PenguinBlog

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2011-08-30T16:58:00.001-07:00

Who remembers when Internet Explorer became the default browser for the Mac? Hahaha. Oh good times.

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Microsoft shows off Internet Explorer 10 running on 1GHz ARM at MIX developer conference

2011-04-12T15:26:00.001-07:00

After painfully long updates between IE6, IE7, and IE8, Internet Explorer 9 was given notice it's successor is on the way. IE10 will bring CSS3 support, HTML5 support, and a few W3C APIs.

Typical for Microsoft, they were pretty tight lipped about the future of IE except to take a potshot at Chrome (and also Firefox) nothing that faster cadence (releasing more versions more often) does NOT mean more progress. True, but ideally it means more frequent security updates so...

The amazing thing about this preview was that IE10 (and therefore the version of Windows 7 running on the demo rig) was written to run on ARM. Exciting news.

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The Shrink Wrap Bandits

2011-04-01T16:24:00.001-07:00

See… not only was the joke itself epic. My coworkers played along making it even MORE epic.

The story of the Shrink Wrap Bandits: http://on.fb.me/e46o4X

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Get 20 GB Free Storage For One Year From Amazon

2011-03-29T10:02:00.001-07:00

We just told you about Amazon's new Cloud Player music streaming service. To sweaten the deal Amazon is running a promotion. If you buy an MP3 album from the Amazon MP3 Store, you get 20 GB of stroage free for one year from the date of purchase. After one year is up, you will drop down to the free 5 GB plan, and you will never be charged.

Get the full details here.

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Amazon Launches Online Music Streaming Service

2011-03-29T09:42:00.001-07:00

Simply upload your music to Amazon's servers and play them via the web or via Android. The new service dubbed Cloud Player works with the current Cloud Drive service which allows users to store any data up to 5 GB for free.

Google and Apple are rumored to be working on their own cloud-based players, but with the launch of Cloud Player, Amazon is the first to market.

Cloud Player works extremely well with the Amazon MP3 store, but can also handle music from post-DRM iTunes as well as other unencrypted music sources.

Cloud Player does not blow your mind, but rather gets the job done simply. Hopefully, this is an early release with more features to come.

Learn more about Amazon Cloud Drive and Amazon Cloud Player.

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O'Reilly Offers 50% Off Entire E-Book Catalog to Help Japan

2011-03-22T12:41:00.001-07:00

Many people know O'Reilly produces some of the best computer books in the world. Even better, they sell DRM-free e-books in a multitude of formats supported by many different e-Book Readers.

Today only (March 22) the typical Deal of the Day isn't just 50% off a particular book, but rather 50% off the entire e-book catalog with some of the proceeds going to aid Japan relief efforts.

Use the discount code -- DDJPN -- at checkout.

via Download Squad

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Happy Pi Day

2011-03-14T10:52:00.001-07:00

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Untitled

2011-03-08T12:38:00.001-08:00

Today I went on thesaurus.com and searched “ninjas”. The computer told me, “Ninjas cannot be found.” Well played, ninjas. Well played.”

via limlam8 via drapetomania

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A Win Is A Win... Except When It's A WIN!

2011-02-24T13:13:00.001-08:00

It's the sports situation every boy dreams about. You know, full-count in the bottom of the ninth or inbounding the ball down by two with 2.3 seconds left.

Imagine standing at the free-throw line in the last game of the season of your senior year with a chance to put your team up by one. Make the shot and play 3.3 seconds of defense to win the game. Think you can handle the pressure?

What if I told you the win would break a 310-game conference losing streak streching 26 years? How about the pressure now?

Ryan Elmquist is no stranger to accomplishment. Perfect ACT. Landed a job at Google. Helped the CalTech Beavers win a basketball game. In the last game of his career, Elmquist, sank his freethrow with 3.3 seconds left ending a losing streak that started before he was born.

"When you're president of Caltech, you witness scientific breakthroughs, Mars landings, and any number of other memorable events. Storming the court with Nobel laureate Bob Grubbs will certainly rank high on my list of Caltech memories."

--Dr. Jean-Lou Chameau, President, California Institue of Technology.

A win is a win. Unless a Nobel laureate storms the court. Then it's a WIN.

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Because We've Always Done It This Way...

2011-02-10T12:57:00.001-08:00

The following is an excerpt from an article written by James Bennett. It is a joke that should be in the preface of every LEAN book written. Read why we do things the way we've ALWAYS done things.

There’s an old joke, so old that I don’t even know for certain where it originated, that’s often used to explain why big corporations do things the way they do. It involves some monkeys, a cage, a banana and a fire hose.

You build a nice big room-sized cage, and in one end of it you put five monkeys. In the other end you put the banana. Then you stand by with the fire hose. Sooner or later one of the monkeys is going to go after the banana, and when it does you turn on the fire hose and spray the other monkeys with it. Replace the banana if needed, then repeat the process. Monkeys are pretty smart, so they’ll figure this out pretty quickly: “If anybody goes for the banana, the rest of us get the hose.” Soon they’ll attack any member of their group who tries to go to the banana.

Once this happens, you take one monkey out of the cage and bring in a new one. The new monkey will come in, try to make friends, then probably go for the banana. And the other monkeys, knowing what this means, will attack him to stop you from using the hose on them. Eventually the new monkey will get the message, and will even start joining in on the attack if somebody else goes for the banana. Once this happens, take another of the original monkeys out of the cage and bring in another new monkey.

After repeating this a few times, there will come a moment when none of the monkeys in the cage have ever been sprayed by the fire hose; in fact, they’ll never even have seen the hose. But they’ll attack any monkey who goes to get the banana. If the monkeys could speak English, and if you could ask them why they attack anyone who goes for the banana, their answer would almost certainly be: “Well, I don’t really know, but that’s how we’ve always done things around here.”

This is a startlingly good analogy for the way lots of corporations do things: once a particular process is entrenched (and especially after a couple rounds of employee turnover), there’s nobody left who remembers why the company does things this way. There’s nobody who stops to think about whether this is still a good way to do things, or whether it was even a good idea way back at the beginning. The process continues through nothing more than inertia, and anyone who suggests a change is likely to end up viciously attacked by monkeys.

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Canon Announces New Toys: Part 4 PowerShot Compacts

2011-02-07T21:00:00.001-08:00

I have a feeling some of the recommended cameras on Ken Rockwell's site may be changing soon, and that is good news for everyone. To go along with all the other announcements, Canon is giving consumers new pocket cameras.

Canon PowerShot SX230 HS
Canon ELPH 500 HS
Canon ELPH 300 HS
Canon ELPH 100HS

All four cameras get Canon's new HS system for better pictures in low-light situations. The cameras use a high-sensitivity sensor like in a DSLR to record better images in low-light, and this is the same system employed in the PowerShot G12 and PowerShot S95 except with a smaller sensor for compactness.

The Canon PowerShot SX230 will replace or sit just above the older PoweShot SX210 IS in the compact super-zoom range allowing 28-392mm equivalent range or 14x optical zoom. It can also record full 1080p HD Video with dynamic image stabilization. The camera finally adds a GPS sensor to record the locations of your photos.

The Canon ELPH 500 takes on a new model name and replaces the PowerShot (Digital ELPH) SD3500 IS bringing the ELPH name to the forefront from the 35mm film days. Like the SD 3500 IS the camera shoots 4.4x optical or 24-105mm equivalent with a fast f/2 lens when shooting 24mm for great low-light performance. The ELPH 500 packs a slew of new features controlled by the same touchscreen system as the SD 3500 IS including Super Slow Motion Movies, High-Speed Burst mode, Low Light mode, and Smart Auto for intelligent scene detection. Finally, for those desiring some control over their compact, the ELPH 500 offers Av and Tv modes to control your aperture or shutter speed.

The Canon ELPH 300 replaces the PowerShot SD 1400 IS as the supe-compact, mid-featured camera. The camera features the more traditional control of a Canon PowerShot rather than the touchscreen interface. The lens is more traditional lacking the fast f/2 wide aperture of the ELPH 500, but if you have owned any PowerShots you know what the lens is capable of. This camera should outshine with the new CMOS sensor behind the lens. The lens has 5x optical zoom or 24-135mm as well as Super Slow Motion Movie and High-Speed Burst mode. This is the smallest, lightest recent camera Canon offers (the SD780 IS is the smallest compact).

The Canon ELPH 100 brings the HS system to those on a budget. It gets most all of the features above except with a 28-112mm lens. For the value, this is a great little point-and-shoot camera.

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Canon Announces New Toys: Part 3 Lenses

2011-02-07T19:42:00.001-08:00

Well, unless you have deep pockets these new lenses probably will not affect you, but feel free to go out and rent. The first two are improvements of super-telephoto lenses the EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM and the EF 600mm f/4L IS II USM. Both get improved elements for better images specifically reducing chromatic abrasion as well as newer and improved IS systems. Each lens is also lighter and more durable than the lens they replace, but at $9,500 and $12,000 respectively the audience is limited.

The EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS II updates the kit lens for the Digital Rebel lines, but there are no enhancements in the optics or usability. DPreview.com reports only cost savings for Canon with no changes for the end-user.

Finally the EF 200-400mm f/4L IS USM Extender 1.4x telephoto zoom lens for those looking beyond the reach of the standard 70-200mm zooms offers a much faster and lighter substitution for the EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM lens. The new lens features f/4 throughout the zoom range as well as a built in Extender giving 280-560mm effective focal length.

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Canon Announces New Toys: Part 2 Speedlites

2011-02-07T19:08:00.001-08:00

To accompany the new Rebels, Canon announced the all-new Speedlite 320EX and the updated Speedlite 270EX II. Neither are particularly impressive speedlite units as the 580EX II and 430EX II will continue to see most sales, but the "more-powerful-flash-in-budget-and-small-size" segment gains a small update.

The Speedlite 320EX might excite some video shooters with the addition of a LED light, but the unit is too underpowered for serious use both for still or video photography. Check out LitePanels for a great video lighting solution for DSLRs.

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Canon Announces New Cameras, Lenses, and Speedlites: Part 1 DSLRs

2011-02-07T18:47:00.001-08:00

Canon announced updates to both of their consumer DSLR lines. The Rebel T3i will replace the Rebel T2i and entry-level Rebel T3 (notice the lack of the "i") will replace the Rebel XS.

The Rebel T3i is a modest improvement of the T2i, basically a T2i with an articulating screen. The internals are nearly identical to the T2i with the important exception of being able to wirelessly control off-camera Speedlites.

The Rebel XS, being nearly two-and-a-half years old looked extremely old compared to many other offerings making us wonder if it would be a one-off experiment in the entry-level DSLR category, but the Rebel T3 gives the new entry level segment something better than what consumers buying the Rebel T1i two years ago. The sensor is assumed to be sourced from the Rebel T1i, and the lighting and metering system match that of everything announced since the EOS 7D, namely 9-point autofocus and 63-point light metering.

The key to these new cameras is to make it easier for anyone to pickup and shoot with a DSLR. Creative Auto mode gets better explanations to each function and the new Automatic+ brings Canon's Scene Intelligent Auto technology from the PowerShot lines to the Digital Rebel. Note, that for anyone familiar with the workings and functions of a DSLR, these changes bear little improvement to you.

The new Digital Rebels will also include "filters" similar to they way Photoshop or iOS apps like Hipstamatic can add creative features to your shots. The Rebels will keep the original JPEG as well as the filtered JPEG for you.

Both cameras will feature a new kit lens, although there does not seem to be any improvement in the optics. Details suggest, the new lens only bears cost savings for Canon with negligible difference to the consumer. The Rebel T3i, however, will also be offered with a EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS lens which may interest some.

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IntoNow: The Shazam of TV Shows

2011-01-31T14:50:00.001-08:00

IntoNow launched its iOS application today which is able to identify 2.6 million broadcast TV airings. IntoNow will listen to what you’re watching and in four to twelve seconds the app returns the exact episode and whether or not the content is live or a re-broadcast.

Additionally, IntoNow allows one-touch access to show info, IMDb, iTunes and Netflix, and app notifications alert you to activities and comments from friends. IntoNow can optinally share what you are watching with your friends on Twitter and Facebook.

Learn more at IntoNow’s website or grab the app from the iTunes iOS App Store.

via Star Padilla and Mashable

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MPG (Miles Per Gallon) is a Stupid Metric

2011-01-28T16:00:00.001-08:00

Give me my MPGs! Everyone wants more MPGs because more is better. By itself the unit is easy to understand; simply, it tells you how many miles you can go on one gallon. It makes sense, but because of the nature of this ratio it causes some unusual misconceptions?

Answer the following:

Does a five MPG improvement (from 20 to 25) give you the same gas (money) savings as a five MPG improvement (from 25 to 30)?
Does comparing a SUV/Midsize Sedan (18 MPG versus 25 MPG) is the same as comparing a Midsize Sedan and Midsize Hybrid (25 MPG versus 32 MPG)?
Does every time you improve one MPG you save the same amount of gallons/money?

Let’s assume the following:

On average you drive 12,000 miles a year.
The price for a gallon of gas is $3.339.

Question 1:

A 20 MPG car means you will use 600 gallons in a year. (12,000/20=600)

600 gallons at $3.339 a gallon will cost you $2,003.40

A 25 MPG car means you will use 480 gallons in a year. (12,000/25=480)

480 gallons at $3.339 a gallon will cost you $1,602.72
You saved $400.68 in gas by driving a 25 MPG car versus a 20 MPG car.

A 30 MPG car means you will use 400 gallons in a year. (12,000/30=400)

400 gallons at $3.339 a gallon will cost you $1,335.60
You saved $267.12 in gas by driving a 30 MPG car versus a 25 MPG car.

The higher the MPG the less incremental savings you gain by moving up one MPG.

Question 2:

A 18 MPG car means you will use 666.67 gallons in a year. (12,000/18=666.67)

666.67 gallons at $3.339 a gallon will cost you $2,226.00

A 25 MPG car means you will use 480 gallons in a year. (12,000/25=480)

480 gallons at $3.339 a gallon will cost you $1,602.72
You saved $623.28 in gas by driving a 25 MPG car versus a 18 MPG car.

A 32 MPG car means you will use 375 gallons in a year. (12,000/32=375)

375 gallons at $3.339 a gallon will cost you $1,252.13
You saved $350.59 in gas by driving a 32 MPG car versus a 25 MPG car.

Each car is 8 MPG better than the other but your savings moving from a mid-size sedan to a mid-size sedan hybrid is only half the savings moving from a SUV to a mid-size sedan.

Question 3:

Moving from a 9 MPG car to a 10 MPG car saves you $445.20 a year
Moving from a 39 MPG car to a 40 MPG car saves you $25.68 a year

Gallons per Thousand Miles (G/TM)

Most of the world uses “Liters per 100 Kilometers” or “L/100km” and this is the US unit equivalent.

100 G/TM = 10 MPG (1,200 gal/year)
50 G/TM = 20 MPG (600 gal/year)
40 G/TM = 25 MPG (480 gal/year)
30 G/TM = 33.3 MPG (360 gal/year)
20 G/TM = 50 MPG (240 gal/year)

In this system, lower is better. Assuming gas prices of $3.339 per gallon, each time you lower 10 G/TM you will save $400 a year. This makes it very easy to compare the relative fuel costs of cars.

Plug-In Vehicles

Now, how should we compare plug-in vehicles? I don’t know. Electricity costs vary so widely and do not fluctuate in tune with gas prices, so what is true today may not be true tomorrow.

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Change Your Amazon.com Password Today

2011-01-27T13:27:00.001-08:00

Lifehacker and The Consumerist are reporting a flaw in Amazon’s login authentication system. Now is a good opportunity to change your password.

Whether or not the flaw actually affects you, it’s a good opportunity to think about how easy it is to break into your accounts. While most well known companies have security experts that make it extremely difficult for someone (even an employee) to figure out your password, many companies do very little to protect your personal data.

This being said, unless you’re using different passwords for every account you have, it’s a really good idea to change your password on occasion (more often is better). This way, if someone manages to grab your username and password, the timetable where he/she can do damage to your other accounts is minimized.

Of course, using different passwords for every site eliminates this security risk altogether, but most people do not. If you are interested in a Password Manager to track the different passwords you are using for every site, check out Lifehacker’s Five Best Password Managers. I use KeePass.

via Lifehacker and The Consumerist

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50,000 Miles for Continental MasterCard

2011-01-26T18:44:00.001-08:00

Continental and Chase give generous terms for this MasterCard offer. In 2012 the Continental OnePass and United Mileage Plus programs will merge, and this product will cease to exist. If you have been waiting to grab many Continental miles to roll into the new United, here is your chance.

If you wait until February 1^st you can register with Continental’s Mile-a-Thon offer and earn credits for applying for the card. The more credits you accumulate, the more miles you earn.

The credit card is standard. There is an $85 annual fee waived for the first year, and if you are not looking for a loan soon, you can cancel the card with very little determent to your longer term credit history.

You will get 50,000 bonus miles after your first purchase and 10,000 bonus miles if you spend more than $25,000 on the card for the year. You earn one mile for every $1 spent and two miles for every $1 spent on tickets purchased directly from Continental.

You receive your first checked bag free every time you fly on Continental and two President’s Club passes every anniversary.

It is not a great card, but it’s a perfect opportunity to pick up some miles.

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45 Delta SkyMiles per $1 at 1-800-Flowers

2011-01-25T14:00:00.001-08:00

Among other limited time offers for Valentine’s Day, you can get 45 Delta SkyMiles for every dollar you spend at 1-800-Flowers.

http://skymilesoffers.delta.com/dining_lto.php#1800flowers

via FlyerTalk Forums

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PBS Special Investigates the Outsourcing of Aircraft Maintenance

2011-01-21T11:42:00.001-08:00

PBS FRONTLINE and the Investigative Reporting Workshop examined the growing trend of outsourcing major airline repair work to lower-cost independent maintenance operations in the special Flying Cheaper.

The segment points out issues at one facility, but the safety records of US airlines suggest air travel is safer than ever before. What is the truth of the situation industry-wide? Obviously, finding glaring issues is good for production and entertainment, but how many of the major airlines are turning to incompetent subcontractors? Is this more of an issue for regional jet carriers? International carriers?

Obviously, airlines are in the business of transporting passengers and cargo. The aircraft, interiors, in-flight entertainment, avionics, engines, etc are all built by specialized sub-contractors. It makes sense that the maintenance of all those items could be handled with more care and at a lower cost by a specialized subcontractor, and true free-market competition has always demonstrated benefits.

As flyers we forget how dynamic the air transport industry can be. We like to have a carrier you can trust to take you anywhere, whether that be Dubai or Jackson Hole. Delta, United, and Continental provide that service, but to do it well they need to have a very diverse fleet of aircraft for all the different routings and passenger capacities. This means lots of different training for pilots, flight attendants, ground crews, and maintenance crews.

Look at United’s mainline fleet. Maintenance operations need to support the A319, A320, B744, B752, B763, and B772. Scheduling the right crews to the right aircraft is inefficient. For example, United only flies 24 B744s, so what does a B744 trained maintenance crew do when all the B744s do not need maintenance or FAA checks? You could train them on another airframe, but it increases the likelihood of getting confused or having to more frequently look up information which wastes time.

Rather imagine a maintenance company that specializes in B744s and services United, Lufthansa, Air New Zealand, ANA, Asiana, and Singapore. All are members of Star Alliance so there is a willingness to cooperate. All operate B744s and some airlines only in the single digits. The maintenance company would have facilities across the globe to support these clients so it makes relocating aircraft for repair significantly easier. You have crews who become experts on one airframe. It is better and cheaper for everyone involved.

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Light

2011-01-21T07:08:00.001-08:00

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JetBlue now offering 11% ISIC Discount

2010-11-15T10:55:00.001-08:00

JetBlue has partnered with ISIC to offer students an 11% discount on flights.

The International Student ID card (ISIC) costs $22 and is available for full-time students age 12 and over with a photocopy of a valid school ID or photocopy of transcript / report card / tuition bill for the current academic year. http://www.myisic.com

ISIC offers many small discounts for all sorts of travel, entertainment, retail, and cultural outlets and events including 10% off Target.com, 15% off Amtrak fares, 10% off Macys.com, See their website for a full list of discounts by city.

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Virgin America At It Again!

2010-10-26T10:09:00.001-07:00

Book by November 1 and fly between November 1 and February 15 with 7-day advance for amazing deals

http://www.virginamerica.com/search.do?method=exitHappier&cid=EM_elevate4...

For example:
Tuesday, November 9 to Tuesday, November 16
LAX-JFK Round Trip for $198.00 + 21.40 = $219.40 after taxes.

There is limited availability, so act fast!

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iPhone Pricing and Colors

2010-06-07T12:33:00.001-07:00

It's available in, surprise, black or white.

16GB for $199
32GB for $299

If your AT&T contract expires any time in 2010 you are immediately eligible for a new iPhone 4 at the same $199 or $299 prices if you renew your contract for another two (2) years.

The 8GB iPhone 3Gs will be $99.

On sale June 24, pre-orders June 15 shipping in 5 countries (US, France, Germany, UK, Japan)

18 more countries shipping in July
24 more in August
40 more in September.

The dock for iPhone 4 will be $29

Apple will be offering cases in many colors. No price listed.

iOS 4 will be available as an upgrade on June 21 for iPhone 3Gs and limited use on iPhone 3G.

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Meet FaceTime

2010-06-07T12:26:00.001-07:00

Apple is calling their video chat feature FaceTime which will allow you to chat from iPhone 4 to iPhone 4 over WiFI with no setup.

You can use the front or rear camera and use it in either portrait or landscape.

FaceTime will be Wi-Fi only in 2010 with cellular providers "getting ready for the future." Ball's in your court AT&T.

No word if you will be able to communicate with desktop client programs, iPads, or if developers (Skype, for example) will have access to the cameras for video chat "FaceTime is becoming an industry standard." Whatever that means.

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New Critical Flaw in Flash, Reader & Acrobat

2010-06-05T09:10:00.001-07:00

For what seems to be the billionth time, a critical flaw allows an attacker to take over an affected system. This kind of stuff does not help Adobe's case for keeping Flash.

http://www.adobe.com/support/security/advisories/apsa10-01.html

via Steve Gibson

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John Boswell's Symphony of Science

2010-06-04T15:00:00.001-07:00

If you need something to inspire you (or someone else) to do something sciencey, this is the ticket.

John Boswell does this in his spare time and has released five videos so far. Check out his website: http://symphonyofscience.com/

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My Card Reader Doesn't Work

2010-06-04T06:00:00.001-07:00

I LOL'ed:

via Gizmodo

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FTC Protecting Legacy Journalism at the Expense of Journalism

2010-06-03T15:00:00.001-07:00

The Federal Trade Commission is trying to save journalism and it posted it's finding as the New FTC Staff Discussion.

Perhaps the most interesting and distressing part of the entire 47 page document is the ommission of any new innovation with news (see CUNY New News Ecosystem). In fact, Jeff Jarvis notes that the word "blog" is only used once and only parenthetically.

Like any good government document, there is 47 pages of not very much. There are lots of suggestions, some extremely alarming, but the document does not end up endorsing them.

Despite the lack of endorsement, it's the perspective of the document that should worry everyone - technologists and journalists alike. The document focuses on newspaper, asking for forgiveness for ignoring broadcast, and simply ignores all else.

The FTC presents, "Additional intellectual property rights to support claims against news aggregators," going so far as calling aggregators "parasitic". The document rails against search engines but does not touch the new link economy. Neither Digg, Twitter, nor Facebook appear within the document.

The FTC further looks at extending copyright and limiting fair use, "difficult line-drawing being proprietary facts and those in the public domain." Please explain to me what exactly a proprietary fact is! Are we going to be able to own facts now?

Going directly against their own Competition Mission, the FTC proposes allowing news organizations to set prices to consumers and aggregators and other antitrust exemptions.

For better or for worse, the FTC also discusses government subsidies, creating a journalism AmeriCorps, funding local news, tax credits for employing journalists, citizen news vouchers, grants to universities for reporting, postal subsidy, adding a tax on ISPs to be redistrubted to "selected news purveyors", a tax on cell phones, a tax on the broadcast spectrum, a tax on advertising, creating a new tax status and hybrid "flexible purpose" corporations, and getting government to make information open and available.

Obviously it's not all bad, but there's still much to be concerned about in the document for technologists, journalists, and bloggers. Are we so sure the legacy institutions are the best solution going forward? Do we really need to be so proactive to protect them? Is there no better solution that works for everyone involved?

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