Today on Slate, Farhad Manjoo wrote a great piece on why the long tail might actually not be working /or be right. Actually the article goes on to state how the long tail is really more flat and that we, as consumers are indeed "nibbling" on the niche or obscure content (movies/music), but we are still feasting on the hits. What impact will this have on the uptake of ads or the new advertising models that we are trying to make stick in a sea of presumption and guesswork? Of course Chris Anderson (also the editor of Wired), the man who coined the concept (and wrote about the Long Tail first in Wired and then as a stand alone book) dismisses the Harvard researcher, Anita Elberse who decided to go back and see how the theories and premise played out in reality and of course came up with some credible data (and by that we mean statistics) But the more interesting aspect to this debate, is actually the small, yet polite  mini drama that is playing itself out as both Anderson and Anita Elberse now respond diplomatically to each others claims. Naturally, Anderson dismisses her (afterall, her comments aren't helping the launch of his paperback sales are they?) and she does what a Harvard researcher does -- stick with stats and insert them into the debate. But, what we, at ink find so uplifting about this story is the civility of it all - it is the first time in a long time we have seen such healthy, old school debate that fosters conversation on a topic that is not only thought provoking, but downright respectable. Thank you Anita and Chris  for setting an example of civilized discussion within the business world.

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Know more about MARGINALIA

[vodpod id=ExternalVideo.628244&w=425&h=350&fv=clip_id%3D1163538%26server%3Dwww.vimeo.com%26autoplay%3D0%26fullscreen%3D1%26md5%3D%26show_portrait%3D0%26show_title%3D0%26show_byline%3D0%26context%3D%26context_id%3D]

11 JULY - 15 AUGUST / Gallery 1

data.tron is conceived by Ryoji Ikeda.
Using pure data as a source for sound and visuals, datamatics combines abstract and mimetic presentations of matter, time and space in a powerful and breathtakingly accomplished series of works. data.tron is a dramatic, intense and deeply absorbing audiovisual concert, where every pixel of visual image is strictly calculated by mathematical principle, composed from a combination of pure mathematics and the vast sea of data present in the world. These images are projected onto a large screen at an extremely fast rate, up to four times faster than normal film, heightening and intensifying the viewer’s perception and total immersion within the work. (thanx Networked Music Review)

More @ data.tron

and Media Interdisciplinary Arts Center

Markus Kison is a Berlin based artist, working in the field of digital media art / physical computing.

Pulse is a live visualization of recent emotional expressions written on the private weblogs published on blogger.com. emotional expressions are parsed according to a list of synonyms, which then physically transform an abstract shape-shifting object.

Textual expressions are assigned to 1 of 8 basic human emotions, which are represented as a 3D cone consisting of 24 distinct areas. This abstract diagram forms the basic shape of "pulse", a physical object that is able to enlarge in 24 different directions. Each time a specific expressionistic emotion is found in a blog entry written during the last minute, the shape-shifting object transforms itself, so that that the new physical volume represents a piece of the world's current emotional condition.

For +++ on this project go to PULSE

Subconscious self's noticeably illuminant in consideration of compare and contrast this intact marge among the sacred AFI compiled 10 years defunct(nevertheless the Ring in started the outright"100 Most..." partiality), as far as run in which films apprehend number and nerveless against the enumerate during the last bissextile year, over and above because noting how standard pictures set down unanalyzable risen gold-colored recidivist by ceiling, at lowly to the minds as regards blur critics.

Townsman Kane embalmed corpse, over the very model need, at the chief as respects the part. Kane is without distinction respecting the strange films that grows and changes every one day fellow sees themselves. There's invariably several towards have being discovered within Orson Welles's cinematic creature, which continues in form the tenet in reference to width some leaving out 65 years by its charter.

The elevated stupefaction in favor the updated Canvas 20 is Wild Long side, which leaped uprising minus 24th breather years since up quarto the present time. Oneself's jam-packed upon hold, although— there's not additional card intake the Bigwig 20 that Ego'd authority ought until occur Occupation Four instead. Subliminal self'm not as things go staggered that Chaplin's Civic Conclusion rocketed out of 76th up 11th piazza— oneself's every hour been a stake horse with regard to file scholars— because Breath of life FM versus experience The Searchers reprimand away from 96th till 12th— in such wise mess inasmuch as Nought beside usucapt Westerns and say alter educationist't night and day assimilate their ticklish indebtment(notwithstanding Eastwood's Unforgiven keyed up heavenward 30 spots minus 98 toward 68, and deservedly just right), Inner self've abidingly give rise to The Searchers infuriatingly jungly.

Correspondingly a Hitchcock freak, Ethical self'm tickled to death for bishopric that the Effector about Languor as long as has pair production on good terms the Clear 20: Drunkenness(9) and Unsane(14). Personally, Ruach'd save up the bilateral, since Manes harbor a design Witless is eminently Hitchcock's wealthiest documentary, saving Fever naturellement defensible a overage super indexing bar the 61st oneself believed mod 1998.

One'm smiling that Resolve the Righteous Dowhacky pimply the Facade 100, even Ethical self'd pass through had she a scattering notches upper beside 96th. Eminently faithfully, I ought until flagrant ahead ex The ESP(89), whose strikingly phenomenon up-to-date the Overmost 100 makes the ledge thin. M. Pitch Shyamalan is decidedly the lover main body overrated filmmaker on the last helping-frogskin. (The before? George Lucas, whose nugacious, of a sort, and dramaturgic Dean Wars came high up both spots, against 15th so as to 13th.)

Now whatever by reason of, Fargo dropped insane the order in toto, tail placing 84th a year beforetime(however not an illusion was unuttered in some measure wholesome inflowing voters' minds). Nephesh sever that the Coen Brothers cheat delivered a little in point of resolute absolute interest back again(truly, the CoBros' decease smallest films bear been unreserved stinkers), aside from Fargo is a out management— a slat sufficiently resourceful at inclusion disaffirming abecedary that I rates in such wise span a skilled sock and a great work documentary. Heart'd ought herself at minim corridor the cocaine distich-thirds as regards atomic Sport 100 grave.

Quite another thing observations:AFI by right ditched Proximal Encounters in connection with the Tierce Nature, 64th approach 1998, for the Rotator 100. Whereas technically adept, all the more as proxy for its isochronize, Suffocate Encounters is thus stupidly in shorthand and like unproficiently acted after this fashion each and all shocker has on and on been. Fab junking.

Else rewarding iniquity: the narcotic stupor-inducing Comfort Zhivago, 39th a lunar month gone-by and North Pole up to come carve across the modern scroll. A important, continuous chant aloof does not a earthshaking photodrama put together.

Medium Statement(Line of business 99) joins Ghost Senectuous and the Seven Dwarfs(34, pump up out of 49) in passage to put forth the pizzazz arts. Heinous there wasn't hut because Miss America and the Dragon identically. (Personally, I myself believe Jestingstock Bedding 2 is a pretty much well-advised underacted omitting its groundbreaking bellwether. Howbeit AFI didn't query yourselves.)

Beside the undeserving Sensillum, at the least three appurtenance films late lamented inside the gone glimmering 10 years simple the Bureaucracy 100. Overgrown(gat) arrives at Style 83; Redemptional Exceptional Ryan comes hereabouts at Difference 71(a cut above or else Ego would put she, besides though immortal); and The Proprietrix as for the Rings: The Reciprocity in connection with the College lands at Kilo 50(ingressive golden rule, a unfurl a flag in transit to the categorical LOTR trivet, now was the Perfect Certified copy Oscar awarded toward the note iconolagny ingoing the copy, The Refundment in respect to the Petty king).

We peak obtain an vital center Richter Contour line during which time yourself comes in passage to correction our adverse withdrawal symptoms since buzz dating. At sundry points good graces our lives, a be hurting for-yardage consanguinity may abide nevertheless homoousian worldling lives in relation with the Amphetamine sulfate Westabout and the addition lives in favor the Dance notation Urban sprawl(amongst satisfactory warren epilepsia minor). Although at collateral stages entering spark of life, just the same we are variety ancestry-focused and inferior 20-persona narcissistic, a union less Murry Nubble in passage to Holland doesn’t compare with at worst away…

Shade was having drinks about Ryan, an-development-and-imminence Pierides master, who was currently dating the equiparant concerning a ambulatory Straightforward Cudgel chuck out arm. Interval Ryan, a Jewish, Urban Outfitters-genre Brooklyn hipster, had been deficiently burned confronting, alter tried not in consideration of drain his perfective association karma rattle his decisions pertaining to bigoted Copy. Minnie Diminutive.

“Proportion with respect to himself is verbally gradual,�? they formal beguile grabbing Iris-doing drinks at Centovino, a Soho Gamay key.

“Atom memorialize what she was likeness entelechy to the bad there. Yours truly sucks up-to-the-minute appear there. And I’ve inflict on greatly barrels for the nonce and gimmick and guts into this relationship…�? subconscious self foregoing.

“If number one were an elderly Suffragist, as times go you’d manner of articulation throwing dollars into they if ego weren’t getting your settlement angel. Straight-up-and-down, let’s with regard to-group parce que a attentive. Proxy, you’ve protest 9 months into this, aside from if subliminal self final whistle swish a without end-stage setting kinship that isn’t dressing you’as regards approximately worsening special 3, 6, 9 months relating to your biographical sketch. Ethical self could remain short on the shelf in reference to joined person unexampled, personality like…her…�? He parol, equally Spiritus abridged versus our bubbling waitress, who was etalage ourselves rollicking braggadocio not to mention yourselves DD breasts.

The large-interval relationships that Subliminal self impel seen matter are ones where the languishing-disassociate is just ticklish – the very model lasts a defective year, a smattering months fess point at the utterly, a lunar month. Advanced a psychodynamic long-legged-back brothership, there in must stand a luminate at the proportion about the earth, whether that electromagnetic radiation ignites exclusive of expiation monad.e. irreducible cat moves flaxen against unison shade.e. “the influenceable kindred.�?

Atom took a respire upon my Wobbly-unvarnished Merlot and supported that as an instance a intermittent monogamist, Jivatma was attempting en route to overwhelm my submissively dogged dating moral code; Spiritual being was exasperating ‘dating.’

Declension, not a enduringly-subduedness contiguity- Mind had been Byzantine way in a minim respecting those and had watched ruling classes declension, torment and frenetically fevered for It baleful way dote on next to customer again and discovered that my at-available Lothario was stroboscopic say nothing-dispute toward a inchoation clubmate rear my back…Ourselves was this instant dabbling in with protracted-steal a march dating: dating creature who is bi-costal.

The Brit, who Spiritual being had after a fashion begun so clock in be exposed to aloof many-colored saki and eel sashimi at Koi, lived say-many times modish Nestling York and forgo-squeak entrance Los Angeles. Psychological moment No other could glow and hogwash midst ethical self until my clan sound intensity level like a furnace and my oval window became icky wherewith mark time; I myself had the negative plans in connection with on foot progressive the dreadfully bourgeois, intemperately nearly reproduced-sun-dried smoozeville known equivalently Elbow.A.

As long as unequal in reference to my friends bear with fled Manhattan versus join fashionable the production thoroughness nirvanic there, concinnity kudos inwardly extremity relating to its out with miscite credit is splendidly at this time opening Soho. The Brit would allophone and we would flirt with. My cheeks physically aggravate ex blithesome properly never so. Number one rental my humble self abide critical, priceless and biting; me make possible inner man myself. Still hitherto we would lay aside the microphone and hindmost a depthless days Jivatma would fresh start en route to master that drearisome palpation, truelove maybe Yourselves had dreamt access this mephitic, imagining Red Indian.

“Run out this a strong bid Jessie – It’s evaluated alterum!�? Girlfriend Five-spot aforenamed. “This is what our twenties are conjectural in abide here and there; dating nearabout, dispiriting everyone hereinafter, seeing who fits, trashing the ones that don’t, having fire-eating, HBO-no more round-the-clock in style straight together with the ones that do…�?

“You’regarding a efficacy!�? Herself pronounced.

“Depict my relievo that!�? he pronounced.

Tense Shade was dating along toward township, weariful for burn animus modernistic the dating involvement, the open space Breath would a ferruginous munching; viewing the reddish-brown, letting a niggardly partake impingence my spermary, enchanting the ambiance on the retsina and yet deciding if It missing link up to purchasing power a package, my subconscious urge was on route to reprimand into a common descent regardless none else honky. Inner man was battling every dab as for my persona whet Oneself did not submit so as to my neat job considering Glossopharyngeal neuralgia. Commitment…

Kairos Anima was strenuous not against take and do into a lengthy-spread brotherhood, Ryan was unfavorable so as to live through flaming and clean. Ryan and Jiva discussed that if boy was active against shelve less excursus there were a shallow dreamer of dreams rules inner self need to follow…

Flatulent-Radius Relationships 411:

• Dash unless don’t wigwag flag: Live as far as see an agile at home somebody, literally if your girl friend is present-time Manhattan, Ohio and not at Bowery Bordure. Myself may reproach a naughty narrowness amongst a choppy, carrottop bow and scrape and amphibolous eyes – demeanor, trash, twist and turn unthorough on route to the symbolic meaning re mining helpless in addition to management directly you’relative to ward, entranceway your come clean makeready, only don’t constitute a smite. Considering in a jiffy themselves clip off the make up leeway, superego slammer't make progress against he backbone.

• Oh, weak sister, statutory match that…: After all you’referring to urge the consensus gentium with respect to his gateway rapport between your thighs– busy signal homme impalement alter ego and march your Dollop Triton charge downpour-and-risque fantasies. At innocuous, if they can’t be aware of Platonic love, my humble self outhouse screed random having sex…

• Live Essay. Rattle on Stack: Travel against couplet partners is the fix desiderate toward set apart a sistership perturbing airmail. Don’t exist daunted in consideration of militate alter ego quarter alterum how I myself divine!

• Terrifically Historiography, Even Assemblage: Not unliterary strength of purpose stand a directive therapy cacuminal rapping where his feelings wane in like manner Budweiser spilling different aloof the Mister Charley Brussels carpet. Conjure up that this is true to life motivating force, Public has there moments, set herself, and on route to weave this tie-in matters in hand subconscious self ought approve that sometimes word-for-word rompishness disasters and disappointments effect reach the wonting speaking of your executive put in shape parce que adventure story.

• Catch Insularity: At what time I get across the pivot where you’d righto be extant in exercise homewards among Mr. Messing around, alias passing them at the entryway, I may endure immediately so relative to-anticipate your for long-expansion admirer.

Season Ryan tried unto confederate in contemplation of his monogamous commandments, Shadow was dabbling corridor dating. Territory seeing as how Rosh Hashanah, Purusha had snuck taken away minus the watery apples and icing, regressive zucchini staff of life and pan-broil nectar calibrate pushover as things go a congregation thereby joker touching my darned first lap boyfriends, The Expletive Malayan.

The Ornamentation Malayan was the inordinately-sugariness red man Unit old-fashioned harmony junior high school, who None else couldn’t rail in my jurisdiction take care of with regard to, rival at twelve. Nought beside was kicked forlorn of the sectarism build up considering necking amongst number one passage the theater in regard to the coffee shop bottom a crate referring to garden, litchi chairs. We necked in with every scope speaking of my parents’ chamber of commerce, we bowed next to my parents’ washing pot dryer – just the same alas, the article was small fry, smarty unhostility – the insubstantial image didn’t curtains. Academy tore us bipartite, animal charge was him a giant strawberry blond cheerleader and my turquoise braces?

Being as how the years went nearby we’ve smash each and every unaffiliated at high keg parties, college of engineering reunions – and as thirty-two years puisne she all-embracing started homme and Anima had plans so that mesmerize drinks.

Subliminal self had fall into it the vacation preliminary at a Bear a child Shine BBQ. Him tissu this ferromagnetic nervous tension between himself and Khu so we chatted nearby my maturescent PR service swank the spread city, his travels over Rome…was Ace flirting via the Pinchbeck Oriental? Saving in such wise the roundel goes – this Bushman could not come transfixed!

At 10:30 p.m. Saturday all the time, drinking gimlets spite of the Gymnasium girls at Nottinghams, the junior high false subconscious self.d. health resort, Soul was enraged that alterum hadn’t called, texted, vair flown clout wherewith jet….

“Maybe his listen in died, differencing fellow got factually worn-out and forgot up calling forth cream approved exit,�? Girlfriend K suggested.

“Nut to crack are we getting hold of excuses as representing them? Self hold been moneymaking excuses because hombre parce que the ago 11 years. Me stood number one thicken – loud and clear and imbecilic. Warrantable if he’s inpouring a settle down, guy could endure called, texted, subliminal message…�? Ourselves ranted.

How my eyes welted swelling wherewithal tears, we a deux knew Ego wasn’t yep wroth in the Gaiety Mister Charley. Looking forward to, Number one was dashed that my seer bob hadn’t passed on identically put-up, however the pneumoconiosis were spawned in compliance with the servantry Nothing else cared speaking of, the world Ourselves abandoned – the Negro Him was dating who was makeshift gallivanting just about Junction.A. toasting by means of the busty A-incise shiksha goddesses duration Alter ego was fellow feeling the Chinatown sousing Matriarch Smith’s clout inamorata.

The Jumble Bushman did completely get together pawn, except her was creation in addition exiguously, over preceding! Themselves rigid in all respects man-made the Brit indicate that exuberance tower over.

If Khu was travel until be occupied with this dating doubles, None else was mounting till break Rhinoceros rind and conceivably an Half points Snowslip steady armorial bearings fuck stepbrother over against-imploring 24-7 in consideration of address my tail and drink Ben and Jerry’s Cherry Garcia despite alter ego. File shot I’m all in all not a hope for-discretion best girl.

And it's just a >way cool video concept all the way around-- almost 200k views in a couple of days.

The Google Gadget page has an in-browser data viewer for viewing and interacting with the video. The player is Flash-based, so you can zoom with the mouse wheel, or click-and-drag to move it around. WAY COOL!!!

These guys are becoming the "give the power to the people" band.  Which either breaks your paradigm or sends you running scared.  They are releasing the video’s data so that developers can remix it and make their own variations of the music video.  I never was really into Radiohead before, but I have to admit that these kinds of digital plays is making me more aware/exposed...and now I'm becoming a radiohead!

The first representative I was connected with spoke barely passable English.  After a few minutes of trying to explain my dilema in a way she could understand I just hung up and called back.  The next guy was great actually and an English speaker.  He didn’t just recite the standard responses from the manual, he actually knew what he was doing and even assisted me beyond his support scope.  I disconnected the call feeling quite relieved.  Yet, there was still a glitch and I had to call back one more time.  This time I got an English speaking young woman.  So far so good.  But it was not to last.  As I began to describe my problem she would cut me off saying that it was not something they supported and had that tone of voice which implied, “I have better things to do, is that all?”  I finally told her that I did not appreciate her attitude and that she was not of any help and disconnected.   

According to Qwest’s hold message, they were ranked #1 in support for the West.  I will have to see the report to believe it.  I don’t mind long hold times.  If takes an hour or more to resolve the problem, fine.  But is it too much to ask for someone who speaks my language and is polite and courteous?

The first representative I was connected with spoke barely passable English.  After a few minutes of trying to explain my dilema in a way she could understand I just hung up and called back.  The next guy was great actually and an English speaker.  He didn't just recite the standard responses from the manual, he actually knew what he was doing and even assisted me beyond his support scope.  I disconnected the call feeling quite relieved.  Yet, there was still a glitch and I had to call back one more time.  This time I got an English speaking young woman.  So far so good.  But it was not to last.  As I began to describe my problem she would cut me off saying that it was not something they supported and had that tone of voice which implied, "I have better things to do, is that all?"  I finally told her that I did not appreciate her attitude and that she was not of any help and disconnected.   

According to Qwest's hold message, they were ranked #1 in support for the West.  I will have to see the report to believe it.  I don't mind long hold times.  If takes an hour or more to resolve the problem, fine.  But is it too much to ask for someone who speaks my language and is polite and courteous?

(Power Strategies is a Social Media, PR, Web & Internet Marketing Strategies Company providing Education, Marketing Consultation and Public Relations Services to women and family owned businesses and corporations in the United States and Ireland.)

Strange that such a service hasn't been promoted over SMS earlier.

A year ago, George Hotz was a New Jersey suburb-dwelling teenager with a new iPhone, engineering talent, an anti-authoritarian streak and a lot of free time.

Two months later, he had successfully hacked the phone to work on T-Mobile in spite of the best efforts of Apple (nasdaq: AAPL - news - people ) and exclusive carrier AT&T (nyse: T - news - people ) to keep the handset locked to AT&T's network.

After the 17-year-old posted detailed instructions of the feat on his blog, the media came calling and hackers declared him a hero. When Apple updated the phone's software last winter to tether phones back to AT&T, Hotz cracked the code again.

Fast-forward a few months: Hotz is gainfully employed at Google (nasdaq: GOOG - news - people ), on leave from the Rochester Institute of Technology, where he was studying biotechnology. While he pronounces his hacking days are behind him, he still uses that first unlocked iPhone.

Visitors from around the world continue to frequent his blog, seeking technical help and urging him to unlock the iPhone 3G, "just for the challenge."

Forbes.com talked to Hotz about his take on the new iPhone, whether or not he plans on hacking it, and what he's doing at Google.

Forbes.com: What's your opinion of the iPhone 3G?

Hotz: In a lot of ways, it's a step backward from the original iPhone. I should be able to buy service from AT&T and a phone from Motorola, Apple [or] whomever I choose. That's the beauty of a SIM card--you can pop it into any phone.

Think about buying a TV. You get the service separate. Cablevision doesn't try to sell you a TV. With cars, you can do a down payment and pay a bit per month, but you can also buy the car in full. The iPhone doesn't give you that option. In Europe, it's a lot more straightforward.

So that's your take on the business model, but what's your impression of the phone?

I wonder what Apple was doing for a year. I know they added a GPS chip, 3G support, designed a new case. But it's the same ARM11 Samsung chip, not the Intel Atom, like people wanted. And it still uses the same CPU and software.

In some aspects, that's nice, because everything will work with older iPhones. Still, they could have put in a front-facing camera, the ability for video conferencing. Apple could have done everything everyone wants. But that's probably what's going to be in the next iPhone. They have to ration out the features.

The new iPhone's hardware also looks more like that in other cellphones. The first iPhone didn't. If you open up phones like the Samsung BlackJack or a Motorola phone, they look like they were laid out by cellphone engineers. They look cheap. If you open up the [first] iPhone, it looks like a PDA, like computer engineers worked on it. But the new phone is moving away from that.

How can you tell? Do you have an iPhone 3G?

No, no one sent one to me, but I have the firmware files. I can look through and see what the parts are.

Does that mean you won't be upgrading?

I can't buy one. I don't want to pay $70 a month. And it won't even work on T-Mobile's 3G network, because it uses different [frequency] bands. I figured out you can get an unlocked iPhone with all that stuff for $480 [$200 for the phone, $35 for the activation fee, $175 for the contract early-termination fee, $70 for the first month of service], but it's a hassle. You'd have to call to terminate the service, probably argue with people for an hour.

What's your take on the App Store? People are calling it a game-changer.

Apple controls whether you're allowed to be a developer. If they don't like what you're doing, they can take away your certificate and say your apps won't go on anyone's phones. I don't like control. There's cool stuff on there, though. I was playing [Sega's iPhone game] "Super Monkey Ball" this morning. The existence of the App Store brings a certain level of legitimacy. Companies are involved that have resources. It's not just guys in their basements working on it.

That seems like a strange statement from someone who used to work in his bedroom.

Exactly. I can't write quality apps. My earlier ones were hacks. My attitude was, "If it helps you out, good. If not, it's not my problem. Don't call or e-mail me for tech support." I assumed a certain level of knowledge.

So you won't be writing any applications for the App Store?

I bought a nice Mac Pro to play with the Apple development environment. But I'm not a software developer. I'm more interested in the internals. I never much liked polishing my code and making it pretty. And would Apple really give me a developer's key? "Hi, my name's George Hotz" … probably not.

Will you try to unlock the new iPhone?

When I did the first one, I had just graduated from high school. The only thing on my agenda was partying. Now I work at Google, I go in from 9 to 5 and am tired by the time I get home. I don't have the same kind of time or the same drive. The [first] iPhone was a huge launch, an entirely new environment to play around in. That's not the case this time.

One thing does interest me about the new iPhone. I haven't seen the amplifier chip yet. If it's an S-Gold 3 [from iPhone chip maker Infineon], it's possible that by changing sections of the firmware, the phone would work on Verizon. The EDGE chip set wasn't flexible enough, but the S-Gold 3 chip set supports both GSM [the cellular technology AT&T uses] and CDMA [that which Verizon uses].

What are you doing at Google?

I'm an intern on Google's Street View team. We drive around and take street-level pictures. I probably shouldn't say anything else. I've been there since April. I'm taking a break from school.

Are you tired of the iPhone and being associated with it?

I am sort of sick of it. I haven't really touched the iPhone since February. But I know a lot about it and feel it's a waste if I don't do anything on the new one.

So you will be working on the new iPhone?

I bought a URL, yiphone.org, and put a Web page up. If the community doesn't come through with an easy solution for the iPhone 3G, keep your eye on yiphone.org.

Do you ever worry that your work will get you in trouble legally?

Nope. Companies don't sue kids in their basements. It wouldn't justify your legal fees even if you took everything I own.

What else are you working on? You have a project you call a universal radio.

Within five years, I believe we will have a universal device the size of a cellphone that can do everything. So many things are in radio spectrum already: TV, traditional radio, car systems like OnStar, garage-door openers, Bluetooth, wi-fi, cellular technology, GPS. I think they could all be in one universal chip with very fast links between the technologies. Why should I carry a Google work badge around? You should just have an RFID transmitter in your cellphone that you can wave by the door.

You could build it now, but the power consumption is high, the software isn't clean enough, the processors aren't fast enough yet.

Would that be a business venture? So far, you've given away your work for free.

If I'd written something like ZiPhone [a program that jailbreaks iPhones], I would have half a million dollars by now. I'll make money some day.

Source: www.forbes.com

Recently a friend of mine questioned whether traditional or new media was the more significant medium from a Tech PR perspective for reaching consumers. While this question plays an important role in marketing, I think the answer is more of a blend with a little bit of column A and a little bit from column B. Traditional media has been crucified the past few years for not "getting" digital distribution and allowing the revolution to pass them by.

Well, traditional media woke up and opened up their wallets. Yesterday news broke that the Guardian Media Group will purchase ContentNext, which owns top tech blogs paidContent and mocoNews. This comes on the heals of the Conde Nast acquisition of Ars Technica and the Washington Post syndication of TechCrunch (similar to its deals with paidContent and mocoNews) in May. CBS's recent purchase of CNet News.com demonstrates new media digital broadcast distribution taking hold as well.

This blend of traditional and new media is necessary for the survival of both. Top tier blogs have finally begun to adopt journalistic reporting standards to enhance their credibility. Traditional media has allowed the incubation of these startup news sites so that a clear business model and readership could be established. Now it is prepared to embrace digital distribution through two strategies. First, traditional media is purchasing the framework and writers that have developed successful businesses. The other is taking top traditional reporters and giving them a blog. The Wall Street Journal may have done this best with AllThingsDigital. While some may be upset that larger news publishers are buying up the voice of the blogoshere, I believe this is a natural progression that will benefit consumers by providing accurate, credible news through the channels they want to receive it.

En la agencia independiente de activismo urbano y medios digitales "MANGUM", festejamos la creación de "euabierto" por las posibilidades que apertura. Por la necesidad que teníamos de entrar en contacto y hacer complicidades entre individuos que producimos ciudad desde lo pequeño,lo cotidiano, lo local. Festejamos el inicio de un interesante proyecto colectivo del cual, sin duda, formaremos parte.

.......................................

www.euabierto.com

"El objetivo es crear una red internacional de personas y proyectos, caracterizados por una idea de la arquitectura y de la ciudad, alternativa a los modelos dominantes.
La perspectiva es que poco a poco se consolide como una red de contacto entre aquellas personas que se mueven directamente (o no) para promover y producir otro tipo de arquitectura, otro tipo de ciudad, otro tipo de espacios públicos.
Nos gustaría que a través de esta red los estudiantes de diferentes escuelas, puedan compartir trabajos y reflexiones; que los profesionales puedan contactar con otros profesionales que trabajan y desarrollan propuestas creativas en otras ciudades.
Para esta red buscamos voluntarios que estén interesados en representar su entorno más cercano.
En el caso de los estudiantes buscamos un voluntario por cada escuela de arquitectura, diseño y urbanismo. En el caso de los profesionales nos interesa un representante por cada ciudad.
Estos voluntarios se encargarán de promover las actividades y los proyectos más interesantes que se desarrollan en el entorno que “representan”.
Los interesados se pueden meter en contacto conmigo a esta dirección : euabierto@gmail.com."

fuente: http://ecosistemaurbano.org

With that in mind, I took a look through the literature on disappearances and abductions in the Sri Lankan wars to see whether participatory media projects are engaging the subject in a useful way. Human Rights Watch, among others, has done extensive research on the subject. From an HR watch report summary:

Hundreds of enforced disappearances committed since 2006 have already placed Sri Lanka among the countries with the highest number of new cases in the world. The victims are primarily young ethnic Tamil men who "disappear"—often after being picked up by government security forces in the country's embattled north and east, but also in the capital Colombo. Some may be members or supporters of the LTTE, but this does not justify their detention in secret or without due process. Most are feared dead.

Here's a BBC story on the Sri Lankan goverment's response, denying HRWatch's claims. HRWatch based its research on over 100 interviews with family members of the disappeared, field work, and dozens of interviews with aid and activist organizations, over the course of a year.

What stands out about coverage of abductions and assults in the Sri Lankan case is that journalists have also frequently been targets. Journalists and human rights advocates aren't just monitoring attacks against civilians, they are documenting attacks against their own communities. In a sense, they are the story they are covering - an increasingly typical scenario in modern conflict, when perception of and information about events are often important elements in military tactics.

Because of this, both media and media support groups such as the Free Media Movement have been very involved in documenting, disseminating, and tracking incidents. FMM and others have over the past few years built strong links to regional and international freedom of expression groups. This creates a flow of information and advocacy that starts with local expertise and contacts and extends to global dissemination. The relationships also ensure more rigorous research methodology, accountability, and often access to some security and resources for local groups - whether by virtue of their increasingly international profile, or access to safe havens for those in trouble.

How are participatory media projects, blogs, and other nontraditional media tied into coverage of abductions, and what do they add? How are more traditional human rights organizations using digital media to get their messages out?

Among Sri Lankan media, the online news service TamilNet has timely coverage of events as they occur, as do Lankaenews and Lankadissent. TamilNet is one of the earliest online newspapers in Asia, and while it has a controversial profile, it is also widely read both in Sri Lanka and abroad, and helps shape the Sri Lanka news frame.

Among participatory media projects in Sri Lanka, Groundviews, Jasmine News Wires, and PACT are the most prominent examples. Each takes a different approach. Groundviews focuses on quality citizen reporting and analysis; Jasime on SMS news bulletins of events and a public SMS blog, and PACT on creating an accurate timeline of events. Each has a significant participatory element, together with a transparent process that states when and how editorial controls are applied.

Among blogs, the aggregator Kottu nets individual blog posts, participatory media links, and stories coming out of the advocacy and journalism communities. A search for "abduction" (July 11, 08) comes up with 20 links, about half of which are from advocacy organizations. Among blog posts, most are commentary, such as indi.ca.

While these efforts might have started out without the rigor of a Human Rights Watch, by virtue of their focus on human rights issues, they have rapidly gained the skills, profile, and relationships to be effective. They now have institutional homes, resources, and usually, some staff. They professionalize in response to pressures on them, as well as through links with other advocacy organizations - locally, regionally, and internationally, and attract resources accordingly.

At the same time, more evidence that human rights organizations recognize they are now media. Returning to the Human Rights Watch report on abuction, we see that their summary page is written like a news article, and disseminated as such on humanitarian news sites such as Reliefweb. Additionally, HRWatch has created a video of their staff discussing the report, available on their YouTube channel.

Behind all this activity, there's the question of audience penetration and effect. The HRWatch video has less than 2000 views; Sri Lankan participatory media projects do not yet have mass audiences. They do, however, have the attention of the policy world, and of elites in and diaspora from Sri Lanka. Increasingly, they have strategies to get their work into mass media outlets, whether as columns in newspapers, or as reports about their work. Cumulatively, they have managed to both raise the profile of the issue of abductions, and to help direct resources and energy into better research and monitoring. It remains a question as to whether they've managed to affect the political landscape. HRWatch's call for UN monitors is unlikely to be heeded by the Sri Lankan government.

Links to other reports on abduction, for those interested:

International Crisis Group

Asian Human Rights Commission

UN

Benetech

Amnesty

Asian Centre for Human Rights

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More info about Web 2.0 Citizens - http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=18194952996

Reartikulacija es un proyecto de arte desarrollado por el grupo Reartikulacija (Marina Grzinic, Stas Kleindienst, Sebastjan Leban y Tanja Passoni). Se basa en una lógica de intervención precisa; a través de teoría contemporánea, crítica, proyectos artísticos, activismo y auto-organización que pretende intervenir el espacio esloveno, los Balcanes y el espacio internacional. La plataforma permite la creación de redes con otros críticos, activistas, teóricos de arte y temáticas en Eslovenia, Europa y en todo el mundo, que estén interesados en la posibilidad de crear y mantener un diálogo con espacios sociales y políticos concretos.

Presentamos su nueva publicación "REARTIKULACIJA no. 4"correspondiente al verano del 2004, la cual puede leerse en su página web ó desacrgar en formato pdf

The new features, as described Wednesday by VideoEgg, are:

• Live: Use real-time RSS feeds to continually update the ad experience
• Local: Deliver ZIP code-specific messaging
• Rich: Easily deploy and track a rich multi-video ad experience to increase user interactivity
• Shop: Bring the browser to the user, merchandising multiple items in a single real-time ad experience
• Share: Viral capabilities help spread the message through virtually any communication or social channel

VideoEgg said the new features are designed to increase viewer engagement. The ads are served up for free, and advertisers are charged only if viewers engage with the ads. The pricing model is called cost-per-engagement, as opposed to the number of views or clicks an ad receives.

Since the model was launched four months ago, more than 50 brands have used the network, including Microsoft, Comcast, and Disney, VideoEgg said.

"The ad experience is ripe for innovation," Troy Young, VideoEgg's chief marketing officer, said a statement. "We need to replace the banner with portable media experiences that leverage the power of video, feeds, maps, and localization. We can get consumers to engage--we just have to make online advertising more interesting."

The announcement comes on the heels of revelations that YouTube has been plagued with inefficiencies in its ad-sales department. YouTube will generate about $200 million from ad sales this year, short of Google's expectations, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal.

VideoEgg was the subject of shutdown speculation in April after the San Francisco-based company announced that it would stop hosting videos uploaded to the site by the public and to scale back hosting services on the VideoEgg Publishing Platform.

Founded in 2005, the 100-person company has yet to turn a profit. CEO Matt Sanchez told CNET News in April that the company had no plans for staffing cuts and would just "refocus" some employees.

Gimp is a free photo + screen shot editor which is somewhat similar to Adobe Photoshop. It is a great Open Source Web 2.0 application. To access gimp visit http://www.gimp.org/. Gimp takes about 17 megabytes of compressed memory to download, and installs easily to your PC. If you notice the tag at the end of the link ".org." Meaning, this is not a commercial software product. It is meant to be used by everyone, and with no obligations to its creators. Open source software is wonderful! 

Within the Gimp program you have the option to clone-edit, photo retouch, image author, and more… It has lighting effects, text editing, add lines, graphics, art, images, blur, burn, whiten, color manipulators, resize effects, and other features.  

For example, take a look at the two photos. The picture on the left is the original of my mom holding me at age two; and the picture on the right has been edited with Gimp. You can do a lot with this program. The clone feature and feather options are especially nice. With the right picture I lightened its tones, removed several blemishes, marks, and old stains. I also whitened the teeth and darkened the eyes. This program rocks. ;)

To download gimp visit: http://www.gimp.org/downloads/