decades ago. The breakthrough, called 'privacy homomorphism,' or 'fully homomorphic encryption,' makes possible the deep and unlimited analysis of encrypted information — data that has been intentionally scrambled — without sacrificing confidentiality."
Reader ElasticVapor writes that the solution IBM claims
"might better enable a cloud computing vendor to perform computations on clients' data at their request, such as analyzing sales patterns, without exposing the original data. Other potential applications include enabling filters to identify spam, even in encrypted email, or protecting information contained in electronic medical records."
[From a Comment:
The abstract for Gentry's article can be found at: http://doi.acm.org/10.1145/1536414.1536440 [acm.org]
Tools & Techniques?
http://www.pcworld.com/article/167424/google_voice_5_reasons_to_use_it_5_reasons_to_think_twice.html
Google Voice: 5 Reasons to Use It, 5 Reasons to Think Twice
Google is opening the gates to its long-awaited Google Voice phone management service this week. Here are some things to consider as you decide whether the service is right for you.
JR Raphael, PC World Jun 25, 2009 7:00 pm
After weeks of anticipation, Google is finally accepting a limited number of new users into its Google Voice phone system. Google Voice allows you to unite all of your phones under a single number and then use a powerful set of controls to determine how calls are handled. It packs plenty of other impressive functionality, too, including voicemail-to-text transcribing and advanced call-screening.
At the same time, though, adopting Google Voice as your communications commander introduces some potential negatives, ranging from privacy-related concerns to questions about reliability. Here's a breakdown of five pros and five cons to help you determine whether the service is right for you.
This could be an amazing tool for Statistics.
http://www.seeingstatistics.com/
Seeing Statistics
Seeing Statistics ® is a new approach to teaching statistics using the World Wide Web.
Most of the graphs and figures in this textbook are dynamic and under the control of the reader. Interacting with the graphs allows you to see the important statistical principles in action.
(Related) This one looks interesting too. I need to explore it a bit more.
http://www.killerstartups.com/Web-App-Tools/datalightproject-com-a-different-way-to-do-statistics
DataLightProject.com - A Different Way To Do Statistics
http://www.datalightproject.com/Default.aspx
Created by two self-defined “data geeks”, this application came about because they believed that people would use statistics more if only statistics software was not as unfriendly as Doctor Gregory House when he hasn’t taken his Vicodin for three days.
This application is aimed both at experienced analysts and those who are just beginning to grasp such concepts. It employs a new Microsoft technology that goes by the name of Silverlight that turns it into a tool which can be virtually run on any browser and any computer.
Some available features include crosstable analysis, chi-square tests and descriptive statistics in order find relationship in data. You can also figure out how accurate you were by testing hypotheses using the resulting data.
The site includes comprehensive information as regards pricing, and a free trial is included for you to see if it delivers or not. In any case, remember that this new service is still in beta so bear with the programmers and do not write it off if something is where it shouldn’t.
Tools & Techniques Becauseweneverhaveenoughtime.
http://www.makeuseof.com/dir/podshifter-podshifter-speeds-up-podcasts-for-faster-listening/
PodShifter: Speeds Up Podcasts For Faster Listening
… It can easily make podcasts up to 2 or even 3 times faster.
To speed up podcast simply enter the RSS feed of a specific podcast into provided field, customize speed (from 0.6x to 3x) and click “shift it”.
Pure amusement
http://www.makeuseof.com/dir/tuxpi-make-your-own-wanted-poster/
Tuxpi: Make Your Own Wanted Poster
If you ever wanted to make your own WANTED poster just like in old Western movies, head to Tuxpi.com. All you need do is upload a picture from your computer, preview and modify the caption, reward lines as you see fit, and then download generated file to your computer.
Similar tools: FunPhotoBox.
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