So bloggers are firmly among the guilty in the area of ignoring copyright: […] Bloggers, in general, have little respect for copyright laws and tend to snatch and grab anything out there as “theirs.” One blogger who was involved in this had possession of 12 videos that he was making available on his site. He […]
Category: Web/Tech
Watch out for tsunami relief email scams
The millions of dollars donated by individuals to relief efforts in Southeast Asia have brought criminals and scammers out of the woodwork, US government agencies and private anti-fraud groups warned last week, Internetworld.com reported. Internetworld quotes Jim Lanford, the co-editor of ScamBusters.org in an online alert, saying, “Within hours of the earthquake and tsunami, scams […]
Understanding copyright law is the hard part
In the past two weeks I’ve posted two commentaries about copyright – copyright myths and the inadequacies of copyright laws. In each, I argue that current copyright laws are inadequate protection of anyone’s intellectual property rights in the online world because it’s so easy to just grab someone else’s work. Equally, bloggers and website owners […]
The Hobson and Holtz Report – Podcast #2: January 10, 2005
Show notes for January 10, 2005. Welcome to our second weekly podcast, a 49:54-minute conversation recorded live via Skype from Concord, California, USA, and Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Download the file here (MP3, 22.9MB), or sign up for the RSS feed to get it and future shows automatically. (For this, you’ll need ipodder, software that lets […]
Blogosphere News starts with useful information
There’s a new news and conversation resource in town – Blogosphere News, started last month by Brad Jasper who also owns and runs the Blog Catalog blog directory. From a quick scan of the site, it looks good. Some good writers and some good topics being posted. I’ll add this one to my Feed Demon […]
New Yahoo desktop search, but I’ll pass on this one
Another entrant into the crowded desktop search market debuts today – Yahoo Desktop Search, available in beta for download now. I’m going to give it a miss. I’ve tried out just about all desktop search tools in the past few months – Google Desktop Search, Blinkx, X1 Desktop Search, Copernic Desktop Search, MSN Toolbar Suite. […]
iPod Shuffle: The new Official Cool
This could be a no-brainer decision for anyone (like me, for instance) contemplating getting a digital music player – get an iPod Shuffle. Launched this week at Macworld in San Francisco, the iPod Shuffle is a USB flashdrive-based player that costs just $99 for the one with 512 megs capacity and $149 for the one-gig […]
Skype saves you money, period
I know I evangelize the Skype internet phone service a great deal as a highly cost-effective communication tool, and I make no excuses for that! I just concluded a call with a business friend where we both use Skype. I’m here in The Netherlands, he’s there in the UK. We chatted for 45 minutes, totally […]
Oracle plans big cuts
Following completion of its PeopleSoft acquisition, Oracle is in the process of a mass layoff of staff that’s expected to cut thousands of jobs, Infoworld reports. And it’s not just PeopleSoft employees who will go – reports such as Infoworld’s talk only of ‘cuts’ and ‘layoffs’ without specifying which company. Some financial analysts are expecting […]
Smart apple
From a BBC News report today by BBC North America business correspondent Stephen Evans on what is it about Apple and its products that inspires such near-religious devotion from users: Clearly, [Apple] is getting a lot right. Its devotees (disciples?) swear by their products as being effective and easy to use. It’s just that there’s […]
Caveats with new Microsoft AntiSpyware
I’ve been using the new free Microsoft AntiSpyware tool released in beta last week. What impressed me in particular is it’s real-time preventative approach. Not only does it do what products like Ad-Aware do – searching, finding and killing nasty stuff on your PC – it also sits there in your system tray monitoring what’s […]
Doing the iPod shuffle
iPodlounge: Apple’s retail store in San Francisco sold 20,000 iPod shuffle units in its first four hours of availability this week, depleting its entire inventory. […] While some individuals purchased four, six, and nine of the 512MB, $99 units, the day’s record was apparently set by someone who purchased 24 at once. iPod shuffles are […]
Searls and Curry: iPod Shuffle not for podcasting
The talk about the iPod Shuffle, launched this week, just goes on. Here’s a different dimension – a focus on podcasting and why the Shuffle may not measure up for that use. Internetnews.com carries a story today, saying: […] But while a 40GB iPod or even a 20GB iPod mini is great for holding an […]
The business goal is the only goal
eWeek: After last year’s buyout of Scala Business Solutions, ERP and supply-chain vendor Epicor Software Corp. is now giving serious thought to more acquisitions, especially in vertical markets, said Epicor president and CEO George Klaus. Completed during the first half of 2004, Epicor’s purchase of Scala has turned out to be "a very, very good […]
Yes, use your iPod Shuffle for podcasts
The iPod Shuffle is not for podcasting, according to Doc Searls and Adam Curry. Yes it is, according to Eric Rice: The iPod Shuffle gives us the chance to be more creative. It gives people the chance to experience the idea of podcasts by virtually a zero-dollar investment. To me, the Shuffle’s a neat toy […]
Blogging or ‘horrendous journalism’
My post last Friday with caveats about Microsoft AntiSpyware has drawn the ire of one person who read that post here as well as the one republished by WebProNews. An email today from Anthony Shields begins: Your article, which is also found in an email from WebProNews at their site, is horrendous journalism. That got […]
Online ad market in Europe set for shake up
New York Times: A motor scooter in Manchester, an apartment in Amsterdam, a poster in Paris. All are available via Craigslist, an online bulletin board that presents a new challenge to the established players in the estimated $100 billion global market for classified advertising. This story in today’s NY Times highlights changes in a relatively […]
The Hobson and Holtz Report – Podcast #3: January 17, 2005
Show notes for January 17, 2005. Welcome to our third weekly podcast, a 54:28-minute conversation recorded live via Skype from Concord, California, USA, and Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Download the file here (MP3, 24.9MB), or sign up for the RSS feed to get it and future shows automatically. (For this, you’ll need ipodder, software that lets […]
Complaints about Apple prices in Europe spur online petition
ZDNet UK reports today that an online petition has been set up to put pressure on Apple to bring European prices for the new Mac mini in line with their US equivalents. The petition – created by and written by Timo Schöler and simply called Reasonable price for the Mac mini in the EU – […]
Long wait for iPod Shuffle
Reuters via eWeek: Just one week after launching the tiny iPod Shuffle, a lightweight and much cheaper model of [Apple’s] market-leading digital music player, customers face a wait of two to four weeks before their order is shipped, according to the company’s website on Tuesday. […] There is a two- to three-week wait for the […]