Q: I imported an Excel spreadsheet into Access 2003 Pro. The spreadsheet had the main row with titles that Access used as the field names. The first column is named Movies. One title in this column is The Santa Clause, and others contain the word "Santa." If I create a query with the criteria Santa in the Movies field it returns nothing at all. But if I type the whole name, e.g. The Santa Clause, it finds that movie. I would like to find all movies whose titles contain "Santa." I can't find the way. - Carlos Kruger.
A: The key point here is that an Access query is not the same as a search in Excel or Word. If you just type a value in the Criteria row it finds records that exactly match that value. You need to use a slightly different syntax to get the search you're after. Here are some examples.
Like "*Santa*" contains the word Santa (or santa)
Not "*Santa*" does not contain the word Santa.
Like "Santa*" begins with Santa
Like "S???a"a 5-letter word that starts with S and ends with a
Is Nullthe field is null
"" (just two quotes) not null but contains an empty string.
> "Santa"values that come after Santa alphabetically
"Santa" OR "Claus" equals one of those two values
IN("Curly", "Larry", "Moe") equals any of the listed values
As you can see, there are many possibilities!Neil J. Rubenking.
Friday, July 31, 2009
RateBeer: Pick, Drink, and Rate the Best Brews
If you're the type of person who corrects your friends at dinner when they order Budweiser and call it ale, or who believes that friends don't let friends drink Bud in the first place, RateBeer might already be one of your favorite sites. If not, the service is a beer rating community where the members submit their favorite beers, rate them, and then offer their beloved brews up to the whim of the community where other members try them and submit their own opinions. Members base their ratings on appearance, aroma, flavor, palate, and overall impression. If you're not a beer snob but want a tasty brew to match your next meal, RateBeer can provide you a few suggestions for quality frosty beverages.
RateBeer has been around for a while, but the site has one of the largest user-generated beer ratings and review database on the Web and sports a burgeoning social network of beer lovers at the same time. If you're a beer fan, you've likely seen the site's rating for your own favorite beer already, but there's more to the service than the beer ratings. The site was founded back in 2000 simply as a place for beer lovers to connect and discuss their favorite drinks, but the service has evolved over the years to be not only a repository on just about every widely distributed (and sometimes not) beer on the market, but also as a place where beer lovers from around the world come to learn about and discuss beer and the beer industry.
The service offers two levels of membership: free and premium. Premium members get enhanced site features like printable beer lists, brewer watch lists, and rating summaries and reviews sent to them. Additionally, premium members enjoy the site without ads, and see advanced statistics that only true beer lovers will appreciate. All members, both free and premium, can submit their own beer ratings, join the forums and discuss their favorite brews with other RateBeer members, submit new beers and breweries if they know one that's not represented on the site, and access RateBeer's vault of homebrew recipes and instructions.
If you're just looking for information on your favorite beer or want to know what's worth drinking according to the people in the know, you can browse and search the top beer list to find what you're looking for. The majority of the most popular beers aren't ones you would likely expect to find at your local chain restaurant or corner liquor store, but their rarity may have something to do with why they're so good. If you're looking for reviews of your favorite brews, try keyword searching the database, or check the list of top widely distributed beers. RateBeer also has lists of the top big new beers, the top seasonal beers, and the top 50 beers based on the site's "Beer Gods." The Beer Gods' list is only available to premium members. You can even narrow the search results of all of the lists by country or region.
If you want to know what to avoid, the site even boasts a "worst beers in the world" list and a "best of the beasts" list if you're curious how the experts rate the worst beers available. Unfortunately (and probably predictably), some of the worst beers in the world are some of the ones that are most widely available and that you can easily find in any corner bar or restaurant.
RateBeer also sports an interactive Google Map that lists breweries, pubs, and other must-see destinations for beer lovers all over the world. If you're planning a trip to Wisconsin for example, you might want to stop by the Silver Creek Brewing Company in Cedarburg, which received high ratings for ambience and service, not to mention its beer. If you're interested in connecting with other RateBeer members, the service has a calendar that's richly populated with beer festivals, brewery openings, and other events, all sorted by region and open to all members to contribute to.
RateBeer is one of those sites that were good at social networking before it was called "social networking." They brought together a group of people with a common interest and managed to create a destination that not only thrives, but is the Web's go-to resource for beer listings, ratings, beer-related events, and information.
RateBeer has been around for a while, but the site has one of the largest user-generated beer ratings and review database on the Web and sports a burgeoning social network of beer lovers at the same time. If you're a beer fan, you've likely seen the site's rating for your own favorite beer already, but there's more to the service than the beer ratings. The site was founded back in 2000 simply as a place for beer lovers to connect and discuss their favorite drinks, but the service has evolved over the years to be not only a repository on just about every widely distributed (and sometimes not) beer on the market, but also as a place where beer lovers from around the world come to learn about and discuss beer and the beer industry.
The service offers two levels of membership: free and premium. Premium members get enhanced site features like printable beer lists, brewer watch lists, and rating summaries and reviews sent to them. Additionally, premium members enjoy the site without ads, and see advanced statistics that only true beer lovers will appreciate. All members, both free and premium, can submit their own beer ratings, join the forums and discuss their favorite brews with other RateBeer members, submit new beers and breweries if they know one that's not represented on the site, and access RateBeer's vault of homebrew recipes and instructions.
If you're just looking for information on your favorite beer or want to know what's worth drinking according to the people in the know, you can browse and search the top beer list to find what you're looking for. The majority of the most popular beers aren't ones you would likely expect to find at your local chain restaurant or corner liquor store, but their rarity may have something to do with why they're so good. If you're looking for reviews of your favorite brews, try keyword searching the database, or check the list of top widely distributed beers. RateBeer also has lists of the top big new beers, the top seasonal beers, and the top 50 beers based on the site's "Beer Gods." The Beer Gods' list is only available to premium members. You can even narrow the search results of all of the lists by country or region.
If you want to know what to avoid, the site even boasts a "worst beers in the world" list and a "best of the beasts" list if you're curious how the experts rate the worst beers available. Unfortunately (and probably predictably), some of the worst beers in the world are some of the ones that are most widely available and that you can easily find in any corner bar or restaurant.
RateBeer also sports an interactive Google Map that lists breweries, pubs, and other must-see destinations for beer lovers all over the world. If you're planning a trip to Wisconsin for example, you might want to stop by the Silver Creek Brewing Company in Cedarburg, which received high ratings for ambience and service, not to mention its beer. If you're interested in connecting with other RateBeer members, the service has a calendar that's richly populated with beer festivals, brewery openings, and other events, all sorted by region and open to all members to contribute to.
RateBeer is one of those sites that were good at social networking before it was called "social networking." They brought together a group of people with a common interest and managed to create a destination that not only thrives, but is the Web's go-to resource for beer listings, ratings, beer-related events, and information.
Become a Screen @ctor
The dream of many a small town boy and girl was to head to New York City or Hollywood to break into acting. Sadly, for most would be stars and starlets, the dreams probably didn't come true. But if you still long to be famous, but lack things like ambition or talent, there's still hope.
Maybe you can't be an actor, but you can now be an @ctor--a lifelike 3D replica of yourself--which can even be put into actual vintage TV shows.
Stephen J. Cannel Productions and Big Stage Entertainment have partnered to offer a collection of vignettes from TV shows like The A Team and The Greatest American Hero (note: we didn't say there were quality TV shows!). And more importantly the Big Stage technology lets you create a lifelike 3D avatar of yourself that can replace a key role in the videos and photos.
These use snapshots taken with a standard digital camera, and the technology contours your face to create a "lifelike" 3D avatar called an @ctor. It is good campy fun, but just don't expect the full Forrest Gump effect, the beta version of Big Stage isn't quite up to it. But soon you might just be able to put yourself in a TV show and convince your friends that you really were one of the lead stars of a campy 1980's TV show.
So I pity the fool who doesn't want to go 3D.
Post By Peter Suciu
Maybe you can't be an actor, but you can now be an @ctor--a lifelike 3D replica of yourself--which can even be put into actual vintage TV shows.
Stephen J. Cannel Productions and Big Stage Entertainment have partnered to offer a collection of vignettes from TV shows like The A Team and The Greatest American Hero (note: we didn't say there were quality TV shows!). And more importantly the Big Stage technology lets you create a lifelike 3D avatar of yourself that can replace a key role in the videos and photos.
These use snapshots taken with a standard digital camera, and the technology contours your face to create a "lifelike" 3D avatar called an @ctor. It is good campy fun, but just don't expect the full Forrest Gump effect, the beta version of Big Stage isn't quite up to it. But soon you might just be able to put yourself in a TV show and convince your friends that you really were one of the lead stars of a campy 1980's TV show.
So I pity the fool who doesn't want to go 3D.
Post By Peter Suciu
SmartyPig: For Online Saving and Mooching
It's belt-tightening time in America, and that means budgeting and saving for the things we want/need/iPhone. SmartyPig is here to help: a Web site that lets you set specific financial goals and save money to reach those goals. It's even optimized for mooching off of loved ones
New Software to Drive Discussion Post Obama-McCain Debate
Just in time for the upcoming first Presidential debate Fairness, a non-partisan public interest organization, has released the latest version of its online discussion tool for post-event analysis. CriTweak 0.8 will go live following the debate on Friday, September 26 on ElectionDocs.com, where archives of McCain's and Obama's campaign speeches, position papers, and debate transcripts can be found.
Utilizing the app's unique 2-window interface, ElectionDocs will allow visitors to comment on any of the material they find noteworthy. All you have to do is click on a given passage and view all the relevant remarks and observations.
Last week the software was tested as a Masters-level class exercise by Prof. Brian Balogh of the University of Virginia's prestigious Miller Center of Public Affairs. "The quality and quantity of the students' comments on the speech were outstanding, much better than I expected," he said "Their ability to see and respond to each others' comments in context was the best part. Overall they were very enthusiastic about the software." Learn more about CriTweak here.
Utilizing the app's unique 2-window interface, ElectionDocs will allow visitors to comment on any of the material they find noteworthy. All you have to do is click on a given passage and view all the relevant remarks and observations.
Last week the software was tested as a Masters-level class exercise by Prof. Brian Balogh of the University of Virginia's prestigious Miller Center of Public Affairs. "The quality and quantity of the students' comments on the speech were outstanding, much better than I expected," he said "Their ability to see and respond to each others' comments in context was the best part. Overall they were very enthusiastic about the software." Learn more about CriTweak here.
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Stream Webcam Through Router
Q: I'm trying to get my Webcam to stream live over the Internet, but it will only stream to other computers that are connected to the same router. I was wondering are there any ways I can change the router settings for a Linksys BEFW11S4 so that it does stream live over the Internet? If so which settings do I need to change? - S. Spencer.
A: Yes, you can do that. Start by checking the IP addresses of the computers on your local network. At each computer, open a Command Prompt, enter IPCONFIG, and look for the IP Address line associated with Local Area Connection. Most likely they're in a range like 192.168.1.100, 192.168.1.101, and so on. Keeping the first three sets of numbers the same, choose an address that's a good bit higher in the last set of numbers, say, 192.168.1.140. Assign that IP address to the Webcam (how you'll do that depends completely on the webcam, but it should be simple).
Now log into the router's configuration pages--typically you do this by navigating to 192.168.1.1 in your browser and entering the administrator password for the router. The exact details of configuring the DMZ Host address may vary, but in my very similar Linksys router you click the Advanced link at the top and click the DMZ Host tab. Enter the webcam's IP address for the DMZ Host IP address and click Apply. This allows the webcam to skip the router's Network Address Translation. NAT is great to protect your computers from hackers, but it gets in the way when you want something like a streaming webcam feed. - Neil J. Rubenking.
A: Yes, you can do that. Start by checking the IP addresses of the computers on your local network. At each computer, open a Command Prompt, enter IPCONFIG, and look for the IP Address line associated with Local Area Connection. Most likely they're in a range like 192.168.1.100, 192.168.1.101, and so on. Keeping the first three sets of numbers the same, choose an address that's a good bit higher in the last set of numbers, say, 192.168.1.140. Assign that IP address to the Webcam (how you'll do that depends completely on the webcam, but it should be simple).
Now log into the router's configuration pages--typically you do this by navigating to 192.168.1.1 in your browser and entering the administrator password for the router. The exact details of configuring the DMZ Host address may vary, but in my very similar Linksys router you click the Advanced link at the top and click the DMZ Host tab. Enter the webcam's IP address for the DMZ Host IP address and click Apply. This allows the webcam to skip the router's Network Address Translation. NAT is great to protect your computers from hackers, but it gets in the way when you want something like a streaming webcam feed. - Neil J. Rubenking.
GetRidOfThings.com Helps You Lighten the Load
If you're looking for help getting rid of some things, like ways to properly dispose of a computer so your data doesn't come back to haunt you, or how to rid your garden of pesky pests, or looking for ways to help treat your Seasonal Affective Disorder, GetRidOfThings.com might be able to help. The service is all about helping you find ways to get rid of the things in your life that you know you're better off without, whether it's ants in the kitchen or sweat stains in your favorite clothes.
GetRidOfThings.com can help you with all of those little things that you need to get out of your life, whether they're significant problems like depression or pests in your home, or just annoying irritants like clogged drains and razor burn. The site's contributors have written dozens of articles on how to get rid of things you don't want, and you can click on any of the major categories on the side of the page to browse the sub-categories that may interest you.
For example, if you're looking for some stain removal advice, simply click on the "stains" category to see articles on how to get rid of specific types of stains like blood stains, mattress stains, rust stains, and more. The individual articles are tailored heavily towards your particular issue and richly detailed with suggestions, advice, and experience from a contributor who has been through what you're going through.
If you don't see an article directly relevant to the thing in your life that you'd like to get rid of, you can head into the forums to ask the community how to rid your life of whatever it is that's troubling you. Additionally, you can trust that the contributors revise and edit their articles as new information comes to light from comments and through the forums and they receive new suggestions that should be included in their article.
GetRidOfThings.com can help you with all of those little things that you need to get out of your life, whether they're significant problems like depression or pests in your home, or just annoying irritants like clogged drains and razor burn. The site's contributors have written dozens of articles on how to get rid of things you don't want, and you can click on any of the major categories on the side of the page to browse the sub-categories that may interest you.
For example, if you're looking for some stain removal advice, simply click on the "stains" category to see articles on how to get rid of specific types of stains like blood stains, mattress stains, rust stains, and more. The individual articles are tailored heavily towards your particular issue and richly detailed with suggestions, advice, and experience from a contributor who has been through what you're going through.
If you don't see an article directly relevant to the thing in your life that you'd like to get rid of, you can head into the forums to ask the community how to rid your life of whatever it is that's troubling you. Additionally, you can trust that the contributors revise and edit their articles as new information comes to light from comments and through the forums and they receive new suggestions that should be included in their article.
Update: Muxtape Temporarily Shutdown by...Selves
Online mixtape service, Muxtape, has been unceremoniously closed for the time being, but that whole thing about the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), well that seems to be one big, fat joke.
There's no reason or timing for the shutdown listed on the site, beyond a single, relatively hopeful sentence that reads, "Muxtape will be unavailable for a brief period while we sort out a problem with the RIAA."
The temporary shutdown is likely due, at least in part, to the recent rise in popularity of the site, which has been garnering a lot of buzz, including a slot on PC Magazine's Top 100 Undiscovered Sites.
UPDATE: "For the past several months, we have communicated concerns to Muxtape on behalf of our members," an RIAA spokeswoman said in an e-mail. "Muxtape has not yet obtained authorization from our member companies to host or stream copies of their sound recordings."
Wrote Muxtape on its Tumblr blog, "No artists or labels have complained. The site is not closed indefinitely. Stay tuned. Beta users of Muxtape For Bands: you are unaffected by this outage."
We're blaming the recent traffic generated by PC Mag for this one. And in the meantime, we're cobbling together a mixtape featuring "Won't Get Fooled Again." It's kind of our jam.
There's no reason or timing for the shutdown listed on the site, beyond a single, relatively hopeful sentence that reads, "Muxtape will be unavailable for a brief period while we sort out a problem with the RIAA."
The temporary shutdown is likely due, at least in part, to the recent rise in popularity of the site, which has been garnering a lot of buzz, including a slot on PC Magazine's Top 100 Undiscovered Sites.
UPDATE: "For the past several months, we have communicated concerns to Muxtape on behalf of our members," an RIAA spokeswoman said in an e-mail. "Muxtape has not yet obtained authorization from our member companies to host or stream copies of their sound recordings."
Wrote Muxtape on its Tumblr blog, "No artists or labels have complained. The site is not closed indefinitely. Stay tuned. Beta users of Muxtape For Bands: you are unaffected by this outage."
We're blaming the recent traffic generated by PC Mag for this one. And in the meantime, we're cobbling together a mixtape featuring "Won't Get Fooled Again." It's kind of our jam.
MixTube: Make Playlists from YouTube Audio
The folks behind MixTube were inspired when a disagreement with the RIAA shut down MuxTape last month. They wanted a way to continue making playlists of their favorite streaming music, but they didn't want to wait for MuxTape to sort out its issues with the RIAA to get the service back, so they developed MixTube, which functions largely the way MuxTape did. The major difference between the two services is that MixTube streams the audio used in your playlists from YouTube instead of hosting the tunes locally.
MixTube works the same way MuxTape did, and even looks like MuxTape. Once you sign up for an account, you can immediately begin creating and sharing your playlists through the service. YouTube already hosts a wealth of music and music videos, so MixTube simply streams the audio from those videos to your playlists. The service is free to use, and dodges the "music on demand" issue that the RIAA had with MuxTape by pulling its audio from an external source and functioning as a tool instead of a music repository.
When you land at MixTube, you can browse the most recently created and most viewed playlists right on the front page. If you see one that you like, you can build your own playlist based on the songs in it. If you're just curious about the creator's taste in music, you can click any of the songs to load and play them, and if you want to sit back and enjoy the tunes, you can listen to the entire playlist in one go. You can set the playlist to repeat, shuffle, or skip forward or back in the playlist if you missed a song or want to move forward to the next one.
Once you've created a playlist or found one that you want to share with friends, you'll have to send the link around to invite others to check it out. The service doesn't offer any capability to embed your playlist in another blog or site, or share your playlists off-site without directing people to your playlist page. Each song in your playlist is punctuated by a link to the YouTube video where the audio was sourced, and a link to purchase the song from Amazon MP3 if applicable.
Only time will tell if MixTube will survive the fate that befell MuxTape, but since MixTube doesn't offer comprehensive sharing features and doesn't host its own music, it's very possible the service may not raise the ire of the music industry. There's no shortage of MuxTape replacements however. FavTape and 8Tracks are some popular alternatives, but neither of them matches the look and feel of MuxTape the way MixTube does.
MixTube works the same way MuxTape did, and even looks like MuxTape. Once you sign up for an account, you can immediately begin creating and sharing your playlists through the service. YouTube already hosts a wealth of music and music videos, so MixTube simply streams the audio from those videos to your playlists. The service is free to use, and dodges the "music on demand" issue that the RIAA had with MuxTape by pulling its audio from an external source and functioning as a tool instead of a music repository.
When you land at MixTube, you can browse the most recently created and most viewed playlists right on the front page. If you see one that you like, you can build your own playlist based on the songs in it. If you're just curious about the creator's taste in music, you can click any of the songs to load and play them, and if you want to sit back and enjoy the tunes, you can listen to the entire playlist in one go. You can set the playlist to repeat, shuffle, or skip forward or back in the playlist if you missed a song or want to move forward to the next one.
Once you've created a playlist or found one that you want to share with friends, you'll have to send the link around to invite others to check it out. The service doesn't offer any capability to embed your playlist in another blog or site, or share your playlists off-site without directing people to your playlist page. Each song in your playlist is punctuated by a link to the YouTube video where the audio was sourced, and a link to purchase the song from Amazon MP3 if applicable.
Only time will tell if MixTube will survive the fate that befell MuxTape, but since MixTube doesn't offer comprehensive sharing features and doesn't host its own music, it's very possible the service may not raise the ire of the music industry. There's no shortage of MuxTape replacements however. FavTape and 8Tracks are some popular alternatives, but neither of them matches the look and feel of MuxTape the way MixTube does.
Clear Names From Excel
Q: I use Excel 2003 for tracking and managing my investments. There are separate worksheets for groups of stocks I own or have owned. The active holdings are linked to a single summary page. Over the years, I have somehow accumulated a long list of named ranges that were applicable once upon a time but no longer. When I move a sheet to another file (for example after selling a stock), I get an error message that such-and-such a name is duplicated on the sheet - what do I want to do. When I look at the defined range names list, there are many. I can go through each and delete each one separately. This takes time and is cumbersome. Worse, the next time I move a worksheet I get the same message again! Is there a way to do a wholesale housecleaning and get rid of all names in all worksheets? - Wayne Howard.
A: If a worksheet contains only data, no formulas, there's an easy way to strip out unwanted names, along with formatting, macros and anything other than the data. Save the worksheet as a .csv file, close it, re-open it, and save it as an .xls file with a new name - don't overwrite the original. This is the equivalent of saving a Word document as plain text. However, it's only good for one worksheet at a time and you mention having workbooks with many sheets.
In your case a simple macro will be a better solution. Select Tools | Macro | Macros from the menu, type a name for your macro, and click the Create button. Let's call it NoNames. Type in the three middle lines (Excel supplies the first and last) to make it look like this:
Sub NoNames()
A: If a worksheet contains only data, no formulas, there's an easy way to strip out unwanted names, along with formatting, macros and anything other than the data. Save the worksheet as a .csv file, close it, re-open it, and save it as an .xls file with a new name - don't overwrite the original. This is the equivalent of saving a Word document as plain text. However, it's only good for one worksheet at a time and you mention having workbooks with many sheets.
In your case a simple macro will be a better solution. Select Tools | Macro | Macros from the menu, type a name for your macro, and click the Create button. Let's call it NoNames. Type in the three middle lines (Excel supplies the first and last) to make it look like this:
Sub NoNames()
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Solve a Login Mystery
Q: Some time ago I had to using the recovery disks on my P4 PC, because my kids had filled it up with all kinds of crap, and it was misfiring. I must have done something wrong because every time I turn it on it gives me an error that it could not sign me in. It says "The System could not log you on. Make sure your User name and domain are correct, then type your password again. Letters in passwords must be typed using the correct case."
This message appears in front of the traditional log-on screen that requires the user to type a username and password. Once I click on OK on the dialog box, I can log in. I have tried a lot of things, short of redoing the recovery, with no success. - Mario Salazar.
A: This can happen if the system is set to automatically log on an account that no longer exists. To fix it, either set the system to automatically log into an existing account or disable automatic login. Here's how. Click Start, click Run, enter "control userpasswords2" (no quotes, and don't omit the 2 at the end). Probably the box "Users must enter a user name and password..." is not checked - if so, check it and click the Apply button. Now un-check the box and click OK. When prompted, enter the username and password that should automatically log in at startup. Or, to disable automatic login, un-check the box and click OK.
This message appears in front of the traditional log-on screen that requires the user to type a username and password. Once I click on OK on the dialog box, I can log in. I have tried a lot of things, short of redoing the recovery, with no success. - Mario Salazar.
A: This can happen if the system is set to automatically log on an account that no longer exists. To fix it, either set the system to automatically log into an existing account or disable automatic login. Here's how. Click Start, click Run, enter "control userpasswords2" (no quotes, and don't omit the 2 at the end). Probably the box "Users must enter a user name and password..." is not checked - if so, check it and click the Apply button. Now un-check the box and click OK. When prompted, enter the username and password that should automatically log in at startup. Or, to disable automatic login, un-check the box and click OK.
Can't Send E-Mail from Internet Explorer
Q: When I try to send a link or page from Internet Explorer by e-mail, I find that these options are grayed out. I am running Vista 32-bit Home Premium SP1 and am using Windows Live Mail as my mail client. I am running Internet Explorer 7. The only option that is available to me is to send a Shortcut to Desktop. How can I restore all the Send capabilities in Internet Explorer (which I reach by File | Send)?
I initially had a similar issue with sending by e-mail from Windows Explorer or from a Microsoft Office application; however, by applying a registry patch I received from Microsoft I was able to eliminate that problem. Perhaps there is a similar registry patch that would solve the above Internet Explorer problem. - Kenneth Hales.
A: No, the problem is Windows doesn't recognize that you have a default e-mail client defined. I don't use Windows Live Mail so I can't tell you precisely where to find this setting. If you dig into its Options dialog you should find something that refers to the default mail handler. In Windows Mail it's on the General tab of the Options dialog. There's a section for default messaging programs, and if your e-mail client isn't the default there's a button to make it the default for e-mail and for newsgroups. Set your e-mail client to be the default handler for mail and the problem in IE will go away. - Neil J. Rubenking.
I initially had a similar issue with sending by e-mail from Windows Explorer or from a Microsoft Office application; however, by applying a registry patch I received from Microsoft I was able to eliminate that problem. Perhaps there is a similar registry patch that would solve the above Internet Explorer problem. - Kenneth Hales.
A: No, the problem is Windows doesn't recognize that you have a default e-mail client defined. I don't use Windows Live Mail so I can't tell you precisely where to find this setting. If you dig into its Options dialog you should find something that refers to the default mail handler. In Windows Mail it's on the General tab of the Options dialog. There's a section for default messaging programs, and if your e-mail client isn't the default there's a button to make it the default for e-mail and for newsgroups. Set your e-mail client to be the default handler for mail and the problem in IE will go away. - Neil J. Rubenking.
Best TV on the Web: Lexus Shows Web Therapy
Ready for another comedy of discomfort, watching people who are creepy beyond belief and don't know it, trying to negotiate the world around them? Then step right up for the first three sessions with online therapist, Fiona Wallice, in Web Therapy. As played by Lisa Kudrow -- famed for her years on Friends and less-so for her more recent HBO discomfort-com The Comeback -- Wallice is a self-serving wacko who, in these three episodes at least, is counseling a former paramour she'd like to reclaim. And, as per the conceit of the show, she does these therapy sessions via webcam.
What does Lexus have to do with it? The car maker launched its L/Studio site to feature shows like Web Therapy. In the old days, you watched TV shows to get ads; now you get to the ads to get some TV.
Web Therapy is written by Kudrow and co-written and directed by Don Roos, who directed her in a couple of films, including the excellent The Opposite of Sex. Her patient/ex in the first three webisodes -- there will be 15 total -- is played by Tim Bagley, one of those Hollywood everymen you'll instantly recognize and never be able to place ("Hey, it's that guy!")
Coming in October on L/Studio is Puppy Love, a 50-episode Web series about people and their relationships. With their dogs, mostly. It'll star former X-man Famke Janssen. And more actors you won't be able to place. Plus, a lot of awesome puppy dogs. The site has the trailer up right now.
What does Lexus have to do with it? The car maker launched its L/Studio site to feature shows like Web Therapy. In the old days, you watched TV shows to get ads; now you get to the ads to get some TV.
Web Therapy is written by Kudrow and co-written and directed by Don Roos, who directed her in a couple of films, including the excellent The Opposite of Sex. Her patient/ex in the first three webisodes -- there will be 15 total -- is played by Tim Bagley, one of those Hollywood everymen you'll instantly recognize and never be able to place ("Hey, it's that guy!")
Coming in October on L/Studio is Puppy Love, a 50-episode Web series about people and their relationships. With their dogs, mostly. It'll star former X-man Famke Janssen. And more actors you won't be able to place. Plus, a lot of awesome puppy dogs. The site has the trailer up right now.
Remove Unwanted Dual Boot in Vista
Q: I purchased two copies of Vista, "Home Premium 32 bit" and "Vista's Ultimate 64 bit". I was not sure which one I wanted, so I took two 500GB hard drives and put one on each. After a few days of switching back and forth from one boot drive to the other in the BIOS, I decided which OS I wanted. But now it comes up with a dual-boot message at startup. I've removed the other drive, but I am still getting the dual boot. How can I remove this without starting from scratch and losing everything. Can I do this without a large headache? - William Watson.
A: Cleaning up an unwanted dual boot is a lot easier in Windows XP. The MSCONFIG utility has the ability to automatically delete dual-boot information for any operating systems that are no longer present. See "Remove Windows 98 from Dual-Boot" for the skinny on this technique. In Vista it's rather more of an effort, but you can still do it.
Click Start and type CMD, but don't press Enter. You'll see cmd.exe up above; right-click it and choose "Run as Administrator". When the Command Prompt opens enter the command "BCDEDIT /enum" (no quotes). You should see several entries including one labeled Windows Boot Manager and two labeled Windows Boot Loader - the latter two represent the two operating systems. There may be other items listed.
Each item will have a number of lines under it including an identifier line, like "identifier {current}". Probably the identifier for the Dear Departed OS will take the form of a GUID (globally unique identifier) like cbd971bf-b7b8-4885-951a-fa03044f5d71. The command "BCDEDIT /delete {identifier} /cleanup" (no quotes) should do the job - here you will replace {identifier} with the actual identifier of the unwanted OS.
This is not something I have done myself; I've just read the instructions you get when you enter BCDEDIT /? and perused Microsoft's documentation on the web. BCDEDIT will not remove the active operating system, so you should safe from mistakes. But I'd be remiss if I said there was no chance of screwing up. Why couldn't it be simple, the way it is in XP? - Neil J. Rubenking.
A: Cleaning up an unwanted dual boot is a lot easier in Windows XP. The MSCONFIG utility has the ability to automatically delete dual-boot information for any operating systems that are no longer present. See "Remove Windows 98 from Dual-Boot" for the skinny on this technique. In Vista it's rather more of an effort, but you can still do it.
Click Start and type CMD, but don't press Enter. You'll see cmd.exe up above; right-click it and choose "Run as Administrator". When the Command Prompt opens enter the command "BCDEDIT /enum" (no quotes). You should see several entries including one labeled Windows Boot Manager and two labeled Windows Boot Loader - the latter two represent the two operating systems. There may be other items listed.
Each item will have a number of lines under it including an identifier line, like "identifier {current}". Probably the identifier for the Dear Departed OS will take the form of a GUID (globally unique identifier) like cbd971bf-b7b8-4885-951a-fa03044f5d71. The command "BCDEDIT /delete {identifier} /cleanup" (no quotes) should do the job - here you will replace {identifier} with the actual identifier of the unwanted OS.
This is not something I have done myself; I've just read the instructions you get when you enter BCDEDIT /? and perused Microsoft's documentation on the web. BCDEDIT will not remove the active operating system, so you should safe from mistakes. But I'd be remiss if I said there was no chance of screwing up. Why couldn't it be simple, the way it is in XP? - Neil J. Rubenking.
CTIA Fall: Hands-On With QuickOffice, MS Office for iPhone
At the CTIA Fall trade show today, I got a quick look at the latest state of QuickOffice, one of the two Microsoft Office-compatible suites being developed for the iPhone. It isn't quite ready yet; right now it can edit Microsoft Excel documents, but only read Microsoft Word documents.
The biggest challenge with creating an iPhone office suite, it seems, is dealing with the iPhone's wacky file system issues. Each iPhone app has its own file storage space, and the apps can't access each others' spaces. So you can't save an e-mail attachment or something from Safari into a public folder to be edited by QuickOffice, for instance.
QuickOffice tries to get around the problem with an extra app, QuickAccess. QuickAccess lets you download documents from MobileMe, Google Docs or other shared Web folders to be accessed by QuickOffice, and then to reupload your edited documents to the Web. Because QuickAccess shares a developer signature with QuickOffice, apparently the three programs can all share files.
I saw a few sample spreadsheets in QuickSheet, and yes, it was quick - you can zoom, scroll, and shrink your view using the usual iPhone gestures. Tapping on a cell lets you edit it. QuickWord, meanwhile, showed Word documents with formatting intact; editing is coming soon, apparently. But until Apple starts letting these programs interact with e-mail, it's going to be a little awkward using documents on your iPhone. Find some more screen shots after the jump.
The biggest challenge with creating an iPhone office suite, it seems, is dealing with the iPhone's wacky file system issues. Each iPhone app has its own file storage space, and the apps can't access each others' spaces. So you can't save an e-mail attachment or something from Safari into a public folder to be edited by QuickOffice, for instance.
QuickOffice tries to get around the problem with an extra app, QuickAccess. QuickAccess lets you download documents from MobileMe, Google Docs or other shared Web folders to be accessed by QuickOffice, and then to reupload your edited documents to the Web. Because QuickAccess shares a developer signature with QuickOffice, apparently the three programs can all share files.
I saw a few sample spreadsheets in QuickSheet, and yes, it was quick - you can zoom, scroll, and shrink your view using the usual iPhone gestures. Tapping on a cell lets you edit it. QuickWord, meanwhile, showed Word documents with formatting intact; editing is coming soon, apparently. But until Apple starts letting these programs interact with e-mail, it's going to be a little awkward using documents on your iPhone. Find some more screen shots after the jump.
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
MS Office for Android G1 is Coming; MS Exchange, Maybe Not
The T-Mobile G1 may have some serious problems getting traction with working folk because of two key, missing features: lack of Microsoft Exchange e-mail support and lack of Microsoft Office document support.
Quickoffice says they're on the case for MS Office support, and working as fast as they can. Since they're trying to do Blackberry, iPhone and Symbian clients, too, their manpower is limited, they said.
"We're currently developing our software for the Android platform and are very excited by the promise we're seeing with the ecosystem. The openness of the platform will help third party developers, including Quickoffice, build robust, applications for the device. We believe the G1 phone addresses consumer demands for devices with a slick user experience and high-quality applications, and are looking forward to being a part of system," said Paul Moreton, VP of product management at Quickoffice.
Dataviz, makers of DocumentsToGo, said they aren't working on an Android product right now.
Unfortunately, we don't have as happy a tale to tell about Exchange support. We asked both QuickOffice and DataViz (both of whom have worked with Exchange on other platforms) whether they were building Exchange conduits for Android. Both companies said no. Who do you think might step up to the plate?
Quickoffice says they're on the case for MS Office support, and working as fast as they can. Since they're trying to do Blackberry, iPhone and Symbian clients, too, their manpower is limited, they said.
"We're currently developing our software for the Android platform and are very excited by the promise we're seeing with the ecosystem. The openness of the platform will help third party developers, including Quickoffice, build robust, applications for the device. We believe the G1 phone addresses consumer demands for devices with a slick user experience and high-quality applications, and are looking forward to being a part of system," said Paul Moreton, VP of product management at Quickoffice.
Dataviz, makers of DocumentsToGo, said they aren't working on an Android product right now.
Unfortunately, we don't have as happy a tale to tell about Exchange support. We asked both QuickOffice and DataViz (both of whom have worked with Exchange on other platforms) whether they were building Exchange conduits for Android. Both companies said no. Who do you think might step up to the plate?
Muxtape Founder Explains the Takedown
The Web finally gets to find out what happened to Muxtape two months ago, courtesy of a letter written by founder Justin Ouellette and posted on Muxtape.com. The letter outlines the short history of the playlist-making service, including talks Ouellette was conducting with the major labels at the time of the takedown. Seems the RIAA didn't know/didn't care that Muxtape was already in talks with the labels, and demanded that Amazon Web Services shut down the servers that Muxtape was hosted on.
Was Muxtape legal? Well, there's some disagreement on that issue, according to Ouellette, who went on to write:
In the end, Muxtape's legality was moot. I didn't have any money to defend against a lawsuit, just or not, so the major labels had an ax over my head either way. I always told myself I'd remove any artist or label that contacted me and objected, no questions asked. Not a single one ever did. On the contrary, every artist I heard from was a fan of the site and excited about its possibilities. I got calls from the marketing departments of big labels whose corporate parents were supposed to be outraged, wanting to know how they get could their latest acts on the home page.
At the end of the day, it seems like just another example of intra-music-industry friction; one in a long line of entertainment industry missteps. At least in Muxtape's case, there were some fans within the industry who could see an easy marketing opportunity instead of a den of thieves.
So what's next? Ouellette's letter says he's backed away from the negotiating table with the labels, and instead will focus the service on providing tools for indie bands to establish an online presence.
I've got an e-mail dialogue going with Ouellette and will give you more of his take on it just as soon as I can.
Was Muxtape legal? Well, there's some disagreement on that issue, according to Ouellette, who went on to write:
In the end, Muxtape's legality was moot. I didn't have any money to defend against a lawsuit, just or not, so the major labels had an ax over my head either way. I always told myself I'd remove any artist or label that contacted me and objected, no questions asked. Not a single one ever did. On the contrary, every artist I heard from was a fan of the site and excited about its possibilities. I got calls from the marketing departments of big labels whose corporate parents were supposed to be outraged, wanting to know how they get could their latest acts on the home page.
At the end of the day, it seems like just another example of intra-music-industry friction; one in a long line of entertainment industry missteps. At least in Muxtape's case, there were some fans within the industry who could see an easy marketing opportunity instead of a den of thieves.
So what's next? Ouellette's letter says he's backed away from the negotiating table with the labels, and instead will focus the service on providing tools for indie bands to establish an online presence.
I've got an e-mail dialogue going with Ouellette and will give you more of his take on it just as soon as I can.
Q
The Muxtape founder just responded to some questions I e-mailed him, and his comments shed a little more light on the letter he posted on Muxtape (which is a fascinating read; do check it out). Here's what he had to say:
Any plans to work with the labels again with your new project?
Absolutely. I'm mainly aiming for independent and unsigned artists,
but Muxtape will have something to offer bands and labels of all
sizes. I certainly won't turn anyone away.
Can you tell a little more about how the new Muxtape will differentiate itself from band-centric services like ReverbNation, iLike, and MySpace? And how serendipitous music discovery will be facilitated under the new model?
All the current offerings are too complicated, both to use and present yourself as an artist. Muxtape's goal is to make the process of getting your band online as simple as it can possibly be. Context is extremely important, and my guess is that there are a lot of bands who are choking on the clutter and advertising on MySpace and related
sites and currently have nowhere to turn. The new Muxtape will be as focused and polished as ever.
The Muxtape idea's been copied 10 times over by now...is there any hope that the RIAA won't get to the copycats too?
I'm really curious to see what happens. So far none of the ripoffs have tried to copy what I consider the most crucial element of the original site, the ability to upload your own songs. There's a lot of hiding behind others' coattails, be it seeqpod or tumblr or whatever else, so I think the fate of the copycats lies with those middlemen.
Any plans to work with the labels again with your new project?
Absolutely. I'm mainly aiming for independent and unsigned artists,
but Muxtape will have something to offer bands and labels of all
sizes. I certainly won't turn anyone away.
Can you tell a little more about how the new Muxtape will differentiate itself from band-centric services like ReverbNation, iLike, and MySpace? And how serendipitous music discovery will be facilitated under the new model?
All the current offerings are too complicated, both to use and present yourself as an artist. Muxtape's goal is to make the process of getting your band online as simple as it can possibly be. Context is extremely important, and my guess is that there are a lot of bands who are choking on the clutter and advertising on MySpace and related
sites and currently have nowhere to turn. The new Muxtape will be as focused and polished as ever.
The Muxtape idea's been copied 10 times over by now...is there any hope that the RIAA won't get to the copycats too?
I'm really curious to see what happens. So far none of the ripoffs have tried to copy what I consider the most crucial element of the original site, the ability to upload your own songs. There's a lot of hiding behind others' coattails, be it seeqpod or tumblr or whatever else, so I think the fate of the copycats lies with those middlemen.
MixMatchMusic: Make New Tunes with Other Musicians
Laptop DJs and serious musicians alike benefit from inspiration and collaboration with their peers, friends, and other musicians. Similarly, music fans love the hybrid tunes that come out of those collaborations, and the new music created when a third party takes two tracks and mashes them up.
At MixMatchMusic, mashing up people's tunes isn't merely condoned--it's encouraged. If you're a musician, you can contribute your own tracks to the community, borrow music from other musicians, collaborate with them to produce new music, and lend your own sound to others to see what they do with it.
MixMatchMusic was designed to give independent and growing musicians a place to collaborate with others and play with each others' music. When you sign up for an account at MixMatchMusic, you open the door to a wealth of music that you can mix, tweak, and mash up with other tunes available on the site. You can also upload your own tunes to contribute to the community or use in your own audio experiments.
Similarly, MixMatchMusic also sports lightweight audio-editing applications designed to make it easier for musicians to create their tunes. The service has a remix wizard that you can embed into your own blog or Web site and allow your visitors and friends to mix and mashup your tunes, or you can use the MixMaker, the site's audio editor, to make new music using all of the tracks available on the site.
The MixMaker is remarkably powerful for being a free, Web-based tool. It allows you to sequence your tunes, import tunes to mix, and edit them as though you were working with a desktop sound editor. You can bring in multiple audio tracks, mix them together, cut, splice, copy, and move individual audio tracks around in a drag-and-drop interface. If you're looking for effects, filters, and advanced audio editing tools you'll be disappointed by the MixMaker, but it does give you the basic tools needed to mashup tracks and create lengthy mixes out of the tunes available.
In addition to giving musicians tools to mix and mash up each others' music, MixMatchMusic also has a social network that allows musicians to connect with one another, get feedback on their work, and put their work on a dedicated page where they can connect with the fans that support them. MixMatchMusic also allows you to profit from and distribute your tunes by offering them for remix on the site or opening up your music to fans or other artists on the site to purchase.
You don't have to be a musician to enjoy the music at MixMatchMusic, but you'll certainly reap the benefits of the site's collaborative mission and music editing tools if you are. At the same time, anyone can sign up for the service; there's a community of amateur musicians behind the service that don't cringe when they hear "share" and "music" in the same sentence.
At MixMatchMusic, mashing up people's tunes isn't merely condoned--it's encouraged. If you're a musician, you can contribute your own tracks to the community, borrow music from other musicians, collaborate with them to produce new music, and lend your own sound to others to see what they do with it.
MixMatchMusic was designed to give independent and growing musicians a place to collaborate with others and play with each others' music. When you sign up for an account at MixMatchMusic, you open the door to a wealth of music that you can mix, tweak, and mash up with other tunes available on the site. You can also upload your own tunes to contribute to the community or use in your own audio experiments.
Similarly, MixMatchMusic also sports lightweight audio-editing applications designed to make it easier for musicians to create their tunes. The service has a remix wizard that you can embed into your own blog or Web site and allow your visitors and friends to mix and mashup your tunes, or you can use the MixMaker, the site's audio editor, to make new music using all of the tracks available on the site.
The MixMaker is remarkably powerful for being a free, Web-based tool. It allows you to sequence your tunes, import tunes to mix, and edit them as though you were working with a desktop sound editor. You can bring in multiple audio tracks, mix them together, cut, splice, copy, and move individual audio tracks around in a drag-and-drop interface. If you're looking for effects, filters, and advanced audio editing tools you'll be disappointed by the MixMaker, but it does give you the basic tools needed to mashup tracks and create lengthy mixes out of the tunes available.
In addition to giving musicians tools to mix and mash up each others' music, MixMatchMusic also has a social network that allows musicians to connect with one another, get feedback on their work, and put their work on a dedicated page where they can connect with the fans that support them. MixMatchMusic also allows you to profit from and distribute your tunes by offering them for remix on the site or opening up your music to fans or other artists on the site to purchase.
You don't have to be a musician to enjoy the music at MixMatchMusic, but you'll certainly reap the benefits of the site's collaborative mission and music editing tools if you are. At the same time, anyone can sign up for the service; there's a community of amateur musicians behind the service that don't cringe when they hear "share" and "music" in the same sentence.
Monday, July 27, 2009
Twitter Politics -- Just What We Don't Need
eightfold - So McCain's excuse for running lies on TV was that Obama wouldn't go to town halls? And now he's refusing to debate? Huh? 37 minutes ago
markfrisk - Wow. Conservative National Review columnist calls for Palin to drop out. Says she's "Clearly Out Of Her League." http://twurl.nl/g7n4t7 36 minutes ago
If this is the sort of "discussion" that gives you the dry heaves, you might want to move on. But for those political junkies who can't get enough knee-jerk punditry, click on over to election.twitter.com, the Twitter microsite for political coverage. Personally, I wish Twitter would just scrap the whole idea altogether -- 140 characters isn't nearly enough for any sort of meaningful commentary, let alone debate, on the substantive issues that should be driving this election. But it's just long enough for "lipstick on a pig" rhetoric and mean-spirited sniping on Gov. Palin's choice of baby names.
On a more relevant note, Twitter has also added a list of topics to the top of the page, which will serve as a filter for related Tweets that will show up as a live feed. "During the first presidential debate in Oxford, Mississippi and each subsequent debate leading up to and beyond election day, Twitter will be performing real-time algorithmic analysis on millions of unedited public reactions," Twitter wrote in a blog post Thursday.
The topics at the top of the page are updated every fifteen minutes, according to Twitter. The official McCain and Obama accounts are updated as the candidates (and staff) post Tweets, and other "notable" accounts will occasionally be highlighted.
markfrisk - Wow. Conservative National Review columnist calls for Palin to drop out. Says she's "Clearly Out Of Her League." http://twurl.nl/g7n4t7 36 minutes ago
If this is the sort of "discussion" that gives you the dry heaves, you might want to move on. But for those political junkies who can't get enough knee-jerk punditry, click on over to election.twitter.com, the Twitter microsite for political coverage. Personally, I wish Twitter would just scrap the whole idea altogether -- 140 characters isn't nearly enough for any sort of meaningful commentary, let alone debate, on the substantive issues that should be driving this election. But it's just long enough for "lipstick on a pig" rhetoric and mean-spirited sniping on Gov. Palin's choice of baby names.
On a more relevant note, Twitter has also added a list of topics to the top of the page, which will serve as a filter for related Tweets that will show up as a live feed. "During the first presidential debate in Oxford, Mississippi and each subsequent debate leading up to and beyond election day, Twitter will be performing real-time algorithmic analysis on millions of unedited public reactions," Twitter wrote in a blog post Thursday.
The topics at the top of the page are updated every fifteen minutes, according to Twitter. The official McCain and Obama accounts are updated as the candidates (and staff) post Tweets, and other "notable" accounts will occasionally be highlighted.
Lessig, Bloggers, Activists Call for Open Debates
A collection of bloggers, political activists, and other technology luminaries sent a letter to both presidential candidates on Friday asking them to make the debates truly open to the public.
Lawrence Lessig, the founder for the Center for Internet and Society joined Craig Newmark, Jimmy Wales and bloggers from both sides of the aisle in calling for the "wisdom of crowds" to be used as a mechanism for deciding questions used at the second, town-hall presidential debate to be held on Oct. 7.
There, presidential candidates Sen. John McCain and Sen. Barack Obama will be asked a series of questions crafted by the public, but selected by the media. The authors of the letter would like the ability to let the most popular questions "bubble up" to where they would be used in the debate.
Coincidentally, Google released a tool to do just that on Wednesday: Google Moderator, designed by Taliver Heath as part of his "20%" project at Google. (Google asks its employees to spend 20 percent of their work time designing their own, self-guided projects.)
"I designed a tool in my 20% time that would allow anyone attending a tech talk to submit a question, and then give other participants a way to vote on whether or not that question should be asked," Heath wrote in a blog post Wednesday. "This way, the most popular and relevant questions would rise to the top so that the presenter or the moderator of an event could run the discussion more efficiently and in a transparent manner."
The presidential debates are actually run by the Commission on Presidential Debates, who work with various media organizations and the candidates to set the number, time, location, and format of the debates. The letter's authors appear to believe that the candidates themselves can make the change if they both agree.
"But we do agree that in order for Americans to make the best decision for president, we need open debates that are "of the people" in the ways described above," the letter concludes. "You have the power to make that happen, and we ask you to do so."
The full text of the letter appears below. Open Debate Coalition
Dear Senator McCain and Senator Obama,
We are a coalition of people and organizations across the ideological spectrum asking you to make this year's presidential debates more "of the people" than ever before by bringing them more fully into the Internet age.
Specifically, we ask you to embrace these two "open debate" principles for the 2008 debates:
The presidential debates are for the benefit of the public. Therefore, the right to speak about the debates ought to be "owned" by the public, not controlled by the media.
During the primaries, a large coalition asked that media companies release rights to presidential debate video to ensure that key moments can be legally blogged about, shared on YouTube, or otherwise shared without fear of legal repercussion.
CNN, ABC, and NBC agreed to release video rights. But one media company threatened legal action against Senator McCain for using a debate clip to spread a message. Such control over political speech is inconsistent with our democracy.
We therefore call upon both candidates to commit to a principle that whenever you debate publicly, the raw footage of that debate will be dedicated to the public domain. Those in charge of the video feed should be directed to make it free for anyone to use.
"Town hall" Internet questions should be chosen by the people, not solely by the media.
The two campaigns recently said of the October 7 debate, "In the spirit of the Town Hall, all questions will come from the audience (or Internet), and not the moderator." We agree with the spirit of this statement. In order to ensure that the Internet portion of this debate is true bottom-up democracy, the format needs to allow the public to help select the questions in addition to asking them.
This cycle's YouTube debates were a milestone for Internet participation in presidential debates. But they put too much discretion in the hands of gatekeepers. Many of the questions chosen by TV producers were considered gimmicky and not hard-hitting enough, and never would have bubbled up on their own.
This "bubble up" idea is the essence of the Internet as we know it. The best ideas rise to the top, and the wisdom of crowds prevails. We'd propose debate organizers utilize existing bubble-up voting technology and choose Internet questions from the top 25 that bubbled up. We ask you to instruct the October 7 debate planners to use bubble-up technology in this fashion.
This is a historic election. The signers of this letter don't agree on every issue. But we do agree that in order for Americans to make the best decision for president, we need open debates that are "of the people" in the ways described above. You have the power to make that happen, and we ask you to do so.
Thank you for your willingness to take these ideas to heart. If you have any questions, please contact: OpenDebateCoalition@gmail.com
Sincerely,Lawrence Lessig; Professor, Stanford Law School, Founder, Center for Internet and SocietyGlenn Reynolds; Professor, University of Tennessee Law, and founder of Instapundit.com blog
Craig Newmark; Founder, CraigslistJimmy Wales; Founder, WikipediaDavid Kralik; Director of Internet Strategy, Newt Gingrich
Lawrence Lessig, the founder for the Center for Internet and Society joined Craig Newmark, Jimmy Wales and bloggers from both sides of the aisle in calling for the "wisdom of crowds" to be used as a mechanism for deciding questions used at the second, town-hall presidential debate to be held on Oct. 7.
There, presidential candidates Sen. John McCain and Sen. Barack Obama will be asked a series of questions crafted by the public, but selected by the media. The authors of the letter would like the ability to let the most popular questions "bubble up" to where they would be used in the debate.
Coincidentally, Google released a tool to do just that on Wednesday: Google Moderator, designed by Taliver Heath as part of his "20%" project at Google. (Google asks its employees to spend 20 percent of their work time designing their own, self-guided projects.)
"I designed a tool in my 20% time that would allow anyone attending a tech talk to submit a question, and then give other participants a way to vote on whether or not that question should be asked," Heath wrote in a blog post Wednesday. "This way, the most popular and relevant questions would rise to the top so that the presenter or the moderator of an event could run the discussion more efficiently and in a transparent manner."
The presidential debates are actually run by the Commission on Presidential Debates, who work with various media organizations and the candidates to set the number, time, location, and format of the debates. The letter's authors appear to believe that the candidates themselves can make the change if they both agree.
"But we do agree that in order for Americans to make the best decision for president, we need open debates that are "of the people" in the ways described above," the letter concludes. "You have the power to make that happen, and we ask you to do so."
The full text of the letter appears below. Open Debate Coalition
Dear Senator McCain and Senator Obama,
We are a coalition of people and organizations across the ideological spectrum asking you to make this year's presidential debates more "of the people" than ever before by bringing them more fully into the Internet age.
Specifically, we ask you to embrace these two "open debate" principles for the 2008 debates:
The presidential debates are for the benefit of the public. Therefore, the right to speak about the debates ought to be "owned" by the public, not controlled by the media.
During the primaries, a large coalition asked that media companies release rights to presidential debate video to ensure that key moments can be legally blogged about, shared on YouTube, or otherwise shared without fear of legal repercussion.
CNN, ABC, and NBC agreed to release video rights. But one media company threatened legal action against Senator McCain for using a debate clip to spread a message. Such control over political speech is inconsistent with our democracy.
We therefore call upon both candidates to commit to a principle that whenever you debate publicly, the raw footage of that debate will be dedicated to the public domain. Those in charge of the video feed should be directed to make it free for anyone to use.
"Town hall" Internet questions should be chosen by the people, not solely by the media.
The two campaigns recently said of the October 7 debate, "In the spirit of the Town Hall, all questions will come from the audience (or Internet), and not the moderator." We agree with the spirit of this statement. In order to ensure that the Internet portion of this debate is true bottom-up democracy, the format needs to allow the public to help select the questions in addition to asking them.
This cycle's YouTube debates were a milestone for Internet participation in presidential debates. But they put too much discretion in the hands of gatekeepers. Many of the questions chosen by TV producers were considered gimmicky and not hard-hitting enough, and never would have bubbled up on their own.
This "bubble up" idea is the essence of the Internet as we know it. The best ideas rise to the top, and the wisdom of crowds prevails. We'd propose debate organizers utilize existing bubble-up voting technology and choose Internet questions from the top 25 that bubbled up. We ask you to instruct the October 7 debate planners to use bubble-up technology in this fashion.
This is a historic election. The signers of this letter don't agree on every issue. But we do agree that in order for Americans to make the best decision for president, we need open debates that are "of the people" in the ways described above. You have the power to make that happen, and we ask you to do so.
Thank you for your willingness to take these ideas to heart. If you have any questions, please contact: OpenDebateCoalition@gmail.com
Sincerely,Lawrence Lessig; Professor, Stanford Law School, Founder, Center for Internet and SocietyGlenn Reynolds; Professor, University of Tennessee Law, and founder of Instapundit.com blog
Craig Newmark; Founder, CraigslistJimmy Wales; Founder, WikipediaDavid Kralik; Director of Internet Strategy, Newt Gingrich
Make Vista Show Picture Thumbnails
Q: How do I get Vista to show thumbnail of the picture files in my picture folder? Right now they all show the same generic picture. Bergeron Gano, Jr.
A: If this were an older version of Windows I'd suspect that some image editing program had configured the image file types to display its own icon. A simple Registry tweak fixes that problem.
In Vista, the problem is mostly likely a hard-to-find setting that's accidentally turned off. Right-click Computer and choose Properties. Click the Advanced system settings link at left. Click the Settings button in the Performance pane. On the Visual Effects tab be sure the option "Show thumbnails instead of icons" is checked, like so. If not, check it and click OK - fixed!
So why was it un-checked in the first place? It's possible that you may have selected the "Adjust for best performance" option while solving some other problem. Choosing that option turns off all the special visual effects in the list. Or your computer may be low-powered enough that the default "Let Windows choose what's best" option disabled it. Whatever the reason, turning that option back on should bring back the thumbnails. - Neil J. Rubenking.
A: If this were an older version of Windows I'd suspect that some image editing program had configured the image file types to display its own icon. A simple Registry tweak fixes that problem.
In Vista, the problem is mostly likely a hard-to-find setting that's accidentally turned off. Right-click Computer and choose Properties. Click the Advanced system settings link at left. Click the Settings button in the Performance pane. On the Visual Effects tab be sure the option "Show thumbnails instead of icons" is checked, like so. If not, check it and click OK - fixed!
So why was it un-checked in the first place? It's possible that you may have selected the "Adjust for best performance" option while solving some other problem. Choosing that option turns off all the special visual effects in the list. Or your computer may be low-powered enough that the default "Let Windows choose what's best" option disabled it. Whatever the reason, turning that option back on should bring back the thumbnails. - Neil J. Rubenking.
Wired Chief Chris Anderson Talks "Free" at NextFest
Wired kicked off NextFest press day this morning with a talk by the magazine's editor-in-chief, Chris Anderson. The Long Tail author used his allotted 45 minutes to discuss his forthcoming sophomore book, Free, which, according to the author, is due out on Hyperion next spring--or summer, depending on whether he hits his deadline.
"You are, in fact, looking at a man staring down the barrel of a deadline," began Anderson, following an introduction by World Business Chicago executive director, Rita R. Athas. "The good news is that you'll be catching my thoughts while they're fresh. The bad news is that you're catching my thoughts while they're not fully-baked."
A former U.S. business editor for The Economist, Anderson describes his work as, "the economics of pop-culture," explaining, "What I do is look at the blindingly obvious around us and just use economics to explain it."
The forthcoming Free is something of an expansion of his February 2008 Wired cover story of the same name, which carried the subtitle 'Why $0.00 is the Future of Business.'
"Free is the canonical price of the 21st century," stated Anderson, summing up the book's thesis toward the end of the talk. The editor argued that the ever-cheaping cost of things like storage and bandwidth have helped justify this burgeoning business model. YouTube, he argued, was the perfect demonstration of this point. "With all of these bad videos, we are exploring what the future of television can be," he explained. "YouTube will invent the future of television, not television executives."
And of course, Anderson has already announced plans to offer his new book for $0. "Why am I giving my book away for free?" he offered, rhetorically. "Free is the best form of marketing. If we convert five-percent of out [online] readers to book sales, that's a win."
More videos are available at the Gearlog YouTube page.
"You are, in fact, looking at a man staring down the barrel of a deadline," began Anderson, following an introduction by World Business Chicago executive director, Rita R. Athas. "The good news is that you'll be catching my thoughts while they're fresh. The bad news is that you're catching my thoughts while they're not fully-baked."
A former U.S. business editor for The Economist, Anderson describes his work as, "the economics of pop-culture," explaining, "What I do is look at the blindingly obvious around us and just use economics to explain it."
The forthcoming Free is something of an expansion of his February 2008 Wired cover story of the same name, which carried the subtitle 'Why $0.00 is the Future of Business.'
"Free is the canonical price of the 21st century," stated Anderson, summing up the book's thesis toward the end of the talk. The editor argued that the ever-cheaping cost of things like storage and bandwidth have helped justify this burgeoning business model. YouTube, he argued, was the perfect demonstration of this point. "With all of these bad videos, we are exploring what the future of television can be," he explained. "YouTube will invent the future of television, not television executives."
And of course, Anderson has already announced plans to offer his new book for $0. "Why am I giving my book away for free?" he offered, rhetorically. "Free is the best form of marketing. If we convert five-percent of out [online] readers to book sales, that's a win."
More videos are available at the Gearlog YouTube page.
NextFest 2008: The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom
You know what the gaming industry is missing, these days? Delicious pie.
The tasty dessert is the driving force behind The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom. Designed as a thesis project by two USC students, the game follows the titular anti-hero who uses time travel to solve increasingly complex puzzles. As the only character in the game, Winterbottom serves as both hero and villain.
Perhaps the coolest part of the game is the silent film aesthetic created by its designers, complete with title cards.
We spoke with one of the game's creators at NextFest. Check out the video, after the jump.
The tasty dessert is the driving force behind The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom. Designed as a thesis project by two USC students, the game follows the titular anti-hero who uses time travel to solve increasingly complex puzzles. As the only character in the game, Winterbottom serves as both hero and villain.
Perhaps the coolest part of the game is the silent film aesthetic created by its designers, complete with title cards.
We spoke with one of the game's creators at NextFest. Check out the video, after the jump.
Saturday, July 25, 2009
MoneyAisle.com Runs Auctions To Get You The Highest CD Rate
Got some extra cash hanging around burning a hole in your pocket? Yeah--wrong crowd. I totally understand. If the situation ever changes there's a new site you might as well explore, MoneyAisle.com. It sounds very much like LendingTree's "when banks compete you win," but in reverse! Where LendingTree lines you up with lenders, MoneyAisle matches you up with banks to find the best CD or High Yield Savings account rate.
"MoneyAisle differs from other online auction sites, which are seller-centric, by providing buyer-centric auctions to consumers. Many sellers (banks) compete and the buyer ultimately benefits, reversing traditional seller-centric online auction methods, used by sites such as eBay. We also eliminate the buyer's burden of time-consuming comparison shopping by providing free, live, on-demand auctions, 24/7. In addition, MoneyAisle does not accept any advertising, which keeps us completely independent of any outside advertiser influence."
The process is pretty simple. You enter how much you'd like to invest, for what period-of-time and the state you reside in. That starts an automated online auction between banks. At the end of an auction round the MoneyAisle gives banks another chance to beat the best offer. Once no one is willing to up the ante the auction ends and you've got a deal.
Anne Eisenberg, a reporter for the New York Times, gave the site a try last week.
"In search of competitive rates, I tried out MoneyAisle about three weeks ago, using the example of a six-month, $10,000 C.D. After a brisk, one-minute round of bidding involving 82 banks, I was offered 4.2 percent, well above the national average at the time of 3.15 percent. Last Wednesday, I tried again and didn't fare quite as well: the final offer was 4.02 percent, though still far above the national average of 3.19 percent."
"MoneyAisle differs from other online auction sites, which are seller-centric, by providing buyer-centric auctions to consumers. Many sellers (banks) compete and the buyer ultimately benefits, reversing traditional seller-centric online auction methods, used by sites such as eBay. We also eliminate the buyer's burden of time-consuming comparison shopping by providing free, live, on-demand auctions, 24/7. In addition, MoneyAisle does not accept any advertising, which keeps us completely independent of any outside advertiser influence."
The process is pretty simple. You enter how much you'd like to invest, for what period-of-time and the state you reside in. That starts an automated online auction between banks. At the end of an auction round the MoneyAisle gives banks another chance to beat the best offer. Once no one is willing to up the ante the auction ends and you've got a deal.
Anne Eisenberg, a reporter for the New York Times, gave the site a try last week.
"In search of competitive rates, I tried out MoneyAisle about three weeks ago, using the example of a six-month, $10,000 C.D. After a brisk, one-minute round of bidding involving 82 banks, I was offered 4.2 percent, well above the national average at the time of 3.15 percent. Last Wednesday, I tried again and didn't fare quite as well: the final offer was 4.02 percent, though still far above the national average of 3.19 percent."
Apple Working to Make iTunes More Accessible to Blind
For all of the recent criticism that's been lobbed at Apple, don't let it be said that the company doesn't care at least a little bit. At the suggest of Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley (a "gentle nudging," says The Boston Globe), Apple has agreed to redesign iTunes to make the popular music app easier for the blind.
The National Federation of the Blind asked Coakley to help out. Coakley told Apple that its inaccessibility to the blind found the company in violation of both the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Massachusetts Equal Rights Act.
Thanks to the deal, iTunes will be compatible with a number of screen readers, used by the blind to translation on-screen text into audible words. The iTunes U service will be readable by December 31, with the entire Apple being accessible to the blind by the end of June.
The software company will also donate $250,000 to the Massachusetts Commission for the Blind.
The National Federation of the Blind asked Coakley to help out. Coakley told Apple that its inaccessibility to the blind found the company in violation of both the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Massachusetts Equal Rights Act.
Thanks to the deal, iTunes will be compatible with a number of screen readers, used by the blind to translation on-screen text into audible words. The iTunes U service will be readable by December 31, with the entire Apple being accessible to the blind by the end of June.
The software company will also donate $250,000 to the Massachusetts Commission for the Blind.
BugWiki Isn't a Wiki, but Makes Bug Tracking Easy
Every professional software developer knows that part of building your development portfolio and providing solid service to your customers is keeping track of open issues, bugs, and problems with your software. Whether the issue is an actual bug in your code or user error, it helps to have a tool designed to help you spend more time figuring out the difference and less time cataloging and organizing issues.
BugWiki isn't a wiki, and it's not built on wiki software, but the developers point out that "wiki" means "easy"--and you won't find an easier bug-tracking tool than BugWiki.
BugWiki follows the "software as a service" methodology: All bugs, notes, and fixes are kept offsite. On the plus side, that means you don't have to worry about running or supporting the application in-house or procuring hardware resources to host and run the application. On the downside however, your data, bug reports, notes, and customer interactions are at the mercy of BugWiki's servers. If anything happens to the company or its data center, there goes your data.
That said, BugWiki has an aggressive price point for bug tracking. The service allows you to create as many users as you need to use the service, and then charges you a monthly fee per active user. The service is free if you're the only person using it (for example, you're a one-person development house), but monthly fees can range from $2.99 per user per month if you have 2 to 10 active users to 99 cent per user per month for over 100.
All your bug submission, tracking, and development work take place in BugWiki's Web interface. The site's design is simple, designed to make it easy for you to submit bugs, categorize them, and then return to them later to review them, edit them, and update the notes. BugWiki may not have the wealth of features and tools that services such as Bugzilla offer, but its strength is in its simplicity; it's easy to get started and keep using the service, especially if you have to give novice users access to your bug-reporting site. And because the service is Web-based, you can access it anywhere at any time.
It's kind of irritating that BugWiki has Wiki in the name and is anything but a wiki, but that's the only real gripe I had with the service. Enterprises and medium-size businesses will be interested in Bugzilla if they're looking for software as a service--otherwise, they'll investigate a more comprehensive error-tracking and trouble-ticket system such as Atlassian's Jira, if they're looking to keep their software development in-house. BugWiki is a little too simple to compete with those tools, but for small development houses or independent developers, BugWiki could take the hassle out of bug tracking and free you up to work on your applications.
BugWiki isn't a wiki, and it's not built on wiki software, but the developers point out that "wiki" means "easy"--and you won't find an easier bug-tracking tool than BugWiki.
BugWiki follows the "software as a service" methodology: All bugs, notes, and fixes are kept offsite. On the plus side, that means you don't have to worry about running or supporting the application in-house or procuring hardware resources to host and run the application. On the downside however, your data, bug reports, notes, and customer interactions are at the mercy of BugWiki's servers. If anything happens to the company or its data center, there goes your data.
That said, BugWiki has an aggressive price point for bug tracking. The service allows you to create as many users as you need to use the service, and then charges you a monthly fee per active user. The service is free if you're the only person using it (for example, you're a one-person development house), but monthly fees can range from $2.99 per user per month if you have 2 to 10 active users to 99 cent per user per month for over 100.
All your bug submission, tracking, and development work take place in BugWiki's Web interface. The site's design is simple, designed to make it easy for you to submit bugs, categorize them, and then return to them later to review them, edit them, and update the notes. BugWiki may not have the wealth of features and tools that services such as Bugzilla offer, but its strength is in its simplicity; it's easy to get started and keep using the service, especially if you have to give novice users access to your bug-reporting site. And because the service is Web-based, you can access it anywhere at any time.
It's kind of irritating that BugWiki has Wiki in the name and is anything but a wiki, but that's the only real gripe I had with the service. Enterprises and medium-size businesses will be interested in Bugzilla if they're looking for software as a service--otherwise, they'll investigate a more comprehensive error-tracking and trouble-ticket system such as Atlassian's Jira, if they're looking to keep their software development in-house. BugWiki is a little too simple to compete with those tools, but for small development houses or independent developers, BugWiki could take the hassle out of bug tracking and free you up to work on your applications.
MySpace Music Launches Thursday, MP3 Downloads Via Amazon
MySpace will launch its long-awaited MySpace Music Thursday, an offering that will combine audio streaming with download functionality powered by Amazon.
MySpace Music will feature songs from EMI Music, Sony BMG, Universal Music Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing, and indie rock aggregator The Orchard.
"Music's been a pretty important part of MySpace since the beginning; it's a big part of heart and soul of what we were doing," Steve Pearman, senior vice president of product strategy at MySpace, said in an interview.
MySpace will launch a brand new page at http://www.myspace.com/music, which will serve as a "playlist management tool," he said. The first time a user signs on, MySpace will display any song a user has ever added to their profile. From there, users can organize playlists and search MySpace Music for specific artists, songs, or albums.
Selected songs can be dragged to a playlist, which will be listed on a left-hand menu. Users can also add a playlist to their profile, but profile playlists will be limited to 10 songs lest it become too overwhelming, Pearman said. On the separate MySpace Music page, you can add up to 100 songs per playlist.
There is no limit as to how many times you can play a certain song; ads will play occasionally between songs. There are no plans for a subscription-based service.
More details after the jump.
MySpace Music will offer the option to keep certain playlists private. Otherwise, MySpace "friends" will be notified via news feeds that you have added a certain song.
MySpace Music is "not meant to be a recommendation engine," Pearman said. The site is not looking to display songs that are just like your current playlist, but rather introduce you to music you might have never encountered, courtesy of your MySpace friends.
Music on artists' MySpace pages, meanwhile, will become more comprehensive. A drop-down menu will feature every album in an artist's discography, with the option to add to a playlist or purchase right from their page.
If you are an unsigned artist, MySpace Music will also allow you the opportunity to upload your music to the site, so that it is searchable and users can click to add to their playlists, Pearman said.
Purchasing will be powered by Amazon's MP3 store.
While making a first purchase, users will be asked to install Amazon's downloader, which gives you the option to send downloaded MP3s to your player of choice, like Windows Media Player or iTunes.
Amazon offers DRM-free downloads, and all selections can be played on any MP3 player, including the iPod. Pricing will be set through Amazon's store, which is roughly 99 cents per song.
Purchased songs will not be reported to a user's feed, Pearman said.
Why Amazon?
Get the rest of this story at pcmag.com.
MySpace Music will feature songs from EMI Music, Sony BMG, Universal Music Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing, and indie rock aggregator The Orchard.
"Music's been a pretty important part of MySpace since the beginning; it's a big part of heart and soul of what we were doing," Steve Pearman, senior vice president of product strategy at MySpace, said in an interview.
MySpace will launch a brand new page at http://www.myspace.com/music, which will serve as a "playlist management tool," he said. The first time a user signs on, MySpace will display any song a user has ever added to their profile. From there, users can organize playlists and search MySpace Music for specific artists, songs, or albums.
Selected songs can be dragged to a playlist, which will be listed on a left-hand menu. Users can also add a playlist to their profile, but profile playlists will be limited to 10 songs lest it become too overwhelming, Pearman said. On the separate MySpace Music page, you can add up to 100 songs per playlist.
There is no limit as to how many times you can play a certain song; ads will play occasionally between songs. There are no plans for a subscription-based service.
More details after the jump.
MySpace Music will offer the option to keep certain playlists private. Otherwise, MySpace "friends" will be notified via news feeds that you have added a certain song.
MySpace Music is "not meant to be a recommendation engine," Pearman said. The site is not looking to display songs that are just like your current playlist, but rather introduce you to music you might have never encountered, courtesy of your MySpace friends.
Music on artists' MySpace pages, meanwhile, will become more comprehensive. A drop-down menu will feature every album in an artist's discography, with the option to add to a playlist or purchase right from their page.
If you are an unsigned artist, MySpace Music will also allow you the opportunity to upload your music to the site, so that it is searchable and users can click to add to their playlists, Pearman said.
Purchasing will be powered by Amazon's MP3 store.
While making a first purchase, users will be asked to install Amazon's downloader, which gives you the option to send downloaded MP3s to your player of choice, like Windows Media Player or iTunes.
Amazon offers DRM-free downloads, and all selections can be played on any MP3 player, including the iPod. Pricing will be set through Amazon's store, which is roughly 99 cents per song.
Purchased songs will not be reported to a user's feed, Pearman said.
Why Amazon?
Get the rest of this story at pcmag.com.
House OKs Web Radio Royalty Rate Compromise
Amid the bailout frenzy on Capitol Hill this weekend, the House on Saturday passed a bill that would give its blessing to any compromise reached between Internet radio stations and copyright holders over royalty fees.
"There may now be a light at the end of the tunnel in the fight over Internet radio royalties," bill sponsor Jay Inslee, a Washington Democrat, said in a Sunday statement.
The bill, called the Webcaster Settlement Act of 2008, guarantees that if Internet radio and the copyright holders can reach a deal over royalty rates, "Uncle Sam will not get in the way," Inslee said.
Internet radio stations such as Pandora are contesting a March, 2007, Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) decision that dramatically increased the royalty rates Internet radio stations were forced to pay. Web radio station Pandora, for example, said that under the CRB rules, it would have to hand over $18 million of its expected $25 million in 2008 revenue to cover royalty fees--a price that would be financially ruinous.
Inslee also cited Washington-based Big R radio, which would have incurred royalty rates that exceeded its revenue by 150 percent, he said. Inslee had introduced a bill last year that would have reversed the CRB decision entirely, but that measure did not gain significant traction.
Inslee introduced the bill on Friday, and after a few last-minute changes at the behest of the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB), it was approved unanimously by voice vote the following day. The Senate is expected to take it up on Monday.
The bill "is a simple yet critical legislative solution that allows private sector actors to keep a negotiating process alive," Rep. Marsha Blackburn, a Tennessee Republican, said in a Saturday floor statement. "Why? Because Internet radio royalties operate under a government license, and Congressional approval is necessary to allow a private sector agreement to effectuate outside the government process."
Get the rest of this story on pcmag.com.
"There may now be a light at the end of the tunnel in the fight over Internet radio royalties," bill sponsor Jay Inslee, a Washington Democrat, said in a Sunday statement.
The bill, called the Webcaster Settlement Act of 2008, guarantees that if Internet radio and the copyright holders can reach a deal over royalty rates, "Uncle Sam will not get in the way," Inslee said.
Internet radio stations such as Pandora are contesting a March, 2007, Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) decision that dramatically increased the royalty rates Internet radio stations were forced to pay. Web radio station Pandora, for example, said that under the CRB rules, it would have to hand over $18 million of its expected $25 million in 2008 revenue to cover royalty fees--a price that would be financially ruinous.
Inslee also cited Washington-based Big R radio, which would have incurred royalty rates that exceeded its revenue by 150 percent, he said. Inslee had introduced a bill last year that would have reversed the CRB decision entirely, but that measure did not gain significant traction.
Inslee introduced the bill on Friday, and after a few last-minute changes at the behest of the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB), it was approved unanimously by voice vote the following day. The Senate is expected to take it up on Monday.
The bill "is a simple yet critical legislative solution that allows private sector actors to keep a negotiating process alive," Rep. Marsha Blackburn, a Tennessee Republican, said in a Saturday floor statement. "Why? Because Internet radio royalties operate under a government license, and Congressional approval is necessary to allow a private sector agreement to effectuate outside the government process."
Get the rest of this story on pcmag.com.
Friday, July 24, 2009
Limit Space Used by Windows Resource Protection
Q: In Windows XP, hundreds of megabytes are stored in the C:\Windows\Sytem32\dllcache folder by the Windows File Protection feature. I always deleted all of them and created a new folder that stored only 50MB This saved a lot of space on my hard disk. I have never found any problems or instabilities, although these files are supposedly present in order to stabilize the system.
Windows Vista probably also stores hundreds if not thousands of megabytes for this same reason, but this folder does not exist in Vista and I do not know where all these files are stored. Could you let me know where I can find the files for Windows File Protection and how I can limit the total space these files occupy? - Pieter Mooten.
A: The feature in Vista is called Windows Resource Protection. After reading Microsoft's description, I can't recommend just digging in and deleting stuff. It's rather more complex than the Windows File Protection in XP/2000.
Instead, limit the amount of space dedicated to this feature using Group Policy: By default, it's unlimited. Click start and type GPEDIT.MSC. Navigate the policy tree to Computer Configuration\Administrative Templates\System\Windows File Protection. In the right-hand pane, double-click the item named "Limit Windows File Protection cache size." Set its status to Enabled, and fill in the desired cache-size limit in megabytes. Note that this works in XP as well. - Neil J. Rubenking.
Windows Vista probably also stores hundreds if not thousands of megabytes for this same reason, but this folder does not exist in Vista and I do not know where all these files are stored. Could you let me know where I can find the files for Windows File Protection and how I can limit the total space these files occupy? - Pieter Mooten.
A: The feature in Vista is called Windows Resource Protection. After reading Microsoft's description, I can't recommend just digging in and deleting stuff. It's rather more complex than the Windows File Protection in XP/2000.
Instead, limit the amount of space dedicated to this feature using Group Policy: By default, it's unlimited. Click start and type GPEDIT.MSC. Navigate the policy tree to Computer Configuration\Administrative Templates\System\Windows File Protection. In the right-hand pane, double-click the item named "Limit Windows File Protection cache size." Set its status to Enabled, and fill in the desired cache-size limit in megabytes. Note that this works in XP as well. - Neil J. Rubenking.
Report: Internet Loves Obama Six Times More Than McCain
Before you get ready to fire off yet more angry email, bear in mind that I am merely your friendly tech messenger here to relay the findings of an online market intelligence provider AdGooroo.
In its latest study titled "Searching for the Next President: the Internet's impact on McCain vs. Obama", the company reports that the network of partisan websites associated with the Obama campaign draws nearly six times more traffic than that of McCain. Supporters of the Republican candidate, on the other hand, will be happy to learn that McCain's campaign, despite having a smaller internet presence, generates nearly 11 percent more traffic from independent websites than Obama's.
Here is a list of other highlights from "Searching for the Next President".
Including campaign-owned sites, the Obama camp drives nearly 20 million visitors per month to partisan Web sites; the McCain camp drives fewer than four million
Excluding sites owned by the campaigns, there are more than 3.5 times as many Pro-Obama Web sites as Pro-McCain Web sites
Of the 170 sites identified as neutral, containing both positive and negative articles, 143 of these sites focused primarily on Obama; 27 focused primarily on McCain
The full report is available for complimentary download here.
In its latest study titled "Searching for the Next President: the Internet's impact on McCain vs. Obama", the company reports that the network of partisan websites associated with the Obama campaign draws nearly six times more traffic than that of McCain. Supporters of the Republican candidate, on the other hand, will be happy to learn that McCain's campaign, despite having a smaller internet presence, generates nearly 11 percent more traffic from independent websites than Obama's.
Here is a list of other highlights from "Searching for the Next President".
Including campaign-owned sites, the Obama camp drives nearly 20 million visitors per month to partisan Web sites; the McCain camp drives fewer than four million
Excluding sites owned by the campaigns, there are more than 3.5 times as many Pro-Obama Web sites as Pro-McCain Web sites
Of the 170 sites identified as neutral, containing both positive and negative articles, 143 of these sites focused primarily on Obama; 27 focused primarily on McCain
The full report is available for complimentary download here.
How Big Is $700,000,000,000.00?
Seven hundred billion dollars. Congress voted not to spend $700,000,000,000.00 on Monday. It's still an amazing amount of money. But how big is it physically? You're in luck. Microsoft threw in a calculator with my copy of Windows (thanks Bill).
First, let's define our terms. A single bill of United States currency is 6.14 by 2.61 by 0.0043 inches. That's .06890922 cubic inches, in case you're thinking of renting a storage locker.
Stack a thousand and you've got a brick of bills 4.3 inches thick. One million dollars is one thousand times as thick--4,300 inches, or 358 feet tall. Multiply by a thousand again and you've hit a billion. That's 4,300,000 inches or 358,333 feet or 67.866 miles tall.
Hold on. We're only at a billion. The bail-out call was for 700 billion. One more trip to the calculator. Now we're at 3,010,000,000 inches, 250,833,333 feet, or 47,506 miles tall. Turn the stack on its side, and it will run from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida to Honolulu, HI ten times (The actual distance is 4,776 miles, so quickly make friends with Warren Buffett for the extra 25 miles of money). And since a bill weighs about one gram, your $700,000,000,000 will weigh around 1,543,235,835 pounds, or 771,618 tons!
Because we often say million and billion and now even trillion together when speaking of government matters, it sounds like they're similar numbers. They are not. Is there even a comparison when a millionaire can stack his bills 358 feet tall while a billionaire's stack goes nearly 68 miles!
No one's sure if Senator Everett Dirksen really said "A billion here, a billion there, and pretty soon you're talking real money," but it's worth bringing up now. Right now we're talking real money!
(Thanks to Greg Wallace who caught an earlier math error--sheesh! - GF)
First, let's define our terms. A single bill of United States currency is 6.14 by 2.61 by 0.0043 inches. That's .06890922 cubic inches, in case you're thinking of renting a storage locker.
Stack a thousand and you've got a brick of bills 4.3 inches thick. One million dollars is one thousand times as thick--4,300 inches, or 358 feet tall. Multiply by a thousand again and you've hit a billion. That's 4,300,000 inches or 358,333 feet or 67.866 miles tall.
Hold on. We're only at a billion. The bail-out call was for 700 billion. One more trip to the calculator. Now we're at 3,010,000,000 inches, 250,833,333 feet, or 47,506 miles tall. Turn the stack on its side, and it will run from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida to Honolulu, HI ten times (The actual distance is 4,776 miles, so quickly make friends with Warren Buffett for the extra 25 miles of money). And since a bill weighs about one gram, your $700,000,000,000 will weigh around 1,543,235,835 pounds, or 771,618 tons!
Because we often say million and billion and now even trillion together when speaking of government matters, it sounds like they're similar numbers. They are not. Is there even a comparison when a millionaire can stack his bills 358 feet tall while a billionaire's stack goes nearly 68 miles!
No one's sure if Senator Everett Dirksen really said "A billion here, a billion there, and pretty soon you're talking real money," but it's worth bringing up now. Right now we're talking real money!
(Thanks to Greg Wallace who caught an earlier math error--sheesh! - GF)
Real Files Suit Against Major Movie Studios in Defense of RealDVD
The movie industry doesn't want you doing anything with your DVDs beyond watching them--alone in a room, of course. The industry has fought tooth and nail to stop software companies from giving users the ability to rip its discs, and Real's "legit" solution to the issue is apparently no exception.
According to the streaming-media company, threats have been made with regards to the recently launched RealDVD app by a number of major studios, including Disney Enterprises, Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Twentieth Century Fox Film, NBC Universal, Warner Bros. Entertainment, and Viacom. The DVD Copy Control Association apparently got into the act, too.
So Real is doing what any company would--taking them to court.
"RealNetworks took this legal action to protect consumers' ability to exercise their fair-use rights for their purchased DVDs," the company said in a statement issued this morning. "The DVD CCA, which represents numerous parties including all of the major studios, previously sued another company over the same issues. The trial court ruled against the DVD CCA and allowed the distribution of a product similar to RealDVD. Having lost the case once, the major studios are now trying to get a different result by going to a different court."
Real insists that the software doesn't let users burn the discs they rip, and instead installs layer upon layer of DRM. I'd have to concur. In fact, their overzealous use of copy control was one of the major complaints I had about the software--apparently it wasn't enough to appease the studios.
Added Real, "We are disappointed that the movie industry is following in the footsteps of the music industry and trying to shut down advances in technology rather than embracing changes that provide consumers with more value and flexibility for their purchases."
According to the streaming-media company, threats have been made with regards to the recently launched RealDVD app by a number of major studios, including Disney Enterprises, Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Twentieth Century Fox Film, NBC Universal, Warner Bros. Entertainment, and Viacom. The DVD Copy Control Association apparently got into the act, too.
So Real is doing what any company would--taking them to court.
"RealNetworks took this legal action to protect consumers' ability to exercise their fair-use rights for their purchased DVDs," the company said in a statement issued this morning. "The DVD CCA, which represents numerous parties including all of the major studios, previously sued another company over the same issues. The trial court ruled against the DVD CCA and allowed the distribution of a product similar to RealDVD. Having lost the case once, the major studios are now trying to get a different result by going to a different court."
Real insists that the software doesn't let users burn the discs they rip, and instead installs layer upon layer of DRM. I'd have to concur. In fact, their overzealous use of copy control was one of the major complaints I had about the software--apparently it wasn't enough to appease the studios.
Added Real, "We are disappointed that the movie industry is following in the footsteps of the music industry and trying to shut down advances in technology rather than embracing changes that provide consumers with more value and flexibility for their purchases."
Facebook Unveils iPhone App v2.0
That didn't take long. A few short months after launching the first version of its iPhone app, wildly popular social-networking site Facebook has just announced the release of version 2.0.
Now available through the iTunes App store, the new Facebook application features a new interface and a number of additions to the News Feed, including news posts, interest updates, and photo uploads. You can also check your friends' relationship updates, in case you need to know the exact moment things go from being complicated to being straightforwardly single.
A number of features have also been tacked onto the app's photo feature, including captioning, tagging, and the ability to post photos to other users' walls.
Now available through the iTunes App store, the new Facebook application features a new interface and a number of additions to the News Feed, including news posts, interest updates, and photo uploads. You can also check your friends' relationship updates, in case you need to know the exact moment things go from being complicated to being straightforwardly single.
A number of features have also been tacked onto the app's photo feature, including captioning, tagging, and the ability to post photos to other users' walls.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Firefox 3.0.3 Fixes Password Manager Bug
Mozilla unveiled a minor tweak to its Firefox browser Monday.
Firefox 3.0.3 fixes a problem some users experienced with Password Manager in Firefox 3.0.2. Users reported that the feature was not saving their passwords or taking them to logged-in sites without asking if they wanted Firefox to remember the password.
The fix is now available as a free download at getfirefox.com for Windows, Mac, and Linux, Mozilla said in a Monday blog post.
"We strongly recommend that all Firefox users upgrade to this latest release," Mozilla wrote. "If you already have Firefox 3 or Firefox 2, you will receive an automated update notification within 24 to 48 hours. This update can also be applied manually by selecting 'Check for Updates...' from the Help menu."
Firefox 3.0 made its official debut on June 17. Mozilla released Firefox 3.0.1 in July and version 3.0.2 on September 23.
Firefox 3.0.3 fixes a problem some users experienced with Password Manager in Firefox 3.0.2. Users reported that the feature was not saving their passwords or taking them to logged-in sites without asking if they wanted Firefox to remember the password.
The fix is now available as a free download at getfirefox.com for Windows, Mac, and Linux, Mozilla said in a Monday blog post.
"We strongly recommend that all Firefox users upgrade to this latest release," Mozilla wrote. "If you already have Firefox 3 or Firefox 2, you will receive an automated update notification within 24 to 48 hours. This update can also be applied manually by selecting 'Check for Updates...' from the Help menu."
Firefox 3.0 made its official debut on June 17. Mozilla released Firefox 3.0.1 in July and version 3.0.2 on September 23.
AOL Reintroduces AIM for Mac
It's AIM! For OS X! The masses weren't exactly clamoring for this one. Users have long had plenty of options for running AOL's instant messenger app on an a Mac.
Apple, for one, has iChat. AOL used to have its own app, too--though, as Infinite Loop points out, the company has neglected to update it, for the last four years or so. And of course there are also third-party solutions like Adium and Meebo.
Yet, despite being faced with seemingly insurmountable indifference, AOL is soldiering on with a brand new AIM client for Apple: AIM Mac 1.0, which is currently in beta 1.
The app features OS X-style skins and integrates AOL Mail, which, as it turns out, is still a thing. It's also quick, apparently, which is cool, we guess.
Apple, for one, has iChat. AOL used to have its own app, too--though, as Infinite Loop points out, the company has neglected to update it, for the last four years or so. And of course there are also third-party solutions like Adium and Meebo.
Yet, despite being faced with seemingly insurmountable indifference, AOL is soldiering on with a brand new AIM client for Apple: AIM Mac 1.0, which is currently in beta 1.
The app features OS X-style skins and integrates AOL Mail, which, as it turns out, is still a thing. It's also quick, apparently, which is cool, we guess.
Twitter Graphs Presidential Debate Activity
My habitual need to check Twitter is a sure sign that I'm addicted to the microblogging site. Last week's debate was certainly no exception. I found myself refreshing the page once every few minutes--though, in my defense, I was blogging from a hotel in a city where I don't really know anyone.
Still, anyone with even the slightest interest in the site is likely to find this debate graph interesting. Twitter mapped the tweet volume of specific words like "Pakistan," "Iran," and "pork" during the hour and a half debate.
The most tweeted word in one minute was "Iraq," which appeared almost 300 times in 60 seconds, when McCain mentioned that Obama didn't visit the country for 900 days.
More information is available on the official Twitter blog.
Still, anyone with even the slightest interest in the site is likely to find this debate graph interesting. Twitter mapped the tweet volume of specific words like "Pakistan," "Iran," and "pork" during the hour and a half debate.
The most tweeted word in one minute was "Iraq," which appeared almost 300 times in 60 seconds, when McCain mentioned that Obama didn't visit the country for 900 days.
More information is available on the official Twitter blog.
Norwegian Consumer Watchdog Slams Apple's DRM (Again)
Norway's consumer ombudsman is resuming his battle against Apple and DRM.
Bjorn Erik Thon recently wrote a letter to Apple saying it was "unfair" for Apple to sell music on iTunes that could only be played on iPods, according to crn.com.
"Consumers themselves should be able to choose what music device they would like to use to listen to music bought from the iTunes Store," he wrote.
Thon has asked Apple to respond to his inquiry by November 3.
This is not the first time Thon has gone after California-based Apple. He started his anti-DRM crusade in 2006 and met with Apple execs in February 2008. He acknowledged that Apple has made some positive changes that allow users to convert music files and play them on other devices, but that is not enough, he wrote.
In a February 2007 note posted to the Apple Web site, CEO Steve Jobs said that anger over DRM should be directed at the record companies.
"Much of the concern over DRM systems has arisen in European countries," Jobs wrote. "Perhaps those unhappy with the current situation should redirect their energies towards persuading the music companies to sell their music DRM-free. Apple will embrace this wholeheartedly."
Earlier this year, Sony, Philips, Intel, Microsoft and Best Buy signed on to an anti-DRM alliance called Digital Entertainment Content Ecosystem (DECE), which is aimed at putting users "at the center of the universe" with a "buy once, play any way" model.
Bjorn Erik Thon recently wrote a letter to Apple saying it was "unfair" for Apple to sell music on iTunes that could only be played on iPods, according to crn.com.
"Consumers themselves should be able to choose what music device they would like to use to listen to music bought from the iTunes Store," he wrote.
Thon has asked Apple to respond to his inquiry by November 3.
This is not the first time Thon has gone after California-based Apple. He started his anti-DRM crusade in 2006 and met with Apple execs in February 2008. He acknowledged that Apple has made some positive changes that allow users to convert music files and play them on other devices, but that is not enough, he wrote.
In a February 2007 note posted to the Apple Web site, CEO Steve Jobs said that anger over DRM should be directed at the record companies.
"Much of the concern over DRM systems has arisen in European countries," Jobs wrote. "Perhaps those unhappy with the current situation should redirect their energies towards persuading the music companies to sell their music DRM-free. Apple will embrace this wholeheartedly."
Earlier this year, Sony, Philips, Intel, Microsoft and Best Buy signed on to an anti-DRM alliance called Digital Entertainment Content Ecosystem (DECE), which is aimed at putting users "at the center of the universe" with a "buy once, play any way" model.
Hands On: MySpace Music
As promised, MySpace unveiled its newest attempt to bring more music to its members last Thursday. MySpace Music may retain the same name as the site's previous music section, but the new MySpace Music sports custom playlists, friend notifications when they add, change, or edit their playlists, featured playlists from bands and musicians on the site, and music downloads from Amazon MP3. MySpace seems to have taken a cue from other successful music services and rolled compelling music sharing and discovery features together with support from major labels and artists to create a viable music service.
MySpace's previous MySpace Music was nothing more than a wing of the larger social network dedicated to musicians, artists, DJs, and bands, where they could post some of their music for their fans to enjoy and connect with the fans that support them. The new MySpace Music offers bands and musicians a place to host their tunes, but also combines the social networking features that make MySpace so popular with tons of tunes and tracks from famous artists on major labels, including EMI, Sony BMG, Universal, and Sony. If you're an independent artist, you can still take part in the new service by uploading your own tunes and making them available to other MySpace users to add to their playlists or download via Amazon.
When you visit MySpace Music as a user, you're prompted to create a new playlist based on the music that you love. If you've added tracks to your profile before, you'll find them available for you on MySpace Music. If you've never bothered embedding music into your MySpace profile, you can get started by searching MySpace Music for artists and songs that you like.
When you find music that you're interested in, you can begin building your playlist. Simply take the songs from your search results and drag them to your playlist on the left side of the page.
Once you've filled out your playlist with a few songs, you can embed it into your MySpace profile. If you'd like to add more than ten tracks to your playlist, you can head back to your MySpace Music page to create multiple playlists and add more songs. This way your friends can keep up with your favorite tunes using the playlist on your profile, and you can create as many playlists full of music for your personal enjoyment.
As you create playlists, you can share them with your MySpace friends, and if you open them up to the community, your MySpace friends will be notified when you edit and update them. Similarly, you'll be notified when your friends do the same.
The notifications are partially to help you stay in touch with your friends, but are also designed to help introduce you to the music that your friends are listening to. I was a little put off at first by how many notifications you can receive when you're just fiddling with your playlists; some of my friends managed to overwhelm my inbox with notifications, and I'm sure I did the same before I decided to start setting most of my playlists to private until I settled on what they would look like.
At a time when streaming music-on-demand services around the Web like MuxTape and Pandora are suffering at the hands of the music industry, MySpace Music's release is timely. You can play the songs in your playlist as often as you like; you're just forced to listen to an advertisement every couple of plays. Similarly, MySpace Music doesn't sell or offer the songs you'll find for download directly. If you're interested in downloading a copy of your best friend's playlist, you'll be shuffled off to Amazon MP3, where you can buy the songs online and download them immediately after.
The service could do with some music-discovery capabilities. Right now, the only way to learn about a band or artist that you may not have known about is to trust the site's "featured playlists" and 'exclusives" lists or by to read a playlist-update notification from one of your MySpace friends. Other than that, you have to know what you're looking for ahead of time to search and find tunes to add to your playlists.
The featured playlists are interesting, though; much like iTunes' celebrity playlists, MySpace Music's featured playlists comprise songs that artists and band members love to listen to. For example, Fall Out Boy's playlist is made up of Ne-Yo, Kanye West, and TYGA, to name a few. Sadly, there are only a handful of featured playlists at the moment--and I think we'd all agree that "MySpace Tom's" playlist is kind of lacking. The Pussycat Dolls and Matthew Sweet, Tom? Really?
It would seem that the major labels are completely willing to support a streaming music-on-demand service if it's ad-supported and on their terms, and if the potential audience is as large as the MySpace community. Partnering with Amazon MP3 gives the labels a proven partner to handle the hosting, purchases, and downloads. At the same time, it takes the hassle of building a music store off MySpace's back. MySpace Music is definitely a good move for the labels, and it's a good move for MySpace users who still love the service and miss the old days when the service focused heavily on music.
In any event, MySpace Music will certainly provide MySpace members a way to generate playlists and share their favorite tunes with one another. Whether or not it'll bring people who have defected from MySpace back to the service is another matter, but the ability to customize playlists, listen to your favorite tunes any time, and share music with friends is definitely compelling.
MySpace's previous MySpace Music was nothing more than a wing of the larger social network dedicated to musicians, artists, DJs, and bands, where they could post some of their music for their fans to enjoy and connect with the fans that support them. The new MySpace Music offers bands and musicians a place to host their tunes, but also combines the social networking features that make MySpace so popular with tons of tunes and tracks from famous artists on major labels, including EMI, Sony BMG, Universal, and Sony. If you're an independent artist, you can still take part in the new service by uploading your own tunes and making them available to other MySpace users to add to their playlists or download via Amazon.
When you visit MySpace Music as a user, you're prompted to create a new playlist based on the music that you love. If you've added tracks to your profile before, you'll find them available for you on MySpace Music. If you've never bothered embedding music into your MySpace profile, you can get started by searching MySpace Music for artists and songs that you like.
When you find music that you're interested in, you can begin building your playlist. Simply take the songs from your search results and drag them to your playlist on the left side of the page.
Once you've filled out your playlist with a few songs, you can embed it into your MySpace profile. If you'd like to add more than ten tracks to your playlist, you can head back to your MySpace Music page to create multiple playlists and add more songs. This way your friends can keep up with your favorite tunes using the playlist on your profile, and you can create as many playlists full of music for your personal enjoyment.
As you create playlists, you can share them with your MySpace friends, and if you open them up to the community, your MySpace friends will be notified when you edit and update them. Similarly, you'll be notified when your friends do the same.
The notifications are partially to help you stay in touch with your friends, but are also designed to help introduce you to the music that your friends are listening to. I was a little put off at first by how many notifications you can receive when you're just fiddling with your playlists; some of my friends managed to overwhelm my inbox with notifications, and I'm sure I did the same before I decided to start setting most of my playlists to private until I settled on what they would look like.
At a time when streaming music-on-demand services around the Web like MuxTape and Pandora are suffering at the hands of the music industry, MySpace Music's release is timely. You can play the songs in your playlist as often as you like; you're just forced to listen to an advertisement every couple of plays. Similarly, MySpace Music doesn't sell or offer the songs you'll find for download directly. If you're interested in downloading a copy of your best friend's playlist, you'll be shuffled off to Amazon MP3, where you can buy the songs online and download them immediately after.
The service could do with some music-discovery capabilities. Right now, the only way to learn about a band or artist that you may not have known about is to trust the site's "featured playlists" and 'exclusives" lists or by to read a playlist-update notification from one of your MySpace friends. Other than that, you have to know what you're looking for ahead of time to search and find tunes to add to your playlists.
The featured playlists are interesting, though; much like iTunes' celebrity playlists, MySpace Music's featured playlists comprise songs that artists and band members love to listen to. For example, Fall Out Boy's playlist is made up of Ne-Yo, Kanye West, and TYGA, to name a few. Sadly, there are only a handful of featured playlists at the moment--and I think we'd all agree that "MySpace Tom's" playlist is kind of lacking. The Pussycat Dolls and Matthew Sweet, Tom? Really?
It would seem that the major labels are completely willing to support a streaming music-on-demand service if it's ad-supported and on their terms, and if the potential audience is as large as the MySpace community. Partnering with Amazon MP3 gives the labels a proven partner to handle the hosting, purchases, and downloads. At the same time, it takes the hassle of building a music store off MySpace's back. MySpace Music is definitely a good move for the labels, and it's a good move for MySpace users who still love the service and miss the old days when the service focused heavily on music.
In any event, MySpace Music will certainly provide MySpace members a way to generate playlists and share their favorite tunes with one another. Whether or not it'll bring people who have defected from MySpace back to the service is another matter, but the ability to customize playlists, listen to your favorite tunes any time, and share music with friends is definitely compelling.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
YouTube Revamps Uploader Site, Allows 1GB Files
YouTube has made public a revamped version of its video uploader.
Most notably, the upgrade increases the video site's file-size limit from 100MB to 1GB. It will also allow users to upload multiple files at once without downloading a plug-in. Instead, YouTube will display separate progress bars for each file.
The changes will also allow users to enter a video's metadata, such as title, description, and tags, while a video is uploading.
A "random sampling" of YouTube users have already been using the beta version, but YouTube is now opening it up to all members. Those who are interested should sign into their accounts and head to the video uploader beta page.
Most notably, the upgrade increases the video site's file-size limit from 100MB to 1GB. It will also allow users to upload multiple files at once without downloading a plug-in. Instead, YouTube will display separate progress bars for each file.
The changes will also allow users to enter a video's metadata, such as title, description, and tags, while a video is uploading.
A "random sampling" of YouTube users have already been using the beta version, but YouTube is now opening it up to all members. Those who are interested should sign into their accounts and head to the video uploader beta page.
Unicorn Media: Profitable Web Content Sharing
Unicorn Media is a new Web site that claims "to help emerging artists and established talent profit from promoting their content in high-quality digital format." Users can view videos and and listen to music for no charge.
So what makes it different from YouTube, Hulu, Myspace Music, Last.FM and Vimeo? Every time you listen to music or watch a video on Unicorn Media, the artists get paid. New music and films are added daily--extreme sports videos, comedy skits, IMAX documentaries, full-length feature films, and music from every genre make up the content on Unicorn Media.
The company says there are two aspects to Unicorn's ability to change the game. First, its contracts with artists are non-exclusive, so videographers and musicians retains all rights to the work while splitting the ad revenue with Unicorn. The other part of the equation is the quality of the site's audio and video. Despite all that, ads appear before any video or song you select, which may be a deterrent to casual users.
The homepage has a scrollable Flash bar that cycles through different content. Below that, you'll see buttons for Top Video, New Video, Recommended, and Top Video Channels. Clicking the Music button at the top of the screen changes the navigation to display Music searches.
Scrolling your cursor over the icons lets you play the content presented there; or you can choose other tracks or videos by the artist via a pop-up tab. You'll find music of all genres at Unicorn--and indie music fans especially may find visiting the site a truly pleasurable experience. Music can be emailed, shared and embedded.
The site's video quality is not as strong as its audio quality--it can't rival the quality at Hulu and Vimeo, but it definitely looks better than YouTube. When I tried it, the video was a bit jumpy and slow. Full Screen mode is adequate, but if don't require a full screen, a cool feature called Curtains casts a dark silhouette over the rest of the site--and seems to speed up and improve the quality of the video. Videos can be embedded, shared, and emailed. Unicorn also remembers all the videos you've previously watched in the playlist on the right--which makes for easier searching. No word yet on how large a file users can upload.
Recommended and the other bars showcase the top 24 videos/songs in their sections. Clicking on the Browse tabs on the bars lets you search through all music and videos.
Overall, Unicorn Media has some improvements it could make, but it could become a game-changer. Musicians and video artists may have a better medium to share their work soon.
So what makes it different from YouTube, Hulu, Myspace Music, Last.FM and Vimeo? Every time you listen to music or watch a video on Unicorn Media, the artists get paid. New music and films are added daily--extreme sports videos, comedy skits, IMAX documentaries, full-length feature films, and music from every genre make up the content on Unicorn Media.
The company says there are two aspects to Unicorn's ability to change the game. First, its contracts with artists are non-exclusive, so videographers and musicians retains all rights to the work while splitting the ad revenue with Unicorn. The other part of the equation is the quality of the site's audio and video. Despite all that, ads appear before any video or song you select, which may be a deterrent to casual users.
The homepage has a scrollable Flash bar that cycles through different content. Below that, you'll see buttons for Top Video, New Video, Recommended, and Top Video Channels. Clicking the Music button at the top of the screen changes the navigation to display Music searches.
Scrolling your cursor over the icons lets you play the content presented there; or you can choose other tracks or videos by the artist via a pop-up tab. You'll find music of all genres at Unicorn--and indie music fans especially may find visiting the site a truly pleasurable experience. Music can be emailed, shared and embedded.
The site's video quality is not as strong as its audio quality--it can't rival the quality at Hulu and Vimeo, but it definitely looks better than YouTube. When I tried it, the video was a bit jumpy and slow. Full Screen mode is adequate, but if don't require a full screen, a cool feature called Curtains casts a dark silhouette over the rest of the site--and seems to speed up and improve the quality of the video. Videos can be embedded, shared, and emailed. Unicorn also remembers all the videos you've previously watched in the playlist on the right--which makes for easier searching. No word yet on how large a file users can upload.
Recommended and the other bars showcase the top 24 videos/songs in their sections. Clicking on the Browse tabs on the bars lets you search through all music and videos.
Overall, Unicorn Media has some improvements it could make, but it could become a game-changer. Musicians and video artists may have a better medium to share their work soon.
Hotmail Upgrade off to Bumpy Start
All is not well in Hotmail land. The planned merging of the Webmail service's full and classic models hasn't quite gotten off to the rip-roaring start Microsoft was no doubt hoping for.
According to The Register, many users have voiced complaints about being stuck in Webmail limbo: "Complaints range from poor and confusing layout--with the inability to find folders--missing or difficult functionality including problems forwarding email and error messages when opening e-mails."
Planned updates to the service include new storage folders, a text editor, spell-check, and auto-complete.
According to The Register, many users have voiced complaints about being stuck in Webmail limbo: "Complaints range from poor and confusing layout--with the inability to find folders--missing or difficult functionality including problems forwarding email and error messages when opening e-mails."
Planned updates to the service include new storage folders, a text editor, spell-check, and auto-complete.
Senate OKs Web Radio Bill, Sends to President
Internet radio got a boost Tuesday when the Senate approved a bill that says Congress must honor any royalty rate agreement reached between online radio stations and copyright holders.
Senators approved the Webcaster Settlement Act of 2008, which allows stakeholders to broker a deal over royalty payments without the threat of government intervention.
The House approved the bill on Saturday, and it now heads to President Bush for his signature.
Internet radio stations are fighting a March 2007 Copyright Royalty Board decision that set royalty rates for Internet radio streaming at a price Web radio stations considered financially ruinous.
Internet radio royalties operate under a government license, so Congress would typically need to approve any deal reached by webcasters and copyright holders. The bill approved Tuesday allows them to negotiate without that government intervention. The two sides have until February 15 to come up with a deal on their own.
Whether the two sides are able to reach a deal remains to be seen, but Tim Westergren, founder of Internet radio station Pandora, was hopeful.
UPDATE: President Bush signed the bill into law on October 16.
"We still have to finish up the negotiations, but now the table is set," he wrote in a Tuesday blog post. "Thanks to everyone for your incredible support over the past few days. It was just extraordinary."
Westergren issued a call to supporters on Friday to contact their representatives and senators about the issue, and those calls and e-mails reportedly helped move the legislation along.
Get the rest of this story on pcmag.com.
Senators approved the Webcaster Settlement Act of 2008, which allows stakeholders to broker a deal over royalty payments without the threat of government intervention.
The House approved the bill on Saturday, and it now heads to President Bush for his signature.
Internet radio stations are fighting a March 2007 Copyright Royalty Board decision that set royalty rates for Internet radio streaming at a price Web radio stations considered financially ruinous.
Internet radio royalties operate under a government license, so Congress would typically need to approve any deal reached by webcasters and copyright holders. The bill approved Tuesday allows them to negotiate without that government intervention. The two sides have until February 15 to come up with a deal on their own.
Whether the two sides are able to reach a deal remains to be seen, but Tim Westergren, founder of Internet radio station Pandora, was hopeful.
UPDATE: President Bush signed the bill into law on October 16.
"We still have to finish up the negotiations, but now the table is set," he wrote in a Tuesday blog post. "Thanks to everyone for your incredible support over the past few days. It was just extraordinary."
Westergren issued a call to supporters on Friday to contact their representatives and senators about the issue, and those calls and e-mails reportedly helped move the legislation along.
Get the rest of this story on pcmag.com.
Microsoft Still Wants to Pay You to Search
Good thing Redmond still has plenty of money to throw around. In a continuing effort to keep you from using the "G" word (do I really have to spell it out?), Microsoft has revamped it's perk-filled Live Search Club as Live Search Perks, which, like Live Search's Cashback program, pays you for sticking with the company.
The latest iteration of Microsoft's pay-for-search program is a customized toolbar that rewards users with "tickets" that can be redeemed when the program ends next April. Users need to stick with the program the entire time to reap its benefits.
According to Liveside, the toolbar just counts the number of times you search, rather than collecting specific information about said searches. Users get 500 tickets upon signing up, and are reward up to 25 tickets a day, based on the number of searches conducted.
Microsoft is capping the number of eligible searches at 250,000. You'll need to sign up by the end of the year to participate. And don't even think of using a browser that's not Internet Explorer 6 or later.
Oh, and what are the two top prizes? Get this: a cook book and a Microsoft Xbox controller. Additional reporting by Mark Hachman
The latest iteration of Microsoft's pay-for-search program is a customized toolbar that rewards users with "tickets" that can be redeemed when the program ends next April. Users need to stick with the program the entire time to reap its benefits.
According to Liveside, the toolbar just counts the number of times you search, rather than collecting specific information about said searches. Users get 500 tickets upon signing up, and are reward up to 25 tickets a day, based on the number of searches conducted.
Microsoft is capping the number of eligible searches at 250,000. You'll need to sign up by the end of the year to participate. And don't even think of using a browser that's not Internet Explorer 6 or later.
Oh, and what are the two top prizes? Get this: a cook book and a Microsoft Xbox controller. Additional reporting by Mark Hachman
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Does More ZocDoc Money Mean New Coverage Areas?
Good news out of New York this morning: one of my favorite recent startups, ZocDoc, just got a funding boost from Salesforce.com founder/CEO Marc Benioff and Amazon founder/CEO Jeff Bezos.
ZocDoc is a medical appointment service/Google Maps mashup, but it's much more interesting and disruptive than it sounds. Enter in your location, your insurance plan, and what kind of doctor you need to see, and ZocDoc will find all the available docs nearby and list their available appointment times, including same-day appointments. Just click on the appointment time and book it online.
It's a great idea that can really shake up the industry
ZocDoc is a medical appointment service/Google Maps mashup, but it's much more interesting and disruptive than it sounds. Enter in your location, your insurance plan, and what kind of doctor you need to see, and ZocDoc will find all the available docs nearby and list their available appointment times, including same-day appointments. Just click on the appointment time and book it online.
It's a great idea that can really shake up the industry
New Royalty Rates May Cause iTunes to Close
Apple currently pays roughly 70 percent of its per-track revenue on iTunes to record companies. A new ruling by the Copyright Royalty Board may threaten that delicate balance, however. Apple VP Eddy Cue says the results could be devastating for the digital music industry.
The decision, expected tomorrow, will set royalty rates on digital music sales for the next five years. And according to The Standard, The National Music Publishers' Association is looking to increase rates from 9 to 15 cents per track. The Digital Media Association, meanwhile, is looking to drop rates down to 4.8 cents a track.
Is the increase really a significant threat to Apple's ultra-popular iTunes, which currently comprises some 80 percent of digital music sales? Yes, says Cue. "Apple has repeatedly made it clear that it is in this business to make money, and most likely would not continue to operate [the store] if it were no longer possible to do so profitably."
The decision, expected tomorrow, will set royalty rates on digital music sales for the next five years. And according to The Standard, The National Music Publishers' Association is looking to increase rates from 9 to 15 cents per track. The Digital Media Association, meanwhile, is looking to drop rates down to 4.8 cents a track.
Is the increase really a significant threat to Apple's ultra-popular iTunes, which currently comprises some 80 percent of digital music sales? Yes, says Cue. "Apple has repeatedly made it clear that it is in this business to make money, and most likely would not continue to operate [the store] if it were no longer possible to do so profitably."
Apple Drops NDA for App Store Developers
Relenting to pressure from the developer community, Apple has dropped the NDAs that developers were required to agree to when they submitted their applications for consideration on the iPhone App Store. In a statement on its Web site, Apple states, "The NDA has created too much of a burden on developers, authors and others interested in helping further the iPhone's success, so we are dropping it for released software."
The previous version of the NDA required that a developer not discuss the reasons that its app may have been declined, and restricted developers from publicly rebutting Apple's refusal or dissecting the denial notification that Apple sent them. The revised NDA allows developers to publicly comment on the reasons their app was accepted or declined, and it allows developers to state that they've submitted an app for consideration--but unreleased software currently under review is still covered by the NDA, and Apple has asked developers not to comment on applications currently being considered for the App Store.
The original NDA requirement that developers not discuss unreleased, denied, or released applications on the App Store caused a furor on the Web, where iPhone developers raged against Apple's walled-garden approach to iPhone application development, and began to question whether or not it was worth the hassle and risk that their app may be rejected. To compound matters, Google's App Market, designed to host applications to run on Google's Android mobile platform, was released to rave reviews from some developers, who praised Google's open attitude toward development.
Even so, Apple's reversal likely has at least a little to do with the open-garden philosophy of Google's App Market and more to do with Apple's desire to keep the rush of iPhone apps coming. The last thing Apple needs is to alienate developers who are churning out the apps that are helping make the iPhone so profitable.
The previous version of the NDA required that a developer not discuss the reasons that its app may have been declined, and restricted developers from publicly rebutting Apple's refusal or dissecting the denial notification that Apple sent them. The revised NDA allows developers to publicly comment on the reasons their app was accepted or declined, and it allows developers to state that they've submitted an app for consideration--but unreleased software currently under review is still covered by the NDA, and Apple has asked developers not to comment on applications currently being considered for the App Store.
The original NDA requirement that developers not discuss unreleased, denied, or released applications on the App Store caused a furor on the Web, where iPhone developers raged against Apple's walled-garden approach to iPhone application development, and began to question whether or not it was worth the hassle and risk that their app may be rejected. To compound matters, Google's App Market, designed to host applications to run on Google's Android mobile platform, was released to rave reviews from some developers, who praised Google's open attitude toward development.
Even so, Apple's reversal likely has at least a little to do with the open-garden philosophy of Google's App Market and more to do with Apple's desire to keep the rush of iPhone apps coming. The last thing Apple needs is to alienate developers who are churning out the apps that are helping make the iPhone so profitable.
Yahoo! Intros Location-Based Fire Eagle Platform
Yahoo! today released its new Fire Eagle platform, which lets users share location-based info across Web apps.
A number of companies have already built the platform's functionality into their sites, including, Pownce, Movable Type, and Brightkite. Users can specify how much info they want to share with the site, such as their exact location, zip code, city, region, state, or country.
The info can be updated via's the Fire Eagle site, SMS, a Mac widget, or an app like ZoneTag, My Loki, or Navizon. The service will send you an e-mail once a month to remind you that your info is being shared.
The apps that implement the service tend to find nearby locations, services, or friends.
Users can download the app, view a tutorial, and access its open API on the Fire Eagle site.
A number of companies have already built the platform's functionality into their sites, including, Pownce, Movable Type, and Brightkite. Users can specify how much info they want to share with the site, such as their exact location, zip code, city, region, state, or country.
The info can be updated via's the Fire Eagle site, SMS, a Mac widget, or an app like ZoneTag, My Loki, or Navizon. The service will send you an e-mail once a month to remind you that your info is being shared.
The apps that implement the service tend to find nearby locations, services, or friends.
Users can download the app, view a tutorial, and access its open API on the Fire Eagle site.
Hands on With Leapfrog's Learning Path
So you buy your children all manner of educational toys, hoping they'll learn something while they're playing--but how do you really know how well those toys are working? Leapfrog, maker of the Leapster, Leapster2, Didj, Tag Reader, and more has found a way to track your child's progress and pinpoint weaknesses and strengths with an easy-to-use online application. All of Leapfrog's products can be linked up to your account. As your kids progress, the Learning Path will recommend products and games they're ready for, based on their skill sets.
When you connect a Leapfrog device to your computer for the first time, you will be prompted to download the Leapfrog Connect software, which tracks your child's awards and points earned during gameplay and also enables you to drag and drop new games and content onto your device. Through Leapfrog Connect you can set up a Learning Path for each of your children and link devices both old and new.
You can set up a separate profile for each of your children, specifying their ages and gender. Each profile can be matched up with profiles from devices. The Leapster2, for example, can hold more than one profile. We gave it a try. See what you can do with the Learning Path after the jump.
The online app is pretty easy to use, and it's great for at-a-glance information and deeper, more specific progress reports, depending on how much time you have to devote to this. All you have to do once you set up the account is connect the devices you already own to your computer frequently, and remember to link new products with your account as soon as you purchase them.
When you log into your Learning Path account, you can view your child's progress, represented by stepping stones. The highlighted stones are the skills your child is using most.The shooting star at the bottom of this screen means your child is working above his or her grade level in that subject.
Click on any stone to dig deeper, and see what skills your child is learning. You can also click on any stone in this screen to see the specific skills and subject matter your products contain, and which skills are missing.
You can even see your child's progress with specific books and games. Here we see your child's reading progress using the Tag Reader. You can see actual questions answered and what he or she got right and wrong.
Here you can see how much time your child has devoted to reading and answering questions. Click on the "i" icon for more information on each number or percentage.
When you connect a Leapfrog device to your computer for the first time, you will be prompted to download the Leapfrog Connect software, which tracks your child's awards and points earned during gameplay and also enables you to drag and drop new games and content onto your device. Through Leapfrog Connect you can set up a Learning Path for each of your children and link devices both old and new.
You can set up a separate profile for each of your children, specifying their ages and gender. Each profile can be matched up with profiles from devices. The Leapster2, for example, can hold more than one profile. We gave it a try. See what you can do with the Learning Path after the jump.
The online app is pretty easy to use, and it's great for at-a-glance information and deeper, more specific progress reports, depending on how much time you have to devote to this. All you have to do once you set up the account is connect the devices you already own to your computer frequently, and remember to link new products with your account as soon as you purchase them.
When you log into your Learning Path account, you can view your child's progress, represented by stepping stones. The highlighted stones are the skills your child is using most.The shooting star at the bottom of this screen means your child is working above his or her grade level in that subject.
Click on any stone to dig deeper, and see what skills your child is learning. You can also click on any stone in this screen to see the specific skills and subject matter your products contain, and which skills are missing.
You can even see your child's progress with specific books and games. Here we see your child's reading progress using the Tag Reader. You can see actual questions answered and what he or she got right and wrong.
Here you can see how much time your child has devoted to reading and answering questions. Click on the "i" icon for more information on each number or percentage.
Smart Defrag Cleans Up Your Drives Quickly
Defragmenting your hard drive may not yield the massive performance benefits that it does on older operating systems, but it can certainly help--especially if you have a hard drive stuffed to the brim with photos, videos, and documents. The problem with most defragmentation tools is that they take a long time to clean up your hard drive. But this is not the case with Smart Defrag, a free app that can scan and defragment even large hard drives in a fraction of the time required by other tools.
The tangible benefits of defragmenting your hard drive are hotly debated, and most modern operating systems do a fairly good job of keeping themselves organized without the help of defragmentation applications. Even so, as hard drives get larger and are filled more with files like photos, videos and documents, defragging from time to time can help keep your system running in top shape.
The major benefit that Smart Defrag has over other disk defragmentation applications is that it's fast. The app scanned my 180GB boot drive in less than 3 minutes--significantly faster than even Windows' own built-in defrag tool. Best of all, the app doesn't require that you essentially run it and go to bed. You can run Smart Defrag while your normal applications are open. The app's effectiveness is decreased the more active you are with your system, but if you want to defrag while surfing the Web or working on a Word document, you won't notice a significant drop in performance.
Smart Defrag can scan multiple hard drives at the same time, bringing down the overall time required to defragment your system. You can even tell Smart Defrag to defragment your drive at certain times, allowing you to schedule regular defragmentation sessions for times when you know you won't be using your system.
The simple-to-install app can run quietly in the background, tidying up your system whenever your computer is idle. But if you're not a fan of applications running in the background, you can run the app on-demand. The developers of Smart Defrag claim that the app also moves your files around your hard drive so your most frequently accessed files are on the fastest physical parts of your drive. Smart Defrag is free and supports Windows 2000, XP, Vista, and reportedly, even the unreleased Windows 7.
[via DownloadSquad]
The tangible benefits of defragmenting your hard drive are hotly debated, and most modern operating systems do a fairly good job of keeping themselves organized without the help of defragmentation applications. Even so, as hard drives get larger and are filled more with files like photos, videos and documents, defragging from time to time can help keep your system running in top shape.
The major benefit that Smart Defrag has over other disk defragmentation applications is that it's fast. The app scanned my 180GB boot drive in less than 3 minutes--significantly faster than even Windows' own built-in defrag tool. Best of all, the app doesn't require that you essentially run it and go to bed. You can run Smart Defrag while your normal applications are open. The app's effectiveness is decreased the more active you are with your system, but if you want to defrag while surfing the Web or working on a Word document, you won't notice a significant drop in performance.
Smart Defrag can scan multiple hard drives at the same time, bringing down the overall time required to defragment your system. You can even tell Smart Defrag to defragment your drive at certain times, allowing you to schedule regular defragmentation sessions for times when you know you won't be using your system.
The simple-to-install app can run quietly in the background, tidying up your system whenever your computer is idle. But if you're not a fan of applications running in the background, you can run the app on-demand. The developers of Smart Defrag claim that the app also moves your files around your hard drive so your most frequently accessed files are on the fastest physical parts of your drive. Smart Defrag is free and supports Windows 2000, XP, Vista, and reportedly, even the unreleased Windows 7.
[via DownloadSquad]
Netflix Releases New API
Popular video-lending site Netflix launched a new API at the AJAX Experience conference in Boston today. According to the site, the API will give developers data to 100,000 movie and TV titles. Subscribers will also be able to access their accounts from third-party sites implanting the platform.
Better still, the API features code that can let programmers embed a Play button and media player on external sites. The API is both read and write, meaning that users will also be able to update pieces of their account, such as movie queues.
Netflix also told ReadWriteWeb that it will allow developers to use the API for commercial purposes, like, say, users looking to develop apps for the iPhone.
Better still, the API features code that can let programmers embed a Play button and media player on external sites. The API is both read and write, meaning that users will also be able to update pieces of their account, such as movie queues.
Netflix also told ReadWriteWeb that it will allow developers to use the API for commercial purposes, like, say, users looking to develop apps for the iPhone.
reQall Releases Memory Aid for BlackBerry Users
For those BlackBerry owners who are just too busy to remember this meeting, or that luncheon, or to pick their kid up from school, never fear, reQall is here--and free. As if your smartphone wasn't already smart enough, reQall introduced today a beta version of its first memory aid designed specifically for BlackBerry users.
BlackBerry users will be ber-organized with reQall. In addition to the normal BlackBerry functions--e-mail, calendars, Internet, etc.--reQall allows users to say or text what they want to remember, and presto, the app remembers them. reQall converts voice messages into text, and then sorts those messages into one of three categories: to-dos, notes and shopping list items. Users are reminded of these important notes at the appropriate time.
"People all over the world are using reQall as an indispensable memory aid," said Gabriel Yu, founder and chairman of iTVentures Group, and reQall investor and adviser. " reQall for BlackBerry will make this essential tool available to one of the most digitally active and hyper-connected audiences."
reQall is smart. The app is so smart, it can recognize specific spoken or typed words such as "note," "meet" and "buy," and then files those items in their right place. A user can say, "Tell John to buy milk," and a message will be sent to John by text, e-mail or instant message. It also recognizes dates and times, which allows reQall to set and send reminders at a certain time. You don't even have to talk to people anymore.
Although technology has come a long way from mini-tape recorders, will reQall still seem dorky when someone holds it up and says, "Note to self..."?
reQall is now available and free during the initial beta phase.
BlackBerry users will be ber-organized with reQall. In addition to the normal BlackBerry functions--e-mail, calendars, Internet, etc.--reQall allows users to say or text what they want to remember, and presto, the app remembers them. reQall converts voice messages into text, and then sorts those messages into one of three categories: to-dos, notes and shopping list items. Users are reminded of these important notes at the appropriate time.
"People all over the world are using reQall as an indispensable memory aid," said Gabriel Yu, founder and chairman of iTVentures Group, and reQall investor and adviser. " reQall for BlackBerry will make this essential tool available to one of the most digitally active and hyper-connected audiences."
reQall is smart. The app is so smart, it can recognize specific spoken or typed words such as "note," "meet" and "buy," and then files those items in their right place. A user can say, "Tell John to buy milk," and a message will be sent to John by text, e-mail or instant message. It also recognizes dates and times, which allows reQall to set and send reminders at a certain time. You don't even have to talk to people anymore.
Although technology has come a long way from mini-tape recorders, will reQall still seem dorky when someone holds it up and says, "Note to self..."?
reQall is now available and free during the initial beta phase.
Ballmer: Microsoft Pushing Windows into the Cloud
Is Windows aiming for the clouds? According to Microsoft's frequently over-excited head honcho, Steve Ballmer, the company's next OS will help developers design apps for the Web. Speaking to a audience full of IT folk, Ballmer spoke about the forthcoming "Windows Cloud," an app the company will reveal in fuller detail in about a month.
The OS, according to Ballmer is a different project altogether than the much speculated about Windows 7.
According to InfoWorld, "Microsoft is working on a service that would let people do "light editing" of Office documents at places such as a public Internet kiosk." Ballmer refused to comment any further on the app.
The OS, according to Ballmer is a different project altogether than the much speculated about Windows 7.
According to InfoWorld, "Microsoft is working on a service that would let people do "light editing" of Office documents at places such as a public Internet kiosk." Ballmer refused to comment any further on the app.
Skype Surveillence System Discovered in China
This is not exactly the shock of the century, especially in light of the added scrutiny surrounding the Bejing Olympics. But according to The New York Times, a Canadian human rights group has recently discovered a large surveillance system being used to monitor and archive Internet conversations.
The system is designed to monitor text messages sent using the eBay-co-owned VoIP service, Tom-Skype. According to the organization, the eight computers being used to monitor messages contain more than a million censored messages. Censored references include those relating to Falun Gong, Taiwan, and the Communist Party.
More than 166,000 messages from 44,000 members have been logged and censored.
"I can see an arms race going on," said Cisco VP Pat Peterson told The Times. "China is one of the more wired places of the world and they are fighting a war with their populace."
The system is designed to monitor text messages sent using the eBay-co-owned VoIP service, Tom-Skype. According to the organization, the eight computers being used to monitor messages contain more than a million censored messages. Censored references include those relating to Falun Gong, Taiwan, and the Communist Party.
More than 166,000 messages from 44,000 members have been logged and censored.
"I can see an arms race going on," said Cisco VP Pat Peterson told The Times. "China is one of the more wired places of the world and they are fighting a war with their populace."
Monday, July 20, 2009
CauseCast Combines Activism and Social Networking
If you can't get enough of your favorite social networks and consider yourself somewhat of an expert at connecting with people who share your interests, why not put that energy to good use at CauseCast? It's a social network that connects you with friends, organizations, celebrities, and other like-minded people interested in championing the causes that you care about.
CauseCast is a combination social network, media hub, and resource for individuals looking to make a difference in issues that matter to them. Whether you're most concerned with arts education, climate change, or endangered species, you can find a group of like-minded activists at CauseCast to connect with, work with, and contribute to. A number of the causes and groups have celebrity leaders; if you're curious what your favorite stars are concerned about, you'll be happy to know that Jenny McCarthy is the leader of the Generation Rescue group, and Lukas Haas is the leader of a climate-change awareness group.
The beauty of CauseCast is that in addition to being a social network, the site combines rich-media-like photos and video to create a truly engaging way to get involved with important social causes. Signing up for the service is a snap, and you can quickly become a member of several groups dedicated to causes that you're passionate about. Some groups have celebrity leaders, while others are led by ordinary CauseCast members who saw an opportunity to make a difference and took it.
CauseCast allows you to easily connect with organizations and other members who share your interests. Once you're a member, or connected, you can easily donate to your preferred organization or non-profit group, volunteer your time to an event in your area, organize an event, and share media from the Web with the rest of the group. Group organizers can easily create groups to champion their own causes and invite other members to join. They can also reward their most active members for their participation, volunteer hours, and commitment to the cause.
Though everyday members can become leaders and start their own groups, the list of non-profits and charity organizations at CauseCast is nothing to scoff at. Some well-known organizations are represented at CauseCast, including Kiva, Peta2, The Humane Society, and Save the Children. You'll find video, audio, and photos galore to help reinforce the group's message. If you're passionate about a cause represented at CauseCast and you sign up, the site can facilitate in donating your time, money, or effort to your favorite cause while making it easy to spread the word about the causes that matter to you. The service offers widgets to embed in your personal blog or Web site and an events calendar where you can participate in meet-ups and rallies or add your own.
We've seen a number of social networks that are harnessing the power of the crowd to help aid organizations and charities, but CauseCast is one of the first that's explicitly designed to get ordinary people involved and connected not just with the organizations that matter, but with a broad community of people who care as much as they do.
CauseCast is a combination social network, media hub, and resource for individuals looking to make a difference in issues that matter to them. Whether you're most concerned with arts education, climate change, or endangered species, you can find a group of like-minded activists at CauseCast to connect with, work with, and contribute to. A number of the causes and groups have celebrity leaders; if you're curious what your favorite stars are concerned about, you'll be happy to know that Jenny McCarthy is the leader of the Generation Rescue group, and Lukas Haas is the leader of a climate-change awareness group.
The beauty of CauseCast is that in addition to being a social network, the site combines rich-media-like photos and video to create a truly engaging way to get involved with important social causes. Signing up for the service is a snap, and you can quickly become a member of several groups dedicated to causes that you're passionate about. Some groups have celebrity leaders, while others are led by ordinary CauseCast members who saw an opportunity to make a difference and took it.
CauseCast allows you to easily connect with organizations and other members who share your interests. Once you're a member, or connected, you can easily donate to your preferred organization or non-profit group, volunteer your time to an event in your area, organize an event, and share media from the Web with the rest of the group. Group organizers can easily create groups to champion their own causes and invite other members to join. They can also reward their most active members for their participation, volunteer hours, and commitment to the cause.
Though everyday members can become leaders and start their own groups, the list of non-profits and charity organizations at CauseCast is nothing to scoff at. Some well-known organizations are represented at CauseCast, including Kiva, Peta2, The Humane Society, and Save the Children. You'll find video, audio, and photos galore to help reinforce the group's message. If you're passionate about a cause represented at CauseCast and you sign up, the site can facilitate in donating your time, money, or effort to your favorite cause while making it easy to spread the word about the causes that matter to you. The service offers widgets to embed in your personal blog or Web site and an events calendar where you can participate in meet-ups and rallies or add your own.
We've seen a number of social networks that are harnessing the power of the crowd to help aid organizations and charities, but CauseCast is one of the first that's explicitly designed to get ordinary people involved and connected not just with the organizations that matter, but with a broad community of people who care as much as they do.
Task Manager Extension Brings the Task Manager to Life
Most Windows users know that when your computer is running slowly or acting sluggish, the first thing to do is fire up the Task Manager by pressing Ctrl Alt Del. Then you check to see which processes are using the most memory or are high on the CPU utilization list. A number of apps allow you to check running processes to see what applications are behind them, but not all of them give you the in-depth look into the apps behind the process names the way Task Manager Extension does. The app is a free hook into the Windows Task Manager that allows you to determine the difference between essential Windows processes and applications, and to collect more information about the applications behind the process before you opt to kill it.
Task Manager Extension is a tiny executable that runs in the background alongside the Windows Task Manager. Once the app is installed and running, open the Task Manager and you'll immediately see the difference. First, the extension adds its own menu to the Task Manager window. You'll see that running processes are shaded gray if they're essential, and application processes have the logo of the application (if available) next to the process name.
When you right-click on a process name, you see your normal options: end process, end process tree, and priority options. But with Task Manager Extension installed, you can also pull up more precise information about the process, the files that spawned the process, the windows open that are associated with that process, the memory threads associated with it, and more.
There's more information here than you'd likely need if you're just trying to figure out which process to kill to bring your system's performance back to normal. But if you're troubleshooting to find out why your favorite game always seems to stall at a certain point or why your system's memory utilization goes through the roof when you open a certain set of tabs in Firefox, the options may prove helpful.
Additionally, Task Manager Extension allows you to set CPU usage alerts, so the app immediately displays processes that exceed a certain level. The tool can even show you loaded drivers if you're having trouble with a peripheral. Task Manager Extension is free, and supports Windows 2000, Windows XP, and Windows 2003. It does not support 64-bit versions of Windows, and it doesn't support Windows Vista.
[via DownloadSquad]
Task Manager Extension is a tiny executable that runs in the background alongside the Windows Task Manager. Once the app is installed and running, open the Task Manager and you'll immediately see the difference. First, the extension adds its own menu to the Task Manager window. You'll see that running processes are shaded gray if they're essential, and application processes have the logo of the application (if available) next to the process name.
When you right-click on a process name, you see your normal options: end process, end process tree, and priority options. But with Task Manager Extension installed, you can also pull up more precise information about the process, the files that spawned the process, the windows open that are associated with that process, the memory threads associated with it, and more.
There's more information here than you'd likely need if you're just trying to figure out which process to kill to bring your system's performance back to normal. But if you're troubleshooting to find out why your favorite game always seems to stall at a certain point or why your system's memory utilization goes through the roof when you open a certain set of tabs in Firefox, the options may prove helpful.
Additionally, Task Manager Extension allows you to set CPU usage alerts, so the app immediately displays processes that exceed a certain level. The tool can even show you loaded drivers if you're having trouble with a peripheral. Task Manager Extension is free, and supports Windows 2000, Windows XP, and Windows 2003. It does not support 64-bit versions of Windows, and it doesn't support Windows Vista.
[via DownloadSquad]
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