February 2008
78 posts
For ‘A’ Students in Some Brooklyn Schools, a... →
Each student is receiving a Samsung flip-phone in a package specially designed with the program’s logo. The phones come loaded with 130 prepaid minutes. Good behavior, attendance, homework and test scores will be rewarded with additional minutes. Teachers and administrators will also be able to use a system to send text messages to several students at a time, to remind them, say, of upcoming tests...
Techdirt: How 'Free' Has Even More Value Than... →
Ariely ran more similar experiments (economist Tyler Cowen wrote about one recently) and found that again and again people overpay for free. … That has enormous implications for the promotional value of “free.” If you’re using it that way, it actually increases the value relative to other things, despite the myth some people still have that if something is...
DigiSpo by Joel Price » MLB puts restrictions on... →
The 120 seconds of MLB content cannot be streamed live, and like the NFL’s rule, the cap does not apply to news outlets providing their own analysis or reporting, commonly known as “talking head” material. The new MLB rules, in development for roughly six months, also prohibit news organizations from posting more than seven photos from any game online and from creating a photo gallery on their Web...
Microsoft Gets Record Fine and a Rebuke From... →
The commission’s willingness to enforce vigorously its interpretation of what constitutes unfair competition potentially raises the costs of running a successful business in Europe for many American companies. It might pose problems for companies like Apple, Intel and Qualcomm, whose market dominance in online music downloads, computer chips and mobile phone technology is also being scrutinized by...
EU may begin treating 'Net censorship as a trade... →
The European Parliament recently passed a proposal to treat Internet censorship by repressive regimes as a trade barrier.
New Facebook App Lets Groups Issue Ultimatums |... →
A new Facebook app called Ultimatums lets users float an idea, set an arbitrary “tipping point” and track group members’ commitment to their common goal. Once a critical mass of people has pledged support, a predetermined action — like a boycott of Ford Motor Company or plans to only use nickels to purchase public transit fares — is taken.
Whose Space? Differences Among Users and Non-Users... →
offline identities very much carry over to online behavior
Comcast F.C.C. Hearing Strategy - Portfolio.com →
Comcast spokeswoman Jennifer Khoury said that the company paid some people to arrive early and hold places in the queue for local Comcast employees who wanted to attend the hearing. Some of those placeholders, however, did more than wait in line: They filled many of the seats at the meeting, according to eyewitnesses. As a result, scores of Comcast critics and other members of the public were...
Fewer Youths Jump Behind the Wheel at 16 - New... →
In the last decade, the proportion of 16-year-olds nationwide who hold driver’s licenses has dropped from nearly half to less than one-third, according to statistics from the Federal Highway Administration.
More Americans Are Giving Up Golf - New York Times →
Was it the economy? Changing family dynamics? A glut of golf courses? A surfeit of etiquette rules — like not letting people use their cellphones for the four hours it typically takes to play a round of 18 holes? Or was it just the four hours?
New York 'Crack Tax' Proposal Is Derided -... →
some Democrats, too, were stunned by the plan. “My initial instinct is: I don’t understand it,” said Bill Perkins, a state senator from Harlem. “Most of the dealers I’m familiar with are petty crack dealers — most of them are crackheads. They are broke, to say the least. I just don’t understand how you impose a tax” on broke crackheads,
The Cut-and-Paste Personality - WSJ.com →
Among the 125 million people in the U.S. who visit online dating and social-networking sites are a growing number of dullards who steal personal profiles, life philosophies, even signature poems. “Dude u like copied my whole myspace,” posts one aggrieved victim.
Experts Scoff at Sat Shoot-Down Rationale... →
the satellite shot is a chance for the military to try out its missile defense capabilities; a way to keep secret material out of the wrong hands; and a warning to the Chinese, after they destroyed a satellite about a year ago.
Edge: BETTER THAN FREE By Kevin Kelly →
There are a number of qualities that can’t be copied. Consider “trust.” Trust cannot be copied. You can’t purchase it. Trust must be earned, over time. It cannot be downloaded. Or faked. Or counterfeited (at least for long). If everything else is equal, you’ll always prefer to deal with someone you can trust. So trust is an intangible that has increasing value in a...
In Nicaragua, it appears the New England Patriots... →
The NFL donated 290 Patriots hats and an equal number of team jerseys trumpeting the slogans “Super Bowl Champions, 19-0” to impoverished children from two small communities in southern Nicaragua.
Fresh Start Conservatism - New York Times →
I’d ask him to call for a new human capital revolution, so that the U.S. could recapture the spirit of reforms like the Morrill Act of the 19th century, the high school movement of the early 20th century and the G.I. Bill after World War II. Doing that would mean taking on the populists of the left and right, the ones who imagine the problem is globalization and unfair trade when in fact the real...
We’re Spending Too Much to Make a Little Money -... →
In the last federal fiscal year, it cost the Mint 1.67 cents to make each of the roughly eight billion pennies it churned out. In other words, taxpayers paid more than $130 million for coins valued at only $80 million. Looked at another way, even your opinions have become more expensive. It costs about 3 cents to put in your 2 cents. The finances of the nickel are even grimmer. Each 5-cent piece...
U.S. to Attempt to Shoot Down Faulty Satellite -... →
The military will try to shoot down a crippled spy satellite in the next two weeks, senior officials said Thursday. The officials laid out a high-tech plan to intercept the satellite over the Pacific just before it tumbles uncontrollably to Earth carrying toxic fuel.
AppleInsider | Google iPhone usage shocks search... →
Google on Wednesday said it has seen 50 times more search requests coming from Apple iPhones than any other mobile handset — a revelation so astonishing that the company originally suspected it had made an error culling its own data. “We thought it was a mistake and made our engineers check the logs again,” Vic Gundotra, head of Google’s mobile operations told the Financial Times...
FEMA Trailers are Toxic, CDC Says Residents Must... →
When Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast in 2005, thousands of those made homeless moved into FEMA trailers, and thousands of people continue to live in the temporary housing. By 2006 FEMA was getting reports from field workers that residents where getting sick from the air in the toxic trailers. The first suspect was formaldehyde, which is used in the manufacture of the trailers. But FEMA...
UK blames sat navs for damaging 2,000 bridges per... →
We’ve already seen plenty of evidence of the potential damage that sat navs can cause, but the UK’s Network Rail has now put a figure on at least some of it, saying that the devices are responsible for damaging some 2,000 bridges per year and causing 5,000 hours of delays.
Yahoo And News Corp. Continue Marathon... →
Yahoo and News Corp. are in the middle of marathon discussions, and have more details. According to our source, the deal structure would spin off Fox Interactive Media (the primary asset is MySpace, but IGN, Scout Media, Photobucket, Fox Sports, AmericanIdol.com, Flektor, Ksolo; plus investments in Hulu, Simply Hired and Snocap are also assets of FIM) into Yahoo, along with a big cash injection...
A Lesson in Recycling Chartjunk as Junk Art →
Good statistics is always about data reduction. In this age of abundant data, it is technically challenging to infuse graphics with as much of it as possible. Resist the temptation to overdo it.
Starbucks and Scalia Add More Buzz Torture Debate... →
Guantanamo has a gift shop that sells Guantanamo key chains, shot glasses, t-shirts and shell tchotckes
Starcom MediaVest Group →
heavy clickers represent just 6% of the online population yet account for 50% of all display ad clicks. While many online media companies use click-through rate as an ad negotiation currency, the study shows that heavy clickers are not representative of the general public. In fact, heavy clickers skew towards Internet users between the ages of 25-44 and households with an income under $40,000....
As Toll Dodgers Get Creative, Eyes of E-ZPass Are... →
If the account has lapsed or no tag has been identified, as many as five cameras will snap pictures of the front and back license plates.
popurls® | popular urls to the latest web buzz →
Silobreaker: Welcome →
alltop example for - Macintosh News →
Neck and Neck, Democrats Woo Superdelegates - New... →
Superdelegates, created in 1982, were intended to restore some of the power over the nomination process to party insiders, tempering the zeal of party activists. About 15 to 20 percent of the delegates at Democratic conventions are superdelegates.
HarperCollins Will Post Free Books on the Web -... →
In an attempt to increase book sales, HarperCollins Publishers will begin offering free electronic editions of some of its books on its Web site, including a novel by Paulo Coelho and a cookbook by the Food Network star Robert Irvine. The idea is to give readers the opportunity to sample the books online in the same way that prospective buyers can flip through books in a bookstore.
Will Disney Keep Us Amused? - New York Times →
Consumers’ fixation on instant gratification and personalization has been reshaping the entertainment industry for some time, but it has finally caught up to the theme park business in visible ways. For instance, Disney has spent much more effort — and money — developing ways to entertain people as they stand in line for Toy Story Mania.
Doc Searls Weblog · Aggregaphobia →
Anyway, as “social media” (a too-inclusive kinda non-miscellaneous label) probuzzerates, and a zillion groups aggregate (clot?) all over the place, we are faced not just with too many “friends”, but too many choices of virtual clubhouses and too many labels laid by others on who and what we are, might be, and ought to belong to. Kinda brings out the CED in all of us.
digsby →
use registration code “lifehacker”
Report Backing Clemens Chooses Its Facts Carefully... →
Statistics provide powerful tools for understanding the world around us, but the value of any analysis invariably comes down to choosing a useful statistic and an appropriate comparison group. Statisticians-for-hire have a tendency to choose comparison groups that support their clients. A careful analysis, and a better informed public, are the best defense against such smoke and mirrors.
Freakonomics - Opinion - New York Times Blog →
[S]uch comparisons tell an incomplete story. By comparing Clemens only to those who were successful in the second act of their careers, rather than to all pitchers who had a similarly successful first act, the report artificially minimizes the chances that Clemens will look unusual.
Tell the T.S.A. (and Don’t Hold Back) - New York... →
“We knew we were going to get a big surge of negativity; we knew it would be a very juicy opportunity” for the angry, Mr. Hawley said, adding: “I think once people realize we’re putting substantive content on there and really answering questions, the tone will calm down — and it will lead to the same thing happening at the checkpoint.”
Scanning Your Money to the Bank - Bits -... →
Soon you will be able to deposit checks by scanning them at home and sending them electronically to your bank. No need to visit a branch or even an ATM.
Many Eyes: Create a Visualization →
TextMap - The Entity Search Engine - Newspaper... →
Trixie Tracker Tour →
Eli Manning - TextMap →
Earnings Dashboard: Live & Interactive -... →
Panopticon Visual Business Intelligence →
Stocks & Financial Markets Research - at Zecco.com →
StormWatch →
SocialPicks: social stock picks & research →
Many Eyes →
New program color-codes text in Wikipedia entries... →
InfoNgen →