Forbes.com: Your Own Digital Master Clock

Forbes.com: Your Own Digital Master Clock: "The latest version of Microsoft's (nasdaq: MSFT - news - people ) Windows and Apple Computer's (nasdaq: AAPL - news - people ) OS both have a 'date and time' settings control panel that lets you synchronize your computer's internal clock with time servers. Both run their own time servers: Apple's has an address of time.apple.com, while Microsoft's is at time.microsoft.com. You also have the option of selecting the time server of your choice, including those run by the chief time keepers of the U.S., the National Institute of Standards and Time or the U.S. Naval Observatory."

SAD: A nice feature that I probably should have known, but didn't, was built into Windows XP. I was doing a search on what time sync software I wanted to install on my system (for purposes of digitally recording material based on time) and, voila, something else the OS takes care of automatically.

Reuters | Latest Financial News / Full News Coverage

Reuters | Latest Financial News / Full News Coverage: "CERN, whose laboratories straddle the Franco-Swiss border near Geneva, said it had sent 1.1 Terabytes of data at 5.44 gigabits a second (Gbps) to a lab at the California Institute of Technology, or Caltech, on October 1.
This is more than 20,000 times faster than a typical home broadband connection, and is also equivalent to transferring a 60-minute compact disc within one second -- an operation that takes around eight minutes on standard broadband."

SAD: I can see the headlines arleady: "Hollywood goes way of the music companies filing lawsuits to stop pirating"

Peter O'Kelly's Reality Check

Via Peter O'Kelly's Reality Check: "'Microsoft has won a patent for an instant messaging feature that notifies users when the person they are communicating with is typing a message.
The patent encompasses a feature that's not only on Microsoft's IM products but also on those of its rivals America Online and Yahoo. The patent was granted on Tuesday.'"

SAD: Referring to the news summary of notifying "users when the person they are communicating with is typing a message," IBM Instant Messaging (formerly Sametime) had this feature when it shipped in December 1998. Beyond that, Lotus had prototype versions in development with this feature back in mid 97'. I don't know the prior art that exists within Microsoft but the filing of December 2002 indicates there was known prior art.

The changing face of dot.comraderie | csmonitor.com

The changing face of dot.comraderie | csmonitor.com: "The leader among these virtual fraternities is Friendster. Launched in March, it is still in a testing phase. Over the summer, its servers sputtered under a surge in traffic. Some 2 million users have caused high-profile players in Silicon Valley to take notice, collectively investing $1 million earlier this month. Also in trial mode, Tribe.net, the newest in this spate of sites, has attracted 15,500 users since its launch in August."

"Tribe is trying to reconcile the technology with the sociology. Unlike Friendster's, Tribe's users can adjust the size of the community they're looking through, so someone looking for a loan can restrict the search to close friends, and someone searching for a couch could hunt through their extended network."

Ten Technologies That Deserve to Die

Ten Technologies That Deserve to Die 2. Coal-Based Power Coal isn’t so much a “technology” as a whole school of them, all of them bad or worse. Coal was the primeval fuel of the industrial revolution. Coal powered the first steam engines, whose killer app was pumping stagnant water out of coal mines. It powered the railroads, whose killer app was moving coal.

Unfortunately, we’ve been doing this coal trick for some two hundred years now, and coal is getting uglier by the day. If your accountants rival Enron’s, you can claim that coal is a cheap fuel. Add in acid rain, climate damage, and medical costs, and it swiftly becomes dead obvious that coal is a menace. Coal spews more weather-wrecking pollutants into the air per unit of energy than any other fossil fuel. Extracting coal destroys vast tracts of land. Coal mining is one of the world’s most dangerous jobs.

If coal vanished tomorrow, we’d miss it: the U.S. would lose a quarter of its energy supplies. But that shortfall, daunting though it is, cannot compare to the ghastly prospect of blackened skies over China and seas rising out of their beds. The sooner we rid ourselves of this destructive addiction, the less we will have to regret.

SAD: An interesting list that includes the combustion engine, incandescent light bulbs, manned space travel, nuclear weapons among others.

Mercury News | 08/17/2003 | Budding buddy business

Mercury News | 08/17/2003 | Budding buddy business: "Another company with buzz is Palo Alto's Spoke Software. Spoke is led by Ben Smith, who worked as a senior adviser to the Secretary of Transportation, where he was one of the leaders in the department's strategy to contain further attacks by Al-Qaeda.
So far, Spoke has reaped $9.2 million in venture capital from US Venture Partners, Sierra Ventures and Partech.
Spoke mines users' Outlook e-mail flow to compile a list of contacts. Then, if it has access to the users' contacts' e-mail flow, it searches those too. It also trawls the Web and other sources of public data for connections. It also searches beyond four degrees of separation."

SAD: An article highlighting a few of the companies targeting the social networking opportunity, including Friendster, LinkedIn, Ryze, Tribe Networks and Spoke. So many interesting thoughts around 'automated' networking.

IBM Boosts IM, Presence in Lotus 6.5

IBM Boosts IM, Presence in Lotus 6.5: "But Microsoft and IBM are following increasingly divergent plans when it comes to client support. With its Office 2003 suite, Microsoft is pinning its strategy on the dedicated, desktop client as the future of productivity applications. Microsoft's offering -- based on Office 2003, Office Live Communication Server, Office SharePoint Services and other technologies -- also is aimed squarely at the Windows platform. "

It's been a long time coming for IM (Sametime) and Notes - formal plans started in 97'! :-( The benefit story, however - regardless of delay, has only gotten stronger as infrastructure, applications and most importantly mindset have caught up with the initial concepts.

patrickWeb - Long Distance Feedback

patrickWeb - Long Distance Feedback: "There is a lot of feedback from readers about the last few stories where I discussed 'long distance'. Some are saying, 'yeah verily', others are saying 'not so fast'. This is understandable given that we are beginning to go through a very disruptive period with regard to telephony. We are 5% of the way into what is in store for us. (read more).
One concern was raised by Tony Paulson who pointed out that 911 service is not available via the new SIP services. This is a valid point and there are likely other important services that are not available in the world of VoIP. This is to be expected at this stage. When tcp/ip (the protocols of the Internet) began to get attention in the mid 1990's, people immediately pointed out the shortcomings -- and there were many.
The point that is easy to overlook is about the power of 'grass roots', standards, and the 'community'. Just like the Internet and the Web, VoIP is unstoppable. I can feel the grass roots movement around SIP (the protocol for voice over the Internet) just like what is happening with blogging and WiFi. There is no stopping it. Stay tuned."

SAD: Just recently I signed up with Vonage for their unlimited local/long distance VoIP calling plan (34.99/month). The ordering and installation was simple enough. The sound quality is OK, but there is an ever so slight delay and echo that is frustrating. The issues seem to be more prominent on my end as I've solicited people during and after conversations and they don't seem to have these issues. The delay is more frustrating because it is ever so slight but just enough to cause hesitation during highly interactive calls. That said, it is also helping me be a better listener since it slows me down and forces me wait for the other person to stop talking. It's not just my perception either as my wife, unsolicited, complained of the same two things. I've emailed Vonage to see if there is something that can be done and will update with any resolutions offered.

The bigger issue, highlighted by John, is the challenge baby bells will have responding to these new technologies and delivery mechanisms. I called up Verizon, my local phone company, and asked for their competitive offerings. The representative described their Verizon Freedom plan to me - for a total of 54.99/month (taxes extra) it offers unlimited local/long distance calling. I asked if he could compete with the Vonage offer and said "our pricing is Government regulated and it takes us 4-6 months to adjust pricing" and as a result " we don't have a more competitive rate to offer you at this time." The scary part is that Vonage was the most expensive of the options I investigated. The other providers, Packet8, iConnecthere, etc. were 50 to 75 percent cheaper than Vonage! FYI: Vonage was the only provider that offered me a local exchange for my town that would make it free for others to call me (less of a concern when everyone adopts the VoIP model, but for now it is important).

Per John's comments about 911 - Vonage allows you to enter information into their database so that when you call 911 the information you enter will be used to provide location information to the emergency services. There are issues surrounding this such as out-dated information in the database, etc. I don't know how widespread the support for this capability is but they are addressing the fundamental services as well as cost.

The big concern is: do I trust Comcast (my cable company) to provide reliable broadband service such that I can depend on it like I do my existing copper phone lines? If the past is a predictor of the future, I have a feeling I may not cancel my local Verizon phone!

Pito's Weblog

Pito's Weblog: "Audio doesn't work that way. It tends to be much more sequential - you have to kind of stay with it for a certain period of time (maybe not beginning to end, but starting in the middle often is not workable.) So it doesn't lend itself that well in my opinion to the blog mode of communicating - and especially not the blog mode of 'consuming' (reading/hearing.)
Yes, the hearing the author's voice reacting to thoughtful questions is a major additional dimension to the experience, but using Radio as a radio may not work that well."


This is an interesting observation that not only applies to blogging but anytime one would like to consume content non-serially, what's been referred to as newspaper reading (scan titles, read a piece of an article, jump to the sports page, etc.). Imagine TiVo-like controls on a blog? By giving multiple navigation speeds, in both directions in an easy-to-use manner, this would offer slightly better control. How about a Gotuit-like experience that offers an index allowing the consumer to pick and choose which pieces they wish to consume? How about a multimodal experience that combines all of today's existing capabilities; a hyper-linked index of the media with text or audio/video fingerprints for quick scanning, an audio-to-text conversion allowing a user to quickly scan and switch modes to listen to the most interesting portions? There is tremendous opportunity to expand the blog experience with rich media content without losing the 'newspaper' consumption mode.

Broadband access to the home, change is needed now.

There needs to be a better model of access to the home. With the potential that IP-based services offer, it's a shame to have only one service provider – or two, if you're lucky, that ultimately dictate broadband access policies for your home. What are annoying issues with my provider today will become paramount tomorrow. Small issues such as IP address assignment, hosting restrictions (for those that think a server might actually play a role in the home), and of course cost and reliability guarantees. Can I trust my broadband service provider (in my case, Comcast) to do the right thing by me when it comes time to expand services in my home? Today, there are policies, mostly not enforced, that restrict the number of PCs, the types of devices - such as routers, etc., that you can have installed and 'officially' supported. Since the policies are only randomly enforced they produce little conflict today. As more and more services are enabled through IP communication and more home media and home automation solutions are brought to market, will your broadband provider do the right then? It seems we have to trust that they will give the trajectory of the market and the regulatory bodies governing this critical piece of infrastructure.

In an article silicon.com - Q&A: Vint Cerf on VoIP: Vint Cerf talks about VoIP but also argues this same point:

"The Bells' fibre to the home initiative dredges up some pretty complex regulatory issues, correct?
I haven't been a very happy camper about the regulatory positions taken on this. These new networks all ought to be openly accessible to any ISP for a reasonable price. If that were the policy, then every customer, business or consumer would have a choice of ISPs over those broadband facilities. Under the current situation, there's almost no choice. So that's a far more restrictive environment than we had with dial-up. Broadband shouldn't be any different, but it is based on my current understanding of the triennial review by the Federal Communications Commission. I've been arguing we should really open up all these broadband facilities. "

Replay Radio - Internet Radio Recorder

Replay Radio - Internet Radio Recorder: "Replay Radio is an incredibly easy way to record radio broadcasts. Just pick your favorite radio show, or select a station and a time range, and Replay Radio records it for you. It's like a VCR for the radio. Now you can listen to your favorite radio shows whenever and wherever you like! (Click here for a screenshot tour.) "

Haven't tried this but it could be an interesting gadget for quick radio listening - although I wish Gotuit Audio would emerge into product mode!

Fast Company | The New Normal

Fast Company | The New Normal: "Here's the 'normal' part of the New Normal. If there's anything you need to understand about this environment, it's that the time scale has returned to a more rational level. Internet time measured everything in days or weeks. New Normal time is measured in years (probably not 3; more like 5 to 7, or even 10)."

An interesting Q&A with Roger McNamee (founder of Silver Lake Partners) with lots of sage advice for entrepreneurs based on his view of the economy and tech market.

Ananova - £150,000 for 'ultimate boy's toy'

Ananova - £150,000 for 'ultimate boy's toy': "The ultimate 'boy's toy' - a high-speed land and water vehicle - has been launched on the River Thames."

It's the kind of vehicle I would buy if I built my house where it didn't belong (you know, homes in designated flood zone and costal water homes).

AT&T to offer DSL in more areas | CNET News.com

AT&T to offer DSL in more areas | CNET News.com: "The telecommunications giant on Thursday said it would offer digital subscriber line (DSL) service to customers in Massachusetts, Maryland, Virginia and New Jersey. The expansion builds on an announcement in July, when AT&T began offering DSL to customers in New York.
In each of these areas, pricing for the DSL service will be $19.95 for the first three months, and then $39.95 every month after. AT&T will offer a plan with faster download speeds for $49.95 a month as well. The charges are in addition to the normal cost of the phone service. All services will be offered through a partnership to resell DSL lines offered by Covad Communications. "

Somehow I think I'll still be an island floating outside the reasonable CO radius...but I can hope (2 years and counting on the Verizon 'call list' when they get DSL near my house)

Big Blue's New Experiments in Real-Time Communications

Big Blue's New Experiments in Real-Time Communications: "One early, yet promising project at the company is known as Socializer. It's a prototype of an open, distributed, peer-to-peer platform with capabilities including chatting, file transfers, application sharing and broadcasting and discovery of services.
Socializer users can create profiles and exchange personal information with others, and in finding others with whom to collaborate, can search and filter by profile information.

Socializer users can create profiles and exchange personal information with others, and in finding others with whom to collaborate, can search and filter by profile information. "

It's nice to hear IBM thinking about new ways to collaborate but I suspect it's going to take more than skunk-work projects to continue the necessary advances...

Tivo and the supposed first mover advantage

First Mover Disadvantage: Forbes Online has an article this morning that discusses TiVo and the slower than expected adoption rate of the device given all of the praise:
'That's really remarkable,' says Adi Kishore, a media and entertainment analyst for the Yankee Group in Boston. 'I can't think of any product that has had the satisfaction levels it has had but has been as sluggish in terms of the growth of the market. It's certainly unusual for a product to have this kind of enthusiasm from the community that's using it without being able to tip over and really become a mass-market phenomenon.'
Currently, TiVo, which hit the market more than four years ago, serves fewer than 800,000 subscribers. Only about 1% of America's households employ TiVo or similar digital video-recording products, according to the Consumer Electronic Association. By comparison, market penetration for DVD players has hit 41% and is rising, making it one of the most rapidly embraced products in history.
The article goes on to argue that TiVo suffers from a first mover disadvantage: it's a product that will create a market but only appeal to early adopters who will quickly churn out to the next greatest thing. There is no doubt that TiVo has had to create this market itself and suffers from the same arrows in the back that have taken many pioneers down.
But to me, TiVo suffers from another great entrepreneurial problem -- it's a feature, not a product. I have the bundled DirecTV/TiVo and it works beautifu"

Two intereting points here via VentureBlog: The first is the reality of what it takes to be a feature vs a product; the second is that I was recently told only scouts take arrows in the back - pioneers take them in the chest ;)

Google Toolbar 'BlogThis' Rankles Rivals

Google Toolbar 'BlogThis' Rankles Rivals: "Search technology powerhouse Google has released a new beta of its popular Internet Explorer toolbar, adding bells and whistles for surfers. But the integration of a 'BlogThis' feature isn't sitting well with some blog software firms.
Just months after its acquisition of the Blogger 'push-button' Web publishing platform, Google has added a 'BlogThis' feature in version 2.0 of the toolbar. But because it's exclusive to Blogger users, rival firms are worried Google might use its wild popularity to sideline the competition.
'BlogThis' automatically connects to Blogger accounts to let uses create a Weblog post pointing to the page on the browser. But, that exclusivity means users of rival blogging software -- like Radio UserLand and Six Apart's Movable Type -- have been shut out completely.
UserLand CEO Dave Winer posted a mock blogger image Thursday, chiding Google for missing an opportunity to be generous to the Weblogging community."

[SAD] oops, I'm sorry I didn't know that businesses were supposed to be generous. It does demonstrate the strengths and weaknesses of concentrated power. Since Microsoft, supposedly, is focusing their sights on Google it will be interesting to see how Google uses its dominant position to squelch those nipping at its ankles.

Microsoft Unveils Collaborative Development Environment

Microsoft Unveils Collaborative Development Environment: "Moving to create a collaborative environment for .NET developers similar to what SourceForge offers for open source, Microsoft (Quote, Company Info) last week opened the doors to GotDotNet Workspace 1.0.
GotDotNet is Microsoft's community site related to its Microsoft Developers Network (MSDN). 'GotDotNet's focus is definitely on community features and content driven by the community,' Katherine Lagana, MSDN team, general manager of GotDotNet, told internetnews.com.
Workspace is an online collaborative development environment where .NET developers can create, host and manage projects throughout the project lifecycle.
...
While many of the features of Workspace are similar to those offered through Microsoft's Sharepoint Services, Lagana said Workspace is not based on Sharepoint Services. "The origins are different," she said. "We're focused on hardcore coders who want to access each other across companies and continents. Sharepoint is targeted at all audiences. Workspace is dedicated to the developer."

[SAD] The model, whether it is competing against the open source world or just prep work for the larger outsourcing world, is a good one overall.

BBC NEWS | Technology | Tools reveal secret life of documents

BBC NEWS | Technology | Tools reveal secret life of documents: "Every time you write or edit these files you leave a trail of information revealing what you did and when you did it.
Even if you turn off the change tracking options in popular word processing packages, background tasks keep a minimal log of what happened when. "

"Mr Murfitt from Mekon said many firms were now looking at installing systems that make it easier to collaborate on documents and that log who did what. He said banking and legal regulators imposed strict working practices on firms that force them to record the life histories of documents that result in new products or are involved in court cases."

Microsoft offers free e-book downloads | CNET News.com

Microsoft offers free e-book downloads | CNET News.com: "In a move aimed at bolstering the use of its Microsoft Reader program, the software giant announced on Wednesday that it would offer free downloads of e-book bestsellers over a 20-week period. "

"As part of the five-month promotion, users can download three e-books a week from Microsoft's Web site via a Pocket PC, a Tablet PC, a laptop or a desktop. A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson, The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan, and Fear Itself by Walter Mosley are among the titles offered."

[SAD] Hmm, three books a week for 5 months - OK, I'll give it a try!