Facebook Ready to Blow Doors off Myspace
May 24, 2007
It’s already a much better social network, technology and otherwise, than myspace, but now Facebook is taking it to
another level. Announced today was the Facebook “platform” which will allow third party application developers to create mini apps that will run on a Facebook profile. Amazon, Microsoft and Digg among 65 others are already on board. It’s an exciting announcement and if they can pull it off, it could re-define the nature of social networks.
Amazon DRM-Free Music Store Announced
May 16, 2007
Slowly, inch by inch, the world is trying to move toward non-DRM digital music. Amazon joining Apple in selling DRM-free music is a great boost to the cause, but it’s only the same EMI library that Apple has. I would encourage everyone to buy as much non-DRM music as you can. The more successful those tracks are, the more likely others will jump in. The other labels are very willing to let EMI be the ginny pig and take the risk. We need to reward EMI for their courage and forethought and buy lots of music from them. Bring on the Beatles already! People are dying to give you money for those albums.
Microsoft and Yahoo - You Can’t Buy Web 2.0 Mojo
May 4, 2007
So Microsoft wants to buy Yahoo, again. I guess they have tried before, but this time they really mean it. It’s certainly a big pill to swallow and I’m not sure what it gives Microsoft other than a big headache integrating the two companies and technologies. Swallowing Compaq gave HP major heart burn.
But the real issue is that Microsoft just doesn’t have any Web 2.0 mojo the way Google has it and I’m not sure that’s something you can buy. Many of Yahoo’s best people will likely leave and the Microsoft culture would overwhelm what is left of Yahoo. So what’s the point? Other than the fact that two of the most revered web 2.0 sites (Flickr and delicious) would be owned by Microsoft (yikes!) In a way, it will be a sad day, the end of an era. Yahoo was one of the very first, if not the first major Internet age company.
Clearly, Microsoft wants to bulk up to do battle with Google. After all these years of Apple as the main adversary. Now imagine Microsoft’s worst nightmare, Apple and Google teaming up against it. Already they are doing business with the iPhone but it could go so much deeper if they wanted.
HD-DVD Key Fight - It’s Not Over
May 4, 2007
More fallout from the great Digg.com/HD-DVD key debacle.
Michael Ayers, chair of the AACS business group, says they will use both legal and technical steps to curb the publishing of keys or other circumvention techniques against DRM. The initial key has been published hundreds of thousands of times already. It’s just not going to be practical to go after all those people. Maybe they try to nail a few key folks to strike fear into the hearts of geeks everywhere. They have already revoked the key, so it’s useless anyway, but certainly a new key will be hacked at some point. This threatening stance is really the wrong strategy. Can you imagine the next time a key is hacked? It will spread like wildfire, even worse than the first one. This is a demonstration of civil disobedience. In the 60’s, people burned their draft cards in defiance of the draft law; today we post hacked keys in defiance of DRM.
iPod Bodywear
May 4, 2007
Sometimes you run across something that is just not quite right. Such as it is with the very odd iWear, uh, thing. I don’t have the wearwithall to explain. Click the link and explore for yourself.
