Automator, Gravity Mountain Biker, Husband, INTP
2006-02-10 Leave a comment
Google: Making the Same Privacy and Security Mistakes as Microsoft
So I spent a good bit of time on the phone yesterday talking with analysts about Google Desktop’s new “share across computers” feature. Each of them said, without very few qualifications: Dude, don’t use that.
Hmmm, seems to me to be a really bad idea. Damn id10t’s
2006-02-09 Leave a comment
:: General : Yahoo, AOL e-mail move blasted :: MyADSL: Technology and Broadband News
Industry experts say Yahoo and America Online’s plan to charge businesses for guaranteed delivery of their commercial e-mail could potentially leave the Internet giants exposed to lawsuits for invasion of consumer privacy, reports Red Herring.
The fee is being billed as an ‘electronic postage stamp’ that guarantees compliance with anti-spam legislation.
It would also certify the sender’s e-mail as authentic.
Experts say the plan is “dangerous” and “dead on arrival” because it violates the democratic principles of the Internet and will have little impact on spam, the biggest problem e-mail users face right now.
2006-02-09 Leave a comment
A directory for South African podcasters and listeners went live this month, hosted by Internet Solutions (IS).
A podcast is a feed of audio or video files placed on the Internet for anyone to subscribe to.
The IS Podfarm serves as a catalogue of a variety of local and international podcasts, says IS product specialist Jeff Fletcher.
“As the technology catches on, more and more people want to access specific podcasts, so we have anticipated the need for a single public repository,” adds Hillel Shrock, new business development director at IS.
Podfarm links to 11 podcasts, from a ‘Moneyweb power hour’ to Rodger Goode on 5fm. The programmes vary in length, depending on their nature.
Fletcher believes the directory will help to unearth grassroots podcasters by giving them a promotional avenue.
The Podfarm is a catalogue of local and international podcasts, says IS.
“So far there have been no concentrated efforts to further the South African podcasting industry, in contrast to the enormous international growth of the phenomenon,” he notes.IS could not put a figure to the costs of sponsoring the site, but Fletcher explains that since it is not actually hosting every podcast, the server hosting costs are negligible.
Shrock adds that most programmes can be downloaded with an ordinary PC with the suitable software and soundcard – an iPod or MP3 player is not essential.
Podcasting, which arrived in SA in mid-2004, was named word of the year by the New Oxford American Dictionary in 2005.
2006-02-07 Leave a comment
Oracle on ‘build and buy’ binge
Oracle last week concluded its bid for Siebel Systems, adding the customer relationship management (CRM) software company to its string of acquisitions in the past 12 months.Oracle president Charles Phillips says the strategy of “build and buy” is set to continue.
“We’ll be doing more acquisitions, but they are likely to be relatively small because there are few large companies left to buy,” Phillips told journalists in Cape Town on Saturday.
My Ramblings and experiments 