Software, Digital Content, Geopolitics, Economics & More from of a Libertarian Serial Expat and Entrepreneur
Dan Bricklin: "Why are [short-term fads such as start pages or ring tones] viewed as permanent properties of a technology so companies spend real money chasing them thinking they’ll last and grow forever? I think they are great examples of not understanding the evolution of people using technology, mixing fashion (which has very fleeting elements [...]
In: living worldwide
29 Dec 2001Google is going to syndicate ads: "Google’s new syndication program will put your ad on several popular sites, which means more new users see your ad — increasing your reach to a wider audience of potential customers across the Web. The Google syndication program launches in the next 1-2 months." 01/02/02 update: what was I [...]
CNet: "It felt like the dot-com era all over again last week, when USA Networks Inc Chief Executive Barry Diller said he would spend up to $4 billion on Internet investments and rename his company USA Interactive." Is Barry Diller going to help Vivendi Universal have an online strategy that makes sense (instead of spectacular [...]
In: music
28 Dec 2001Mark Pilgrim gives a detailed look at the oh-so-compelling PressPlay terms of service. 01/16/02 update: Review: The New Pay Napster. 02/19/02 update: Napster They’re Not.
In: search engines
28 Dec 2001Google as a company knows exactly why it’s good. I predict that by 2004 Google will be either the most trafficked web site, or come second to Microsoft. According to JMM they already are the 10th "global property". While many companies downsized or even closed, Google opened sales offices in the UK and Germany, and [...]
Caida.org: "The worldwide distribution of Internet resources and address space is highly non- uniform. We present an analysis comparing five demographic measures against three measures of Internet resources, stratified by continent with substratification by country. We found that two continents and one country consume a much larger share of Internet resource allocation than predicted by [...]
In: finance & money
23 Dec 2001NYT: "Gerson is one of several boutique research firms that have tried to take advantage of some commonly perceived weaknesses in Wall Street research: a lack of depth, a lack of objectivity and a lack of exclusivity."
Infoworld, reporting from a parallel universe where the DMCA would have been passed about 50 years ago: "Perhaps not surprisingly, since all consortium members manufacture both televisions and PCs, Gates scoffed at these "freebooter" notions. "We firmly endorse, and hold as sacrosanct, the concept that all programming — what we in the trade call the [...]
Mike Godwin: "The consequences of the outcome of the struggle between the Content Faction and the Tech Faction fight are huge. At the heart of the fight are two questions: whether computer users can continue to be allowed to have the abilities that computers have had since their invention, and whether the content companies can [...]
I'm CEO of an online trade publishing firm in the marketing and defense verticals. We try to make news and data digestible and useful in an environment that is more noisy each day. This personal blog mixes my thoughts and interests on politics, business, software, and more, based on my business and personal experiences. Over the years I have posted items that turned out spectacularly wrong, and a few posts that stood the test of times better. Personal views only.