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Sony's Woes: Japan's Iconic Brands
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Howard Stringer, Sony chairman and CEO, at a press conference in Tokyo

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When Sony ends production at its Ichinomiya plant sometime during the next
five months, the company will be closing the book on a symbol of its golden age.
For 40 years, the assembly lines at Ichinomiya, located southwest of Tokyo, Most Popular » Full List »
have churned out products like Trinitron TVs that have helped make the Sony Most Read
brand synonymous with quality and innovation in the minds of consumers 1. A 10-Year-Old Divorcée Takes Paris
worldwide. (See pictures of the history of Japan's interaction with the world.) 2. What Is Real Stimulus and What Isn't?
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But Sony, inventor of the portable music player and now 5. Daschle: Bowing to the Inevitable, or Pushed Too
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9. How Sri Lanka Tamed Its Tigers
into recession, the company finds itself increasingly
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1 flat stomach rule: adrift from its glory days, notwithstanding the
obey Most Emailed
I cut out 2lbs of body fat per
Ichinomiya closure. Last week, Sony reported that it fell
week by obeying this 1 old rule. into the red in its latest quarter and repeated its forecast
DonnasDietingBlog.com Today in Pictures »
for an operating loss of $2.9 billion in the year ending
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March 31, its first such loss in 14 years.
Related Sony isn't the only iconic Japanese brand that is taking a Browse All Photos »
Stories beating. Beset by a domestic economy in recession, a
 Why the Yen Is
yen that is gaining strength, and evaporating sales,
Killing Japan Inc.
 As Yen manufacturers that have long been considered best-in-
Strengthens, Japan
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Recession week sounded like a dirge: Honda lowered its profit
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 Why Detroit’s Woes forecast for the fourth time this year; Panasonic, the
Are Bad For Toyota
world's largest maker of consumer electronics, is slated
 Japan Offers a
to post a loss of at least $1 billion in its current fiscal Quotes of the Day »
Lifeline to Failing Get & Share
Businesses year, its largest ever; and Toshiba, one of the world's "Building and moving quickly
largest producers of memory chips, and computer for five years hasn't been easy,
maker NEC Electronics also forecast big losses. and we aren't finished."
MARK ZUCKERBERG, founder of Facebook,
in a blog post celebrating the social-
Throughout Japan, managers are slashing production and restructuring to try networking site's fifth birthday
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to weather the economic downturn, which economists say could continue for
the next two or three years. "Demand has been falling off a cliff since the
collapse of Lehman Brothers," says Hiroshi Shiraishi, an economist at BNP
Paribas in Tokyo. Shiraishi says exports declined a "massive" 15% in real terms
last quarter.
Meanwhile, the government on Friday reported that industrial production

plunged 9.6% in November, the largest month-to-month drop since Tokyo
began measuring such data in 1953. "The problem is very serious," said
Economy Minister Kaoru Yosano during a news conference. "It's impossible
now to predict when the economy will hit the bottom."
Plunging industrial output is reflected by the radical steps manufacturers are

taking to try to adapt to the sharp slowdown. NEC Electronics said last week
that it would eliminate 20,000 jobs at home and abroad, and cut costs by $890
Full Name State/Province
million overall in the coming 24 months. Sony will close up to six factories and
Address Zip/Postal Code
cut 16,000 jobs from its electronics divisions, to address what JPMorgan
City E-mail
Securities analyst Yoshiharu Izumi called the company's "emergency situation."
Panasonic, which recently bought a majority stake in Sanyo, is closing three
plants. CNN Headlines
 President: Sri Lanka rebels near defeat
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But greater reductions may be needed as the global economic slump deepens.
 Deal on table in UK foreign worker strike
Toyota's plight illustrates the challenges faced by Japan Inc. The company
recently achieved its long-standing goal of surpassing GM as the world's top
automaker — only to run head-on into a recession far more severe than anyone
World
anticipated. With its global sales down 4% last year, Toyota has already
announced a management shakeup as well as plans to temporarily close ADD TIME NEWS
factories for an additional 11 days over the next two months. The goal is to slash
output to less than half the number of vehicles Toyota was producing at this
time last year.
Analysts say Toyota may need to reduce output even more as sales in the U.S.
market, where the company generates half its earnings, continue to plummet. In
the last three months of 2008, the U.S. economy shrank at its fastest rate in 26
years; consumer spending fell 3.5% after dropping 3.8% in the third quarter.
About 40% of the cars Toyota sells in the U.S. are made in Japanese factories,
and "due to significant yen appreciation, those exports are not profitable
anymore," says Tatsuya Mizuno, an analyst at FitchRatings. It will take Toyota
time to adjust its fixed costs, since it has spent the past several years investing
aggressively to increase production capacity by about 500,000 vehicles per year
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in the U.S. "It's increasingly clear that the driving force [behind Toyota's recent
growth] was really excess consumption in the U.S.," says Izumi of JPMorgan
Securities, "and that's now unwinding."
Looking at Japan Inc. as a whole, BNP Paribas' Shiraishi expects production

levels to hit bottom in the second quarter of this year, and says some recovery
might be seen in the second half of this year. Shiraishi adds that manufacturers
could start growing again around 2012, when a wave of Japan's baby boomers
will reach age 65 and begin to spend their nest eggs. "They've been saving a lot
to prepare for their retirement," says Shiraishi. "That could be a stabilizing
factor for Japan." One catch, he says: they probably won't buy more cars and
TVs.
See pictures of autoworkers.
See pictures of Tokyo's dream machines.

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We're not the bad guys: Google Earth boss
John Hanke, Google director in charge of Google Earth and Google Maps.
Photo: Digitally Altered Image
Stephen Hutcheon
January 31, 2009
The head of Google Earth has hit back at those who claim that the free virtual mapping program is to blame for aiding
and abetting recent acts of terrorism.
Hamas militants in Gaza, who have been firing rockets into Israel, and the Pakistan-based terrorists, who stormed
Mumbai late last year, are among several radical groups that have reportedly used Google Earth to help in the execution
of their missions.
The Google program marries a swathe of aerial and satellite photography of varying resolution, giving users a bird's eye
view of large parts of the Earth' surface - a type of perspective that until a few years ago was available only to handful
of scientists and military officials.
Users can see snapshots of life on Earth that range from something as innocent as a child playing on a swing in a
Sydney park to a secret nuclear submarine base in China.
"I don't really think it's tipping the balance in favour of the bad guys," John Hanke, the director in charge of Google
Earth and Google Maps, said in an interview.
"The evilness is in the philosophies and the desires of those that want to do evil. They will use the tools at hand to do
that, whether it's throwing a Molotov cocktail, or shooting a rifle or using some piece of technology as part of the
process."
The comments made by Hanke during our interview at Google's headquarters in Mountain View, California, this month
represent his most public contribution yet to the debate about the use of modern information technologies by the "bad
guys" - as he put it.
They come at a time when India is investigating the circumstances surrounding November's deadly attack on Mumbai,
amid a chorus of calls for access to the service to be restricted or banned entirely.
In December, a petition entered at the Mumbai High Court alleges that Google Earth "aids terrorists in plotting attacks"
and asked that Google be directed to blur images of sensitive areas pending all full hearing.
The Jerusalem Post reported in December that a documentary called The Field of Death posted on the Hamas military
wing's website showed terrorists using Google Earth to plot a rocket attack on a fuel depot inside Israel last April that
killed two men.
To avoid knee-jerk reactions, Hanke cautioned that it was important to understand if what people were doing with these
tools was any different from what they would have done anyway.
"If Google Earth didn't exist, would they have used a tourist map they could have bought or was the real intelligence
actually coming from an on-the-ground informant who was working in the hotel and drawing layouts of everything on a
napkin?" he said.
"You have cars; you have car bombs. You have GPS transceivers that help you navigate; those GPS transceivers could
be used for lots of nefarious purposes. Cell phones have all kinds of benefits; cell phones can be used to detonate a
remote explosive device."
While this debate had "mostly died off" in the West, it was still a live issue in countries where the "government is used
to controlling everything", Hanke said.
Often this concern was a pretext for a government trying to reassert control over its "closed information societies", he
said.
"The idea that open information is valuable is more baked onto Western culture," he said.
"You have top down command and control types of governments like those in China to some extent and in Russia and
legacies of that in places like India where these issues at the government level are more prevalent for us."
He also expressed the view that the concerns raised about personal privacy on the new Street View feature on Google
Maps was largely tied to the novelty of the products and a lack of understanding about the nature and frequency of the
intrusion. Street View is a free online feature that gives users a continuous ground-level street panorama.
"We went through a cycle with satellite imagery where it was new and there was some level of concern and then some
level of hyped-up concern, I would say, about what it means," he said.
"And as people came to understand about what satellite imagery did and about what it didn't [do], that level of concern
went down and, as people began to appreciate the value it brought to them, that became effectively a non-issue.
"If you know that this satellite can come over maybe once a year and it takes a picture, that's different from believing
there's an eye in the skye that can follow wherever you go all of the time."
Google last year incorporated a process that automatically blurs faces of people and licence plates of cars whose
photographs appear on Street View. Google will also remove "objectionable" images.
Those privacy concerns reared up again this week when it was revealed that the Street View feature on Google Maps
contained an image of a man sitting on his outhouse dunny in an inner-city Melbourne backyard.
The photo was snapped by a camera mounted on the roof of one of a fleet of specially kitted-out cars that Google
dispatched around the country in late 2007 and early 2008 to capture images for Street View.
Google swiftly removed the image from Street View once it was noticed, but on the internet it is almost impossible to
obliterate all traces of something you don't want seen.
Google is facing opposition to its latest geo technology in Germany, where Street View has yet to be launched, and in
Japan, where it was launched last year.
"With Street View, it's going through the same cycle of people understanding exactly what it is and what it isn't and ...
what they shouldn't really be concerned about," he said.
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Windows 7 SKUs announced: your worst
nightmare has come to pass
by Joshua Topolsky, posted Feb 3rd 2009 at 2:59PM
3537
diggs
digg it
Remember that screenshot we saw of all those different Windows 7 versions (pictured above)? Well
guess what? It's worse than you could have possibly imagined. The following will be the actual new
SKUs for the OS:
Windows 7 Starter (limited to three apps concurrently)
Windows 7 Home Basic (for emerging markets)
Windows 7 Home Premium (adds Aero, Touch, Media Center)
Windows 7 Professional (Remote Desktop host, Mobility Center, Presentation mode)
Windows 7 Enterprise (volume license only, boot from virtual drive, BitLocker)
Windows 7 Ultimate (limited availability, includes everything)
This information has been confirmed by Microsoft... who never listens to us. At least most consumers will
only see Home Premium and Professional options at retail, which is more akin to the XP options of yore,
and means WMC will be "baseline" for most PCs.
Update: Just to be clear, we've checked specifically with Microsoft on all six versions, and the placement
of Home Basic in emerging markets. There's now a full breakdown after the break.
Windows 7 Starter
Available worldwide to OEMs on new PCs
Missing Aero UI tweaks
Limited to 3 simultaneous applications
Windows 7 Home Basic (Vista equivalent: $200)
Only available in emerging markets
http://www.engadget.com/2009/02/03/windows-7-skus-announced-yes-your-worst-nightmare-has-come-to/2
Missing Aero UI tweaks
Windows 7 Home Premium (Vista equivalent: $260)
Available worldwide, to OEMs and in retail
Includes Aero UI tweaks
Features multi-touch capabilities
Adds "premium" games
Adds media capabilities (Media Center, DVD playback, DVD creation, etc.)
Can create home network groups
Windows 7 Professional (Vista equivalent: $300)
Available worldwide, to OEMs and in retail
Includes all features of Premium
Adds enhanced networking capabilities (Remote Desktop host, domain support, offline folders, etc.)
Adds Mobility Center
Adds Presentation Mode
Windows 7 Enterprise
Available only in volume licenses
Includes all features of Professional
Adds Branch Cache
Adds Direct Access
Adds BitLocker
Windows 7 Ultimate (Vista equivalent: $320)
Limited OEM and retail availability
Includes all features of Enterprise
Current Vista breakdown can be found here.
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‹Back to Career & Money : Work : Technology
Think Before You Click: The Top Five Internet Scams
By: Young Money (View Profile)
Internet scams are by no means a recent phenomenon, but certain scams come back again and again. Here are five popular
Internet scams that you should be on the lookout for.
1. Auction fraud. Sure I love cheap stuff on eBay as much as the next guy, but that ’73 Collectors Edition Elvis Plate you’re
bidding on might not be that great of a deal. Fake and stolen merchandise aren’t uncommon; even a Certificate of Authenticity
doesn’t necessarily mean anything. As eBay Scam Watch puts it, “If a seller is willing to misrepresent a fake item as real, then
what is the big deal of throwing in an authentic looking certificate?” Another scam is the “shill” scam: A seller wanting to
drive up the price on his auction may bid himself or have his friends bid, just to make you pay more. If you notice a repeat
bidder on a seller’s auction history, something’s probably up. One more tip: Never wire money directly to a seller—it’s almost
impossible to retrieve the money if your purchase isn’t shipped.
2. Bank fraud. “Phishing scams” are popular email scams. You’ll get an email from your bank warning you that someone

has been trying to access your account. They’ll ask you to click on a link and verify your information, so the bank can take
care of everything. No matter how legitimate the email looks, banks never email you asking for your information. The email is
from a scammer hoping to empty your savings. The most recent scams play off government stimulus checks and EPPICards
(for child support payments). Check the National Consumers League’s Internet Fraud Watch for tips to avoid such scams.
Similar schemes play off mortgage and credit card debt elimination, with the scammer offering to get rid of your debt for a
small fee ($1000-2000) and power of attorney authorizing transactions on your behalf. When this information (and payment) is
entrusted to them, you’ll be left with nothing—except that mortgage or credit card bill they still haven’t taken care of.
3. You’ve won a FREE Xbox fraud. Pretty much any time you’re given something for nothing you should be wary. As

charitable as Bill Gates is, Microsoft Corporation is a business and isn’t going to give away thousands of free Xbox’s. The
email will read something like this: “Congratulations! You’ve won a FREE Xbox (or iPod, or TiVo, or some other fancy
gadget)! All we need is your address and credit card information to pay the $5.99 shipping/handling!” Don’t trust it, or you’ll
soon find your credit card maxed-out—and probably five or six more cards you never knew you had.
3 readers liked this story.
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Nanotech - The Circuits Blog
February 2, 2009 4:00 AM PST
Intel: Use our CPU (not their GPU) for games

Posted by Brooke Crothers Font size
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Intel is back, pitching its processors for gaming graphics. 751

diggs
The chipmaker will attempt to promote its silicon for sophisticated game effects at the upcoming digg it
Game Developers Conference in March, as it strives to make a case for quad-core processors in
lieu of graphics chips from Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices.
The pitch goes like this: "Learn how to easily add real-time 3D smoke,
fog and other fluid simulations to your game without using up the GPU."
That's according to an Intel Web page entitled Intel at Game Developers
Conference. (The CPU is the central processing unit, or main brains of a
computer; GPU stands for graphics processing unit.)
The session abstract goes on to say that the "source code to a fluid simulator optimized for multi-core
CPUs...can easily be integrated by game developers into their engines to produce unique 3D effects."
Intel's argument raises the question, how should the CPU and GPU divvy up their tasks? In games, the
CPU can handle things like physics and AI (artificial intelligence), and certain older games actually run
some graphics on the CPU. Generally, however, the GPU is much more efficient (that is, faster) at
handling most of the high-end effects that the gamer sees on the screen.
But there are exceptions. "Not all algorithms and processes map well to a GPU," said Jon Peddie,
president of Jon Peddie Research. "You have to have a problem that is naturally parallel, and except for
the rendering of, say, a water surface and subsurface and reflections, the wave motion equations will run
just fine on a CPU," Peddie said.
Intel may also be seeking ways to make better use of its quad-core processors, according to Tom R.
Halfhill, an analyst at the Microprocessor Report. But, he added: "I need to be convinced that a CPU can
do those 3D effects better than a GPU can."
Then, there's also the Larrabee factor. Larrabee is an upcoming high-end graphics processor due late this
year. "I'm sure some of it may also relate to Larrabee, which will include x86 cores, if or when it comes
to market," said Jim McGregor, an analyst at In-Stat.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13924_3-10153373-64.html
(This Mythbusters demonstration at an Nvidia conference is oversimplified and self-serving but it
crystallizes the difference between CPUs and GPUs.)
In another GDC session, Intel is also pushing the CPU for physics and AI: "How can your game have
more accurate physics, smarter AI, more particles, and/or a faster frame-rate? By threading your game's
engine to take advantage of multi-core processors. Intel has built a threaded game engine and demo called
'Smoke' that shows one way of achieving this goal," the abstract states.
It continues: "This presentation examines the Smoke architecture and how it is designed to take
advantage of all CPU cores available within a system. It does this by executing different functional and
data blocks in parallel to utilize all available cores."
Intel won't stop there. It will also focus on the bane of many PC game developers: gaming on Intel
integrated graphics silicon--a relatively low-performance platform that prohibits game titles from being
displayed in all their glory at higher resolutions. The session will focus on "programming for scalable
graphics applications" and cover "performance considerations when programming for integrated graphics
in general with specific tips for Intel Integrated graphics."
Brooke Crothers is a former editor at large at CNET News.com, and has been an editor for
the Asian weekly version of the Wall Street Journal. He writes for the CNET Blog Network,
and is not a current employee of CNET. Contact him at mbcrothers@gmail.com. Disclosure.
Topics: Desktops, Processors, Graphics, Intel, GPU, Nvidia
Tags: Intel, Nvidia, CPU, GPU, Game Developers Conference, GDC, multi-core, fluid simulation
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Apple sued four times in two weeks over iPhone 3G speeds
By Zach Spear
Published: 11:00 AM EST
Apple and AT&T are facing two more cookie-cutter lawsuits over what
customers claim is poor iPhone 3G network performance and hairline
cracks in the casing.
The latest pair of suits, identical in almost every way save for the names of
plaintiffs, join two from last week.
Florida residents Onel Gonzalez and Ron J. Brayteson filed a 24-page
complaint in the Southern District of Florida on behalf of themselves and all
members of the class in their state, demanding statutory, compensatory, and
punitive damages plus interest. They also seek a ruling deeming Apple and
AT&T's practices ruled unlawful, an injunction preventing them from
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the District of New Jersey for himself and all similarly situated members of Apple, AT&T sued for over-saturating 3G...
his state, making the same demands as Gonzalez and Brayteson. Ritchie
claims to have purchased his iPhone 3G in September 2008, while Gonzalez bought one in June 2008, and Brayteson in
August.
Both suits use many of the same allegations made in the class-action lawsuit filed by four Texans last week, right down to the
same phrasing. They, too, cite the conclusions of Swedish engineering weekly Ny Teknik that some phones aren't sensitive
enough to 3G signals and boost their own signal to compensate, creating the network conflict.
Successive and independent evaluations contradict this theory, however, concluding that the iPhone 3G does not suffer from

hardware issues but rather congested and inadequate wireless networks.
The filings spend several pages reprinting comments from blog posts and messageboards, including one customer who posted
on Wired, "I have a brand new [iPhone 3G], and my home is inside an AT&T 3G coverage map (suburban area) and I NEVER
get 3G reception. The iPhone flickers "3G" for a second or two and then it's all Edge all the way."
The latest complaints also allege hairline cracks in the iPhone's casing around the camera, near the volume rocker, and in
other areas. Ritchie, Gonzalez and Brayteson all accuse Apple and AT&T of knowingly marketing the inherently flawed iPhone
3G devices without disclosing the 3G speed problems and hairline cracks that form.
The two sets of plaintiffs also posture their claims by referencing a August 2008 ruling in the United Kingdom that required
Apple to stop advertising the iPhone's ability to access "all parts of the internet" as proof of the 3G woes. The UK regulator did
not take 3G speeds into account, but rather the lack of Java and Flash support.
However, a second iPhone 3G ad was indeed banned late last year by the agency on grounds that it "it exaggerated the

speed of the iPhone 3G."
http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/09/02/03/apple_sued_four_times_in_two_weeks_over_iphone_3g_speeds.html
Filed under : iPhone [ 86 Comments ]
Story topics: iPhone 3G, lawsuits, AT&T [ Print ] [ Story Link ]
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BART signs 20-year deal for Wi-Fi

Rachel Gordon, Chronicle Staff Writer
Saturday, January 31, 2009
PRINT E-MAIL SHARE COMMENTS FONT | SIZE:
A pilot project testing high-speed Internet access on portions of BART will expand
systemwide, allowing people to surf the Web, send e-mail and videoconference when
riding the rails or waiting in the stations.
The goal is to outfit the 104 miles of track and the 43

IMAGES
stations by the end of 2011, said Cooper Lee, CEO of Wi-
Fi Rail Inc., the startup company based in Gold River
(Sacramento County) that will provide the
communications system. 1. Obama blames himself for mishandling
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2. Gaza militants fire rocket; Israel strikes back
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The company began a limited experiment with the retreat
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THE TECH CHRONICLES / A daily crew
dose of postings from The Service has been free during the demonstration project
Chronicle's... 02.04.09
in which more than 16,000 users signed on. The
MySpace: 90,000 sex offenders
removed from site 02.03.09 company reported seamless service between the
stations, even as the trains ran at high speeds. From
Honda of
Serramonte
The company will start charging for use when it completes the next phase of the project, PONTIAC
which will include the Transbay Tube and all the subway stations in San Francisco and 2004 Grand Am
$6,882
downtown Oakland, said Lee.
HONDA
2007 Accord
Once fully complete, subscribers will be charged about $30 a month, $9 a day, $6 for two $15,981
hours and $300 for a year's subscription, Lee said. The service will be offered at reduced HONDA
2007 Accord
rates until the entire system is up and running. $15,981
HONDA
BART riders in the future will be able take advantage of free Internet access - but with a 2007 Accord
$16,981
catch. Access will be cut off after 3 1/2 minutes and the users will have to endure 30
seconds of ads before being able to surf the Internet. HONDA
2008 Accord
$18,881
Unlike other transit system Wi-Fi projects that rely on satellite or cellular service to HONDA
operate, the BART model uses fiber-optic equipment that has the capability of handling 2008 Accord EX
$23,881
heavier loads at faster speeds. Lee described the system as the first of its kind in the world.
HONDA
The company hopes to showcase BART as it pursues other markets. 2008 Civic
$15,713
"This is a unique opportunity to demonstrate what high-speed Wi-Fi access, HONDA

2007 Civic
interconnected by a huge fiber-optic backbone, can mean to a transit system and its $17,881
passengers," Lee said. HONDA

2007 Civic
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/01/31/BA6015KD4C.DTL&type=tech
$15,881
BART spokesman Linton Johnson said the system will not only provide a convenience for
See more from this
riders, but also can be used as a backup to the agency's radio system. In addition, BART dealer
can tap into the technology to one day provide information to the public via video
monitors in the stations and on the trains.
Thomas Hawk, a BART regular, tried the service during the pilot phase. "When I could get About Top Autos
View All Top Autos
connected, I liked it," he said. But the limited range available during the demonstration
and the time it took to log on was more of a hassle than it was worth, he said.
And while he likes the idea of Wi-Fi on the train, "I wouldn't be willing to pay for the
service if it was systemwide. As cool of a thing as it is, I've got other things I could do with
my laptop, like process photos, that don't cost me anything."
Lisa Rein, a digital librarian, has used the Wi-Fi connection during the trial period and
liked it. When told of the proposed cost, her first reaction was, "That's a lot of money."
But, she said, for people who spend a lot of time on the trains, the service could be "really
helpful and help reduce work stress."
Neither BART nor Wi-Fi Rail representatives would provide details of the contract Friday.
Johnson and Lee, however, said the company would pick up the construction and
operating costs. Lee said it was crafted to give BART a share in the expected revenues.
E-mail Rachel Gordon at rgordon@sfchronicle.com.
This article appeared on page B - 1 of the San Francisco Chronicle
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February 2, 2009, 5:17 pm
Google Executives Face Jail Time for Italian Video
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/02/02/google-executives-face-jail-time-for-italian-video/
By Saul Hansell
Four executives of Google begin trial Tuesday in Milan on criminal charges of defamation and privacy violation in regard to a video posted on Google’s
Italian site.
The case involves a three-minute cellphone video, posted in 2006 to Google Video, in which four youths in Turin tease a boy with Down syndrome.
After an Italian advocacy group complained that the video was objectionable, Google quickly removed it from the site. Prosecutors argue that the video
should not have been published at all.
The four executives charged were not involved directly in handling video from Italy. They include David Drummond, Google’s senior vice president and
chief legal officer; George Reyes, its former chief financial officer; and Peter Fleischer, Google’s global privacy counsel, according to a Google
spokesman. The fourth executive worked at Google Video in London, the spokesman said, declining to identify him.
It is rare for Internet company executives to face personal criminal charges and possibly jail time for the actions of their companies.
“To our knowledge, this is the first time an individual has been criminally charged for violation of data protection laws that occurred by the company he
or she works for,” said Trevor Hughes, the executive director of the International Association of Privacy Professionals, which wrote about the case in its
newsletter Monday. “This suggests that privacy is going to be more of a battleground.”
The case also raises again the question of whether Internet companies that allow users to submit content should screen items before they are published.
This issue has mainly come up in the United States with regard to copyrighted music and video, and United States copyright law is meant to protect
online services from liability if they respond to complaints quickly.
There are similar provisions in Europe, including Italian law. But there are questions about whether there are exceptions for young people and certain
private information.
If the court holds that Google should have prevented the publication of the video simply because the subject didn’t authorize it, it could have very broad
implications. In Europe, the subject of a photograph or video typically has the right to say how the image is used. But so far, charges haven’t been
brought against user-generated content sites for hosting pictures posted without permission of the subjects.
In a statement, Google said the prosecution is misdirected:
As we have repeatedly made clear, our hearts go out to the victim and his family. We are pleased that as a result of our cooperation the
bullies in the video have been identified and punished. We feel that bringing this case to court is totally wrong. It’s akin to prosecuting mail
service employees for hate speech letters sent in the post. What’s more, seeking to hold neutral platforms liable for content posted on them
is a direct attack on a free, open Internet. We will continue to vigorously defend our employees in this prosecution.
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From 1 to 25 of 60 Comments
1 2 3 Next »
1. 1. February 2, 2009 8:43 pm Link
Where else but in Social and Leftist Italy of all places that we see this? It has everything to do with politics and nothing to do with moral
convictions!?!?!
— RKA
2. 2. February 2, 2009 10:45 pm Link
I’m hardly a Google fan boy (see my blog - http://thenoisychannel.com/ ), but here I agree with them wholeheartedly. I thought there was
widespread international agreement on the “safe harbor” principle that neutral carriers are not liable for user-generated content, as long as they
respond to complaints in a timely manner. I hope Google succeeds in its vigorous defense.
— Daniel Tunkelang
3. 3. February 2, 2009 11:29 pm Link
The post office analogy is exactly correct. You can not penalize the postman for the content he carries. YouTube is slightly different in that
everyone can see the content, but we can not expect the carrier to open and judge every video that is posted. The original poster should be liable
for content they post. Is a building owner liable for graffiti sprayed on their building?
I love Italy, but this case should be thrown out, the sooner the better.
— Bruce Wells
4. 4. February 3, 2009 12:15 am Link
What absolute rubbish.
— Michael
5. 5. February 3, 2009 12:37 am Link
Oh man…I totally agree to this statement:
“It’s akin to prosecuting mail service employees for hate speech letters sent in the post”
It’s pathetic and wrong to punish the innocent…hope the court realizes that…
— Sid
6. 6. February 3, 2009 4:15 am Link
This sort of ridiculousness is yet more evidence of the complete dysfunction of the Italian state. The mob controls openly and notoriously controls
garbage collection in Naples, the twice-elected PM shutters courts that want to indict him on corruption charges, but prosecutors decide to attack
Google on an absurd charge that makes no sense. In case we needed yet more evidence that Italy is decisively not in the first world (we do not),
this is it. Why is this joke a member of the G8?
— SHP
Damn, people can really be mean. Obviously, this doesn’t seem to be a matter for the criminal court, but in a civil setting it seems like the victim
might have a pretty good case of some sort.
— ATRIX WOLFE
I find Google’s claims of neutrality, since they indirectly profit from users’ posts, somewhat overstated. Their potential gain from videos posted on
their site carries with it both risk and responsibility. In this case, it seems their lack of responsibility created significant risk which they are now
bearing in court. I imagine it will be a small line item payed for out of their other gains, however painful it is for the well-payed defendants.
I also find their analogy to the mail service off the mark as they are not a public utility or providing a public service, but a for-profit company; the
mail media type is mostly printed and private, versus video and public; and the interrelationships between sender, deliverer, and receiver differ on
many levels.
Google already has stringent guidelines and sophisticated methods for protecting copyrights of interested parties. Surely they can develop similar
techniques to protect the rights of individuals and groups. It would only make their for-profit services that much more valuable to all.
— MTW
This has all to do with the kids who teased the boy and the location in which this happened. What damage did the Internet or open platforms do to
this boy?
Where is the proof of injury, except in the teasing that these kids Italian kids were doing? If a platform is neutral and moreover part of a free and
open internet, the main checks on privacy should be the authors of videos and only in worst case scenarios, the platforms which host the viewing.
— Alex
10. 10. February 3, 2009 5:12 am Link
leftist italy,
headed by one of the world’s foremost marxist, communist ideologues,
silvio berlusconi
— Steve Elkind
11. 11. February 3, 2009 5:15 am Link
Content sharing has its own pros and cons. The people “indirectly” involved in such kind of activities should now be tortured.
Also this statement should be considered and Google should be praised: “We are pleased that as a result of our cooperation the bullies in the video
have been identified and punished”.
Tarun
— Tarun Patel
12. 12. February 3, 2009 5:22 am Link
I certainly hope that Google prevails in this misguided prosecution. But this is Italy — things don’t really work the way they’re supposed to here
and oftentimes reason, logic and good judgment are subjugated by other things like politics, the interests of the elite and an unforgiving
bureaucracy that has a life of its own . . .
— Dave
13. 13. February 3, 2009 5:25 am Link
Corporate versus private: guess who has more clout? Google can pre-emptively block entire swaths of content from being accessed in China, but
becomes a great defender of the “neutral carrier” principle when it involves the single individual.
It is clearly an overly-onerous burden to expect Google to examine each single video posting - why would the company ever want to assume a
similar obligation? It’s an impracticable business model - unless of course we’re talking about its ability to comb through each and every one of
our e-mails to place targeted advertising.
Perhaps there’s as-yet-to-be-discovered market in product placement for bullies and Google is missing the boat here.
— dsimons
14. 14. February 3, 2009 5:41 am Link
internet as a medium is neutral and google provides services and not the recordings posted on its one of many owned websites… its would be
crazy like to sue Warner bros if somebody tries to jump and fly like spiderman
— shekhar
15. 15. February 3, 2009 5:44 am Link
Here again, Google gets it wrong. They are NOT like the mail carrier delivering hate mail, unless the content of the hate mail being delivered is
opened and available for viewing to the entire world identifying the target and the recipient. Surely the difference gives rise to some form of duty
on the part of Google to ‘first, do no harm’. Google likes to think of itself as an organization that doesn’t do evil things, but it cannot avoid the fact
that it makes money off of the free reign that it gives to others to do so.
— lkd711
16. 16. February 3, 2009 6:53 am Link
RKA, are you familiar with Italy? It is anything but Leftist, with media mogul Berlusconi as prime minister and the right-wing ex-Fascist party
and northern separatist party in the his coalition! This has everything to do with trying to cut down on freedom of the press, which is what
Berlusconi is all about. It’s looking pretty scary these days in Italy in terms of rights. If Google doesn’t win, it will be a big blow to the free, open
Internet, but to people living in Italy especially.
— Sarah
17. 17. February 3, 2009 7:14 am Link
If they were prosecuted for letting porn slip through, we wouldn’t be suffering the tirade about socialists and leftists.
Anyway, it’s a pity that there is anyone that can’t grasp the bottom line that the exposure eventually caused decentcy to prevail.
— Bill
18. 18. February 3, 2009 7:20 am Link
@RKA
“Social and Leftist Italy” ??
Check your sources:

Italy is runned by a right-wing government, Prime Minister is infamous laissez-faire capitalist Silvio Berlusconi.
— Daniele from Italy

19. 19. February 3, 2009 7:22 am Link
the bullies might neverf have been caught or convicted without the google post.
— bart
20. 20. February 3, 2009 7:24 am Link
This is a very important case. The internet bulletin board is at stake. I do not want to lose the only truly free medium that exists for the masses. If
this case is decided incorrectly, it will be the first in a series of cages on information freedom and internet freedom.
The internet is the great equalizer - no longer do the rich and powerful monopolize the ability to influence public opinion - with the internet, the
public can weigh-in, and point out when power is being deceitful.
We all need to pay attention to this case!!
— Eugene (Bill) Johson

21. 21. February 3, 2009 7:24 am Link
Googles analogy is wrong. Their example would only apply to a private e-mail being carried by their service, in the same way a letter is carried by
a postman, to a single recipient.
A better analogy would be; they distribute a free hand-out global newspaper/TV-station, letting anyone publish under the protective veil of
anonymity, completely ignoring editorial responsibility of vetting the content and denying any accountability.
I am curious to know if the perpetrators would have uploaded the material if it was their own personal site where they would be known and
accountable?
Googles motto of “Don’t be evil” need to be revised. They no longer live up to it and need to realise they are accountable for their actions. “You
either die a hero or see yourself live long enough to become the villain.” (The Dark Night)
Please don’t argue this is matter of free speech! I personally disagree with what a lot of people say but I will fight to the death to protect their right
to say it.
— MJ
22. 22. February 3, 2009 7:25 am Link
“It’s akin to prosecuting mail service employees for hate speech letters sent in the post.”
Not really, the letters’ content is targeted to the receiver, usually one person.
In this case, Google Video is more like a newspaper which would publish anything without review (hate speech letters, personal information,
slander, whatever) for the broad public.
Which is utter nonsense, right? Newspapers are tightly regulated everywhere for a reason and the editors can be held accountable for the content.
Google lawyers fail again.

— Ellemer
23. 23. February 3, 2009 7:44 am Link
I support the Google managers,
My initial reaction is that the Italian kids where mean to bother a Downs syndrome person. My next reaction is that the Google managers did not
have any direct authority in choosing to publish the video on Italian Google. That if Google stopped the video in a timely manner, whats the
problem? The problem is that Italy sees an opprotunity to exercise their European Union power in a time of economic unease. Italy will not win
and get a lot of petty
attention. The only good thing about this wrongfully prosecuted case by the Italians is that maybe some attention will be brought to the problem of
“hate crimes”, by Italian youth on developmentally disabled children.
Bunch-o-sickos hurting the Downs kid for no good reason.
June
— june
24. 24. February 3, 2009 7:48 am Link
RKA, You must be joking but I fail to see the humor. Italy today can hardly be described as “Leftist,” with the current resurgence of Catholicism
and the harsh backlash against immigrants. And by “Social” you surely have your scare-words mixed up. Perhaps you mean “socialist,” and in
spite of that term’s blanket use by Sarah Palin and other intellectual midgets to describe anything that doesn’t conform to their and presumably
your views of the world, you are a few generations too late to the game on that one.
— DKH
25. 25. February 3, 2009 7:57 am Link
Google’s statement: “It’s akin to prosecuting mail service employees for hate speech letters sent in the post.” Well, not really. Mail is private, to
be viewed only by the sender and the recipient – mail carriers, senders and recipients all accept this fact. Videos published on the internet are
public - that’s an important distinction. Google is a ‘neutral’ platform for very public material viewable by anyone and everyone, so I think that
entitles them to a little responsibility regarding the appropriateness of the content. Although I don’t think Google executives should be prosecuted
in this particular case, there’s a fine line between censorship and moderation that ‘neutral’ content platforms must be masters at negotiating.
— SL
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SOFTWARE NEWS
End of beta is in sight for Windows 7

The next arrival for Vista's successor will be
RC1
Monday at 10:48 GMT | Tell us what you think [ 1 comments ]
Microsoft has confirmed that it will
not be releasing any more beta
versions of Windows 7, with the
next release likely to be the first
release candidate of the eagerly
anticipated operating system.
The successor to Vista has been
very well received since it arrived in
beta, which will come as an
almighty relief to Microsoft after the
failure of Vista to hit the heights that
were expected for it.
"There's been such an incredible
response, with many folks even
blogging about how they have
moved to using Windows 7 Beta on all their machines and have been super
happy," said Microsoft's Steven Sinofsky on the Engineering Windows 7 blog.
"The question we get most often is 'if the Beta expires in August what will I do -
I don't want to return to my old operating system.' For a Beta release, that is
quite a compliment and we're very appreciative of such a kind response."
Beta refreshed
Although, Sinofsky is coy over the date for RC1 of Windows 7, he did confirm
that it would serve as a refresh to the beta, adding: "We often 'joke' that this is
the point of lowest productivity for the development team because we all come
to work focused on the product but we write almost no code.
"That's the way it has to be - the ship is on the launch pad and all the tools are
put away in the toolbox to be used only in case of the most critical issues."
The release candidate step is a key moment in the life of software, coming
before a release to manufacturing and finally general release.
In time for 2009?
Microsoft has never shifted from its assertion that the release of Windows 7 is
'on schedule' meaning that it will hit shelves either at the very end of 2009 or
the beginning of 2010, but the quicker the release candidate arrives the more
likely the earlier date is.
"We're on a good path and we're making progress," Sinofsky insists. "We are
taking a quality-based approach to completing the product and won't be driven
by imposed deadlines.
"We have internal metrics and milestones and our partners continue to get
builds routinely so even when we reach RC, we are doing so together as
partners."
http://www.techradar.com/news/software/end-of-beta-is-in-sight-for-windows-7-516516
By Patrick Goss
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Microsoft: employee stole documents for patent lawsuit
Microsoft has filed a lawsuit with the goal of blocking a patent lawsuit that targets three OEMs for using Microsoft's anti-
piracy technology System Locked Preinstallation (SLP). The software giant alleges that an ex-employee stole documents
from it in order to file the first suit.
By Emil Protalinski | Last updated February 2, 2009 10:55
Microsoft is accusing ex-employee Miki Mullor of using his inside access to download internal documents for a patent
complaint that his startup company, Ancora Technologies, has since filed against Dell, HP, and Toshiba. The suit alleges that
the companies are infringing on Ancora's patent by selling computers with Windows Vista preactivated, which is possible
thanks to one of Microsoft's anti-piracy technologies, System Locked Preinstallation (SLP). When Seattle Tech Report
covered this story, the publication noted that Ancora's website described the case as follows:
To secure each copy of (Windows), without burdening the honest user, (PC makers) use a technology known as
System Locked Pre-Installation (SLP) to protect Windows against piracy. SLP is Ancora's technology and is
covered by our pioneer patent, US Patent 6,411,941. This lawsuit is about protecting our patent rights from being
infringed by HP, Dell and Toshiba. This is not David vs. Goliath. This is David vs. three Goliaths.
On January 22, Microsoft filed its own lawsuit in King County Superior Court in Seattle, which claims Mullor wrote in his
October 2005 Microsoft employment application that he no longer worked for Ancora because it was out of business. Nor did
he disclose when hired that he believed SLP infringed on an Ancora patent. Microsoft, which is intervening in Ancora's patent
lawsuit to defend its technology (and the PC makers) against the patent-infringement claims, now becomes Goliath number
four.
Mullor, on the other hand, said he informed Microsoft about his patent in his résumé and employment agreement, though he
notes that Ancora had ceased business operation before he applied to Microsoft. The documents Mullor downloaded from
Microsoft before Ancora filed the lawsuit included information on the SLP and the upcoming Windows 7 operating system,
according to Microsoft's complaint. They were downloaded onto Mullor's company-issued laptop, after which Mullor allegedly
deleted them, then tried to hide his tracks by using software that overwrites deleted files.
Mullor was still a Microsoft employee when Ancora filed the suit against the PC makers; he was hired as a program manager
in the Windows Security Group in November 2005. But in June 2008, four days after allegedly trying to hide his downloading
activities, Ancora filed its patent lawsuit. In September 2008, Microsoft intervened as a party-defendant in the case and fired
Mullor.
The Ancora patent is dated June 25, 2002, and Mullor claims he approached Microsoft in 2003 to discuss the "benefits
Microsoft could realize by using it," but Microsoft wasn't interested. He believes Microsoft developed technology that is the
subject of the patent lawsuit after his offer. Mark Cantor, an attorney representing Ancora in the patent litigation, said Mullor
denies any wrongdoing, and described the Microsoft complaint as "simply a retaliatory lawsuit by Microsoft to get the patent
case transferred to Seattle."
The patent case is scheduled for trial in a Los Angeles federal court on January 26, 2010, but Microsoft is seeking a court
order barring Mullor from any involvement in the patent claim, which would bar him from assisting Ancora with prosecuting
the suit with or without the documents he downloaded from the software giant. Mullor has given a statement on the situation,
which you can read most of at the Seattle Tech Report.
http://arstechnica.com/microsoft/news/2009/02/espionage.ars
Microsoft: employee stole documents for patent lawsuit
Microsoft has filed a lawsuit with the goal of blocking a patent lawsuit that targets three OEMs for using Microsoft's anti-
piracy technology System Locked Preinstallation (SLP). The software giant alleges that an ex-employee stole documents
from it in order to file the first suit.
By Emil Protalinski | Last updated February 2, 2009 10:55
Microsoft is accusing ex-employee Miki Mullor of using his inside access to download internal documents for a patent
complaint that his startup company, Ancora Technologies, has since filed against Dell, HP, and Toshiba. The suit alleges that
the companies are infringing on Ancora's patent by selling computers with Windows Vista preactivated, which is possible
thanks to one of Microsoft's anti-piracy technologies, System Locked Preinstallation (SLP). When Seattle Tech Report
covered this story, the publication noted that Ancora's website described the case as follows:
To secure each copy of (Windows), without burdening the honest user, (PC makers) use a technology known as
System Locked Pre-Installation (SLP) to protect Windows against piracy. SLP is Ancora's technology and is
covered by our pioneer patent, US Patent 6,411,941. This lawsuit is about protecting our patent rights from being
infringed by HP, Dell and Toshiba. This is not David vs. Goliath. This is David vs. three Goliaths.
On January 22, Microsoft filed its own lawsuit in King County Superior Court in Seattle, which claims Mullor wrote in his
October 2005 Microsoft employment application that he no longer worked for Ancora because it was out of business. Nor did
he disclose when hired that he believed SLP infringed on an Ancora patent. Microsoft, which is intervening in Ancora's patent
lawsuit to defend its technology (and the PC makers) against the patent-infringement claims, now becomes Goliath number
four.
Mullor, on the other hand, said he informed Microsoft about his patent in his résumé and employment agreement, though he
notes that Ancora had ceased business operation before he applied to Microsoft. The documents Mullor downloaded from
Microsoft before Ancora filed the lawsuit included information on the SLP and the upcoming Windows 7 operating system,
according to Microsoft's complaint. They were downloaded onto Mullor's company-issued laptop, after which Mullor allegedly
deleted them, then tried to hide his tracks by using software that overwrites deleted files.
Mullor was still a Microsoft employee when Ancora filed the suit against the PC makers; he was hired as a program manager
in the Windows Security Group in November 2005. But in June 2008, four days after allegedly trying to hide his downloading
activities, Ancora filed its patent lawsuit. In September 2008, Microsoft intervened as a party-defendant in the case and fired
Mullor.
The Ancora patent is dated June 25, 2002, and Mullor claims he approached Microsoft in 2003 to discuss the "benefits
Microsoft could realize by using it," but Microsoft wasn't interested. He believes Microsoft developed technology that is the
subject of the patent lawsuit after his offer. Mark Cantor, an attorney representing Ancora in the patent litigation, said Mullor
denies any wrongdoing, and described the Microsoft complaint as "simply a retaliatory lawsuit by Microsoft to get the patent
case transferred to Seattle."
The patent case is scheduled for trial in a Los Angeles federal court on January 26, 2010, but Microsoft is seeking a court
order barring Mullor from any involvement in the patent claim, which would bar him from assisting Ancora with prosecuting
the suit with or without the documents he downloaded from the software giant. Mullor has given a statement on the situation,
which you can read most of at the Seattle Tech Report.
http://arstechnica.com/microsoft/news/2009/02/espionage.ars
Facebook Plans to Make Money by Selling Your Data
Written by Lidija Davis / February 1, 2009 9:51 PM / 51 Comments « Prior Post Next Post »
The Telegraph is reporting that social networking giant Facebook has new plans for generating revenue; offering its 150
million user database as a market research tool to corporations.
Starting this spring, companies will be able to selectively target Facebook's members in order to research the appeal of
new products through a polling system called Engagement Ads as demonstrated at the World Economic Forum in Davos.
The Evolution of Engagement Ads

Engagement Ads are not new to Facebook. Last year, The Wall Street Journal reported that Facebook had begun "quietly testing" the
product in August and was hoping to roll it out by the end of November.
Engagement Ads, said the WSJ, would appear on the home page of Facebook when you first log on and prompt you to interact with an
ad. If you did interact with the ad, Facebook would then attempt to share your action with your friends thus "getting the ad in front of more
eyeballs."
At the time, Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg said that ads systems are "built over time through continual tweaking." She added
that Facebook's existing ad offerings were doing well but "undersell Facebook's broader opportunity."
If the Telegraph report is correct, Engagement Ads have had a massive tweak; companies will be able to pose questions to and receive
feedback from selected members in real time based on user information that Facebook provides.
Randi Zuckerberg, Facebook's Global Markets Director, told the Telegraph that companies are excited about this new polling system. "It
takes a very long time to do a focus group, and businesses often don't have the luxury of time. I think they liked the instant responses,"
she said.
Facebook's Advertising Attempts

Facebook's foray into advertising over time has been weak at best. Forrester's Jeremiah Owyang has called Facebook's marketing
toolset 'confusing', adding that brands will only succeed with engagement advertising if they lean on user behaviors like communication,
self-expression, and social exploration.
When Facebook launched it's much hyped advertising strategy in 2007, we had hoped it would not be met with backlash. Unfortunately
this wasn't to be the case and the Beacon saga came to an end the following month with Mark Zuckerberg apologizing for the way
Facebook had dealt with the situation.
It appears Facebook has run the gamut when it comes to advertising efforts. What began with fliers, display banner ads and even the
very similar Facebook Polls have not yet inspired marketers to run in droves to the popular social networking site.
But could this be the year things turn around for them? Maybe. Change certainly is in the air at Facebook. Zuckerberg had noticeably
dressed up for Davos, telling blogger Robert Scoble it was to denote that this was Facebook's 'intense' year. The Facebook founder bio
page has had a recent addition. And as for Engagement Ads? Well, we'll just have to wait and see. What do you think?
Update: Facebook has contacted us and said that the technology demonstrated at the conference was not a new service and that there
have been no changes to the company's existing polls and Engagement Ads services. We'll made a new post later today to discuss why
the prospect of this new service has raised so much interest and concern. See Why a Facebook "Sentiment Engine" Would be Huge
Comments
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1. Gees I am all for Facebook making money but I don't see this going down well with the community.
Posted by: Michael McGimpsey | February 1, 2009 11:00 PM
2. Facebook faces the truth : the need of making money.
The Face of Facebook has changed.
Will the user still face Facebook?
Posted by: Engago Team | February 1, 2009 11:39 PM
http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/facebook_sells_your_data.php
3. Being targeted based on sexual orientation etc. has the potential to anger people - I know Facebook has few options, but I wonder how this will be
received.
Posted by: Kat | February 1, 2009 11:41 PM
4. I just can't see this being a good thing. I use Facebook right now, and I have to tell you if this becomes a market research thing I will start taking off my
information and maybe even close my account. This really seems like an invasion of privacy. I don't want to give information to marketing companies,
and using what I choose to share with my friends to try and sell leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
Posted by: Kate | February 1, 2009 11:45 PM
5. This cannot be good. There probably are better ways to monetize, but this is not one of them. Wonder if we even get a chance to opt-out.
Posted by: Web2Mom | February 1, 2009 11:47 PM
6. Funny misprint: Facbook.Sigmund Freud would be satisfied.:)
Posted by: Igor Poltavskiy | February 2, 2009 12:02 AM
7. How can they do this? Is this legal?
Posted by: Sujan Patricia | February 2, 2009 12:03 AM
8. Facebook will probably open a can of worm with this move, especially when they try to expand into Germany.
Posted by: Natalie | February 2, 2009 1:13 AM
9. A few things that need to be clarified here:
1. Facebook isn't really selling user data - e.g. they are not going to know that my name is Ron West and that I live in North Attleboro and that I like
Twitter. They will be selling demographic data and customers will say "We want to target people in North Attleboro who like Twitter". Saying it the way
you said it will certainly freak people out. Certainly.
2. You have not clarified (or attempted to clarify) what type of data is being offered up. My Comments, my photos, my "Info" ....
I really enjoy reading your work and I am glad that you are adding young journalists like @jbruin - but this is the same type of "journalism" that the
mainstream public sees in places like CNN, Fox etc....
This is not a lite topic and requires a bit more thought and information.
Posted by: Ron West | February 2, 2009 3:27 AM
10. (sorry, I'm trying to improve my english) Well, I'm working in a website in Chile, that allows companies get information that user in a opt-in way, send by
responding surveys and polls. But is very important the benefit issue. What do the users get with this? If a brand wants to get data, what do they give?
Every system that intent to get something about users, has to have a benefits system for better results.
Posted by: Richard Johnson | February 2, 2009 5:15 AM
11. LOL, Glad I use MySpace instead. Never did like Facebook.
RT
www.internet-privacy.us.tc
Posted by: John Savage | February 2, 2009 5:58 AM
12. We don't like spam in our mailboxes so don't throw spam advertising our way on our facebook pages. I'm sick of the banner ads already, but now if I
happen to click it, my friends will see what I did. That's my personal information and leave it alone.
Posted by: katie | February 2, 2009 5:58 AM
13.
They have been doing this for months already... As a gay man listed in a relationship on facebook, 90% of the ads I see on the right are 'gay themed',
or 'gay directed'.
Pisses me off..... I sleep with men, well one man, but that doesn't mean I give a crap about circuit parties, gay cruises, etc....
RC
Posted by: Robert | February 2, 2009 5:59 AM
14. http://www.authspot.com/Journals/Driving-Down-South.479661
Posted by: Derrick | February 2, 2009 6:06 AM
15. I'm confused. How is this different from what they've been doing? And the headline makes it appear as though my personal information is being
bartered and sold; but that's not accurate, correct?
Thanks for clarifying!
Posted by: Josh Chambers | February 2, 2009 6:10 AM
16. This is basically going to be infringing on the communities privacy if this is to go through
Posted by: Adam | February 2, 2009 6:14 AM
17. No big deal. We'll just block these latest targetted intelligent ads like all the other ads. Are people really stupid enough to compulsively block a product
that suddenly jumps out at them on a website? If a company does that to me that's an automatic ban for interrupting my web browsing experience.
Posted by: Nt Crawler | February 2, 2009 6:15 AM
18. http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#/group.php?gid=48561188389
spread the word ;)
Posted by: me | February 2, 2009 6:17 AM
19. Is this even legal? I am a member of facebook and I do not like the idea of my data being sold to more and more companies, it seems you cannot enter
yourself into anything these days without data being collected and then sold, quite bad really :(
Posted by: michelle | February 2, 2009 6:26 AM
20. I will be cancelling Face Book. Why do U think people cancelled most land mine service, "I DO NOT WANT TO BE BOTHERED WITH SALES INFO".
iNFO SUCH AS THIS TAKES UP MOST OF THE COMPUTERING TIME NOW.
Thank You
Posted by: Carl W. Cary | February 2, 2009 6:33 AM
21. What? They weren't doing this already?
Posted by: jonathanwthomas | February 2, 2009 7:07 AM
22. Facebook stated that "companies are excited about this new polling system." No doubt about it. What about the users?
Posted by: Geno Prussakov | February 2, 2009 7:19 AM
23. Very misleading title and it is no different from what Magazines, Newspapers and Universities have been doing for years.
Posted by: Rich Taylor | February 2, 2009 7:38 AM
24. Everybody who bitches about advertising on FB seems to think that everything in the world comes for free. Wake up morons.
Posted by: Joe Armstrong | February 2, 2009 8:05 AM
25. As a researcher, I'm all for new ways to gain consumer info. However, I'm about doing so ethically. Facebook has an obligation to allow their users to
opt-out of the poll. If they don't, then they are dead wrong.
Posted by: A. Beard | February 2, 2009 8:12 AM
26. http://tinyurl.com/fecesbook
http://tinyurl.com/myaids
Posted by: MMDE | February 2, 2009 8:37 AM
27. Put yourself in their shoes for a moment, and imagine running that business. Facebook provides a free service to its users, but the growing IT
infrastructure, staffing salaries, office space, etc. certainly don't come for free.
To A. Beard, I ask, why should Facebook somehow be obliged to allow users to opt-out? That may be true if Facebook was subscription-based, but not
for a service that is going to have to rely on advertising dollars to keep going.
The opt-out is to stop using the service - and plenty of people might choose to if this is poorly implemented.
Posted by: Andrew Terry | February 2, 2009 9:13 AM
28. I have a social network software and other important data.
Its Possible
?
Posted by: Dinesh | February 2, 2009 9:19 AM
29. The opt-out is to stop using the service - and plenty of people might choose to if this is poorly implemented.
Posted by: Muhabbet | February 2, 2009 9:36 AM
30. Facebook has an obligation to allow their users to opt-out of the poll. If they don't, then they are dead wrong.
Posted by: mIRC | February 2, 2009 9:37 AM
31. Like some have said. They are not going to sell your data so companies can connect your name to your interests.
And... advertisers have been able to target all kinds of demographics since FB ads started.
Posted by: Jon | February 2, 2009 10:09 AM
32. Fight the Power!
http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/group.php?gid=58542789084
Posted by: Phil | February 2, 2009 11:20 AM
33. This is not going to settle well with anyone, I don't think. Already I don't like the cheesy offers to 'test out an iPhone! for free!' or, because I'm listen as
interested in men and women, the gay cruises and swinger parties shown. I'm sure Facebook can make money in better ways. And as said above, if I
click on one of the ads, my friends see?
No. Not a wise move, FB.
Posted by: boiledpotato | February 2, 2009 11:50 AM
34. its like selective advert. lets just support whats new on facebook and lets see what happens.
Posted by: armando solis | February 2, 2009 11:56 AM
35. The day Facebook becomes a marketing engine is the day it begins its decline.
Posted by: Steve Poppe | February 2, 2009 12:28 PM
36. @Michael – I suppose the trick is to do it in such a way that it is not too intrusive and also doesn’t give away any specific data. Unfortunately I didn’t
see a lot of information about the type of data FB plans to make accessible – if in fact this goes ahead.
We received an e-mail from Facebook (mentioned at the end of the story) and will be analyzing this later today.
@Engago Team – yeah, they do need to make money. I think a lot of social sites are struggling trying to find the balance, so at least they’re not alone.
@Kat – Have to agree I would not like to be targeted based on my sexual orientation.
@Kate – I have to admit, there seems to be some confusion about where to draw the line when it comes to [any] social sites and marketing – it’s a

double edged sword – they want to offer a service for free – but they need to make money to keep providing it. I’m looking forward to seeing how it all
turns out.
@Igor – thanks – fixed
@Ron It’s true. I don’t know the type of data being offered – if any at all (check our update) that’s why I didn’t speculate on that. But I agree; it’s not a
light topic and this is the beauty of blogs – we can talk about it in more detail here. :)
@Richard – good to hear that you guys are offering an opt-in. I think most social sites are trying to do that – we’re just living in experimental times.
@Katie – unfortunately while some of us see ads as spam, the companies providing the service need to make money so it becomes a real challenge. I
for one can't wait until it’s all sorted out.
@Robert – I didn’t realize that you get ads based on sexual orientation (I’m not a user of Facebook) – but yeah, I can see how it would be annoying.
@Josh – Sorry I couldn’t give you more information – it’s all I had. But I do understand that Facebook has been allowing for ads to be targeted based

on profile – although they claim to do it in a non identifiable (personal) way.
@Michelle and Carl – like I said earlier, sites that provide free services need to make money – and advertising is just one way that they can do this.

Unfortunately, a lot of people put up too much information about themselves and then (sometimes too late) realize that the data may be used for other
things. Often times, it’s a real trick to get the information back out
@Jonathanwthomas – I believe that they have been working on Engagement Ads, but I was under the impression that the polls had been dropped not
long ago – see this post - regardless, it will be interesting to watch what happens this year with Facebook.
@ Geno – I don’t know. There are some free services that I would pay to use, yet others I’d be happy to drop if they started charging. Facebook and
sites like it need to work out what’s best for them – and their users. I guess they need to make a call – charge for the service – or allow funds to come
in via advertising. Certainly, it wouldn’t be cheap to maintain the service.
@Rich – I’m sorry you feel that way. Yes, the title could probably have been a lot clearer, but I tried to ensure the post was very clear in saying that the
information was from the Telegraph – not Facebook itself. It’s difficult to get confirmations late at night, especially during the weekend, but I understand
we’ll be analyzing this a little more in another post so stay tuned.
@Joe – You’re right. But boy, do you think you could quit with the name calling, it’s not necessary when your point is valid. :)
@A Beard – I would like to think that if social sites do try and use user information, that they would try and do it as best they can. I’m sure they
wouldn’t want to lose their user base.
@Andrew You’re right. People need to stop and think about free services before they sign up because as you put it so well, maintaining this type of
service certainly isn’t free - there has to be give and take.
@Jon I don’t think that any of the more reputable social sites would sell personally identifiable data – but I always wonder with the way that the Web is
moving whether that data one day will somehow link all of that together. Certainly interesting times we live in.
@boiledpotato – Yeah, I think you’re right – advertising is still a bit of a hit and miss- but again, that could be exactly the reason why companies are

trying to offer up parts of their user profiles – so that ads can be targeted better and you don’t end up with the cheesy ones. Delicate balance I think.
@armando Absolutely. Users should stand by their communities and help them out. Isn’t that what community is about anyway?
Posted by: Lidija Davis | February 2, 2009 12:35 PM
37. Like all of the major web properties Facebook is now too big, too powerful.
When a company has tens of millions of users, it will focus on generating revenue as a primary concern. My bet, Facebook will eventually yield to
corporate primal instincts and serve greed over community.
Another big issue is the company can't services individual requests.
Here are several examples:
- people have their accounts deleted with no recourse
- people are denied using Facebook advertising with no explanation
Facebook needs to address these issues as well.
Eventually, the community will turn on them. I, for one, look forward to having balance in the relationship.
Posted by: Pete K | February 2, 2009 6:02 PM
38. hmmmm, a website where you put everything about what you're doing, did and going to do, photos of it all. Oh yeah -- and all of your friends are on it

too. What did you think was going to happen?
Posted by: k | February 2, 2009 6:50 PM
39. If you don't want to be targetted based on your sexual orientation, then don't publish it. The same goes for any other piece of personal information...
Posted by: Brett | February 2, 2009 7:55 PM
40. So this leads to more disruptions while minding your own business on facebook.
Posted by: Payperbiz | February 2, 2009 9:49 PM
41. I hope not. Oh, maybe that's the reason why approval from them is mandatory before changing your real name on Facebook. They are probably
gearing towards selling our info. Try changing your name to something else and see what happens.
Posted by: The Koi Man | February 2, 2009 10:22 PM
42. For those of you who use Facebook, they've been doing something like this for a while.
Ever noticed while checking the latest on the live feed that the ads on the side bar strangely enough always feature your favorite artists, daring you to
"test your knowledge" on the given subject?
It's USER-SPECIFIC ADVERTISING.
If I'm not mistaken, most internet advertising companies have caught onto this including GOOGLE ADS.
Posted by: Heggles | February 2, 2009 10:35 PM
43. Why is this a surprise to anyone? Facebook is a treasure trove of data just waiting to be exploited.
Posted by: Perry Crann | February 2, 2009 10:48 PM
44. My own experience is similar to Chris Brogan's (see: http://tinyurl.com/9vbuye). If this is 'targeted' advertising, even the Internet God cannot help
Facebook.
Posted by: Shefaly | February 3, 2009 2:53 AM
45. So this leads to more disruptions while minding your own business on facebook..
Posted by: Serega | February 3, 2009 5:15 AM
46. Okay, I'm both a Facebook user and a Facebook advertiser. Yes, Facebook offers keyword advertising. And I like it, because I sell to a very small
subset of people (knitters). If you don't knit, you're not going to be interested in the stuff I make & sell, so I don't want to pay to show you an ad you
don't want to see.
The reverse is also true: if, for example, it's an ad for a clearance sale on knitting yarn, I really DO want to see that ad.
And, I don't want to pay a subscription fee to use Facebook, so I'd rather advertisers pay for the service for me. As a business owner, I can tax-deduct
direct advertising costs, but not social network subscription fees.
Seems to me, a compromise solution would be a check-box below each Facebook ad, saying "I'm not interested in this product/service." Click the box,
and you don't see that ad again, ever.
Just my 2 cents worth!
Posted by: MaggieBelize | February 3, 2009 11:52 AM
47. number 11: MySpace is worst when you are aware of the security lack.
I just want to say "lol", if you want to be anonymous don't trust such companies, adopt free open source solution to communicate. Else, don't come
moaning if your privacy has been violated. Did any of you (facebook users) actually read the Terms and all these legacies ?
Facebook (and even myspace, it's all the same) are the best way for you to mix private life to public life, and then enable a lot of people to access to
your privacy.
Number 42: +1;
However it's just for money, this story's nothing dangerous. Just remember that widgets may be similar to worms, and I bet you've been infected (it's a
kind of recursive worm) months ago, so all your data has been sent to some servers and can be sold. Sold to your firm or futur firm. Sold to some
pirates who are looking for some SE possibilities or the answer to your so sophisticated secret question.
It isn't about Facebook, it's you !
For the one interested in privacy: Unix-like system + silc communication + phpBlogs on a server you rent. GnuPG is a very good idea too. Sure you will
still be able to use your favorite programs, but having an alternative when transmitting private information is still a good thing.
Posted by: shiro | February 3, 2009 11:59 AM
48. I use facebook and myspace I think this want go well with FB users because they thought face book would be different then myspace.
I guess the reality is those sites aren't really that different after all. At least myspace is up front about things they are doing.
Posted by: Tye Banks | February 3, 2009 1:31 PM
49. People need to accept that Facebook actually needs to make money. And the way you make money is from companies. What do companies want?
Demographic information to sell their stuff to a targeted audience.
Really, what's wrong with that? Ads are ads. Accept them.
What I don't like though is when my "interaction" with these ads are broadcasted to all my friends via the news feed. That wouldn't go down well with
most people.
Posted by: Cynthia Perl | February 3, 2009 7:35 PM
50. Not sure why the trackback is not working but I have written a reply to this here:
http://www.notronwest.com/blog/2009/02/02/your-facebook-data-is-for-sale-and-it-always-has-been/
Posted by: Ron West | February 3, 2009 8:29 PM
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Music, Google Smart Dock Checklist Makes Move To and Finalizes Video Numbers Trick
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Lifehacker
HIVE FIVE
Five Best System Tray Applications

By Jason Fitzpatrick, 9:00 AM on Sun Feb 1 2009, 80,461 views
734
diggs
digg it
The Windows system
tray can be so much more than
a parking lot for programs you
don't want cluttering up your
task bar. Read on to see the
five most popular tray tools
readers can't live without.
Earlier this week we asked you to share your favorite applications system tray applications,
with an emphasis on applications that exist primarily in the tray. It was a broader topic to
be sure but you replied in force and we've compiled a list of the top five contenders for the
crown of best system tray application.
UltraMon
It speaks of the popularity of
multi-monitor setups that
UltraMon is such a popular
system tray application.
UltraMon is so feature packed
it's nearly impossible to take a
single screenshot that captures
the usefulness of the application. The most obvious feature UltraMon add from the system
http://lifehacker.com/5143477/five-best-system-tray-applications
tray is the addition of two buttons to the title bar of all open applications. The two buttons
you see in the screenshot here—the dual triangles and the box with the arrow in it—allow
you to instantly expand a window across all monitors or reduce it to one and to sling a
window from one monitor to another with out having to drag or resize. That feature alone
is invaluable when you're dealing with dozens of windows across multiple screens, but that
barely scratches the surface. UltraMon allows you to create custom shortcuts so
applications will always end up the size you specify on the screen you want. You can set up
multi-monitor friendly screensavers and wallpaper with Ultramon and enable the Smart
Taskbar—a tool that extends your taskbar space across all available monitors. UltraMon
isn't free—nor is the $40 price tag pocket change in the current economy—but for users in
a multi-monitor environment it would be tough to get more value for your money.
Taskbar Shuffle
Taskbar Shuffle has the
distinction of being not only a
popular application in this Hive
Five but also the only
application that actually acts
upon the system tray itself. After installing Taskbar Shuffle, you can indulge your inner—
and slightly obsessive compulsive—nerd to your hearts content arranging and rearranging
the items on your taskbar and system tray. If you've ever been annoyed as hell that
somehow an application icon you really want visible in the system tray somehow keeps
ending up tucked out of sight, Taskbar Shuffle is a free and effective solution for liberating
your programs from their cement shoes. In addition to the obvious and useful program
dragging, you can also close applications by clicking their taskbar button with the middle
mouse button, tweak the way Windows groups similar taskbar buttons, and assign a
keyboard hotkey to keep you from accidentally shuffling things around with some furious
productivity-fueled clicking. As an added bonus, Taskbar Shuffle works with the
aforementioned multi-monitor Smart Taskbar provided by UltraMon.
AutoHotKey
AutoHotkey is a macro-
scripting tool with scripts that—
when running—reside in the
system tray. The strongest
selling point of AutoHotkey is
that the scripting language it
uses is extremely accessible to new users—especially those with no programming
experience. You can use AutoHotkey to do everything from creating simple time-saving
typing macros—turning every typed instance of btw into by the way, for example— to
creating complex applications, like our very own Texter. Additionally you can also create
simple interfaces to allow user input into the scripts and even save your AutoHotkey scripts
as executables to use them as portable applications or send them to friends. If all of that
seems a bit overwhelming check out our guide to turning any action into a keyboard
shortcut—an excellent guide to getting started with AutoHotkey. If you're not interested in
writing your own scripts that doesn't mean you can't take advantage of the excellent scripts
others have written—check out the posts we've written about AutoHotkey scripts and
browse the Scripts section of the AutoHotkey community forum to find scripts.
Digsby
If you're looking to cut down
on the number of programs
cluttering up your system tray
and taskbar, Digsby combines
the functionality of many
separate applications into one.
Once configured, Digsby allows
you to chat with friends on
AIM, MSN, Yahoo Chat, ICQ,
Google Talk, Jabber, and Facebook Chat. Additionally you can receive notifications and
check email accounts including popular services like Gmail, Hotmail, or any service that
supports IMAP or POP. Right from the overview box in Digsby you can mark emails as read
or flag them as spam. As if combing most popular chat platforms and email services
together wasn't enough to sell most people, Digsby also supports alerts and updates on
popular social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, Myspace and LinkedIn. From both a
time and screen-space saving aspect Digsby is a gem.
Dropbox
Dropbox is a remote file
storage and syncing service.
The magic behind Dropbox
may reside on a distant server,
but the convenience sits in the
system tray as an always
available link to your Dropbox
sync folder. Anything you need to access from a remote location can be dragged into the
Dropbox sync folder and within moments it will be uploaded to your Dropbox account.
Readers have raved about Dropbox since we offered invites to the beta test last summer;
thankfully it's no longer in beta, so anyone can sign up. By far the biggest selling point is
the dead simple file syncing and the ample-for-most-purposes free 2GB of remote storage.
Many readers have noted that thanks to the speed and simplicity of Dropbox they have
forgone toting their files around on flash drives. To take Dropbox beyond simply syncing
copies of your TPS Reports check out how to use it to sync your Firefox installations and
how to use it as the ultimate password syncer.
Now that you've seen the top five applications that bring joy to your fellow readers' system
trays, it's time to vote on which one is to be crowned King of the Tray.
Which System Tray Application is Best?

(Poll Closed)
Digsby 50% (3447 votes)
Dropbox 18% (1228 votes)
UltraMon 12% (812 votes)
Taskbar Shuffle 10% (683 votes)
AutoHotKey 6% (409 votes)
Other 5% (338 votes)
If you have your own system tray treasures and tips to share, sound off in the comments
below!
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Google Earth, Google Ocean: mysteries
of the seafloor are mapped for the first
time
• Program expanded to take in vast, unknown depths
• Data will add to awareness of climate change says firm
Bobbie Johnson in San Francisco

guardian.co.uk, Sunday 1 February 2009 21.30 GMT
Since Google Earth launched in 2006 millions of people have used its virtual globe to
"travel" around the planet without leaving home, climbing a digital version of Mount
Everest and even flying into space thanks to the program.
Now the internet company plans to take on one of the last bastions of the unknown: the
depths of the ocean.
At a high-profile event in San Francisco, Google is expected to announce the addition of

vast amounts of underwater imagery and seabed maps to the Google Earth project.
The move will take Google Earth closer to its aim of creating a complete digital
representation of the planet.
The existing site, to which an estimated 400 million people have had access, already
includes three-dimensional representations of large cities around the world and
includes images from street-level and aerial photography covering thousands of miles
across Britain and elsewhere.
The new additions to the program are expected to include views of the ocean, and
portions of the seabed. They will also provide detailed environmental data that will
enhance information about the effect of climate change on the world's seas and oceans.
To showcase the transformation, the site's chief executive, Eric Schmidt, will introduce
dignitaries including the former US vice president and environmental campaigner Al
Gore, and the veteran oceanographer Sylvia Earle, who is an "explorer-in-residence" at
National Geographic.
Although, so far, there has been only limited data collected about the sea floor, with just
10% of the habitat mapped at any useful scale for science, bathymetry experts said that
the public's ability to "interact" with the oceans and gain better understanding, as well
as see the evidence of global warming, could have quite an impact on perceptions.
"This is the part that's really exciting, for me: people will understand that we know
almost nothing about a lot of these places, and Google will do it for us," said David
Sandwell, professor of geophysics at the Scripps Institute of Oceanography, at the
University of California, San Diego. "There are big voids everywhere, but there are a few
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2009/feb/01/google-earth-oceans-project
little spots where we know quite a lot."
The inclusion of environmental information forms the latest part of the company's plan
to offer the public more data about climate change. In 2007 Google convened a high-
level meeting of experts to help it develop sources of submarine information and
environmental data. It seems likely that the company will later unveil partnerships with
institutions in Europe and the US as part of the project.
"It's a really useful tool for scientists, to [be able to] share data on the oceans," said
Sandwell. "For me, it's the detailed global tectonic structure of the sea floor … if you're a
physical oceanographer, the important thing is that the currents and tides are affected
by things that stick up from the sea floor."
The development has a less serious side, however. It is also believed people using the
site will get the chance to take a virtual dip at some of the world's most famous diving
spots, including at sites in the Bahamas, the Red Sea and the Great Barrier Reef.
Despite the project's long gestation, speculation about the precise details has grown
since Google announced it would be holding the event. Many observers said they were
hoping for something spectacular. "I don't think this announcement will be confined to
just Google Ocean," wrote Frank Taylor, who catalogues the development of Google
Earth at gearthblog.com. "When Google makes an announcement like this, they always
try to push the envelope on multiple fronts. And, with Al Gore headlining the event, I'm
sure we're going to get some data about the environment."
The new system could potentially be combined with another program to let people -
"virtually" move about anywhere in the world.
At the Macworld Expo in January, Google engineers unveiled a program called

EarthSurfer, which combined Google Earth with Nintendo's Wii Fit to create an exercise
game that allows players movement "around the landscape" by way of balancing on a
board. "You control it by leaning forward to go forward, and back to go back," said David
Oster, the EarthSurfer programmer on the project at the time. "It's great stuff."
• This article was amended on Tuesday 3 February 2009. David Sandwell is professor at
the University of California, San Diego, not the University of San Diego and Google
Earth is a program rather than a website. This has been corrected.
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guardian.co.uk © Guardian News and Media Limited 2009
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2009/feb/01/google-earth-oceans-project
Google Ocean will let users explore shipwrecks and
reefs in the deep blue sea
By David Derbyshire
Last updated at 1:33 PM on 03rd February 2009
They cover two thirds of the globe and contain 80 per cent of all life.
Yet the oceans are such as mystery that we know more about the surface of the Moon than we do about the undersea world.
Now for the first time, aspiring Jacques Cousteaus will be able to explore every square mile of the sea from the comfort of their own
homes.
The latest version of Google Earth lets people plunge beneath the sea, swim around underwater volcanoes, hover above shipwrecks and
navigate mountains on the sea bed.
The Ocean in Google Earth software also includes video and photographs of thousands of marine species, and lets virtual divers follow
whales and sharks tagged with satellite tracking devices.
The undersea 3D world was created with help from more than 25 leading marine scientists.
National Geographic Society oceanographer Dr Sylvia Earle said: 'I cannot imagine a more effective way to inspire awareness and caring
for the blue heart of the planet.
'For the first time, everyone from curious kids to serious researchers can see the world, the whole world, with new eyes.
'In a stroke, Google Earth brings life and character to the blue part of the planet, and makes obvious the many ways land, water,
atmosphere and living systems connect. '
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1133882/Google-Ocean-let-users-explore-shipwrecks-reefs-deep-blue-sea.ht...
Sylvia Earle, ocean explorer, cheers the new Google Earth 5.0 at the California Academy
of Sciences in San Francisco
The virtual ocean is available for free by downloading the latest version of Google Earth from the Google homepage.
Google Earth lets people hover over a virtual world, created by piecing together tens of thousands of satellite maps.
The new version includes a three dimensional map of the sea floor, including the Mid Ocean Ridge, the world’s longest underwater
mountain range stretching 30,000 miles.
Most of the sea bed is shown in relatively low resolution. But some areas - such as the Pacific Ocean around Hawaii are highly detailed.
The software also shows protected areas of the ocean and lets people follow the movement of sea animals tagged with satellite trackers.
It also displays historical images on land and sea - allowing people to watch the melting of glaciers, the construction of Germany’s football
stadia in the run up to the 2006 World Cup, the shrinking of Lake Chad in Africa and the melting of the Arctic sea ice.
Broadcaster Sir David Attenborough said the site’s wildlife films contained 'some of the rarest and most amazing creatures you will ever
see'.
He said: 'It is surely an extraordinary privilege not only to be able to see the great jungles and deserts of the world in Google Earth, but
also now, thanks to the Ocean project to be able to explore the bottom of the sea.'
Prof Ed Hill, director of the National Oceanography Centre, Southampton added: 'Understanding the oceans' role in climate change is the
biggest challenge facing us in the coming years.
'We need to reach out to everyone to add to our global understanding of a world that is remote and largely undiscovered.'
The Google Earth software has been downloaded more than 500million times since it was launched in June 2005.
Watch footage of Google Ocean here...
Comments (19)

Disagreement writ large with Doreen. My Big Brother is a benign fellow, bringing much pleasure and interest in visiting the Countryside in which I once
lived. Seeing their cars in their driveways makes me feel much closer to those I love.
An invaluable tool in my archeological searches.
Click to rate Rating 1
- doug, british Columbia, Canada, 04/2/2009 04:31

Check out the new Google Arctic version
http://uk.techcrunch.com/2009/02/02/as-snow-hits-the-uk-the-twitter-mashups-storm-in/
- Robert MacEwan, Washington in U.S., 04/2/2009 01:04

Sounds like Doreen of Dorset has a lot to hide, even though 'Invasion of Privacy' is set in the past and a controlled height level that prevents anyone
acquiring any real details as opposed to real 'Spy Satellite' which can zoom in to read your newspaper. Has this 'worried' lady ever used Google Earth ?
Surely, millions of highly intelligent, non-parnoiac persons such as myself can't be wrong, can we ? Remember, all those 'Big Brother' conspiracy theory
subscribers, only two things actually define whether we live in harmony in this big wide World, one is LOVE, the other FEAR. Which one do you live yours
by ?
- GlobalHealer, Folkestone, UK, 03/2/2009 16:20
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Science
Frogs are being 'eaten to extinction' with one billion taken from wild each year
The global trade in frog legs for human consumption is threatening the amphibians' extinction, according to a new study.

Alcohol makes men BETTER in the bedroom, scientists claim
Men who worry about the effect drinking has on their sex life should raise a glass to the latest research. Alcohol actually improves rather than damages
male performance.

Far side of the moon 'once faced Earth before asteroid flipped it around'
The mysterious far side of the moon has long excited astronomers and science fiction writers alike because it never faces the Earth.

Squirrel's dark legacy: How black variety are the descendants of one rogue American rodent
Black 'super squirrels' rapidly wiping out their grey cousins in parts of Britain descend from one individual released nearly 130 years ago, it has emerged.
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Home About Contact
Royal HeHe2-ness! Bringing Linux to the Masses
3 Howto: Multitouch + Tethering + Task Manager for

feb
2009
Android G1
Filed under: Gadgets
Author: Rami Taibah
About this blog

Royal HeHe2-ness is a world where free
software is valued, nay sought for!! While
proprietary software is banished, degraded and
ridiculed till the end of times.
Recently the web was buzzing about how multitouch technology was implemented unofficially on the G1
Android. While admittedly it’s still not as smooth as I like it to be, its just a proof of concept and will
probably be optimized over time. There are a lot of guides on how to implement it out there, am not
New Content Alert!
bringing you anything new. But I haven’t seen one that actually explains the reasoning behind each step, Register Your E-Mail
and most guides are fragmented over multiple pages and links.
Before I start this howto, I must tell you that this hack doesn’t just give you multitouch, it actually
opens up the possibilities wide open for you. You can change your theme, tether (use your phone as a
Subscribe
wireless modem), auto-rotate, get a fully operable task manager…and much much more! So if you aren’t
really interested in multitouch, this guide might also be of great value for you recent articles recent comments
Rolling Back From Version RC30 to RC29 Howto: Multitouch + Tethering + Task Manager for
Android G1
Google Seriously Broken
EFF: Let Us Free Your Phone
The Linux Alternative Series: Image Editing
Ext4 Filesystem Explained in Plain English
5 Linux Podcasts You Should Be Listening To
The Linux Applications Alternative Series:
Bittorrent
The HeHe2-ness Holiday Gift Guide 2008
7 Cool (and Functional) Android Applications [Video
Tour]
Ubuntu: Try KDE 4.2 Now!
Tag Cloud
In order to get all these goodies, you need to have ‘root’ access, or in other words FULL control over WP Cumulus Flash tag cloud by Roy Tanck requires
your phone as an administrator. Understandably, T-Mobile has taken away root from us; because one can Flash Player 9 or better.
inadvertently ruin the whole system.
However, version RC29 had a very weird and curios bug: anything you type on the keyboard is passed
http://hehe2.net/gadgets/howto-multitouch-tethering-task-manager-for-android-g1/
onto the command shell as root! It literally interprets everything you type as command-line operations. Categories
So if you type the word reboot in an SMS and then press enter, your phone WILL reboot! Advocacy (18)
Google quickly pushed out an update (RC30) to patch up this vulnerability; but this same bug is the basis Apps (17)
DRM (3)
of almost all hacking going on right now on the Android. So before you can really get down and dirty with
Eye Candy (4)
your phone, you will need to roll back to RC29 and “root your phone”. Gadgets (17)
General Linux (27)
***If you are already on RC29 then you can skip this step.*** Howto (22)
Humor (14)
Internet (13)
WARNING: rolling back will erase ALL your data, settings, applications..etc. Basically you will end up Interviews (1)
with a factory phone. So I would recommend that you backup everything on your phone using an Observations (6)
Off-Topic (11)
application readily available in the market called MyBackup. Backup your call log, bookmarks, SMS, Reviews (8)
MMS, system settings, and home shortcuts using the ‘Backup Data’ option. I don’t think you really Social Media (10)
need to backup your contacts since they are already available on your Google account (the cloud), The Dark Side (7)
plus I read complaints that restoring contacts would result in duplication, so I would just steer away
from it. Also backup your applications using the ‘Backup Applications’ option. Finally backup
Archives
everything on your sdcard, just drag and drop everything there on a folder on your desktop.
February 2009 (1)
January 2009 (6)
Once backed up, December 2008 (3)
November 2008 (7)
October 2008 (9)
You will need format your sdcard, so fire up Gparted (or any other partitioner). Delete the partition September 2008 (10)
on your sdcard (in my case /dev/sdh) and create a new FAT32 partition, hit apply. If you are on August 2008 (7)
Windows you can just right click on the sdcard in My Computer and format as FAT32. July 2008 (12)
June 2008 (7)
Download the RC29 NBH file if your phone is from the US or the RC7 NBH file if your phone is from the May 2008 (6)
UK. April 2008 (12)
Unzip RC29NBH.zip/RC7NBH.zip and place DREAIMG.nbh file on your sdcard’s root March 2008 (10)
Turn the device power off February 2008 (12)
January 2008 (10)
Hold Camera button, and press Power button to enter Boot loader mode December 2007 (11)
After it finishes, press the trackball and perform a soft reset by pressing “Call” + “Menu” + “End” to November 2007 (3)
reboot. October 2007 (1)
Once loaded, you will have the phone rolled back to RC29 and have the basic desktop you had once you Blogroll
bought the phone. Now remember the bug that I told you about earlier? This is where it comes in handy, Aaron Seigo
press <enter> twice anywhere, then type <telnetd> and then <enter> again. You just launched the telnet Android Developers Blog
daemon on the phone! All you need is to install a telnet client and you are the God of your phone :)! Ars Technica’s Open Ended
Be The Signal
Boycott Novell
Multitouch Courtesy of Lukehutch and Co Copyrighteous
Dana Blankenhorn & Paula Rooney @ ZDNet
Device Magazine
Every Flavour Beans
Foogazi
Fsckin w/ Linux
Gizmodo
How To Forge
Inspirated
Juno Bacon
Linux Screw
Lockergnome
Mark Shuttleworth
Muhammad Saleem
New Gadgets @ Walyou
Numerodix Blog
Polish Linux
SEO Expert - Manish Pandey
Tamar Weinberg
Tectonic
The Open Road by Matt Asay
The Open Source Advocate
Till2Day: Technology Tips and Tricks
Tombuntu
Torrentfreak
Ubuntu Geek
Ubuntu Unleashed
Lukehutch is credited for hacking the Android and getting multitouch, you can read more about it over
here. But, in order to get multitouch and other goodies, you need to upgrade your RC29 phone to
something called JesusFreke V1.4. It is basically the same Google operating system with a few added
hacks here and there packaged into its own ‘image’ by JesusFreke. Lets start shall we?
Download JF’s RC30 v1.41 ROM for US users or JF’s RC8 v1.41 ROM for UK users. Do NOT unzip it! Just
rename it to ‘update.zip’ (NOT update.zip.zip) and place it in /sdcard.
Download the modified recovery and unzip it. Place the file “recovery_testkeys.img” in /sdcard
In the telenet terminal we opened earlier type the following (Double check everything! You are root!)
mount -o remount,rw /dev/block/mtdblock3 /system
rm -f /system/recovery.img
flash_image recovery /sdcard/recovery_testkeys.img
Turn off your phone and turn it on again and wait until you are fully booted onto your desktop (you
must do this)
Turn it off again, then press the Home button and the Power button (keep holding the home button
until the recovery console appears)
When you enter the recovery console, press ‘alt+L’ then ‘alt+s’. This will flash the update.zip file that
you downloaded and placed there. Wait until it finishes and prompts you to restart. Home + Back
should reboot.
Thats it! Now you got a fully modded phone with multi-touch, full root access, the full power of Busybox,
and the flexibility to do much much more!
Bring Out the Task Manager

One of the main gripes I had with the unmodded version of the G1 was my inability to terminate apps
that am done using. No one likes a stray app hogging their memory, and we couldn’t do anything about
it! It was like having our hands tied to our backs. Not anymore! With JesusFreke image, you can install a
task manager straight from the Android market! Just search for “Task Manager”
Tether The Hell Out of Your Phone

Tethering is just simply using your phone’s 3G connection on your laptop. It can be done via USB,
Bluetooth, or even wireless. Here is the method I use:
Turn off wireless on your phone

Download tether-1.6.tar and place it in /sdcard via USB cable
Unmount the sdcard and disconnect the USB
In your terminal type:
su
tar xf /sdcard/tether-1.6.tar
tether start
Now go to your laptop or wireless device and search for new wireless networks. Connect to ‘G1′!
To stop tethering:
tether stop
Reading Arabic
Arabic text (and Hebrew I believe) is very troublesome. First of all Arabic is a right-to-left language, plus
the way letters are drawn differ depending on the letter’s location in a word.
On the G1, Arabic text would appear as boxes and isn’t understandable at all. However, Rashed2020, a
Qatari developer managed to get the G1 to recognize the text, but not the changing shapes. As a result
each letter is printed separately, but at least this way you can understand what the text is saying!
Download Update.zip
Unzip and place it /sdcard
Turn off your phone, and turn it back on while pressing home
Install the image by pressing “alt+L” and then “alt+s”
More and more goodies

You can install a full Linux distribution, like Debian.
You can install the latest Android build directly from the Android source tree.
Customize your boot image.
Create full backups of the state of your phone.
Create custom ROMs.
Install Applications to your SD Card to save space.
Sphere: Related Content
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Viewing 5 Comments


dweeb 20 hours ago

Awesome, nice to have some clear instructions on how to do this.
reply


Ralph Thomas 16 hours ago

Excellent tutorial. Well done dude!
RT
www.real-privacy.us.tc
reply


alittebirdy 16 hours ago

I think you should provide your sources so the people that made all this happen get credit..
http://forum.xda-developers.com/forumdisplay.ph...
reply

Rami Taibah 15 hours ago

Well its not like I ripped them off, Lukehutch was linked to, and JesusFreke edited this blog himself
before publishing. Plus I linked to xda-dev at the end.
reply


doodle 15 hours ago

Can you "un-root," your phone once rooted if it doesn't suit you?
reply
Trackbacks
(Trackback URL)
 Excellent guide to unlock your G1’s true power: Multitouch + Wifi Tethering! by GPhoneholic - Android
and GPhone News.
February 4, 2009 at 1:37 am
[...] a very long time since the site has been updated, but I figured I’d kick it in the pants ...
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Home | Tech | Science in Society | News
Face-blurring technology raises privacy questions

31 January 2009 by Paul Marks
Magazine issue 2693. Subscribe and get 4 free issues.
For similar stories, visit the Crime and Forensics Topic Guide
PRINT SEND This week's issue

SHOULD we modify our conception of privacy thanks to the seemingly
unstoppable spread of CCTV surveillance networks? Jack Brassil thinks so. He's Subscribe
a computer scientist at Hewlett-Packard's laboratory in Princeton, New Jersey,
who is testing a technology called Cloak that aims to limit the extent of privacy
invasions. "Rather than prohibit surveillance, our system seeks to discourage
surveillers distributing video without the authorisation of the surveilled," he says.
Cloak has two key requirements. First, CCTV users, such as municipal councils
and businesses, would have to sign up to a system that electronically obscures
the faces of people who do not want their pictures to be published in video
footage that is passed to others. The list of such people would be akin to the
national "do-not-dial" lists designed to prevent cold-calling, Brassil says.
31 January 2009
Second, the person opting in to Cloak needs to carry a "privacy enabling device"
A security camera over the streets keeps a watchful ADVERTISEMENT
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eye on the public in Lowu, Shenzhen, China. At least
user's position and velocity to a central server which forwards the data to the 20,000 police surveillance cameras are being
CCTV's control centre. Image processing software then uses the subject's installed in Shenzhen operated with sophisticated
trajectory to identify and obscure their face in the CCTV footage if it is to be computer software with face recognition technology
distributed. In Hewlett-Packard's simulations, the technology is workable, even in (Image: Timothy O'Rourke / Rex)
dense crowds.
ADVERTISEMENT
The idea raises broad societal and legal questions, however. "I don't think its
objectives are right at all," says privacy analyst Ian Brown of the Oxford Internet
Institute in the UK. "People shouldn't have to opt in to get privacy protection. And
this system actively invades your privacy because it tells the service where you
are at all times."
Brassil concedes that his proposed solution may not suit everyone, but says the
important point is the discussion of privacy. Brown also notes that there are
transatlantic legal differences to contend with. In Europe, data protection laws
prevent surveillance videos being passed on while only a few states in the US
have such legislation. He says another way forward is to encourage engineers to
design privacy into technologies from the start.
Brown will have his work cut out, says Brassil, who is to publish his work as part
of a book on video surveillance later this year. "Technology is advancing far
faster than our ability to understand its privacy implications," he says.
More Latest news
Is the Roman Pantheon a colossal
Technology is advancing far faster than our ability to sundial?
understand its privacy implications
10:11 04 February 2009
The temple's courtyard lights up during – and
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From issue 2693 of New Scientist magazine, page 20. building designed to track the Sun?
Subscribe and get 4 free issues.
Browse past issues of New Scientist magazine Video: Revealing the technology of
invisibility
06:00 04 February 2009
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20126936.600-faceblurring-technology-raises-privacy-questions.html
See a raincoat that makes you disappear, and a
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contact the syndication department first for permission. New Scientist does not own rights to vanish – bending light could be the next step
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own the copyright to. Mars rover recovers after bout of
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Have your say 19:06 03 February 2009
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Comment title mysterious episode of
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Your name
Innovation: Speech prediction software
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Comment A system that completes your half-finished
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read all 60 comments Comments 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6
Across the ocean in a pedal-powered
submarine
Privacy Is A Side Issue To Power Accountability Teleporter sends ions on long-distance
Sat Jan 31 14:42:26 GMT 2009 by John journey
Is there a Planet X?
Privacy implications? The issue is power and making it accountable. If that
fundamental is right, privacy hardly matters--the potential for it being the Top sightseeing spots on Google Ocean
opportunity for abuse does not arise. But if power is not accountable and so
can be abused, any electronic privacy is just a click of mouse away from
being removed. Instead of talking about privacy we need to focus upon why
the checks on those with power in our society are so poor, and why we are
so reluctant to strengthen them. Talking about privacy is just academic chit
chat
reply report this comment
Privacy Is A Side Issue To Power Accountability

Wed Feb 04 11:34:46 GMT 2009 by Alex
Here here, absolutely right.
I think society has decided that having evidence about a crime from
these cameras is more valuable than respecting people's privacy.
You're right though, as long as the police and town councils are held
accountable and anyone using these cameras for personal use or
spying are prosecuted then I do feel better knowing that if someone
robs me they are more likely to be prosecuted from camera evidence.
view thread
Whats The Point?

Sat Jan 31 14:49:43 GMT 2009 by Tony
I am struggling to see the point of this, the text says 'obscures the faces of
people who do not want their pictures to be published in video footage that
is passed to others' Who exactly is going to be viewing/publishing the video
footage other than the authorities? They will always want it untouched.
Surely the only people interested in using such technology will be the
criminals and the paranoid, neither should be allowed the option anyway.
So I cannot think of any legitimate reason to need this technology.
Partners
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Whats The Point? designers and a range
Sat Jan 31 17:36:43 GMT 2009 by HUH? of web, IT and
marketing services in
1) Only the paranoid want privacy? the UK.
2) They shouldn't be allowed to have it?
What is wrong with you? Many people don't like cctv, don't want to be
filmed all day, every day. I don't neccessarily support this technology,
but you can't deny the right to privacy.
Whats The Point?

Sat Jan 31 23:44:34 GMT 2009 by sweedman
Actually you can deny the "right" to privacy.
"Rights" are just rules of consensus and have no intrinsic
substance before legalities.
The right to privacy in our own homes is the easiest to defend,
yet it is still possible for authorities to gain "legal" access to
subvert this "right".
The "right" to personal privacy while walking through public
streets and dealing with private businesses is even easier to
subvert and often harder to justify.
Why shouldn't security footage show the faces of customers or
passers by? These faces are seen by other customers, clerks,
police, etc.
It is a waste of resources to defend this artificial "right" when
there are more important problems to deal with, and the benefits
of this technology are negligable and probably outweighed by its
potential for abuse.
Whats The Point?

Sun Feb 01 01:08:00 GMT 2009 by Slap Maxwell
I certainly hope you don't actually believe that
spewage...rights are NOT rules of consensus. According to
you, slavery would be cool if the consensus was that
owning other people was a right.
Get real....
2 more replies
Whats The Point?

Tue Feb 03 20:08:55 GMT 2009 by FreeMarket
Human rights (life, liberty, etc) are inherent. All
governments can do is protect those rights (good) or limit
them (evil), they can not bestow them.
Whats The Point?

Sun Feb 01 23:47:57 GMT 2009 by Tony
The cctv is in a public place they are there for the protection of
the public and you quite rightly donÃ¢â ¬â ¢t have any right of
privacy. If you donÃ¢â ¬â ¢t like it donÃ¢â ¬â ¢t go to public
places you can join the racks of the criminals and those who
ware tin foil to reflect the mind control.
view thread
Whats The Point?

Sun Feb 01 05:42:03 GMT 2009 by jkw
pshaw to privacy. personally i am worried about a government that
does not mandate cctv everywhere including a cctv in each person's
home, right above the TV, for which there should be mandatory
viewing requirements regarding government news items. after all, an
informed public is a patriotic and good public.
view thread
Whats The Point?

Sun Feb 01 22:03:33 GMT 2009 by Paul Marks
It's the dissemination of municipal CCTV footage that HP is examining
here. Footage has been sold on to dumb reality TV shows, news
broadcasters, newspapers, websites and advertising agencies, for
instance, perhaps because it included "amusing" incidents, accidents
or crimes in progress. HP's aim here is simply to get a debate going
(and presumably to sell the handheld gadgets that will implement any
resulting privacy-aiding tech).
Some seem willing to simply roll over and accept privacy invasion;
recall this quote: "You have zero privacy. Get over it." That was from
Sun Microsystems' chief Scott McNealy back in January 1999. His fin-
de-siecle blast was levelled at critics angered at the privacy breaches
the emerging communications technologies may bring with them. But
Scott's view - that we should simply embrace the new technologies
and forget privacy - remains a controversial one.
But privacy is not the same thing as anonymity -and perhaps HP has a
point in wondering if we should at least discuss possible points on the
spectrum between those concepts. The comments below would seem
to bear out that view...
Paul Marks, New Scientist
view thread
Whats The Point?

Tue Feb 03 02:41:45 GMT 2009 by Cru
You can always wear a mask.
view thread
Moot Point?
Sat Jan 31 15:05:41 GMT 2009 by Tom
Uh, wait... I'm confused. So basically you'd have to carry a device in your
pocket that would track your exact position so that your face could be
blurred on CCTV? Am I turning senile or does it really make no sense? I
mean, anyone who'd want to know would still know it's you. Wouldn't this
system have account names tied to a person?
Moot Point?
Sat Jan 31 20:59:51 GMT 2009 by Kyle Rybski
I'm pretty sure it's not intended to foil CCTV but to comfort your
paranoia a bit if a clip is, for instance, shown on a news network
because you happened to be at a crime scene.
view thread
Moot Point?
Tue Feb 03 13:00:53 GMT 2009 by Rory
This occured to me too, if it only blurs the faces of people who don't
want their faces shown, it has to know who you are, and therefore
your positions at all times are traceable by looking at where you were
blurred... Surely?
view thread
read all 60 comments Comments 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6
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Display Condensed Most recent
Gizmodo
THE PRESIDENT'S EMAIL
The Secrets of Obama's Email

By matt buchanan, 8:00 AM on Mon Feb 2 2009, 48,849 views
Obama won the

fight to keep email
and his BlackBerry.
Now, knowing the
president's email
address is a
privilege reserved
for the truly elite.
The NYT explains
this, and other juicy
details about
Obama's email.
We've all seen this picture below of him using a BlackBerry since becoming president,
though what he's holding is "actually a more sophisticated, encrypted variation." Biden has
one just like it.
The people who know Obama's top secret email

address are exceedingly few: Biden, White House chief
of staff Rahm Emanuel, senior adviser David Axelroad,
press secretary Robert Gibbs, a few other top advisers
and a select group of friends from Chicago. Even some
cabinet members, like Defense Secretary Robert Gates
don't have his email address. And, it's likely that his
http://i.gizmodo.com/5144129/the-secrets-of-obamas-email
top secret email address will be changed on a regular
basis.
If you are lucky enough to get an email from him, it's encrypted in such a way that it can't
be forwarded to your parents, or anyone. No attachments will get through, either.
Left sadly unanswered, however, is the greatest question of all: Does Oprah, formerly the
most important person in America whose name starts with O, have his email address?
[NYT, Top Image: Pete Souza/The White House]
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One in Three Broadband Subscribers is a Pirate

Written by Ernesto on February 03, 2009
A recently published survey found that one third of all broadband Internet subscribers worldwide admits to having downloaded movies or TV-
shows illegally. The majority of these downloaders are well aware that their habits are illegal, but it doesn’t play on their conscience.
Every other month a new survey pops up, and they all seem to draw the same conclusion: millions of people worldwide
download files from filesharing networks such as BitTorrent - and they don’t think this is morally wrong.
Most recently, Ovum researchers surveyed a large group of broadband Internet subscribers who also own a TV, and
polled their video download habits. The video trends survey found that nearly one third of the respondents watch
illegally downloaded video. Because music and software wasn’t included, it is safe to say that the overall piracy rate
among broadband subscribers is even higher.
Most people do not download copyrighted videos on a regular basis though. The survey found that only 4% of the total
sample admitted doing so. Interestingly, two thirds of the sample - including the ones that never download illegally -
didn’t see it as morally wrong. This discrepancy between the perceived morality and the legal status lies at the core of
the ever increasing piracy rate.
Despite the continuous efforts of the anti-piracy lobby attempted to change the public’s attitude towards piracy, without much success. The
infamous “You wouldn’t steal…” campaign is a prime example of such a failed campaign. There hasn’t been much of a change in the attitudes of
the public. Instead, TV and movie insiders themselves have regularly made fun of the strategy.
For several years the entertainment industry has ignored the endless possibilities the Internet has offered them, while striving to preserve their
outdated business models. Thereby they ignored the cause of the problem. The rise of illegal downloading is clearly a signal that customers want
something that is unavailable through other channels.
So, should sharing copyrighted material be legalized? Not per se, but the entertainment industry should focus on monetizing filesharing networks
instead of bringing them down. The movie industry has said many times that it treats piracy as just another competitor, so one day it will hopefully
see that sharing is not only a good thing but also an unstoppable thing - with a multitude of profit-making possibilities attached to it.
Saved in: Hot Off The Press, P2P and Filesharing
Tags: Anti-Piracy Gangs, ovum
Previously: Top 10 Most Pirated TV Shows on BitTorrent
Next: Code Aims to Quell New Zealand “3 Strikes” Fears
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http://torrentfreak.com/one-in-three-broadband-subscribers-is-a-pirate-090203/
62 Responses (Add yours or TrackBack)
1 Feb 03, 2009 at 23:18 by Anonymous
I never took a survey
2 Feb 03, 2009 at 23:31 by Knoeki
It’s also bullshit.
http://markshroyer.com/files/piracy.png
3 Feb 03, 2009 at 23:35 by Capn
YAAARRR
Surveys don’t include everyone in the world usually. It’s hard to get everyone to take a survey unless it’s at gun point, but that takes too long.
5 Feb 03, 2009 at 23:51 by Jim
LOL!! Fuck you RIAA!!
6 Feb 03, 2009 at 23:59 by David
If i don’t download movies from the internet, why on earth i have to get 25Mbit connection for ?
I can browse internet with 512kbps.
if ISPs stop downloading, no one will use their bandwidth, they will be bankrupt ;)
Clean and clear answer !
My favorite: http://www.TorrentSpy.cd
7 Feb 04, 2009 at 00:00 by David
If i don’t download movies from the internet, why on earth i have to get 25Mbit connection for ?
I can browse internet with 512kbps.
if ISPs stop downloading, no one will use their bandwidth, they will be bankrupt ;)
Clean and clear answer !
My favorite: TorrentSpy.cd
8 Feb 04, 2009 at 00:07 by Somone
Wow more info we already know! but we here to stay :)
9 Feb 04, 2009 at 00:14 by James
I think we shouldn’t be calling it illegal, as, technically, something illegal is a crime, and filesharing isn’t a criminal offense.
10 Feb 04, 2009 at 00:20 by ehdio
@James:
Filesharing isn’t illegal true, but sharing copyrighted material is illegal in some countries, so nothing wrong with the use of the word ‘illegal’
here I guess?
11 Feb 04, 2009 at 00:31 by Bald
the famous you would’t steal a car AD
or at least what everyone thought of it
http://ie.youtube.com/watch?v=964MLq1db4s
12 Feb 04, 2009 at 00:32 by xippie
Even my mother of 71 downloads movies and TV shows.
13 Feb 04, 2009 at 01:14 by Ethereal
those antipiracy clips in movie intros always makes me laugh. some of the things is like comparing david and goliath(w/e you spell it).
and if i couldnt dl movies like i do i prolly wouldnt own any movies at all (- would you pay $20 for a mystery box?? especially in the world
we live in now?!? -). i can barely afford rent let alone a dvd and the movies i own are all movies i like the most which imo deserve to be
bought( which means mpaa and their brothers make a profit…)
^^ damn i should register >_>
edit: anyways, in my mind its sorta a win-win.
15 Feb 04, 2009 at 01:22 by Jeremy
Well, if the government is for the people and by the people, and the people don’t think “piracy” is morally wrong, maybe piracy should be
legalised. (Shock horror.)
16 Feb 04, 2009 at 01:37 by Rob
“…Well, if the government is for the people and by the people, and the people don’t think “piracy” is morally wrong, maybe piracy should be
legalised. (Shock horror.)…”
I agree, but the reality is that government (at least here in the USA) is not for the people; it’s paid for by lobbyists and corporations and that’s
who the American government supports. Not “the people”, as sad as that is.
17 Feb 04, 2009 at 02:05 by CaptainZM
“I agree, but the reality is that government (at least here in the USA) is not for the people; it’s paid for by lobbyists and corporations and
that’s who the American government supports. Not “the people”, as sad as that is.”
Of course Government is for the People. The people who can afford those lobbyists. So, if you’ve got a shit-ton of cash laying around you
can get stuff done!
18 Feb 04, 2009 at 02:06 by www.10ch.org
Perhaps it may be more helpful if the article included a link to the survey itself, so that we could know more about the survey, like the sample
size, the margin of error, and the confidence level.
If that percentage of people do not perceive it as morally wrong, then what do the same percentage of people think about all of these anti-
piracy measures taken lately, like three strikes, and things like that? I think that this would be a more interesting question.
If illegal sharing is good and unstoppable, then there is no reason for it to be illegal. After all, it is what is providing people with what is
unavailable through legal means, and most likely always will.
One thing is whether these file-sharing networks themselves want to be monetized or not. What are their opinions on any possible or current
attempt from the entertainment industry to monetize them?
@3 Feb 03, 2009 at 23:38 by Anonymous
Offering people a little reward could possibly reduce the abstention rate.
@12 Rob
“it?s paid for by lobbyists and corporations and that?s who the American government supports”
Although the United States has some corruption, and is more corruption than certain countries like, Sweden, Denmark, or New Zealand, it is
not so bad. “Corruption rules everything” would be more true of poorer places like Sudan, or Haiti. Perhaps you could take a look at the
corruption perceptions index, which could be a good indication of the level of corruption in a country.
19 Feb 04, 2009 at 02:12 by dandon
ooooh. what happened to
4 Feb 04, 2009 at 00:00 by David
512 kbps…
I love those comments. Why not 7 KB/s
What about software or game reviews?
I don’t want to wait 30 min for 100 MB.
5 Mbps should be fine.
12 Feb 04, 2009 at 01:37 by Rob
Maybe we should start to make our own casting to find V.
Sciene, how I love the movie’s beginning. Much better than the comic.
- …. voracious violation of volition. … the name’s V.
- Are you like a crazy person?
- I’m quite sure they will say so.
20 Feb 04, 2009 at 02:13 by dandon
ooooh. what happened to intensedebate.com?
4 Feb 04, 2009 at 00:00 by David
512 kbps…
I love those comments. Why not 7 KB/s
What about software or game reviews?
I don’t want to wait 30 min for 100 MB.
5 Mbps should be fine.
12 Feb 04, 2009 at 01:37 by Rob
Maybe we should start to make our own casting to find V.
Sciene, how I love the movie’s beginning. Much better than the comic.
- …. voracious violation of volition. … the name’s V.
- Are you like a crazy person?
- I’m quite sure they will say so.
21 Feb 04, 2009 at 02:40 by dandon
lol
You got to love those surveys and statistics. How many people took part? 1500? lol
15000… shakira: lolo lolei lolei
anyways why aren’t we called neo pirates?
YOU ARE PIRATE?!
no…
YOU ARE!
interesting I didn’t know that about me.
((14 Feb 04, 2009 at 02:06 by http://www.10ch.org))
who cares if the monetize?
What do you think the prices would be like?
22 Feb 04, 2009 at 03:54 by fr33tard
“Although the United States has some corruption, and is more corruption than certain countries…”
————-
wow roze. you need to immediately relinquish your grammar nazi armband.
23 Feb 04, 2009 at 04:14 by Jack Beaner
What thats it? Just one in three? I was thinking more like three out of five dude!
privacy.de.tc
24 Feb 04, 2009 at 04:22 by www.10ch.org
@17 Jack Beaner
It is just that file-sharing and such are not promoted enough with great publicity. See, file-sharing, although somewhat public, is also
somewhat underground, and is thus not plainly found. Due to this, many people are unaware of file-sharing. Surely this percentage will
increase if file-sharing becomes more publicized.
25 Feb 04, 2009 at 04:31 by AnonDavid
If I wasn’t downloading I could get by with 3-5 Mbps for web browsing and “legal” uses. There isn’t any other reason besides major
downloading that I pay for 20 Mbps speeds.
26 Feb 04, 2009 at 04:32 by Anon
Wow, what new and exciting information. Seriously who funds this?
27 Feb 04, 2009 at 04:36 by joshua
you can download movies !!! just kidding what about music to , i like breaking the law, keeps me careful and im always looking over my
shoulder
28 Feb 04, 2009 at 04:43 by Skyhawker
I would still pay for the speeds….but I currently pay for 130GB per month…which we all know where THAT goes.. (50-60GB on wrestling
alone!)
29 Feb 04, 2009 at 04:56 by notalentnomore
The record companies had a monopoly on our music and are greedy pigs. I’ve have only ever downloaded dead oldies from dead artists and
have purchased 100 times the music that I’ve file shared. If they had not been so greedy and paranoid their profit margins would be a lot
higher today. They are managers without vision sucking on the bones of the truly gifted. Yet we still let them dictate our music. Checkout the
top hits, all scantily dressed young women shaking their tits and singing the same style of tune. it’s pathetic.
30 Feb 04, 2009 at 05:17 by sly burg
I dont believe that stat, although its fast on the rise. Illegal file sharing will not last. If illegal downloading becomes mainstream and common
practice, there will be no money TV shows and Movies, if there is no money they wont be made. Simple. So its either movies and tv shows
dont get made or ISP’s stop the user from downloading.
31 Feb 04, 2009 at 05:22 by Calab
I pay for cable… What’s wrong with downloading the shows that I would be able to record on my PVR anyhow?
32 Feb 04, 2009 at 05:24 by Calab
@ sly burg…
The ISP’s do NOT have the right to control what goes through their network.
What would you do if the postman decided to open all your mail and decide whether or not you should receive it?
ISP’s have the right to control their network, but not to pick and choose what they throttle.
33 Feb 04, 2009 at 05:28 by notalentnomore
my response is awaiting moderation. So much for free speech on this sight.
34 Feb 04, 2009 at 05:34 by Pirate
YARRRR!
35 Feb 04, 2009 at 05:37 by Scott
The problem for someone like me in Australia. Is the fact that we hardly get some great tv shows from USA or even movies till months later
or never at all. We have to wait ages for the DVD or it might not even get released here on DVD.
The only way to see if a show or movie is worth buying is to download a few eps or the movie itself and then if I like it enough I’ll go buy the
DVD.
Which I am planning to do with a new series a mate in the states told me about.
How can these companies not look at this as an advantage in marketing? If it wasn’t for filesharing I would never been given the chance to
see the show and they wouldn’t have sold some more copies of their DVD’s.
36 Feb 04, 2009 at 05:44 by avid
as long as your not making money out of it then it is illegal. some people who downloaded copyrighted files use to sell it on the market which
is wrong but if you download a file and share it to those who want a copy then it is right. just like what they said “ANYTHING YOU GOT
FOR FREE SHOULD BE SHARED FOR FREE”
37 Feb 04, 2009 at 06:16 by Rekrul
It’s only “One in three” because 2/3 of the users on the net today have no clue how to do anything other than open a web browser and check
email.
38 Feb 04, 2009 at 06:55 by Henry Emrich
1. Why would downloading have anything to do with “their conscience?” I see nothing morally amiss in bitch-slapping life-plus-seventy into
the dustbin of history, myself. Copyright is SUPPOSED to expire and genuinely free up the “content” they claim it “protects”.
2. Yet again, this is good news, because no matter what the lobby-pigs attempt to get, it’s logistically impossible to even enforce most of the
“laws” on the books now. Do you REALLY think that the various governments planetwode REALLY have the resources/manpower to waste
on yet another “war”?
I mean, they’re already fighting (losing) wars on: “terrorism” and drugs. They simply don’t have the manpower to actually jail (or even
meaningfully inconvenience) everyone downloading.
I’m glad to see people willing to admit that they don’t see it as a problem, myself. I see life-plus-70 as the problem, and p2p technology/mass
“piracy” as the solution. The RIAA/mpaa should have been forcibly disbanded YEARS ago, when Idiot-boy Valenti compared VCR’s to the
Boston Strangler. ANYBODY who can take the RIAA/MPAA seriously at this point is either stupid, or on their payroll.
Rock on.
39 Feb 04, 2009 at 07:32 by muuh-gnu
>So, should sharing copyrighted
>material be legalized?
For private, non-commercial peer-2-peer sharing? Of course it should, if you want to call your country a democracy. Copyright enforcement
on such a low level (ordinary people) and at such a wide scale (everybody with a internet connection) is nothing else but for-profit
censorship.
If a line of business (production and seling of copies) can not survive because technology advancement (PCs and internet in every home)
made it obsolete, just freaking let it die already, instead of legislating us all back into the 50s where every copy of something was tied to a
physical record.
It wouldnt be the first and not the last industry branch dying because technological advancement made it obsolete.
40 Feb 04, 2009 at 08:34 by Christopher
It sounds about right that one of three people on the internet are downloading some things ‘illegally’.
Personally, I stick with old games that aren’t sold anymore in the stores and there is no other way to get them, and new version of Windows
OS’s.
I heard the DRM already admit that it is unstoppable.
42 Feb 04, 2009 at 08:59 by someguy
Sharing is a GOOD thing
- God
43 Feb 04, 2009 at 09:20 by 7SeVeN7
glad to see TF comments back to the old way……..
my mother (62yrs old) fileshares TV an movies
myself (40+) fileshares TV and movies
my wife (40+) fileshares TV and movies
my son (6yrs) DOESNT……..(but he`s learning!
my Daughter (14yrs) DOESNT ,thinks its so “totally wrong”
so if im an avarage family then id say that the overall world avarage would be 4 out of 5 do file share……….
44 Feb 04, 2009 at 09:25 by NubCakes
What happened to IntenseDebate ?
This is interesting news - whilst most of the finding don’t surprise me, one thing certainly did - 4% download reguarly? That seems

remarkably low especially considering how popular TV episodes are… doesn’t it?
45 Feb 04, 2009 at 09:29 by NubCakes
“I dont believe that stat, although its fast on the rise. Illegal file sharing will not last. If illegal downloading becomes mainstream and
common practice, there will be no money TV shows and Movies, if there is no money they wont be made. Simple. So its either movies and tv
shows dont get made or ISP’s stop the user from downloading.”
Your looking at it way too black and white. There’ll “always” be people that purchase and provide money - for the considerable future
anyhow. Game and application piracy has been around for donkeys years and those 2 areas still make money.
46 Feb 04, 2009 at 09:32 by Sandeep
Intense Debate was better.
47 Feb 04, 2009 at 09:39 by highlander
I think it’s more like one-third of broadband users admit to downloading pirated content and another third lies about it.
48 Feb 04, 2009 at 09:50 by hmmm
@7Seven7
Man, I’m worried about your daughter.
It’s very weird she finds filesharing totally wrong.
Did she receive propaganda lessons at school or something ?
When I was 14 I was always going to school with a bunch of floppies in the bag to swap stuff with my amiga friends. And pretty everybody
was doing that.
@all
Anyway, people outside the usa, stop downloading the american mainstream tv/movies.
It’s just asking to be “civilized” by those yankee rednecks. One of you said more piracy = no more tv shows ? I say good, maybe then Culture
will stand a chance.
49 Feb 04, 2009 at 10:11 by Maffioso
I worry about my daughter.
Hope she’s not going to buy any CD’s or DVD’s. That would just support the suing and destroying lives that RIAA and MPAA are doing.
It’s not easy being a parent these days, and I fear the day when she will come home with a CD bought in the shop…
50 Feb 04, 2009 at 10:23 by cmd
I think highlander is right. One third is definitely lying about it. So that’s two thirds. Seems about right. Still shocked about the 4% regularly
stat though. That won’t be enough.
51 Feb 04, 2009 at 11:02 by ...
Legalize it!
52 Feb 04, 2009 at 11:12 by 7SeVeN7
@41
well i dont know what it is about her but she`s aginst it, she really doesnt watch much TV, an rarely listens to the radio, owns no CD`s (that
im aware of, unless her mother got them for(legally))
her school work is the most important to her ATM.
offtopic: im glad that intense debate BS is gone, i was gettng e-mails from ppl i dont even know that do alot of posting here an personally i
thought my addy WAS SUPPOSED TO BE CONFIDENTAL!!!!
53 Feb 04, 2009 at 11:28 by Black Beard
Ahoy Matiess !!!
:D
54 Feb 04, 2009 at 11:31 by Patrizia Broghammer
“One third of all broadband Internet subscribers worldwide admits to having downloaded movies or TV-shows illegally.”
What they do not say is that the fast connection is very sought of mainly for that purpose.
“Most people do not download copyrighted videos on a regular basis though. The survey found that only 4% of the total sample admitted
doing so. ”
Well one always wonders that there are so many stupid’s who risk just on the sake of truth.
Luckily the higher percentage belongs to the ones who know how to shut their mouth…
“You wouldn’t steal…” campaign is a prime example of a failed campaign.
Why should you be ashamed to do in a very small scale what most do at a larger scale?
And I am talking of Bankers, Managers, Politicians.
One steals as he can… with his small or big chances…
“The rise of illegal downloading is clearly a signal that customers want something that is unavailable through other channels.”
And especially something that comes for free…
In a marketing world where what mostly sells is the “special offer” “pay one and grab two”, the “pay nothing and grab as much as you like”
sounds beautifully.
“So, should sharing copyrighted material be legalized?”
Where would the fun be? And the profits of the high speed internet providers?
Some may object that content IS NOT KING, but in this case is at least “Queen”.
55 Feb 04, 2009 at 11:38 by Wolfy
At the moment I am downloading Sims 2 iso, because the physical cd’s are wrecked. And Adobe CS4 for a friend who is unable to afford it
but needs it for animation classes. Not only that, World of Warcraft (I have the original plus BC discs in front of me but not Lich King,
because noone stocks it near me). Not only that, but I am also busy making images of every disc that I own in case the discs end up damaged
(might as well fill up the 3 Terabytes of space that I have!)
56 Feb 04, 2009 at 12:57 by ...
@ Wolfy
I remember my Quake 3 disc basicly exploding in the drive ruining it, only time i bought a new drive, was time for the upgrade to dvd
anyway ;)
Images is whats done today, i have tons of originals many with scratched CD’s, my Diablo II cd’s are to full of errors for a install.. C&C
errors.. most of those old super great games are worn out.. they dont make games like back then anymore!
D2 1.12 has no-cd so i was thankfull for that, now that i dont play it and my CD’s are broken they add legal no-cd lol, why couldnt they do it
before? why cd checks?
Cash milkers ruining legit users grr.. no respect from me!
I think they even tried to develop CD’s with limited lifetime once or something like that.. MAFFIA suckers! no wonder CD’s brake, their
designed to..
Installing games with many cd’s can be irritating, often causing damages to the CD’s as you switch them around, lay them under a lamp or
whatnot.. what is it 9 cd’s for WoW now? SWG was a few aswell i think, and some RPG’s.. oh Baldurs gate! classic! :P new games realy do
suck nowadays.. :(
Plastic discs are dead, give us memory sticks instead ;) something usefull! always loose mine lol!
and no fricking mem-stick-failromtrojanbullshitcrap, or starwarsBSODpcdeathvirus or SONYmalwareRING0hacksortrojans..
thx for being sutch great friends, i need to vent sometimes and its great to have a place to go.. ;)
57 Feb 04, 2009 at 13:02 by Welshie
The UK government is busy rolling out plans to make sure that EVERY UK household has access to broadband within a few years. This is
part of their stategy to ensure that the UK can keep up with the rest of the world when it comes to IT education, so that more of it’s citizens
are able to compete for jobs and contribute to the countries recovery.
If this is sucessful, then the UK economy can begin to stabilize over a period of years.
The music industry, etc wants to initialise a ‘three strike’ system, which will see innocent people being prevented from using the internet (this
ranges from those wrongly accused, to the families of the accused who may need the internet for studies, etc).
Therefore, the music industry is in direct violation of the UK governments strategy to help the UK out of it’s recession. Maybe if every
broadband subscriber told this to their local MP’s…
@7SeVeN7
I really wouldn’t worry about your daughters attitude to filesharing. It’s common for kids to rebel against their parents beliefs. Just let her
find her own way in life and eventually she will come around! All the best to you and your family!
@ every other poster here…
Thanks for the entertaining @ informative read. Makes a nice change from all the usual heavy @ off-topic posts…
LONG LIVE TPB… LONG LIVE TF!
;o)
58 Feb 04, 2009 at 13:06 by ninja
Are the other two ninjas?
59 Feb 04, 2009 at 13:39 by DJ Sketch@1337x.org
AAAARRRRGGGGGHHHHH MATEY!!
60 Feb 04, 2009 at 13:44 by Wolfy
@49
I know, cds are woeful. Most tragic was when I had Baldur’s Gate 1 on the original 5 discs, I put Disc 5 into my drive, heard a noise, ejected
it and the cd was now in four seperate pieces. And this was after it was no longer on the shelves. Another game I have, Phantasy Star
Universe: Ambition of the Illuminus, refused to play because the installer “forgot” to install Gameguard, the authenticity program. Not only
that, but half the time I do get a game that works on my laptop, the cd drive spins so fast that my computer unexpectedly restarts (not to
mention it sounds like a jackhammer, drowning out even headphones on full volume).
61 Feb 04, 2009 at 14:30 by AvangionQ
“Most recently, Ovum researchers surveyed a large group of broadband Internet subscribers who also own a TV, and polled their video
download habits. The video trends survey found that nearly one third of the respondents watch illegally downloaded video. Because music
and software wasn’t included, it is safe to say that the overall piracy rate among broadband subscribers is even higher.” … sounds about right
— isn’t it about time to change the law to suit such a large minority …
62 Feb 04, 2009 at 15:23 by Thomas
If they come after me for downloading old TV shows, I say Bring It! The stuff I’m downloading is generally so down-sampled (350MB for
an hour or less of footage) I could only play it on the computer anyway, and they wouldn’t have the GUTS to try and actually SELL me
something like that. So it’s not a “lost sale” by any stretch. In court, I’d try to play the video on an HDTV in front of the judge to prove my
point.
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EU Plots Pirate Bay Ban and Piracy Clampdown

Written by Ernesto on February 01, 2009
In a few weeks time, members of the European Parliament will vote on the Medina report, which proposes a wide range of anti-piracy measures and
regulations. The report specifically mentions The Pirate Bay, and it approves actions by national courts against the popular BitTorrent tracker.
The proposals in the report, drafted by the 73 year old Spanish socialist Manuel Medina Ortega, show many similarities to the wish lists of the
RIAA, IFPI and MPAA we published earlier. The report calls for more responsibility and liability for ISPs, while copyright infringing content has
to be filtered from the Internet.
Even though the European Parliament has voted against so called “three-strikes” proposals twice before, this is also suggested as a viable measure
against piracy. It’s proposed that ISPs should disconnect subscribers who share copyrighted content, based on information provided by the
entertainment industry.
In addition, national courts are encouraged to take action against BitTorrent sites such as The Pirate Bay. Apparently, the report deems BitTorrent
sites to be illegal - which is a bold statement without any legal backup. Last year, Italy imposed a nation wide block on The Pirate Bay, but this was
reversed in court due to a lack of jurisdiction; this might change if the new proposals are adopted.
In a draft of the report we read “The activities of websites that are part of the peer-to-peer phenomenon and which allow downloading of protected
works or services without the necessary authorisation are illegal, and no exception can be applied to them. So the activity of internet users who send
files to their peers must be regarded as an illegal act of communication to the public without the possibility of exceptions being applied.”
ISPs are further encouraged to identify and filter copyright infringing content on their networks. As we’ve said before, this might work on networks
such as FastTrack/Kazaa, but it remains unclear what methods the ISP will have to implement to distinguish between copyright infringing and legal
content on more tricky networks, such as BitTorrent. That will be a tough job, if not impossible. In common with RIAA recommendations, the
report suggests that ISPs should be held liable for the actions of their customers.
More details are available on La Quadrature, with Jérémie Zimmermann, co-founder of the site commenting, “The Medina report is ridiculous and
full of repressive measures. It is in total contradiction with what MEPs voted twice against ‘graduated response’ and with the realities of Internet. It
only favors entertainment industries and doesn’t contain anything for culture, the artists, or their public.”
Of course, we encourage all of our European readers to write to their representatives in the European Parliament, as this is clearly not the right path
to take.
Saved in: Anti-Piracy Gangs, Copyright Issues, Hot Off The Press
Tags: copyright laws, european parliament, medina report, the pirate bay
Previously: One-Click iPhone App Cracker Released to the Public
Next: Top 10 Most Pirated Movies on BitTorrent
788
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Related Entries
 BitTorrent Brings Evil Villain Back from the Dead
http://torrentfreak.com/eu-plots-pirate-bay-ban-and-piracy-clampdown-090201/
 One-Click iPhone App Cracker Released to the Public
 ThePirateBay.org
 International Umbrella for Pirate Parties
87 Responses (Add yours or TrackBack)
1 Feb 01, 2009 at 23:25 by Faith
Hopefully Ireland will save Europe as it did with Lisbon treaty..
Or, we will soon see a society like Mirror's Edge. Given up every bit of freedom for some security.
"He who sacrifices freedom for security deserves neither."
2 Feb 01, 2009 at 23:32 by Zhanna Aleksandrova
European Parliament should think + Re-think about this and they should cancel this before public stand against European Parliament and lose
hope.
We are counting on European Parliament and i hope they vote for the public!
not for the greedy media industries who are making billions and still trying to rip off public !
3 Feb 01, 2009 at 23:38 by
Manuel Medina Ortega's report was paid for or what?
Not only does this contradict the post office, electricity and car manufacturers and all other similar services to ISP's line of work, its also
exactly the words of the content industry.
Are the post office responsible if someone sends packages containing whatever? NO
Is the electricity company responsible for supplying electricity to crack/weed houses and criminals? NO
Are car manufacturers responsible if a car is used for a robbery, murder or any other crime? NO
Are any of them required to monitor their users activeties, and penalize/prevent their user of doing criminal offences? NO
Not to mention the type of copyright violation their talking about is a civil offence!
Its to FUBAR to be a honest and proper report.. !!!
4 Feb 01, 2009 at 23:39 by anon
Demonoid is down, anyone have any info on this?
5 Feb 01, 2009 at 23:39 by ChequeredManiac
I'm voting to block it. Although Irelands full of old people.
me too =( upgrades??
I would say it's time to go hunting
8 Feb 02, 2009 at 00:06 by Eth
anon from sb??
9 Feb 02, 2009 at 00:06 by David Thempson
+1
10 Feb 02, 2009 at 00:07 by kepners
You know, my grandfather hates cars because … well he doesnt understand why anyone needs them as he walks to the shops. NOW! he's
been asked by the EU to write a report on speeding cars (because they kill you know).
Well, his report also looks likes the UK DRIVE foundations report /wish list on fast cars. Contained within this report - and fundamental to it,
it that the companies who make cars and tarmac are going to be held reponsible! Why? you ask, because if cars and roads wernt available
then people wouldnt kill innosent children.
Someone got to think about the poor children in this!!
The Eu, are soon to be commissioning a report and legistation against god/nature for creating the flu as this costs money and again kill
children….
11 Feb 02, 2009 at 00:09 by Bald
the copyrights lobysist will just uses the billions upon billions to pay who the need to force this through or put so many demands in that they
be sure of getting some past. IRMA case in ireland is just a test for the rest of the EU large sections of ireland can't get BB. out side of the
main cities your only get 1 - 3mb often shared with max 30 gigs caps.
.
plus irma failed to mention that cds can be bought in Northern Ireland cheap than in the south due to retailers not passing on the savings due
the current exchange rate.
also back when people used to buy cheap cds from play.com and cdwow. both IRMA and the BPI bitched and tried to stop it. so they have
them self s to blame
12 Feb 02, 2009 at 00:11 by kepners
on a more serious note, do you honestly think that NONE of the people in the EU or RIAA actually dont use p2p or whatever… i honestly
dont think they are clean as they make out! "vicar adn the altarboy" - its all to do with this "internet money" and wanting more of the "internet
money"
13 Feb 02, 2009 at 00:21 by BalD
that's a given but id say the riaa get everything free to begging with after all the mpaa get every movie that hits cinemas. people working for
them must have a few hundred dvdrips by now. some prob supply the warez scene. people in goverment are idots for the most part as long as
they are taken care of via bribes or lining their pockets with tax payers money they dont care about the people below them.
14 Feb 02, 2009 at 00:23 by The P!nk Pr!nce
If this gets passed I will officaly lose all faith in Humanity !
15 Feb 02, 2009 at 00:37 by Roze
The European Union consists entirely of democratic countries, as shown by the fact that in one issue of The Economist, all of the EU
members scored well in the Democracy Index. Freedom House also gives all the EU members favorable ratings, and has done so for the last
10 years, with the notable exception of Italy for a little while when Berlusconi owned almost all of the media.
All of these measure are plainly ridiculous, in that they do not work, have bad effects, are generally repressive to the free transmission of
information (i. e. it is tantamount to massive censorship), favor nothing except the useless entertainment industry, and do not favor creativity
at all. If everybody does see it as it is like that, then all of this can be rejected through the power of the vote. If, however, public opinion is not
against these measures, then the public needs to be made aware of why these measures are a bad thing, perhaps through an awareness and
advocacy campaign.
16 Feb 02, 2009 at 00:38 by Roze
Correction: if they get passed, then they must all be repealed. They can be repealed through the power of the vote.
17 Feb 02, 2009 at 00:58 by
Sure, lets just ask Rupert to inform the public.
18 Feb 02, 2009 at 01:32 by grumbledork
And Poo Poo anyone that says otherwise……….
19 Feb 02, 2009 at 01:56 by DaronK
As the world turns…..sad news indeed.
Pirate party, start passing out the messages.
Vote it down b-words!
20 Feb 02, 2009 at 01:56 by xippie
I hope this Medina report will never pass the European Parliament. The ISP is nothing more that the postal service is, and should be treated
like that.
21 Feb 02, 2009 at 01:57 by [bsod]
" It’s proposed that ISPs should disconnect subscribers who share copyrighted content, based on information provided by the entertainment
industry." Based on poorly complied info from the industry, not a neutral professional party. Thats the end of the internet for EU. If the
industry had their way all the time it would have prevented the sale of the first vcr's and cd's even. Following this line of though is the same
as following the bush administrations policy of citizens dont have rights; they'd look really dumb after. I'd propose people that don't want to
loose the internet or their right to privacy compile a boycott list of items manufactured in countries that support laws like this.
22 Feb 02, 2009 at 02:09 by a/s/l
D:
23 Feb 02, 2009 at 02:21 by Wake up People!
THERE IS NO E.U.!
It has been shot down at every vote! People of Europe wake up! This coroporate body has no power over you!
24 Feb 02, 2009 at 04:17 by Roze
Although some EU countries, like Italy and Poland, score low on the Corruption Perceptions Index, most do not. See:
http://www.transparency.org/news_room/in_focus/2008/cpi2...
The fact that everything in government works based on bribes in the EU countries is plainly false. It would be more true if you were talking
about a country like Burma or Somalia, but the EU countries are not such places.
25 Feb 02, 2009 at 04:42 by Incoherent
"The proposals in the report, drafted by the 73 year old Spanish socialist Manuel Medina Ortega"
Clearly someone who understands the digital world then lol. Hey wait, next they should exhume some 100 year old corpse to dictate society.
26 Feb 02, 2009 at 05:12 by Simzy
IMO i think they are stupid because each time they try and stop people it raises the sites popularity which TPB (which is already popular) will
gain even more people using the site if they try and ban people accessing it
27 Feb 02, 2009 at 05:42 by Dan
Trackers are down too
28 Feb 02, 2009 at 05:48 by Mr.ICE
“So the activity of internet users who send files to their peers must be regarded as an illegal act of communication to the public without the
possibility of exceptions being applied”
WOW thats a true fascist quote, “as an illegal act of communication to the public”,
it sounds like speech can be illegal too (you have no rights to free speech)
29 Feb 02, 2009 at 07:29 by ???????
And 1.1935×10^45 ants grouped together would have more then enough mass to have the gravitational pull of a medium sized galaxy.
Although theoretically possible, don't count on it ever happening.
30 Feb 02, 2009 at 07:29 by ???????
And 1.1935×10^45 ants grouped together would have more then enough mass to have the gravitational pull of a medium sized galaxy.
Although theoretically possible, don't count on it ever happening.
31 Feb 02, 2009 at 08:34 by Sinbad
"Of course, we encourage all of our European readers to write to their representatives in the European Parliament, as this is clearly not the
right path to take."
I've seen this on the bottom of alot of news articles on here but not once have I seen a way to find out how to get in contact with them. Links?
E-mail addresses? Homing Pigeon?
32 Feb 02, 2009 at 09:50 by Mr.X
"73 year old Spanish socialist Manuel Medina" Seems like old rich guys always get richer while the poor beneath them get poorer…well thats
all going to change soon…
33 Feb 02, 2009 at 09:56 by Mr Google
http://www.google.com/search?q=find+your+mep&ie=utf-...target=”_blank”>http://www.google.com/search?q=find+your+mep&...
34 Feb 02, 2009 at 10:13 by peoncoder
Your MEPs by country can be found here:
http://www.laquadrature.net/wiki/Political_Memory“target=”_blank”>http://www.laquadrature.net/wiki/Political_Memory
35 Feb 02, 2009 at 10:34 by
its back :))
36 Feb 02, 2009 at 10:46 by ALIS
"It’s proposed that ISPs should disconnect subscribers who share copyrighted content, based on information provided by the entertainment
industry."
Why should EU give the entertainment industry the power to disconnect anyone whey want without any proof? If you ask me that's way too
much power for some rich morons. If they even had some real proof of illegal activities it might be ok but as it is they cant even collect
reliable proof to win a few court cases. With this they can just bypass the whole "proof" part and just disconnect people from the internet
anytime they want.
"In common with RIAA recommendations, the report suggests that ISPs should be held liable for the actions of their customers." "ISPs are
further encouraged to identify and filter copyright infringing content on their networks."
The isp's just sell a service to people so why should they be responsible? Same logic could be used to make phone companies monitor every
phonecall made and if they hear anything illegal then report it to the police or just stop the phonecall.
37 Feb 02, 2009 at 10:56 by jasperwillem
Wont we all use google the moment pirate sites go down?
38 Feb 02, 2009 at 11:18 by dave
Lets hope mininova goes down as well!
39 Feb 02, 2009 at 11:50 by jasperwillem
Did some calls the PVDA and CDA (major parties in the NLS, the PVDA doesn't know who is responsable ( member info line of the party)
and give me the central number of the european accomodation. They dont pick up the phone atm.
Then the CDA has provided me two email adresses, one of the person responsable for economics and one for the person responsable for
justice. Have to go now, but will mail them later on.
40 Feb 02, 2009 at 12:01 by SunKing
Who the fuck is this Manuel Medina Ortega and why is he still pushing proposals that have been REJECTED TWICE? Is there some
connection between him and the entertainment industry? Why would you go back to the table with something that has already been ruled out
twice before? Clueless… or MPAA / RIAA shill? Hmmmmm….
41 Feb 02, 2009 at 12:21 by MeH
People need to realise that P2P is here to stay… and if it does get passed… i know a lot of people who won't pirate stuff… but to me Long
Live The PIRATE BAY! and i hope that everyone somehow comes back to their senses and doesn't allow this to pass…
And what about all of the Linux distro's that can be downloaded through P2P - are these gonna suffer too?
MeH
Mayhem excites Hell
42 Feb 02, 2009 at 12:33 by Ist
It’s not as if elections for the European parliament weren’t going to be hold in June, so if you want to write to your representatives and tell
them that you will remember the votes they will cast, now is the time.
43 Feb 02, 2009 at 12:47 by Alternatives? No
This is not about alternatives. If they manage to sneak this in, or something resembling this, it will be the thin end of the wedge that will
eventually lead to the criminalization of half of internet users.
I’m really tired of the governments legislating everything that moves under the sun.
44 Feb 02, 2009 at 13:09 by Mitsaras
Whine whine whine, boo hoo hoo we can't stop piracy.
Well too bad gentlemen, you can try and oppress the evolution, but unless the entertainment market seeks a more viable solution of
coexisting with "piracy", you are going down the drain. No E.U or US of A can stop it, and we owe big thanks to Piratebay for ignoring their
scare tactics.
Note: I'm buying anything that I consider that's worth it. But I really refuse to pay middle man and mafiosso-wannabes.
45 Feb 02, 2009 at 14:17 by George
Abolish patents.
Give copyright 1-2 years length.
46 Feb 02, 2009 at 14:32 by anon
I keep reading these news … with every one there is something new that RIAA or MPAA or other organisation is trying to pull to stop the
evolution. First they triesd to go after individuals and that did not get them wanted results. Then they tried to go after ISP to force them police
the internet but again it did,t come out as they wanted. So now they go even higher - goverments and even the EU itself.
Haveing a internet connection is considered nowdays as one of the basic human right here (i live in EU) The people up on the EU parliament
are the old generation. They don't understand the thechnology of bittorrent or any other p2p aplication and i'm not shure if they even care.
They get some smooth talking anti pirate who tells them that p2p hurts the world and maybe even some complimentary gift (read: bribe) and
he tells them to vote for this …
It seems the MAFIAA is trying to to what ever it can to keep the money flowing into their bukets … even it that means stopping the culture
development and progress and corrupting the goverments.
Is it only me or am i the only one who see that words can not fight against them? Not many people don't know about the bittorrent and the
p2p but if people are starting to be disconnected, accused and wrongly threated because some non goverment agency forced to pass some
laws … that will get people angry. Eventually this anger leads to vilonce …
Maybe the brutal revolution is what this world needs to get rid of us these people who are trying to slave our culture by putting a locks and
price tags to it?
Am i the the only one who thinks that way?
47 Feb 02, 2009 at 14:59 by Finn
True, but I will be sure to help out where I can. Writing a letter now. From Ireland :)
48 Feb 02, 2009 at 15:09 by Jask Thomas
OMG why is everyone suddenly jumping on the Anti Piracy bandwagon!
RT
http://www.internet-privacy.us.tc
49 Feb 02, 2009 at 15:17 by Roze
Perhaps you don't realize it, but every person's vote is counted equally.
50 Feb 02, 2009 at 15:17 by Roze
Perhaps you don't realize it, but every person's vote is counted equally. The power of numbers clearly works when it comes to voting.
51 Feb 02, 2009 at 16:59 by pidfg
so…does anybody have a template letter i can send to my MEP?
52 Feb 02, 2009 at 17:22 by Akademos
Its time for Pirate Party to show its mettle.
The Torrent world will not be same again if TPB goes down.
Manuel Medina Ortega is an old guy with thousand year old beliefs…does not a know a shit about P2P…What do u expect from him?…
Problem is the moment u utter words like P2P or torrent or sharing..the word 'illegal' rings into the mind of these old faggots.With no basis…
no idea..they conclude that this is bad for society and needs to be banned.
And this is what I fear most for our beloved TPB.There is so less education amongst the majority of people that TPB's takedown now seems
iminent to me.Indeed a sad day for millions of internet users !!!!!!!!
53 Feb 02, 2009 at 17:43 by kain
I'm sure I am not the first to notice problems with this proposition, but "the activity of internet users who send files to their peers must be
regarded as an illegal act of communication to the public without the possibility of exceptions being applied" has implications on companies
which currently employ the use of P2P.
For instance, World of Warcraft releases all their patches using P2P distribution. Under the proposal, this is an illegal act.
54 Feb 02, 2009 at 17:44 by blasdlkajsdlkasd
Educate the old.. they obviously don't comprehend technology and benefit of torrents. Some of these politicians are worse than six year olds.
55 Feb 02, 2009 at 17:45 by qweqwet
In other news politicians are supposed to sleep with the music industry to control the people…
56 Feb 02, 2009 at 17:58 by moronic
What's next, sue computer manufacturers. Or the makers pure Silicon for CPU's and RAM. Or go after the miners of metals. Why not the oil
industry for plastic.
57 Feb 02, 2009 at 18:00 by Minoru
What the hell is an old trash still doing in politics involving something he probably does not even understand anyways? Also, screw eurofag
parliament. They just proved how stupid they are.
On a more constructive note, the public should really start acting against such tyrants. Politicians should be replaced with people who actually
know what they are doing.
58 Feb 02, 2009 at 18:15 by ???????
Where did I say that they weren't counted equally? What I'm doubting is whether or not your "numbers" will pull their weight and actually
cast their votes.
If enough people were to cast their votes and successfully vote crap like this down, then I'd be a happy camper. I just don't believe they will.
59 Feb 02, 2009 at 18:16 by fightthepower
It is funny that the RIAA announced they'd cease lawsuits, only to up the attack on our very rights, freedoms, and personal privacy. Sounds
like it's time to up the attack on them. What could we reasonably do that would hurt? How about stop buying downloadable songs.
Also, the international Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) they are passing will make copywrite =counterfeiting=international
crime.
These actions all seem like the first steps to something akin to book burning. We need an answer for when they pass the laws that'll give them
total orwellian control, that you know damned well they will do, are doing, anyway.
60 Feb 02, 2009 at 18:30 by Me
Aw…
Now I can’t… uh… share… Linux .isos?
61 Feb 02, 2009 at 19:34 by MUHAHA
SO what we have is the majority of people telling the world that the RIAA/IPFI/MPAA is wrong about lawsuits , and wrong about there
business model
monty python since giving out there stuff free has seen the box sets of there stuff increase by a factor of 30000%!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! What does that
tell you.
MARKETING PEOPLE IN THE RIAA/MPAA/IPFI are complete utter twits.
YOUR A BUNCH A TWITS. LAMERS, NOOBS, MORONS whom are bereft of intellect.
62 Feb 02, 2009 at 20:03 by Khyron
Worst case scenario : TPB could always go the way of Demonoid and moves their servers to the Ukraine, which is not a member state of the
EU!
63 Feb 02, 2009 at 20:08 by biker dude
p2p is dead, long live warez… to early?
64 Feb 02, 2009 at 20:28 by defcon
indeed
65 Feb 02, 2009 at 20:46 by ctrlaltdelete
blocking the lisbon treaty was stupid. however, i will contact my mep…
66 Feb 02, 2009 at 21:16 by Jet
An Internet report from a 73 YEAR OLD!!! What a load of bullshit.
“Thoes who sell freedom for security will end up with neither.”
67 Feb 02, 2009 at 21:34 by Bean
And this is the only Newspaper in Sweden that had brought the question to light:
http://nyheter24.se/nyheter/utrikes/123843-eu-pol...
Credd to Nyheter24.se
68 Feb 02, 2009 at 22:09 by Damien1989
indeed!
69 Feb 02, 2009 at 22:21 by Rudd-O
If voting worked, do you think these events would be even unfolding now?
Please don't swallow propaganda.
70 Feb 02, 2009 at 23:00 by xSaimex
Getting tired of all this to be honest..
- http://www.xsaimex.net
71 Feb 02, 2009 at 23:17 by Roze
Nothing can work if it has not even been tried yet.
72 Feb 02, 2009 at 23:22 by szczurojat
Aye that brother. Democracy in it's current shape is a mockery. Be it US or EU. It's a 'pick your rapist' game.
Society's money, gone into the wrong hands, is now biting the society back in it's ass… I silently hope this is how evolution works…
74 Feb 02, 2009 at 23:49 by Guy
And they are labeling Manuel Medina Ortega a socialist? This is the most capitalist thing I’ve read in a very long time.
75 Feb 03, 2009 at 00:13 by Ali3N
I’d say Those frigging “Politicos” have way to much free time at our expense.
With the economy being the way it is right now.
piratebay trackers appear to be down since a few hours.
Is this in relation?
77 Feb 03, 2009 at 17:59 by DJ-Dotcom1
trackers are down don`t know why
connection closed by peer in utorrent
on all pb trackers
78 Feb 03, 2009 at 18:09 by DocWiji
Is anyone else getting the message “Error (access denied)” in their BT client???
Is this the same thing as “trackers are down” or a new development???
I mean for PIRATE BAY trackers (both vip.tracker.thepiratebay and tpb.tracker.thepiratebay)
Now ALSO “eztv.tracker.thepiratebay” is also now giving a message “Connection Error (Timeout)”
Gosh dang it…someone with the know please respond.. any official word either?
Someone mentioned Poland and bribery in one sentence here… well, folk around the rest of EU have companies sending them letters… We
have companies giving money to the police for every pirate they catch. And no one bothers that the personal data has been obtained
illegaly…
In Poland you don’t get the postman… you get the cops.
We have a goddamn pirate party (seriousness of which I wholeheartedly doubt), why aren’t you guys notified/writing about such things? In
an article from April the 20th 2007 (http://torrentfreak.com/police-raid-university-dismantle-p2p-network/)you wrote that ZPAV targets
admins and major uploaders… Well, this has CHANGED. They’re using scare tactics now. The ‘My friend got a raid’ tactics.
82 Feb 03, 2009 at 18:52 by bob dole
yeah joining the LONG line of people reporting the downage of tpb trackers, same here in UK and all across the world according to my
contacts, have emailed a friend at tpb but not heard back yet.
The site functions and seeds/peers can be found via DHT/peer exchange but the trackers (all tpb ones) report connection closed by peer!
..so it`s not just you people… and it probably isnt your ISP!
83 Feb 03, 2009 at 19:19 by bob dole
…update to my last post.
The eztv.tracker now seems to be working.
..so hold on folks this may be the end of today`s iffyness.
..although i`ve still not got the word on what happened…ah well who knows.. at least it works now!
84 Feb 03, 2009 at 21:28 by In the US
Pirate Bay was down for a bit here, but seems to be back up. Torrent xfer never stopped.
85 Feb 03, 2009 at 21:35 by Muso
This is a great day for musicians like me. Pimps, non creative people and thieves don’t live longer.
86 Feb 03, 2009 at 21:44 by In the US
OK, now it’s down again. :-)
87 Feb 04, 2009 at 08:39 by Christopher
The Pirate Bay is still up and running right now, I just tried going to the site.
Maybe they were doing maintenance of some kind.
6 references to this post
 It’s my life, it is a warning to others! » Blog Archive » News
 nerdd.net | news and opinion
 The last days of TPB - WCCFtech.com
 EU Plots Pirate Bay Ban and Piracy Clampdown | Universe's Tech Blog
 3 Count: Sharing is Caring | PlagiarismToday
 EU moving against pirates : Security Roadmap
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Feb 02 2009
20 Unforgettable PC Case Mods

Published by Nattyb at 10:42 am under Lists, Oddly Enough
People have serious problems
Over the last couple of weeks we’ve given you two interesting case mod articles. The first one was an XBox 360 Case Mod gallery and the
second was a Wii Case Mod Gallery. Today, I wanted to round it out with a third, and probably most interesting one: The PC Case Mod. I
guess having a computer isn’t really enough for some people.
In fact they’d rather their computer look like a trash can, or perhaps a sexy droid. And to all you diggers out there, some people even want
their computers to look like the logo to the popular social networking site Digg.
So without further interruption may I present 20 unforgettable PC Case Mods.
A thanks to Device Daily for some of these.
The Fighter Mod
http://unrealitymag.com/index.php/2009/02/02/20-unforgettable-pc-case-mods/
The Orb Mod
The NES Controller Mod
The Trash Can Mod
The Bat Mobile Mod
The Microwave Mod
The Pumpkin Mod
The WMD Mod
The Digg Mod
The Robot Mod
Wood Mod with Jewel
The Chopper Mod (I wish she came with it)
The R2 Mod
The Old Phone Mod
The Toilet Mod
The Marvel Mod
The Sexy Droid Mod
The VW Van Mod
The Pink Floyd Mod
The John Deere Gas Pump Mod
Stumble This Digg
More Unreal Posts
 15 Interesting Nintendo Wii Case Mods
 Hot Chicks Doing Cosplay
 First Photos from Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun Li
 Five Things NXE Has Taught Me About the Future
 X-Box People With Way Too Much Time on Their Hands
29 Responses to “20 Unforgettable PC Case Mods”
1. # Joshon 02 Feb 2009 at 1:14 pm
I am being picky but I would like to point out that the “Batmobile Mod” really isn’t a batmobile. It is only referred to as the Tumbler
and never as the Batmobile.
2. # Pedro Sttauon 02 Feb 2009 at 2:45 pm
Brilliant stuff, particulary enjoyed the The Fighter Mod..how geeky can you get?
3. # Mouseon 02 Feb 2009 at 3:05 pm
I think you need to search the web a little bit more for your mods, there are quite a few mods that kick ass and are also unforgettable
out there.
ex. http://www.pdxlan.net/forums/viewforum.php?f=55
4. # Robon 02 Feb 2009 at 3:11 pm
the vw van isnt a mod you can buy that case on newegg got a pretty penny
5. # mishapon 02 Feb 2009 at 3:16 pm
You can’t buy them, they are custom built for their owners.
6. # Georgeon 02 Feb 2009 at 3:20 pm
Awesome.
7. # Nickon 02 Feb 2009 at 3:25 pm
you forgot the Y2K bug by mashie!!!
8. # Al Wankelon 02 Feb 2009 at 3:25 pm
Really??? They left out the companion cube PC case. That is shameful.
9. # drakeon 02 Feb 2009 at 3:30 pm
Batman rode in it + it is an automobile = batmobile.
10. # Bradon 02 Feb 2009 at 3:32 pm
No Doom 3 mod?
http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=802808
11. # 3von 02 Feb 2009 at 3:56 pm
Rob is right, the van isn’t a mod, but a prebuilt case sold by cooler master.
<http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119172<
12. # kristofer brozioon 02 Feb 2009 at 3:59 pm
What no Mystery Machine mod?
13. # 20 increíbles y raros Mods de PC | MisionGeekon 02 Feb 2009 at 5:03 pm
[…] Galería Mision: Compartir These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.
[…]
14. # Boredon 02 Feb 2009 at 5:09 pm
Don’t forget the Mountain Dew Mod: http://www.ibored.com/2008/09/computermountain-dew-dispenser.html
15. # BeyondRandomon 02 Feb 2009 at 5:20 pm
damn! Some people have way too much time on their hands! Great post though.
16. # @Joshon 02 Feb 2009 at 5:23 pm
Seriously? Get a life.
17. # Robon 02 Feb 2009 at 5:37 pm
you sure about that bro
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119172
18. # Insane PC Mods That Will Blow Your Mind | LazyGamer .:: Console and PC Gaming News ::.on 02 Feb 2009 at 7:26 pm
[…] UnrealityMag Sharing is […]
19. # FPMon 02 Feb 2009 at 7:50 pm
I used to be a homeless rodeo clown but now I am a world class magician !
20. # Bill Owenon 02 Feb 2009 at 10:30 pm
How about crediting the builders? :-/
21. # Seriously Cool Case Mods | Internet-Don 03 Feb 2009 at 12:45 am
[…] Microwave Toilet Bowl WMD More at Unreality Magazine « Leningrad: Now and […]
22. # jeplertson 03 Feb 2009 at 1:23 am
I love the microwave mod. I wish you can make popcorn out of it. Ahihihi
23. # Deltaon 03 Feb 2009 at 3:06 am
The Biltong (South African Jerky) Maker Mod.
Cost: 1 sacrificial old PC Tower, 1 bathroom space heater, various bits and pieces.
And a gnawing desire for some Biltong . . .
http://baartman.us/images/home/Baartman/hobbies/Biltong%20(jerky)%20Dryer.jpg
24. # Johnon 03 Feb 2009 at 5:44 am
Some of those are absolutely awsome. I think if I had to pick one to do myself it would be the microwave or the WMD mod.
25. # Gibion 03 Feb 2009 at 9:17 am
I love the microwave mod. I wish you can make popcorn out of it.
26. # 20 Unforgettable PC Case Mods (Pics) « irrevocable stuffon 03 Feb 2009 at 2:19 pm
[…] Weirdest Hotels [PICS] 20 Unforgettable PC Case Mods (Pics) February 3, 2009 read more | digg […]
27. # just a modderon 03 Feb 2009 at 3:55 pm
How is it that you didnt include the most viewed case mod of all time.
??????????????????????????????????
Dark Blade on the bit-tech forums
2069 replies 2,685,354 views
The build alone started in Nov 2004 aND FINISHED IN THIS POST http://forums.bit-tech.net/showpost.php?
p=1459168&postcount=1964 3 YEARS LATER
yes thats right 3 years building a pc and if you have the time to read the whole thread its a pretty amazing achievement. i dont think
anyone else has ever achieved what that guy did.
28. # PC Case Mods | www.pwnage.roon 03 Feb 2009 at 9:49 pm
[…] http://unrealitymag.com/index.php/2009/02/02/20-unforgettable-pc-case-mods/ VN:F [1.0.9_379]please wait…Rating: 0.0/10 (0
votes cast) […]
29. # Submit Links, Add Upload Submit, Funny Game Movie TV Links, Heroes |on 04 Feb 2009 at 6:55 am
[…] Live (Pics) Internet: End of beta is in sight for Windows 7 Geeky: 20 Unforgettable PC Case Mods Internet: Get Into
200+ Private BitTorrent […]
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Why a simple product line is integral to Apple’s success
Tue, Feb 3, 2009
Analysis, Featured, News
It was reported today that Microsoft will be releasing 6 versions of Windows 7, and while the majority of consumers will
realistically only be choosing between two of them, it helps highlight the difference between Apple’s approach to business,
and that of other tech companies. Contrary to what they teach in business school, Apple has succeeded by limiting consumer
choice, and Apple’s small product line-up has been a key factor in that success.
While other companies release an inordinate number of products in an attempt to satisfy every potential customer, Apple has
kept its product line-up relatively streamlined in comparison. Not only does this make things less confusing for consumers,
but it also helps consumers understand what they’re actually paying for. Everyone knew what the iPhone had to offer almost
immediately upon its release. Now, imagine if Apple had released an iPhone, an iPhone Nano, an iPhone Mini, and an iPhone
Pro. Consumers would have no idea where to even start, and they’d actually have to study up on all the different models
before they made their purchase. Most people don’t have the time to do that, and to be honest, most probably don’t care to
either.
When Steve Jobs returned to Apple in 1997, he himself found Apple’s product lineup to be convoluted and ultimately too
confusing. He even quipped that if he couldn’t figure out the difference between a multitude of hardware models, how could
Apple expect consumers to do so? Naturally, one of his first orders of business was putting the squeeze on Apple’s product
lineup and focusing instead on only a few products that were to be marketed at either consumers or professionals. A large
number of products were axed in the process, including the Newton. As a result, Apple’s product lineup shrunk down to just
four offerings - laptops for either consumers or professionals, and desktops for either consumers or professionals.
Even today, Apple’s product lineup is relatively sparse compared to the product offerings of other companies. For example, if
you want an Apple laptop, you can choose between a MacBook, a MacBook Air, and MacBook Pro. Three models to choose
from, and that’s it. Even the names Apple chooses lend themselves to making it easier for consumers to differentiate between
the different models available. By way of comparison, there are a multitude of Sony Vaio laptops out on market, and if you
want to figure out how they differ, you have to study the specs. How else can you figure out the difference between a Sony
Vaio VGN-Z550N and a Sony Vaio VGN-CS215J/R. In contrast, the use of the words “Air” and “Pro” give potential
consumers, right from the start, an idea of what the machine is, and who it’s geared for.
http://www.edibleapple.com/why-a-simple-product-line-is-integral-to-apples-success/
Apple’s simplified approach to selling computers helped re-energize the company as it forced Apple to focus on doing a few
things extremely well, while not letting its talent and resources drift off in a number of different directions and projects. That
narrow focus eventually led to the development of the iMac, the iPod, and the iPhone - three products that together have
helped Apple achieve record breaking financial and critical success. Apple understands that consumer choice is great, but too
much choice can easily lead to customer confusion and frustration. It’s also worth pointing out that its easier for companies to
provide quality technical support when there aren’t 15 models of a product that technicians need to be familiar with.
When it comes to product offerings, Apple’s approach to business is a lot like that of a Basketball coach. Would you rather
have a smaller team comprised of only 7 All-Stars, or a full 12 man roster with 1 All-Star, 2 above average players, 3 mediocre
players, and 6 benchwarmers. The Dream Team wins every time, baby.
Share and Enjoy:
advertising, Analysis, Apple History, Featured, imac, iphone, iphone nano, ipod, Steve Jobs
21 Comments For This Post
1. JOHn Jones Says:
February 3rd, 2009 at 10:43 pm
LOL, they didt limit anything. I jailbreak my Iphone 3G and get whatever I want!
RT
http://www.real-privacy.us.tc
2. wendell Says:
well written and nice story. you’re completely right, i never thought of it before but purchasing a mac and purchasing a
pc is a totally different experience. when i look at guys trying to buy pc products for their homes at the office, it always
amazes me how much time they spend looking through the specs of the individual computers. who wants to do that?
3. wendell Says:
great post, you nailed every point on the head. purchasing a mac and a pc requires two different mindsets. one requires
geek level knowledge the other requires the ability to visit a web page written by someone that speaks normal concise
english that makes it easy to understand what you’re getting.
4. Brian Says:
Yeah, I guess a simplified lineup is easiest to understand - which goes with the Mac theme of assuming that the user is a
complete idiot. That and the fact that the iPhone has some real limitations in what it can do, aside from looking
awesome. For example, have you ever tried forwarding a text message from an iPhone? I haven’t found a way to do so
on my friend’s. It’s just 2-3 buttons away on my vastly “inferior” cell phone. Copypasta? Not happening. Typing if you
have big fingers? URG! Can’t even use the thumbnail trick that works with normal phones. Can’t type without looking
either. Yeah, you can have a fake lighter app, or a beer app, but whoop dee doo. The only people I know who are
fascinated with that are also fascinated with Master Chief and Zelda.
5. Jason Burns Says:
I hate to cry foul, but there is some fanboyism going on here. I think that Apple has had to keep it’s configurations of
computers down for several other reasons. One, with such a small market share, keeping support options simple makes it
more economical to support and makes the product much more stable. These are bonuses of course. The other thing I
would say, is Apple has used this simple lineup to force people into buying up past what they really need a lot of times.
It’s also the same thing that keeps them out of the business market. No IT supportable model under $2800 with no
monitor and 2GB of ram? sheesh.
6. RG Says:
last time i checked MS is actually worth about 100 times more then Apple.
7. nick c Says:
interesting read. i think the article should be more specific, though…as Apple iPods are certainly available in quite a few
flavors…as I think they should be, but it could have been mentioned in this article that their PC line is more lean even
though their portable audio devices may not be.
also, there may be only a MacBook, MacBook Pro, and MacBook Air…but there is also last year’s MacBook Pro or
MacBook to take into consideration (or however often they update their hardware, I honestly do not know)…whether
you are displaying some absurd 8 place alphanumeric model number (the VAIO you mentioned) or calling something
‘revision A’…’third generation’…or ‘2008 model’, some distinction between any product which isn’t a one-time release
must be made.
i certainly agree with the author, though…and think their operating system licensing (/hardware integration) has been
part of a magnificently successful business model, even though I hate it because I would love to familiarize myself with
OS X by putting it on my inexpensive hardware. ;-p
8. Will Says:
While I’m sure that Apple’s limited product line has been part of its success, it’s precisely for this reason that I will
never buy one. Unlike many of Apple’s consumers, I can read and understand the specs well enough to survive in the
less-limited PC world…and also well enough to know that nearly all of Apple’s products cost more than equally able
PCs. Really, then, what the limited product line has allowed Apple to do is take advantage of consumers who do not
fully understand the market by offering them fewer choices- all of which are overpriced.
9. emi Says:
This is absolutely true they have succeeded with their limited product line and have made the whole world their fan,
including me
10. Josh Says:
Yeah! Who the hell wants choice!?
Tell me what I need, cause I’m an idiot! Jobs knows what I want!
Mac simplify things, and thats great, but they only have one target audience. That’s all they NEED.
PC has the entire spectrum to please. From the people with computers 5 years old, to the people purchasing multi-
thousand dollar machines that have specs so ridiculous it makes an iMac look ridiculous. not to mention those running
entire networks and servers.
11. Sai Says:
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>It was reported today that Microsoft will be releasing 6 versions of Windows 7, and while the
majority of consumers will realistically only be choosing between two of them, it helps highlight the difference between
Apple’s approach to business, and that of other tech companies.
Your Analysis is completely flawed. By the way i am neither user of Windows nor follower of Microsoft. How you can
compare Apple success to Windows success ?. Windows has more than 90% market share and Apple has
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Now, imagine if Apple had released an iPhone, an iPhone Nano, an iPhone Mini, and an iPhone Pro.
Do you know the difference between ipod touch, ipod nano, ipod classic ?. Eventually people will learn the difference
and don’t tell that there are different from different versions of IPhone !. Apple do have different products.
What ever you said about sony vaio is correct. They haven’t named their products correctly. But ultimately to reach
wide variety of people, they have to release multiple products. That’s what apple has done. Initially they released only
one version of ipod and then they released multiple versions. That’s what they are going to do in case of IPhone as well.
12. shawn Says:
maybe this is why a replacement charger for a macbook costs 80 fucking dollars
13. almost Says:
@RG:
Microsoft market cap: $164
Apple market cap: $83
There’s a big gap between 2 and 100.
14. michael Says:
February 4th, 2009 at 12:10 am
RS-”last time i checked MS is actually worth about 100 times more then Apple.”
Maybe you should learn a little about valuation.While it is true that MSFT has a larger market Cap than AAPL @
164.48 BB
they have earnings per share of $1.89
with approx $2 bb in debt.
aapl on the other hand has a market cap of
82.8 BB
earnings per share of $5.38
and almost $29BB in cash
with 0 debt.
It doesnt take a rocke scientist to figure out why MSFT stock price hasbeen sub $30
for a long time.
While aapl has traded relative to the market crash currently.
Its in a much better position going forward.
The product line up just being one part of the puzzle.
The quality of the line up speaks volumes.
Stick to core competency and do it well.
Unlike the seemingly constant parade of MSFT product failures.(vista,zune,MSN)
most importantly. the failure of Mgmt. to right the ship.
Fanboy or not. AAPL makes and delivers a better user experience.All you have to do is drop by a local best
buy/geeksquad to see the real story!
15. michael Says:
Market cap aside.
look at eps.
$5.38 AAPL
$1.89 MSFT
debt 0 AAPL
29BB cash
2 BB debt msft
19.7 BB cash
16. not really Says:

@almost
You may want to recheck your figures
17. me Says:
AT&T
18. Bob Says:
what apple does isn’t unlike what happens in the car industry, Mercedes and Porsche have only a few models but they
do them really well. The first gen Ford Focus had seven recalls, seven! on one model. Apple won’t stoop to slapping
together cheap machines with cheap parts anymore than luxury car makers would, and yes they’re willing to deal with
having limited market share as a result.
-Bob
19. iPod Nano Says:

Good piece.
20. Kai Nehm Says:

Barry Schwartz gave an interesting talk on the paradox of choice.
http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/barry_schwartz_on_the_paradox_of_choice.html
Just another look at the advantages of a simple product lineup.
21. joe krivak Says:

so basically they just played on how stupid and lazy most consumers are
2 Trackbacks For This Post
1. nerdd.net | news and opinion Says:
How Apple succeeds by limiting consumer choice | nerdd.net…
\r\nWhile other companies release an inordinate number of products in an attempt to satisfy every po…
2. Apple의 제품라인 단순화 전략 « Creativity, Innovation, and Tech - 변지석 Says:

[...] 이 성공한 것은 다른 업체와 달리 제품라인이 단순하기 때문이라는 분석이 눈길을 끌고 있다. 그의 분석

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Samsung to release 12 megapixels of
cameraphone foolishness this month?
by Thomas Ricker, posted Feb 2nd 2009 at 5:58AM
488
diggs
digg it
It's
been a few years since Samsung unleashed its 10 megapixel cameraphone onto the world. Now we're
hearing that Samsung will push the limits of absurdity to a full 12 megapixels "this month," likely at Mobile
World Congress. The phone is expected to hit the production lines in February with a European debut
shortly thereafter. No details are provided other than the picture above used (but not attributed) by Unwired
View. If this is the unannounced phone then we can obviously expect GPS geotagging, DivX video capture,
and WiFi with DLNA support. One thing is clear: Samsung thinks that Europeans are pixel braggarts with
little concern for image quality.
Update: Nope, that image is just a Photoshop of an 8 megapixel Innov8 -- still, we wouldn't be surprised to
see the same feature set and industrial design in a 12 megapixel handset.
[Thanks, Robin of Loxley]
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Home Design Find
The Wicked Sliding House by dRMM Architects
With a sleek and minimalist approach to adaptable living, here’s a sophisticated house that likes to “travel”. Located in a rural site in Suffolk, England, and dubbed the Sliding House, it has mobile walls and a roof that glides along rails to
cover and uncover the static parts of the 28 meters long dwelling. Work of London-based architects from dRMM, the ingenious design alters views, lighting conditions and the sense of enclosure inside. Though it’s not the home of our
dreams, it’s an amazing exercise of design with a stunning outcome. Our only concern is about the cost. Looks expensive, doesn’t it? [via Dezeen]
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http://www.homedesignfind.com/architecture/the-wicked-sliding-house-by-drmm-architects/
23 Comments so far to
Post Info “The Wicked Sliding
This entry was posted on Sunday, February 1st, 2009 by aion and is filed under Architecture. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment. House by dRMM
Architects”
ExistentialDuck
Says:
February 3rd, 2009 at
3:02 am
That looks like it

could be really
dangerous…
GordonFreeman
Says:
10:55 am
Whatever you do…

DO NOT put hands
in the gaps!!!!
Last time I did that an
alien invasion from
Zen happened…
John Davis Says:

11:00 am
Wow, that is truly

amazing stuff!
RT
http://www.real-
privacy.us.tc
tech stuff Says:

11:10 am
pretty cool… Wonder

how much that costs
to do?
hairstyle Says:
11:13 am
amazing construction
lol
TheCook Says:
11:16 am
You’re kidding right?!

Or did you say the
same thing about
cars and mobile
phones when first
confronted with
them? It may be
neither ideal nor
protical but it’s
projects like this -
and the people
behind them - that
drive us forward.
peter Says:
11:46 am
The concept seems
like a good idea. However the stres
ShavenLunatic Says:
i agree… look cool as hell but yeah
La casa deslizante [ENG] Says:

[...] La casa deslizante [ENG]www.
meme Says:
interesting, perhaps there will be a
Ed Says:
I have often thought about building
john smith Says:

Gosh! It sort of looks lke you’ll be li
MurrayC Says:
WAY too many problems wit this id

1. You now need twice as much pr
2. The area between the two buildi
3. What if the electricity conks out w
4. Who the hell wants to live in a gl
FPM Says:
I was too poor to afford a sliding ho
Alex Cassell Says:

Looks pretty cool!

What about the furniture inside, are
J.Osborn Says:
A little more modification and you h
Bob Carlson Says:

Peter, I don’t think there is any und
The Wicked Sliding House Says:

[...] http://www.homedesignfind.com
The Wicked Sliding House | Design

[...] a roof that glides along rails to
presata.com» Blog Archive » Hous

[...] And the tracks can even be ext

even more pics over at Dezeen. [d
Ink and Virtue » Blog Archive » Ho


House With Motorized Walls Chan

[...] to move into this house. Be sur
House With Motorized Walls Chan


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« The Day Google Killed The Internet
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KDE On Windows Challenges Microsoft On Its Own Turf

By Pavs on February 1st, 2009
LinuxHaxor Recent Posts
iTunes Wishes it Could be Like Songbird
KDE On Windows Challenges Microsoft On Its Own Turf
Plasma on Windows Vista
When I first heard about the project of porting KDE on windows I was very skeptical The Day Google Killed The Internet
of the reason behind it but not so much of the viability of such a project since
Trolltech decided to release the Qt 4 license under GPL for the windows version. KDE New Poll: Do you Use Linux as Your Only OS?
on windows is an audacious project aimed at porting all KDE applications on MS
Windows natively. KDE also has a similar project for Mac OSX.
Ubuntu Based $200 Tablet by Techcrunch
How it works
Once You Go Linux, You Never Go Back
I have previously argued that wubi installer is the best thing since LiveCD, because
of how stupendously easy it makes installing Linux for first time users without the
hassle of disk partitions and risks of losing data. But KDE on windows goes a step CPU Benchmark With Crafty Chess Engine
further by installing a complete desktop environment on top of windows. Don’t get
me wrong, this is by no means “using linux”, for lack of better words think of it as an Internet Explorer is Better Because…
open source “windows skin” (Desktop Environment) on top of proprietary MS
Windows operating system, but unlike traditional “Desktop Skins” it goes several Boot Linux From the Source With TCCBOOT
steps further by actually porting native KDE applications on windows.
Installation is as simple as downloading KDE for windows installer, which walks you Best Posts Of 2008

through the installation process; which including: types of installation, choosing
packages to download and mirror to download it from. Unless of course you are
installing from local drive.
Do you Use Linux as Your Only OS?
Do you Use Linux as Your Only OS?
http://www.linuxhaxor.net/2009/02/01/kde-on-windows-challenges-microsoft-on-its-own-turf/
j Yes I use only Linux and nothing else.
k
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j I dual boot with Windows.
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Acer Aspire One
KDE for Windows installer
Choosing packages
k Desktop Environment
You don’t actually have to use Plasma in order for you to use KDE application, all the
KDE applications are listed under Start > Program Files > KDE 4.2.00 Release.
To Use Plasma you have to inconveniently run the executable file from C > Program
Files > KDE > bin > plasma.exe. KDE for windows is far from being a stable
finished product, even though it doesn’t explicitly mention, I would rate it as an
alpha and I had some stability issues while running it (mostly for plasma).
But how does it help Linux?
It doesn’t. At least not directly. Believe it or not but every open source project out
there doesn’t exist for the sole purpose of smashing proprietary or MS Windows
products. Even though I am not a big fan of KDE (I use Gnome mostly), KDE for
windows showcases the awesome power of open source applications to potential
users who would otherwise never think of using Linux powered desktop environment.
This projects also helps by putting continuous pressure on MS Windows to
improve/innovate its own operating system. You might disagree with me, but
windows 7 has come a long way from the traditional software development we have
come to expect from MS and I believe this is largely due to continuous pressure
from innovative and vastly superior alternative open source applications out there. I
think with proper development and promotion “KDE for Windows” project has a lot of
potential in the future.
If you liked this article, please share it on del.icio.us, StumbleUpon or Digg. I’d
appreciate it. :)
Related Posts:
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KDE Four Live 0.8 (RC2) released
Hack away with slyfx.com
OpenSuse Release KDE 4 Live
New Screenshots of KDE With Release Date Closing In
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adi
February 1st, 2009 13:19
the interface is easier..same like windows..i dont like it
Nathan
This is awesome! I’ve always said Linux is the best OS for try-before-
you-buy (figurative, of course, since you don’t buy it) because of
LiveCDs. But this is just incredible.
How does this help Linux? Get people to use this, and once they’re
hooked, explain that Linux is to Windows as {firefox,opera,flock,chrome}
is to IE. Once they’ve had this taste, they should be convinced to at least
give Wubi a shot.
Vadim P.
Or they just see how Linux - represented by KDE - is and decide against

trying trying it..
Nathan
Ehhhh, what? Would you rather they saw Fluxbox instead? Or, heaven
forbid, GNOME???
Vadim P.
Sounds like you’re a hardcore fan :)
Nathan
Yeah, I’m an avid KDE fan. I’m going stir-crazy, waiting for my distro to
package 4.2… Never liked GNOME much, something about it just irritates
me. I can never do what I want to do, settings-wise.
Vadim P.
Unfortunately Windows users aren’t known to bemoan a lack of settings
to configure :)
Nathan
Hahahah, true that. They’re all in there, they just hide them where
they’re hard to find. The problem is everything’s in the GUI. I couldn’t
live without my CLI….
bh
Are you kidding? Look at the number of options in the second image!
This is not winning *anyone* over to KDE/OSS/Lunix/whatever. This
does nothing to challenge Windows.
Rahul Nimawat
February 2nd, 2009 00:13
WoW! being a fan of KDE, I am sure gonna give it a try soon.
Regards
some guy
This is great news. I am looking forward to see how nice a desktop
environment comes out from Win7 + all the good freeware and oss stuff
in the next year honestly.
richard
Perhaps the idea is not to *challenge* windows but offer intellectually
free software to folks across new dynamics. I personally have no affinity
for any one OS. This offers choice to people. It gives hobbyist a chance
to explore code they could never write themselves.
It expands options for people. Isn’t that what FREE (as in choice) and
open source software is supposed to do.
adi
i like linux so much..KDE / GNOME is the best..but dont make it like
windows ….
Christian
Why?! The biggest disadvantage of Linux is the GUI… That’s like putting

your homemade chassi for the homemade jet car and put it on your
Volvo… it’s still a volvo and now it looks crappy too…
wilq
well…
…Imagine… KDE 4.4 on top of the Windows XP ??? no direct impact ???
giving an ability to work with Kontact2 + Akonadi…. finally an option for
SME
derChef
KDE on Windows halfway works, just as I knew it would. I’ve tried it on

two different machines, one with Vista Business and one with XP.
derChef
@Richard
I agree, there’s far too much being shown by people as far as allegiance
to an OS.
John
“loosing data” => “losing data”
Jacob
How is KD 4.2 on MS platform good for Linux?
1: Enterprise Software could easily be developed for Xplatform
2: Mobile updating and sync can be made Xplatform
3: Firmware could be updated Xplatform
4: Enterprises can standarise apps for users with different OS needs
5: Linux kernel is superior to MS kernel 6 and remains so with Kernel 6.1
6: Getting users standarised on QT/KDE apps makes OS irrelevant to
users
7: Eventually Pt 6 will enable huge license savings for corporations.
SPM
I would prefer to keep the Windows desktop, and run KDE apps alongside
Windows apps. This will help Linux and Mac in the long run, by
encouraging developers to write Windows, Mac and Linux applications on
KDE environment instead of Windows for portability.
ue
I must say, the window decorations from Vista looks much better than
those of kwin.
Very cool project.
Dave K
February 3rd, 2009 11:28
Stuff like this is good for Linux because it gets Windows users used to
apps that run on Linux. Once a Windows user is used to Firefox,
OpenOffice, etc, etc., and if they are satisfied with those programs, they
will begin to question:
If I am satisfied with these programs that run on both Windows and
Linux,
why not move to Linux?
It seems like a bad thing to have Linux apps running on Windows, at first
glance.
But long term it is bad for Windows. These apps make Windows
increasingly irrelevant. After all, its just the OS. Typical end users dont
care about the OS, they want the programs that run on the OS.
Sum Yung Gai
This is good for GNU/Linux and any other Free Software platform that
can run KDE. Here’s an example of why.
A few years ago, my father was running Windows NT Workstation 4.0.
Hey, it beat Windows 98. But it routinely required wipe/reinstall, like
Windows often does. Well, I had the idea of moving to GNU/Linux
eventually, so a few years back, I put OpenOffice.org, Firefox, and
Thunderbird on his Windows NT box. Firefox for him was either/or (he
was OK with either Firefox or IE). But he liked OpenOffice.org, and he
*loved* Thunderbird! He never went back to MS Office or Outlook
Express.
It’s been just over a year since I put him on GNU/Linux. The switchover
was pretty painless, because he was already used to cross-platform apps.
Of course, there were a few new things he had to learn, since he
changed OS’s. But he is now much, much safer on the Internet, and
overall, he likes his new setup. He’s now willing to do on-line banking,
where he wouldn’t before (I don’t blame him).
The same strategy can be used with KDE for Windows. Get users
accustomed to these cool KDE apps, and migration to FOSS platforms
becomes an order of magnitude easier.
–SYG
David
Started out using KDE 3.5 on my fc6 distro, they kind of lost me when
they rolled out KDE 4.0, now I using gnome 2.2 for my root account and
KDE 4.1.4 for some other users accounts, just to stay abreast with the
latest KDE
desktop. However it doesn’t really make much of a difference to me
which desktop I use.
The question that I have is, of all the terrible aspects of MS windows, the
gui is the least of the problems with that operating system.
If you were to put KDE on windows in the workplace environment then
you would be leveraging the one main benefit of windows, namely
employee familiarity
with the windows gui, most employees who have computer systems at
home are unlikely running to running Linux and the
KDE desktop. Do you want to basically throw away all of that
familiarity, which translates to work-force productivity just to have obtain
KDE plasmids? Is there a killer KDE plasmid out there that I don’t know
of?
that you can’t download as a googleapp or that is not a web-browser
plug-in, most KDE plasmid like programs can obtain for free as
shareware from some third
party software supplier?
lefty.crupps
February 4th, 2009 08:36
> Are you kidding?? Look at the number of options in the second image!
Yes, you mean the possible applications? Or do you mean the language
packs?
That looks completely useful to me on both fronts. Then again, I like
having options, either at install time or down the line — let me guess,
you use GNOME huh?
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