The HIV/AIDS epidemic is very real and affects millions of people worldwide every day, but there are a number of misconceptions and stereotypes about people who have the disease. Together with MTV and the Kaiser Family Foundation, celebrity musicians and icons like Fall Out Boy, Wyclef Jean, Perez Hilton, Will.i.am, Atmosphere, and Rise Against are launching Pos or Not, a Web game that forces you to examine those misconceptions.
Pos or Not shows you real photos of real people and forces you to choose whether the person pictured has HIV/AIDS or not based mostly on their photo. Once you make your selection, you find out the truth and learn a little about the person pictured and their life--with or without HIV/AIDS.
25 years after the first HIV/AIDS cases started cropping up in America, it's remarkable how many people still think that people affected by the disease look a certain way or are of a certain ethnicity or social group. In fact, the core message of Pos Or Not is that people with HIV/AIDS look just like everyone else, and whether you have the disease or not everyone has a story to tell about how HIV/AIDS has touched their lives.
The game itself is simple; you're presented with a photo and some very basic information about the person pictured, and you choose whether the person in the photo is HIV positive or HIV negative. Once you make your selection, you're taken to a page that shows you whether that person is actually HIV positive or negative and reveals a little information about the person.
The site is modeled after Hot or Not, and after you see whether your guess was right or wrong, you get to read a little about the person you just voted on. If the person is HIV positive, you can read the story of how they learned they were positive and how it's changed their life, and if the person was HIV negative, you can read about how HIV/AIDS has changed their life. Afterwards, you move on to the next person and get to choose all over again.
In addition to the game, Pos or Not also has talking tips and other resources for people who want more information on HIV/AIDS. The site sports hotlines and contact information for organizations dedicated to helping people with or affected by HIV/AIDS, some basic information about the disease to help readers clear up their misconceptions, and a guide to getting tested.
Once you go through a few photos and realize how wrong you are when you're judging someone based only on a photograph and brief personal bio, the site reminds you that the only way to really know yourself is to get tested. It doesn't take too long for you to realize while you're playing the game that it's impossible to know whether someone is HIV positive just by looking at them, or even by knowing a little about them.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Google Ocean in the Works.
Having already conquered the earth and the sky, Google is setting its sites on the next undiscovered frontier--the ocean. The search company has been assembling teams of oceanographers at its Mountain View, CA offices to begin work on the next major facet of its ever-enlarging Earth project: Google Oceans, a 3D map of that big wet spot that takes up nearly three-fourths of our global real-estate.
Google is remaining tight-lipped about the project at the moment, but CNet reports that the company is planning to "[overlay] layers that depict phenomena like weather patterns, currents, temperatures, shipwrecks, coral reefs, and algae blooms, much like the National Park Service and NASA provide additional data for Google Earth and Google Sky."
The upcoming project may hold as much interest for professional oceanographers and enthusiasts as it does for the general public, allowing easy virtual access to a terrain that has always been notoriously difficult to traverse. And of course, the difficulties may also translate into delays for the creation of the project.
"It would take about 100 ship years to map the oceans at high resolution," Dave Sandwell, a professor of geophysics at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography told CNet.
After all, it's not just a simple matter of retrofitting those Street View vans.
Google is remaining tight-lipped about the project at the moment, but CNet reports that the company is planning to "[overlay] layers that depict phenomena like weather patterns, currents, temperatures, shipwrecks, coral reefs, and algae blooms, much like the National Park Service and NASA provide additional data for Google Earth and Google Sky."
The upcoming project may hold as much interest for professional oceanographers and enthusiasts as it does for the general public, allowing easy virtual access to a terrain that has always been notoriously difficult to traverse. And of course, the difficulties may also translate into delays for the creation of the project.
"It would take about 100 ship years to map the oceans at high resolution," Dave Sandwell, a professor of geophysics at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography told CNet.
After all, it's not just a simple matter of retrofitting those Street View vans.
AOL, Real, Yahoo Could Owe Songwriters $100 Million
A U.S. district court ruled Wednesday that AOL, RealNetworks and Yahoo must pay a percentage of their music-oriented revenues to the American Society of Composers, Artists, and Pusblishers (ASCAP) after the three companies were unable to agree on the rates owed the songwriters.
In total, ASCAP said, the payments owed by all three companies could equal $100 million.
"The Court's finding represents a major step toward proper valuation of the music contributions of songwriters, composers and publishers to these types of online businesses - many of which have built much of their success on the foundation of the creative works of others," said ASCAP president and chairman Marilyn Bergman. "It is critical that these organizations share a reasonable portion of their sizable revenues with those of us whose content attracts audiences and, ultimately, helps to make their businesses viable. This decision will go a long way toward protecting the ability of songwriters and composers to be compensated fairly as the use of musical works online continues to grow."
The district court was brought in as a "rate court" to determine what rates the Web sites should pay, as per a 2001 court ruling. The hearing took place during Oct.-Nov. 1997, during which the court heard from a dozen witnesses and reviewed 203 exhibits. The fees are in addition to what all three sites pay the record labels for music and to video providers like CBS for their videos.
In a ruling made public by ASCAP, the court notes that early moves in Internet-delivered music went largely unregulated. In a footnotes, the court reminds us that Yahoo bought Broadcast.com for $5.4 billion in 1999; for 1998, the company had recorded $8.4 million in advertising revenue. However, an estimated 8.2 billion music streams were delievered in 2005, a 3,700 percent increase from the 270 million streams served in 2000.
The "open period" during which Yahoo began serving streams began July 1, 2002; AOL's began on Jan. 1, 2005, while Real's began on the same day in 2004. ASCAP proposed that the court estimate all fees through 2009. The organization attempted to calculate the music-oriented revenues of all three companies, and apply a 3 percent licensing fee to each.
Because both comScore and Nielsen assign differing values in terms of users and traffic, ASCAP valued AOL's fees at roughly $13 million, as per the graphic above. RealNetworks was assessed a fee of about $21 million, under ASCAP's estimate. In each case, related services (like Real's Rhapsody) were taken into account.
The court ruled that AOL, Real, and Yahoo would each pay a slightly lower 2.5 percent of its "music-use-adjusted revenue," or a percentage of the amount of money brought in by users and advertisers on the music-oriented Web pages or services. In the case of AOL and Yahoo, that would in turn be modified by the number of hours users spent on the music-oriented portions of the Web site, divided by the total number of hours spent visiting the site at large. (Real, because it was deemed a music-only service, did not have this modifier applied to it.)
Specifically, the court found that for 2006, AOL would owe ASCAP $5.95 million, and Yahoo would owe $6.76 million. The court found that there was not enough data to assess the appropriate fee for RealNetworks.
In total, ASCAP said, the payments owed by all three companies could equal $100 million.
"The Court's finding represents a major step toward proper valuation of the music contributions of songwriters, composers and publishers to these types of online businesses - many of which have built much of their success on the foundation of the creative works of others," said ASCAP president and chairman Marilyn Bergman. "It is critical that these organizations share a reasonable portion of their sizable revenues with those of us whose content attracts audiences and, ultimately, helps to make their businesses viable. This decision will go a long way toward protecting the ability of songwriters and composers to be compensated fairly as the use of musical works online continues to grow."
The district court was brought in as a "rate court" to determine what rates the Web sites should pay, as per a 2001 court ruling. The hearing took place during Oct.-Nov. 1997, during which the court heard from a dozen witnesses and reviewed 203 exhibits. The fees are in addition to what all three sites pay the record labels for music and to video providers like CBS for their videos.
In a ruling made public by ASCAP, the court notes that early moves in Internet-delivered music went largely unregulated. In a footnotes, the court reminds us that Yahoo bought Broadcast.com for $5.4 billion in 1999; for 1998, the company had recorded $8.4 million in advertising revenue. However, an estimated 8.2 billion music streams were delievered in 2005, a 3,700 percent increase from the 270 million streams served in 2000.
The "open period" during which Yahoo began serving streams began July 1, 2002; AOL's began on Jan. 1, 2005, while Real's began on the same day in 2004. ASCAP proposed that the court estimate all fees through 2009. The organization attempted to calculate the music-oriented revenues of all three companies, and apply a 3 percent licensing fee to each.
Because both comScore and Nielsen assign differing values in terms of users and traffic, ASCAP valued AOL's fees at roughly $13 million, as per the graphic above. RealNetworks was assessed a fee of about $21 million, under ASCAP's estimate. In each case, related services (like Real's Rhapsody) were taken into account.
The court ruled that AOL, Real, and Yahoo would each pay a slightly lower 2.5 percent of its "music-use-adjusted revenue," or a percentage of the amount of money brought in by users and advertisers on the music-oriented Web pages or services. In the case of AOL and Yahoo, that would in turn be modified by the number of hours users spent on the music-oriented portions of the Web site, divided by the total number of hours spent visiting the site at large. (Real, because it was deemed a music-only service, did not have this modifier applied to it.)
Specifically, the court found that for 2006, AOL would owe ASCAP $5.95 million, and Yahoo would owe $6.76 million. The court found that there was not enough data to assess the appropriate fee for RealNetworks.
Wakerupper: Your Personal Wake Up Call
I know its much easier for me to get up if my phone is ringing than if my alarm clock is going off. The alarm clock I can ignore, but the ringing of the phone and the constant beeping of my voice-mail alert is difficult to sleep through. The hard part is finding someone willing to call you at 7 in the morning with the unpleasant task of waking you up. Wakerupper, a Web service that will call you at a scheduled time with a reminder message, will do that for me, and can also help me remember important tasks when I'm awake.
Wakerupper is more useful than the name implies. The service will automatically call you with any reminder at any time of the day. You can schedule reminders months in advance, and if you sign up for a beta account, you can manage and keep track of those events. The service is free to use, but beta accounts are private, so you'll need to e-mail the service to get in it. Beta testers also get access to new features as they're rolled out, such as voice reminders, snoozing reminders, recurring calls, and more.
Wakerupper will call you at any time of day that you select with a custom message. Simply choose the date and time you'd like to receive your call and your time zone, and type in a short reminder message you'd like included with your call. The service will call you at the appointed time and read the message you've typed in to you, whether it's "wake up," or "don't forget your flight leaves in an hour."
The service is free to use, and anyone can schedule a reminder. Private beta accounts are also free for the moment, but the site's terms of service leave the door wide open to "premium" accounts in the future that may have a subscription fee, and will likely sport all of the features that the developers are working on now.
As with any service that asks for data as personal as a phone number, the privacy policy is a good thing to read. Wakerupper promises that it will never share or sell your telephone number unless its ordered to by a court. It goes on to state that it currently does not work with advertisers, but if it ever did it would never provide personal information. It looks as though Wakerupper, when it decides to monetize its services, will try to make money from premium accounts and not from selling customer information.
Wakerupper was conceived as a way to get a personal wake-up call without calling the desk of your hotel (if you're even sleeping in a hotel), but it can also remind you not to miss your flight, that you have an important meeting this afternoon, or that you have a dinner date. The site suggests that you use Wakerupper to alert you when it's time to get up, to remind you to take medication--or even to fake an emergency to get out of a boring meeting or bad date.
Wakerupper is more useful than the name implies. The service will automatically call you with any reminder at any time of the day. You can schedule reminders months in advance, and if you sign up for a beta account, you can manage and keep track of those events. The service is free to use, but beta accounts are private, so you'll need to e-mail the service to get in it. Beta testers also get access to new features as they're rolled out, such as voice reminders, snoozing reminders, recurring calls, and more.
Wakerupper will call you at any time of day that you select with a custom message. Simply choose the date and time you'd like to receive your call and your time zone, and type in a short reminder message you'd like included with your call. The service will call you at the appointed time and read the message you've typed in to you, whether it's "wake up," or "don't forget your flight leaves in an hour."
The service is free to use, and anyone can schedule a reminder. Private beta accounts are also free for the moment, but the site's terms of service leave the door wide open to "premium" accounts in the future that may have a subscription fee, and will likely sport all of the features that the developers are working on now.
As with any service that asks for data as personal as a phone number, the privacy policy is a good thing to read. Wakerupper promises that it will never share or sell your telephone number unless its ordered to by a court. It goes on to state that it currently does not work with advertisers, but if it ever did it would never provide personal information. It looks as though Wakerupper, when it decides to monetize its services, will try to make money from premium accounts and not from selling customer information.
Wakerupper was conceived as a way to get a personal wake-up call without calling the desk of your hotel (if you're even sleeping in a hotel), but it can also remind you not to miss your flight, that you have an important meeting this afternoon, or that you have a dinner date. The site suggests that you use Wakerupper to alert you when it's time to get up, to remind you to take medication--or even to fake an emergency to get out of a boring meeting or bad date.
MADD Lashes Out Against Grand Theft Auto IV
The other day, a coworker was singing the praises of the latest installment in the Grand Theft Auto series; she rattled off a list of all of the activities in which one can engage in the world of Liberty City. One of her favorites--beyond the standard car-jacking, hooker bludgeoning fare--was the ability to drive drunk.
Advocacy group, Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), are, perhaps not unsurprisingly, less happy about that feature. "Drunk driving is not a game, and it is not a joke," said MADD in a statement issued to coincide with the game's release. "Drunk driving is a choice, a violent crime and it is also 100 percent preventable."
The non-profit organization is asking the Entertainment Software Ratings Board to bump the game up from Mature to Adults Only. It's also--perhaps less realistically--asking Take 2 Interactive and developer Rockstar Games games to stop distributing the title, which is expected to pull in some $400 million at launch.
Rockstar responding to the request by telling the Associated Press, "We have a great deal of respect for MADD's mission, but we believe the mature audience for Grand Theft Auto IV is more than sophisticated enough to understand the game's content. For the same reason that you can't judge an entire film or television program by a single scene, you can't judge Grand Theft Auto by a small aspect of the game."
Naturally. Shame on them for overlooking the equally prominent scenes of murder and general mayhem.
Advocacy group, Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), are, perhaps not unsurprisingly, less happy about that feature. "Drunk driving is not a game, and it is not a joke," said MADD in a statement issued to coincide with the game's release. "Drunk driving is a choice, a violent crime and it is also 100 percent preventable."
The non-profit organization is asking the Entertainment Software Ratings Board to bump the game up from Mature to Adults Only. It's also--perhaps less realistically--asking Take 2 Interactive and developer Rockstar Games games to stop distributing the title, which is expected to pull in some $400 million at launch.
Rockstar responding to the request by telling the Associated Press, "We have a great deal of respect for MADD's mission, but we believe the mature audience for Grand Theft Auto IV is more than sophisticated enough to understand the game's content. For the same reason that you can't judge an entire film or television program by a single scene, you can't judge Grand Theft Auto by a small aspect of the game."
Naturally. Shame on them for overlooking the equally prominent scenes of murder and general mayhem.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Songerize Gets That Song Out of Your Head
I think one of the best ways to get rid of a song that's in your head is to hear it played. Songerize can help; the service lets you type in a song title and an artist's name, and it will find and play the song for you. The service is perfect if there's a song you want to hear or share with a friend right away. Alternatively, Songerize might be the perfect weapon in your arsenal if you're the insidious type who likes to put songs in other people's heads.
Songerize reminds me a bit of Songza, a similar service that allows you to search for a song and then play it. But Songerize is designed for finding individual songs when you know both the title and the artist's name. If you're missing either of those pieces, Songerize has difficulty finding your track. If it does find your track, though, it immediately starts playing it.
Songerize shares databases with its more feature-rich cousin, Seeqpod. The service describes itself as the "I'm Feeling Lucky" button for Seeqpod, so if you're looking for more options and remixes of specific songs, you should visit Seeqpod instead. Songerize is designed specifically to be used when you absolutely have to hear a specific song or you want your friends to hear the song that you've been humming all day.
I had a few problems with the songs buffering shortly after they started to play, but the database managed to find the bulk of the songs I searched for. Some of the more obscure artists were nowhere to be found, but all of the popular tracks were easy to find.
Songerize is fun to use, and perfect to call up when you and a coworker get into a discussion about a song you heard in a commercial. Don't expect Songerize to be a music discovery engine or to sport all the features that other, larger music search engines have. Songerize's strength is that it's quick, easy, and can find just about anything and play it in a snap.
Songerize reminds me a bit of Songza, a similar service that allows you to search for a song and then play it. But Songerize is designed for finding individual songs when you know both the title and the artist's name. If you're missing either of those pieces, Songerize has difficulty finding your track. If it does find your track, though, it immediately starts playing it.
Songerize shares databases with its more feature-rich cousin, Seeqpod. The service describes itself as the "I'm Feeling Lucky" button for Seeqpod, so if you're looking for more options and remixes of specific songs, you should visit Seeqpod instead. Songerize is designed specifically to be used when you absolutely have to hear a specific song or you want your friends to hear the song that you've been humming all day.
I had a few problems with the songs buffering shortly after they started to play, but the database managed to find the bulk of the songs I searched for. Some of the more obscure artists were nowhere to be found, but all of the popular tracks were easy to find.
Songerize is fun to use, and perfect to call up when you and a coworker get into a discussion about a song you heard in a commercial. Don't expect Songerize to be a music discovery engine or to sport all the features that other, larger music search engines have. Songerize's strength is that it's quick, easy, and can find just about anything and play it in a snap.
Streamzy: Centralize Your Streaming Music
A number of Web services have popped up recently that will play a song for you on demand. Sites like Songerize and Songza let you search for a song and play it instantly, but Streamzy takes the idea a step further. If you sign up for an account at Streamzy, you can create custom playlists, add the music that you find to those playlists, and come back to your tunes anytime from any Internet-connected computer.
Streamzy is simple to use: Search for music using the artist or song name, and select how many search results you'd like. The service goes out, grabs music from sites that host the music and make it available for streaming, and cleans up any bad results before you click Play. From there, you can click any of the songs in the search results to start streaming it, or drag it to the playlist window at the bottom of the page. The service starts you off with a default playlist; to add more you'll have to sign up for a Streamzy account (free).
The service's goal is to give you one place to search for music, stream it immediately, and save it for the future. Once you're signed up, you can create multiple playlists and add as much music to them as you like. They automatically save, and you can return to them anytime from any Internet-connected computer. You control the music and volume with the player controls in the upper left corner of the page.
Streamzy is a brainchild of Seeqpod, the same folks behind Songerize. Songerize allows you to search for a single song and instantly play it, and Seeqpod allows you to search more broadly and play anything you find. Streamzy takes the search functionality from Seeqpod and lets you save the tunes that turn up from your searches. Songza is similar: it allows you to search, play instantly, and also sports playlist features, but you can have only one playlist at a time; Streamzy allows you to create as many as you like. Streamzy and its Seeqpod-based brothers may not be as clean as Songza, but I'd be surprised if multiple playlists didn't turn up in Songza within weeks.
Part of what makes Streamzy so special is the fact that it draws upon Seeqpod's broad database of music sources. You can find just about anything you might want to hear, and because you can save it all to playlists that you can return to, it's almost like owning the music. In order to stay legal, the service doesn't allow you to buy or download the music, so you can't take your tunes offline.
The service is brand new, and it shows; the info pages are scarcely populated and don't offer a ton of information. Even so, Streamzy is a lot of fun to use, and the site is pretty snappy. Music loads quickly, the interface is simple to use, and I can certainly see leaving Streamzy up in the background playing music while I'm working.
Streamzy is simple to use: Search for music using the artist or song name, and select how many search results you'd like. The service goes out, grabs music from sites that host the music and make it available for streaming, and cleans up any bad results before you click Play. From there, you can click any of the songs in the search results to start streaming it, or drag it to the playlist window at the bottom of the page. The service starts you off with a default playlist; to add more you'll have to sign up for a Streamzy account (free).
The service's goal is to give you one place to search for music, stream it immediately, and save it for the future. Once you're signed up, you can create multiple playlists and add as much music to them as you like. They automatically save, and you can return to them anytime from any Internet-connected computer. You control the music and volume with the player controls in the upper left corner of the page.
Streamzy is a brainchild of Seeqpod, the same folks behind Songerize. Songerize allows you to search for a single song and instantly play it, and Seeqpod allows you to search more broadly and play anything you find. Streamzy takes the search functionality from Seeqpod and lets you save the tunes that turn up from your searches. Songza is similar: it allows you to search, play instantly, and also sports playlist features, but you can have only one playlist at a time; Streamzy allows you to create as many as you like. Streamzy and its Seeqpod-based brothers may not be as clean as Songza, but I'd be surprised if multiple playlists didn't turn up in Songza within weeks.
Part of what makes Streamzy so special is the fact that it draws upon Seeqpod's broad database of music sources. You can find just about anything you might want to hear, and because you can save it all to playlists that you can return to, it's almost like owning the music. In order to stay legal, the service doesn't allow you to buy or download the music, so you can't take your tunes offline.
The service is brand new, and it shows; the info pages are scarcely populated and don't offer a ton of information. Even so, Streamzy is a lot of fun to use, and the site is pretty snappy. Music loads quickly, the interface is simple to use, and I can certainly see leaving Streamzy up in the background playing music while I'm working.
MLB.com Updates Multiple Streaming Feature
With the launch of an upgraded version of MLB.TV Mosaic from MLB Advanced Media (MLBAM), the Internet and media company of Major League Baseball, and Ensequence, an interactive TV company, baseball fans worldwide can watch their favorite sport in more ways than one--six, to be precise.
MLB.TV Mosaic now allows fans to view up to six high-quality streaming videos of live, final, and preview games; available games are featured at the top of the screen. Subscribers can watch up to six live games at once streaming at 1.2MB on 16:9 video feeds and can personalize their own video mosaic configuration. And with just a double click, a game can go full-screen.
"What we're doing today is not quite TV-quality, but it's getting closer and closer," said Bob Bowman, president and CEO of MLB.com.
The application also updates fans on the latest news from their favorite teams with an interactive player tracker and fantasy baseball alerts. The tracker gives people the opportunity to create a fantasy roster and a list of their favorite teams. Alerts post every time something happens in a live game with one of the tracked players, so subscribers will not miss a thing.
I got to see a quick demo of the service yesterday. The video quality was impressive with a crisp and clear look. It was like watching the game on a TV with high resolution, high enough in fact to feel like you were on the ball field with the players.
The application also includes an archive of highlighted baseball games from 2005. MLB.TV Mosaic is now available for $119.95 for the premium season package (or $19.95 monthly), which includes the multiple-stream games. MLB.com also offers a basic package for $89, featuring lower resolution and one-game streams only.
MLB.TV Mosaic now allows fans to view up to six high-quality streaming videos of live, final, and preview games; available games are featured at the top of the screen. Subscribers can watch up to six live games at once streaming at 1.2MB on 16:9 video feeds and can personalize their own video mosaic configuration. And with just a double click, a game can go full-screen.
"What we're doing today is not quite TV-quality, but it's getting closer and closer," said Bob Bowman, president and CEO of MLB.com.
The application also updates fans on the latest news from their favorite teams with an interactive player tracker and fantasy baseball alerts. The tracker gives people the opportunity to create a fantasy roster and a list of their favorite teams. Alerts post every time something happens in a live game with one of the tracked players, so subscribers will not miss a thing.
I got to see a quick demo of the service yesterday. The video quality was impressive with a crisp and clear look. It was like watching the game on a TV with high resolution, high enough in fact to feel like you were on the ball field with the players.
The application also includes an archive of highlighted baseball games from 2005. MLB.TV Mosaic is now available for $119.95 for the premium season package (or $19.95 monthly), which includes the multiple-stream games. MLB.com also offers a basic package for $89, featuring lower resolution and one-game streams only.
Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Now in Handy Google Maps Form
If there's one thing we need as a society, it's a further blurring of the lines between reality and Grand Theft Auto. Google and gaming network IGN have teamed up to bring a Google Maps version of Liberty City. The map features keys for points of interest, restaurants, shopping, services, nightlife, missions, secrets, and various other key features that were submitted by GTA players.
Says coworker and GTA-obsessive Whitney Reynolds: "It let me know where to finally find some hookers " Now that's a five-star recommendation if ever I've heard one.
P.S.: The pictured location above is roughly equivalent to the location of my real-world apartment, so if you find yourself in the neighborhood killing hookers, make sure you pop in and say hi.
Says coworker and GTA-obsessive Whitney Reynolds: "It let me know where to finally find some hookers " Now that's a five-star recommendation if ever I've heard one.
P.S.: The pictured location above is roughly equivalent to the location of my real-world apartment, so if you find yourself in the neighborhood killing hookers, make sure you pop in and say hi.
NY Lawmakers Revive Online Tax Issue (Again)
Sick of hearing about taxes yet? Well, hold tight, our representatives in the New York state legislature have a little treat for residents who enjoy online shopping - more taxes!
If you buy something online, you're largely exempt from state taxes you might incur if you'd made the same purchase in an actual store. Technically, you're supposed to report your online purchases and pay taxes on them, but no one really does that.
New York lawmakers last week, however, approved a budget package that includes a bill that would force online stores like Amazon.com to collect sales tax.
Retailers have long argued that they don't have to collect state sales tax if they don't have a physical presence in a particular state - an position backed up by a 1992 Supreme Court ruling. What might cause problems for Amazon, however, is its affiliate program - which has participants all across the country.
appscout973:http://www.appscout.com/2008/04/ny_lawmakers_revive_online_tax.php
Affiliates can place links to Amazon on their personal Web pages and collect money if someone clicks on that link and makes an Amazon purchase. Under the law passed by New York, however, if a writer based in Brooklyn has an Amazon affiliate link on his Web site or blog, Amazon must collect sales tax from anyone who makes a purchase through that writer's link since he is based in New York - even if Amazon has no physical presence in the state.
Only affiliates who make at least $10,000 from affiliate programs would be subject to the New York law, but that could still be a headache for retailers.
New York Gov. Paterson is expected to approve the measure, as it could bring in up to $50 million in additional revenue.
Former Gov. Spitzer tried to push a similar plan last year, but pulled the idea after it made unfavorable headlines.
UPDATE: The New York Post reports that out-of-state businesses with a Web presence in New York could encounter audits and bills for back taxes if they do not register with the state by June 1, but those who do comply will receive amnesty.
If you buy something online, you're largely exempt from state taxes you might incur if you'd made the same purchase in an actual store. Technically, you're supposed to report your online purchases and pay taxes on them, but no one really does that.
New York lawmakers last week, however, approved a budget package that includes a bill that would force online stores like Amazon.com to collect sales tax.
Retailers have long argued that they don't have to collect state sales tax if they don't have a physical presence in a particular state - an position backed up by a 1992 Supreme Court ruling. What might cause problems for Amazon, however, is its affiliate program - which has participants all across the country.
appscout973:http://www.appscout.com/2008/04/ny_lawmakers_revive_online_tax.php
Affiliates can place links to Amazon on their personal Web pages and collect money if someone clicks on that link and makes an Amazon purchase. Under the law passed by New York, however, if a writer based in Brooklyn has an Amazon affiliate link on his Web site or blog, Amazon must collect sales tax from anyone who makes a purchase through that writer's link since he is based in New York - even if Amazon has no physical presence in the state.
Only affiliates who make at least $10,000 from affiliate programs would be subject to the New York law, but that could still be a headache for retailers.
New York Gov. Paterson is expected to approve the measure, as it could bring in up to $50 million in additional revenue.
Former Gov. Spitzer tried to push a similar plan last year, but pulled the idea after it made unfavorable headlines.
UPDATE: The New York Post reports that out-of-state businesses with a Web presence in New York could encounter audits and bills for back taxes if they do not register with the state by June 1, but those who do comply will receive amnesty.
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Excel Displays Formulas Instead of Results
Q: I have a recurring problem in an Excel spreadsheet, and there is probably an easy solution. First I export a QuickBooks report to an Excel file, then insert a column. If I try to use a formula in that new column, only the formula displays, not the result. But I can use formulas in a new row, below the original data. Can you please tell me how to get around this? - Gerry Erdman.
A: This is an odd one. When you exported your file it created an Excel file in which text-only columns and columns of blank cells were actively formatted as Text. When you inserted a column to the right of one of these, Excel carried over the forced Text format. In the future you should click the column header to select the whole column and format the cells as General before typing any formulas.
For formulas you've already entered, those that display the formula text rather than their values, changing the format to General is not enough. You must delete the cell contents, change the format and then re-type the contents. If it's a complicated formula, highlight the formula text in the address bar, copy it to the clipboard, delete the cell, change the format, and then paste it back. Whew! It's definitely easier to just correct the format before typing anything. - Neil J. Rubenking.
A: This is an odd one. When you exported your file it created an Excel file in which text-only columns and columns of blank cells were actively formatted as Text. When you inserted a column to the right of one of these, Excel carried over the forced Text format. In the future you should click the column header to select the whole column and format the cells as General before typing any formulas.
For formulas you've already entered, those that display the formula text rather than their values, changing the format to General is not enough. You must delete the cell contents, change the format and then re-type the contents. If it's a complicated formula, highlight the formula text in the address bar, copy it to the clipboard, delete the cell, change the format, and then paste it back. Whew! It's definitely easier to just correct the format before typing anything. - Neil J. Rubenking.
Keyboard Goes Goofy
Q: I hope you can help, because Dell doesn't seem to know the answer. I have an Inspiron 6400 purchased a couple of years ago, but it has an annoying issue. Whenever I use the apostrophe, quotation, or tilde keys, it will not appear until I make another key stroke. Nobody seems to be able to tell me why it's doing it, and all the Dell technical staff I've spoken to have no idea either. Oh yeah, if you hit certain keys after the initial press, you will also get special characters for different languages? Thanks for your time. - Jan Chanas.
A: This article will help you set things straight: Keyboard Goes Berserk. What you've got isn't as wildly weird as the Dvorak keyboard (where all the keys are laid out completely different). You have accidentally chosen the U.S. International keyboard. This keyboard is designed to let you enter foreign characters that use diacritical marks (accents etc). Press single-quote and then e to get , or tilde and then n to get , and so on. Follow the instructions in the other article to select the standard US English keyboard and "lock" it in place. - Neil J. Rubenking.
A: This article will help you set things straight: Keyboard Goes Berserk. What you've got isn't as wildly weird as the Dvorak keyboard (where all the keys are laid out completely different). You have accidentally chosen the U.S. International keyboard. This keyboard is designed to let you enter foreign characters that use diacritical marks (accents etc). Press single-quote and then e to get , or tilde and then n to get , and so on. Follow the instructions in the other article to select the standard US English keyboard and "lock" it in place. - Neil J. Rubenking.
iTunes Offers Movies Same Day as DVD Release
Beginning today, iTunes customers will be able to purchase new movies through Apple's video store on the same day as their DVD release. A number of high profile studios are on board with the new initiative, including 20th Century Fox, The Walt Disney Studios, Warner Bros., Paramount Pictures, Universal Studios Home Entertainment, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Lionsgate, Image Entertainment, and First Look Studios.
New releases will be priced at $14.99 a piece--$5 more than the standard iTunes film. This week's list of new releases includes American Gangster and The Diving Bell and the Butterfly.
"We're thrilled to bring iTunes Store customers new films for purchase day-and-date with the DVD release," said iTunes vice president, Eddy Cue. "We think movie fans will love being able to buy their favorites from major and independent studios."
New releases will be priced at $14.99 a piece--$5 more than the standard iTunes film. This week's list of new releases includes American Gangster and The Diving Bell and the Butterfly.
"We're thrilled to bring iTunes Store customers new films for purchase day-and-date with the DVD release," said iTunes vice president, Eddy Cue. "We think movie fans will love being able to buy their favorites from major and independent studios."
iTunes Movie Purchases Now Available Through Apple TV
Apple yesterday announced a deal that would make new movies available on iTunes the same day that they're released on DVD. They're were apparently a little less vocal about another new feature to their movie store, which lets users purchase movies through Apple TV, where users were previously only able to browse and rent movies through the set top device.
Another minor update: the addition of a "Top Sellers" category to the "Top Movies" menu, which, according to iLounge, demonstrates the capability of live updates to to Apple TV's iTunes subsections with a full system update.
Another minor update: the addition of a "Top Sellers" category to the "Top Movies" menu, which, according to iLounge, demonstrates the capability of live updates to to Apple TV's iTunes subsections with a full system update.
Facebook Allows Unwanted 'People You May Know' Deletions
There's nothing better than signing on to Facebook and seeing the faces of people you have purposely not friended staring back at you via the "People You May Know" box.
Yes, I know them. High school frenemies, that kid who totally slacked off on a group project in college, someone you met once at a random happy hour in 2003, your former roommate's co-worker's brother, whatever. Thanks for the heads up, but I'm not interested.
"People You May Know" is well-intentioned and has occasionally offered up a few people I've actually ended up friending, but when it first launched, it did not include the option to tell Facebook that you did not want to be friends with the person they were suggesting.
Mercifully, the site announced Friday that you can now click a handy "x" next to a suggested friend's picture if you never want to see their face again.
"The person you 'x' won't be notified and that feedback will be used to improve the quality of the future suggestions. In addition, you will not appear as a suggestion for the person that you 'x' out," according to the Facebook blog. "If you 'x' all of the suggestions we have, eventually the box will disappear."
Yes, I know them. High school frenemies, that kid who totally slacked off on a group project in college, someone you met once at a random happy hour in 2003, your former roommate's co-worker's brother, whatever. Thanks for the heads up, but I'm not interested.
"People You May Know" is well-intentioned and has occasionally offered up a few people I've actually ended up friending, but when it first launched, it did not include the option to tell Facebook that you did not want to be friends with the person they were suggesting.
Mercifully, the site announced Friday that you can now click a handy "x" next to a suggested friend's picture if you never want to see their face again.
"The person you 'x' won't be notified and that feedback will be used to improve the quality of the future suggestions. In addition, you will not appear as a suggestion for the person that you 'x' out," according to the Facebook blog. "If you 'x' all of the suggestions we have, eventually the box will disappear."
Monday, August 17, 2009
Update: EBay Sues Craigslist Over Policy Changes, Diluted Share
EBay sellers saw little response from the company to their anger over eBay's recent policy changes, but now it looks like the online auction house is getting a taste of its own medicine. EBay on Tuesday filed suit against Craigslist for implementing new policies that eBay claims diluted its economic interest in Craigslist by more than 10 percent.
In 2004, eBay acquired a minority 28.4 percent stake in Craigslist. But changes made in January by Craigslist's board of directors "unfairly diluted eBay's economic interest in Craigslist by more than 10 percent," according to eBay.
The board, or Craig Newmark and Jim Buckmaster, "breached their fiduciary duties in violation of Delaware corporate law," eBay said.
"The recent actions by the Craigslist directors have disadvantaged eBay and its investment in Craigslist," Mike Jacobson, eBay senior vice president and general counsel, said in a statement. "Since negotiating our investment with Craigslist's board in 2004, we have acted openly and in good faith as a minority shareholder, so we were surprised by these recent unilateral actions. We are asking the Delaware court to rescind these recent actions in order to protect eBay's stockholders and preserve our investment."
The actual filing against Craigslist is being kept under wraps due to "confidentiality restrictions," so additional details were not available. Craigslist said it will have a statement later this afternoon.
UPDATE: Craigslist issued its response:
"Ebay has filed suit against craigslist and its board of directors. We are surprised and very disappointed by Ebay's unfounded allegations, which came to us out of the blue, without any attempt to engage in a dialogue with us. Coming from a company that views craigslist as a prime competitor, filing suit without so much as mentioning these assertions to us beforehand seems unethical, and suggests ulterior motives. We have always done our best to protect the well-being of craigslist and the craigslist community, and will continue to do so. Ebay has absolutely no reason to feel threatened -- unless a hostile takeover of craigslist, or the sale of Ebay's stake in craigslist to an unfriendly party, is their ultimate goal. (In which case, they're out of luck!) For our part, we have always treated Ebay very fairly as a minority shareholder, and plan to continue doing so, despite this unfortunate development."
In 2004, eBay acquired a minority 28.4 percent stake in Craigslist. But changes made in January by Craigslist's board of directors "unfairly diluted eBay's economic interest in Craigslist by more than 10 percent," according to eBay.
The board, or Craig Newmark and Jim Buckmaster, "breached their fiduciary duties in violation of Delaware corporate law," eBay said.
"The recent actions by the Craigslist directors have disadvantaged eBay and its investment in Craigslist," Mike Jacobson, eBay senior vice president and general counsel, said in a statement. "Since negotiating our investment with Craigslist's board in 2004, we have acted openly and in good faith as a minority shareholder, so we were surprised by these recent unilateral actions. We are asking the Delaware court to rescind these recent actions in order to protect eBay's stockholders and preserve our investment."
The actual filing against Craigslist is being kept under wraps due to "confidentiality restrictions," so additional details were not available. Craigslist said it will have a statement later this afternoon.
UPDATE: Craigslist issued its response:
"Ebay has filed suit against craigslist and its board of directors. We are surprised and very disappointed by Ebay's unfounded allegations, which came to us out of the blue, without any attempt to engage in a dialogue with us. Coming from a company that views craigslist as a prime competitor, filing suit without so much as mentioning these assertions to us beforehand seems unethical, and suggests ulterior motives. We have always done our best to protect the well-being of craigslist and the craigslist community, and will continue to do so. Ebay has absolutely no reason to feel threatened -- unless a hostile takeover of craigslist, or the sale of Ebay's stake in craigslist to an unfriendly party, is their ultimate goal. (In which case, they're out of luck!) For our part, we have always treated Ebay very fairly as a minority shareholder, and plan to continue doing so, despite this unfortunate development."
Craigslist CEO: eBay Lawsuit is Hypocritical
EBay is no stranger to the tactics over which the online auction site is suing Craigslist, according to a Thursday blog post from Craigslist CEO James Buckmaster.
"Although our response to each of eBay's unfounded claims will have to wait, it's worth pointing out that eBay is suing us for implementing protections for Craigslist that it clearly believes are perfectly appropriate for protecting itself," Buckmaster wrote in an entry titled "Kettles and Pots."
EBay filed suit against Craigslist last month for unfairly diluting its stake in Craigslist. According to court documents released this week, eBay agreed to give up its right of first refusal if it ever launched a service that would compete with Craigslist. EBay unveiled classifieds Web site Kijiji.com in the U.S. last year - and Craigslist promptly revoked eBay's right of first refusal. In January, Craigslist re-organized stock allotments to put eBay's stake below 25 percent, which basically gives the online auction site little say in Craigslist operations.
The move - known as a poison pill - is at the heart of the eBay lawsuit, but in his blog post, Buckmaster points to a 2004 eBay filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in which eBay reserves the right to implement a poison pill situation.
"We could use the additional shares of common stock to oppose a hostile takeover attempt or delay or prevent changes in control of management," eBay wrote in a filing that requested additional shares. "For example, without further stockholder approval, we could adopt a 'poison pill' that would, under certain circumstances related to an acquisition of shares that we did not approve, give certain holders that right to acquires additional shares of common stock at a low price."
EBay is also suing Craigslist for implementing an indemnification agreement, and having staggered board elections, but according to SEC filings, eBay has made the same moves in the past, according to Buckmaster.
Craigslist said it will file its formal response to the eBay suit in the next several weeks.
"Although our response to each of eBay's unfounded claims will have to wait, it's worth pointing out that eBay is suing us for implementing protections for Craigslist that it clearly believes are perfectly appropriate for protecting itself," Buckmaster wrote in an entry titled "Kettles and Pots."
EBay filed suit against Craigslist last month for unfairly diluting its stake in Craigslist. According to court documents released this week, eBay agreed to give up its right of first refusal if it ever launched a service that would compete with Craigslist. EBay unveiled classifieds Web site Kijiji.com in the U.S. last year - and Craigslist promptly revoked eBay's right of first refusal. In January, Craigslist re-organized stock allotments to put eBay's stake below 25 percent, which basically gives the online auction site little say in Craigslist operations.
The move - known as a poison pill - is at the heart of the eBay lawsuit, but in his blog post, Buckmaster points to a 2004 eBay filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in which eBay reserves the right to implement a poison pill situation.
"We could use the additional shares of common stock to oppose a hostile takeover attempt or delay or prevent changes in control of management," eBay wrote in a filing that requested additional shares. "For example, without further stockholder approval, we could adopt a 'poison pill' that would, under certain circumstances related to an acquisition of shares that we did not approve, give certain holders that right to acquires additional shares of common stock at a low price."
EBay is also suing Craigslist for implementing an indemnification agreement, and having staggered board elections, but according to SEC filings, eBay has made the same moves in the past, according to Buckmaster.
Craigslist said it will file its formal response to the eBay suit in the next several weeks.
Microsoft Debuts Popfly Game Creator
Microsoft has launched a new addition to its Web page/mashup creator, Popfly Like its parent app, Popfly Game Creator was designed with non-programmers in mind, giving users the ability to create games without any code knowledge.
Popfly Game Creator starts users off with 18 customizable templates, including "Space Boy," "The Big Race," and "Space Shooter." Users can also forgo the templates and build games "from the ground up." GameCreator offers further customization, including 389 game "actors," 70 different songs, and 24 background scenes.
The app will make its public debut at this weekend's Maker Faire in San Mateo, CA.
Popfly Game Creator starts users off with 18 customizable templates, including "Space Boy," "The Big Race," and "Space Shooter." Users can also forgo the templates and build games "from the ground up." GameCreator offers further customization, including 389 game "actors," 70 different songs, and 24 background scenes.
The app will make its public debut at this weekend's Maker Faire in San Mateo, CA.
NBC Launches iCue Educational Site
NBC extended its educational offerings today by introducing iCue, a "collaborative learning community." The site uses information gathered by MIT's Educational Arcade, a "research group devoted to integrating gaming and peer collaboration into traditional learning activities and environments."
Short for Immerse, Connect, Understand, and Excel, iCue offers hundreds of videos from NBC News, discussion forums, and personal networking. All are aimed at teaching and connecting students. The site is designed around the iCue CueCard, which operates as a media player, note-taking tool, flash card, and trading card.
"At NBC News, we have made a big commitment to working in the education space, and this project is the most substantial one yet," said Steve Capus, president of NBC News. "There is tremendous opportunity to combine our vast resources of information with an audience that is hungry for it in an environment they are comfortable consuming it. That, combined with the technology of iCue which dramatically alters how video, digital content and peer networking can be used to support student learning in a safe, engaging virtual environment, makes this an incredibly exciting project."
Today's launch is devoted to NBC News' Decision '08 coverage. Over the summer, the site will add a number of topics, including U.S. history, U.S. government and politics, and English language and composition.
Short for Immerse, Connect, Understand, and Excel, iCue offers hundreds of videos from NBC News, discussion forums, and personal networking. All are aimed at teaching and connecting students. The site is designed around the iCue CueCard, which operates as a media player, note-taking tool, flash card, and trading card.
"At NBC News, we have made a big commitment to working in the education space, and this project is the most substantial one yet," said Steve Capus, president of NBC News. "There is tremendous opportunity to combine our vast resources of information with an audience that is hungry for it in an environment they are comfortable consuming it. That, combined with the technology of iCue which dramatically alters how video, digital content and peer networking can be used to support student learning in a safe, engaging virtual environment, makes this an incredibly exciting project."
Today's launch is devoted to NBC News' Decision '08 coverage. Over the summer, the site will add a number of topics, including U.S. history, U.S. government and politics, and English language and composition.
The Real Losers in the Failed Microsoft-Yahoo Deal
Officially, it's now two days after Microsoft walked away from the Yahoo deal. However, given the little information currently available (statements from Microsoft and Yahoo, mainly) we really can't say that much for certain. On to the speculation, then!
At this point, the most likely outcomes seem to be:
1.) A run on Yahoo's stock. Michael Arrington rightly points out that Yahoo's market cap increased from $26.2 billion to nearly $40 billion, primarily based upon the speculation that Microsoft would pay $31 per share to acquire the company. Those speculators will likely be furious, to put it mildly. Will Yahoo's stock price crater? Most likely, although the first few hours of Monday's trading session will likely tell the tale. Some have suggested that the stock price will crash down to about pre-merger-proposition levels, or about $19. My guess is that it bounces around like crazy and settles at about $22 to $24 -- people still have hope. But boy, are some people going to learn a harsh lesson about sure things.
1a.) Shareholder lawsuits. A no-brainer. Someone will pull the trigger.
2.) Yahoo ties up with Google on some search advertising. On this issue, the Magic 8 Ball seems murkier. Ballmer wanted to buy Yahoo's search team ( the "Panama" project) and if it outsources search to Google, that team may move onto other projects, Henry Blodget argues. Blodget argues persuasively that that's a good thing, as Yahoo can thus focus on areas where it can win. I'm a bit hard-pressed to tell the difference between AOL, (which outsourced its search) MSN, and Yahoo anyway; all three are portals trying to glom onto as much content as they can.
3.) A shareholder revolt, leading to a push to remove Jerry Yang, Yahoo's chief executive. Also a likely outcome. But is there a large enough contingent? On this, I have no idea.
4.) Microsoft's own "scorched earth" bid. Microsoft lets Yahoo's stock price plunge, and then returns to the table with a significantly lower bid. This is an intriguing possibility, but my gut says that when Ballmer walks away, he walks away for good.
If he does so, there are still a couple of favorable outcomes. First, Yahoo's Panama engineers know they have a job waiting for them in Redmond, and Microsoft could simply slowly aggregate the search talent it wants. Microsoft still has fundamental problems with its online strategy, namely the way it vomits content onto its MSN page.
A targeted search engine could also begin to refine that content somewhat, using historical searches and contextual information to present a more relevant page. That would also allow MSN to redesign itself in a cleaner, more Google-like image. (Compare the front page of Yahoo to MSN if you doubt me.)
Here's Forrester's Charlene Li on the subject:
Microsoft must define and deliver on a strategy that shows how they can "win" now without Yahoo! as a search jump start. (Frankly, we were skeptical that Microsoft could have integrated Yahoo quickly and effectively to realize the full value and vision of the acquisition). Rather than continue to chase Google's dominant search position, Microsoft should redefine the "battle" to one where search is an integrated part of the marketing mix. Microsoft has assets and relationships that GOOG doesn't have: 400 million users relationships through communication tools like Hotmail and Messenger, the aQuantive acquisition, strong display advertising business, and investments/relationships like Facebook. Moreover, AdCenter is well positioned to service advertisers on both the display and search sides, although actual offeringDeal is offs that tie the two together are still in the works. But the thing they don't have today is a strong search user experience, the root of the problem.
Second, I'm of the opinion that Microsoft needed Yahoo far more than Yahoo needed Microsoft, at least from a strategic perspective. But I'm still not convinced that bringing another portal into Microsoft's fold is in the best long-term interests of the company. I've never really found the value in social networking online, versus forging real-life connections (even via email); however, Microsoft might be better off investing in a smaller social-networking firm and start learning how this social stuff works. (Microsoft's research into social networking, SNARF, is tangential.)
My take: In the near-term, Yahoo's stock plunges, shareholders file lawsuits, shareholders start calling for Yang's head. Microsoft, meanwhile, pulls back, waits, and considers its options yet again. The real losers? Everyone that bet on this merger happening, at least for now.
At this point, the most likely outcomes seem to be:
1.) A run on Yahoo's stock. Michael Arrington rightly points out that Yahoo's market cap increased from $26.2 billion to nearly $40 billion, primarily based upon the speculation that Microsoft would pay $31 per share to acquire the company. Those speculators will likely be furious, to put it mildly. Will Yahoo's stock price crater? Most likely, although the first few hours of Monday's trading session will likely tell the tale. Some have suggested that the stock price will crash down to about pre-merger-proposition levels, or about $19. My guess is that it bounces around like crazy and settles at about $22 to $24 -- people still have hope. But boy, are some people going to learn a harsh lesson about sure things.
1a.) Shareholder lawsuits. A no-brainer. Someone will pull the trigger.
2.) Yahoo ties up with Google on some search advertising. On this issue, the Magic 8 Ball seems murkier. Ballmer wanted to buy Yahoo's search team ( the "Panama" project) and if it outsources search to Google, that team may move onto other projects, Henry Blodget argues. Blodget argues persuasively that that's a good thing, as Yahoo can thus focus on areas where it can win. I'm a bit hard-pressed to tell the difference between AOL, (which outsourced its search) MSN, and Yahoo anyway; all three are portals trying to glom onto as much content as they can.
3.) A shareholder revolt, leading to a push to remove Jerry Yang, Yahoo's chief executive. Also a likely outcome. But is there a large enough contingent? On this, I have no idea.
4.) Microsoft's own "scorched earth" bid. Microsoft lets Yahoo's stock price plunge, and then returns to the table with a significantly lower bid. This is an intriguing possibility, but my gut says that when Ballmer walks away, he walks away for good.
If he does so, there are still a couple of favorable outcomes. First, Yahoo's Panama engineers know they have a job waiting for them in Redmond, and Microsoft could simply slowly aggregate the search talent it wants. Microsoft still has fundamental problems with its online strategy, namely the way it vomits content onto its MSN page.
A targeted search engine could also begin to refine that content somewhat, using historical searches and contextual information to present a more relevant page. That would also allow MSN to redesign itself in a cleaner, more Google-like image. (Compare the front page of Yahoo to MSN if you doubt me.)
Here's Forrester's Charlene Li on the subject:
Microsoft must define and deliver on a strategy that shows how they can "win" now without Yahoo! as a search jump start. (Frankly, we were skeptical that Microsoft could have integrated Yahoo quickly and effectively to realize the full value and vision of the acquisition). Rather than continue to chase Google's dominant search position, Microsoft should redefine the "battle" to one where search is an integrated part of the marketing mix. Microsoft has assets and relationships that GOOG doesn't have: 400 million users relationships through communication tools like Hotmail and Messenger, the aQuantive acquisition, strong display advertising business, and investments/relationships like Facebook. Moreover, AdCenter is well positioned to service advertisers on both the display and search sides, although actual offeringDeal is offs that tie the two together are still in the works. But the thing they don't have today is a strong search user experience, the root of the problem.
Second, I'm of the opinion that Microsoft needed Yahoo far more than Yahoo needed Microsoft, at least from a strategic perspective. But I'm still not convinced that bringing another portal into Microsoft's fold is in the best long-term interests of the company. I've never really found the value in social networking online, versus forging real-life connections (even via email); however, Microsoft might be better off investing in a smaller social-networking firm and start learning how this social stuff works. (Microsoft's research into social networking, SNARF, is tangential.)
My take: In the near-term, Yahoo's stock plunges, shareholders file lawsuits, shareholders start calling for Yang's head. Microsoft, meanwhile, pulls back, waits, and considers its options yet again. The real losers? Everyone that bet on this merger happening, at least for now.
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Jerry Yang Begins the Post-Microhoo Spin
Last night, Yahoo chief executive Jerry Yang posted a defense of Yahoo's strategy on the Yahoo Anecdotal corporate blog. His take? Yahoo has just too many darn exciting developments going on to allow a third party to come in and take over. In a way, it's a response to the "blame game" that Joe Wilcox at Microsoft Watch has written about.
In all seriousness, though, give credit to Yang for this statement: "We know the spotlight will probably stay on us for a while. That's fine -- we have a clear path ahead and momentum to build on. And thousands of dedicated Yahoos around the world who have held up well to scrutiny. It's now up to us to show what we Yahoos can really do." He's right. But it's also up to Yang to show what he can do, too.
Has it worked? No. Yahoo's stock price is currently hovering about $24 a share, right on the edge of the range I thought might happen in a post onthe future of Microsoft and Yahoo.
Full text of Yang's post after the jump.
The last 13 weeks have been a remarkable time here at Yahoo!. We've been living under the microscope in a way we never have before. There has been greater attention than ever on our strategy and our ability to execute against it. Some even questioned whether Microsoft's unsolicited proposal would distract us from our mission, just as we were beginning to really push the pedal on our strategy.
Those people underestimated the determination of Yahoo!'s incredible people, spirit and culture.
Our first quarter was probably one of the most exciting quarters in our history in terms of delivering innovative products and services that really move the needle and make a difference for our users and customers: Acquiring Maven Networks. Launching Buzz, OneSearch 2.0, voice-activated mobile search, video on Flickr, Shine. Previewing AMP! from Yahoo! and SearchMonkey. Adding more Newspaper Consortium members. Establishing our New R
In all seriousness, though, give credit to Yang for this statement: "We know the spotlight will probably stay on us for a while. That's fine -- we have a clear path ahead and momentum to build on. And thousands of dedicated Yahoos around the world who have held up well to scrutiny. It's now up to us to show what we Yahoos can really do." He's right. But it's also up to Yang to show what he can do, too.
Has it worked? No. Yahoo's stock price is currently hovering about $24 a share, right on the edge of the range I thought might happen in a post onthe future of Microsoft and Yahoo.
Full text of Yang's post after the jump.
The last 13 weeks have been a remarkable time here at Yahoo!. We've been living under the microscope in a way we never have before. There has been greater attention than ever on our strategy and our ability to execute against it. Some even questioned whether Microsoft's unsolicited proposal would distract us from our mission, just as we were beginning to really push the pedal on our strategy.
Those people underestimated the determination of Yahoo!'s incredible people, spirit and culture.
Our first quarter was probably one of the most exciting quarters in our history in terms of delivering innovative products and services that really move the needle and make a difference for our users and customers: Acquiring Maven Networks. Launching Buzz, OneSearch 2.0, voice-activated mobile search, video on Flickr, Shine. Previewing AMP! from Yahoo! and SearchMonkey. Adding more Newspaper Consortium members. Establishing our New R
Bus Driver: Like GTA, Without the GT
If there's one phrase that can sum up this summer's hottest gaming titles, it's "non-violent, easy to pick up gameplay." With that in mind, Meridian4's forthcoming title, Bus Driver should be just the blockbuster needed to pull the industry out of its mid-May slump.
What is this new and exciting gaming title about? Glad you asked. The publisher's site describes it thusly: "Bus Driver is all about driving buses." Wait, hang on. We're going to need a little more information than that, Meridian4. Fortunately, there's more: "In Bus Driver, your job is to transport passengers around an attractive and realistic city."
Attractive and realistic is all well and good, but what's a title without pulse-pounding, white-knuckled game play? They've got that covered, too. "You must drive to a timetable on a planned route, while obeying traffic rules, and taking care not to upset or injure your passengers."
"This makes Bus Driver unlike any other driving game," the site continues. "The experience of driving a bus is very different from blazing through a racing circuit." True that.
Bus Drive offers a whopping 12 buses, 30 routes, and multiple "duties," including "driving a school bus, transporting tourists, sight-seeing tours, and even the transportation of prisoners." That's right, that no-good, hooker-killing Liberty City scum may be on your bus, and they'd better behave themselves while you safely obey the speed limit and yield for the right of way.
Bus Driver is available through Meridian4's site for $29.95, but the real-world bus driving experience it imparts is surely priceless.
What is this new and exciting gaming title about? Glad you asked. The publisher's site describes it thusly: "Bus Driver is all about driving buses." Wait, hang on. We're going to need a little more information than that, Meridian4. Fortunately, there's more: "In Bus Driver, your job is to transport passengers around an attractive and realistic city."
Attractive and realistic is all well and good, but what's a title without pulse-pounding, white-knuckled game play? They've got that covered, too. "You must drive to a timetable on a planned route, while obeying traffic rules, and taking care not to upset or injure your passengers."
"This makes Bus Driver unlike any other driving game," the site continues. "The experience of driving a bus is very different from blazing through a racing circuit." True that.
Bus Drive offers a whopping 12 buses, 30 routes, and multiple "duties," including "driving a school bus, transporting tourists, sight-seeing tours, and even the transportation of prisoners." That's right, that no-good, hooker-killing Liberty City scum may be on your bus, and they'd better behave themselves while you safely obey the speed limit and yield for the right of way.
Bus Driver is available through Meridian4's site for $29.95, but the real-world bus driving experience it imparts is surely priceless.
Outlook Slowing You Down? Enter Xobni
Tired of waiting for Outlook to peruse thousands of e-mails in your inbox to find a message you received three weeks ago? Xobni wants to help.
San Francisco-based startup Xobni (inbox spelled backwards) emerged from its private beta Monday with a free download on its Web site. The company's offering syncs with Outlook to organize your inbox by relationships.
Click on an e-mail from a person with whom you frequently correspond, and a separate pane pops up to the right of your messages with additional info on that person, including phone numbers that Xobni has detected by combing through their e-mails. A chart up top shows you how frequently you talk to that person, and what time of day they are most likely to be online or respond to your message.
Below the e-mail stats are three windows that list people who may be related to that particular contact, conversations or e-mails you've exchange with them, and attachments they've sent you.
Xobni's search component lets you troll through mountains of back e-mails much faster than Outlook, according Xobni. Ever needed to add a piece of information to an e-mail, but had to stop writing and wait eons while Outlook searched for it? Xobni hopes to cut down on that wait time.
Users will need the 2003 or 2007 version of Outlook to download Xobni. I was out of luck with a 2002 version, and have not yet been able to try it out.
Though Xobni joined Microsoft's Startup Accelerator program in January 2008, and Microsoft chairman Bill Gates touted Xobni as the "next generation of social networking" at this year's Office Developers Conference in San Jose, merger talks between the two companies are off the table for now, Xobni said.
Xobni held acquisition talks with Microsoft over the past few months, but talks eventually broke down over price, independence, and requests that Xobni employees relocate to Seattle, according to a spokesman.
A public beta version of Xobni debuted at TechCrunch40 in September 2007, but after receiving thousands of download requests in several hours, the company switched to an invite-only policy.
"We have responded to thousands of support and feedback emails from the over 50,000 individuals that have downloaded Xobni during our seven month closed beta period," Xobni co-founder Matt Brezina wrote in a Sunday blog post. "We have had several dozen beta users visit us at the Xobni headquarters for user studies and another several dozen users have done remote performance and configuration tests with our engineers."
Users who have been using the beta version will receive an automatic update, Brezina said.
San Francisco-based startup Xobni (inbox spelled backwards) emerged from its private beta Monday with a free download on its Web site. The company's offering syncs with Outlook to organize your inbox by relationships.
Click on an e-mail from a person with whom you frequently correspond, and a separate pane pops up to the right of your messages with additional info on that person, including phone numbers that Xobni has detected by combing through their e-mails. A chart up top shows you how frequently you talk to that person, and what time of day they are most likely to be online or respond to your message.
Below the e-mail stats are three windows that list people who may be related to that particular contact, conversations or e-mails you've exchange with them, and attachments they've sent you.
Xobni's search component lets you troll through mountains of back e-mails much faster than Outlook, according Xobni. Ever needed to add a piece of information to an e-mail, but had to stop writing and wait eons while Outlook searched for it? Xobni hopes to cut down on that wait time.
Users will need the 2003 or 2007 version of Outlook to download Xobni. I was out of luck with a 2002 version, and have not yet been able to try it out.
Though Xobni joined Microsoft's Startup Accelerator program in January 2008, and Microsoft chairman Bill Gates touted Xobni as the "next generation of social networking" at this year's Office Developers Conference in San Jose, merger talks between the two companies are off the table for now, Xobni said.
Xobni held acquisition talks with Microsoft over the past few months, but talks eventually broke down over price, independence, and requests that Xobni employees relocate to Seattle, according to a spokesman.
A public beta version of Xobni debuted at TechCrunch40 in September 2007, but after receiving thousands of download requests in several hours, the company switched to an invite-only policy.
"We have responded to thousands of support and feedback emails from the over 50,000 individuals that have downloaded Xobni during our seven month closed beta period," Xobni co-founder Matt Brezina wrote in a Sunday blog post. "We have had several dozen beta users visit us at the Xobni headquarters for user studies and another several dozen users have done remote performance and configuration tests with our engineers."
Users who have been using the beta version will receive an automatic update, Brezina said.
TwitterSnooze Helps You Tune Out Obsessive Twitter-ers
Tired of your best friend updating Twitter every time he sits down to a meal, but don't want to hear it if you removed yourself as their friend entirely? Perhaps you know some of the users you follow are headed to an event where they'll be updating Twitter every time something new happens, and you're just not interested. TwitterSnooze can help you temporarily turn off some of your Twitter friends and de-clutter your feed for a while.
TwitterSnooze is perfect, the developer says, for situations where a friend is headed to a conference and they'll be twittering everything and anything that happens, or if you just want to give someone the silent treatment. I think it'd be a good way to announce to someone that they have a problem with Twitter and they need to back off of it a bit.
The service is simple, you just type in your Twitter username and password (the service deletes your Twitter login information when the snooze is over, but if that's troubling steer clear of the service) and the name of the person you want to snooze. You can select to snooze the person for anywhere between one and 30 days, and opt to even announce the snooze on Twitter. The service also allows you to see who you're snoozing if you just log in without filling in the field for who you want to snooze.
The default is to keep the snooze secret, but even the developer claims that the trouble with the service is that once the snooze is over, Twitter will send them a message announcing they've been unsnoozed. Even if you leave the "announce snooze on Twitter" box unchecked, your offending Twitter friend won't see that you've snoozed them, but they'll get a message when the snooze is over.
Even if you announce the snooze on Twitter, you still might have some explaining to do when your friend sees that you've unfollowed them and then refollowed them a month later. We all have Twitter friends who are a bit "prolific" with their Twitter accounts, and normally that would be fine; but if you have a Twitter friend who twitters when they wake up, TwitterSnooze might help send a not-so-subtle message.
TwitterSnooze is perfect, the developer says, for situations where a friend is headed to a conference and they'll be twittering everything and anything that happens, or if you just want to give someone the silent treatment. I think it'd be a good way to announce to someone that they have a problem with Twitter and they need to back off of it a bit.
The service is simple, you just type in your Twitter username and password (the service deletes your Twitter login information when the snooze is over, but if that's troubling steer clear of the service) and the name of the person you want to snooze. You can select to snooze the person for anywhere between one and 30 days, and opt to even announce the snooze on Twitter. The service also allows you to see who you're snoozing if you just log in without filling in the field for who you want to snooze.
The default is to keep the snooze secret, but even the developer claims that the trouble with the service is that once the snooze is over, Twitter will send them a message announcing they've been unsnoozed. Even if you leave the "announce snooze on Twitter" box unchecked, your offending Twitter friend won't see that you've snoozed them, but they'll get a message when the snooze is over.
Even if you announce the snooze on Twitter, you still might have some explaining to do when your friend sees that you've unfollowed them and then refollowed them a month later. We all have Twitter friends who are a bit "prolific" with their Twitter accounts, and normally that would be fine; but if you have a Twitter friend who twitters when they wake up, TwitterSnooze might help send a not-so-subtle message.
GodTube: Web Video's Second Coming
The site's CEO calls it, "Jesus 2.0." I think I've read something about that somewhere. Was it Wired? Time Magazine? Oh yeah, now I remember--it was the Book of Revelation.
Though the site was officially launched today, the decidely Christian-focused GodTube has already been wracking up an impressive 500,000 uniques, a month--that's more people on a given Sunday, they point out, than attend America's largest "mega-church."
GodTube was launched as an attempt to counteract ever-declining church attendance. "According to a recent Pew Internet Study," GodTube explains, "more than 82 million Americans use the Internet for faith-related reasons, which is more than the number of online bankers or online daters."
The number seems a bit tough to believe, at first, though we've got to assume that pornography and Craigslist's "Casual Encounters" page don't factor into the dating aspect--not sure how the dangerously topical overlapping of faith-based dating enters into play here.
Run by former CBS producer, Christopher Wyatt, GodTube is host to sermons, testimonials, and other faith-based video content. I was hoping for a few episodes of Davey and Goliath or some Veggie Tales, but I think we all know how the lord feels about copyright infringement.
Though the site was officially launched today, the decidely Christian-focused GodTube has already been wracking up an impressive 500,000 uniques, a month--that's more people on a given Sunday, they point out, than attend America's largest "mega-church."
GodTube was launched as an attempt to counteract ever-declining church attendance. "According to a recent Pew Internet Study," GodTube explains, "more than 82 million Americans use the Internet for faith-related reasons, which is more than the number of online bankers or online daters."
The number seems a bit tough to believe, at first, though we've got to assume that pornography and Craigslist's "Casual Encounters" page don't factor into the dating aspect--not sure how the dangerously topical overlapping of faith-based dating enters into play here.
Run by former CBS producer, Christopher Wyatt, GodTube is host to sermons, testimonials, and other faith-based video content. I was hoping for a few episodes of Davey and Goliath or some Veggie Tales, but I think we all know how the lord feels about copyright infringement.
GodTube Raises $30 Million
We first told you about GodTube back in August. Sure, we made a Davey and Goliath joke or two, but for some 2 million visitors a month (according to the site), the Christianity-themed YouTube knockoff is no laughing matter. If that isn't enough to convince you of the site's validity--and it may not be, in light of NewTeeVee's suggestion that the site may not may not be quite what it claims--how about a rather healthy dose of venture capital?
Hedge fund GLG Partners just put up a cool $30 million for the site--a lot, to be sure, but sinking eight digits into Web video sites seems to be all the rage these days. If you're going to invest in one, why not pick the one with God on its side?
Hedge fund GLG Partners just put up a cool $30 million for the site--a lot, to be sure, but sinking eight digits into Web video sites seems to be all the rage these days. If you're going to invest in one, why not pick the one with God on its side?
Amazon Price Watch Ensures You Get A Bargain
A little while ago, it came out that Amazon's price protection policy allowed its customers to contact Amazon if they made a purchase and the price dropped within 30 days; they'd then get the difference in the price drop credited to them. Since then, we've seen an explosion of services that monitor the prices of different online stores to make sure that users are alerted when there's a price drop. Amazon Price Watch is one of those services, but it has a few twists that might make it stand out.
We've discussed Price Protectr in the past, which has since come out of beta and added several stores to its list, and it is still a great way to stay on top of multiple purchases from multiple online stores to make sure that you benefit from any price protection policies they might have. Amazon Price Watch is a little different. First of all, the service only tracks Amazon prices: This could be a good thing and a bad thing, depending on your perspective. If you do all your online shopping at Amazon, then you don't really care about the missing functionality. If you do any online shopping elsewhere on the Web, though, it could be a deal-breaker for you.
At the same time, where Amazon Price Watch excels is in the number of tools that it offers to help you keep an eye on the prices of things you've purchased. You can use Web tools, where you can paste in a link to the item that you purchased and your e-mail address. After you've submitted your information, you can purchase the item; you'll be alerted if the price drops within 30 days. If you're interested in finding new deals at Amazon, you can click on the "online tools" section to bookmark special pages at Amazon, such as the top Amazon Unbox movies.
The other useful thing about Amazon Price Watch is its downloadable tool. The site offers a tiny download that allows you to add as many Amazon items as you wish and track all of their prices. If you're shopping using Internet Explorer, the application will keep an eye out, and if you add the item to your cart, the app will automatically ask if you'd like to track the price of the item. You can manage your watch list using the tool as well--it allows you to change the expiration dates and trigger prices, and to delete an item you're watching. The tool will even tell you when items that are listed on the site but aren't available become available for purchase.
Amazon Price Watch is only really useful for people who shop almost exclusively at Amazon.com. If you shop around the Web for deals, or have a bunch of different favorite stores, you might give this service a pass. At the same time, even though other services will track more online stores, not all of them have a downloadable tool that will help you make sure you get the most for your money.
We've discussed Price Protectr in the past, which has since come out of beta and added several stores to its list, and it is still a great way to stay on top of multiple purchases from multiple online stores to make sure that you benefit from any price protection policies they might have. Amazon Price Watch is a little different. First of all, the service only tracks Amazon prices: This could be a good thing and a bad thing, depending on your perspective. If you do all your online shopping at Amazon, then you don't really care about the missing functionality. If you do any online shopping elsewhere on the Web, though, it could be a deal-breaker for you.
At the same time, where Amazon Price Watch excels is in the number of tools that it offers to help you keep an eye on the prices of things you've purchased. You can use Web tools, where you can paste in a link to the item that you purchased and your e-mail address. After you've submitted your information, you can purchase the item; you'll be alerted if the price drops within 30 days. If you're interested in finding new deals at Amazon, you can click on the "online tools" section to bookmark special pages at Amazon, such as the top Amazon Unbox movies.
The other useful thing about Amazon Price Watch is its downloadable tool. The site offers a tiny download that allows you to add as many Amazon items as you wish and track all of their prices. If you're shopping using Internet Explorer, the application will keep an eye out, and if you add the item to your cart, the app will automatically ask if you'd like to track the price of the item. You can manage your watch list using the tool as well--it allows you to change the expiration dates and trigger prices, and to delete an item you're watching. The tool will even tell you when items that are listed on the site but aren't available become available for purchase.
Amazon Price Watch is only really useful for people who shop almost exclusively at Amazon.com. If you shop around the Web for deals, or have a bunch of different favorite stores, you might give this service a pass. At the same time, even though other services will track more online stores, not all of them have a downloadable tool that will help you make sure you get the most for your money.
WishRadar: Build Wishlists to Get Bargains
I'm a fan of wishlist aggregators. Services like MetaWishlist collect all of the items from around the Web that you're interested in buying and puts them in one place that you can share before your birthday or just keep track of the items you'd like to buy. WishRadar takes the idea a step further. The service will aggregate your wishlist, but also allows you to shop for bargains, and get alerts when items on your wishlist have dropped in price or are in a price range that you select.
You can add any item from any Web store to your WishRadar list and import wishlists from Amazon for better management. And best of all, WishRadar is completely free.
WishRadar also checks in with your Amazon wishlist periodically to see if anything has changed. If you've added, removed, or made serious changes to your Amazon wishlist, they'll be reflected automatically at WishRadar. This is a feature that other wishlist aggregators are sorely missing. Anything you add, remove, or purchase from your Amazon wishlist you can also see on your WishRadar page. You can also force an update at any time.
The other major feature that makes WishRadar stand out is the ability to set target prices for your wishlist items. If you have a DVD box set that normally costs $47 at Amazon, you can tell WishRadar to alert you when that box set falls below $45. When it goes on sale, you'll get an e-mail from WishRadar. If you hold out for a while longer and the price drops again to $25, you'll get another e-mail notifying you that the item is remarkably cheap. You can even configure WishRadar to alert you via SMS.
WishRadar is a little slow, but that might just be because my Amazon wishlist is huge. The service does take a while to synchronize and poll your wishlists for changes, and the service provides a bookmarklet so you can easily add items from any shopping site you use. The service just might be the best tool I've found that allows you to collect your wishlists in one place, manage them easily, and at the same time add a really useful feature in the form of being able to track pricing.
You can add any item from any Web store to your WishRadar list and import wishlists from Amazon for better management. And best of all, WishRadar is completely free.
WishRadar also checks in with your Amazon wishlist periodically to see if anything has changed. If you've added, removed, or made serious changes to your Amazon wishlist, they'll be reflected automatically at WishRadar. This is a feature that other wishlist aggregators are sorely missing. Anything you add, remove, or purchase from your Amazon wishlist you can also see on your WishRadar page. You can also force an update at any time.
The other major feature that makes WishRadar stand out is the ability to set target prices for your wishlist items. If you have a DVD box set that normally costs $47 at Amazon, you can tell WishRadar to alert you when that box set falls below $45. When it goes on sale, you'll get an e-mail from WishRadar. If you hold out for a while longer and the price drops again to $25, you'll get another e-mail notifying you that the item is remarkably cheap. You can even configure WishRadar to alert you via SMS.
WishRadar is a little slow, but that might just be because my Amazon wishlist is huge. The service does take a while to synchronize and poll your wishlists for changes, and the service provides a bookmarklet so you can easily add items from any shopping site you use. The service just might be the best tool I've found that allows you to collect your wishlists in one place, manage them easily, and at the same time add a really useful feature in the form of being able to track pricing.
Price Protectr: Sales Prices Even After Your Buy
News reporter Chloe Albanesius just pubbed an interesting story at PCMag.com about a Web-based service that can help you save bucks:
Price Protectr is looking to help consumers recoup their money when recently purchased items go on sale. The site debuted in a limited capacity several months ago and will move out of beta for an official launch in approximately two weeks, said president Timothy Tonella.
Read more about Price Protectr in Chloe's story, "Web Site Price-Protects Previous Purchases."
Price Protectr is looking to help consumers recoup their money when recently purchased items go on sale. The site debuted in a limited capacity several months ago and will move out of beta for an official launch in approximately two weeks, said president Timothy Tonella.
Read more about Price Protectr in Chloe's story, "Web Site Price-Protects Previous Purchases."
Price!pinx Monitors Price Drops All Over the Web
If you're shopping at on online store like Amazon, there are several sites that will help you get the best deal by alerting you when the price of the item you want has dropped to a certain threshold. Price Protectr, WishRadar, and Amazon Price Watch will all notify you if the price of something you're looking at buying or previously purchased has dropped, but only at a supported site. Price!pinx on the other hand works with just about any online retailer, and offers an easy-to-use bookmarklet to click when you find an item whose price you'd like to monitor.
Price!pinx is very similar to services like Price Protectr and WishRadar. You sign up for an account, and you can monitor the prices of the items you select as they drop. Unlike Amazon Price Watch and Price Protectr, Price!pinx works with thousands of online retailers that sell everything from linens to electronics, and the site is a bit snappier than WishRadar, which is also configured to work best with Amazon (even though it works with more retailers).
Once you've signed up for a free Price!pinx account, simply add the !pinx toolbar button to your browser bookmarks toolbar. Once the toolbar button is in place, shop online naturally, and when you encounter a product that you're interested in, highlight the price on the page and click the toolbar button. Price!pinx will record the item, the price, and the site at which you were shopping. Once the information is recorded in your Price!pinx account, the service will monitor the item for price drops and alert you when the price falls below the originally recorded amount.
Price!pinx monitors the price of your item for 60 days, and will alert you every time the price changes. After that period, you'll receive a notification that the !pinx is about to expire, and you can renew it for another 30 days if the price hasn't hit that magic amount where you're willing to buy. The servivce monitors coupons and promotions as well as price drops, and the front page has examples of recent price drops that the service has seen. Members are using Price!pinx to monitor price drops from sites like Newegg, Apple.com, Target.com, BestBuy.com, and even Amazon and Buy.com.
Price!pinx cannot alert you to items whose prices depend on zip code, duration, or any other personal information, so items like airline fares and cell phone plans are out. Additionally, some online retailers specifically design their sites so services like Price!pinx cannot read their prices.
The site is planning some interesting new features, like monitoring multiple retailers for price drops and bargains on items. For example, this means that if you find an item for $22.99 at one retailer's site, Price!pinx will be able to check around the Web and around other Price!pinx member accounts to see if it can find you a bargain. If you're looking for more ammo in your arsenal of online shopping bargain finders, Price!pinx is a good one to add to your list.
Price!pinx is very similar to services like Price Protectr and WishRadar. You sign up for an account, and you can monitor the prices of the items you select as they drop. Unlike Amazon Price Watch and Price Protectr, Price!pinx works with thousands of online retailers that sell everything from linens to electronics, and the site is a bit snappier than WishRadar, which is also configured to work best with Amazon (even though it works with more retailers).
Once you've signed up for a free Price!pinx account, simply add the !pinx toolbar button to your browser bookmarks toolbar. Once the toolbar button is in place, shop online naturally, and when you encounter a product that you're interested in, highlight the price on the page and click the toolbar button. Price!pinx will record the item, the price, and the site at which you were shopping. Once the information is recorded in your Price!pinx account, the service will monitor the item for price drops and alert you when the price falls below the originally recorded amount.
Price!pinx monitors the price of your item for 60 days, and will alert you every time the price changes. After that period, you'll receive a notification that the !pinx is about to expire, and you can renew it for another 30 days if the price hasn't hit that magic amount where you're willing to buy. The servivce monitors coupons and promotions as well as price drops, and the front page has examples of recent price drops that the service has seen. Members are using Price!pinx to monitor price drops from sites like Newegg, Apple.com, Target.com, BestBuy.com, and even Amazon and Buy.com.
Price!pinx cannot alert you to items whose prices depend on zip code, duration, or any other personal information, so items like airline fares and cell phone plans are out. Additionally, some online retailers specifically design their sites so services like Price!pinx cannot read their prices.
The site is planning some interesting new features, like monitoring multiple retailers for price drops and bargains on items. For example, this means that if you find an item for $22.99 at one retailer's site, Price!pinx will be able to check around the Web and around other Price!pinx member accounts to see if it can find you a bargain. If you're looking for more ammo in your arsenal of online shopping bargain finders, Price!pinx is a good one to add to your list.
Friday, August 14, 2009
Rock Band Track Pack Volume 1 Coming in July
Harmonix and MTV announced today the forthcoming release of Rock Band Track Pack Volume 1 for Nintendo Wii and PlayStation 2.
The 20-track booster pack features a mixture of old and new artists, including Weezer, David Bowie, Boston, Nine Inch Nails, Stone Temple Pilots, and All American Rejects.
All of the tracks are taken from the original master recordings. Track Pack Volume 1 will be available July 15th for $29.99. A full track listing is available, after the jump.
30 Seconds to Mars "The Kill"
All American Rejects "Move Along"
Blink 182 "All the Small Things"
Boston "More Than a Feeling"
David Bowie "Moonage Daydream"
Faith No More "We Care A Lot"
Grateful Dead "Truckin'"
The Hives "Die, All Right!"
KISS "Calling Dr. Love"
Lynyrd Skynyrd "Gimme' Three Steps"
Nine Inch Nails "March of the Pig"s
Oasis "Live Forever"
Paramore "Crushcrushcrush"
The Police "Synchronicity II"
Queens of the Stone Age "Little Sister"
Ramones "Teenage Lobotomy"
Smashing Pumpkins "Siva"
Stone Temple Pilots "Interstate Love Song"
Weezer "Buddy Holly"
Wolfmother "Joker
The 20-track booster pack features a mixture of old and new artists, including Weezer, David Bowie, Boston, Nine Inch Nails, Stone Temple Pilots, and All American Rejects.
All of the tracks are taken from the original master recordings. Track Pack Volume 1 will be available July 15th for $29.99. A full track listing is available, after the jump.
30 Seconds to Mars "The Kill"
All American Rejects "Move Along"
Blink 182 "All the Small Things"
Boston "More Than a Feeling"
David Bowie "Moonage Daydream"
Faith No More "We Care A Lot"
Grateful Dead "Truckin'"
The Hives "Die, All Right!"
KISS "Calling Dr. Love"
Lynyrd Skynyrd "Gimme' Three Steps"
Nine Inch Nails "March of the Pig"s
Oasis "Live Forever"
Paramore "Crushcrushcrush"
The Police "Synchronicity II"
Queens of the Stone Age "Little Sister"
Ramones "Teenage Lobotomy"
Smashing Pumpkins "Siva"
Stone Temple Pilots "Interstate Love Song"
Weezer "Buddy Holly"
Wolfmother "Joker
Swiss Company Selling America in Late May
Guess what, America: You're for sale. Well, your domain name is, and what's a superpower without a solid top-level domain? A Switzerland-based company will be auctioning off America.com, the "most beautiful domain name on the Internet."
The baseball-loving, bald-eagle, apple pie of a site will be auctioned off through GreatDomains.com and Sedo.com between May 22nd and 29th. The domain's value is estimated between $3.5 to 7.3 million. So if you really love your country, start saving up those Benjamins.
The baseball-loving, bald-eagle, apple pie of a site will be auctioned off through GreatDomains.com and Sedo.com between May 22nd and 29th. The domain's value is estimated between $3.5 to 7.3 million. So if you really love your country, start saving up those Benjamins.
Fididel: An eBay Alternative with Sellers in Mind
On May 1st, angry eBay users began another round of boycotts, this time with no end in sight unless eBay reverses the fee and policy changes that enraged so many sellers in the first place. Even if eBay did reverse course, a number of eBay buyers and sellers may never return to the service.
We've already discussed some eBay alternatives that will help you clean out the attic and make some money, but Fididel is a new online auction site unveiled today that promises to stand out from the crowd by keeping sellers in mind and offering buyers new tools to negotiate pricing dynamically with sellers.
Fididel just opened its doors this morning, so the site's listings can be somewhat scarce depending on the category that you choose. For example, there are only two items in the Computers and Network category, but there are dozens in the DVDs and Movies category. There's a good amount to shop if you're interested, and some buying tools that are truly unique to the service. For example, Fididel is the first online auction site to offer what the service calls Real Time Negotiations, which allow buyers and sellers to negotiate on pricing right down to the moment when the deal is sealed.
When you click to "fididel" an item, you're instantly connected to the site's real-time negotiation system, with which you can negotiate. You can haggle with the system instantly to try to lower the seller's asking price, ask the seller for more than one of the item to try and get a bulk price, or even indicate your mood during negotiations. You can send the seller a message that you're becoming impatient, that you want to close the deal as soon as possible, that you're looking for a counter-offer, and more. Granted, you're not haggling directly with the seller--you're discussing the deal with Fididel itself, which is currently managing sales for sellers interested in the service.
In addition to sending the service messages that indicate your mood, you can suggest purchase prices for the items you're fidideling over. That way if you think the wireless card that the seller is trying to get rid of for $40 is only really worth $20 at most, you can say that straight away, or haggle down to that number with incremental decreases.
If you're curious about using Fididel as a replacement for other online auction sites, for now you'll contact the developers to get your merchandise online during the beta. The service is accepting inventory, but you must work with the staff at Fididel to get your items up for sale on the site and to take advantage of the service's bargaining tools. The idea is that the same dynamic bargaining tools that allow buyers to haggle down the prices of the items they want to buy will help sellers protect their inventories. The seller will give the service the absolute minimum that the site can sell the item at and their desired price, and if a buyer haggles above that minimum price, the seller makes money. Fididel knows now to sell the item for less than the minimum price.
Fididel has almost two dozen categories of items, each with sub-categories, and almost all of them have items for sale. You can always search if you're looking for something specific, but even though the site is young, there are some bargains to be had. Signing up for an account is free, and the site accepts only PayPal as a method of payment at the moment. The developers claim this is just a limitation of the beta.
Fididel's method of selling items reminds me more of an inverse auction or a yard sale than a traditional auction site like eBay. At sites like eBay, the seller sets the minimum price up front and potential buyers fight over it. At Fididel, the minimum price is a secret, and buyers are empowered to haggle to a price they're comfortable with or buy outright while sellers interests are protected behind the scenes. At Fididel grows and comes out of beta, it could be a serious contender for larger, more established online auction sites.
We've already discussed some eBay alternatives that will help you clean out the attic and make some money, but Fididel is a new online auction site unveiled today that promises to stand out from the crowd by keeping sellers in mind and offering buyers new tools to negotiate pricing dynamically with sellers.
Fididel just opened its doors this morning, so the site's listings can be somewhat scarce depending on the category that you choose. For example, there are only two items in the Computers and Network category, but there are dozens in the DVDs and Movies category. There's a good amount to shop if you're interested, and some buying tools that are truly unique to the service. For example, Fididel is the first online auction site to offer what the service calls Real Time Negotiations, which allow buyers and sellers to negotiate on pricing right down to the moment when the deal is sealed.
When you click to "fididel" an item, you're instantly connected to the site's real-time negotiation system, with which you can negotiate. You can haggle with the system instantly to try to lower the seller's asking price, ask the seller for more than one of the item to try and get a bulk price, or even indicate your mood during negotiations. You can send the seller a message that you're becoming impatient, that you want to close the deal as soon as possible, that you're looking for a counter-offer, and more. Granted, you're not haggling directly with the seller--you're discussing the deal with Fididel itself, which is currently managing sales for sellers interested in the service.
In addition to sending the service messages that indicate your mood, you can suggest purchase prices for the items you're fidideling over. That way if you think the wireless card that the seller is trying to get rid of for $40 is only really worth $20 at most, you can say that straight away, or haggle down to that number with incremental decreases.
If you're curious about using Fididel as a replacement for other online auction sites, for now you'll contact the developers to get your merchandise online during the beta. The service is accepting inventory, but you must work with the staff at Fididel to get your items up for sale on the site and to take advantage of the service's bargaining tools. The idea is that the same dynamic bargaining tools that allow buyers to haggle down the prices of the items they want to buy will help sellers protect their inventories. The seller will give the service the absolute minimum that the site can sell the item at and their desired price, and if a buyer haggles above that minimum price, the seller makes money. Fididel knows now to sell the item for less than the minimum price.
Fididel has almost two dozen categories of items, each with sub-categories, and almost all of them have items for sale. You can always search if you're looking for something specific, but even though the site is young, there are some bargains to be had. Signing up for an account is free, and the site accepts only PayPal as a method of payment at the moment. The developers claim this is just a limitation of the beta.
Fididel's method of selling items reminds me more of an inverse auction or a yard sale than a traditional auction site like eBay. At sites like eBay, the seller sets the minimum price up front and potential buyers fight over it. At Fididel, the minimum price is a secret, and buyers are empowered to haggle to a price they're comfortable with or buy outright while sellers interests are protected behind the scenes. At Fididel grows and comes out of beta, it could be a serious contender for larger, more established online auction sites.
Microsoft Rolls Out Zune Video Store, Subscription Service, More
Why is this guy so happy?
Because Microsoft rolled out a spring update for the Zune this morning--updating the MP3 player's software and social networking site, Zune Social, and rolling out portable Zune cards, store subscriptions, and an all-new video store.
On the software side, Microsoft is offering closer integration between Zune Social and the player's client software. The company is also releasing various other updates that "customers have been asking for through the Zune Forums and other feedback channels," such as auto playlists and meta data editing.
Currently home to some 2 million users, according to Microsoft, Zune Social is also getting a facelift, including new interaction, recommendation, and review features. And Zune Social's Zune Card playlists are now portable, letting users import music recommendations to their own players.
Microsoft is also introducing a subscription element to the music store, letting users download unlimited music for a monthly fee, similar to Rhapsody and Napster. Marketplace is also getting video beginning today, featuring content from providers such as Comedy Central, FUNimation Entertainment, MTV, NBC Universal, , Nickelodeon, Starz Media (including Manga Entertainment), Turner Broadcasting, Ultimate Fighting Championship, and VH1.
Because Microsoft rolled out a spring update for the Zune this morning--updating the MP3 player's software and social networking site, Zune Social, and rolling out portable Zune cards, store subscriptions, and an all-new video store.
On the software side, Microsoft is offering closer integration between Zune Social and the player's client software. The company is also releasing various other updates that "customers have been asking for through the Zune Forums and other feedback channels," such as auto playlists and meta data editing.
Currently home to some 2 million users, according to Microsoft, Zune Social is also getting a facelift, including new interaction, recommendation, and review features. And Zune Social's Zune Card playlists are now portable, letting users import music recommendations to their own players.
Microsoft is also introducing a subscription element to the music store, letting users download unlimited music for a monthly fee, similar to Rhapsody and Napster. Marketplace is also getting video beginning today, featuring content from providers such as Comedy Central, FUNimation Entertainment, MTV, NBC Universal, , Nickelodeon, Starz Media (including Manga Entertainment), Turner Broadcasting, Ultimate Fighting Championship, and VH1.
Web Page Request Hijacked by Google Search
Q: I am running Windows Vista with all updates installed except SP1 (which has not as yet been available to me in Windows Update). I use IE7 with the Google Toolbar, both of which were preinstalled on my Gateway system. My problem is that when I type an address into the IE7 address bar, it will go to the intended site initially but will sometimes go to a Google search with the search criteria being the contents I originally typed in the address bar. Yes, I am certain I did not mistakenly type the desired address into the Google search bar.
McAfee Security Center finds no problems with viruses, etc. I removed the Google toolbar in IE7 and yet the problem still occurs. Sometimes it will be a Google web search but other times it will be an image search. I've looked at the entire PCMag website (while several times being redirected to a Google search for http://www.pcmag.com...) and cannot find even a reference to anyone else having such a problem. Have you ever heard of such a thing? - Peter Henrikson.
A: This is built-in behavior in IE and has been for some years. However, it can be freaky if you're not expecting it. If you just type a search term in the Address Bar, IE's default behavior is to invoke a search using your default provider. Of course it has to figure out when you're trying a search and when you're typing a URL. A failed URL will sometimes trigger the search option. You can turn that feature completely off in IE7's settings. Click the Advanced tab, scroll down to Search from the Address bar, and select Do not search from the Address bar. Close and restart Internet Explorer. Now you shouldn't find any more web page requests hijacked as search terms. - Neil J. Rubenking.
McAfee Security Center finds no problems with viruses, etc. I removed the Google toolbar in IE7 and yet the problem still occurs. Sometimes it will be a Google web search but other times it will be an image search. I've looked at the entire PCMag website (while several times being redirected to a Google search for http://www.pcmag.com...) and cannot find even a reference to anyone else having such a problem. Have you ever heard of such a thing? - Peter Henrikson.
A: This is built-in behavior in IE and has been for some years. However, it can be freaky if you're not expecting it. If you just type a search term in the Address Bar, IE's default behavior is to invoke a search using your default provider. Of course it has to figure out when you're trying a search and when you're typing a URL. A failed URL will sometimes trigger the search option. You can turn that feature completely off in IE7's settings. Click the Advanced tab, scroll down to Search from the Address bar, and select Do not search from the Address bar. Close and restart Internet Explorer. Now you shouldn't find any more web page requests hijacked as search terms. - Neil J. Rubenking.
Give Flowers to Mom, Get WinZip for Free!
Need a reason to buy your Mom flowers this Mother's Day? You can get WinZip for free if you do! That's right: with TrialPay, all you need to do is try or buy one promotional offer (send flowers from FTD, sign up for Blockbuster Total Access, buy clothes from Gap.com, for example) and you'll receive WinZip 11.2
Govit Helps You Get Into Politics
If you're the type of person who hears all of the political rhetoric during this campaign season but just can't seem to get excited about any issue or any candidate, Govit might help you find one to be passionate about. The site aims to get everyday people interested in politics by putting existing legislation and hot political issues in front of the public and asking them to vote on the issue. After a vote, you can even see how closely your voting record lines up with your elected representatives and the rest of the Govit community.
Govit is a non-partisan platform designed and built by a few individuals looking to get people passionate about politics. The service puts some of the most popular and high-profile legislation from Congress in front of the Govit community. It allows members to vote on the legislation as if they were members of congress. The site even allows you to instantly send your vote to your elected official so they know if they're truly representative or not of your position. Overall, Govit members are more or less in line with the voting records of Congress, more so with the Senate than the House of Representatives.
Some of the legislative season's more high-profile legislation is up at Govit for the community to vote on, including active bills in Congress on issues like net neutrality, torture, a gasoline tax holiday, and a bill demanding the display of the Ten Commandments in the US Capitol. Some lesser known bills are available to vote on as well, including a resolution to condemn the government of Zimbabwe for its actions to suppress the results of a recent election there and a resolution expressing urgency by Congress to deal with climate change. Just as if you were voting on Congress, you can vote yes, no, or abstain from the issue altogether.
If you want, you can click to send your vote to your representatives in office, copy a link to the poll to share with friends, or click to share the Govit poll on your favorite social networking site like MySpace of Facebook. If you'd like to discuss the matter, you can tackle the isse with other Govit members in the dicussion section for each item.
While you can view and vote on items right from the Govit front page, clicking on an item will take you to the full page for the bill, where you can read more details, see the sponsor and co-sponsors, see related bills, any committees that have worked on the bill, amendments to the bill, and more. Tabs at the top of the bill will take you directly to the discussion page where you can comment on the bill or respond to others, or click to see how members of the House or Senate have already voted on the measure.
If you're curious how the Govit community as a whole tends to vote, you can click the "Voting Record" tab at the top of the page to see a side-by-side breakdown of how members voted and what congressional districts they live in. Next to this is a representative map of the United States that shows how sitting members of the House or Senate voted on their respective measures. The map is great way to see in an easy graphic how people who live near or in your congressional district voted and how that reflects on the sitting official representing you.
Finally, if you're curious how you stack up with your elected officials, you can click the "US Government" tab to browse an interactive map of House districts and state lines. Hover over your home district and you'll get a pop-up link to your representative in the House, or a list of the Senators representing your state. You can even click to contact your representatives if you've registered for an account and provided your address.
Govit is incredibly well designed and easy to use. The community behind the site is lively and while its relatively small, the votes are interesting to observe compared to the legislative districts in which the members live. Accounts at the service are free, and because the site has no political or partisan affiliation, it's an excellent way to dive into politics and learn a little about what's happening in Washington without being mired in spin.
Govit is a non-partisan platform designed and built by a few individuals looking to get people passionate about politics. The service puts some of the most popular and high-profile legislation from Congress in front of the Govit community. It allows members to vote on the legislation as if they were members of congress. The site even allows you to instantly send your vote to your elected official so they know if they're truly representative or not of your position. Overall, Govit members are more or less in line with the voting records of Congress, more so with the Senate than the House of Representatives.
Some of the legislative season's more high-profile legislation is up at Govit for the community to vote on, including active bills in Congress on issues like net neutrality, torture, a gasoline tax holiday, and a bill demanding the display of the Ten Commandments in the US Capitol. Some lesser known bills are available to vote on as well, including a resolution to condemn the government of Zimbabwe for its actions to suppress the results of a recent election there and a resolution expressing urgency by Congress to deal with climate change. Just as if you were voting on Congress, you can vote yes, no, or abstain from the issue altogether.
If you want, you can click to send your vote to your representatives in office, copy a link to the poll to share with friends, or click to share the Govit poll on your favorite social networking site like MySpace of Facebook. If you'd like to discuss the matter, you can tackle the isse with other Govit members in the dicussion section for each item.
While you can view and vote on items right from the Govit front page, clicking on an item will take you to the full page for the bill, where you can read more details, see the sponsor and co-sponsors, see related bills, any committees that have worked on the bill, amendments to the bill, and more. Tabs at the top of the bill will take you directly to the discussion page where you can comment on the bill or respond to others, or click to see how members of the House or Senate have already voted on the measure.
If you're curious how the Govit community as a whole tends to vote, you can click the "Voting Record" tab at the top of the page to see a side-by-side breakdown of how members voted and what congressional districts they live in. Next to this is a representative map of the United States that shows how sitting members of the House or Senate voted on their respective measures. The map is great way to see in an easy graphic how people who live near or in your congressional district voted and how that reflects on the sitting official representing you.
Finally, if you're curious how you stack up with your elected officials, you can click the "US Government" tab to browse an interactive map of House districts and state lines. Hover over your home district and you'll get a pop-up link to your representative in the House, or a list of the Senators representing your state. You can even click to contact your representatives if you've registered for an account and provided your address.
Govit is incredibly well designed and easy to use. The community behind the site is lively and while its relatively small, the votes are interesting to observe compared to the legislative districts in which the members live. Accounts at the service are free, and because the site has no political or partisan affiliation, it's an excellent way to dive into politics and learn a little about what's happening in Washington without being mired in spin.
12th Annual Webby Awards Winners and Honorees Announced
Winners and honorees for the 12th Annual Webby Awards were announced today in New York. Among the well-known honorees are Stephen Colbert, Michel Gondry and, will.i.am.
Faux newscaster Colbert is being honored as the Webby Person of the Year, for his Google-bombing initiative, mega-popular Facebook group, and undying pursuit of truthiness. Be Kind, Rewind director Gondry is the Webby's Film and Video Person of the Year, recognized for his latest film's "celebration of low-budget, do-it-yourself filmmaking."
Black Eyed Peas frontman will.i.am is being honored as the Webby Artist of the Year, singled out for pro-Obama Internet videos such as "Yes We Can." The Webbys Best Actor award is being shared by Tim and Eric Awesome Show Great Job's Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim for their Web site, timanderic.com.
The Webbys are honoring a number of other people and sites in more than 50 categories, including Consumer Electronics, where are own sister site, PCMag.com, joins sites such as UberGizmo, Sony Bravia, and Microsoft Xbox Gioca360.
On the award side, official Webby Awards and People's Choice Awards were picked for almost 70 categories, including high profile sites like Huffington Post, PostSecret, , National Geographic, NYTimes.com; videos like Chocolate Rain, Here Comes Another Bubble, Onion News Network, and Wainy Days; and Web hits such as I Can Has Cheezburger and Passive-Aggressive Notes.
For the full list of nominees, check out the official 12 Annual Webby Awards Site. The awards will be given out on June 10th in a ceremony hosted by Seth Meyers and Judah Friedlander.
Faux newscaster Colbert is being honored as the Webby Person of the Year, for his Google-bombing initiative, mega-popular Facebook group, and undying pursuit of truthiness. Be Kind, Rewind director Gondry is the Webby's Film and Video Person of the Year, recognized for his latest film's "celebration of low-budget, do-it-yourself filmmaking."
Black Eyed Peas frontman will.i.am is being honored as the Webby Artist of the Year, singled out for pro-Obama Internet videos such as "Yes We Can." The Webbys Best Actor award is being shared by Tim and Eric Awesome Show Great Job's Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim for their Web site, timanderic.com.
The Webbys are honoring a number of other people and sites in more than 50 categories, including Consumer Electronics, where are own sister site, PCMag.com, joins sites such as UberGizmo, Sony Bravia, and Microsoft Xbox Gioca360.
On the award side, official Webby Awards and People's Choice Awards were picked for almost 70 categories, including high profile sites like Huffington Post, PostSecret, , National Geographic, NYTimes.com; videos like Chocolate Rain, Here Comes Another Bubble, Onion News Network, and Wainy Days; and Web hits such as I Can Has Cheezburger and Passive-Aggressive Notes.
For the full list of nominees, check out the official 12 Annual Webby Awards Site. The awards will be given out on June 10th in a ceremony hosted by Seth Meyers and Judah Friedlander.
.Me Domains Now Available to the Public
A year ago almost to the day, I interviewed Joost Zuurbier, the CEO of Dot TK, which is the company in charge of registering .tk top-level domain names. What made the story really interesting was the fact that the domain extension was initially designed to be used by inhabitants of Tokelau, a nation comprised of three small atolls halfway between Hawaii and New Zealand. Similar services have been set up for .tv and .dj, which belong to Tuvalu and Djibouti, respectively.
In 2006, Montenegro was assigned its own domain name extension: .me. Like Tuvalu and Djibouti, sheer coincidence has given the small European nation a potentially high-demand extension. Says EnCirca president, Thomas Barrett of .me, "[It] offers real personalization of domains. For instance, why not register follow.me for the born leader? Or perhaps, listento.me for the incessant blogger? EnCirca is excited to be part of this strategic campaign and we applaud Montenegro for making the most of their virtual resources."
Naturally, there's some self-adulation in Barrett's applause, as his company also happens to be the one charged with registering the country's virtual resources, which have become available to the public today.
The company expects the extension to be big with "businesses looking to interact with their customers and for individuals interested in using .Me for blogs, resumes, and personal pages." And I'm sure, as always, the porn industry will really be taking the helm of this one, but I'll spare you some of the possibilities I've come up with for that particular industry.
In 2006, Montenegro was assigned its own domain name extension: .me. Like Tuvalu and Djibouti, sheer coincidence has given the small European nation a potentially high-demand extension. Says EnCirca president, Thomas Barrett of .me, "[It] offers real personalization of domains. For instance, why not register follow.me for the born leader? Or perhaps, listento.me for the incessant blogger? EnCirca is excited to be part of this strategic campaign and we applaud Montenegro for making the most of their virtual resources."
Naturally, there's some self-adulation in Barrett's applause, as his company also happens to be the one charged with registering the country's virtual resources, which have become available to the public today.
The company expects the extension to be big with "businesses looking to interact with their customers and for individuals interested in using .Me for blogs, resumes, and personal pages." And I'm sure, as always, the porn industry will really be taking the helm of this one, but I'll spare you some of the possibilities I've come up with for that particular industry.
WeLoveFreeMusic.com: First Web Site to Generate Music Superstars
Move over iTunes, Rhapsody, and Napster: A recently launched Internet business, WeLoveFreeMusic.com, will offer free music downloads and give aspiring new songwriters and artists the chance share their music with the world and to collaborate with industry producers. The best artist, to be voted by people visiting the site worldwide in two months, will receive a record deal with SOS Records. This new company was started by Nobel Peace Prize Winner Archbishop Desmond Tutu (we're not sure exactly why he's involved, but whatever) and music entrepreneur Steve Nowack.
"Given the potential of this web site to aggregate millions of users worldwide, no longer will artists have to break down the powerful barriers to accessing a global audience," Nowack says. "We believe that people everywhere crave the ability to discover and enjoy new superstar talent, and our platform gives the world unfettered access to do so." As distinct from user-generated content platforms, WeLoveFreeMusic.com will also offer artists and songwriters the opportunity to collaborate with, and be produced by, world-class producers."
WeLoveFreeMusic.com already features the music of Canadian sensation Naomi Striemer, Africa's Idrissa Diop, and American record producer, Mario Winans. In a few weeks from now, the site will also release a new song to download every day.
This site has a long way to go. WeLoveFreeMusic.com currently has only four artists to download music from. Anyone, however, can upload their own music to the site and even choose what record producer they would prefer to hear their songs.
"Given the potential of this web site to aggregate millions of users worldwide, no longer will artists have to break down the powerful barriers to accessing a global audience," Nowack says. "We believe that people everywhere crave the ability to discover and enjoy new superstar talent, and our platform gives the world unfettered access to do so." As distinct from user-generated content platforms, WeLoveFreeMusic.com will also offer artists and songwriters the opportunity to collaborate with, and be produced by, world-class producers."
WeLoveFreeMusic.com already features the music of Canadian sensation Naomi Striemer, Africa's Idrissa Diop, and American record producer, Mario Winans. In a few weeks from now, the site will also release a new song to download every day.
This site has a long way to go. WeLoveFreeMusic.com currently has only four artists to download music from. Anyone, however, can upload their own music to the site and even choose what record producer they would prefer to hear their songs.
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Hands On: Pokmon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Darkness for Nintendo DS
Imagine waking up on a beach, with no memory at all... and you're a Pokmon! Not knowing what else to do, you decide to take off on an exciting adventure into the unknown with a new Pokmon friend. You and this friend decide to form an exploration party to venture into the Mystery Dungeons. Along the way, you help other Pokmon, solve mysteries, search for treasure, and foil the plans of Pokmon criminals, in an effort to solve the mystery behind your transformation.
In the Mystery Dungeons, you walk through mazes and fight enemies, and can also pick up items and money (there are also shops to buy items in town). The more assignments and dungeons that you complete, the higher your party's rank becomes. The mystery of your Pokmon transformation unfolds a little bit more each time you defeat a boss.
The more successful your exploration party is, the more Pokmon you can recruit to join your party. Every time you or one of your partners level up, you become better in combat--and you might even learn a new move. When your partner faints from lack of health points, you can call for another partner in your party. And if you faint, you can use your Nintendo Wi-Fi connection to get help from a nearby friend with a DS.
I found Pokmon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Darkness interesting for a while, but eventually, the dungeons became unexciting: All of the rooms look basically the same in each dungeon. Combat was also boring; it's slow-paced, and every move counts as a turn.
Pokmon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Darkness is available for $34.99 at stores like GameStop and EB Games.
Post by Alex Sanfilippo
In the Mystery Dungeons, you walk through mazes and fight enemies, and can also pick up items and money (there are also shops to buy items in town). The more assignments and dungeons that you complete, the higher your party's rank becomes. The mystery of your Pokmon transformation unfolds a little bit more each time you defeat a boss.
The more successful your exploration party is, the more Pokmon you can recruit to join your party. Every time you or one of your partners level up, you become better in combat--and you might even learn a new move. When your partner faints from lack of health points, you can call for another partner in your party. And if you faint, you can use your Nintendo Wi-Fi connection to get help from a nearby friend with a DS.
I found Pokmon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Darkness interesting for a while, but eventually, the dungeons became unexciting: All of the rooms look basically the same in each dungeon. Combat was also boring; it's slow-paced, and every move counts as a turn.
Pokmon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Darkness is available for $34.99 at stores like GameStop and EB Games.
Post by Alex Sanfilippo
ExtremeTech Rolls Out Site Redesign
Our PC Mag Network sister site, ExtremeTech just got a major facelift, one which, as the site's editor, Lloyd Case eagerly points out at PCMag.com, is far more than simple aesthetics. Says Lloyd:
We wanted the changes to be deep and far reaching. We also realized that part of this would come from sharpening our focus. To that end, the new ExtremeTech will offer more DIY (Do It Yourself) stories, tips, how-tos, and reviews--everything you need to help you take control of your tech. With this in mind, let's now take a quick tour of the new ExtremeTech.
There's more intuitive navigation; a new How To section, which features Built-Its, tips, and tricks; and Lab Notes, which offers "quick-and-dirty pieces" of information. And of course that's all just for starters. If you're a regular ExtremeTech reader, we think you'll find the beta site to be a lot cleaner and more intuitive. If you've never checked it out, this is the perfect excuse.
We wanted the changes to be deep and far reaching. We also realized that part of this would come from sharpening our focus. To that end, the new ExtremeTech will offer more DIY (Do It Yourself) stories, tips, how-tos, and reviews--everything you need to help you take control of your tech. With this in mind, let's now take a quick tour of the new ExtremeTech.
There's more intuitive navigation; a new How To section, which features Built-Its, tips, and tricks; and Lab Notes, which offers "quick-and-dirty pieces" of information. And of course that's all just for starters. If you're a regular ExtremeTech reader, we think you'll find the beta site to be a lot cleaner and more intuitive. If you've never checked it out, this is the perfect excuse.
Give All Word Documents Their Own Windows
Q: I have been a Microsoft Word user since forever and consider myself pretty much of an expert. Today, however, something happened that left me scratching my head. I know I used to be able to launch a second or third instance of Word. I would do this periodically when I wanted to work on one document while looking at an earlier document. After opening the two files, I would right-click the taskbar and select "Tile Windows Vertically" so that the two instances filled my screen.
Recently, when I went to run Word a second time to open a second file, it retained the single open instance and simply put the second file "on top" of the first. After getting over my surprise, I realized this must be a new "feature" of Word 2003 which I have been running since I migrated to XP Pro. I tried options from Word's Window menu. Arrange All is no good because it will only arrange horizontally. Compare Side by Side sort of worked, but it was nowhere nearly as clean as opening two running instances of Word and then tiling them on the desktop. Am I screwed? Is that just the way it is now? Is there any way to open multiple instances of Word? - Bart Evans.
A: There was a time when Microsoft was enamored of the "Multiple Document Interface". They encouraged programmers to devise programs with one big workspace window in which windows representing individual files would float - kind of like making the program its own desktop. MDI is out of fashion these days, but Word still lets you edit in that kind of workspace if you want to. And, apparently, sometimes even if you don't want to.
All you need to do is change a simple checkbox to get back the behavior you want. The problem is, the label for this checkbox doesn't really describe its behavior. Click Tools | Options from Word's menu and then click the View tab. In the Show area of that tab find the box "Windows in Taskbar". Checkmark it, click OK. Poof! You have multiple separate document windows again. Word 2007 users will click the Office button at top left, click the Word Options button, and select Advanced from the list at left. The option "Show all windows in the taskbar" is found in the Display section of this page. - Neil J. Rubenking.
Recently, when I went to run Word a second time to open a second file, it retained the single open instance and simply put the second file "on top" of the first. After getting over my surprise, I realized this must be a new "feature" of Word 2003 which I have been running since I migrated to XP Pro. I tried options from Word's Window menu. Arrange All is no good because it will only arrange horizontally. Compare Side by Side sort of worked, but it was nowhere nearly as clean as opening two running instances of Word and then tiling them on the desktop. Am I screwed? Is that just the way it is now? Is there any way to open multiple instances of Word? - Bart Evans.
A: There was a time when Microsoft was enamored of the "Multiple Document Interface". They encouraged programmers to devise programs with one big workspace window in which windows representing individual files would float - kind of like making the program its own desktop. MDI is out of fashion these days, but Word still lets you edit in that kind of workspace if you want to. And, apparently, sometimes even if you don't want to.
All you need to do is change a simple checkbox to get back the behavior you want. The problem is, the label for this checkbox doesn't really describe its behavior. Click Tools | Options from Word's menu and then click the View tab. In the Show area of that tab find the box "Windows in Taskbar". Checkmark it, click OK. Poof! You have multiple separate document windows again. Word 2007 users will click the Office button at top left, click the Word Options button, and select Advanced from the list at left. The option "Show all windows in the taskbar" is found in the Display section of this page. - Neil J. Rubenking.
Microsoft Withdraws Yahoo! Bid
After mincing few words in their bid to purchase the ailing (and subsequently somewhat rebounding) Internet giant Yahoo!, Microsoft withdrew its offer on Saturday.
First announced in early February, Yahoo! shook off the bid as being too low, suggesting that they were unlikely to agree to anything that valued the company at lower than $40 a share, biding their time, while seeking alternative deals with companies like AOL and the News Corp-owned Myspace. Microsoft's Steve Ballmer, meanwhile, sent the company a series of open letters with less than subtle hints that his company was considering a hostile takeover. Microsoft ultimately raised their bid by $5 billion, with the per-share value jumping to $33. This time out, Yahoo! wasn't likely to go any lower than $37 a share.
In light of the unsuccessful nature of that most recent offer, Ballmer sent a letter to Yahoo! head, Jerry Yang, announcing his company's pull out.
Said Ballmer of the move,
Despite our best efforts, including raising our bid by roughly $5 billion, Yahoo! has not moved toward accepting our offer. After careful consideration, we believe the economics demanded by Yahoo! do not make sense for us, and it is in the best interests of Microsoft stockholders, employees and other stakeholders to withdraw our proposal.
We have a talented team in place and a compelling plan to grow our business through innovative new services and strategic transactions with other business partners. While Yahoo! would have accelerated our strategy, I am confident that we can continue to move forward toward our goals
For the full text of Ballmer's latest open letter to Yahoo! CEO, Jerry Yang, visit Microsoft's site.
First announced in early February, Yahoo! shook off the bid as being too low, suggesting that they were unlikely to agree to anything that valued the company at lower than $40 a share, biding their time, while seeking alternative deals with companies like AOL and the News Corp-owned Myspace. Microsoft's Steve Ballmer, meanwhile, sent the company a series of open letters with less than subtle hints that his company was considering a hostile takeover. Microsoft ultimately raised their bid by $5 billion, with the per-share value jumping to $33. This time out, Yahoo! wasn't likely to go any lower than $37 a share.
In light of the unsuccessful nature of that most recent offer, Ballmer sent a letter to Yahoo! head, Jerry Yang, announcing his company's pull out.
Said Ballmer of the move,
Despite our best efforts, including raising our bid by roughly $5 billion, Yahoo! has not moved toward accepting our offer. After careful consideration, we believe the economics demanded by Yahoo! do not make sense for us, and it is in the best interests of Microsoft stockholders, employees and other stakeholders to withdraw our proposal.
We have a talented team in place and a compelling plan to grow our business through innovative new services and strategic transactions with other business partners. While Yahoo! would have accelerated our strategy, I am confident that we can continue to move forward toward our goals
For the full text of Ballmer's latest open letter to Yahoo! CEO, Jerry Yang, visit Microsoft's site.
Gates: Microsoft Will Pursue 'Independent Paths'
Microsoft is happy all on its own, thank you very much.
After withdrawing its bid for Yahoo over the weekend, Microsoft is now pursuing "independent paths," outgoing chairman Bill Gates told reporters in Japan this week.
Microsoft put "a lot of effort" into acquiring Yahoo, but after being rebuffed by Yahoo over its asking price and abandoning plans for a hostile takeover, Microsoft will now focus on building up its own search offering, Gates said.
"We will make the advances that give people a great choice there," he said.
Gates' comments differ from those he made Tuesday in South Korea, when he said Microsoft had not ruled out additional partnerships after losing Yahoo.
After withdrawing its bid for Yahoo over the weekend, Microsoft is now pursuing "independent paths," outgoing chairman Bill Gates told reporters in Japan this week.
Microsoft put "a lot of effort" into acquiring Yahoo, but after being rebuffed by Yahoo over its asking price and abandoning plans for a hostile takeover, Microsoft will now focus on building up its own search offering, Gates said.
"We will make the advances that give people a great choice there," he said.
Gates' comments differ from those he made Tuesday in South Korea, when he said Microsoft had not ruled out additional partnerships after losing Yahoo.
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Microsoft Word Expands Accessibility for Blind and Print-Disabled Users
Microsoft today joined with Sonata Software Ltd. and the Digital Accessible Information System (DAISY) Consortium to launch an initiative to make Word documents more accessible to blind and print-disabled users.
Created via an open-source project, the new "Save as DAISY XML" add-on for Word 2003, XP, and 2007 makes it possible to save docs as Daisy Standard, the globally accepted method used to publish content for print-disabled users. They can download the add-on at the Open XML Community site.
Daisy Pipeline was also released today. The suite helps users convert Daisy XML files into DAISY Digital Talking Book (DTB), making content even more accessible to users with print disabilities.
"This new 'Save as DAISY XML' functionality for Microsoft Word has the potential to break down barriers for millions of visually impaired individuals around the world and enhance the experience for virtually anyone who loves to read," said Chris Capossela, Microsoft's senior vice president of the Information Worker Product Management Group of the initiative. "We are proud of our collaboration with the DAISY Consortium and Sonata Software to deliver valuable benefits for people with a visual impairment. This tool will make it easier for anyone--from a child writing to his or her grandparent, to a government agency providing vital information to its citizens--to create accessible content."
That the project was created using open-source programming should only serve to help expand the accessibilities of the technologies.
Created via an open-source project, the new "Save as DAISY XML" add-on for Word 2003, XP, and 2007 makes it possible to save docs as Daisy Standard, the globally accepted method used to publish content for print-disabled users. They can download the add-on at the Open XML Community site.
Daisy Pipeline was also released today. The suite helps users convert Daisy XML files into DAISY Digital Talking Book (DTB), making content even more accessible to users with print disabilities.
"This new 'Save as DAISY XML' functionality for Microsoft Word has the potential to break down barriers for millions of visually impaired individuals around the world and enhance the experience for virtually anyone who loves to read," said Chris Capossela, Microsoft's senior vice president of the Information Worker Product Management Group of the initiative. "We are proud of our collaboration with the DAISY Consortium and Sonata Software to deliver valuable benefits for people with a visual impairment. This tool will make it easier for anyone--from a child writing to his or her grandparent, to a government agency providing vital information to its citizens--to create accessible content."
That the project was created using open-source programming should only serve to help expand the accessibilities of the technologies.
GossipReport.com: The New Way to Blab Behind Backs
OMG. I have something to tell you, but you're never going to believe it! There's this new site, called GossipReport.com, and it's like totally okay to gossip about anyone and anything! Best of all, blathering is completely anonymous. GossipReport.com also lets users vote on gossip and authors of gossip (to become "G Spot" nominees), remove "trashy" gossip, and rate people in three categories: personality, looks, and in bed. And instead of creating a profile about yourself, like on MySpace and Facebook, you're creating a profile about someone else!
Upon visiting the site, it's G obvious they love making use of the letter G: G String (a page where you can view and post gossip about a person), G Money (earn GossipReport.com currency by answering questions), G Spot (a list of the hottest and funniest threads), and G Score (the way to rate someone who is being gossiped about on a 1-10 scale).
GossipReport Co-Creator, Elizabeth Bloch, hopes that through her site, people will learn how to gossip constructively. "GossipReport.com is a place for users to talk about people and events in their lives. We spend most of our lives at work
Upon visiting the site, it's G obvious they love making use of the letter G: G String (a page where you can view and post gossip about a person), G Money (earn GossipReport.com currency by answering questions), G Spot (a list of the hottest and funniest threads), and G Score (the way to rate someone who is being gossiped about on a 1-10 scale).
GossipReport Co-Creator, Elizabeth Bloch, hopes that through her site, people will learn how to gossip constructively. "GossipReport.com is a place for users to talk about people and events in their lives. We spend most of our lives at work
OpenOffice 3.0 Public Beta Released
OpenOffice.org said Wednesday that it had made the beta version of OpenOffice 3.0 available for download. The organization recommended that beta users not use the software for production, however; you have been warned.
What's new? "The most immediately visible change to OpenOffice.org 3.0 is the new 'Start Centre', new fresh-looking icons, and a new zoom control in the status bar," according to OpenOffice.org. "A closer look shows that 3.0 has a myriad of new features. Notable Calc improvements include a new solver component; support for spreadsheet collaboration through workbook sharing; and an increase to 1024 columns per sheet. Writer has an improved notes feature and displays of multiple pages while editing. There are numerous Chart enhancements, and an improved crop feature in Draw and Impress."
A nice list of features, together with screenshots, is here.
"Behind the scenes, OpenOffice.org 3.0 will support the upcoming OpenDocument Format (ODF) 1.2 standard, and is capable of opening files created with MS-Office 2007 or MS-Office 2008 for Mac OS X (.docx, .xlsx, .pptx, etc.)," the group added. "This is in addition to read and write support for the MS-Office binary file formats (.doc, .xls, .ppt, etc.). "
The new release is also Mac-friendly, running on Mac OS X without X11, with the look and feel of any other Aqua application, the developer group said.
What's new? "The most immediately visible change to OpenOffice.org 3.0 is the new 'Start Centre', new fresh-looking icons, and a new zoom control in the status bar," according to OpenOffice.org. "A closer look shows that 3.0 has a myriad of new features. Notable Calc improvements include a new solver component; support for spreadsheet collaboration through workbook sharing; and an increase to 1024 columns per sheet. Writer has an improved notes feature and displays of multiple pages while editing. There are numerous Chart enhancements, and an improved crop feature in Draw and Impress."
A nice list of features, together with screenshots, is here.
"Behind the scenes, OpenOffice.org 3.0 will support the upcoming OpenDocument Format (ODF) 1.2 standard, and is capable of opening files created with MS-Office 2007 or MS-Office 2008 for Mac OS X (.docx, .xlsx, .pptx, etc.)," the group added. "This is in addition to read and write support for the MS-Office binary file formats (.doc, .xls, .ppt, etc.). "
The new release is also Mac-friendly, running on Mac OS X without X11, with the look and feel of any other Aqua application, the developer group said.
Log On With Your Face, Now on Any PC
If you've followed this story, you might be interested in how to perform the same feat -- logging into your computer through face recognition -- with your own PC.
A new shareware program, Face LogOn XPress from XID Technologies, allows you to do exactly that. Download it here for a 30-day trial. Face LogOn Xpress compensates for extreme conditions such as complete darkness by allowing users to access the PC through the use of a default password instead of the camera. Phew!
The technology builds an image database, and then compares it to the image your Webcam takes of your face. "Face LogOn Xpress is the first offering in XID's Face LogOn product suite, which will eventually include 3 distinct versions," noted Franois Belot, marketing director for XID. "Face LogOn Advanced will offer even more features and power than Xpress, and FaceLogOn Ultimate will include professional biometric access control to secure ultra-sensitive data."
A new shareware program, Face LogOn XPress from XID Technologies, allows you to do exactly that. Download it here for a 30-day trial. Face LogOn Xpress compensates for extreme conditions such as complete darkness by allowing users to access the PC through the use of a default password instead of the camera. Phew!
The technology builds an image database, and then compares it to the image your Webcam takes of your face. "Face LogOn Xpress is the first offering in XID's Face LogOn product suite, which will eventually include 3 distinct versions," noted Franois Belot, marketing director for XID. "Face LogOn Advanced will offer even more features and power than Xpress, and FaceLogOn Ultimate will include professional biometric access control to secure ultra-sensitive data."
Boycott Fever II: More eBay Alternatives
Don't ever let it be said that we don't give the people what they want. In response to recent eBay boycott shenanigans, we ran a story titled Boycott Fever: eBay Alternatives. While we weren't necessarily recommending that users jump ship from eBay, some may wish to reexamine the online auction world--to take a look at the competition for a company that traditionally has seen very little.
While we included Amazon, Audiogon, Craigslist, Etsy, iOffer, Onlineauction.com, Overstock Auction, Trocadero, and Powersellers Unite--all sites that had been recommended to us by disillusioned sellers--the overwhelming consensus among readers was that not including Wagglepop was an oversight. We amended that by tacking the site onto the list, and later posting an extensive hands-on review. The latter demonstrated that the site has just as many vocal detractors as enthusiastic users.
After reviewing subsequent feedback from both stories, we've compiled this list of yet more eBay alternatives. If you think we're still missing an important site or two, let us know in the comments.
eBid: This familiar-sounding auction site was created in the U.K. in 1998. Since then, eBid has gained a considerable amount of popularity and opened up shop in nine more countries, including the U.S. "It's improving all the time," one commenter told us, "but just needs a big boost in terms of sellers and buyers."
eCrater: Like eBid, eCrater offers free listings. On top of that, users get "free website hosting, a free subdomain and a powerful admin tool to manage their free online stores," according to the homepage. Said one Appscout reader: "I've been with eCrater for nearly two years... sales are slow compared to eBay but [I] ship several sales a month and adore the increased profitability on eCrater since the site is completely free to use."
Ewaey: As far as names are concerned, Ewaey is perhaps the most blantant eBay ripoff around--even its multicolored lowercase logo looks pretty familiar. But as one of our readers put it, "It is very easy to list on and the customer service is great. Check it out, could [really be a] competitor to eBay in the future." The first 5,000 users get free listings forever--not sure how many they're up to at present, but it couldn't hurt to ask.
Google Base Beta: Google Base is a powerful and free service for getting your sale items listed in the country's most popular search engine. One reader put it this way: "That Google search box is some prime real estate, and it's free."
Hoobly: As evidenced by its blank About page, Hoobly still has a ways to go before it catches up with Google--and really, the site is more of an online classified site, comparable to, say, Craigslist. However, according to a PR rep who contacted us after the last eBay alternatives story, 500,000 people have already signed up for the site. So they must be doing something right. Right?
PlunderHere: Yaaaarrrr. Here be a pirate-themed auction site. The design leaves something to be desired, but still--pirates!
Ruby Lane: This site is geared toward users looking to sell things like antiques and jewelry. Items cost 30 cents to list, and the site doesn't take a commission on your sales.
While we included Amazon, Audiogon, Craigslist, Etsy, iOffer, Onlineauction.com, Overstock Auction, Trocadero, and Powersellers Unite--all sites that had been recommended to us by disillusioned sellers--the overwhelming consensus among readers was that not including Wagglepop was an oversight. We amended that by tacking the site onto the list, and later posting an extensive hands-on review. The latter demonstrated that the site has just as many vocal detractors as enthusiastic users.
After reviewing subsequent feedback from both stories, we've compiled this list of yet more eBay alternatives. If you think we're still missing an important site or two, let us know in the comments.
eBid: This familiar-sounding auction site was created in the U.K. in 1998. Since then, eBid has gained a considerable amount of popularity and opened up shop in nine more countries, including the U.S. "It's improving all the time," one commenter told us, "but just needs a big boost in terms of sellers and buyers."
eCrater: Like eBid, eCrater offers free listings. On top of that, users get "free website hosting, a free subdomain and a powerful admin tool to manage their free online stores," according to the homepage. Said one Appscout reader: "I've been with eCrater for nearly two years... sales are slow compared to eBay but [I] ship several sales a month and adore the increased profitability on eCrater since the site is completely free to use."
Ewaey: As far as names are concerned, Ewaey is perhaps the most blantant eBay ripoff around--even its multicolored lowercase logo looks pretty familiar. But as one of our readers put it, "It is very easy to list on and the customer service is great. Check it out, could [really be a] competitor to eBay in the future." The first 5,000 users get free listings forever--not sure how many they're up to at present, but it couldn't hurt to ask.
Google Base Beta: Google Base is a powerful and free service for getting your sale items listed in the country's most popular search engine. One reader put it this way: "That Google search box is some prime real estate, and it's free."
Hoobly: As evidenced by its blank About page, Hoobly still has a ways to go before it catches up with Google--and really, the site is more of an online classified site, comparable to, say, Craigslist. However, according to a PR rep who contacted us after the last eBay alternatives story, 500,000 people have already signed up for the site. So they must be doing something right. Right?
PlunderHere: Yaaaarrrr. Here be a pirate-themed auction site. The design leaves something to be desired, but still--pirates!
Ruby Lane: This site is geared toward users looking to sell things like antiques and jewelry. Items cost 30 cents to list, and the site doesn't take a commission on your sales.
Boycott Fever: eBay Alternatives
While the debate about the recent eBay boycott's impact on the auction site's listings is likely to continue for some time, one thing is certain: Thanks to the recent changes implementing in the wake of Meg Whitman's exit, a lot of power sellers are jumping ship for greener pastures. After our recent post on the topic of the auction site allegedly inflated its posting numbers, we received a deluge of responses from outraged sellers, many of whom included a list of the competitor sites they would be moving to.
We're not necessarily advising users to take their business elsewhere, but it never hurts to take a close look at the competition--something that eBay has received surprisingly little of over the years. Below are some of the alternatives that have been brought to our attention by eBay expats. If you know of any others, please let us know in Comments.
[Updated: 3/07/08]
appscout973:http://www.appscout.com/2008/03/boycott_fever_ebay_alternative.php
Amazon: As the Web's number-one retailer, Amazon is the obvious choice for disillusioned eBay sellers. Although the site doesn't offer an auction feature anymore, its Stores section is a terrific place for sellers to pawn new and used goods. Best of all, no listing fee.
Audiogon: This audio site features a place for members to buy and sell used hardware. One former eBay seller who has given his business almost entirely to this site and Amazon noted that Audiogon, whose tagline is "The High End Audio Community," offers listings for a flat fee of $8--unlike eBay, which takes a percentage off of the final sales price of products.
Craigslist: Next to Amazon, Craigslist seems to be the obvious choice for former eBay sellers, thanks to its huge built-in user base. Craiglist is localized, though, which may prove a mixed blessing for users, depending on the kind of wares they're hawking. Of course, as one seller pointed out, eBay has a stake in this popular classifieds site.
eCrater: You can't talk about this online auction site without noting the similarities its name shares with that other popular site in the same space. The biggest difference? eCrater refers to itself as "100-percent free," stating, "Your eCrater store is offered to you at no charge. It will remain free, which means sellers will always get a 100% of their sales. A step in the development of the site is the introduction of premium product positions. With that, charges will apply only to sellers that are willing to advertise their products so they appear in premium positions in the corresponding categories."
Etsy: Etsy is the go-to site for sellers of handmade arts and crafts. The site's homepage showcases a large cross-section of goods, including pottery, jewelry, glassware, and crochet, among others.
iOffer: "This is not an auction. It's better!" reads iOffer's front page. The site is a bit more like a flea market; it does away with auction end times and focuses more on haggling.
Neoloch: One seller who has been actively looking for good eBay alternatives pointed us to this site, saying, "Right now, my favorite one is Neoloch, just started by a Power Seller in response to this eBay nonsense. It's small, but growing." Perhaps attempting to contrast with big, bad eBay, Neoloch is touting itself as "The Friendly Auction Site."
Onlineauction.com: That's about as straightforward as Web site names get. Four users who contacted us have switched to the site. Users pay a flat $8 month to list auctions, as opposed to eBay's per-item fee. One user reported success after the switch, while another has yet to sell anything through the site.
Overstock Auctions: According to one former eBay seller, Overstock's auction arm is, the "most similar to eBay in structure." An offshoot of the popular retail bargain site, Overstock Auctions is also one of the best-looking sites on the list.
Trocadero: More of a storefront than an auction site, Trocadero is an outlet for antique and fine art sales. Says one seller, "A basic store with them is only $4 more a month than at eBay and they take no commission. A medium tier store is $45 monthly, again with no commission."
Wagglepop: Wagglepop's tagline is "Join the Revolution," and from the comments left on this post, early this morning, clearly a few people have headed the call. The site charges a flat rate of $9.95 a month for unlimited listings. Said one commenter, "they get indexed on Google and you get real help from real people who care about helping others sell. No back stabbing[...], no high fees, and Wagglepop will give you peace of mind because you are in control of your auctions and store."
Powersellers Unite, one of the centralized boycott sites, features even more alternative sites as part of its Auction Watch. It also offers its very own storefronts for disillusioned users.
We're not necessarily advising users to take their business elsewhere, but it never hurts to take a close look at the competition--something that eBay has received surprisingly little of over the years. Below are some of the alternatives that have been brought to our attention by eBay expats. If you know of any others, please let us know in Comments.
[Updated: 3/07/08]
appscout973:http://www.appscout.com/2008/03/boycott_fever_ebay_alternative.php
Amazon: As the Web's number-one retailer, Amazon is the obvious choice for disillusioned eBay sellers. Although the site doesn't offer an auction feature anymore, its Stores section is a terrific place for sellers to pawn new and used goods. Best of all, no listing fee.
Audiogon: This audio site features a place for members to buy and sell used hardware. One former eBay seller who has given his business almost entirely to this site and Amazon noted that Audiogon, whose tagline is "The High End Audio Community," offers listings for a flat fee of $8--unlike eBay, which takes a percentage off of the final sales price of products.
Craigslist: Next to Amazon, Craigslist seems to be the obvious choice for former eBay sellers, thanks to its huge built-in user base. Craiglist is localized, though, which may prove a mixed blessing for users, depending on the kind of wares they're hawking. Of course, as one seller pointed out, eBay has a stake in this popular classifieds site.
eCrater: You can't talk about this online auction site without noting the similarities its name shares with that other popular site in the same space. The biggest difference? eCrater refers to itself as "100-percent free," stating, "Your eCrater store is offered to you at no charge. It will remain free, which means sellers will always get a 100% of their sales. A step in the development of the site is the introduction of premium product positions. With that, charges will apply only to sellers that are willing to advertise their products so they appear in premium positions in the corresponding categories."
Etsy: Etsy is the go-to site for sellers of handmade arts and crafts. The site's homepage showcases a large cross-section of goods, including pottery, jewelry, glassware, and crochet, among others.
iOffer: "This is not an auction. It's better!" reads iOffer's front page. The site is a bit more like a flea market; it does away with auction end times and focuses more on haggling.
Neoloch: One seller who has been actively looking for good eBay alternatives pointed us to this site, saying, "Right now, my favorite one is Neoloch, just started by a Power Seller in response to this eBay nonsense. It's small, but growing." Perhaps attempting to contrast with big, bad eBay, Neoloch is touting itself as "The Friendly Auction Site."
Onlineauction.com: That's about as straightforward as Web site names get. Four users who contacted us have switched to the site. Users pay a flat $8 month to list auctions, as opposed to eBay's per-item fee. One user reported success after the switch, while another has yet to sell anything through the site.
Overstock Auctions: According to one former eBay seller, Overstock's auction arm is, the "most similar to eBay in structure." An offshoot of the popular retail bargain site, Overstock Auctions is also one of the best-looking sites on the list.
Trocadero: More of a storefront than an auction site, Trocadero is an outlet for antique and fine art sales. Says one seller, "A basic store with them is only $4 more a month than at eBay and they take no commission. A medium tier store is $45 monthly, again with no commission."
Wagglepop: Wagglepop's tagline is "Join the Revolution," and from the comments left on this post, early this morning, clearly a few people have headed the call. The site charges a flat rate of $9.95 a month for unlimited listings. Said one commenter, "they get indexed on Google and you get real help from real people who care about helping others sell. No back stabbing[...], no high fees, and Wagglepop will give you peace of mind because you are in control of your auctions and store."
Powersellers Unite, one of the centralized boycott sites, features even more alternative sites as part of its Auction Watch. It also offers its very own storefronts for disillusioned users.
eBay's Response to Boycott : Protest Never Materialized
Last month a group of eBay power sellers organized a boycott against the popular online auction site. The protest was launched in response to a series of new rules that had been instated after the site's longtime CEO, Meg Whitman, left the company.
Her post was filled by eBay's one-time Chief of Marketplace Industry, John Donahoe, who rolled out the changes. The most egregious, according to longtime loyal sellers, was the elimination of negative feedback, which was an important tool in helping both sellers and buyers build reputations and trust on the site.
The boycott began on February 18, to coincide with the new policy changes. It was slated to end a week later--on the 25. During that time, we sent an e-mail to eBay, asking them to chime in on the impact of the boycott--if there was indeed anything to report at all. While the boycott was largely unknown outside of the somewhat insular world of eBay sellers, those who were participating were truly passionate about their stance, as evidenced by the strongly worded feedback that we'd received (and continue to receive on all of the stories we'd run on the topic).
We finally received a note from an eBay representative almost a week after the scheduled end of the boycott. He apologized for the delay--chalking it up to being a busy time of year. Fair enough--I imagine that the months following the holiday seasons are fairly traffic-heavy times for the auction site. Plus the switchover of power and resulting policy shifts couldn't have made things any easier. In response to our initial question, the representative responded, simply, "There was no impact of the so called boycott. And no one showed up to protest either. A lot to do about nothing."
appscout973:http://www.appscout.com/2008/03/ebays_boycott_response_protest.php
I didn't expect the site to acknowledge that the boycott had much, if any, impact, but in light of a story that we had run citing reports of a 13 percent drop in listings that coincided with the protest, and the fact that the boycott had been extended to March 9th, we sent the company another message, asking them to respond to the reported 13-percent drop. This time we received a prompt response from another eBay rep.
"First, we want to say to the handful of very vocal sellers that felt compelled to protest: we hear you and understand that change can be difficult and sometimes emotional," he responded. "eBay recognizes that our decisions may force some of our sellers to reevaluate and even alter their best practices. This is not something we take lightly. In fact, change will not be easy for eBay either, which is something we have already communicated to the financial markets.
He continues further down:
[T]o get back to your original question,the answer is an emphatic no. The reports you reference failed to account for the listing promotion we ran on February 13 which had the effect of causing a spike in listings as is typical with our promotions. A more accurate reading of the data would compare listings for the period of the protest with the week prior to the promotion. They also could have looked at year-over-year data, which they didn't. The point is: numerically for eBay, a protest never materialized. Listings are right about where we expected them to be following the pricing changes.
So was there an impact or not? Only eBay knows for sure. How willing the company would be to report an impact is another story altogether.
Her post was filled by eBay's one-time Chief of Marketplace Industry, John Donahoe, who rolled out the changes. The most egregious, according to longtime loyal sellers, was the elimination of negative feedback, which was an important tool in helping both sellers and buyers build reputations and trust on the site.
The boycott began on February 18, to coincide with the new policy changes. It was slated to end a week later--on the 25. During that time, we sent an e-mail to eBay, asking them to chime in on the impact of the boycott--if there was indeed anything to report at all. While the boycott was largely unknown outside of the somewhat insular world of eBay sellers, those who were participating were truly passionate about their stance, as evidenced by the strongly worded feedback that we'd received (and continue to receive on all of the stories we'd run on the topic).
We finally received a note from an eBay representative almost a week after the scheduled end of the boycott. He apologized for the delay--chalking it up to being a busy time of year. Fair enough--I imagine that the months following the holiday seasons are fairly traffic-heavy times for the auction site. Plus the switchover of power and resulting policy shifts couldn't have made things any easier. In response to our initial question, the representative responded, simply, "There was no impact of the so called boycott. And no one showed up to protest either. A lot to do about nothing."
appscout973:http://www.appscout.com/2008/03/ebays_boycott_response_protest.php
I didn't expect the site to acknowledge that the boycott had much, if any, impact, but in light of a story that we had run citing reports of a 13 percent drop in listings that coincided with the protest, and the fact that the boycott had been extended to March 9th, we sent the company another message, asking them to respond to the reported 13-percent drop. This time we received a prompt response from another eBay rep.
"First, we want to say to the handful of very vocal sellers that felt compelled to protest: we hear you and understand that change can be difficult and sometimes emotional," he responded. "eBay recognizes that our decisions may force some of our sellers to reevaluate and even alter their best practices. This is not something we take lightly. In fact, change will not be easy for eBay either, which is something we have already communicated to the financial markets.
He continues further down:
[T]o get back to your original question,the answer is an emphatic no. The reports you reference failed to account for the listing promotion we ran on February 13 which had the effect of causing a spike in listings as is typical with our promotions. A more accurate reading of the data would compare listings for the period of the protest with the week prior to the promotion. They also could have looked at year-over-year data, which they didn't. The point is: numerically for eBay, a protest never materialized. Listings are right about where we expected them to be following the pricing changes.
So was there an impact or not? Only eBay knows for sure. How willing the company would be to report an impact is another story altogether.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)