A few days back I shared a little analysis of my AdSense earnings as it related to sources of traffic and looked at how – for me – traffic from newsletters was actually the most valuable traffic that I get on my photography site.
This dispelled the myth that loyal readers to your site become blind [...]This Post is from: ProBlogger Blog Tips.
Repeat Visitors vs New Visitors – Which is Worth More to Your AdSense Earnings?
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
DST Tightens Its Grip On Russian Social Networking Scene Amidst IPO Plans
Internet investment group Digital Sky Technologies (DST) today formally announced the acquisition of Russian social network Odnoklassniki.ru, which we reported on last week.
DST has bought out out the minority shareholders in Forticom Group Limited - which it now fully owns - and Odnoklassniki, and interestingly transferred its interest in the Polish social network Nasza-Klasa.pl to the previous minority shareholders of Forticom as part of the deal.
DST has bought out out the minority shareholders in Forticom Group Limited - which it now fully owns - and Odnoklassniki, and interestingly transferred its interest in the Polish social network Nasza-Klasa.pl to the previous minority shareholders of Forticom as part of the deal.
Artificial Enzyme Successfully Used to Neutralize a Natural Plant Poison
Dr. Jeannette Bjerre University of CopenhagenThe successful use of an engineered chemzyme is a world first
For the first time, a human-designed chemical enzyme -- a chemzyme -- has been used to break down a toxin found inside fruits and vegetables.
Chemzymes are designed to emulate the body's naturally occuring enzymes, but are much simpler and tougher. A chemzyme designed by a Danish scientist successfully neutralized glycoside esculin, a toxic compound found in horse chestnuts. The toxin can cause nasty problems like muscle twitching, lack of coordination, vomiting, diarrhea, depression and paralysis.
Enzymes are made from strings of amino acids and are responsible for chemical reactions inside the body. They can quickly break down food and toxins, and can be used in other applications to spur chemical reactions. But they are very complex and fragile, and therefore hard to duplicate.
Chemzymes are stripped-down versions of natural enzymes, containing the minimum ingredients for them to work, according to researchers at the University of Copenhagen, where the chemzymes were developed.
Scientists have been working on synthetic enzymes for a variety of applications, including medicine and industry. But Jeannette Bjerre, who just received her Ph.D. at the University of Copenhagen, has shown for the first time that artificial enzymes can be designed to neutralize food-borne toxins.
The chemzyme's simple design might make it easier to create new chemzymes for specific tasks. Researchers have already shown that simple changes in a chemzyme's structure can dramatically alter its chemical-reaction abilities.
So far, no one has been able to make chemzymes that work as quickly as their natural counterparts. But chemzymes are more resistant to heat and chemicals, so they would be easier to produce in large quantities, which could open new doors for pharmaceutical and chemical research.
[University of Copenhagen]
For the first time, a human-designed chemical enzyme -- a chemzyme -- has been used to break down a toxin found inside fruits and vegetables.
Chemzymes are designed to emulate the body's naturally occuring enzymes, but are much simpler and tougher. A chemzyme designed by a Danish scientist successfully neutralized glycoside esculin, a toxic compound found in horse chestnuts. The toxin can cause nasty problems like muscle twitching, lack of coordination, vomiting, diarrhea, depression and paralysis.
Enzymes are made from strings of amino acids and are responsible for chemical reactions inside the body. They can quickly break down food and toxins, and can be used in other applications to spur chemical reactions. But they are very complex and fragile, and therefore hard to duplicate.
Chemzymes are stripped-down versions of natural enzymes, containing the minimum ingredients for them to work, according to researchers at the University of Copenhagen, where the chemzymes were developed.
Scientists have been working on synthetic enzymes for a variety of applications, including medicine and industry. But Jeannette Bjerre, who just received her Ph.D. at the University of Copenhagen, has shown for the first time that artificial enzymes can be designed to neutralize food-borne toxins.
The chemzyme's simple design might make it easier to create new chemzymes for specific tasks. Researchers have already shown that simple changes in a chemzyme's structure can dramatically alter its chemical-reaction abilities.
So far, no one has been able to make chemzymes that work as quickly as their natural counterparts. But chemzymes are more resistant to heat and chemicals, so they would be easier to produce in large quantities, which could open new doors for pharmaceutical and chemical research.
[University of Copenhagen]
PogoPlugs Print! Also, Biz Model and WiFi Adapter Now Shipping
PogoPlug keeps getting better and better. Today they're announcing that wireless printing, first mentioned earlier this summer, is now available. Users can print from iPads, iPhones, Androids and pretty much any other Internet-connected device. While you're vacationing in Rio, you can print off instructions for your buddy who's house sitting for you! Or you can print off a stack of vacation photos while still on vacation! Also announced today is that the PogoPlug Biz and the PogoPlug WiFi Adapter are both shipping.
It?s Time To Disqus Our Community
Perhaps you've noticed that a couple days ago we flipped the switch to enable the shiny new commenting system here on TechCrunch powered by Disqus. So far, the feedback has been very, very positive -- and we're pleased with how well it's performing. But Disqus is just one step of what we need to do.
As many of you are well aware, the commenting situation on TechCrunch has been completely out of control for a long, long time. That seems to be one unfortunate side effect of when a site gets large enough (see: YouTube and Digg for other great examples). But we also realize that things don't have to be that way. Some popular sites have very good comments (see: Hacker News and Quora for good examples of that). We'd like our comment section to be useful too. So we're going to try to do something about that.
As many of you are well aware, the commenting situation on TechCrunch has been completely out of control for a long, long time. That seems to be one unfortunate side effect of when a site gets large enough (see: YouTube and Digg for other great examples). But we also realize that things don't have to be that way. Some popular sites have very good comments (see: Hacker News and Quora for good examples of that). We'd like our comment section to be useful too. So we're going to try to do something about that.
Bill Gates Foundation Investing In Monsanto?
This is unfortunate. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has certainly been hard at work trying to improve healthcare around the world, but the latest news is that the Foundation has decided to invest in Monsanto, a company famous for widely abusing intellectual property laws to make people a lot less healthy, to increase the cost of some key foods important to feeding the hungry and to generally scare researchers from sharing important information with one another, for fear that it will be patented and locked up. If the Foundation really believes in making people around the globe healthier, it wouldn't be investing in Monsanto, but working hard to break down the barriers that Monsanto has put up to making people around the world healthy.Permalink | Comments | Email This Story
Monday, August 30, 2010
Artificial Enzyme Successfully Used to Neutralize a Natural Plant Poison
Dr. Jeannette Bjerre University of CopenhagenThe successful use of an engineered chemzyme is a world first
For the first time, a human-designed chemical enzyme -- a chemzyme -- has been used to break down a toxin found inside fruits and vegetables.
Chemzymes are designed to emulate the body's naturally occuring enzymes, but are much simpler and tougher. A chemzyme designed by a Danish scientist successfully neutralized glycoside esculin, a toxic compound found in horse chestnuts. The toxin can cause nasty problems like muscle twitching, lack of coordination, vomiting, diarrhea, depression and paralysis.
Enzymes are made from strings of amino acids and are responsible for chemical reactions inside the body. They can quickly break down food and toxins, and can be used in other applications to spur chemical reactions. But they are very complex and fragile, and therefore hard to duplicate.
Chemzymes are stripped-down versions of natural enzymes, containing the minimum ingredients for them to work, according to researchers at the University of Copenhagen, where the chemzymes were developed.
Scientists have been working on synthetic enzymes for a variety of applications, including medicine and industry. But Jeannette Bjerre, who just received her Ph.D. at the University of Copenhagen, has shown for the first time that artificial enzymes can be designed to neutralize food-borne toxins.
The chemzyme's simple design might make it easier to create new chemzymes for specific tasks. Researchers have already shown that simple changes in a chemzyme's structure can dramatically alter its chemical-reaction abilities.
So far, no one has been able to make chemzymes that work as quickly as their natural counterparts. But chemzymes are more resistant to heat and chemicals, so they would be easier to produce in large quantities, which could open new doors for pharmaceutical and chemical research.
[University of Copenhagen]
For the first time, a human-designed chemical enzyme -- a chemzyme -- has been used to break down a toxin found inside fruits and vegetables.
Chemzymes are designed to emulate the body's naturally occuring enzymes, but are much simpler and tougher. A chemzyme designed by a Danish scientist successfully neutralized glycoside esculin, a toxic compound found in horse chestnuts. The toxin can cause nasty problems like muscle twitching, lack of coordination, vomiting, diarrhea, depression and paralysis.
Enzymes are made from strings of amino acids and are responsible for chemical reactions inside the body. They can quickly break down food and toxins, and can be used in other applications to spur chemical reactions. But they are very complex and fragile, and therefore hard to duplicate.
Chemzymes are stripped-down versions of natural enzymes, containing the minimum ingredients for them to work, according to researchers at the University of Copenhagen, where the chemzymes were developed.
Scientists have been working on synthetic enzymes for a variety of applications, including medicine and industry. But Jeannette Bjerre, who just received her Ph.D. at the University of Copenhagen, has shown for the first time that artificial enzymes can be designed to neutralize food-borne toxins.
The chemzyme's simple design might make it easier to create new chemzymes for specific tasks. Researchers have already shown that simple changes in a chemzyme's structure can dramatically alter its chemical-reaction abilities.
So far, no one has been able to make chemzymes that work as quickly as their natural counterparts. But chemzymes are more resistant to heat and chemicals, so they would be easier to produce in large quantities, which could open new doors for pharmaceutical and chemical research.
[University of Copenhagen]
Gray Matter: In Which I Fully Submerge My Hand in Liquid Nitrogen
Protected By Science My hand is like a red-hot poker to the liquid nitrogen, but an insulating layer of nitrogen gas forms- a phenomenon known as the Leiden-frost effect- keeping my hand safe and warm for a fraction of a second. Mike WalkerA layer of bubbles protects the flesh from liquid nitrogen, though only for a split second. Need proof? Watch the video
When I first saw this photograph of a man's hand submerged in liquid nitrogen at somewhere below -320� F, my immediate thought was, "That guy must be crazy! One second in that stuff, and you're shopping for new skin!" My shock was tempered only slightly by the fact that it was my hand, and we'd taken the picture just a minute earlier.
I hadn't realized that my hand was quite so deep into the liquid. Amazingly, I barely felt the cold at all. My skin didn't get hurt for the same reason that water droplets dance on a hot skillet. An insulating layer of steam forms almost instantly between the water and the metal, keeping the droplets relatively cool as they float for several seconds without actually touching the hot surface. To liquid nitrogen, flesh is like that skillet-a surface hundreds of degrees above its boiling point. So the moment my hand touched the liquid, it created a protective layer of evaporated nitrogen gas, just as the skillet created a layer of steam. That gave me just enough time to put my hand in and pull it out again. Any longer than that, and frostbite would have set in.The phenomenon is called the Leidenfrost effect (after Johann Gottlob Leidenfrost, the doctor who first studied it in 1756). I'd known about it for years, but when it came time to test it in real life, I have to admit that I used my left hand, the one I'd miss less.
I drew the line at another classic example of the effect. According to the books, it's possible to stick a damp finger directly into molten lead without getting burned, if you do it fast enough. After some consideration, and remembering the times I've been burned by molten lead, I decided that it probably wouldn't make a very good picture anyway.
ACHTUNG! Do not try this. If liquid nitrogen soaks into your clothes, you will not be protected by the Leidenfrost effect, and you can get frostbite very quickly.
When I first saw this photograph of a man's hand submerged in liquid nitrogen at somewhere below -320� F, my immediate thought was, "That guy must be crazy! One second in that stuff, and you're shopping for new skin!" My shock was tempered only slightly by the fact that it was my hand, and we'd taken the picture just a minute earlier.
I hadn't realized that my hand was quite so deep into the liquid. Amazingly, I barely felt the cold at all. My skin didn't get hurt for the same reason that water droplets dance on a hot skillet. An insulating layer of steam forms almost instantly between the water and the metal, keeping the droplets relatively cool as they float for several seconds without actually touching the hot surface. To liquid nitrogen, flesh is like that skillet-a surface hundreds of degrees above its boiling point. So the moment my hand touched the liquid, it created a protective layer of evaporated nitrogen gas, just as the skillet created a layer of steam. That gave me just enough time to put my hand in and pull it out again. Any longer than that, and frostbite would have set in.The phenomenon is called the Leidenfrost effect (after Johann Gottlob Leidenfrost, the doctor who first studied it in 1756). I'd known about it for years, but when it came time to test it in real life, I have to admit that I used my left hand, the one I'd miss less.
I drew the line at another classic example of the effect. According to the books, it's possible to stick a damp finger directly into molten lead without getting burned, if you do it fast enough. After some consideration, and remembering the times I've been burned by molten lead, I decided that it probably wouldn't make a very good picture anyway.
ACHTUNG! Do not try this. If liquid nitrogen soaks into your clothes, you will not be protected by the Leidenfrost effect, and you can get frostbite very quickly.
Diaspora Clarifies: Open Source On September 15, Consumer Alpha In October
A few days ago, we noted that Diaspora was three weeks away from unveiling their open-source Facebook alternative. But a small update today clarifies one important point. On September 15, Diaspora will release the open source code for the project. But it won't be until October that the first consumer-facing alpha is available.
This isn't a major hiccup, it's just an update to make sure people aren't expecting to be able to use Diaspora on September 15. Instead, at that time, developers will have a chance to tinker around with what the team has come up with in these past several weeks -- with the $200,000 they raised from 6,500 people through Kickstarter back in June.
This isn't a major hiccup, it's just an update to make sure people aren't expecting to be able to use Diaspora on September 15. Instead, at that time, developers will have a chance to tinker around with what the team has come up with in these past several weeks -- with the $200,000 they raised from 6,500 people through Kickstarter back in June.
Cisco May Be Making A Run For Skype
Cisco has made an offer to acquire Skype before they complete their IPO process, says one of our more reliable sources. We have not been able to confirm this rumor one way or another via other sources, which isn't surprising. A company in lock down during the IPO process is usually even more tight lipped than normal.
But if true this would be one very big acquisition. Skype insiders are hoping for an out of the gate valuation of $5 billion or so, we've heard. Presumably Cisco would have to bidding in that range to make it interesting.
Google was also rumored to be sniffing around Skype, but antitrust concerns may have persuaded them not to make an actual offer.
But if true this would be one very big acquisition. Skype insiders are hoping for an out of the gate valuation of $5 billion or so, we've heard. Presumably Cisco would have to bidding in that range to make it interesting.
Google was also rumored to be sniffing around Skype, but antitrust concerns may have persuaded them not to make an actual offer.
BizArk Launches Alibaba Rival, Boasts ?Tens Of Millions Of Dollars? In Funding
BizArk, a Chinese e-commerce company specialized in international trading solutions, has now made its debut and announced that it has secured 'tens of millions of dollars' in financing from IDG Ventures (up to $40 million according to several reports).
The press release announcing the investment is one of the strangest I've ever read.
The press release announcing the investment is one of the strangest I've ever read.
Check (In) Yo? Self Before You Wreck Yo? Self: Why Foursquare Users Check In ?Off The Grid?
This is a guest post by Hunter Walk (@hunterwalk) who conducted a survey of 500 Foursquare users to better understand their check in behaviors and motivations. His obsession with Foursquare is unrelated to his day job leading the consumer product team at YouTube, although he did at one point hold the Mayorship of their San Bruno headquarters.
Have you noticed ?Off the Grid? [OTG] appearing in your Foursquare feed recently? No, it?s not the latest trendy West Hollywood club or SF food cart. OTG is Foursquare?s ?privacy? feature where you check in to a location but don?t disclose it to your friends (while gaining any applicable points, badges, etc). What purpose does it serve to notify your friends that you?re out on the town but to hide the location? And what does it tell us about the future of location-based services & privacy? This was the question I set out to answer by�surveying nearly 500 Foursquare users.
Have you noticed ?Off the Grid? [OTG] appearing in your Foursquare feed recently? No, it?s not the latest trendy West Hollywood club or SF food cart. OTG is Foursquare?s ?privacy? feature where you check in to a location but don?t disclose it to your friends (while gaining any applicable points, badges, etc). What purpose does it serve to notify your friends that you?re out on the town but to hide the location? And what does it tell us about the future of location-based services & privacy? This was the question I set out to answer by�surveying nearly 500 Foursquare users.
Phone Numbers Are Dead, They Just Don?t Know It Yet
Editor's note: The following guest post is by Nikhyl Singhal, the co-founder and CEO of voice-application startup SayNow.
Is it conceivable that one of our greatest inventions, the phone number, is about to face extinction?
Just ask Mark Zuckerberg. Earlier this year, when asked if Facebook would be around in 100 years, as long as Ma Bell has been around, Zuckerberg responded, ?I don?t know. But I don?t know how long telephones will be around for.?� Will they be around for ten more years? I?ll go even further. It may not even take 5 years for the phone service, as we know it, to meet its demise.
Who?s going to lead the charge?� Voice on Gmail and Skype are just the beginning.� What are Facebook, Apple, Yahoo, and Microsoft doing?� As AT&T, Verizon, Apple and Google spent this summer hashing out plans for world domination, it seems that Facebook is best positioned to strike the fatal blow against our beloved carriers.� And it starts with those phone digits.
Is it conceivable that one of our greatest inventions, the phone number, is about to face extinction?
Just ask Mark Zuckerberg. Earlier this year, when asked if Facebook would be around in 100 years, as long as Ma Bell has been around, Zuckerberg responded, ?I don?t know. But I don?t know how long telephones will be around for.?� Will they be around for ten more years? I?ll go even further. It may not even take 5 years for the phone service, as we know it, to meet its demise.
Who?s going to lead the charge?� Voice on Gmail and Skype are just the beginning.� What are Facebook, Apple, Yahoo, and Microsoft doing?� As AT&T, Verizon, Apple and Google spent this summer hashing out plans for world domination, it seems that Facebook is best positioned to strike the fatal blow against our beloved carriers.� And it starts with those phone digits.
Sunday, August 29, 2010
How to Make Your Blog Addictive Like World of Warcraft
A Guest Post by The Blog Tyrant
photo credit: andronicusmax
World of Warcraft has over 11 million subscribers paying monthly fees. It is one of the most addictive video games of all time. In fact, there are several websites devoted to just helping people quit the game. There is even a “detox center” in China that [...]This Post is from: ProBlogger Blog Tips.
How to Make Your Blog Addictive Like World of Warcraft
photo credit: andronicusmax
World of Warcraft has over 11 million subscribers paying monthly fees. It is one of the most addictive video games of all time. In fact, there are several websites devoted to just helping people quit the game. There is even a “detox center” in China that [...]This Post is from: ProBlogger Blog Tips.
How to Make Your Blog Addictive Like World of Warcraft
How to Get More Done
The most common question I’m asked lately seems to be:
“How do you get so many things done?”
To be perfectly honest – it’s a question I would never have anticipated anyone would ever ask of me – as I’ve mentioned here before, before I got into blogging I used to be quite…. well…. lazy.
But since getting [...]This Post is from: ProBlogger Blog Tips.
How to Get More Done
“How do you get so many things done?”
To be perfectly honest – it’s a question I would never have anticipated anyone would ever ask of me – as I’ve mentioned here before, before I got into blogging I used to be quite…. well…. lazy.
But since getting [...]This Post is from: ProBlogger Blog Tips.
How to Get More Done
Czech Proposal On Copyright Law Would Require Artists To Get Collection Society Approval To Use Creative Commons?
The various attacks on more free and open licensing options for artists continues. We've already detailed ASCAP's misguided attack on Creative Commons as some sort of attempt to undermine copyright, rather than simply a way to give copyright holders more options. And now, Slashdot points us to a report from ZeroPaid on a draft of a new copyright law in the Czech Republic, which seems like a direct frontal attack on alternative licensing schemes:
Under the draft text, anyone who wants to use a public license must report to a copyright collective administrator. The administrator would then review the work in question and the creator would have to prove that he or she has created that work in the first place. Then, and only then, can a creator legally use a public license of their choice.
Once again, it looks like the gatekeepers, despite their claims, aren't looking out for the best interests of content creators, but for the best interests of the gatekeepers.Permalink | Comments | Email This Story
Under the draft text, anyone who wants to use a public license must report to a copyright collective administrator. The administrator would then review the work in question and the creator would have to prove that he or she has created that work in the first place. Then, and only then, can a creator legally use a public license of their choice.
Once again, it looks like the gatekeepers, despite their claims, aren't looking out for the best interests of content creators, but for the best interests of the gatekeepers.Permalink | Comments | Email This Story
2 Products Worth Considering to Improve Your Blog Today
Each week I see multiple products launched targeting bloggers wanting to improve their blogs. I’ve tested many of them in my time and the reality is that most don’t deliver what they promise and I don’t promote them. However from time to time – some hit the mark and present unique and helpful information that [...]This Post is from: ProBlogger Blog Tips.
2 Products Worth Considering to Improve Your Blog Today
2 Products Worth Considering to Improve Your Blog Today
Why Does The NY Times Rely So Often On Single Anecdote Trend Pieces Not Supported By The Data?
A few months ago, we pointed to a NY Times "trend piece" on people so hooked on their gadgets that they get distracted. As we noted, the entire piece seemed to be based around a single anecdote of a guy who got distracted, and some scientific studies that don't actually support the underlying thesis of the article. I've noticed that this formula is all too common in NY Times tech trend pieces. We saw it more recently in the NY Times piece we wrote about claiming that cable TV was winning against the internet by purposely keeping authorized content offline, based off of a single anecdote of a guy who ditched his cable subscription only to go back a year later... just a day or so before the stats came out showing that people are actually ditching their cable connections.
It appears that others are catching on to this rather questionable form of "reporting" by the NY Times. Jack Shafer over at Slate is calling the NY Times out for a similar piece which was so ridiculous that the article itself contradicts the central thesis:
In the 11th paragraph of its Page One, Aug. 22 story about how technology--cell phones, GPS devices, satellite-location devices, and even video cameras--tends to get visitors to the national parks into trouble, the New York Times confesses the inherent bogusity of its premise, stating:
The National Park Service does not keep track of what percentage of its search and rescue missions, which have been climbing for the last five years and topped 3,500 in 2009, are technology related. But in an effort to home in on "contributing factors" to park accidents, the service recently felt compelled to add "inattention to surroundings" to more old-fashioned causes like "darkness" and "animals." [Emphasis added.]
Yet the newspaper persists in advancing its techno-made-the-visitors-get-in-trouble thesis, headlining the piece "For Parkgoers Pushing Luck, Technology and Trouble Got Together" in print and "Technology Leads More Park Visitors Into Trouble" online.
Shafer goes on to look at the details beyond the anecdotes and claimed single stat "climbing for the last five years" and finds that the NY Times' report is misleading at best:
Not precisely. The numbers, provided to me by the NPS, have been bouncing up and down. In 2004, the NPS conducted 3,216 search-and-rescue operations. In 2005, the number went down to 2,430 operations. In 2006, it rose to 3,623 operations. In 2007, it declined to 3,593 operations, and in 2008 declined again to 3,481. In 2009, the number rose to 3,593.
Search-and-rescue operations conducted between 1992 and 2009 actually peaked at 5,761 in 1998, according to the NPS. Over that same period, the average number of annual search-and-rescue missions was 4,027, which means that the figure the Times ended up ballyhooing ("topped 3,500") is below the 18-year average.
In other words, there has been no dramatic increase in the number of NPS search-and-rescue operations in the era of the mobile phone, the satellite phone, GPS, and the emergency beacon. Technology isn't leading more park visitors into trouble.
So, given that we've now seen this happen multiple times, perhaps we can pen a "trend piece" about how the NY Times writes its trends pieces based on a few anecdotes, contrary to what the data actually says. They're really making a strong case for why we should pay up to access the site once that paywall goes up in a few months, right?Permalink | Comments | Email This Story
It appears that others are catching on to this rather questionable form of "reporting" by the NY Times. Jack Shafer over at Slate is calling the NY Times out for a similar piece which was so ridiculous that the article itself contradicts the central thesis:
In the 11th paragraph of its Page One, Aug. 22 story about how technology--cell phones, GPS devices, satellite-location devices, and even video cameras--tends to get visitors to the national parks into trouble, the New York Times confesses the inherent bogusity of its premise, stating:
The National Park Service does not keep track of what percentage of its search and rescue missions, which have been climbing for the last five years and topped 3,500 in 2009, are technology related. But in an effort to home in on "contributing factors" to park accidents, the service recently felt compelled to add "inattention to surroundings" to more old-fashioned causes like "darkness" and "animals." [Emphasis added.]
Yet the newspaper persists in advancing its techno-made-the-visitors-get-in-trouble thesis, headlining the piece "For Parkgoers Pushing Luck, Technology and Trouble Got Together" in print and "Technology Leads More Park Visitors Into Trouble" online.
Shafer goes on to look at the details beyond the anecdotes and claimed single stat "climbing for the last five years" and finds that the NY Times' report is misleading at best:
Not precisely. The numbers, provided to me by the NPS, have been bouncing up and down. In 2004, the NPS conducted 3,216 search-and-rescue operations. In 2005, the number went down to 2,430 operations. In 2006, it rose to 3,623 operations. In 2007, it declined to 3,593 operations, and in 2008 declined again to 3,481. In 2009, the number rose to 3,593.
Search-and-rescue operations conducted between 1992 and 2009 actually peaked at 5,761 in 1998, according to the NPS. Over that same period, the average number of annual search-and-rescue missions was 4,027, which means that the figure the Times ended up ballyhooing ("topped 3,500") is below the 18-year average.
In other words, there has been no dramatic increase in the number of NPS search-and-rescue operations in the era of the mobile phone, the satellite phone, GPS, and the emergency beacon. Technology isn't leading more park visitors into trouble.
So, given that we've now seen this happen multiple times, perhaps we can pen a "trend piece" about how the NY Times writes its trends pieces based on a few anecdotes, contrary to what the data actually says. They're really making a strong case for why we should pay up to access the site once that paywall goes up in a few months, right?Permalink | Comments | Email This Story
Europe Announces New Step Towards Farming Endangered, Delicious Bluefin Tuna
Tuna at the Tsukiji Market John Mahoney
The rich, creamy red meat of the bluefin tuna is prized almost to a cultish degree -- at Tokyo's Tsukiji fish market, a single majestic specimen can sell for over $100,000 -- and as a result the species is severely overfished and endangered. Farming the fish, which might offer a solution, has proven remarkably difficult. After years of experimentation with sexy mood lighting, Australia's Clean Seas company only managed to get them to breed in captivity by injecting them with spear guns full of reproductive hormones. Now, a European initiative has announced an alternative.
The Selfdott project reports the first success breeding Atlantic bluefin tuna in floating cages without the use of hormones. True, the hatchlings all died within months, but the fish experts are confident that a change of diet will fix that next time.
Fish farming has the potential to offset the damage done to natural tuna populations by extreme overfishing. The caged fish are even likely to make tastier sashimi than wild ones, since they can be fattened as much as is desired. But it's not a panacea by any means.
Tuna is one of the most environmentally punishing fish to farm, in part because the fish takes a decade or more to mature. During this time, the captive fish are fed massive amounts of smaller wild fish -- an estimated 20 tons of food fish goes into each ton of tuna produced -- so those prey species may become depleted in turn. The farms also produce high concentrations of fish waste, polluting the area around the farm, and can be breeding grounds for piscine diseases and parasites like sea lice.
If only Thunnus thynnus wasn't so delicious.
[New York Times]
The rich, creamy red meat of the bluefin tuna is prized almost to a cultish degree -- at Tokyo's Tsukiji fish market, a single majestic specimen can sell for over $100,000 -- and as a result the species is severely overfished and endangered. Farming the fish, which might offer a solution, has proven remarkably difficult. After years of experimentation with sexy mood lighting, Australia's Clean Seas company only managed to get them to breed in captivity by injecting them with spear guns full of reproductive hormones. Now, a European initiative has announced an alternative.
The Selfdott project reports the first success breeding Atlantic bluefin tuna in floating cages without the use of hormones. True, the hatchlings all died within months, but the fish experts are confident that a change of diet will fix that next time.
Fish farming has the potential to offset the damage done to natural tuna populations by extreme overfishing. The caged fish are even likely to make tastier sashimi than wild ones, since they can be fattened as much as is desired. But it's not a panacea by any means.
Tuna is one of the most environmentally punishing fish to farm, in part because the fish takes a decade or more to mature. During this time, the captive fish are fed massive amounts of smaller wild fish -- an estimated 20 tons of food fish goes into each ton of tuna produced -- so those prey species may become depleted in turn. The farms also produce high concentrations of fish waste, polluting the area around the farm, and can be breeding grounds for piscine diseases and parasites like sea lice.
If only Thunnus thynnus wasn't so delicious.
[New York Times]
Saturday, August 28, 2010
CrunchGear Weekend Giveaway: You Rock MIDI Guitar Hero Guitars
Are any of you intending to rock? Well then I salute you and offer one of two You Rock Guitars from InspiredInstruments. This $199 git-fiddle is actually a MIDI guitar that connects with either the Wii or the PS3 and can be used to play games like Guitar Hero, Band Hero, Rock Band, Klezmer Hero, and Konami's upcoming Big Band Hero featuring a 28 piece orchestra for you and your friends. You get to be Django Reinhardt!
It seems to do an amazing amount of stuff including:
Is a real MIDI guitar that plugs into an amp
? Acts as a cross-platform videogame controller for all Guitar Hero and Rock Band games
? Plugs into an iPhone/iPad, you can record music on it
? Can be uploaded to your computer and share with friends
? So much more.
So much more, indeed. But how do you win?
It seems to do an amazing amount of stuff including:
Is a real MIDI guitar that plugs into an amp
? Acts as a cross-platform videogame controller for all Guitar Hero and Rock Band games
? Plugs into an iPhone/iPad, you can record music on it
? Can be uploaded to your computer and share with friends
? So much more.
So much more, indeed. But how do you win?
Yes, The DMCA Is Still Quite Controversial
Michael Scott points us to an interesting blog post by law professor Tim Armstrong wondering if the DMCA is still controversial, noting that while many of the biggest fears associated with the DMCA when it was first passed did, in fact, come true, many of them were cut back by court decisions that limited the interpretations of the DMCA away from the most dangerous ones.
Dire predictions followed about how the DMCA would restrict fair use, distort competition, erode privacy, and jeopardize academic research. In the early years of the statute's existence, these predictions appeared to be fully justified: the DMCA was invoked to attack a DVD player for the Linux operating system; to imprison a Russian programmer transiently present in the United States based on conduct that was lawful in Russia where it occurred, and to harass and threaten an American computer scientist in an attempt to deter him from publishing his academic research, among other things. Cases like these appeared to substantiate the view that the DMCA had fundamentally upset the historical balance between the rights of owners and the rights of users of copyrighted works.
I can't help noticing, however, that since the high-water mark of 2001 or thereabouts, the progression of developments under the DMCA has almost uniformly been in the direction of recognizing greater rights for users and fewer rights for copyright owners. The courts have been rebuffing efforts to use the DMCA as a tool to impede competition, and content producers seem to be relying less and less on the types of DRM technologies that were at issue in the early wave of cases.
He notes some more recent court cases, and the fact that the Library of Congress is finally approving consumer-friendly DMCA exemptions.
I don't buy it, however. There is still plenty that is highly controversial about the DMCA, and the fact that producers are relying less and less on DRM doesn't fix the massive problems that the law has created with its anti-circumvention provisions, that still make perfectly non-infringing activities illegal for no good reason at all. Separately, there's a rather important lawsuit going on right now questioning the limits of the DMCA's safe harbors, which could have tremendous chilling effects on internet services if the district court's ruling is not upheld. And while it may be amusing that some of the DMCA's biggest supporters are now complaining about the aspects they don't like, that doesn't make the overall law any less controversial for those who feel that it has always been a massive and dangerous overreach.
Unfortunately, it does seem like most people have accepted that the DMCA will not be fixed any time soon, but to claim that things are fine and dandy since we avoided the worst of the worst, seems to miss out on many of the ongoing concerns.Permalink | Comments | Email This Story
Dire predictions followed about how the DMCA would restrict fair use, distort competition, erode privacy, and jeopardize academic research. In the early years of the statute's existence, these predictions appeared to be fully justified: the DMCA was invoked to attack a DVD player for the Linux operating system; to imprison a Russian programmer transiently present in the United States based on conduct that was lawful in Russia where it occurred, and to harass and threaten an American computer scientist in an attempt to deter him from publishing his academic research, among other things. Cases like these appeared to substantiate the view that the DMCA had fundamentally upset the historical balance between the rights of owners and the rights of users of copyrighted works.
I can't help noticing, however, that since the high-water mark of 2001 or thereabouts, the progression of developments under the DMCA has almost uniformly been in the direction of recognizing greater rights for users and fewer rights for copyright owners. The courts have been rebuffing efforts to use the DMCA as a tool to impede competition, and content producers seem to be relying less and less on the types of DRM technologies that were at issue in the early wave of cases.
He notes some more recent court cases, and the fact that the Library of Congress is finally approving consumer-friendly DMCA exemptions.
I don't buy it, however. There is still plenty that is highly controversial about the DMCA, and the fact that producers are relying less and less on DRM doesn't fix the massive problems that the law has created with its anti-circumvention provisions, that still make perfectly non-infringing activities illegal for no good reason at all. Separately, there's a rather important lawsuit going on right now questioning the limits of the DMCA's safe harbors, which could have tremendous chilling effects on internet services if the district court's ruling is not upheld. And while it may be amusing that some of the DMCA's biggest supporters are now complaining about the aspects they don't like, that doesn't make the overall law any less controversial for those who feel that it has always been a massive and dangerous overreach.
Unfortunately, it does seem like most people have accepted that the DMCA will not be fixed any time soon, but to claim that things are fine and dandy since we avoided the worst of the worst, seems to miss out on many of the ongoing concerns.Permalink | Comments | Email This Story
California Pre-Schoolers Getting Tracking Devices
Apparently pre-schoolers in Contra Costa County are going to learn from an early age to get used to the idea that their every move will be tracked relentlessly. They're all going to get special jerseys to wear that contain an RFID tag, which will track the kids whereabouts at all times. The claim is it will even track "whether they've eaten or not," though I'm not quite sure how that works. The idea is that this will "free up teachers and administrators who previously had to note on paper files when a child was absent or had eaten." While I'm generally all for technology that makes processes more efficient, I'm not quite sure it makes sense to go full-on Big Brother here. Aren't there better technological solutions for tracking attendance and food intake. What about having the kid (or their parents) sign them in via a computer check-in (which is what I do with my kid)? As a parent, frankly, I don't think I'd be comfortable with a preschool tagging my kid with a tracking device.Permalink | Comments | Email This Story
Square: The Perfect Solution For Tricky Drug And Prostitution Transactions?
One of the big problems with drug and prostitution transactions is that they tend to involve a lot of cash, and cash is hard to launder. Taking credit card payments has never been easier via Square, which lets anyone swipe credit cards with their iPhone.
Sure, it leaves one heck of a paper trail, but you have to wonder if at least a few of those person to person transactions aren't being done via that sexy startup. I certainly have.
Sure, it leaves one heck of a paper trail, but you have to wonder if at least a few of those person to person transactions aren't being done via that sexy startup. I certainly have.
5 Ways to Get Rockin Reviews
5 Ways to Get Rockin ReviewsThis content from: Duct Tape Marketing
5 Ways to Get Rockin ReviewsThis content from: Duct Tape Marketing Reviews and testimonials have always been a nice way to offer third party proof that your company does what it says it does and that your customers are happy campers and willing to talk about it. Reviews, however, have become even more important now [...]
5 Ways to Get Rockin ReviewsThis content from: Duct Tape Marketing Reviews and testimonials have always been a nice way to offer third party proof that your company does what it says it does and that your customers are happy campers and willing to talk about it. Reviews, however, have become even more important now [...]
Has Microsoft Extinguished Silverlight?
Remember Silverlight? That was Microsoft's attempt to take on Adobe Flash. There was plenty of attention paid to it when it launched, but it faded off the map pretty quickly, and that slow fade has only continued to the point that some are speculating that it's now dead. While not the strongest source, an anonymous comment in a forum devoted to Microsoft employees talking about Microsoft has noted that his team was told to stop using Silverlight and focus on HTML 5. It really is quite stunning how little traction Silverlight got over the past few years, and it seems like it certainly could be in Microsoft's best interests to give up the ghost on it.Permalink | Comments | Email This Story
Google, Facebook To Microsoft?s Paul Allen: Your Argument Is Invalid
The entire Internet (aka Facebook, Google, Apple AOL, Facebook, eBay, Netflix, Office Depot, OfficeMax, Staples, Yahoo, and YouTube) has just been served with a vague and vast patent violation suit from Microsoft's co-founder Paul Allen. As patent suits are notoriously unpopular, the response from tech pundits has been apprehensive. Now the companies named are starting to hit back, a representative from Facebook told TechCrunch, "We believe this suit is completely without merit and we will fight it vigorously."
Friday, August 27, 2010
Blogosphere Trends + A Challenge
This column is written by Kimberly Turner from Regator (a great tool that gathers and organizes the world?s best blog posts) ? Darren
Hi-dee-hoo, fellow bloggers! Thanks for joining me for another edition of the weekly blogosphere trends, provided by Regator.com (click any trend to see posts about it). Darren's post "The Key to Successful Blogging: Do Something!" from earlier this week resonated with a lot of you (and with me), so it seemed like the perfect week to look back at some of the important topics we've discussed in this column and issue a challenge: Kick procrastination in the butt by putting at least two of these techniques to work THIS week on your own blog. Then share a link to your post in the comments.This Post is from: ProBlogger Blog Tips.
Blogosphere Trends + A Challenge
Hi-dee-hoo, fellow bloggers! Thanks for joining me for another edition of the weekly blogosphere trends, provided by Regator.com (click any trend to see posts about it). Darren's post "The Key to Successful Blogging: Do Something!" from earlier this week resonated with a lot of you (and with me), so it seemed like the perfect week to look back at some of the important topics we've discussed in this column and issue a challenge: Kick procrastination in the butt by putting at least two of these techniques to work THIS week on your own blog. Then share a link to your post in the comments.This Post is from: ProBlogger Blog Tips.
Blogosphere Trends + A Challenge
Bit.ly Clickabit, Now. Bit.ly Now, Later?
Today on their blog, URL shortening service Bit.ly unveiled a cute new feature: Clickabit. It's a Twitter account that surfaces some of the "surprising and bizarre" links being shortened and shared across their network. But the feature also hints at something we've been talking about for a while: Bit.ly Now.
"We?re currently hard at work on several systems that will expose some of the interesting data we?re playing with. In the meantime, we?d like to introduce @clickabit," Bit.ly writes in the post. They key part is obviously the first half. We've known for a while that Bit.ly has been planning some sort of service to expose the best links being shared across the web -- kind of like Tweetmeme or Digg. But Bit.ly links are shared on email and Facebook too; it would be about more than Twitter.
"We?re currently hard at work on several systems that will expose some of the interesting data we?re playing with. In the meantime, we?d like to introduce @clickabit," Bit.ly writes in the post. They key part is obviously the first half. We've known for a while that Bit.ly has been planning some sort of service to expose the best links being shared across the web -- kind of like Tweetmeme or Digg. But Bit.ly links are shared on email and Facebook too; it would be about more than Twitter.
Repeat Visitors vs New Visitors ? Which is Worth More to Your AdSense Earnings?
A few days back I shared a little analysis of my AdSense earnings as it related to sources of traffic and looked at how – for me – traffic from newsletters was actually the most valuable traffic that I get on my photography site.
This dispelled the myth that loyal readers to your site become blind [...]This Post is from: ProBlogger Blog Tips.
Repeat Visitors vs New Visitors – Which is Worth More to Your AdSense Earnings?
This dispelled the myth that loyal readers to your site become blind [...]This Post is from: ProBlogger Blog Tips.
Repeat Visitors vs New Visitors – Which is Worth More to Your AdSense Earnings?
Zuckerberg: ?Guess What? Nobody Wants To Make Lists.?
A couple days ago, I wrote a post wondering if it wasn't time to change Facebook's social graph dynamic?�Specifically, I called for a simplified system that had two layers: your friends and your followers. I think that their current social management system which relies heavily on friend lists is highly flawed. And guess what? Mark Zuckerberg agrees.
Tonight at a Facebook Developer's Garage meeting at Facebook's headquarters in Palo Alto, Zuckerberg fielded a question about the service's privacy controls. He said that the ideal solution for sharing different things with different people is to make a friend list. "But guess what? Nobody wants to make lists," Zuckerberg admitted.
Tonight at a Facebook Developer's Garage meeting at Facebook's headquarters in Palo Alto, Zuckerberg fielded a question about the service's privacy controls. He said that the ideal solution for sharing different things with different people is to make a friend list. "But guess what? Nobody wants to make lists," Zuckerberg admitted.
How to Automate a Lead Engagement System
How to Automate a Lead Engagement SystemThis content from: Duct Tape Marketing
How to Automate a Lead Engagement SystemThis content from: Duct Tape Marketing Technology has allowed us to move past the days when we simply drove a prospect to our website, captured their name and email address, and started them in a drip system in hopes that at some point they would click on a link [...]
How to Automate a Lead Engagement SystemThis content from: Duct Tape Marketing Technology has allowed us to move past the days when we simply drove a prospect to our website, captured their name and email address, and started them in a drip system in hopes that at some point they would click on a link [...]
150 Bloggers Pack Melbourne Hotel for ProBlogger Training Day
One week ago today in Melbourne the first ever ProBlogger training day took place. What started as a spur of the moment idea less than 4 weeks before ballooned into a very worthwhile experience.
Originally I had thought it would just be a day for 10-15 bloggers gathering around a board room table talking about blogging [...]This Post is from: ProBlogger Blog Tips.
150 Bloggers Pack Melbourne Hotel for ProBlogger Training Day
Originally I had thought it would just be a day for 10-15 bloggers gathering around a board room table talking about blogging [...]This Post is from: ProBlogger Blog Tips.
150 Bloggers Pack Melbourne Hotel for ProBlogger Training Day
HP Ups The Ante For 3PAR; Offers $1.8B In Cash For Data Storage Company
This morning, we saw Dell's announcement that 3PAR had accepted its increased offer to acquire the storage company for $24.30 per share in cash, or approximately $1.6 billion, net of 3PAR's cash. Now HP just upped the ante, offering $1.8 billion for 3PAR, or $27 per share in cash.
Clearly these companies want 3PAR. Bad. Dell had previously signed an agreement to acquire 3PAR for $18 per share, with a provision for matching competing bids. HP subsequently outbid Dell for the data storage company, offering $24 per share in cash, or also roughly $1.6 billion at the time. But Dell and 3PAR signed an amendment to the agreement reflecting the new offer price, which brought its bid up to par with HP's offer.
Clearly these companies want 3PAR. Bad. Dell had previously signed an agreement to acquire 3PAR for $18 per share, with a provision for matching competing bids. HP subsequently outbid Dell for the data storage company, offering $24 per share in cash, or also roughly $1.6 billion at the time. But Dell and 3PAR signed an amendment to the agreement reflecting the new offer price, which brought its bid up to par with HP's offer.
How I Make Money Blogging: Income Split for July 2010
Over the last few months I’ve been sharing a monthly breakdown of where my income comes from in the hope of illustrating some of the methods bloggers might like to look at when making money from blogging (see previous months linked to below).
The month of July was the second month in a row where eBooks [...]This Post is from: ProBlogger Blog Tips.
How I Make Money Blogging: Income Split for July 2010
The month of July was the second month in a row where eBooks [...]This Post is from: ProBlogger Blog Tips.
How I Make Money Blogging: Income Split for July 2010
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Why Are Gay Porn Producers So Quick To Get Involved In Shakedown Copyright Pre-Settlement Schemes?
Over in the UK, where firms like Davenport Lyons and ACS:Law made the whole mass "pre-settlement" letter "pay us or we'll sue your for infringement" practice popular, it seemed that many of their early customers were gay porn producers. And now, we're seeing something similar in the US. While US Copyright Group is getting lots of attention for bringing this sort of campaign to the US with some independent films, the gay porn producers are jumping into the game quickly.
In July, we noted that one such gay porn producer had filed a bunch of lawsuits for sharing films via BitTorrent, and now THREsq is reporting that litigious porn producer Io Group is also suing a bunch of John Does for the same thing. If Io sounds familiar, that's because they were also one of the first to sue a video site for infringement, in this case Veoh, in a lawsuit that Io lost.
Of course, with gay porn movie claims, the privacy questions for ISPs who received demands to turn over names associated with IP addresses becomes a bit trickier. One reason why gay porn producers may be drawn to these sorts of legal actions is because they're assuming that at least some of those they target may not be "out," and having it go public that they were being sued for accessing gay porn could present a bigger issue -- so they may be more likely to pay up quickly. But for ISPs, this also makes the privacy issues a lot clearer. I could definitely see some people turn around and sue ISPs right back for revealing their private info in these cases.
THREsq notes that many ISPs are getting sick of these pre-settlement schemes, but it's not yet clear how far they're willing to go to stand up for the privacy of their subscribers.Permalink | Comments | Email This Story
In July, we noted that one such gay porn producer had filed a bunch of lawsuits for sharing films via BitTorrent, and now THREsq is reporting that litigious porn producer Io Group is also suing a bunch of John Does for the same thing. If Io sounds familiar, that's because they were also one of the first to sue a video site for infringement, in this case Veoh, in a lawsuit that Io lost.
Of course, with gay porn movie claims, the privacy questions for ISPs who received demands to turn over names associated with IP addresses becomes a bit trickier. One reason why gay porn producers may be drawn to these sorts of legal actions is because they're assuming that at least some of those they target may not be "out," and having it go public that they were being sued for accessing gay porn could present a bigger issue -- so they may be more likely to pay up quickly. But for ISPs, this also makes the privacy issues a lot clearer. I could definitely see some people turn around and sue ISPs right back for revealing their private info in these cases.
THREsq notes that many ISPs are getting sick of these pre-settlement schemes, but it's not yet clear how far they're willing to go to stand up for the privacy of their subscribers.Permalink | Comments | Email This Story
Ansel Adams Trust Sues Guy Claiming To Have Found Long Lost Adams' Negatives For Selling Prints
Well, well. A few weeks back, we wrote about the story of a guy who had bought some old glass negatives at a garage sale, and recently had them authenticated as being done by Ansel Adams. What interested us was the question of whether or not the guy, Rick Norsigian, could legally sell prints from the negatives. It seemed quite clear that doing so would almost certainly be copyright infringement. Purchasing negatives does not give you the right to print the works, unless you separately buy the associated copyrights. So, at first, I wondered if Ansel Adams' heirs would even let the guy sell prints. Of course, soon after the news came out, the Ansel Adams trust insisted the whole thing was a fraud -- and given some of the recent stories questioning the validity of certain art authentication practices -- perhaps their argument has merit.
Either way, it appears that Norsigian has barged forward with a plan to sell prints from the negatives, and reader Tom sends over the news that the Ansel Adams Publishing Rights Trust is now suing him for it. While I haven't seen the actual lawsuit, the reporting on it notes that it covers: "trademark infringement, false advertising, trademark dilution, unfair competition and other claims." Missing from the list? Copyright. Making a copyright claim would be tantamount to admitting that they believed the images were legit. The Trust does make an argument that could leave it open to a copyright claim down the road, should the negatives be declared from Adams', but it may somewhat undermine their own argument in that:
The lawsuit further says that even if they were Adams' negatives, the prints and posters being created from them aren't the photographer's works, "but are derivative works at best."
"Mr. Adams was fond of likening a negative to a composer's score and the prints to its performance -- each performance differs in subtle ways," the lawsuit said. "The photographic prints and posters offered for sale by defendants ... are not an Ansel Adams 'performance.' "
While derivative works can be infringing, by saying they're "derivative at best," you could make an argument that such prints are fair use transformative works, rather than copies -- though it might not fly.
Either way, I can't see any legal way that Norsigian can sell these prints: if they're not Adams', then calling them Adams' opens himself up to all those charges in the case, with false advertising being a big one. If they actually are Adams' negatives, then he has no copyright on them and again should not be able to sell them.Permalink | Comments | Email This Story
Either way, it appears that Norsigian has barged forward with a plan to sell prints from the negatives, and reader Tom sends over the news that the Ansel Adams Publishing Rights Trust is now suing him for it. While I haven't seen the actual lawsuit, the reporting on it notes that it covers: "trademark infringement, false advertising, trademark dilution, unfair competition and other claims." Missing from the list? Copyright. Making a copyright claim would be tantamount to admitting that they believed the images were legit. The Trust does make an argument that could leave it open to a copyright claim down the road, should the negatives be declared from Adams', but it may somewhat undermine their own argument in that:
The lawsuit further says that even if they were Adams' negatives, the prints and posters being created from them aren't the photographer's works, "but are derivative works at best."
"Mr. Adams was fond of likening a negative to a composer's score and the prints to its performance -- each performance differs in subtle ways," the lawsuit said. "The photographic prints and posters offered for sale by defendants ... are not an Ansel Adams 'performance.' "
While derivative works can be infringing, by saying they're "derivative at best," you could make an argument that such prints are fair use transformative works, rather than copies -- though it might not fly.
Either way, I can't see any legal way that Norsigian can sell these prints: if they're not Adams', then calling them Adams' opens himself up to all those charges in the case, with false advertising being a big one. If they actually are Adams' negatives, then he has no copyright on them and again should not be able to sell them.Permalink | Comments | Email This Story
Legal Threat Demands We Shut Down Techdirt
Here at Techdirt, unfortunately, we get an average of about one legal threat per month. The threats are almost always frivolous -- and often made in anger without the individual realizing why the threats are frivolous. While some sites take the position that they will publish any and all legal threats, we have always tried to give the threatening party the benefit of the doubt, and to recognize that they made their demands in a moment of excess anger and misunderstanding. As such, we generally explain our position as to why any legal action would be a mistake -- and in nearly every case, we never hear back from the person who threatened us.
However, we have recently received a legal threat that we feel deserves attention and airing for a variety of reasons.
Unlike most threats, this one came directly from lawyers representing the individual, rather than from the individual directly.
The threats are quite incredible, demanding that we shut down the entire site of Techdirt, due to a comment (or, potentially, comments) that the client did not like.
The lawyer fails to identify, other than a single snippet and a date, what post or specific comments are objectionable and why (beyond a suggestion of anti-semitism, which while despicable, is not illegal). I guess, since they are demanding we shut down the entire site or be sued, such details are not considered pertinent.
As we detail on this site on a somewhat regular basis, sites like ours are protected by Section 230 of the CDA from libel charges against statements made by users of the site. So any legal action against us is entirely pointless.
Most importantly, this threat is coming from the UK, and the lawyers insist that they will take it to court in the UK. This makes it rather timely and newsworthy for an entirely different reason. Just a few weeks ago we wrote about the new SPEECH Act that was passed into law to protect against libel tourism. As the Congressional record shows, the law was specifically designed to protect US businesses from libel judgments that violate Section 230 -- and the bill's backers explicitly call out libel judgments made in the UK. In other words, the SPEECH Act explicitly protects us from exactly the sort of threat that these lawyers and their client are making against us:
The purpose of this provision is to ensure that libel tourists do not attempt to chill speech by suing a third-party interactive computer service, rather than the actual author of the offending statement.
In such circumstances, the service provider would likely take down the allegedly offending material rather than face a lawsuit. Providing immunity removes this unhealthy incentive to take down material under improper pressure.
Separate from the Section 230 defenses, we are also protected due to a lack of personal jurisdiction, which, again, is supported by the recently passed SPEECH Act. It is entirely possible that the lawyers were unaware of the SPEECH Act, but it does seem like a law firm making legal threats in a foreign country should be expected to have researched the legal barriers to making such a claim before using billable hours to make threats they cannot back up.
Finally, it's important to note that a part of the SPEECH Act allows sites protected under this law to seek attorneys' fees should they be targeted in such a lawsuit. Rest assured that we would explore the option to the fullest, if need be.
Separately, I will note that on the same day that I received the legal threat letter from this law firm of Addlestone Keane, I also received an email from someone claiming to be both a regular Techdirt reader and a friend of the client, Jeffrey Morris, saying that he was contacting me to ask if I could, out of the kindness of my heart, remove the comments that are bothering Mr. Morris. Of course, the paper threat letter sent by Mr. Morris' lawyers was sent five days prior to this email from Mr. Morris' friend. Our policy at Techdirt is that we do not remove comments on such requests, other than comments that we judge to be spam, so we would not have removed the comments, anyway. However, it is odd that Mr. Morris would first have his lawyers pull out the "nuclear option" and demand that we shut down our entire site, and then days later have a friend reach out to make a personal plea.
As such, given the newsworthy nature of an example of where the brand new law (thankfully) protects us, as well as the fact that we do not feel it is decent or right for anyone to demand we shut down our entire site or be sued halfway around the world, because he does not appreciate a comment someone made about him, we are publishing the letter that was sent to us. Thanks in part to the new law, we have no obligation to respond to Mr. Morris, his friend or the lawyers at Addlestone Keane, who (one would hope) will better advise their clients not to pursue such fruitless legal threats in the future. Should Mr. Morris and his solicitors decide that they wish to proceed with such a pointless and wasteful lawsuit against us, which will only serve to cost Mr. Morris significant legal sums with no hope of recovery, we will continue to report on it, safe in the knowledge that it has no bearing on us. The only potential issue I could foresee would be that any UK judgment against us could prevent me from traveling to the UK in the future, which would be unfortunate, as I have quite enjoyed past visits to the UK. But perhaps such ridiculous outcomes will help the UK realize that it's really about time to update its incredibly outdated libel laws and begin respecting free speech rights.
While I don't think it's all that relevant to this discussion, for those who do want to see it, this is the post that the story is about. Even though the law firm failed to point it out, the friend's email did link to it. You will note that the post is from 2004, though there are more recent comments on it, purporting to be from disgruntled former employees of Mr. Morris, which seem to be the concern. There are also, as noted in the legal threat letter, a series of bizarre, nonsensical comments in the same thread, which mostly make the thread somewhat unreadable. Frankly, I am always somewhat amazed when people get upset about situations like this. It seems quite unlikely that random, semi-coherent, anti-semitic comments, buried in a thread on a random blog post from six years ago are going to have any actual impact on your business. People say mean things, it's true, but when put into context, who is actually likely to believe any such comments? People seem to think that if someone says something bad about you online, others will automatically believe it.
Instead of worrying about how people might view such marginal, buried, angry comments on an ancient blog post, it might make more sense to first consider how people might view an excessive legal threat that has no weight against a site based in another country.Permalink | Comments | Email This Story
However, we have recently received a legal threat that we feel deserves attention and airing for a variety of reasons.
Unlike most threats, this one came directly from lawyers representing the individual, rather than from the individual directly.
The threats are quite incredible, demanding that we shut down the entire site of Techdirt, due to a comment (or, potentially, comments) that the client did not like.
The lawyer fails to identify, other than a single snippet and a date, what post or specific comments are objectionable and why (beyond a suggestion of anti-semitism, which while despicable, is not illegal). I guess, since they are demanding we shut down the entire site or be sued, such details are not considered pertinent.
As we detail on this site on a somewhat regular basis, sites like ours are protected by Section 230 of the CDA from libel charges against statements made by users of the site. So any legal action against us is entirely pointless.
Most importantly, this threat is coming from the UK, and the lawyers insist that they will take it to court in the UK. This makes it rather timely and newsworthy for an entirely different reason. Just a few weeks ago we wrote about the new SPEECH Act that was passed into law to protect against libel tourism. As the Congressional record shows, the law was specifically designed to protect US businesses from libel judgments that violate Section 230 -- and the bill's backers explicitly call out libel judgments made in the UK. In other words, the SPEECH Act explicitly protects us from exactly the sort of threat that these lawyers and their client are making against us:
The purpose of this provision is to ensure that libel tourists do not attempt to chill speech by suing a third-party interactive computer service, rather than the actual author of the offending statement.
In such circumstances, the service provider would likely take down the allegedly offending material rather than face a lawsuit. Providing immunity removes this unhealthy incentive to take down material under improper pressure.
Separate from the Section 230 defenses, we are also protected due to a lack of personal jurisdiction, which, again, is supported by the recently passed SPEECH Act. It is entirely possible that the lawyers were unaware of the SPEECH Act, but it does seem like a law firm making legal threats in a foreign country should be expected to have researched the legal barriers to making such a claim before using billable hours to make threats they cannot back up.
Finally, it's important to note that a part of the SPEECH Act allows sites protected under this law to seek attorneys' fees should they be targeted in such a lawsuit. Rest assured that we would explore the option to the fullest, if need be.
Separately, I will note that on the same day that I received the legal threat letter from this law firm of Addlestone Keane, I also received an email from someone claiming to be both a regular Techdirt reader and a friend of the client, Jeffrey Morris, saying that he was contacting me to ask if I could, out of the kindness of my heart, remove the comments that are bothering Mr. Morris. Of course, the paper threat letter sent by Mr. Morris' lawyers was sent five days prior to this email from Mr. Morris' friend. Our policy at Techdirt is that we do not remove comments on such requests, other than comments that we judge to be spam, so we would not have removed the comments, anyway. However, it is odd that Mr. Morris would first have his lawyers pull out the "nuclear option" and demand that we shut down our entire site, and then days later have a friend reach out to make a personal plea.
As such, given the newsworthy nature of an example of where the brand new law (thankfully) protects us, as well as the fact that we do not feel it is decent or right for anyone to demand we shut down our entire site or be sued halfway around the world, because he does not appreciate a comment someone made about him, we are publishing the letter that was sent to us. Thanks in part to the new law, we have no obligation to respond to Mr. Morris, his friend or the lawyers at Addlestone Keane, who (one would hope) will better advise their clients not to pursue such fruitless legal threats in the future. Should Mr. Morris and his solicitors decide that they wish to proceed with such a pointless and wasteful lawsuit against us, which will only serve to cost Mr. Morris significant legal sums with no hope of recovery, we will continue to report on it, safe in the knowledge that it has no bearing on us. The only potential issue I could foresee would be that any UK judgment against us could prevent me from traveling to the UK in the future, which would be unfortunate, as I have quite enjoyed past visits to the UK. But perhaps such ridiculous outcomes will help the UK realize that it's really about time to update its incredibly outdated libel laws and begin respecting free speech rights.
While I don't think it's all that relevant to this discussion, for those who do want to see it, this is the post that the story is about. Even though the law firm failed to point it out, the friend's email did link to it. You will note that the post is from 2004, though there are more recent comments on it, purporting to be from disgruntled former employees of Mr. Morris, which seem to be the concern. There are also, as noted in the legal threat letter, a series of bizarre, nonsensical comments in the same thread, which mostly make the thread somewhat unreadable. Frankly, I am always somewhat amazed when people get upset about situations like this. It seems quite unlikely that random, semi-coherent, anti-semitic comments, buried in a thread on a random blog post from six years ago are going to have any actual impact on your business. People say mean things, it's true, but when put into context, who is actually likely to believe any such comments? People seem to think that if someone says something bad about you online, others will automatically believe it.
Instead of worrying about how people might view such marginal, buried, angry comments on an ancient blog post, it might make more sense to first consider how people might view an excessive legal threat that has no weight against a site based in another country.Permalink | Comments | Email This Story
Video: Charming PR2 Robot Draws a Self-Portrait
PR2 Draws Itself
Everyone loves the beer-fetching Willow Garage PR2 robot, as seen in our recent gallery of its greatest achievements. Evidently, it even loves itself. When developers at Bosch Research gave it a pen, it drew a handsome self-portrait.
[Willow Garage]
Everyone loves the beer-fetching Willow Garage PR2 robot, as seen in our recent gallery of its greatest achievements. Evidently, it even loves itself. When developers at Bosch Research gave it a pen, it drew a handsome self-portrait.
[Willow Garage]
HighStranger Is Chatroulette, For Stoners
So I've been waiting for the new Chatroulette to go up for three days now and no dice. In the meantime I've been getting a slew of emails and tweets from people trying to get me to switch over to their to their random "chat with strangers" services (Hi Omegle!). However none have been particularly compelling, UNTIL NOW.
We've been running in stealth for the past few months, as we've negotiated deals and developed software (that's done), but it seems you've broken the seal on the jar of kind bud, so we're announcing on TechCrunch ...
We've been running in stealth for the past few months, as we've negotiated deals and developed software (that's done), but it seems you've broken the seal on the jar of kind bud, so we're announcing on TechCrunch ...
SCVNGR?s Secret Game Mechanics Playdeck
Some companies keep a playbook of product tips, tricks and trade secrets. Zynga has an internal playbook, for instance, that is a collection of "concepts, techniques, know-how and best practices for developing successful and distinctive social games". Zynga's playbook has entered the realm of legend and was even the subject of a lawsuit.
SCVNGR, which makes a mobile game with real-world challenges, has a playdeck. It is a deck of cards listing nearly 50 different game mechanics that can be mixed and matched to create the foundation for different types of games. I've republished the accompanying document below, which should be interesting to anybody trying to inject a gaming dimension into their products.
SCVNGR, which makes a mobile game with real-world challenges, has a playdeck. It is a deck of cards listing nearly 50 different game mechanics that can be mixed and matched to create the foundation for different types of games. I've republished the accompanying document below, which should be interesting to anybody trying to inject a gaming dimension into their products.
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Facebook Improves Chat?s Stability And Speed; Kills Support for IE6
According to a blog post today on the company's site, Facebook is revamping its Chat feature to be faster, more stabilized and reliable.
Facebook says that Chat, which launched two years ago, is now one of the most widely used communication features on the network. In the next few weeks, Facebook will "be making important improvements in the way connections are established and messages are sent."
Facebook says that Chat, which launched two years ago, is now one of the most widely used communication features on the network. In the next few weeks, Facebook will "be making important improvements in the way connections are established and messages are sent."
In-Q-Tel-backed VSee Launches Low-Bandwidth Video Conferencing in Europe
Silicon Valley-based Vsee has just announced the launch of it's low bandwidth video conferencing solutions in Europe. The company founded in 2003 and backed by the CIA's In-Q-Tel now has an engineering team in the Netherlands and a sales team in France.
Obviously the product runs neck-to-neck with competitors like WebEx, Skype,�Polycom or Citrix's�GoToMeeting - but Vsee likes to think that it offers even more collaboration tools than the rest; �the video conferencing platform currenltly displays up to 12 people at a time, including features like chat, document sharing and the ability to write, highlight, etc. on another user's screen. You do the math. The platform is only in English for now, but a majority of the functions are really very intuitive. And, like everything nowadays, installation can be done in pretty much a single click from the website.
Obviously the product runs neck-to-neck with competitors like WebEx, Skype,�Polycom or Citrix's�GoToMeeting - but Vsee likes to think that it offers even more collaboration tools than the rest; �the video conferencing platform currenltly displays up to 12 people at a time, including features like chat, document sharing and the ability to write, highlight, etc. on another user's screen. You do the math. The platform is only in English for now, but a majority of the functions are really very intuitive. And, like everything nowadays, installation can be done in pretty much a single click from the website.
Mooing On
Mooing OnThis content from: Duct Tape Marketing
Mooing OnThis content from: Duct Tape Marketing Linchpin will likely not be the last book Seth Godin publishes in a traditional way. If you live primarily inside the echo chamber of the online marketing world you’ve undoubtedly heard that Seth Godin, author of at least 12 books that we know of, has pulled the plug [...]
Mooing OnThis content from: Duct Tape Marketing Linchpin will likely not be the last book Seth Godin publishes in a traditional way. If you live primarily inside the echo chamber of the online marketing world you’ve undoubtedly heard that Seth Godin, author of at least 12 books that we know of, has pulled the plug [...]
How to Grow Your Blogs Readership Through Offline Events
Over in Third Tribe this week there was a discussion in the forum about using speaking opportunities at offline events to help grow your email newsletter list. Leon shared how he used MailChimp’s Chimpadeedee application to collect email addresses after a presentation. I’ve not used that app but it reminded me of a time that [...]This Post is from: ProBlogger Blog Tips.
How to Grow Your Blogs Readership Through Offline Events
How to Grow Your Blogs Readership Through Offline Events
Mooing On
Mooing OnThis content from: Duct Tape Marketing
Mooing OnThis content from: Duct Tape Marketing Linchpin will likely not be the last book Seth Godin publishes in a traditional way. If you live primarily inside the echo chamber of the online marketing world you’ve undoubtedly heard that Seth Godin, author of at least 12 books that we know of, has pulled the plug [...]
Mooing OnThis content from: Duct Tape Marketing Linchpin will likely not be the last book Seth Godin publishes in a traditional way. If you live primarily inside the echo chamber of the online marketing world you’ve undoubtedly heard that Seth Godin, author of at least 12 books that we know of, has pulled the plug [...]
Google Testing A New, Auto-Refreshing Version Of Gmail For iPhone
Google doesn't have a native app for Gmail on the iPhone. I know, it sucks. Thankfully, their mobile Safari-optimized version is pretty damn good. But it's not perfect. And they're working to make it better.
This morning, I loaded up the mobile version of the site on my iPhone as was greeted by a shiny new version. The entire look and feel has been mildly revamped: everything is a slightly darker blue hue, and the buttons are now more rounded. But more significantly, buttons have been shifted around -- and one key one has been removed altogether.
This morning, I loaded up the mobile version of the site on my iPhone as was greeted by a shiny new version. The entire look and feel has been mildly revamped: everything is a slightly darker blue hue, and the buttons are now more rounded. But more significantly, buttons have been shifted around -- and one key one has been removed altogether.
How Should Facebook Respond To The Social Network Movie?
As you probably know by now, there's a movie coming out this fall, called Social Network, which is sorta, kinda, maybe an extremely fictionalized version of the story behind Facebook. It was based on a book by Ben Mezrich, which was already a fictionalized account of the founding of Facebook -- based on notes from a disgruntled co-founder, with Mezrich taking significant creative license to fill in lots of blanks. Then, famed writer Aaron Sorkin wrote the script, passing it through a second fictionalized filter. And, not surprisingly, the folks at Facebook are not at all pleased with the movie, which doesn't exactly portray Mark Zuckerberg or Facebook in a very nice light.
Apparently Facebook execs are debating what to do about the movie, and it's almost surprising that they haven't tried to take legal action -- because that's almost what you'd expect these days. Of course, they probably realize that doing so will only get the movie more attention (though, it certainly looks like the movie is going to get plenty of attention already). Yet in an age where "publicity rights" lawsuits are becoming more common and many movie makers feel they need to secure the rights of anyone and any company that shows up in a film, it's actually somewhat surprising that this particular film actually was made.
But given that Facebook execs are trying to figure out what to do about the film and how to respond to it, I'm curious what folks here think. I think I would go with the simplest of all solutions: a single page that explains why the movie is a greatly fictionalized account, and not an accurate depiction of either the company or its employees, past or current, and then just stay quiet otherwise. What else would you suggest?Permalink | Comments | Email This Story
Apparently Facebook execs are debating what to do about the movie, and it's almost surprising that they haven't tried to take legal action -- because that's almost what you'd expect these days. Of course, they probably realize that doing so will only get the movie more attention (though, it certainly looks like the movie is going to get plenty of attention already). Yet in an age where "publicity rights" lawsuits are becoming more common and many movie makers feel they need to secure the rights of anyone and any company that shows up in a film, it's actually somewhat surprising that this particular film actually was made.
But given that Facebook execs are trying to figure out what to do about the film and how to respond to it, I'm curious what folks here think. I think I would go with the simplest of all solutions: a single page that explains why the movie is a greatly fictionalized account, and not an accurate depiction of either the company or its employees, past or current, and then just stay quiet otherwise. What else would you suggest?Permalink | Comments | Email This Story
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
How Well Do Your Blog Posts Score Out of 100?
You’re about to hit Publish on your next blog post – but is it up to scratch?
Is it compelling?
Is it easy to read?
Is it grammatically correct?
Is it optimised for search engines?
Wouldn’t it be great to have an editor by your side to look over your next blog post before you hit Publish, to make sure [...]This Post is from: ProBlogger Blog Tips.
How Well Do Your Blog Posts Score Out of 100?
Is it compelling?
Is it easy to read?
Is it grammatically correct?
Is it optimised for search engines?
Wouldn’t it be great to have an editor by your side to look over your next blog post before you hit Publish, to make sure [...]This Post is from: ProBlogger Blog Tips.
How Well Do Your Blog Posts Score Out of 100?
Philadelphia Demanding Business License For Bloggers Who Bring In A Bit Of Cash
A whole bunch of you have been sending over this story about how the city of Philadelphia, in its desperate need for cash, is starting to demand that hobby bloggers get a business license if they've made any revenue at all. Not if they've made profit, but revenue. So, any blog that has Google ads and brings in a couple pennies could be required to get a business license. To make matters worse, the city has been relying on the fact that some of these bloggers are honest and reported the tiny bit of revenue they made, in order to send them demand letters that they go register for a business license. Nice way to convince people (a) not to blog and (b) not to bother with Philly. It really is amazing how confused various governments are in an internet age where it's easy for lots of people to make little bits of money on the side. They simply can't figure out that such things are not a "business." We've seen the same thing in the past with various local governments demanding that folks selling on eBay need to get an auctioneer's license. And then some people wonder why citizens are fed up with their government representatives?Permalink | Comments | Email This Story
British Newspaper Daily Mail Plants Job Advert In Robots.txt File
Perhaps unsurprising for a newspaper that probably has more SEO staff than, well, actual journalists, the UK's Daily Mail is hiring a new Search Engine Optimization manager. Interestingly, however, the job advert itself in fact appears in the newspaper's website robots.txt file, which isn't usually designed to be read by humans but is targeted at search engines bots to tell them what content shouldn't be indexed and other related information. The idea being that only particularly geeky SEO types would be snooping around in said file, the type of candidate that the Daily Mail hopes to attract.
Here's the 'advert' as spotted by Malcolm Coles, an SEO guy himself:
Here's the 'advert' as spotted by Malcolm Coles, an SEO guy himself:
Repeat Visitors vs New Visitors ? Which is Worth More to Your AdSense Earnings?
A few days back I shared a little analysis of my AdSense earnings as it related to sources of traffic and looked at how – for me – traffic from newsletters was actually the most valuable traffic that I get on my photography site.
This dispelled the myth that loyal readers to your site become blind [...]This Post is from: ProBlogger Blog Tips.
Repeat Visitors vs New Visitors – Which is Worth More to Your AdSense Earnings?
This dispelled the myth that loyal readers to your site become blind [...]This Post is from: ProBlogger Blog Tips.
Repeat Visitors vs New Visitors – Which is Worth More to Your AdSense Earnings?
What They Don?t Tell You About Successful Product Launches
Many times we see successful product launches being talked about and are so dazzled by the huge sales numbers and income generated but fail to see all the hard groundwork that has been done behind the scenes for months and years before the launch.
Sometimes this is because those talking about their product launches don’t want [...]This Post is from: ProBlogger Blog Tips.
What They Don’t Tell You About Successful Product Launches
Sometimes this is because those talking about their product launches don’t want [...]This Post is from: ProBlogger Blog Tips.
What They Don’t Tell You About Successful Product Launches
UK Defense Secretary Calls For Retailers To Ban Upcoming Medal Of Honor Game
You would think that UK Defense Secretary, Liam Fox, would have more important things to concern himself with than an upcoming video game release, but apparently he's calling for retailers not to sell the upcoming release in EA's Medal of Honor video game series. His complaint is that, in multiplayer mode, some players can play the role of Taliban soldiers. The game seeks to recreate the ongoing war in Afghanistan in a realistic manner. It's difficult to see how you could create a realistic game that doesn't include Taliban soldiers. It's not as if kids are going to play this game and suddenly think that it makes sense to join the Taliban...Permalink | Comments | Email This Story
Monday, August 23, 2010
New Book Shows How Our Common Culture Has Been Locked Up Via Copyright
Well respected author and professor Lewis Hyde, who has done tremendous work in the past on the concept of "gift economies," apparently has a new book out that sounds quite interesting -- though may cover some well-tread ground for folks around here. It's all about how the bastardization of intellectual property law has locked up and diminished our common cultural heritage, and why that's a problem. The book is called Common as Air.
The review, linked above, explains that the book goes through the history of how cultures used to be about sharing, and how the originators of our intellectual property laws were quite concerned about it being used to lock up culture:
The United States' Founding Fathers supported far less restrictive commons than have come to pass. Hyde writes about "John Adams attacking the Stamp Act as a tax on knowledge, Benjamin Franklin encouraging skilled artisans to smuggle technical expertise out of England, James Madison explaining why unlimited copyright undermines civic and religious liberty, and Thomas Jefferson trying to get a prohibition on patent monopolies written into the Bill of Rights." Copyrights and patents originated as brief tradeoffs, minimal, transient monopolies granted to stimulate and reward invention.
Hyde charts corporate interests' erosion of these views, restricting sharing of even long-iconic creativity, the prolonging of copyright terms and the widening boundaries of exclusive ownership. These days, the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act of 1998, lobbied for by major media companies, assures personal copyrights for life plus 70 years and corporate rights typically enduring from 95 to 120 years.
Frankly, it sounds like an excellent companion book to James Boyle's The Public Domain. The one complaint in the review is that Hyde does a great job explaining the problem, but does little to suggest a way to fix things. The reviewer points out that this leaves the reader "saddened -- and frustrated -- by his demonstration of what's been taken." Of course, considering how frequently I hear similar feelings from folks reading this blog, I would imagine many of you might find the book quite interesting.
By the way, if you'd like to see a lecture of Hyde talking about some of the concepts in this book, the following hour-long video discusses some of the concepts that are also covered in the book:
Permalink | Comments | Email This Story
The review, linked above, explains that the book goes through the history of how cultures used to be about sharing, and how the originators of our intellectual property laws were quite concerned about it being used to lock up culture:
The United States' Founding Fathers supported far less restrictive commons than have come to pass. Hyde writes about "John Adams attacking the Stamp Act as a tax on knowledge, Benjamin Franklin encouraging skilled artisans to smuggle technical expertise out of England, James Madison explaining why unlimited copyright undermines civic and religious liberty, and Thomas Jefferson trying to get a prohibition on patent monopolies written into the Bill of Rights." Copyrights and patents originated as brief tradeoffs, minimal, transient monopolies granted to stimulate and reward invention.
Hyde charts corporate interests' erosion of these views, restricting sharing of even long-iconic creativity, the prolonging of copyright terms and the widening boundaries of exclusive ownership. These days, the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act of 1998, lobbied for by major media companies, assures personal copyrights for life plus 70 years and corporate rights typically enduring from 95 to 120 years.
Frankly, it sounds like an excellent companion book to James Boyle's The Public Domain. The one complaint in the review is that Hyde does a great job explaining the problem, but does little to suggest a way to fix things. The reviewer points out that this leaves the reader "saddened -- and frustrated -- by his demonstration of what's been taken." Of course, considering how frequently I hear similar feelings from folks reading this blog, I would imagine many of you might find the book quite interesting.
By the way, if you'd like to see a lecture of Hyde talking about some of the concepts in this book, the following hour-long video discusses some of the concepts that are also covered in the book:
Permalink | Comments | Email This Story
MIT's New Synthetic Material Allows Stem Cells to Grow Without Foreign Catalysts
Pluripotent Stem Cells Grown by MIT researchers, the top row of these pluripotent stem cells is stained to show their nuclei while the middle and bottom rows are stained for proteins known to be present when cells are pluripotent. Image courtesy of Y. Mei, K. Saha, R. Langer, R. Jaenisch, and D. G. Anderson
Human pluripotent stem cells - the kind that can become any kind of specialized cell and therefore be used to treat pretty much any kind of cellular damage - hold seemingly limitless promise if only we could manipulate them in useful quantities. Now, researchers at MIT have overcome a major obstacle to both stem cell study and eventual stem cell treatments by creating a synthetic surface that enables stem cells to live and multiply for months, producing clinically-useful quantities of identical cells.
Stem cells could be the key to treating all kinds of ailments ranging from deseases like Alzheimer's or Parkinson's to physical injuries like spinal traumas. But creating stem cells is a tricky business. In order to perform the necessary experiments to develop treatments, researchers need large batches of identical cells. Often, this means catalyzing growth using materials that include proteins or cells from mice. These materials drive stem-cell growth for lab-bound cells, but if they were actually integrated into a human body there would likely be an immune reaction.
This inability to create viable, human-ready stem cells in large quantities has dogged researchers in the field, but MIT researchers may have finally found a fix. Through a long process of trial and error, they deduced that certain material qualities in the media in which the cells are grown affect stem cell growth.
Hydrophobicity - the degree to which a material repels water - is one of those key characteristics, and by adjusting the composition of various synthetic materials to get the right hydrophobicity they were able to engineer a successful scaffolding on which to grow cells. By further adjusting the polymers used for other factors, like which embedded proteins seemed most conducive to cell growth, they were able to further increase their stem-cell output.
The team's best material got both embryonic stem cells as well as induced pluripotent stem cells (mature cells reprogrammed to an immature state) to grow and reproduce for up to three months without adding any animal matter into the mix. That means not only have they found a way to create identical cells in quantities that are useful for developing treatments, but that the materials research could also be adopted for other kinds of cells as well.
[MIT News]
Human pluripotent stem cells - the kind that can become any kind of specialized cell and therefore be used to treat pretty much any kind of cellular damage - hold seemingly limitless promise if only we could manipulate them in useful quantities. Now, researchers at MIT have overcome a major obstacle to both stem cell study and eventual stem cell treatments by creating a synthetic surface that enables stem cells to live and multiply for months, producing clinically-useful quantities of identical cells.
Stem cells could be the key to treating all kinds of ailments ranging from deseases like Alzheimer's or Parkinson's to physical injuries like spinal traumas. But creating stem cells is a tricky business. In order to perform the necessary experiments to develop treatments, researchers need large batches of identical cells. Often, this means catalyzing growth using materials that include proteins or cells from mice. These materials drive stem-cell growth for lab-bound cells, but if they were actually integrated into a human body there would likely be an immune reaction.
This inability to create viable, human-ready stem cells in large quantities has dogged researchers in the field, but MIT researchers may have finally found a fix. Through a long process of trial and error, they deduced that certain material qualities in the media in which the cells are grown affect stem cell growth.
Hydrophobicity - the degree to which a material repels water - is one of those key characteristics, and by adjusting the composition of various synthetic materials to get the right hydrophobicity they were able to engineer a successful scaffolding on which to grow cells. By further adjusting the polymers used for other factors, like which embedded proteins seemed most conducive to cell growth, they were able to further increase their stem-cell output.
The team's best material got both embryonic stem cells as well as induced pluripotent stem cells (mature cells reprogrammed to an immature state) to grow and reproduce for up to three months without adding any animal matter into the mix. That means not only have they found a way to create identical cells in quantities that are useful for developing treatments, but that the materials research could also be adopted for other kinds of cells as well.
[MIT News]
Is Your Blog iPad Worthy?
Is Your Blog iPad Worthy?This content from: Duct Tape Marketing
Is Your Blog iPad Worthy?This content from: Duct Tape Marketing Lots of folks these days are consuming things like blog content on their still shiny new iPads. App developers like Flipboard and big time publishers like Slate and Wired are taking advantage of the wide HD screen to create stunning visual displays and interaction. This [...]
Is Your Blog iPad Worthy?This content from: Duct Tape Marketing Lots of folks these days are consuming things like blog content on their still shiny new iPads. App developers like Flipboard and big time publishers like Slate and Wired are taking advantage of the wide HD screen to create stunning visual displays and interaction. This [...]
DNA Molecules Can Be Used to Make A Much More Powerful Electronic Nose
Fluorescent DNA Florent Samain displays a fluorescence microscope image showing how the fluorescent sensors change color in the presence of organic vapors. Linda Cicero, Stanford University News Service
A new generation of e-nose uses a DNA scaffolding and molecular fluorescence to distinguish among various vapors, in a breakthrough that could make electronic sniffers more powerful and simpler to produce, according to researchers at Stanford University.
The method could conceivably detect anything from spoiled milk to explosives, the researchers say -- a major advancement over existing e-noses, which search for only a couple of specific molecules.
The e-nose involves attaching fluorescent compounds onto strands of DNA molecules, which then change color in the presence of certain substances. Stanford chemistry professor Eric Kool says one sensor could tell the difference between four organic vapors, because it would change colors with each one.
To make the sensors, the team took one side of a DNA double helix and replaced its four bases with fluorescent base-pair substitutes, according to a Stanford news release. Unhindered by the second helix backbone, the stacked bases protrude from the DNA strand like whiskers, ready to sense organic vapors.
The team could choose among seven replacement bases, so they used DNA synthesis technology to come up with a library of all the 2,401 ways they could combine into a string of four units. Then they tested all those combinations to see how they responded to various substances, including industrial solvent, aquatic herbicide and explosive-preparation materials.
Multiple sensor arrangements demonstrated a marked fluorescent response when exposed to the test substances, Kool says. DNA base pairs communicate electronically, so rearranging the synthetic bases resulted in different responses to the same stimuli, he added.
Next up is making a sensor array that can detect a wide range of substances, according to Kool. "Because we get such a diversity of responses -- even one molecule can tell the difference among four different things -- we could have a set of 10 or 20, or 100 sensors, which would give a vast array of responses to many different kinds of molecules."
The study was published online this week in the German journal�Angewandte Chemie�(Applied Chemistry).
[Eurekalert via MedicalDaily]
A new generation of e-nose uses a DNA scaffolding and molecular fluorescence to distinguish among various vapors, in a breakthrough that could make electronic sniffers more powerful and simpler to produce, according to researchers at Stanford University.
The method could conceivably detect anything from spoiled milk to explosives, the researchers say -- a major advancement over existing e-noses, which search for only a couple of specific molecules.
The e-nose involves attaching fluorescent compounds onto strands of DNA molecules, which then change color in the presence of certain substances. Stanford chemistry professor Eric Kool says one sensor could tell the difference between four organic vapors, because it would change colors with each one.
To make the sensors, the team took one side of a DNA double helix and replaced its four bases with fluorescent base-pair substitutes, according to a Stanford news release. Unhindered by the second helix backbone, the stacked bases protrude from the DNA strand like whiskers, ready to sense organic vapors.
The team could choose among seven replacement bases, so they used DNA synthesis technology to come up with a library of all the 2,401 ways they could combine into a string of four units. Then they tested all those combinations to see how they responded to various substances, including industrial solvent, aquatic herbicide and explosive-preparation materials.
Multiple sensor arrangements demonstrated a marked fluorescent response when exposed to the test substances, Kool says. DNA base pairs communicate electronically, so rearranging the synthetic bases resulted in different responses to the same stimuli, he added.
Next up is making a sensor array that can detect a wide range of substances, according to Kool. "Because we get such a diversity of responses -- even one molecule can tell the difference among four different things -- we could have a set of 10 or 20, or 100 sensors, which would give a vast array of responses to many different kinds of molecules."
The study was published online this week in the German journal�Angewandte Chemie�(Applied Chemistry).
[Eurekalert via MedicalDaily]
What They Don?t Tell You About Successful Product Launches
Many times we see successful product launches being talked about and are so dazzled by the huge sales numbers and income generated but fail to see all the hard groundwork that has been done behind the scenes for months and years before the launch.
Sometimes this is because those talking about their product launches don’t want [...]This Post is from: ProBlogger Blog Tips.
What They Don’t Tell You About Successful Product Launches
Sometimes this is because those talking about their product launches don’t want [...]This Post is from: ProBlogger Blog Tips.
What They Don’t Tell You About Successful Product Launches
Status Tagging Your Facebook Updates
Status Tagging Your Facebook UpdatesThis content from: Duct Tape Marketing
Status Tagging Your Facebook UpdatesThis content from: Duct Tape Marketing As Facebook continues to grow and provide more and more search functionality so does the need to think strategically about optimizing some of your status updates. About six months ago Facebook introduced status tagging, a feature that allows you to tag and link to pages [...]
Status Tagging Your Facebook UpdatesThis content from: Duct Tape Marketing As Facebook continues to grow and provide more and more search functionality so does the need to think strategically about optimizing some of your status updates. About six months ago Facebook introduced status tagging, a feature that allows you to tag and link to pages [...]
Newsletter Readers Do Click Ads
I recently attended an event where a presenter talked about the reasons that they didn’t use email marketing as part of their online business. One of the main reasons that he presented was that he didn’t think that people coming from a newsletter would click the ads on his site.
His reasoning was that people coming [...]This Post is from: ProBlogger Blog Tips.
Newsletter Readers Do Click Ads
His reasoning was that people coming [...]This Post is from: ProBlogger Blog Tips.
Newsletter Readers Do Click Ads
Sunday, August 22, 2010
AMPERE, The First System for Tracking Space Weather in Real Time, Goes Live
The Earth's Magnetic Weather AMPERE
The solar flare that slammed into Earth's atmosphere earlier this month was a prescient reminder that solar weather -- though sometimes beautiful -- can have serious impacts on the Earth. So perhaps the timing is right for something like AMPERE, the first space-based system capable of monitoring the Earth's immediate space environment in real-time. The system is the first step in a process that will enable around-the-clock monitoring and eventual prediction of solar and space weather and its effects on Earth.
AMPERE -- short for Active Magnetosphere and Planetary Electrodynamics Response Experiment -- is a collaboration between Johns Hopkins University's Applied Physics Laboratory (APL), Iridium Communications, and Boeing, funded by a $4 million grant from the National Science Foundation. It functions via Iridium's vast constellation of commercial satellites (66 total), from which Boeing collects the atmospheric data for delivery to APL where it's crunched in real-time into a map of the magnetic field around Earth.
Because Iridium's constellation covers the entire globe, AMPERE can keep an eye on the planet form all angles at all times. That's reassuring; severe solar activity could potentially knock out satellites, cripple electricity grids and electronic devices on the ground, and even down, and even put high-altitude aircraft in danger. Moreover, solar weather occurs in cycles, sort of like hurricane season here on Earth. As it happens, we just entered a particularly stormy part of that cycle, and the next 3-5 years will likely be tempestuous.
The next step for APL and company involves developing the tools to actually forecast geomagnetic storms in space before they hit Earth's magnetic field. That development should begin before the end of this year. In the meantime, you can learn more about AMPERE via the video below.
[Iridium via Smartplanet]
The solar flare that slammed into Earth's atmosphere earlier this month was a prescient reminder that solar weather -- though sometimes beautiful -- can have serious impacts on the Earth. So perhaps the timing is right for something like AMPERE, the first space-based system capable of monitoring the Earth's immediate space environment in real-time. The system is the first step in a process that will enable around-the-clock monitoring and eventual prediction of solar and space weather and its effects on Earth.
AMPERE -- short for Active Magnetosphere and Planetary Electrodynamics Response Experiment -- is a collaboration between Johns Hopkins University's Applied Physics Laboratory (APL), Iridium Communications, and Boeing, funded by a $4 million grant from the National Science Foundation. It functions via Iridium's vast constellation of commercial satellites (66 total), from which Boeing collects the atmospheric data for delivery to APL where it's crunched in real-time into a map of the magnetic field around Earth.
Because Iridium's constellation covers the entire globe, AMPERE can keep an eye on the planet form all angles at all times. That's reassuring; severe solar activity could potentially knock out satellites, cripple electricity grids and electronic devices on the ground, and even down, and even put high-altitude aircraft in danger. Moreover, solar weather occurs in cycles, sort of like hurricane season here on Earth. As it happens, we just entered a particularly stormy part of that cycle, and the next 3-5 years will likely be tempestuous.
The next step for APL and company involves developing the tools to actually forecast geomagnetic storms in space before they hit Earth's magnetic field. That development should begin before the end of this year. In the meantime, you can learn more about AMPERE via the video below.
[Iridium via Smartplanet]
Court Rejects Patent On 'Watch An Ad To Get Content'
Last fall we wrote about how a company named Ultramercial had sued Hulu, YouTube and WildTangent over patent 7,346,545 for requiring people to watch an ad before being able to access content. It resulted in an interesting discussion in our comments, where some patent system defenders insisted that the patent was perfectly legit. Unfortunately, the court disagrees with those folks. It has ruled that the patent is not valid (the ruling covers Hulu and WildTangent -- YouTube was dismissed from the case). Perhaps most interesting is the fact that the court chose to use the "machine or transformation test" for judging the patent. While some have read the Bilski ruling to "reject" the "machine or transformation" test, that's not quite true. It just said that's not the only test. The court in this case went through an explanation for why it felt this was still an appropriate test:
It is important to note, however, that even after the Supreme Court's decision in Bilski, the
machine or transformation test appears to have a major screening function--albeit not perfect-- that
separates unpatentable ideas from patentable ones. Indeed, four of the Justices, listed on Justice
Stevens's concurring opinion, would have taken the machine or transformation test to its logical limit to
hold that business methods are categorically unpatentable. Id. at 3257 (Stevens, J., concurring). Joining
a concurring opinion, Justice Scalia, who signed on to parts of the plurality opinion as well, would not
hold all business methods unpatentable, but would agree with Justice Breyer that "not [] many
patentable processes lie beyond [the] reach [of the machine or transformation test]." Id. at 3258 (Breyer,
J., concurring). In sum, at least five (and maybe all) Justices seem to agree that the machine or
transformation test should retain much of its utility after the Supreme Court's decision in Bilski.
Therefore, even though the machine or transformation is no longer the litmus test for patentability, the
Court will use it here as a key indicator of patentability.
And, using that test, the court finds this particular invention not patentable subject matter. It also points out that the patent is really just covering an abstract idea (the reasoning used by the Supreme Court to reject the Bilski patent):
At the core of the '545 patent is the basic idea that one can use
advertisement as an exchange or currency. An Internet user can pay for copyrighted media by sitting
through a sponsored message instead of paying money to download the media. This core principle,
similar to the core of the Bilski patent, is an abstract idea. Indeed, public television channels have used
the same basic idea for years to provide free (or offset the cost of) media to their viewers. At its heart,
therefore, the patent does no more than disclose an abstract idea.
I'm guessing this will likely be appealed, so it should be an interesting case to follow. You can read the full (quite clear) decision below:
Permalink | Comments | Email This Story
It is important to note, however, that even after the Supreme Court's decision in Bilski, the
machine or transformation test appears to have a major screening function--albeit not perfect-- that
separates unpatentable ideas from patentable ones. Indeed, four of the Justices, listed on Justice
Stevens's concurring opinion, would have taken the machine or transformation test to its logical limit to
hold that business methods are categorically unpatentable. Id. at 3257 (Stevens, J., concurring). Joining
a concurring opinion, Justice Scalia, who signed on to parts of the plurality opinion as well, would not
hold all business methods unpatentable, but would agree with Justice Breyer that "not [] many
patentable processes lie beyond [the] reach [of the machine or transformation test]." Id. at 3258 (Breyer,
J., concurring). In sum, at least five (and maybe all) Justices seem to agree that the machine or
transformation test should retain much of its utility after the Supreme Court's decision in Bilski.
Therefore, even though the machine or transformation is no longer the litmus test for patentability, the
Court will use it here as a key indicator of patentability.
And, using that test, the court finds this particular invention not patentable subject matter. It also points out that the patent is really just covering an abstract idea (the reasoning used by the Supreme Court to reject the Bilski patent):
At the core of the '545 patent is the basic idea that one can use
advertisement as an exchange or currency. An Internet user can pay for copyrighted media by sitting
through a sponsored message instead of paying money to download the media. This core principle,
similar to the core of the Bilski patent, is an abstract idea. Indeed, public television channels have used
the same basic idea for years to provide free (or offset the cost of) media to their viewers. At its heart,
therefore, the patent does no more than disclose an abstract idea.
I'm guessing this will likely be appealed, so it should be an interesting case to follow. You can read the full (quite clear) decision below:
Permalink | Comments | Email This Story
Old Books Vs. New Books
In round #856 of the Print vs. Web saga, Newsweek has come up with the above infographic/artifact. At least they didn't call it "Old Books Vs. New Books."
While Nicholas Negroponte earlier this month claimed that the physical book would be dead in five years, the more generous folks at Newsweek still think that the book has some fight left.
Putting forth such vague statements such as "quality hardcover books (in direct light) are still easiest on the eye," and the frightening because it's true "$249.2 million vs. $29.3 million in publishers sales totals," the graphic seems really unsure about the future.
While Nicholas Negroponte earlier this month claimed that the physical book would be dead in five years, the more generous folks at Newsweek still think that the book has some fight left.
Putting forth such vague statements such as "quality hardcover books (in direct light) are still easiest on the eye," and the frightening because it's true "$249.2 million vs. $29.3 million in publishers sales totals," the graphic seems really unsure about the future.
Appeals Court Overturns Judge's Ban On LA Times Printing Photo Of Murder Suspect
We recently wrote about the LA Times being barred by a judge from publishing a photo of murder suspect Alberd Tersargyan that was taken -- with permission -- in the courtroom. As pretty much every legal expert who commented on the case noted, there was almost no way the judge's ban would hold up under a First Amendment review, as it was clear prior restraint. And, indeed, it didn't take long for an appeals court to overturn the ruling and note that it was, indeed, prior restraint. The First Amendment wins again...Permalink | Comments | Email This Story
Google Is Anakin, Verizon Is The Emperor, And The Dark Side Is Winning
Editor's note: Jonathan Askin is Associate Professor of Clinical Law at Brooklyn Law School and Founding Director of the Brooklyn Law and Incubator Policy Clinic (BLIP). He previously worked at the FCC and for the Obama campaign on telecommuncation policy.
I can?t help but analogize Google?s role in the Net Neutrality Wars with Anakin?s shift to the Dark Side in Star Wars.
I?m watching the discussion about the policy framework to govern the Internet with the repelled fascination of a guy who, as a child, loved Star Wars Episodes 4-6 and now, as an adult, begrudgingly watches Episodes 1-3.
In the present drama, Verizon plays the Emperor, Google plays Anakin, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) plays the Old Republic, and Internet-Company-Not-Yet-Born might play Luke Skywalker?if the FCC is not blinded by the Verizon-Google Jedi mind trick and can formulate a forward-looking Internet policy framework that will foster competition and innovation.
I can?t help but analogize Google?s role in the Net Neutrality Wars with Anakin?s shift to the Dark Side in Star Wars.
I?m watching the discussion about the policy framework to govern the Internet with the repelled fascination of a guy who, as a child, loved Star Wars Episodes 4-6 and now, as an adult, begrudgingly watches Episodes 1-3.
In the present drama, Verizon plays the Emperor, Google plays Anakin, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) plays the Old Republic, and Internet-Company-Not-Yet-Born might play Luke Skywalker?if the FCC is not blinded by the Verizon-Google Jedi mind trick and can formulate a forward-looking Internet policy framework that will foster competition and innovation.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)