5 Ways to Let Prospects Sample Your Brilliance
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Sunday, October 31, 2010
5 Ways to Let Prospects Sample Your Brilliance
The Sexy Details of How the iPad and MacBook Will Hook Up
During the Back to the Mac event, Steve Jobs made a particularly witty remark that made the audience giddy with laughter: ?We asked ourselves, what would happen if a MacBook and an iPad hooked up? Well, this is the result, we think it?s the future of notebooks.?There is always a deep strategic intent with the things that Apple does, especially when it comes from Steve Jobs. The first phase in ?hooking up? that took place between the MacBook Air and iPad foretells a deeply converged future on many levels.
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/JkHnUW5OvTM/
Dedicated Fans Bring Movie Back To Life, Contributing $346k In Just A Few Weeks
A bunch of folks have sent over this story of how the author of the popular book Blue Like Jazz, Donald Miller, had been working for years on turning the book into a movie, but in the middle of September, he posted to his website that it just wasn't going to happen, because the traditional funders of movies weren't interested in the movie. The book apparently is a sort of coming of age, semi-autobiographical story, involving aspects of the author's spiritual/religious journey. As Miller explained, while the book is a "Christian" book, it has elements in it that those who traditionally fund "Christian movies" didn't want to support (for example, something involving putting a giant condom on a church steeple...). And he suggested that, while the book has found an audience among students going through similar situations, those are not the people who generally fund movies.
Or, perhaps they are. Miller had been able to bring together some funding, but came up $125,000 short of what was needed for the indie film production (including some well-known actors). After saying that the project was dead, some fans apparently stepped up and suggested he try to raise the missing $125,000 on Kickstarter. In the course of about a month, not only did they hit the $125,000 mark in just one week, but fans of the book continued contributing to the cause, leading them to bring in $346,000 by the time the project closed.
That's a rather stunning amount. Prior to this, I believe the largest Kickstarter project had been the famous Diaspora distributed social networking project that got tons of press for breaking $100,000. Of course, no one is suggesting that this is the way to fund all films or that this will work in every case (we've certainly seen Kickstarter projects fail at times). However, it's yet another example of how really committed and engaged fans can make things happen where the old gatekeepers stood in the way.
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Or, perhaps they are. Miller had been able to bring together some funding, but came up $125,000 short of what was needed for the indie film production (including some well-known actors). After saying that the project was dead, some fans apparently stepped up and suggested he try to raise the missing $125,000 on Kickstarter. In the course of about a month, not only did they hit the $125,000 mark in just one week, but fans of the book continued contributing to the cause, leading them to bring in $346,000 by the time the project closed.
That's a rather stunning amount. Prior to this, I believe the largest Kickstarter project had been the famous Diaspora distributed social networking project that got tons of press for breaking $100,000. Of course, no one is suggesting that this is the way to fund all films or that this will work in every case (we've certainly seen Kickstarter projects fail at times). However, it's yet another example of how really committed and engaged fans can make things happen where the old gatekeepers stood in the way.
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Review: T-Mobile�G2
Like the Nexus One, the G2 is a unified Google experience, and it excels because of that. The vaunted HSPA+ is fast as hell and there is very little to criticize from start to finish. That said, it's also a brick and the form factor isn't for everyone. Read on for our full review of Google's latest flagship handset.
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/7m9ECJbeilk/
Google Feedburner Delivers Real-time Traffic Stats
This week, Google unveiled an upgraded Feedburner stats package that provides real-time data on clicks, views, and podcast downloads.
For the social media fanatics, the Feedburner team add that, “if you use the FeedBurner Socialize service, and your platform uses PubSubHubbub or you ping us when you post, you can for the first time get [...]
For the social media fanatics, the Feedburner team add that, “if you use the FeedBurner Socialize service, and your platform uses PubSubHubbub or you ping us when you post, you can for the first time get [...]
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ON SEMICONDUCTOR NVIDIA NUANCE COMMUNICATIONS NOVELLUS SYSTEMS
The Sexy Details of How the iPad and MacBook Will Hook Up
During the Back to the Mac event, Steve Jobs made a particularly witty remark that made the audience giddy with laughter: ?We asked ourselves, what would happen if a MacBook and an iPad hooked up? Well, this is the result, we think it?s the future of notebooks.?There is always a deep strategic intent with the things that Apple does, especially when it comes from Steve Jobs. The first phase in ?hooking up? that took place between the MacBook Air and iPad foretells a deeply converged future on many levels.
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/JkHnUW5OvTM/
The 5 Foundations of Social Media Success that No One Talks About
This post is by Clare Lancaster, of WomenInBusiness.com.au.
As I was sitting down to write my first social media column for ProBlogger I was thinking about the best place to start. Should I do a run through of the basics or jump right into reporting on my latest experiment?
My sense of flow and logic won over [...]
As I was sitting down to write my first social media column for ProBlogger I was thinking about the best place to start. Should I do a run through of the basics or jump right into reporting on my latest experiment?
My sense of flow and logic won over [...]
Post from: ProBlogger Blog Tips
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ProbloggerHelpingBloggersEarnMoney/~3/3uUkJFoEkr8/
INTERNATIONAL RECTIFIER INTERNATIONAL GAME TECHNOLOGY INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES (IBM) INTERDIGITAL COMMUNICATIONS
India Concerned How ACTA Changes Previous Trade Agreements
We've pointed out in the past, that one of the reasons why ACTA was done outside of the existing infrastructure for such agreements set up under WIPO and the WTO was to craft an agreement without involving the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China). The negotiators knew, quite well, that the BRIC countries would fight back strongly, as all four have used the ability to copy to create economic growth, and have recently been much more vocal in pushing back about some of the more annoying parts of earlier agreements on intellectual property. Now, the ACTA negotiators keep talking about how they'd like the BRIC countries to join "someday," but by creating ACTA outside of the WTO, they've been able to leave those four powerhouses totally out of the negotiations, so that if they ever join, it'll be a total "take it or leave it" situation.
Thankfully, those countries are expressing their concerns about the whole thing. Earlier, we noted that Brazil had come out and declared ACTA "illegitimate." Now it's India's turn. At a recent WTO meeting, India (rather politely) appears to have expressed its serious concerns about the "far reaching implication" for those who are not part of ACTA. The link above lists out many of those concerns, but one key one is how ACTA appears to have redefined "commercial scale," contrary to what the WTO has said constitutes "commercial scale."
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Thankfully, those countries are expressing their concerns about the whole thing. Earlier, we noted that Brazil had come out and declared ACTA "illegitimate." Now it's India's turn. At a recent WTO meeting, India (rather politely) appears to have expressed its serious concerns about the "far reaching implication" for those who are not part of ACTA. The link above lists out many of those concerns, but one key one is how ACTA appears to have redefined "commercial scale," contrary to what the WTO has said constitutes "commercial scale."
We call attention to the fact that ACTA negotiators have decided among themselves to overturn the decision of the WTO dispute settlement panel in the recent China-Enforcement case by reinterpreting the phrase "commercial scale" with respect to willful trademark counterfeiting and copyright piracy so as to refer to any activity carried out for a direct or indirect economic or commercial advantage. This is startling in light of the WTO panel's contrary decision that the term "scale" refers to a level of activity, and it highlights the risk to WTO law posed by turning enforcement matters over to small groups of plurilateral negotiators operating outside the WTO legal framework.India is also pointing out that the negotiators involved in ACTA appear to have exaggerated the "threats" involved (something we've pointed out for years, but it's nice to see it called out in an international forum):
To find an effective and enduring solution to the problem, we need to step back from a purely mercantilist approach. We also need to avoid exaggerating the issue of counterfeiting and piracy since there is lack of empirical data. Even the US Government Accountability Office (GAO) has recently raised serious questions concerning the data that has been relied on by proponents of the ACTA to support the effort.This is also the first time I've seen anyone else actually point out that ACTA is, very much, a mercantilist (protectionism) approach.
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LEVEL 3 COMMUNICATIONS LAWSON SOFTWARE LAND SOFTWARE LAM RESEARCH
Weekend Favs October Twenty Three
Weekend Favs October Twenty Three
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How to Unfriend on Facebook
How to Unfriend on Facebook
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LAM RESEARCH LIBERTY GLOBAL LM ERICSSON LOGITECH INTERNATIONAL
Saturday, October 30, 2010
The Blog World Paradox: a Blog Action Day Case Study
Today, Darren and thousands of other bloggers are congregating in Las Vegas for Blog World. It’s fitting that Blog Action Day should coincide with the world’s largest blogging conference. Particularly this Blog Action Day, which focuses on water.
When we think about water issues, we don’t need to close our eyes and conjure up the [...]
When we think about water issues, we don’t need to close our eyes and conjure up the [...]
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ACCENTURE ACER ADOBE SYSTEMS ADVANCED SEMICONDUCTOR ENGINEERING
For Apple, AT&T Is The Company You Sleep With, Verizon Is The Company You Marry
Have you heard the news? The Verizon iPhone is coming. Today, Fortune has the 15th or so confirmation that the device will launch in early 2011. There's way too much smoke now for there not to be a fire. But even more interesting than that tidbit is Fortune's interview with Ivan Seidenberg, the CEO of Verizon. He wouldn't speak directly about a Verizon iPhone launch, but he still had plenty to say about the device, and Apple's CEO Steve Jobs. The most interesting thing he had to say was the last bit about the iPhone in the piece: According to Seidenberg, Jobs told him during a December 2009 meeting, "Decisions you made [at Verizon] are decisions we would make at Apple."That sounds like it's Jobs more or less saying that he respects Verizon because they stood up to him. They wouldn't�compromise�on their vision.
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/8r7jbEBVa8M/
Thank Copyright Infringers For Still Being Able To Hear Great Moments In World Series History
If you're a baseball fan, you know that the World Series is going on right now, between the San Francisco Giants and the Texas Rangers (with the Giants looking damn good so far). On the night they won the League Championship Series to advance to the World Series, I was actually out walking my dog, listening to the game on the radio (it was a pretty nerve-wracking finish), and was actually a bit disappointed that radio announcer Jon Miller didn't pull out the obvious "The Giants win the pennant!" line, even though they had, in fact, won the pennant. As you hopefully know, that line was the famous call -- considered one of the greatest broadcasting moments in history -- back in 1951, when the (then) NY Giants' Bobby Thomson hit a homerun off the (then) Brooklyn Dodgers' Ralph Branca to secure the National League championship:
Now, what you might not know is that the only reason we have that recording, is because someone recorded it at home. Reader Stephen points us to Joe Posnanski's absolutely awesome article on the best sports calls in history (which I'd actually read, but had missed this point), which notes that:
And it's not the only one. Just about a month ago, the news came out that video tapes of the (previously lost) 1960 World Series had been found in the former wine cellar of Bing Crosby, who had been a part-owner of The Pirates. The final game of that series is considered one of the greatest games ever (well, less so if you're a Yankee fan...), but it had been lost... until last month. Crosby apparently couldn't bear to actually watch the game, he was so nervous (he went to Europe instead), but wanted to be able to watch it later, so he actually hired a film crew to record the official broadcast, and they were just recovered (actually, right outside of San Francisco...) last month.
So here we have two of the greatest moments in baseball that we only have the archive of the actual game recordings because of people technically infringing.
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The man we all need to thank is someone named Larry Goldberg, a travel agent who had the good sense to ask his mother to tape Russ Hodges' call so he could listen to it after work. Because of Larry, we have the most joyous call in the history of sports to enjoy forever.Yes, thanks to infringement, we have that moment in history.
And it's not the only one. Just about a month ago, the news came out that video tapes of the (previously lost) 1960 World Series had been found in the former wine cellar of Bing Crosby, who had been a part-owner of The Pirates. The final game of that series is considered one of the greatest games ever (well, less so if you're a Yankee fan...), but it had been lost... until last month. Crosby apparently couldn't bear to actually watch the game, he was so nervous (he went to Europe instead), but wanted to be able to watch it later, so he actually hired a film crew to record the official broadcast, and they were just recovered (actually, right outside of San Francisco...) last month.
So here we have two of the greatest moments in baseball that we only have the archive of the actual game recordings because of people technically infringing.
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The Nissan Leaf: Nicely Done, Not for Everyone
Profile View of the Leaf Seth Fletcher
Nissan has produced a quick, fun-to-drive, technologically sophisticated pure-electric car. But inevitably, limited driving range makes it a daily commuter, not a road-tripper
The Nissan Leaf is the first of its kind: a truly mass-market battery-electric car. Starting in December, Nissan will begin selling and leasing the car in North America, Europe and Japan. Globally, it will build 50,000 Leafs for the 2011 model year.
Check out the photo gallery
What's New
A 600-pound, 24-kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery pack, which lines the floor underneath the cabin, powers the Leaf for approximately 100 miles, a number that will grow or shrink depending on conditions and your driving style. The Leaf draws a full charge in approximately eight hours from a 220-volt "Level II" charging dock; Nissan is leaning heavily on the Volt's first buyers to have a such a charger professionally installed in their garages, primarily because the company is aware of how profoundly annoying it will be to charge that big battery from a 110-volt outlet (it will take some 20 hours).
What's Good
The Drive: A spin in the Leaf will rid anyone of the notion that electric cars are basically golf carts. Thanks to that greatest quirk of electric drive-instantaneous torque-the Leaf will quite literally push you back in your seat under hard acceleration. Things settle down from there; this is a compact commuter car, not a Tesla Roadster, and it feels faster than it is. Still, I found the Leaf perfectly solid and competent on the freeway. The 80-kilowatt AC synchronous easily pushed it to the brink of 90 mph, and the ride remained quiet, sturdy and smooth. I've heard of other drivers, presumably operating on more police-free stretches of road, reaching 94 mph, which is funny considering that the car's top speed is officially limited to 90 mph. On some twisty country roads, the Leaf felt sharp, nimble, and fun. And around town, it drives like a smooth and whisper-quiet version of your standard nicely equipped compact car.
The Interior: The Leaf is surprisingly roomy for a little hatchback. Legroom in the driver and passenger seats was perfectly adequate. (I don't know how I'd feel if I were taller than 6' 6"), and Nissan says it has successfully mounted three car seats at the same time in the backseat. The cargo bay is remarkably deep.
The User Interface: The instruments and control panel are all suitably tech-tastic. A sharp-looking digital instrument cluster performs the usual functions (speedometer, odometer), tells you your remaining driving range, and gives you feedback on your energy usage, although the easiest way to figure out how efficiently you're driving is to watch how quickly your remaining range drops. (By the way, push this car hard on the freeway, and that number will plummet.) In one mode, the bright, easily readable navigation screen displays the radius in which you can operate the car without running out of charge. Charging and interior climate can be controlled remotely via the Leaf's smartphone app. And of course you'll find the usual suite of mid-grade automotive gadgetry: Bluetooth, voice command, cruise control, an optional backup camera.
The Price: Lithium-ion batteries are expensive, and Nissan hasn't released the price of the Leaf's battery pack, but a reasonably informed guess pegs it somewhere between $15,000 and $20,000. Yet after the $7,500 federal tax credit, the Leaf starts at $25,280-cheap enough that no one understands how Nissan will make money on it. Lease rates are reasonable too: $2,000 down, $350 a month. And in states such as California and Colorado, which offer additional incentives (a $5,000 rebate and a $6,000 tax credit, respectively), the Leaf starts to become very attractive, particularly when you consider that you'll never buy gas for the car, change the oil, replace the spark plugs, and so on.
What's Bad
The Price: For people who don't live in states with additional tax credits, $25,280 is a lot to spend for a compact car that can't go farther than 100-something miles without stopping for a several-hour recharge-that is, for a second or third car.
For Many People, The Exterior Design: The car's looks have grown on me-and it is certainly distinctive-but to others, the Leaf can look like a cartoon insect. Many of those design tweaks were made either to improve aerodynamics or reduce wind noise; for example, the bug eyes are there to deflect wind around the side-view mirrors, reducing noise at high speeds. But still.
The Verdict
The Leaf is a quick, nimble, fun-to-drive car that is, at least theoretically, more than adequate for the daily driving needs of 90 percent of Americans. Are you a dentist in Denver who bought a Land Rover for weekend ski trips, but now you're tired of needlessly torching barrels of oil during your daily commute? The Leaf is a perfect workweek car for you. But when the weekend comes and it's time to drive 300 miles in a stretch, the Leaf will not do, which is why you'll be keeping the Land Rover in the garage.
None of the its limitations come from the engineering or design of the car itself (though you could argue that by opting to do a battery-electric vehicle instead of a plug-in hybrid, Nissan knowingly yoked it with its range limitations). In the coming years, as batteries get cheaper and more energy-dense, and as charging infrastructure spreads (right now, 13,000 Level II charging stations are planned for installation nationwide by 2012), cars like the Leaf will make more sense for a lot more people. And that's not even considering what could happen to oil prices. At the moment, however, the Leaf must contend with the limitations that come with being the first and only mass-market battery-electric vehicle to arrive on the American market. We see it as the highly promising start of something very interesting.
Source: http://www.popsci.com/cars/article/2010-10/nissan-leaf-nicely-done-not-everyone
Superhero-Style Spacesuits Could Provide Vital Compression For Astronauts
Testing the Suit in Zero Gravity MIT/James Waldie
This new Spiderman-style suit may not win astronauts a spot in the fashion hall of fame, but it could help keep their bones intact during long spaceflights. Described in a new paper, prototype tests of the Gravity Loading Countermeasure Skinsuit, being developed by a research team at MIT's Man-Vehicle Laboratory, show that the suit simulates the effects of gravity on the human body, which could solve one of the biggest obstacles to future human space travel.
Astronauts lose 1 to 2 percent of their bone mass for each month they spend in space. As far back as the Gemini missions, conditioning exercise regimes have been used to slow the rate of bone loss, but a 2001-2004 NASA-sponsored study showed that crew members aboard the International Space Station (ISS) were still losing up to 2.7 percent of their interior bone material and 1.7 percent of outer hipbone material for each month they spent in space. If ISS crew members lose this much bone density after 4 to 6 months in space, astronauts on long missions to Mars-voyages that could take years-could lose enough bone mass that they suffer fractures while carrying out tasks on the Martian surface.
With stirrups that loop around the feet, the elastic gravity skinsuit is purposely cut too short for the astronaut so that it stretches when put on-pulling the wearer's shoulders towards the feet. In normal gravity conditions on Earth, a human's legs bear more weight than the torso. Because the suit's legs stretch more than the torso section, the wearer's legs are subjected to a greater force-replicating gravity effects on Earth.
The prototype suit testing took place on parabolic flights that created brief periods of weightlessness. Results showed that the suit successfully imitated the pull of gravity on the torso and thighs, but it did not exert enough force on the lower legs. Researchers are now refining the suit's design to address this; they also plan to test the suit to see how it performs when worn overnight. Volunteers who wore the suit on the test flights reported that the suit was comfortable and did not significantly restrict movement, which means crewmembers can work and exercise while wearing the suit.
An article on the study will be published in the journal Acta Astronautica.
Which Cellphone Did The Yemeni Terrorists Use?
If you look closely at this shot of the bombs allegedly sent from Yemen to Chicago you'll notice what looks like a small camera up in the corner. Slide down the side and you see the volume buttons and I suspect the silver area is where the battery holder once stuck to the circuit board. It's clear that this was a phone - probably of modern vintage - so which phone is it?
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/J-Uy-1_uR9k/
Weekend Favs October Twenty Three
Weekend Favs October Twenty Three
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The 5 Foundations of Social Media Success that No One Talks About
This post is by Clare Lancaster, of WomenInBusiness.com.au.
As I was sitting down to write my first social media column for ProBlogger I was thinking about the best place to start. Should I do a run through of the basics or jump right into reporting on my latest experiment?
My sense of flow and logic won over [...]
As I was sitting down to write my first social media column for ProBlogger I was thinking about the best place to start. Should I do a run through of the basics or jump right into reporting on my latest experiment?
My sense of flow and logic won over [...]
Post from: ProBlogger Blog Tips
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NUANCE COMMUNICATIONS NOVELLUS SYSTEMS NOVELL NETWORK APPLIANCE
5 Ways to Monetize Your Blog Without Selling Out
Last week at Blog World Expo, I had conversations with literally hundreds of bloggers about their blogging.
It was interesting to see some of the themes that emerged as bloggers shared their challenges, problems and fears.
One of the recurring conversations that I had revolved around bloggers’ fear of being seen as sell-outs by readers when they [...]
It was interesting to see some of the themes that emerged as bloggers shared their challenges, problems and fears.
One of the recurring conversations that I had revolved around bloggers’ fear of being seen as sell-outs by readers when they [...]
Post from: ProBlogger Blog Tips
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Autoresponders on ?Roids
This post was written by the Web Marketing Ninja?a professional online marketer for a major web brand, who?s sharing his tips undercover here at ProBlogger. Curious? So are we!
Darren has written a lot about how he has evolved his autoresponder sequences on his blogs. But I want to take this a step further and [...]
Darren has written a lot about how he has evolved his autoresponder sequences on his blogs. But I want to take this a step further and [...]
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From Side Project to Sustainable Business ? Using Social Media
This guest post is by Clare Lancaster, of WomenInBusiness.com.au.
Over the last 18 months I?ve built two profitable businesses with the help of social media. One business was a sure thing; the other was a side project. My side project was a blog: womeninbusiness.com.au. All of the important numbers (subscribers, page views and profits) are growing [...]
Over the last 18 months I?ve built two profitable businesses with the help of social media. One business was a sure thing; the other was a side project. My side project was a blog: womeninbusiness.com.au. All of the important numbers (subscribers, page views and profits) are growing [...]
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APPLIED MATERIALS ARIAN SEMICONDUCTOR EQUIPMENT ARROW ELECTRONICS ASML HOLDING
Friday, October 29, 2010
Weekend Favs October Twenty Three
Weekend Favs October Twenty Three
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INTERSECTIONS INTERNATIONAL RECTIFIER INTERNATIONAL GAME TECHNOLOGY INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES (IBM)
The 7 Harsh Realities of Blogging for Bucks
At this year’s Blog World Expo, Darren joined with Brian and Sonia from Copyblogger for the keynote presentation, entitled The 7 Harsh Realities of Blogging for Bucks.
As Sonia explained, these seven “crying babies” of blog monetization are worth noting and understanding. But as the keynote speakers address each of these, they discuss the blogger’s alternative [...]
As Sonia explained, these seven “crying babies” of blog monetization are worth noting and understanding. But as the keynote speakers address each of these, they discuss the blogger’s alternative [...]
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Why The Answer To The Smartphone Patent Thicket Is Not A Patent Pool
We recently wrote about the incredible patent thicket in the smartphone space. For some reason, in the course of a few days, about ten different publications all created a very similar graphic about "who was suing whom" in the smartphone space for patent infringement. Unfortunately, most of those graphs had the wrong data and/or did not include non-practicing entities, who make up some of the most serious (and expensive) lawsuits in the space, and are certainly an important part of understanding the thicket. We created our own graphic here: 
Anyway, with so much attention being paid to this patent thicket, of course it would only be a matter of time until someone popped up with a favorite "solution" to patent thickets: "patent pools." The WSJ Digits blog has an article about a forthcoming paper that compares the smartphone patent thicket to the sewing machine patent thicket in the 19th century, and suggests that the same solution used then could work now: just have everyone create a patent pool to share their patents.
We've heard this before, and explained before why patent pools aren't a really good solution. In fact, two years ago we pointed to new research showing evidence for why that famed sewing machine patent pool actually did more to hinder innovation than to encourage it. As we explained at the time:
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We've heard this before, and explained before why patent pools aren't a really good solution. In fact, two years ago we pointed to new research showing evidence for why that famed sewing machine patent pool actually did more to hinder innovation than to encourage it. As we explained at the time:
First, companies scramble to get patents that can be included in the patent pool (rather than focusing on actually innovating in the market and understanding what the market wants). Once the pool is truly established, patenting decreases, because it's just not worth it to compete. After the patent pool dissolves, then others finally get back into the market. Second, because the patent pool locks in the effective "standard" early in the process, it might not actually be the best technology. In their research, Lampe and Moser found that this is exactly what happened with the first patent pool concerning the sewing machine. It "shifted the direction of innovation to an inferior technology... which was known to be significantly less robust, and unsuitable for mass production."Are patent pools better than the legal jumble of lawsuits from the graphic above? Maybe. But are they the best solution out there? Absolutely not. Instead, a better solution would be to just let the market compete on the merits of the products and let the market decide, rather than focusing on any monopoly rights that will exclude innovators.
Then, once they're in the patent pool, they become anti-competitive: suing any upstart that tries to innovate and is not a member of the patent pool. So, effectively, rather than innovating, they use the patent pool to block any competition. Finally, once the patent pool is in place, the companies involved decrease their own pace of innovation, because they've basically just blocked out the competitors. Thus, they don't need to keep innovating at the same pace.
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This Week In The Future, October 25-October 29, 2010
This Week In The Future, October 25-October 29, 2010 Baarbarian
Thanks for joining us for a very special All Hallow's Eve This Week in the Future. The art is provided, as always, by Baarbarian, but it's up to you to determine what four PopSci stories from this week the image represents.
Post your guesses in the comments section, and if you are the first to correctly name the five PopSci stories from this week represented above, you'll win a T-shirt of the image. (If you can't wait, you can buy your own right here.)
Until next time, enjoy our past weekly illustrated roundups here.
Source: http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2010-10/week-future-october-25-october-29-2010
Better Get Ready Europe, TechCrunch Partybus is Heading Your Way
On the other side of the Atlantic, TechCrunch events have been causing all kinds of disruption (yes, lame joke, I know) this year. Back in May, Disrupt unleashed the infamous�linguistic talent of Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz and just last month, the Bin 38 crew and MC Hammer rocked the show just prior to the announcement of our acquisition by AOL. From New York to San Francisco, Disrupt has definitely proved to be one tech's hottest events...but now what about in Europe ? Europe definitely counts a number of absolutely fantastic tech events - with one of my all-time favorites, LeWeb, coming-up right before the holidays. But this year, both TechCrunch France and TechCrunch Europe are also puting a little startup kick in pre-holiday events with the Europas and Remix.
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/rYa-Rf407bM/
Take-Two Interactive Software CEO Ben Feder To Step Down
News just got out about a serious management transition over at Take-Two Interactive Software, the major US-based publisher, developer, and distributor of video games and video game peripherals. Chief exec Ben Feder has decided to step down, effective January 1, 2011, in order to pursue plans to travel in Asia with his family for an extended period. Strauss Zelnick, Take-Two?s Executive Chairman, will take on the additional role of Chief Executive Officer. 
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/JHhaeL2UGT4/
Testing the Goods: Logitech Revue with Google TV
Logitech Revue with Google TV Corinne Iozzio
We may be ready for Google TV, but is Google TV ready for us?
Getting the internet on your TV used to be so complicated that all but the most savvy tech-lovers (or struggling, geriatric WebTV users in 1997) didn't even bother. But now that we get more of our video from the web than ever before, the Powers That Be have deemed it time to bring the two worlds together yet again. The first Google-ready home-theater equipment is rolling out now, so we spent a couple days with Logitech's Google-TV-ready Revue set-top box so see how what happens when worlds collide. All told, Google has done what it's advertised in a more seamless way than anyone has before, but a few hiccups keep it from playing nice with everything you'll wanna watch.
What's New
Google TV is the first search engine for your TV. A Google TV (GTV) capable device is one that will allow you to search and view web video on you TV without having to connect to a computer. The first such device is the Revue by Logitech. The small Intel Atom-powered box nestles itself between your existing cable box and your TV, overlaying GTV's engine atop your own cable feed. What's special, though, is how the overlay is done: Google has not only brought its omnipresent search bar onto your TV screen, but built an entirely new indexing system specifically catered for web video streaming and searching. Taking listings from your cable company and the web and marrying them into one source-agnostic results page. "I don't care where my stream of Community comes from, I just want to watch it now." That's the underlying premise of Google's seemingly seamless integration of two different content sources.
What's Good
Shows' Index Pages: When you enter the title of a show into the GTV search bar, you aren't met with the usual web-style list of random websites and blogs; what you see, rather, is a pulldown menu of sorted links. If there's an air date of the series upcoming, it will appear at the top of the list. Following that is a result labeled "series" which sends you into an index page with a show summary and an index of all the current episodes with links to the various sources that carry them. A grid displays what shows you can see on live TV, what you can stream for free, and what you can stream for a price from a service, such as Amazon Video On Demand. Grabbing all those network streams, though, is a trickier proposition (more on that later).
Smart Display: Even if you're not searching for a series, GTV's default engine creates an index page of videos relating to almost any search query (be it an actor, film, place, what have you). Entering "Morgan Freeman," for instance, brings you to a thumbnail-based spread of movies he's in that are available to watch (either though channel guides or streamed from the web). Below that is a listing of web video clips matching your keyword search accompanied by thumbnails. You can also, naturally, choose to do a plain ol' web search, which will bring you to the regular Google homepage.
Queue: Think of the GTV queue as a DVR for video streams. When you land on a show index page, there's an option to "add series to queue." This will then add any new uploads of episodes of that show to a queue on the GTV home screen to let you know there's new content ready and waiting
Picture in Picture: You can do anything you like in the GTV interface and still keep a live TV image in the corner of your screen. Say you're watching a live NFL game and want to check on your fantasy team: hit the PIP button on the keyboard, fire off a search in the integrated Chrome browser, and check you stats and watch the game on the same screen.
Google TV Ready Sites: Several sites, most prominently the Google-owned YouTube, have re-coded their sites to be GTV friendly (much like sites designed to be easy to use with a Wiimote). Instead of having to browse to them in Chrome, each site has been re-skinned for GTV, using it as a portal. YouTube Leanback, for one, instantly launches videos into full-screen high-def related-video thumbnails strung across the bottom of the screen.
What's On: Say you're in the mood to watch, I dunno, something, but you're not sure what. The What's On menu sorts whatever's on the air right now into categories. In the mood for a movie? Each one is listed individually along with its channel and how much of the airing is left.
The Keyboard: Kudos to Logitech. Their GTV remote, as all are required to, has a full QWERTY keyboard, but this one is especially comfortable, so much so that I was able to do the lion's share of my navigating without ever having to look down. The layout of the directional keypad is intuitive, and the integrated search button pulls up the search cue no matter what screen you're in.
What's Bad
Lack of Network Streams: It makes perfect sense that the major TV networks (ABC, NBC, CBS and Fox) aren't huge fans of GTV; they want to have full control over their shows being piped into our living rooms, and hopefully make some money in the process. And while watching a free web stream on NBC.com on your laptop may not seem drastically different than doing it on your Google TV, to the networks that's a terrifying proposition. Think of it this way: why would anyone even need a broadcast if they can just search and instantly play a free web stream the day after on the best screen in the house? You don't even need a DVR to time-shift anymore. So, naturally, most of the major networks have blocked GTV from streaming their web content, and only sad "this video cannot be played" boxes appear where your Modern Family stream should be. In essence, this is currently hamstringing the very heart of GTV. We hope soon they'll all find a way to play nice. Oh, the same goes for Hulu, too, kids.
Apps: The same complaint can be made of GTV as can any new platform: there's not enough being done with it--not yet. Out of the box, GTV has a small suite of apps, and for the most part their content isn't is particularly robust. Netflix is the main offender; you can only access your instant queue--no search, no recommendations--which is miles behind the leading Netflix integrations on the Xbox 360 and Apple TV. It's especially sad in comparison to Pandora, which has full functionality of the website. Still, developers are hard at work coding the next-gen of GTV apps, so hopefully this improves soon.
Browsing: While anything that will render in a Chrome browser will display in gorgeous high-def through GTV, using it for general-purpose web surfing is not ideal. Sure, we were able to load Facebook and PopSci.com easily enough, but navigating through links with a tiny pointer on a massive screen can be a frustrating experience. Stick to pre-programmed GTV web-based apps and their more user-friendly large buttons and fonts.
Integration: Almost there. While Google TV can search your guide, unless you have DISH Network, it won't play nice with your DVR. On our TimeWarner box, it could see upcoming listings for shows, but couldn't tell us if we had it recorded and saved locally, nor could we tell our box to record a particular show airing right from the Google TV menus.
The Price
$300 for the Logitech Revue box and keyboard.
The Veridct
It'll be interesting to see where GTV goes once its place in the home entertainment marketplace settles down--along with networks, of course. What'll be most interesting, though, is to see how developers use its SDK to create new, interactive apps. Given access to closed-caption information, a script could easily be run that live translates all the dialogue into any language Google Translate supports. Or, IMDB entries can be automatically linked to guide listings based on metadata and keywords. The key for those apps, though, is focus; this is not a gaming platform, nor is it a place to deal with text. Google TV is just that: TV from Google, with the TV first, Google second. A strong focus on media, video streams, and dynamic content will be what helps the platform truly shine.
Source: http://www.popsci.com/gadgets/article/2010-10/testing-goods-logitech-revue-google-tv
How to Create a Social Media Conversion System
How to Create a Social Media Conversion System
This content from: Duct Tape Marketing
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ducttapemarketing/nRUD/~3/-0YeZYirsvU/
YouTube CEO Chad Hurley Leaving Position To Take Advisory Role
I'm currently in Dublin, Ireland, for a (most excellent) event dubbed Founders, where I was invited to handle a fireside chat / interview with YouTube cofounder and CEO Chad Hurley earlier tonight. We had an interesting conversation about the company, although nothing particularly newsworthy came out of it, except for this little nugget: Hurley is moving to an advisory role at the Google subsidiary and will soon focus most of his attention on other projects. Hurley casually mentioned this when I asked if he still felt as motivated as he was in early 2005, when he started the company along with fellow ex-PayPal employees Steve Chen and Jawed Karim. 
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/iZOm9DZ-PKQ/
10 Questions That Will Always Make You Better
A guest post from Larry Brooks of Storyfix.com.
There are ten questions that will always make you a better blogger?even if you can?t always answer them.
It’s the asking, the awareness, and the empowering context established through asking, that sets a higher bar for your writing, your business and your life.
1. Are you willing to actually strive [...]
There are ten questions that will always make you a better blogger?even if you can?t always answer them.
It’s the asking, the awareness, and the empowering context established through asking, that sets a higher bar for your writing, your business and your life.
1. Are you willing to actually strive [...]
Post from: ProBlogger Blog Tips
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ProbloggerHelpingBloggersEarnMoney/~3/32Oi-X0Zzeo/
Myriad Appeals, Says Gene Patents Should Be Allowed
This will come as no surprise to anyone, but Myriad Genetics has officially appealed the ruling that invalidated gene patents. As you may recall, earlier this year, a court noted that genes are unpatentable, noting that they "are directed to a law of nature and were therefore improperly granted."
Myriad is appealing on two points. First, it's claiming that the people who sued have no standing, because there's no controversy since the company hadn't taken any action against the plaintiffs. That seems like a pretty weak argument, given that Myriad had made it clear that it would enforce its patents against anyone else who tried to do research or genetic testing on the specific BRCA1/2 genes. Second, Myriad is claiming that the patents are valid, because it connected not just the gene (which is unpatentable), but the isolated gene combined with the information that this mutation predicts breat and ovarian cancer (also, unpatentable by itself). Basically, Myriad is suggesting that tying two unpatentable things together make this patentable. That makes little sense, and hopefully the appeals court sees through it as quickly as the district court did. 
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Myriad is appealing on two points. First, it's claiming that the people who sued have no standing, because there's no controversy since the company hadn't taken any action against the plaintiffs. That seems like a pretty weak argument, given that Myriad had made it clear that it would enforce its patents against anyone else who tried to do research or genetic testing on the specific BRCA1/2 genes. Second, Myriad is claiming that the patents are valid, because it connected not just the gene (which is unpatentable), but the isolated gene combined with the information that this mutation predicts breat and ovarian cancer (also, unpatentable by itself). Basically, Myriad is suggesting that tying two unpatentable things together make this patentable. That makes little sense, and hopefully the appeals court sees through it as quickly as the district court did.
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