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Once Again: People Want To Share The News

admin — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 05:21:00 +0000

Lots of folks have been sending in the “news” about news consumption from a new Pew study. A lot of the attention being paid to the study focuses on how more people are using the internet for news that newspapers, but that was an obvious trend. What I find a bit surprising is how few people seem to be talking about one of the other findings: that so many people are actively involved in “shared news.” That is, they either share news links or get news links from others on a regular basis. This is something we’ve discussed for the better part of a decade, but which many in the news business still don’t get. When they put up paywalls and even registration walls to limit access to the news, they make it difficult to impossible for people interact with the news the way they want to. It shows that publishers still have a mentality that they are “delivering” a final product to consumers — whereas most readers now think of themselves as a part of the process, hoping to spread the news to others, to comment on the news, and to be a part of the overall experience. The Pew study found that 75% of people get news sent to them by friends via email/social networks and 52% take part in sharing links. That becomes a lot harder with paywalls.

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Hulu Loses The Daily Show And Colbert

admin — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 03:19:02 +0000

For a while now Comedy Central’s two most popular shows, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and The Colbert Report have been available for streaming online on both Hulu and on the Comedy Central websites for each program. I’d always wondered why Viacom had allowed those two shows on Hulu, seeing as Hulu is basically owned by Viacom’s competitors — and those two shows are some of the most popular on Hulu. Over those two years, though, Viacom has also built up its own online sites — actually building some (weak, but still some) aspects of community around both sites. Apparently, it realized it had all the leverage, and Hulu wasn’t willing to pony up. So Viacom is pulling both shows from Hulu next week. This is a pretty big loss for Hulu, though the company is trying to shrug it off. But it does suggest yet another potential problem with Hulu’s business model. For all the crap we give Viacom over things like its YouTube lawsuit, the company has worked hard to try to build community around these particular shows — but other shows that are relying on Hulu can’t do that as easily.

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German Court Says Data Retention Rules Are Illegal

admin — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 01:26:00 +0000

Around the world, law enforcement has pushed for stronger data retention rules for years, despite little evidence that it actually helps stop crimes (in fact, there’s evidence that it helps to obscure important data by burying the data in tons of more data). Yet, since law enforcement and the media can team up to create moral panics, politicians usually end up passing such laws. However, over in Germany, the highest German court has ruled that the data retention law passed in 2008 is illegal, saying that “the law’s erosion of personal privacy outweighed its usefulness in combating terrorism.” Furthermore, the court has ordered that data retained under the law should be destroyed immediately. The court noted that the German law went well beyond EU requirements and potentially harmed the rights of German citizens by having them feel like they’re under constant observation:

The storage of data could “cause a diffusely threatening feeling of being under observation that can diminish an unprejudiced perception of one’s basic rights in many areas,”

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Gadget Deals of the Day [Dealzmodo]

admin — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 23:05:00 +0000

Today’s dealz are for those who appreciate subtlety. Get a modest Mitsubishi 65-incher to complement that nice shiny copy of Brütal Legend, or head to hobomodo and claim today’s free offering involving some classy Ninjas and Pirate Monkey Zombies.

Top Deals:
• 65″ Mitsubishi WD-65C9 1080p DLP HDTV for $1,049 with free shipping (normally $1,149)
~~• Brütal Legend (PS3) for $19.97 (normally $32.92).~~ Deal Expired
• Draw Slasher: Dark Ninja vs Pirate Monkey Zombies (iPhone) for $0 (normally $.99).

Gaming:
• 10% off and Free ground shipping on any in-stock game $39.99+ @ Gamestop (use coupon code FG10).
• Final Fantasy XIII (360/PS3) + $10 Amazon Game Credit for $59.99 plus free shipping (normally $72).
• Metro 2033 (360) for $49.99 plus free shipping (normally $57.88).
• Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 (360) for $39 (normally $52.92).
• NBA 2K10 [PS3] for $29.99 plus free shipping (normally $41).
• Infamous (PS3) $26.99 shipped (normally $40).
• Shaun White Snowboarding (PS3) for $9.99 (normally $18).
• Brütal Legend (PS3) for $19.97 (normally $32.92).
• $5 off any new, in-stock Wii game $29.99+ @ Gamestop (use coupon code 5WII).
• Nintendo Wii Speak Microphone for $9.99 plus free shipping (normally $30).
• Alice in Wonderland (Wii) + Alice in Wonderland Soundtrack (CD) for $46.98 plus free shipping (normally $57).
• Sonic and the Black Knight (Wii) for $18.86 (normally $28).
• Lego Rock Band (Wii) for $29.99 plus free shipping (normally $40).
• MadWorld (Wii) for $9.99 plus free shipping (normally $19.95).
• Monster Jam: Urban Assault (Wii) for $19.56 (normally $22.44).
• Wii Quad Charging Station by Nyko for $30.99 plus free shipping (normally $48).
• James Cameron’s Avatar: The Game (Wii) for $29.99 plus free shipping (normally $43.50).
• Best of Indie Bundle Vol. 3 – 10 games (PC download) for $29.95 (normally $120).
• James Cameron’s Avatar: The Game Special Edition (PC download) for $34.95 (normally $50).
• Dragon Age: Origins Digital Deluxe Edition (PC download) + Dragon Age: Origins Awakening (PC download) for $78.95 (normally $94).
• Football Manager 2010 (PC download) for $19.99 (normally $39.95).
• Cities XL (PC download) for $19.95 (normally $40).
• Tropico 3 (PC download) for $19.95 (normally $27).
• Sid Meier’s Civilization IV (PC download) for $13.50 (normally $20).
• Theatre of War (PC download) for $14.95 (normally $38).
• Virtua Tennis 2009 (PC download) for $7.50 (normally $20).
• A Farewell To Dragons (PC downlaod) for $7.50 (normally $20).
• Blue Dragon Plus (DS) for $9.98 (normally $20).

If a deal looks too good to be true, investigate the store and see if it’s a good, reputable place to buy. Safe shopping!

[Thanks TechDealDigger, Dealzon, Logic Buy, GamerHotline, Cheap College Gamers, CheapStingyBargains and TechBargains.]

Yes, MySpace Is Allowed To Delete MySpace Page That Tries To Show Fake And Real MySpace Celebs

admin — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 10:29:05 +0000

Last year, we wrote about a case brought by a woman named Julie Riggs against MySpace. The complaint itself is somewhat of an amusing read (”At this point Plaintiff was literally seething with anger to the point that she was now consumed by it”). The main issue was that Riggs had created a website that tried to determine which celebrity profiles on MySpace were real and which were fake. She was upset (among other things) because (1) there were fake profiles on MySpace (2) MySpace later did something similar itself and (3) MySpace deleted her profile. After we wrote about the case, we received an angry email from Ms. Riggs telling us we “missed the point” and that MySpace “stole” her idea — and that we needed to get our story straight. She never explains how coming up with the same idea is illegal, of course. Also, my favorite: “What can you expect from site such as yours though.” Indeed.

Unfortunately, it appears that the district court also “missed the point” and did not get the story straight, because as Eric Goldman points out, it has dismissed the lawsuit. However, in this case, it may actually be true that the court missed the point. As Goldman notes in his discussion of the ruling, the court seems a bit confused about how Section 230 of the CDA works, and may have dismissed parts of the case for rather confused reasons. Riggs has appealed, so hopefully the Appeals Court fixes the problems (but still dismisses it). However, again as Goldman notes, this is taking place in the notoriously nutty Ninth Circuit, which often has a problem with reading Section 230 the way everyone else reads Section 230. Hopefully, they get this one right.

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Perfect 10 Still Not Giving Up In Lawsuit Against Google

admin — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 07:09:02 +0000

Back in May, when a court shot down yet another of porn publisher Perfect 10’s lawsuits against web search engines, we wondered if the publisher would finally realize that Google is not liable for what its image search engine finds. Yet, the company doesn’t seem interested in giving up. It’s claiming that Google abused the discovery process and failed to hand over important materials, including its “DMCA log.” At issue is the fact that some people out there had used unauthorized images from Perfect 10 on their own websites, and Google’s image search found them. Perfect 10 first tried to claim Google itself was guilty of copyright infringement for displaying those images, but eventually the courts realized that displaying a thumbnail of an image from another website in a search result is not, nor should it be, considered copyright infringement.

Of course, this particular statement is pretty amusing:

“Google appears to have the view that it is above the law,” says Perfect 10 President, Dr. Norm Zada.

That’s a funny comment for someone who’s been losing pretty much every lawsuit. It seems that the courts have thought all along that Google was very much within the letter and spirit of the law.

In this case, Perfect 10 is now trying to stretch what the DMCA requires of a recipient of a DMCA notice, saying:

“Under the DMCA, a search engine such as Google may receive limited immunity from monetary damages for copyright infringement if it complies with the requirements of the DMCA,” Zada says. “The search engine must act expeditiously to remove or disable access to infringing material upon receiving notice of infringement from the copyright owner, and it must adopt a procedure so that copyright holders will not have to provide the search engine with notices about the same infringing material or the same infringers over and over.”

The first part is true. The latter part is not true. However, it’s the latter part that Perfect 10 seems to be relying on, demanding its “DMCA log” which is apparently “a spreadsheet-type document summarizing DMCA notices received, the identity of the notifying party and the accused infringer, and the actions (if any) taken in response.” Considering Google has a pretty long history of quickly responding to DMCA complaints, it’s difficult to believe that it would somehow not adhere to the DMCA in this case. Once again, it seems likely that Perfect 10 is going to end up on the losing side of a court battle. If only it actually put this much effort into actually building a business.

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Kaliya Hamlin: Fire Fox and Identity in the Browser

admin — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 14:19:04 +0000

ReadWriteWeb reports this week:

Decrying redirects and iframes, Raskin tells of a brave new world where an in-browser button that defies navigational difficulties allows for something closer to true identity portability than we’ve seen yet:

Identity will be one of the defining themes in the next five years of the Web. Nearly every site has a concept of a user account, registration, and identity. Searching for “sign in” on Google yields over 1.8 billion hits. And yet, the browser does nothing to make this experience better save for some basic auto form filling. The browser leaves websites to re-implement identity management, and forces users to learn a new scheme for every site… Your identity is too important to be owned by any one company. Your friends are too important to be owned by any one company.

Finally! They said it!

Comments in reaction to the ReadWriteWeb post highlight Information Cards & CardSpace are not mentioned – I point out in my comment that the work is all connected ant pointed to the IIW conversations about Active Clients attended by all.

Aza open their post with this paragraph:

Identity will be one of the defining themes in the next five years of the Web. Nearly every site has a concept of a user account, registration, and identity. Searching for “sign in” on Google yields over 1.8 billion hits. And yet, the browser does nothing to make this experience better save for some basic auto form filling. The browser leaves websites to re-implement identity management, and forces users to learn a new scheme for every site.

They make these key points following the images they have (you should check the images out)

• Identity is part of where you are, and what you are looking at (Amazon looks different depending on if you are signed in or not). That’s why we put it in the URL Bar.

• For most sites, you’ll probably only have one identity, so login will be a single click or automatic.

• Putting verbs into the navigation bar isn’t new. See Taskfox.

• To increase visibility, webpages should be able to make a Javascript call that opens the login/signup bubble.

• For webpages that want to own the login-process, the account creation simply acts as the ultimate form-fill. For those interested in the evolution of the idea, you can see an early mockup with comments as well as Alex Faaborg’s similiar mockups.

They also make this point…

Chris Messina and others has been advocating for a model which follows the Facebook Connect lead: a single verb, to connect. Once connected, you decide exactly what information to share in an asynchronous manner. Unfortunately this bleeds information — your name is known to all websites which which you connect. We’d like to explore what a connect metaphor in combination with the ability to remain anonymous but connected means.

I agree with the firefox folks. Having a way to do verified anonymity is essential.

“Selective Disclosure” is the name for technologies that do this.

The firefox team should check out Stefan’s U-Prove Technology that may be released shortly by MSFT that acquired it over a year ago -

(seems like Stefan killed his blog when he moved to MSFT..mmm..anyways.)

Firefox folks invite people to get involved here.

Chris Messina: Designing for the gut

admin — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 07:09:38 +0000

I want you to watch this video from a recent Sarah Palin rally (hat tip: Marshall Kirkpatrick). It gives us “who” I’m talking about.

While you could chalk up the effect of the video to clever editing, I’ve seen similar videos that suggest that the attitudes expressed are probably a pretty accurate portrayal of how some people think (and, for the purposes of this essay, I’m less interested in what they think).

It seems to me that the people in the video largely think with their guts, and not their brains. I’m not making a judgment about their intelligence, only recognizing that they seem to evaluate the world from a different perspective than I do: with less curiosity and apparent skepticism. This approach would explain George W Bush’s appeal as someone who “lead from the gut“. It’s probably also what Al Gore was talking about in his book, Assault on Reason.

Many in my discipline (design) tend to think of the consumers of their products as being rational, thinking beings &emdash Not unlike themselves. This seems worse when it comes to engineers and developers, who spend all of their thinking time being mathematically circumspect in their heads. They exhibit a kind of pattern blindness to the notion that some people act completely from gut instinct alone, rarely invoking their higher faculties.

How, then, does this dichotomy impact the utility or usability of products and services, especially those borne of technological innovation, given that designers and engineers tend to work with “information in the mind” while many of the users of their products operate purely on the visceral plane?

In writing about the death of the URL, I wanted to expose some consequences of this division. While the intellectually adventuresome are happy to embrace or create technology to expand and challenge their minds (the popularity and vastness of the web a testament to that fact), anti-intellectuals seem to encounter technology as though it were a form of mysticism. In contrast to the technocratic class, anti-intellectuals on the whole seem less curious about how the technology works, so long as it does. Moreover, for technology to work “well” (or be perceived to work well) it needs to be responsive, quick, and for the most part, completely invisible. A common sentiment I hear is that the less technology intrudes on their lives, the better and happier they believe themselves to be.

So, back to the death of the URL. As has been argued, the URL is ugly, confusing, and opaque. It feels technical and dangerous. And people just don’t get them. This is a sharp edge of the web that seems to demand being sanded off — because the less the inner workings of a technology are exposed in one’s interactions with it, the easier and more pleasurable it will be to operate, within certain limitations, of course. Thus to naively enjoy the web, one needn’t understand servers, DNS, ports, or hypertext — one should just “connect”, pick from a list of known, popular, “destinations”, and then point, click — point, click.

And what’s so wrong with that?

What I find interesting about the social web is not the technology that enables it, but that it bypasses our “central processor” and engages the gut. The single greatest thing about the social web is how it has forced people to overcome their technophobias in order to connect with other humans. I mean, prior to the rise of AOL, being online was something that only nerds did. Few innovations in the past have spread so quickly and irreversibly, and it’s because the benefits of the social web extend beyond the rational mind, and activate our common ancestors’ legacy brain. This widens the potential number of people who can benefit from the technology because rationality is not a requirement for use.

Insomuch as humans have cultivated a sophisticated sociality over millennia, the act of socializing itself largely takes place in the “gut”. That’s not to say that there aren’t higher order cognitive faculties involved in “being social”, but when you interact with someone, especially for the first time, no matter what your brain says, you still rely a great deal on what your gut “tells you” — and that’s not a bad thing. However, when it comes to socializing on sites like Twitter and Facebook, we’re necessarily engaging more of our prefrontal cortex to interpret our experience because digital environments lack the circumstantial information that our senses use to inform our behavior. To make up for the lack of sensory information, we tend to scan pages all at once, rather than read every word from top to bottom, looking for cues or familiar handholds that will guide us forward. Facebook (by name and design) uses the familiarity of our friends’ faces to help us navigate and cope with what is otherwise typically an information-poor environment that we are ill-equipped to evaluate on our own (hence the success of social engineering schemes and phishing).

As we redesign more of our technologies to provide social functionality, we should not proceed with mistaken assumption that users of social technologies are rational, thinking, deliberative actors. Nor should we be under the illusion that those who use these features will care more about neat tricks that add social functionality than the socialization experience itself. That is, technology that shrinks the perceived distance between one person’s gut and another’s and simply gets out of the way, wins. If critical thinking or evaluation is required in order to take advantage of social functionality, the experience will feel, and thus be perceived, as being frustrating and obtuse, leading to avoidance or disuse.

Given this, no where is the recognition of the gut more important than in the design and execution of identity technologies. And this, ultimately, is why I’m writing this essay.

It might seems strange (or somewhat obsessive), but as I watched the Sarah Palin video above, I thought about how I would talk to these people about OpenID. No doubt we would use very different words to describe the same things — and I bet their mental model of the web, Facebook, Yahoo, and Google would differ greatly from mine — but we would find common goals or use cases that would unite us. For example, I’m sure that they keep in touch with their friends and family online. Or they discover or share information — again, even if they do it differently than me or my friends do. Though we may engage with the world very differently — at root we both begin with some kind of conception of our “self” that we “extend” into the network when we go online and connect with other people.

The foundation of those connections is what I’m interested in, and why I think designing for the gut is something that technocrats must consider carefully. Specifically, when I read posts like Jesse Stay’s concept of a future without a login button, or evaluate the mockups for an “active identity client” based on information cards or consider Aza and Alex’s sketches for what identity in the browser could look like, I try to involve my gut in that “thought” process.

Now, I’m not just talking about intuition (though that’s a part of it). I’m talking about why some people feel “safer” experiencing the web with companies like Google or Facebook or Yahoo! at their side, or how frightening the web must seem when everyone seems to need you to keep a secret with them in order to do business (i.e. create a password).

I think the web must seem incredibly scary if you’re also one of those people that’s had a virus destroy your files, or use a computer that’s still infected and runs really slow. For people with that kind of experience as the norm, computers must seem untrustworthy or suspicious. Rationally you could try to explain to them what happened, or how the social web can be safe, but their “gut has already been made up.” It’s not a rational perception that they have of computers, it’s an instinctual one — and one that is not soon overcome.

Thus, when it comes to designing identity technologies, it’s very important that we involve the gut as a constituent of our work. Overloading the log in or registration experience with choice is an engineer’s solution that I’ve come to accept is bound to fail. Instead, the act of selecting an identity to “perform as” must happen early in one’s online session — at a point in time equivalent to waking up in the morning and deciding whether to wear sweatpants or a suit and tie depending on whatever is planned for the rest of the day.

Such an approach is a closer approximation to how people conduct themselves today — in the real world and from the gut — and must inform the next generation of social technologies.

КОФЕ ДЛЯ КНИГ И КНИГИ О КОФЕ

admin — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 09:53:29 +0000

Кофе и искусство тесно связаны со времени появления первых кофеен Известно, что их первыми завсегдатаями были представители европейской богемы.
Теперь лидеры британского кофейного бизнеса вызвались быть спонсорами литературной премии. Вместе с новым спонсором, литературная премия «Whitbread» получила и новое имя. На тридцать шестом году своего существования она была переименована в «Costa Book Awards».
Причина в том, что поддержать престижную литературную награду решила влиятельная английская сеть кофеен и магазинов «Costa Coffee». Заметим, что многие отделения фирмы располагаются, в первую очередь, именно в книжных и букинистических магазинах.
За исключением названия, все остальные составляющие литературной премии остались прежними. Она как и раньше будет вручаться по пяти номинациям: «роман», «поэзия», «дебют», «детская книга», «биография». Прежним остался и премиальный фонд.
Общая сумма ежегодных затрат на существование «Costa Book Awards» будут составлять около одного миллиона. В эту сумму включены и средства на организацию мероприятий.
Итоги литературного года подводятся в январе.
Вместе с тем, в мире литературы о кофе также не обходится без новостей. Знаменитый итальянский литературный труд «Кофе. Торжество разнообразия» впервые переведен на русский язык и стал доступен отечественному читателю.
Издание книги финансирует итальянская компания «Sandalj Trading Company». Автором работы является глава фирмы – господин Винченцо Сандали.
Издание подробно описывает практически все аспекты, связанные с производством кофе. Среди любителей и профессионалов кофе книга давно пользуется заслуженным авторитетом.
Прежде чем увидеть свет на русском языке, книга «Кофе. Торжество разнообразия» ранее была переведена на английский, португальский, японский и иврит. С переводом на русский, аудитория издания, вне сомнения, увеличится в несколько раз.
Как сказано в аннотации к книге, она будет полезна всем, кто занят в кофейной индустрии, и всем, кто не представляет свою жизнь без чашечки ароматного напитка. С ее помощью каждый сможет пополнить свои знания о кофе, и даже искушенные профессионалы наверняка почерпнут для себя что-то новое.
Несмотря на серьезный научный подход, книга написана живым и интересным языком. Как созревает кофе, как влияет на это процесс климат и место произрастания, какие существую методы обработки кофейных зерен, в чем особенности выращивания и употребления кофе в разных уголках Земли – обо всем этом можно прочесть ан страницах «Кофе. Торжество разнообразия».
Значительная часть книги также посвящена истории распространения кофе, строению кофейного дерева, разновидностям и сортам кофе, научным исследованиям и разработкам в кофейной индустрии.
Книга богато иллюстрирована. Фотографии для издания были сделаны лучшими фотографами практически на всех континентах и во всех странах, где выращивают кофейное дерево.

КОФЕ БЬЕТ ТОЧНО В ЦЕЛЬ

admin — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 09:53:29 +0000

Исследованием кофе занялись нейробиологи

            За последние десятилетия попытки разгадать тайну стимулирующего действия кофе предпринимались неоднократно. Несмотря на то, что основные механизмы воздействия кофеина на нервную систему были известные ученым и прежде, найти области головного мозга, в первую очередь, чувствительные к стимулятору не удавалось.
            Продвинуться вперед в этих исследованиях удалось после того, как в распоряжении нейробиологов появились новые технологические средства исследования нервной системы человека.
            С помощью магнитно-резонансного сканирования мозга было установлено, что к кофеину чувствительна предлобная кора. По сути, это и есть главная мишень воздействия кофе.
            Это открытие сделали австралийские ученые после серии экспериментов. В опытах участвовали пятнадцать добровольцев, регулярно употребляющих кофе в быту. Некоторые из испытуемых также курили сигареты.
            Перед экспериментом людей изолировали от окружающего мира на пять часов. Для чистоты опыта им необходимо было воздерживаться от кофе и сигарет не менее суток.
Непосредственно перед началом тестирования каждому испытуемому предлагали выпить либо чашку крепкого кофе, содержащего около ста миллиграммов кофеина, или плацебо, по вкусу напоминающее кофе, но не содержащее в своем составе стимулятора.
Через двадцать минут после начала действия вещества тестируемые участники эксперимента подвергались магнитно-резонансному сканированию мозга. При этом каждому испытуемому предлагалось пройти через ряд тестов памяти и концентрации внимания.
Через несколько дней эксперимент повторялся. Однако те, кто пил кофе и те, кто получал плацебо, на этот раз менялись местами.
Участникам предлагалось обратить внимание на почти бегущую последовательность заглавных букв. Затем отдельные буквы появлялись на экране уже с нормальной скоростью, и участники эксперимента должны были максимально точно определить, совпадает ли наблюдаемая последовательность тому порядку, что они наблюдали вначале.
Полученные результаты позволили ученым говорить о том, что рабочая часть памяти активизировалась у все участников группы. Но у тех, кто принимал настоящий кофе, предлобные доли головного мозги активизировались значительно сильнее, нежели у тех, кто кофе не пил. Была зафиксирована и активизация передней части поясной извилины, которая ответственна за так называемую кратковременную память и концентрацию внимания.
Кратковременной памятью мы пользуемся, когда, например, держим в голове номер из телефонного справочника, прежде чем набрать его на телефоне.
Австралийские ученые подчеркивают, что результаты исследования предварительны. Впереди новые эксперименты, которые позволят выяснить, как долго кофеин воздействует на память и каковы механизмы иного воздействия кофе на человеческий мозг.
Например, будет исследован путь связывания кофеина с так называемыми аденозиновыми рецепторами. Возможно, что влияние кофе на память связано и с этим механизмом.