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An Anti-American Boycott Is Growing in the Arab World |
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| Topic: Society |
11:32 am EDT, May 10, 2002 |
Doughnuts may not be quite as American as, say, apple pie, but they come close enough to make Samir Nasier, a Saudi fast-food king, nervous. So nervous, in fact, that Mr. Nasier and his brothers are offering roughly $300,000 to anyone who can prove that their House of Donuts chain has any connection to the United States. An Anti-American Boycott Is Growing in the Arab World |
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Spreading by the Web, Pop's Bootleg Remix |
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| Topic: Society |
4:03 pm EDT, May 9, 2002 |
The song may sound familiar at first. But, suddenly, the recording changes course. As the recording moves on, it is clear that the song is neither fish nor fowl; it is a crossbreed. It is something that is completely different, often illegal and, thanks to the Internet, becoming explosively popular. "The best bootlegs don't sound like bootlegs; they work at a profound level, and actually sound like they are the original record." "It is a case of bootleggers bootlegging bootlegs." "It's my favorite record of the year so far." Neil Strauss on the latest fad in online music. Spreading by the Web, Pop's Bootleg Remix |
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Interview with Turner exec, PVR/VOD discussed |
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| Topic: Society |
1:00 am EDT, May 5, 2002 |
Jamie Kellner controls Turner's programming riches. What he does with them could speed up -- or slow down -- the transformation of television. ... "I'm a big believer we have to make television more convenient or we will drive the penetration of PVRs and things like that, which I'm not sure is good for the cable industry or the broadcast industry or the networks. ... Because of the ad skips.... It's theft. Your contract with the network when you get the show is you're going to watch the spots. Otherwise you couldn't get the show on an ad-supported basis. Any time you skip a commercial ... you're actually stealing the programming. This is a good interview. Another entrenched business model run by smart people with vast resources which is threatened by new technology and wants to preserve its position. We need new business models, and in the video space they are only going to come from the indy film industry which can move quickley.... I wonder how many people in this industry know that southpark started as a file people were sending around on the net... Interview with Turner exec, PVR/VOD discussed |
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| Topic: Society |
7:11 pm EDT, May 2, 2002 |
Coming soon in a bookstore, video store or newsstand near you: a close-up recording of your examination of a girlie magazine or lusty movie, a left-wing weekly or a right-wing book. Your reactions go in the marketers' dossier on you, available for a fee to advertisers, telemarketers or political opposition researchers. HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson: "You never did have federal privacy rights." How would Bush like to have "observational research" in the Oval Office? William Safire on postmodern privacy. The Intrusion Explosion |
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washingtonpost.com: Rep. Goodlatte Calls For |
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| Topic: Society |
3:47 am EDT, Apr 25, 2002 |
Legislators and law enforcers will have to fight and win a "war" against online piracy in order for the digital marketplace to have any chance of realizing its full potential. "This war against piracy must be waged on several different fronts, including the commitment of adequate resources to law enforcement, the cooperation of various industry players, and the education of consumers. Only when the war against piracy is effectively waged and won, will businesses and consumers move in significant numbers to the online marketplace. [Copyright piracy] is growing exponentially with billions of unauthorized music downloads per month. Until we can stop the growth of piracy online, it will be difficult to truly create a marketplace that will work for digital online content." More silliness ... Obviously this guy didn't get the memo about cutting back on the "war" metaphors. These statements are so clearly baseless as to be meaningless. Billions per month, and growing exponentially? So in a few months, we'll have 100 trillion downloads per month? I think not. But who cares, any way? Why doesn't anyone recognize the success stories? The Wall Street Journal has a profitable online subscription service. Lexis-Nexis is popular and has been sustainable over a long period of time. The IEEE has a successful online library. Clearly there are no overwhelming technical challenges to running a successful business selling digital online content. Decius: This is the first time I've seen Goodlatte act completely clueless on a tech issue. washingtonpost.com: Rep. Goodlatte Calls For |
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HBS Publishing: Harvard Business Review - April 2002 HBR Abstract : Wealth Happens |
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| Topic: Society |
3:58 pm EDT, Apr 15, 2002 |
A 5 page article in the April 2002 issue of Harvard Business Review explains it all: The basic inequality in wealth distribution seen in most societies may have little to do with differences in the backgrounds and talents of their citizens. Instead, the disparity appears to be something akin to a law of economic life that emerges naturally as an organizational feature of a network. Bouchaud and Mezard found that if investment returns grow sufficiently volatile, they can completely overwhelm the natural diffusion of wealth generated by transactions. In such a case, an economy can suddenly reach a tipping point, and wealth, instead of being held by a small minority, will condense into the pockets of a mere handful of super-rich robber barons. If we are not yet at the End of History, are we at least approaching the End of Economics? HBS Publishing: Harvard Business Review - April 2002 HBR Abstract : Wealth Happens |
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