Saturday, December 29, 2007
So what was your favorite list of 2007?
If you are reading this, you are online. I goofed this week and didn’t get my column in by deadline.
My excuse?
Christmas day was a holiday. My biological clock was thrown out of whack. I thought the next day was a Monday and I would have several days left to gather my thoughts and get them into byte form.
This is really not much of an excuse. I normally work on Sunday mornings just like the Monday through Friday grind. I don’t come in early on Saturdays simply because we don’t publish a Saturday paper.
In my defense, I had the germ of an idea for the column. I had even gathered some source material from the Web. I wanted to talk about lists. It seems like the end of the year is a great time for journalists (and others) to pause and come up with the top ten this and the top ten that. To take this to its ultimate conclusion we should have a top ten list of lists.
Anyway here are some of the lists that struck my fancy as the end of the year approached.
From Forbes.com comes the top PR blunders of 2007. At the top of their list is the FEMA press conference held without the press. This phony press conference was held in response to the California wildfires. Staff members posed as reporters and asked officials pre-determined questions. They later needed to hold a press conference to explain the phony press conference.
I just wonder where they got the idea to try such a stunt. I shudder to think.
On a more positive note, Time Magazine listed what it felt were the top commercials of the year. The David Letterman and Oprah Super Bowl ad took top honors. The pair had not been together for some 16 years. It was considered quite a coup to bring it off. I didn’t see the ad. I’ll take their word for it.
Consumer Reports gave its list of top cars for the year.
The Honda Fit in the $14,000 to $16,000 price range, was listed as the “best overall in a new class of fuel-efficient cars.” It got high marks for fuel efficiency and got top scores for reliability, crash protection and satisfaction. Let’s see how it sells.
Honda also took honors for the Civic, and the Accord. Toyota was not outdone. The Rav4, Highlander Hybrid, Sienna and Prius were winners in the Consumer Report book.
But how about some of the stinkers. There also was a list of cars with the least satisfaction. Many of the cars in this list were larger and less fuel efficient.
I’ll just list the top three of this ignoble list. The Chevrolet Uplander was the least satisfying of the cars considered. It was followed by the Saturn Relay and the Buick Terraza.. I’ll stop there. I’ll just observe that most of the cars in this list were from traditional American manufacturers.
Entertainment Weekly had a list of the best books of the year. In the fiction category, The Post-Birthday World by Lionel Shriver led the way. Shakespeare’s Kitchen by Lore Segal was in second. I may have to check them out.
Okay how about the top ten books for Web workers in 2007. This list is led by Rule the Web: How to Do Anything and Everything on the Internet—Better, Faster, Easier by Mark Frauenfelder. This guide is from the co-founder of Boing Boing. If you haven’t heard of Boing Boing, google it.
The New York Times lists several top fiction books for the year. Remember these are different from Entertainment Weekly. The list includes Man Gone Down a first work by Michael Thomas about four days in a black writer’s life.
Then We Came To The End, another first novel, this time by Joshua Ferris, is described as an “acidly-funny first novel, set in a white-collar office in the wake of the dot-com debacle.” Sounds like a page-turner.
Another book on the Times list caught my eye. Called Out Stealing Horses by Per Petterson, it is about “an Oslo professional (who) hopes to cure his loneliness with a plunge into solitude.” Sounds like jumping into ice water after a sauna. The cure for loneliness is to become a hermit? I hope not.
Well, there are more lists like the one by the Literaryreview.co.uk which lists awards for bad sex in fiction—but I won’t go there.
Enough of lists, Happy New Year.
As always you can reach me at rpolk@chespub.com.
And, if I get behind after the New Year’s break, I just might turn this work in for next week’s column. I hope you won’t mind.
My excuse?
Christmas day was a holiday. My biological clock was thrown out of whack. I thought the next day was a Monday and I would have several days left to gather my thoughts and get them into byte form.
This is really not much of an excuse. I normally work on Sunday mornings just like the Monday through Friday grind. I don’t come in early on Saturdays simply because we don’t publish a Saturday paper.
In my defense, I had the germ of an idea for the column. I had even gathered some source material from the Web. I wanted to talk about lists. It seems like the end of the year is a great time for journalists (and others) to pause and come up with the top ten this and the top ten that. To take this to its ultimate conclusion we should have a top ten list of lists.
Anyway here are some of the lists that struck my fancy as the end of the year approached.
From Forbes.com comes the top PR blunders of 2007. At the top of their list is the FEMA press conference held without the press. This phony press conference was held in response to the California wildfires. Staff members posed as reporters and asked officials pre-determined questions. They later needed to hold a press conference to explain the phony press conference.
I just wonder where they got the idea to try such a stunt. I shudder to think.
On a more positive note, Time Magazine listed what it felt were the top commercials of the year. The David Letterman and Oprah Super Bowl ad took top honors. The pair had not been together for some 16 years. It was considered quite a coup to bring it off. I didn’t see the ad. I’ll take their word for it.
Consumer Reports gave its list of top cars for the year.
The Honda Fit in the $14,000 to $16,000 price range, was listed as the “best overall in a new class of fuel-efficient cars.” It got high marks for fuel efficiency and got top scores for reliability, crash protection and satisfaction. Let’s see how it sells.
Honda also took honors for the Civic, and the Accord. Toyota was not outdone. The Rav4, Highlander Hybrid, Sienna and Prius were winners in the Consumer Report book.
But how about some of the stinkers. There also was a list of cars with the least satisfaction. Many of the cars in this list were larger and less fuel efficient.
I’ll just list the top three of this ignoble list. The Chevrolet Uplander was the least satisfying of the cars considered. It was followed by the Saturn Relay and the Buick Terraza.. I’ll stop there. I’ll just observe that most of the cars in this list were from traditional American manufacturers.
Entertainment Weekly had a list of the best books of the year. In the fiction category, The Post-Birthday World by Lionel Shriver led the way. Shakespeare’s Kitchen by Lore Segal was in second. I may have to check them out.
Okay how about the top ten books for Web workers in 2007. This list is led by Rule the Web: How to Do Anything and Everything on the Internet—Better, Faster, Easier by Mark Frauenfelder. This guide is from the co-founder of Boing Boing. If you haven’t heard of Boing Boing, google it.
The New York Times lists several top fiction books for the year. Remember these are different from Entertainment Weekly. The list includes Man Gone Down a first work by Michael Thomas about four days in a black writer’s life.
Then We Came To The End, another first novel, this time by Joshua Ferris, is described as an “acidly-funny first novel, set in a white-collar office in the wake of the dot-com debacle.” Sounds like a page-turner.
Another book on the Times list caught my eye. Called Out Stealing Horses by Per Petterson, it is about “an Oslo professional (who) hopes to cure his loneliness with a plunge into solitude.” Sounds like jumping into ice water after a sauna. The cure for loneliness is to become a hermit? I hope not.
Well, there are more lists like the one by the Literaryreview.co.uk which lists awards for bad sex in fiction—but I won’t go there.
Enough of lists, Happy New Year.
As always you can reach me at rpolk@chespub.com.
And, if I get behind after the New Year’s break, I just might turn this work in for next week’s column. I hope you won’t mind.
Friday, December 28, 2007
From cell phones to Santa and pesky privacy concerns
The Associated Press reports that the year 2007 is likely to be the year that U.S. households spend more on cell phone services than on what has come to be called “land lines” the traditional fixed home phone service.
In the last year for which there is data government reports have households spending, on average, $524 on cell phone bills and $542 for residential and pay-phone services. Those figures are for 2006. Telecom industry observers feel that cell bills have moved passed home phones.
I can testify to that. If my three-member household can be of example, my wife, daughter and I use our cell phones far more often than the land line. The monthly bills serve as testament to that. Our cell bill is often two to three times that of our land line.
And once we switch to high speed internet and shut down our computer modem, we just might give up the land line all together. This is a trend being followed by many households. The only thing that might stall this movement will be the reluctance of some to cut the cord—to give up the security the land line has always represented.
How about something more holiday related?
I’ve often harped on how technology has been both a blessing and a curse. The curse is best represented in the loss of privacy we are experiencing as a society. The Internet has made it possible to all manner of institutions in our society to track and store information on our daily lives. It might be the government or a credit reporting agency. The volume of data is staggering.
But what about the jolly old elf himself? The British Website, The Register (www.theregister.co.uk) points out that Santa seems to be breaking a number of privacy laws in his efforts to track the behavior of children around the world. First of all, data on children under 13 is not supposed to be kept by a Website. What makes Santa different?
What happens to all those letters to Santa with their lists of toy requests? How long is that highly valuable data kept by St. Nick? Is it destroyed after December 25? I’m sure there are numerous toy manufacturers dying to get their hands on that information. By cross referencing the requested with the addresses of the households, they can target advertising to the little tikes.
Then there is the question of countless B&Es that occur around the world on Christmas Eve. I know he has never been caught but the circumstantial evidence is spread everywhere.
And, what about the copyright infringements? He reportedly has legions of elves making toys in factories at the North Pole producing all manner of toys. Are we sure these are all elves? No. I won’t go there.
When the Mid-Shore Computer Users Group met recently for the group’s December meeting, instead of exchanging gifts they exchanged gift ideas or interesting Websites.
Some sites noted included:
http://www.boingboing.net/
http://gadgets.boingboing.net/
http://www.ldproducts.com/
http://aldaily.com/
http://zip4.usps.com/zip4/welcome.jsp
http://www.time.gov/timezone.cgi?Eastern/d/-5/java
http://www.tcfl.org/
http://baybridge.com/
They range from clever stuff, to the local library to the latest information on traffic conditions on the bay bridge. Give them a look.
Have a safe and happy holiday season.
You can reach me at rpolk@chespub.com.
In the last year for which there is data government reports have households spending, on average, $524 on cell phone bills and $542 for residential and pay-phone services. Those figures are for 2006. Telecom industry observers feel that cell bills have moved passed home phones.
I can testify to that. If my three-member household can be of example, my wife, daughter and I use our cell phones far more often than the land line. The monthly bills serve as testament to that. Our cell bill is often two to three times that of our land line.
And once we switch to high speed internet and shut down our computer modem, we just might give up the land line all together. This is a trend being followed by many households. The only thing that might stall this movement will be the reluctance of some to cut the cord—to give up the security the land line has always represented.
How about something more holiday related?
I’ve often harped on how technology has been both a blessing and a curse. The curse is best represented in the loss of privacy we are experiencing as a society. The Internet has made it possible to all manner of institutions in our society to track and store information on our daily lives. It might be the government or a credit reporting agency. The volume of data is staggering.
But what about the jolly old elf himself? The British Website, The Register (www.theregister.co.uk) points out that Santa seems to be breaking a number of privacy laws in his efforts to track the behavior of children around the world. First of all, data on children under 13 is not supposed to be kept by a Website. What makes Santa different?
What happens to all those letters to Santa with their lists of toy requests? How long is that highly valuable data kept by St. Nick? Is it destroyed after December 25? I’m sure there are numerous toy manufacturers dying to get their hands on that information. By cross referencing the requested with the addresses of the households, they can target advertising to the little tikes.
Then there is the question of countless B&Es that occur around the world on Christmas Eve. I know he has never been caught but the circumstantial evidence is spread everywhere.
And, what about the copyright infringements? He reportedly has legions of elves making toys in factories at the North Pole producing all manner of toys. Are we sure these are all elves? No. I won’t go there.
When the Mid-Shore Computer Users Group met recently for the group’s December meeting, instead of exchanging gifts they exchanged gift ideas or interesting Websites.
Some sites noted included:
http://www.boingboing.net/
http://gadgets.boingboing.net/
http://www.ldproducts.com/
http://aldaily.com/
http://zip4.usps.com/zip4/welcome.jsp
http://www.time.gov/timezone.cgi?Eastern/d/-5/java
http://www.tcfl.org/
http://baybridge.com/
They range from clever stuff, to the local library to the latest information on traffic conditions on the bay bridge. Give them a look.
Have a safe and happy holiday season.
You can reach me at rpolk@chespub.com.
Criticism is always appreciated … seriously
One of the first things I do each morning when I come in to work before dawn is to check the comments that have piled up overnight. Occasionally I mention one or two. I sometimes reference one I reject and try to explain how future writers might avoid that fate.
The comments can range from harsh criticism of people in a story to negative comments about the writer. I must add we also get comments of support on a topic and for our reporters. They are much appreciated. I try to make sure that both positive and negative comments are shared so as a staff we can gain from the experience.
One recent polite observation came following a high school sports game. The author tastefully noted that the sports writer had confused the players in the post position with those in the guard positions. Sometimes in the heat of deadline back at the office things can get confused. We thank the comment writer for the observation.
I mention that the issues dealt with in a story can stir the fingers to peck the keyboard. Just abuse an animal or child and you will find out just how many people are reading the online paper. The volume of comments can be tremendous.
I say tremendous because I look at it in a positive way. The newspaper has always been a dispenser of information. But it also has been a representation of the town square.
It has been a place where people can share and exchange ideas, not only to receive them.
This is often done on the editorial page with guest comments and letters to the editor.
The comments feature on the Web site serve much the same purpose.
The one major difference is the time element. Response can be immediate here. It might take days for letters to be received for the print paper. Online it is only how long it takes to review and approve a comment for upload to the site.
I have received some comments within minutes of a story being posted. It is as if the writer was poised at the keyboard waiting for the story to appear.
I like that. We want and seek your input, your comments.
So let me know what you think. You can comment to this column when it appears in the Life area online, or write me an email at rpolk@chespub.com.
And have a happy and safe holiday season.
The comments can range from harsh criticism of people in a story to negative comments about the writer. I must add we also get comments of support on a topic and for our reporters. They are much appreciated. I try to make sure that both positive and negative comments are shared so as a staff we can gain from the experience.
One recent polite observation came following a high school sports game. The author tastefully noted that the sports writer had confused the players in the post position with those in the guard positions. Sometimes in the heat of deadline back at the office things can get confused. We thank the comment writer for the observation.
I mention that the issues dealt with in a story can stir the fingers to peck the keyboard. Just abuse an animal or child and you will find out just how many people are reading the online paper. The volume of comments can be tremendous.
I say tremendous because I look at it in a positive way. The newspaper has always been a dispenser of information. But it also has been a representation of the town square.
It has been a place where people can share and exchange ideas, not only to receive them.
This is often done on the editorial page with guest comments and letters to the editor.
The comments feature on the Web site serve much the same purpose.
The one major difference is the time element. Response can be immediate here. It might take days for letters to be received for the print paper. Online it is only how long it takes to review and approve a comment for upload to the site.
I have received some comments within minutes of a story being posted. It is as if the writer was poised at the keyboard waiting for the story to appear.
I like that. We want and seek your input, your comments.
So let me know what you think. You can comment to this column when it appears in the Life area online, or write me an email at rpolk@chespub.com.
And have a happy and safe holiday season.
Yep, the Internet is mainstream now…
Periodically in this column I step back and expound on how the Internet is seeping into all areas of our culture. I have presented these as if they were revelations.
No more.
Last week, we featured a front page story about how the owners of a seafood processing plant in Cambridge had their YouTube question aired during the Republican presidential candidate debate.
Jack Brooks, his brother Joe Brooks and son Clay Brooks were featured in the video. The Brooks family started the business in 1890. The video was the brainchild of a lobbyist who works for the Chesapeake Bay Seafood Association who approached the family with the suggestion for the video.
The story wasn't so much that the family was featured in the video, but rather that the candidate asked to respond to it, Colorado Congressman Thomas G. Tancredo, sidestepped the issue.
The fact that the YouTube questions were used in the Republican debate and earlier in a similar Democratic gathering just indicates how mainstream the Internet is becoming. This kind of Internet use will only expand.
There are other indications that the Internet is growing in importance, influence. Black Friday is one of the biggest days for retailers each year. The brick and mortar stores look to the day after Thanksgiving as a prime sales day to begin the Christmas shopping season. Internet shopping was also up over the Thanksgiving holiday. Reportedly the dollars spent online increased 21 percent over the same period last year. Some suggested that the Monday following the weekend would be the biggest online shopping day. In fact, some report that Thanksgiving day itself was huge for online shopping.
The prevailing wisdom that Monday would be the biggest Internet shopping day is based on employees accessing sites by using the high speed Internet ports at their job sites. The fact that Thanksgiving itself registered such high sales is an indication of the penetration of high speed Internet hookups in the home. This makes sense when you consider there are also increases in the use of online video and other large-file downloads.
Another indication of the impact of the Internet can be seen in the publishing industry.
Small book stores have been hurt by online competition. The American Booksellers Association has seen a drop in membership from about 5,000 members to about 1,700 in the past decade. It is no coincidence that Amazon.com has grown to where it sells 11 percent of the books sold.
Online advertising continues to increase while the overall advertising dollar (estimated at $500 billion) is in decline as advertising expenditures are not keeping up with inflation, according to online economic observers.
Advertising Age reports that online advertising has moved ahead of radio advertising this year and is expected to overtake magazine advertising revenue by 2010.
Television and newspaper advertising continue to hold a strong lead that should continue for the foreseeable future..
On an internal note, last week I rejected a comment on a story because the writer gave only a first name or nick name and an email address that was not in our system. The subject was sensitive enough that I did not want it to pass without making certain of the authorship. So, please, we want your comments, but we need to be able to verify them. Your email address will not appear with the comment, so make it accurate.
As always, you can reach me at rpolk@chespub.com.
No more.
Last week, we featured a front page story about how the owners of a seafood processing plant in Cambridge had their YouTube question aired during the Republican presidential candidate debate.
Jack Brooks, his brother Joe Brooks and son Clay Brooks were featured in the video. The Brooks family started the business in 1890. The video was the brainchild of a lobbyist who works for the Chesapeake Bay Seafood Association who approached the family with the suggestion for the video.
The story wasn't so much that the family was featured in the video, but rather that the candidate asked to respond to it, Colorado Congressman Thomas G. Tancredo, sidestepped the issue.
The fact that the YouTube questions were used in the Republican debate and earlier in a similar Democratic gathering just indicates how mainstream the Internet is becoming. This kind of Internet use will only expand.
There are other indications that the Internet is growing in importance, influence. Black Friday is one of the biggest days for retailers each year. The brick and mortar stores look to the day after Thanksgiving as a prime sales day to begin the Christmas shopping season. Internet shopping was also up over the Thanksgiving holiday. Reportedly the dollars spent online increased 21 percent over the same period last year. Some suggested that the Monday following the weekend would be the biggest online shopping day. In fact, some report that Thanksgiving day itself was huge for online shopping.
The prevailing wisdom that Monday would be the biggest Internet shopping day is based on employees accessing sites by using the high speed Internet ports at their job sites. The fact that Thanksgiving itself registered such high sales is an indication of the penetration of high speed Internet hookups in the home. This makes sense when you consider there are also increases in the use of online video and other large-file downloads.
Another indication of the impact of the Internet can be seen in the publishing industry.
Small book stores have been hurt by online competition. The American Booksellers Association has seen a drop in membership from about 5,000 members to about 1,700 in the past decade. It is no coincidence that Amazon.com has grown to where it sells 11 percent of the books sold.
Online advertising continues to increase while the overall advertising dollar (estimated at $500 billion) is in decline as advertising expenditures are not keeping up with inflation, according to online economic observers.
Advertising Age reports that online advertising has moved ahead of radio advertising this year and is expected to overtake magazine advertising revenue by 2010.
Television and newspaper advertising continue to hold a strong lead that should continue for the foreseeable future..
On an internal note, last week I rejected a comment on a story because the writer gave only a first name or nick name and an email address that was not in our system. The subject was sensitive enough that I did not want it to pass without making certain of the authorship. So, please, we want your comments, but we need to be able to verify them. Your email address will not appear with the comment, so make it accurate.
As always, you can reach me at rpolk@chespub.com.
Have you read the latest on the Kindle today?
Happy holidays.
I couldn't help but notice that the chicken plant was closed for Thanksgiving last Thursday morning in Cordova as I drove to work to setup the Thanksgiving issue. I guess there were a couple of chickens thankful they weren't turkeys that day.
But now on to technology.
The Kindle is now out and is receiving mixed reviews from the dotcom generation. It has been criticized for being pricey at $400 and the Amazon books are DRMed (a special imbedded code so you can't share the material). You can only read the material on the Kindle device. Therefore some wondered why bother. None made more than a passing mention of the newspaper and magazine subscription ability.
The device launches with subscriptions available to The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post along with magazines like Forbes, Fortune, Time and Atlantic. I firmly believe this is the first foot in the door for specialty delivery devices that will provide wireless connections to media outlets. It presents the material in a comfortable print-like quality that closely mimics the present printed page.
The devices will only get better. The design will be more sophisticated. The selection will be expanded and costs will come down. Any new technology device has a break-in phase. Some fail. But I must believe there are forces involved that will keep the evolution of this type of device continuing.
I see this as potentially a positive format for books and especially text books. Book publishers must look at this technology closely. They must take it seriously. What college student won't want to carry a Kindle-type device around campus with his/her semester load of text books loaded on it. The next semester the next syllabus can be added. Right now there is not a highlighting feature on the device. That will be added.
From my standpoint, it is the news media that will see the most significant effect. The ability to carry your reading device with you and download the next update of your local newspaper will become as common as checking your text messages now. The industry is already having to look hard at how it is going to deal with the Internet. The device that can deliver today's news in a convenient format that closely resembles their current print paper will be an important part of the equation the newspaper industry will have to solve.
Oh, and while the kindle has its critics. As of this writing, it had already sold out on the Amazon.com site. Though by the time you read this, Amazon says they will have it again in stock and ready for Christmas shipping.
The Mid-Shore Computer Users Group is planning "A Holiday Potpourri" at its next meeting set for Thursday, Dec. 13, at 7 p.m. The meeting will be in the Talbot County Chamber of Commerce building in the Easton Plaza Shopping Center.
The members have been challenged to bring suggestions for computer/technology gifts for the holidays. They will also share favorite Web sites and software that others might enjoy. As always, the floor will also be only to answer any computer-related topic or issue a member or visitor might want to bring up. Have an issue you need addressed? Have a problem you cannot seem to get resolved? Come to the meeting. Everyone is welcome. For more information call 410-822-7207.
Next week, I'll discuss face-recognition software for cameras. There are popular-priced cameras that can now detect faces in the frame and try to keep them in focus. I say try because I've never tried one of these cameras myself, but I have heard positive reviews from others.
Now there are companies that are working to develop true face recognition software that would be able to recognize members of your friends and family. This kind of software is already being used on a national level to try to identify people in public places like an airport. This is just another example of how privacy is becoming a thing of the past as I mentioned in a previous column.
More later. For now, you can reach me at rpolk@chespub.com.
I couldn't help but notice that the chicken plant was closed for Thanksgiving last Thursday morning in Cordova as I drove to work to setup the Thanksgiving issue. I guess there were a couple of chickens thankful they weren't turkeys that day.
But now on to technology.
The Kindle is now out and is receiving mixed reviews from the dotcom generation. It has been criticized for being pricey at $400 and the Amazon books are DRMed (a special imbedded code so you can't share the material). You can only read the material on the Kindle device. Therefore some wondered why bother. None made more than a passing mention of the newspaper and magazine subscription ability.
The device launches with subscriptions available to The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post along with magazines like Forbes, Fortune, Time and Atlantic. I firmly believe this is the first foot in the door for specialty delivery devices that will provide wireless connections to media outlets. It presents the material in a comfortable print-like quality that closely mimics the present printed page.
The devices will only get better. The design will be more sophisticated. The selection will be expanded and costs will come down. Any new technology device has a break-in phase. Some fail. But I must believe there are forces involved that will keep the evolution of this type of device continuing.
I see this as potentially a positive format for books and especially text books. Book publishers must look at this technology closely. They must take it seriously. What college student won't want to carry a Kindle-type device around campus with his/her semester load of text books loaded on it. The next semester the next syllabus can be added. Right now there is not a highlighting feature on the device. That will be added.
From my standpoint, it is the news media that will see the most significant effect. The ability to carry your reading device with you and download the next update of your local newspaper will become as common as checking your text messages now. The industry is already having to look hard at how it is going to deal with the Internet. The device that can deliver today's news in a convenient format that closely resembles their current print paper will be an important part of the equation the newspaper industry will have to solve.
Oh, and while the kindle has its critics. As of this writing, it had already sold out on the Amazon.com site. Though by the time you read this, Amazon says they will have it again in stock and ready for Christmas shipping.
The Mid-Shore Computer Users Group is planning "A Holiday Potpourri" at its next meeting set for Thursday, Dec. 13, at 7 p.m. The meeting will be in the Talbot County Chamber of Commerce building in the Easton Plaza Shopping Center.
The members have been challenged to bring suggestions for computer/technology gifts for the holidays. They will also share favorite Web sites and software that others might enjoy. As always, the floor will also be only to answer any computer-related topic or issue a member or visitor might want to bring up. Have an issue you need addressed? Have a problem you cannot seem to get resolved? Come to the meeting. Everyone is welcome. For more information call 410-822-7207.
Next week, I'll discuss face-recognition software for cameras. There are popular-priced cameras that can now detect faces in the frame and try to keep them in focus. I say try because I've never tried one of these cameras myself, but I have heard positive reviews from others.
Now there are companies that are working to develop true face recognition software that would be able to recognize members of your friends and family. This kind of software is already being used on a national level to try to identify people in public places like an airport. This is just another example of how privacy is becoming a thing of the past as I mentioned in a previous column.
More later. For now, you can reach me at rpolk@chespub.com.
Who knows what tomorrow will bring?
What was rumor is apparently gaining some substance. Rupert Murdoch has stated his intention to make The Wall Street Journal Web site free. Historically, the site has been restricted to subscriber access. The paper's online subscriber base has reportedly topped one million, but Murdoch feels the growth of the online paper will be through increased traffic.
I bring this subject up again because whenever a story like this appears it causes us to reassess our policies in the industry. A newspaper Web site is a unique creature in the Web world. A small daily newspaper's site is even a rarer bird.
We must consider what has been the traditional role of the local/community newspaper. I see the newspaper as being a gathering place where people exchange ideas. It could be on politics, the weather, who has been married, who has died or what the prices are at the local grocery.
These tasks once were performed by the town crier in the small villages of old. But the amount of information provided by a typical local daily or weekly newspaper in the modern age would make the poor fellow go hoarse. The distribution of information is our trade and we deal with it on the local level as no other source has been able to. The Internet has changed all that.
The value of the local newspaper is that it can tap those local assets and transform them into digital information on a Web site. The news gathering capabilities that traditionally have found their way onto the printed page can now be uploaded to a site for all to see.
We cannot command the revenue stream as a local site that a major metropolitan news organization can like The New York Times or The Wall Street Journal. They can draw from an international base. As we serve the Mid-Shore of Maryland's Eastern Shore, there is a limited interest here.
We do have a scattering of readers from around the world. We have soldiers in Iraq and transplants in Florida as well as most other states across the country. But that is not enough to compare to the legions that read the big papers.
How they will deal with local readers who drop their print subscriptions to read the Times or Journal online, remains for the future to tell. We found we couldn't allow for the print readership erosion that occurred when we were totally free. This industry continues to wrestle with the proper way to use the Internet. It is likely there will be no one solution. Technology that does not exist today may influence our decisions in the future just has the Web itself is causing us to constantly reassess our position today.
One advance in technology that may well influence our future took another step forward last week. Two new entries in the electronic book field were unveiled. You may recall I mentioned an effort by Sony last summer to create an ebook device that would make it possible to read books on a tablet-type computer. The screen of that computer supposedly would be able to mimic the visual display of a printed page. You could have a library full of books on a tablet the size of a modest print volume.
Sony now is introducing the second generation of that device. What has pressed this back into the news is that both Amazon and Seiko have announced their own entries into this field. Amazon is of special note. The online business giant says it will have a device that will access the Amazon online store and download ebooks from a current catalogue of 88,000 titles. This is bound to expand.
But what really caught my eye (or ear as I heard it on an Internet podcast), was that Amazon was working out agreements with major newspapers like The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post to provide downloads of their daily papers to such a device.
We currently provide a PDF version of our paper on the stardem.com Web site. I have seen our paper displayed on Web-enabled smart cell phones. This delivery system to an ebook device would make such a digital link to our readers much easier.
Right now the cost of the device is prohibitive to the average reader. The ebook costs about $400. I can see that price coming down as service providers help absorb some of the device cost in exchange for a service agreement. This would be similar to how cell phones are handled now.
One of the problems the news industry faces is that is has been difficult to keep up with the pace of technology. There has been a reluctance to acknowledge how quickly advances are taking place.
Who knows what tomorrow will bring?
Thoughts?
As always, you can reach me at rpolk@chespub.com.
I bring this subject up again because whenever a story like this appears it causes us to reassess our policies in the industry. A newspaper Web site is a unique creature in the Web world. A small daily newspaper's site is even a rarer bird.
We must consider what has been the traditional role of the local/community newspaper. I see the newspaper as being a gathering place where people exchange ideas. It could be on politics, the weather, who has been married, who has died or what the prices are at the local grocery.
These tasks once were performed by the town crier in the small villages of old. But the amount of information provided by a typical local daily or weekly newspaper in the modern age would make the poor fellow go hoarse. The distribution of information is our trade and we deal with it on the local level as no other source has been able to. The Internet has changed all that.
The value of the local newspaper is that it can tap those local assets and transform them into digital information on a Web site. The news gathering capabilities that traditionally have found their way onto the printed page can now be uploaded to a site for all to see.
We cannot command the revenue stream as a local site that a major metropolitan news organization can like The New York Times or The Wall Street Journal. They can draw from an international base. As we serve the Mid-Shore of Maryland's Eastern Shore, there is a limited interest here.
We do have a scattering of readers from around the world. We have soldiers in Iraq and transplants in Florida as well as most other states across the country. But that is not enough to compare to the legions that read the big papers.
How they will deal with local readers who drop their print subscriptions to read the Times or Journal online, remains for the future to tell. We found we couldn't allow for the print readership erosion that occurred when we were totally free. This industry continues to wrestle with the proper way to use the Internet. It is likely there will be no one solution. Technology that does not exist today may influence our decisions in the future just has the Web itself is causing us to constantly reassess our position today.
One advance in technology that may well influence our future took another step forward last week. Two new entries in the electronic book field were unveiled. You may recall I mentioned an effort by Sony last summer to create an ebook device that would make it possible to read books on a tablet-type computer. The screen of that computer supposedly would be able to mimic the visual display of a printed page. You could have a library full of books on a tablet the size of a modest print volume.
Sony now is introducing the second generation of that device. What has pressed this back into the news is that both Amazon and Seiko have announced their own entries into this field. Amazon is of special note. The online business giant says it will have a device that will access the Amazon online store and download ebooks from a current catalogue of 88,000 titles. This is bound to expand.
But what really caught my eye (or ear as I heard it on an Internet podcast), was that Amazon was working out agreements with major newspapers like The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post to provide downloads of their daily papers to such a device.
We currently provide a PDF version of our paper on the stardem.com Web site. I have seen our paper displayed on Web-enabled smart cell phones. This delivery system to an ebook device would make such a digital link to our readers much easier.
Right now the cost of the device is prohibitive to the average reader. The ebook costs about $400. I can see that price coming down as service providers help absorb some of the device cost in exchange for a service agreement. This would be similar to how cell phones are handled now.
One of the problems the news industry faces is that is has been difficult to keep up with the pace of technology. There has been a reluctance to acknowledge how quickly advances are taking place.
Who knows what tomorrow will bring?
Thoughts?
As always, you can reach me at rpolk@chespub.com.
Will writer's strike push Internet popularity?
When Hollywood writers went on strike last week it fueled speculation that it would further drive the public to the Internet in their quest for entertainment.
Broadcast, and for that matter cable television, has been experiencing an erosion of viewers in recent years as the Internet has become a more popular destination for entertainment. It was once thought that porn was the number one attraction for online visitors. No more. People are using the Net for all forms of entertainment from online gaming, chats, to downloading or stream video television shows or movies on demand.
Some industry observers wonder if the writers or the networks understand that they may be pushing people away from traditional media. Such a move appears inevitable, but do they need to accelerate the pace?
And now for my weekly Google report. Remember Android from last week? Android is Google's effort to provide an open operating system for mobile phones. Prior to this, most phones have used propriety systems provided by the cell phone carrier (Sprint, Verizon Wireless, AT&T, etc.).
The Google effort is to set a new standard that would be used on all phones. The Internet giant took the first step toward realizing that goal last week by releasing development tools for programmers to use to develop new applications for the Android system.
Google has offered $10 million in prizes for programmers who create winning applications for the new platform (system). This should prompt a spurt of creativity among programmers.
Google is planting the seed. It won't be long before we find what blossom's from the plant that grows.
Google wants phone users to be able to have the same Internet experience on their mobile devices that computers users now have on their much larger laptops or desktop computers.
I was asked recently what I thought was to be the future of personal computing. I think it involves the personal communications device. We've seen the movement in that direction by devices like the iPhone and Google's Android operating system. Our personal communications device will soon be our primary connection to the world. The information super highway will flow through out hands and around the world.
We already have vision devices that project an image onto an eye glass type device that looks to the viewer like a large flat screen video monitor. Only instead of being 10 feet away, it is an inch from your eye. Voice activation will reduce the need for the large clunky keyboard.
Our children will laugh at the large computers we lugged around at the beginning of the 21st Century. Their devices may be no bigger than a current iPod and have wireless access to the Internet from anywhere in the world.
What will be the psychological and philosophical ramifications of such advancements in technology? How has the horseless carriage and the telephone affected our present society? The short answer is: we adapt. Just as my father's generation adapted to radio and the telephone, and my generation adapted to television and space travel, our children will adapt to having access to instant information.
We can only hope that all this instant information will lead to knowledge and that knowledge will lead to wisdom. For without the wisdom to properly channel the information, knowledge is useless.
What do you think?
As always, you can reach me at rpolkchespub.com.
Broadcast, and for that matter cable television, has been experiencing an erosion of viewers in recent years as the Internet has become a more popular destination for entertainment. It was once thought that porn was the number one attraction for online visitors. No more. People are using the Net for all forms of entertainment from online gaming, chats, to downloading or stream video television shows or movies on demand.
Some industry observers wonder if the writers or the networks understand that they may be pushing people away from traditional media. Such a move appears inevitable, but do they need to accelerate the pace?
And now for my weekly Google report. Remember Android from last week? Android is Google's effort to provide an open operating system for mobile phones. Prior to this, most phones have used propriety systems provided by the cell phone carrier (Sprint, Verizon Wireless, AT&T, etc.).
The Google effort is to set a new standard that would be used on all phones. The Internet giant took the first step toward realizing that goal last week by releasing development tools for programmers to use to develop new applications for the Android system.
Google has offered $10 million in prizes for programmers who create winning applications for the new platform (system). This should prompt a spurt of creativity among programmers.
Google is planting the seed. It won't be long before we find what blossom's from the plant that grows.
Google wants phone users to be able to have the same Internet experience on their mobile devices that computers users now have on their much larger laptops or desktop computers.
I was asked recently what I thought was to be the future of personal computing. I think it involves the personal communications device. We've seen the movement in that direction by devices like the iPhone and Google's Android operating system. Our personal communications device will soon be our primary connection to the world. The information super highway will flow through out hands and around the world.
We already have vision devices that project an image onto an eye glass type device that looks to the viewer like a large flat screen video monitor. Only instead of being 10 feet away, it is an inch from your eye. Voice activation will reduce the need for the large clunky keyboard.
Our children will laugh at the large computers we lugged around at the beginning of the 21st Century. Their devices may be no bigger than a current iPod and have wireless access to the Internet from anywhere in the world.
What will be the psychological and philosophical ramifications of such advancements in technology? How has the horseless carriage and the telephone affected our present society? The short answer is: we adapt. Just as my father's generation adapted to radio and the telephone, and my generation adapted to television and space travel, our children will adapt to having access to instant information.
We can only hope that all this instant information will lead to knowledge and that knowledge will lead to wisdom. For without the wisdom to properly channel the information, knowledge is useless.
What do you think?
As always, you can reach me at rpolkchespub.com.
Personal computer security to the Google Android
Maintaining Security for Your Home Computer is the topic of the next meeting of the Mid-Shore Computer Users Group.
Gary Epton will give a presentation on security for the home computer during the group's meeting at 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 15, at the Talbot County Chamber of Commerce conference room in the Easton Plaza Shopping Center.
As an advance notice, the group's December meeting will be on the second Thursday of the month instead of the third Thursday to avoid holiday conflicts. That meeting will feature a "Holiday Potpourri" where members will share ideas with each other. More on that in December.
Did you notice last week's Time magazine? It featured the iPhone on the cover and declared it to be the invention of the year. Among the reasons given for the selection was the assertion that the iPhone will make other phones better and that it is more than a phone, it is a platform. It runs on a version of OS X (the Mac operating system) and promises more functionality down the road.
We are beginning to see the fruits planted by Apple. Just last week, Google announced a new software platform called Android. It is not a phone. Some had speculated that the Internet giant (see many of my previous columns) was developing a gPhone. That has proven not to be the case for now.
The Android software platform is being released to developers in what they call the Open Handset Alliance to create software for a new generation of cell phones. Actually they will cease to be cell phones, they will be mobile devices for interpersonal communications whether it be via voice or the Internet.
At the present time mobile devices or "smart phones" are controlled by the cell phone carriers. There are many cell phones with a variety of functions. The cell carriers decide what features their devices will offer.
The Google initiate is seen as being a way to force the hand of the cell carriers. With the software developed by the Open Handset Alliance, a carrier will be left in the dust if it doesn't provide the range of services available.
The public is becoming more sophisticated in how it wants to communicate. While many people still just want a good, reliable voice connection on their cell phone, many want good, reliable Internet access. After you check your office email, you might want to check out the most receive hot video on YouTube or watch an episode of "Heroes" while you ride the train to work.
We will have to see how this alliance with Google develops. Already Intel has agreed to participate along with 33 other companies. Intel is developing its own Mobile Internet Device (MID) and it looks like the alliance software might be a good fit for the chipmaker. I would be surprised if Palm, developers of the Palm Pilot (PDA) devices, doesn't come on board eventually. Palm has initially turned a cold shoulder to Google's effort. I don't see how that could last. Palm needs the alliance more than it would admit.
Of course, this evolution of the personal communications device also will have an impact on my business. As these devices become more prevalent and their use becomes easier, there will be increasing pressure for the news media to deliver their product via these devices. It is a challenge to package what traditionally came on a 12-inch by 21-inch sheet of paper into a small pixel digital image window.
It will happen. We just don't now how rocky the path will be to get there.
As always, you can reach me at rpolkchespub.com.
Gary Epton will give a presentation on security for the home computer during the group's meeting at 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 15, at the Talbot County Chamber of Commerce conference room in the Easton Plaza Shopping Center.
As an advance notice, the group's December meeting will be on the second Thursday of the month instead of the third Thursday to avoid holiday conflicts. That meeting will feature a "Holiday Potpourri" where members will share ideas with each other. More on that in December.
Did you notice last week's Time magazine? It featured the iPhone on the cover and declared it to be the invention of the year. Among the reasons given for the selection was the assertion that the iPhone will make other phones better and that it is more than a phone, it is a platform. It runs on a version of OS X (the Mac operating system) and promises more functionality down the road.
We are beginning to see the fruits planted by Apple. Just last week, Google announced a new software platform called Android. It is not a phone. Some had speculated that the Internet giant (see many of my previous columns) was developing a gPhone. That has proven not to be the case for now.
The Android software platform is being released to developers in what they call the Open Handset Alliance to create software for a new generation of cell phones. Actually they will cease to be cell phones, they will be mobile devices for interpersonal communications whether it be via voice or the Internet.
At the present time mobile devices or "smart phones" are controlled by the cell phone carriers. There are many cell phones with a variety of functions. The cell carriers decide what features their devices will offer.
The Google initiate is seen as being a way to force the hand of the cell carriers. With the software developed by the Open Handset Alliance, a carrier will be left in the dust if it doesn't provide the range of services available.
The public is becoming more sophisticated in how it wants to communicate. While many people still just want a good, reliable voice connection on their cell phone, many want good, reliable Internet access. After you check your office email, you might want to check out the most receive hot video on YouTube or watch an episode of "Heroes" while you ride the train to work.
We will have to see how this alliance with Google develops. Already Intel has agreed to participate along with 33 other companies. Intel is developing its own Mobile Internet Device (MID) and it looks like the alliance software might be a good fit for the chipmaker. I would be surprised if Palm, developers of the Palm Pilot (PDA) devices, doesn't come on board eventually. Palm has initially turned a cold shoulder to Google's effort. I don't see how that could last. Palm needs the alliance more than it would admit.
Of course, this evolution of the personal communications device also will have an impact on my business. As these devices become more prevalent and their use becomes easier, there will be increasing pressure for the news media to deliver their product via these devices. It is a challenge to package what traditionally came on a 12-inch by 21-inch sheet of paper into a small pixel digital image window.
It will happen. We just don't now how rocky the path will be to get there.
As always, you can reach me at rpolkchespub.com.
Yes, we have no more Daylight Saving Time today
When you read this I'm sure the sun and the planets will all be aligned properly again because we are no longer on Daylight Saving Time. The sun is where it is supposed to be at this (fill in the blank) time of day.
Why am I mentioning this in a Internet/technology column? Do I ever have to cook up an excuse for a column subject? Well, were you caught short by any of your smart devices last week? If your digital clocks all of a sudden thought it was an hour earlier than normal last Sunday, it was because they were programmed before Congress changed the date for the end of Daylight Saving Time. I talked about this last year when the new date went into effect. This year some may have overlooked it because it was last year's news. They forgot their calendar smart digital clocks were still set to change. I had one clock with a calendar try to fool me. Fortunately, the rest were too stupid to know the difference. Sometimes, there is a benefit to not being "smart."
Under the heading of the evolution of the Web comes the topic of NBC and online videos. The National Broadcasting System is pulling its videos off of iTunes and getting them removed from YouTube with the aim of providing their own service on a site called Hulu. The site went into the public testing phase last week. It will initially feature material from NBC and Fox.
Some think this could be one of the opening efforts to bypass television and provide their content directly to the customer over the Internet. I've mentioned numerous times that your computer your Internet portal, is becoming the locus of your home entertainment system. With high speed connects becoming more popular and streaming video possible, conventional cable television will become the dinosaur technology of the 21st Century. Initial reports had Internet reviewers scoffing at NBC's effort.
Many questioned the logic of taking content off of YouTube where much of the material had enjoyed wide popularity. Some who have viewed the Hulu effort are not being as dismissive.
As the cliché goes, time will have to tell.
In another Web topic, a WiKi page has been created to share info on the Southern California wildfires.
Why am I mentioning this in a Internet/technology column? Do I ever have to cook up an excuse for a column subject? Well, were you caught short by any of your smart devices last week? If your digital clocks all of a sudden thought it was an hour earlier than normal last Sunday, it was because they were programmed before Congress changed the date for the end of Daylight Saving Time. I talked about this last year when the new date went into effect. This year some may have overlooked it because it was last year's news. They forgot their calendar smart digital clocks were still set to change. I had one clock with a calendar try to fool me. Fortunately, the rest were too stupid to know the difference. Sometimes, there is a benefit to not being "smart."
Under the heading of the evolution of the Web comes the topic of NBC and online videos. The National Broadcasting System is pulling its videos off of iTunes and getting them removed from YouTube with the aim of providing their own service on a site called Hulu. The site went into the public testing phase last week. It will initially feature material from NBC and Fox.
Some think this could be one of the opening efforts to bypass television and provide their content directly to the customer over the Internet. I've mentioned numerous times that your computer your Internet portal, is becoming the locus of your home entertainment system. With high speed connects becoming more popular and streaming video possible, conventional cable television will become the dinosaur technology of the 21st Century. Initial reports had Internet reviewers scoffing at NBC's effort.
Many questioned the logic of taking content off of YouTube where much of the material had enjoyed wide popularity. Some who have viewed the Hulu effort are not being as dismissive.
As the cliché goes, time will have to tell.
In another Web topic, a WiKi page has been created to share info on the Southern California wildfires.
