New Blog Site, New Feed

I have moved the blog to its own domain. You can find The Connected World now at http://www.theconnectedworld.net

The new feed address is: http://feeds.feedburner.com/theconnectedworld

The Problem with DRM

Other than the fact that it limits control over content that we purchase, sooner or later, you’re going to get hacked.

Craig Newmark (aka craigslist) Won’t Sell Out

He’s sitting on one of the hottest Internet properties, but Craig Newmark of craigslist has no interest in taking the money. Newmark says he doesn’t need the money because he has all he needs to live comfortably. It’s a remarkable statement on humility but I disagree with him on charity. Newmark says he is also not interested in taking the money to give to worthy causes. “Finding a good cause is incredibly hard and time-consuming” he said. What? Are you kidding me? AIDS research, cancer research, diabetes, or just talk to Bono; he has a ton of things you could do with a few million dollars. When the time and the situation is right, Newmark should absolutely take the money and use his unique opportunity to have a major impact for good on the world.

Yahoo Targets Internet Growth Areas

Where are the growth opportunities in the Internet economy? Take a look at where Yahoo is planning its future investment. Social media, video and mobile access. I think  they’re right on with this outlook but they did just get beat out for YouTube (video) and they were not able to complete a deal with Facebook (social media). About the only place Yahoo has some traction is in mobile phones. Yahoo Go is available on several popular phones and they plan to be everywhere by the end of the year. Yahoo’s mobile stuff is actually quite good and useful. They’re doing better than most, but watch out because Google maps is available on phones as is gmail and the google rss reader.

Tattoo Your RAZR – Wicked Cool

Always finding new ways to breath new life into the RAZR line, Motorola and T-Mobile have introduced new RAZR models with laser tattoos based on the work of artist. These phones look great and if I weren’t so interested in moving to a smart phone, I’d want one.

How Friendster Blew It

The Internet world was their oyster. Right technology and the right time, and still Friendster, the worlds first social network, messed it up. Here is a good article about how they did it.

Reuters News Service for Second Life

The Reuters news service is opening a virtual bureau in the on-line world Second Life. Adam Pasick will be the first correspondent, reporting on news, cultural events and finance in the virtual world. More and more big name companies are starting to dip their toes in this virtual water. It’s interesting to watch but when will someone crack a Second Life business model that really works?

Microsoft-Vista Licensing Sucks Ass

I’m just waiting for Apple to ship Core 2 Duo MacBooks and I’m gone. See you later Windows. The latest nightmare story about Vista and it’s insane licensing/restrictions is that you will only be able to transfer your license to one other computer. Windows XP allowed for unlimited license transfers. This is just a huge pain in the ass, making it more difficult for legitimate users. I don’t know what Microsoft is thinking.

Apple is already starting to slowly chew up market share and now they are making it even more tempting to move to OS X. People are going to hang on to XP as long as they possibly can. Who cares about your ultra slick eye candy. It’s mostly copied from Apple, you can’t run it unless you have a fairly powerful system and now the thought police is looking over your shoulder all day watching that you don’t do something wrong.

Apple isn’t perfect either, but they’re much easier to deal with and desktop Linux just isn’t there yet.

In-Game Advertising

Ozgur Alaz has a nice post on in-game advertising.

utube or YouTube? What’s In A Name

Now this is funny. The Internet is a series of tubes; so these are the guys who are really running things!