Another classic: La Linea! Unlike "Rooi en blou" there's a sizeable collection on Youtube here.
2010/07/05
2010/07/01
iPhone 4's secret play... VOIP expansion!
Anyone else bemused why, after years of kvetching, none of the South African ISPs have been able to take advantage of the deregulated VOIP industry. Seems like there are really only two one or two significant players, and that VOIP is being used for internal routing and as part of a least cost routing solution, not for pure play voice.
But I am still warming to my theme...
Long shot, but noteworthy: I believe Apple's real mission is to stop playing revenue sharing games with the mobile network operators and is planning to eventually secure a much bigger slice of the pie by improving it's IP (video) telephony app which debuted on the iPhone4. If every iPhone owner used the video calling app for one or two calls a day, that would be a massive wakeup call for the industry, methinks. I'm betting that Jobs actually believes his product can have a disruptive effect on the telecomms industry. Of course, he is wrong about one or two things, like the actual adoption of his platform. Reality check: for all those impressive sounding iPhone sales figures he still only has, like, one percent of the phone market, and even less than that in the all-important emerging markets.
Still, watch iPhone to break open the consumer-level VOIP market. Yay!
AFAIK u heard it first on BlodotSpix. Pity I can't be bothered to SEO this blog, so no-one will ever know... ;->
But I am still warming to my theme...
Long shot, but noteworthy: I believe Apple's real mission is to stop playing revenue sharing games with the mobile network operators and is planning to eventually secure a much bigger slice of the pie by improving it's IP (video) telephony app which debuted on the iPhone4. If every iPhone owner used the video calling app for one or two calls a day, that would be a massive wakeup call for the industry, methinks. I'm betting that Jobs actually believes his product can have a disruptive effect on the telecomms industry. Of course, he is wrong about one or two things, like the actual adoption of his platform. Reality check: for all those impressive sounding iPhone sales figures he still only has, like, one percent of the phone market, and even less than that in the all-important emerging markets.
Still, watch iPhone to break open the consumer-level VOIP market. Yay!
AFAIK u heard it first on BlodotSpix. Pity I can't be bothered to SEO this blog, so no-one will ever know... ;->
2010/05/12
Reading this post will make you more stoopid
Don;t be intimidated by this idjit, but beware: unrestrained use of social media is bound to make you stoopid. Unless, like the guy who made this video, you are trying to sell a rubbish product to stoopid people, social media won't be the biggest success factor in your business, man...
2010/04/21
Apple co-founder who sold his share for $800 has no regrets - Techworld.com
Ronald Wayne's 10% share in Apple would be worth $13.6bn
By Nick Spence | Macworld UK
Published: 12:53 GMT, 19 April 10
Often referred to as the 'third founder' of Apple Computers, Ronald Wayne has revealed he has no regrets over selling his share in the company.
Working alongside Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, Wayne was given a 10 percent share in Apple but quickly sold them for just $800 in 1976.
A report in the News Of The World this morning claims those shares would now likely be worth $13.6 billion. Under the headline 'If Only iPad Known,' Wayne tells the tabloid newspaper he has no regrets over the decision."
Published: 12:53 GMT, 19 April 10
Often referred to as the 'third founder' of Apple Computers, Ronald Wayne has revealed he has no regrets over selling his share in the company.
Working alongside Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, Wayne was given a 10 percent share in Apple but quickly sold them for just $800 in 1976.
A report in the News Of The World this morning claims those shares would now likely be worth $13.6 billion. Under the headline 'If Only iPad Known,' Wayne tells the tabloid newspaper he has no regrets over the decision."
---
Major, major sour grapes mannn. Imagine how much stress you could release with $13.6billion to throw around. Imagine the stress of people pointing this out at dinner parties... for 34 years!
2010/04/13
The Running Shoe Leading the Race to Sustainability | Business | GreenBiz.com
By Melissa Schweisguth
Published March 01, 2010
"As a social responsibility professional who enjoys trail running, seeing more athletic companies pick up the pace on sustainability is a welcome trend. One business at the front of the pack is Brooks, whose modest marketing approach has left its efforts less known than peers.
It's likely that will change with the launch of the Green Silence, a shoe that exemplifies its commitment from heel to toe, bringing visibility to a successful example of sustainability leadership."
Published March 01, 2010
"As a social responsibility professional who enjoys trail running, seeing more athletic companies pick up the pace on sustainability is a welcome trend. One business at the front of the pack is Brooks, whose modest marketing approach has left its efforts less known than peers.
It's likely that will change with the launch of the Green Silence, a shoe that exemplifies its commitment from heel to toe, bringing visibility to a successful example of sustainability leadership."
---
I'm sure this is mostly bunk, but I've very recently been converted from New Balance to Brooks based entirely on the performance of their trail running shoes. So, hooray.
2010/04/09
Deputy Tasers 30 Colorado Students
"LEADVILLE, Colo. — A sheriff's deputy in Colorado has been placed on unpaid administrative leave after he used a stun gun to shock 30 students at a high school career fair.
Officials with Lake County High School, in the small central Colorado town of Leadville, say the students asked the deputy to shock them so they knew what it felt like. Two students were treated for minor burns at a local hospital and released."
Officials with Lake County High School, in the small central Colorado town of Leadville, say the students asked the deputy to shock them so they knew what it felt like. Two students were treated for minor burns at a local hospital and released."
2010/04/08
Top Fifty Guy Movies of the 1990s | Gunaxin Media
"No 29. Ronin, 1998
Premise:�An Irish woman gathers five men and briefs them on a mission to steal a briefcase.
Director: John Frankenheimer
Stars: Robert De Niro, Jean Reno, Natascha McElhone, Stellan Skarsg�rd
What you’ll Remember: An amazing car chase.
Reasons it is on the List: Beyond some great action sequences, it’s a compelling story of theft and who’s on whose side. It’s not a flashy action movie, but instead a gritty deadly serious�flick.�It’s really more of a throwback with its 70s style and European locations."
Premise:�An Irish woman gathers five men and briefs them on a mission to steal a briefcase.
Director: John Frankenheimer
Stars: Robert De Niro, Jean Reno, Natascha McElhone, Stellan Skarsg�rd
What you’ll Remember: An amazing car chase.
Reasons it is on the List: Beyond some great action sequences, it’s a compelling story of theft and who’s on whose side. It’s not a flashy action movie, but instead a gritty deadly serious�flick.�It’s really more of a throwback with its 70s style and European locations."
--
I thought this was a pretty good list, although there was no Woody Allen, no Spike Lee, not enough Laurence Fishburn or Samual L Jackson or *gasp* Steven Seagal, and the whole list is slightly heavily weighted for action/explosions.
2010/04/07
Solar Pebble could light the way for rural Africans | Green Tech - CNET News
Green Tech - CNET News: "Solar Pebble could light the way for rural Africans, by Sharon Vaknin
"A solar-charged light might seem like just another green gadget to the average American, but for families in rural Africa, it could prove revolutionary.
Product design consultancy Plus Minus Design is vying to replace unsustainable and potentially dangerous lanterns in the homes of off-grid Africans with the Solar Pebble. Engineered with the economic constraints of developing-world citizens in mind, the Solar Pebble will provide one hour of LED light for every two hours of charge, and will cost only $2.70 to manufacture."
2010/04/01
Top 10 April Fool's pranks we wish were real
TechRepublic.com: "9. BMW Instant Messaging - In 2007, BMW advertised a new options package that combined voice-recognition software and adapted Heads-Up Display tech to create the ultimate instigator of road rage. With BMW-IM, your Beemer recognized any choice words you had for the driver in front of you, and then autogenerated a reverse-text display of your statement on your windshield, so the driver could read it in the rearview mirror. Personally, I think the obvious safety concerns are outweighed by the comedic possibilities of BMW-IM. And once it gets a Twitter tie-in, we’re talking Web 2.0 gold."
2010/03/30
DIGITAL LIFE | ONLINE ACTIVISM NEEDS SOMETHING MORE
"A Facebook group that started off with the name “Stop the injustices in Palestine” saw a large number of people join initially. The group’s name then changed to “Stop the media bias against Israel”, but very few noticed. Group member Zubair Mahomed, however, did and was shocked at the fact that no one else had.
Mahomed made himself the administrator of the Facebook group and changed the name again to the absurd, “Lemon trees are our salvation”, to see who noticed.
Less than a handful of members noticed this change."
Mahomed made himself the administrator of the Facebook group and changed the name again to the absurd, “Lemon trees are our salvation”, to see who noticed.
Less than a handful of members noticed this change."
Erhahaha! Nuff said, eh?
More from Larry Kramer... couldn't resist.
"In a world where buyers and sellers are getting maxed and middlemen are getting squeezed, the distribution model of television starts to fall apart.� The people who still make money are those who own the content no matter how it’s distributed.
The future is ownership of the content.� So, the media companies which concentrate on good content will do well.� It’s going to be painful as their business models change, but they will change and survive because people will still want good content.
On the other hand, if good content starts to disappear because people refuse to pay for it, then people will step up and pay because at the end of the day they want it.� We just have to give them easy ways to pay."
The future is ownership of the content.� So, the media companies which concentrate on good content will do well.� It’s going to be painful as their business models change, but they will change and survive because people will still want good content.
On the other hand, if good content starts to disappear because people refuse to pay for it, then people will step up and pay because at the end of the day they want it.� We just have to give them easy ways to pay."
---
That's a refreshing, glass-half-full way of looking at it, which is cool. We have to believe that high quality, truly useful information will always trade at a premium, right? Right?!
2010/03/18
How Privacy Vanishes Online, a Bit at a Time
NYTimes.com
By STEVE LOHR
By STEVE LOHR
In a class project at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology that received some attention last year, Carter Jernigan and Behram Mistree analyzed more than 4,000 Facebook profiles of students, including links to friends who said they were gay. The pair was able to predict, with 78 percent accuracy, whether a profile belonged to a gay male.
Even more unnerving to privacy advocates is the work of two researchers from Carnegie Mellon University. In a paper published last year, Alessandro Acquisti and Ralph Gross reported that they could accurately predict the full, nine-digit Social Security numbers for 8.5 percent of the people born in the United States between 1989 and 2003 — nearly five million individuals.
But Jon Kleinberg, a professor of computer science at Cornell University who studies social networks, is skeptical that rules will have much impact. His advice: “When you’re doing stuff online, you should behave as if you’re doing it in public — because increasingly, it is.”
My sentiments exactly!
2010/03/14
Reuters adds social media rules to its handbook
Shaping the Future of the Newspaper Blog
Includes guidelines on how/when to use social media as a "trusted source", and what rules will govern professional journalists Tweeting, posting into blogs etc.
Includes guidelines on how/when to use social media as a "trusted source", and what rules will govern professional journalists Tweeting, posting into blogs etc.
2010/03/12
10 phrases that can change your career - Downloads - TechRepublic
10 phrases that can change your career - TechRepublic
By Steve Tobak
1: "You may be right, but here's how I see it…"
2: "Tell me what's working and what's not working."
3: "What do you think we should be doing differently?"
4: "Give it to me straight; no BS."
5: "Please don't tell me what __ thinks; I'd like to know what you think."
6: "What does your gut tell you?"
7: "How can I help you?"
8: "That may be true, but look at it this way… "
9: "Don't worry; I've got plenty of time."
10: "How would you do it?"
2010/03/09
Socialism Versus Capitalism
Adbusters Culturejammer Headquarters
Bai Di grew up in socialist China (before capitalism was brought back after Mao’s death in 1976) and participated in the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976). She is a coeditor of the book Some of Us: Chinese Women Growing Up in the Mao Era and is the director of Chinese and Asian Studies at Drew University. Revolution correspondent Li Onesto interviewed Bai Di in February of 2009.
Li Onesto: What did the Cultural Revolution accomplish and what did it mean to grow up in a socialist society?
Bai Di: I always had a purpose. That was what education was about. And we didn’t have to worry about the financial crises that capitalism will always have periodically. We never had that much – two sets of clothes – but we never felt we should have more. You don’t have that kind of crazy desire for everything, like the need to go shopping all the time. I feel that capitalism is very good at creating a void in people’s psyches. It will teach you that the only way to feel okay is to want more. It is so consuming. When I grew up, I did not put much time at all in material stuff. So we had energy to do other things for the greater good. We studied all kinds of subjects, and we thought our presence was very much a part of the future. Yes, we were very future oriented and our focus was also wider than only China. It was about the whole of humankind. It is what inspired us. That’s what I feel education has to be about.
Bai Di grew up in socialist China (before capitalism was brought back after Mao’s death in 1976) and participated in the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976). She is a coeditor of the book Some of Us: Chinese Women Growing Up in the Mao Era and is the director of Chinese and Asian Studies at Drew University. Revolution correspondent Li Onesto interviewed Bai Di in February of 2009.
Li Onesto: What did the Cultural Revolution accomplish and what did it mean to grow up in a socialist society?
Bai Di: I always had a purpose. That was what education was about. And we didn’t have to worry about the financial crises that capitalism will always have periodically. We never had that much – two sets of clothes – but we never felt we should have more. You don’t have that kind of crazy desire for everything, like the need to go shopping all the time. I feel that capitalism is very good at creating a void in people’s psyches. It will teach you that the only way to feel okay is to want more. It is so consuming. When I grew up, I did not put much time at all in material stuff. So we had energy to do other things for the greater good. We studied all kinds of subjects, and we thought our presence was very much a part of the future. Yes, we were very future oriented and our focus was also wider than only China. It was about the whole of humankind. It is what inspired us. That’s what I feel education has to be about.
2010/03/03
Facebook on Track for $1 Billion Revenue This Year
Facebook on Track for $1 Billion Revenue This Year: "Facebook on Track for $1 Billion Revenue This Year
Written by Jolie O'Dell / March 2, 2010 1:13 PM
According to figures released today by the singularly focused blog Inside Facebook, the ubiquitous social network made upwards of $700 million in 2009 and is expected to reach a phenomenal $1 billion in revenues in 2010.
Year over year, Facebook's revenues have typically doubled, from $150 million in 2007 to around $300 million in 2008 and so on.
The breakdown of revenue streams is fascinating, showing the extent to which well-targeted ads based on massive amounts of user data still drives how we monetize the Web."
Written by Jolie O'Dell / March 2, 2010 1:13 PM
According to figures released today by the singularly focused blog Inside Facebook, the ubiquitous social network made upwards of $700 million in 2009 and is expected to reach a phenomenal $1 billion in revenues in 2010.
Year over year, Facebook's revenues have typically doubled, from $150 million in 2007 to around $300 million in 2008 and so on.
The breakdown of revenue streams is fascinating, showing the extent to which well-targeted ads based on massive amounts of user data still drives how we monetize the Web."
2010/02/22
Neo truth
Eish, it's time to revive this voicebox. My hesistancy? Haven't had a truly original thought for, well, ages. Spending too much time online might do that to anyone. Eventually the coolest stuff you know about is stuff other people flagged as cool online.
Which is about as original as Apple products.
Which is about as original as Apple products.
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