Friday, December 03, 2004

Xeni is awesome. In a post titled, MSN Spaces: seven dirty blogs, she reports on her research into reader claims that Microsoft's new blogging platform censors blog titles and urls. Using my existing MSN Passport account, I attempted to create a number of blogs, one after the other. The results of which titles passed and which were banned may surprise you -- or at least generate a few Beavis-and-Butthead snorkles. Each of the linked test-titles in this BoingBoing post points to to an actual, unmodified screenshot of the corresponding test blog I created (or was denied the ability to create) using MSN Search. The results are, well, somewhere in the neighborhood of instructive. 4:37:35 PM    comment []

Wired Tools 2004. The coolest geek shopping list ever: 129 of the best screens, cams, phones, games and gadgets of the year, from Wired magazine. [Wired News] 6:58:14 AM    comment []

Innovation Quote Worth Considering from Fast Company: for the whole article: "Sidebar: Getting Innovation Right If Apple teaches us anything, it's that effective innovation is about more than building beautiful cool things. A few thoughts for innovating well in your own shop: Not All Innovation Is Equal Technical innovation will earn you lots of adoring fans (think Apple). Business-model innovation will earn you lots of money (think Dell). Innovate for Cash, Not Cachet If your cool new thing doesn't generate enough money to cover costs and make a profit, it isn't innovation. It's art. Don't Hoard Your Goodies Getting to market on time and at the right price is vital. If that means licensing your idea to an outside manufacturer or marketer, do it. Innovation Doesn't Generate Growth. Management Does If you covet awards for creativity, go to Hollywood. Managers get rewarded for results, which come from customers. Attention Deficit Has No Place Here Every innovation worth doing deserves your commitment. Don't leap from one new thing to another. If your creation doesn't appear important to you, it won't be important to anyone else. Carleen Hawn (chawn@fastcompany.com ) is Fast Company's West Coast bureau chief." [Ted Ritzer: Free Music] 6:44:06 AM    comment []

The Cost of Congressional Caprice. The $105 million cut that Congress levied on the National Science Foundation signals harsher times to come. [NYT > Opinion] 6:42:11 AM    comment []

MP3 Downloaden MP3 Oldies [Ted Ritzer: Free Music] 6:42:10 AM    comment []

Iran's Game of Cat and Mouse. To the Editor:. [NYT > Opinion] 6:40:26 AM    comment []

U.N. Ambassador John Danforth resigns. On CNN [NewsIsFree: Popular Items] In 2001, Bush appointed Danforth as his envoy to help mediate between warring factions in Sudan. Last month, with Danforth holding the presidency of the U.N. Security Council, members traveled from New York to Nairobi, Kenya, for a special session on the Sudan crisis. The U.S. ambassador has been pressing U.N. members to take a stronger stand against human rights abuses in the African country. 6:31:50 AM    comment []

I.B.M. Said to Put Its PC Business on the Market. I.B.M., whose first PC moved personal computing out of the hobby shop and into the consumer mainstream, has put the business up for sale. By By ANDREW ROSS SORKIN and STEVE LOHR. [NYT > Business] 6:27:27 AM    comment []

ACLU goes after FBI for illegal spying. The ACLU announced Thursday that it's launching a nationwide effort to expose FBI spying on citizens who organize and speak out politically -- people whom the ACLU says clearly have no connection to terrorism. The civil liberties watchdog is filing a series of Freedom of Information Act requests in 10 states and the District of Columbia. [Salon.com] 6:27:23 AM    comment []

Music Industry Turns to Napster Creator for Help. Major record corporations say that a licensed file-sharing system could bolster their position in their fight against piracy as well as increase digital music sales. By By JEFF LEEDS. [NYT > Technology] 6:26:31 AM    comment []