"American film studios are rapidly learning what computer software makers found out long ago: people will always find a way to get around almost any systems put in place to restrict the copying or distributing of digital products"

BBC NEWS | In Depth | dot life | Border controls crumble in DVD land

"EarthLink's arsenal to lure subscribers from its online rivals includes a multimillion-dollar marketing campaign and new access software that will let Web surfers banish pop-up ads--one of the most-often cited annoyances on the Internet. "

Pop-up blocking software has always been the domain of savvy internet users. Earthlink is now mass marketing it. I've got two problems with this.

The first is that the advertising market is seriously depressed and many of the sites that use pop-up ads cannot afford to operate without them. This announcement will certainly depress those numbers even further, possibly forcing a number of sites into bankruptcy or subscriptions, or increasing the number of floating animations and intersittal ads which are even more annoying but harder to eliminate. The web is NOT FREE.

The second is that not all spawned windows are pop-up ads. Earthlink's software will break MemeStreams. Savvy users will be able to turn the feature off so that they can still use this site, but most people won't be able to. The worst thing about all of this is that if you want to surf without pop ups all you have to do is turn your security settings in IE to "high." Earthlink is marketing a service that is only attractive to people who haven't bothered to look at the preference settings for their browser before.

I always liked Mindspring/Earthlink's anti-spam work. This is a different matter, however. I pay for spam. Pop-up ads pay for the content I like to read. I want to loose the spam, but I don't want to loose my content.

EarthLink software banishes pop-ups - Tech News - CNET.com

""We have carried out experiments which show that what is known in the trade as the 'beer-goggle effect' does actually exist," Barry Jones, professor of psychology at Glasgow University, told Reuters Monday. "

They needed a study for this?

"David Novak made 11 cents an hour baking bread during his stay at Eglin Federal Prison Camp in Florida. Now he makes a nice living advising white-collar felons on what to expect on the inside. Read on. It might keep your CEO scared straight. "

This article is not as fun as I was hoping it would be, but I'm forwarding it anyway. For your morbid curiosity...

Welcome to Club Fed

" Even the "high speed broadband" offerings are providing only a small fraction of what is technologically possible and its asymmetricity is modeled after the television network, not the peer connectivity of the Internet. The failure to understand what the Internet really is deprives us of economic opportunity at a time when it is most vital. Giving a dead industry an exemption from antitrust so it can keep the future at bay is the way to maximize the damage to the economy. It is a tragic misunderstanding with real and immediate consequences. "

An interesting commentary on the death of telecom. Thoughts JLM?

The Economist, the Internet, Telecom and the Dow

With download speeds of 200 to 250 kilobits per second, these "broadband lite" services are several times faster than a dial-up telephone connection, but perhaps only a third as fast as a typical cable or DSL connection. "

Lowering the monthly cost so that it looks just a little more expensive then Dialup may cause more people to get broadband.

CNN.com - High-speed Net may get cheaper -- and slower - August 17, 2002

"The diamond invention -- the creation of the idea that diamonds are rare and valuable, and are essential signs of esteem -- is a relatively recent development in the history of the diamond trade..."

There is a member of my circle of friends who is seriously obsessed with the idea of getting a diamond engagement ring from her boyfriend, which has lead to some discussion about what diamonds are worth and where they come from. Of course, the meaning is in the eye of the beholder, but we're a bunch of snobby intellectuals so articles like this tend to get forwarded around anyway.

This is a fascinating discussion of the relatively recent invention of the "tradition" of giving diamond engagement rings and the economic and marketing machines operating in the background. Of course, this article was published in 1982, so obviously we know that any threats to the De Beers empire in the early eighties were handled, and while our generation is very marketing savvy, the girls still want those rings. Most of them anyway...

How many other cultural traditions that you and I grew up with are simply products of Madison Ave?

Have You Ever Tried To Sell A Diamond? - 82.02

One of its agents has issued a warning about the popular practice of using chalk marks to show the location of wireless networks.

The marks, or "warchalks", are cropping up in cities and suburbs across the world.

The FBI is now telling companies that, if they see the chalk marks outside their offices, they should check the security of wireless networks and ensure they remain closed to outsiders.

FBI warns of Wireless Warchalking

The most precious resource in a computer system is no longer its processor, memory, disk, or network, but rather human attention. Project Aura aims to minimize distractions on a user's attention, creating an environment that adapts to the user's context and needs.

This article was published in the April/June issue of IEEE Pervasive Computing. It is available here from the Project Aura web site.

Toward Distraction-Free Pervasive Computing [PDF]

Sources said the board members have met with creditors in recent weeks, seeking their support to replace Sidgmore. One source said a group of creditors and some directors had already interviewed a potential replacement for the chief executive.

washingtonpost.com: Shake-Up Sought At WorldCom