Last.fm isn’t telling the RIAA that you’ve pirated the new U2 album. But you might be.
Why go to the hassle of trying to get data from websites when the users will hand it to you on a plate?
We’re sure that some of the people listening to the leaked album simply forgot that Last.fm tells other people what you’re listening to, but we’re also sure that a fair number of them were boasting. Look at me! I’ve got something I shouldn’t have! I am cool!
There’s a huge discussion on Fark.com based on a brilliant question:
Youngish [Fark user] has no comprehension what her adult life would be like without the internet or computer technology. Describe your pre-internet life
It’s a brilliant question because the potential answers are so big. Baby Bigmouth wouldn’t exist if it weren’t for the internet – I met Mrs Bigmouth online – and my job wouldn’t exist without it either. And yet the whole thing has happened in a very short space of time, so Baby B was born into a world where the things we already take for granted – broadband, YouTube, Google, iTunes, Facebook – are all just a few years old. And eventually she’s going to ask me, what were things like before the internet?
What would you say? Would you sound like a Daily Mail reader, hankering for a simpler time? Or would you be more like the Yorkshiremen in the Monty Python sketch where they exaggerate the awfulness of their upbringings? Is answering the question like trying to explain what the world was like before fire, electricity and the wheel?
The days run away like horses over the hill…
Is Half-Life 2 the future of indie movie-making?
The potential is mind-boggling, but let’s be honest: we’re not quite there yet. The constant fast-cutting in Escape from City 17 can’t disguise the fact that some of the in-game footage doesn’t quite gel with the real footage, the Combine Citadel looks like it’s been glued into the background with Pritt Stick and we’re pretty sure that none of the $500 budget was spent on the script.
Overall, though, it works – and to our eyes it’s no worse than the CGI in the most recent Hulk movie, which cost $150 million to make and still looked like it had been thrown together on a ZX Spectrum by an angry toddler.
Six companies Microsoft should buy:
Microsoft isn’t short of cash, and it recently – and unsuccessfully – offered to buy Yahoo for $44.6 billion.
The idea was to catch up with Google, but the big G isn’t the only firm doing well in areas where Microsoft isn’t. So perhaps Microsoft should widen its net.
From video and music to shopping and social networks, we think these six firms should be on Microsoft’s shopping list.
The 4 of Us are playing a bunch of gigs in February to support their forthcoming live album, but they’re only doing Irish dates. Again. Bastardy bastardy bastard.
You can listen to one of the live tracks, Sunlight, here.
Leaving aside the fact that the paperback book is pretty much perfect, Amazon’s device doesn’t do colour and you’re not going to use a $359 gadget to kill wasps, there are three big problems with it.
The first is that despite the redesign, it still looks like something Noddy and Big Ears would use. The second is that Amazon has removed some key features, making it less flexible than before. And the third is that it simply isn’t good enough when you compare it to other gadgets.
I thought using the full product name as per Amazon’s own listing – “Kindle 2: Amazon’s New Wireless Reading Device (Latest Generation)” – throughout the piece would be funny, but it seems I’m the only person who does.
I’m still really excited about e-books, but I don’t have any gadget lust towards this one at all.
A nice rant from Paul at Techradar:
Windows 7 should be given free to owners of Vista Ultimate as a final ‘sorry we screwed you over’ Ultimate Extra.
Ultimate users! Let’s head for Microsoft HQ with flaming torches!
The other week, designer/developer Jamie Rumbelow interviewed me for his podcast. It’s online now, and provides a startling insight into just how many times a Scotsman can say “um” during an interview. I was on to talk about journalism – how to get into online journalism, what scams to watch out for, why books don’t usually make money and how to motivate yourself to write when the creative juices aren’t flowing. So it’s basically me blabbing on about bugger-all through a heavy head cold.
Is it Tuesday already? To celebrate the news that Woz is doing the US equivalent of Strictly Come Dancing, here’s a cheery look at some of the other daft things he’s done. Sadly there wasn’t enough time to Photoshop a pic to make him look like The Joker.
When we discovered that Steve Wozniak would be competing in Dancing With The Stars, we had two thoughts: one, could we get Steve Ballmer to go on, too? And two, is there anything Woz won’t do for a laugh?
The answer to both questions, it seems, is no. For the tech industry’s very own Joker, tomfoolery is never far away.
And here’s one about blogging for money.
Is there an alternative to ads? Not really. Citizen journalism photo agency Scoopt shut its doors last week because it couldn’t persuade papers to pay a decent whack for images – it seems that major media outlets would rather get you to send in your snaps for free – and the wages offered by firms via Amazon’s Mechanical Turk are pathetic. Write a review? Five cents. Do some digging into historical figures? Three cents. Build a space rocket, fly to Mars, discover intelligent life and bring it back in a cage? Seven cents.
Via Heather:
Sitepoint, the excellent web design publishing house based in Australia, have put their work and their hearts on the line for the victims of the Australian bush fires. Please take advantage of this opportunity to help those affected while brushing up on your web skills too.
http://5for1.aws.sitepoint.com/
“To support the victims of the Australian bushfires we’ve created our
best book deal ever. For the next 3 days, you can pick any 5 books (in
PDF format) and pay for only 1. That’s about $150 worth of books for
just $29.95!100% of the proceeds from this sale will be donated to the Australian
Red Cross Victorian Bushfire Appeal..Yes, we’re serious: 100%. If you buy 5 PDFs for $29.95, then $29.95 is
donated. Our ambitious target is to raise more than $50,000 to help
the families and communities affected by this tragedy.We’re offering our entire range of books – from PHP to Project
Management – for the sale; designers, developers, freelancers,
managers, and business owners alike will all be able to choose a
selection of professional books to enjoy.You have just 3 days to treat yourself to this amazing deal, courtesy
of SitePoint, and know that you’re helping Australian families in
need. What are you waiting for?â€
The Onion, via Paul @ Techradar.com:
Sony Releases New Stupid Piece Of Shit That Doesn’t Fucking Work