Thursday, February 14, 2008
They're getting hostile for Valentine's Day
Have you heard about the possible big marriage in the works?
Microsoft is wooing Yahoo. I guess woo isn't the right word. I don't think there is Valentine's Day greeting in the works. Microsoft is attempting a hostile takeover bid with an offer of $44.6 billion for the company. Yahoo for its part is playing coy with officials saying they will study the offer.
Meanwhile, Google is lobbying heavily in Washington to oppose the possible merger. Google reportedly has contacted other companies trying to get them to make counter offers for Yahoo.
Yahoo is a multi-service internet company that has its origins in the early days of the Internet. Which is Internet time in about 15 years. Go to the Yahoo Website and you will find it is a community with news, games, email, a messenger system and the second most popular search engine among other features. It is touted as the world's most visited home page. Don't believe it? Just ask Yahoo, that is what they say.
For all its power and traffic, Yahoo has been criticized for not being able to cash in properly on the number of people who visit the site. In the lingo of the Web, they haven't been able to monetize the eyes that view their material. Companies like Google have done a far better job of filling the corporate tiller.
Microsoft has seen the rise of Google and the online software features it has started to offer the public. Some of these features, like google documents, are becoming a threat to the Microsoft core business. The Microsoft office suite has been the company's best moneymaker. Google docs is an online feature that will be offering an off-line component. It isn't as sophisticated as Microsoft Office, but it offers enough to give the software giant a scare. Added to that the huge search engine capability of Google and you can understand why Microsoft wants to buy into the second largest player in the search engine field.
It is uncertain that the federal government will allow the marriage. But it is fun to watch these giants battle it out. What affect it will have on us little folk remains to be seen.
In another Internet corporate world move, Amazon.com has bought Audible.com. I personally find this of great interest because I have become a huge fan of audio books. I listen to all kinds of fiction and non-fiction stories on CD and MP3 players while commuting and on trips. Amazon has greatly expanded its digital download service in recent years. The Apple iTunes store also have a massive library. Audible provides material for both.
I plan to talk more about audio books in future columns. It is a fascinating media that had its origins in the effort to provide books for the blind. I remember seeing early examples of that while visiting my great grandmother back in the 60s. She had lost her sight as she aged and had a record player beside her bed that she used to listen to books on long-playing records.
Many of the early examples were simply read and a recording made. The medium has progressed to where there are now professional readers who make a polished presentation. Many of these readers have developed a following and people buy or rent audio books based on who the reader is as much as who the author is. I've recently listened to works by Stephen King and Ian McEwan.
The King work was his most recent offering "Duma Key" while McEwan's work was the novel "Atonement" which is also out in a movie form. "Atonement is read by Jill Tanner. "Duma Key" is read by John Slattery. Both provide a theatrical flare to the performance that enriches the listening experience.
More on this and other material in future columns.
As always, you can reach me at rpolk@chespub.com.
Microsoft is wooing Yahoo. I guess woo isn't the right word. I don't think there is Valentine's Day greeting in the works. Microsoft is attempting a hostile takeover bid with an offer of $44.6 billion for the company. Yahoo for its part is playing coy with officials saying they will study the offer.
Meanwhile, Google is lobbying heavily in Washington to oppose the possible merger. Google reportedly has contacted other companies trying to get them to make counter offers for Yahoo.
Yahoo is a multi-service internet company that has its origins in the early days of the Internet. Which is Internet time in about 15 years. Go to the Yahoo Website and you will find it is a community with news, games, email, a messenger system and the second most popular search engine among other features. It is touted as the world's most visited home page. Don't believe it? Just ask Yahoo, that is what they say.
For all its power and traffic, Yahoo has been criticized for not being able to cash in properly on the number of people who visit the site. In the lingo of the Web, they haven't been able to monetize the eyes that view their material. Companies like Google have done a far better job of filling the corporate tiller.
Microsoft has seen the rise of Google and the online software features it has started to offer the public. Some of these features, like google documents, are becoming a threat to the Microsoft core business. The Microsoft office suite has been the company's best moneymaker. Google docs is an online feature that will be offering an off-line component. It isn't as sophisticated as Microsoft Office, but it offers enough to give the software giant a scare. Added to that the huge search engine capability of Google and you can understand why Microsoft wants to buy into the second largest player in the search engine field.
It is uncertain that the federal government will allow the marriage. But it is fun to watch these giants battle it out. What affect it will have on us little folk remains to be seen.
In another Internet corporate world move, Amazon.com has bought Audible.com. I personally find this of great interest because I have become a huge fan of audio books. I listen to all kinds of fiction and non-fiction stories on CD and MP3 players while commuting and on trips. Amazon has greatly expanded its digital download service in recent years. The Apple iTunes store also have a massive library. Audible provides material for both.
I plan to talk more about audio books in future columns. It is a fascinating media that had its origins in the effort to provide books for the blind. I remember seeing early examples of that while visiting my great grandmother back in the 60s. She had lost her sight as she aged and had a record player beside her bed that she used to listen to books on long-playing records.
Many of the early examples were simply read and a recording made. The medium has progressed to where there are now professional readers who make a polished presentation. Many of these readers have developed a following and people buy or rent audio books based on who the reader is as much as who the author is. I've recently listened to works by Stephen King and Ian McEwan.
The King work was his most recent offering "Duma Key" while McEwan's work was the novel "Atonement" which is also out in a movie form. "Atonement is read by Jill Tanner. "Duma Key" is read by John Slattery. Both provide a theatrical flare to the performance that enriches the listening experience.
More on this and other material in future columns.
As always, you can reach me at rpolk@chespub.com.
It has been a bad month for many, I know
January is always a cold and forbidding month. This one has been especially so. I don't normally get personal in this column. I am this time.
The month had barely gotten under way when I received word that my dad's youngest bother had died. I say youngest. He had turned 80 just the previous fall making all four brothers in that generation octogenarians. My dad has an older brother 82 and a twin a few moments younger at 81. When the youngest turned 80, the family had that generation together for eight decades. For us youngsters they seemed kind of permanent. They were the cornerstones of our family. One of the corners of the foundation was now gone.
Of course it is not possible for them to be permanent, but they had always been there in the living history of our family. So when uncle Dick succumbed to a massive stroke shortly after the new year, it was a surprise.
I carry that personal loss into the rest of the month which has been sad for the entire Mid-Shore. It is one thing for a man of 80 to pass on. It is quite another for a series of youngsters to lose their lives so tragically. There had been one other male in that generation but he was gone before anyone in my generation even existed. My mother had an older brother who was shot down over Italy in 1944. I know him only from pictures.
I come to work very early in the morning. I review the newspaper and check to see that some of the overnight work is done for the Web site. In our system, I gather the local material for the Web site and begin to distribute it to various portions of the Web site. As the stories of the accidents and the tragic loss of young life appeared each day, I began to approach the newspaper with foreboding each morning. My heart goes out to all the families. In many cases, the Web site has been used as a mechanism for people to express their grief. I'm doing it in this way.
I got a comment recently from one of the regular readers about the lead picture I put up each day. It served as a reminder to me to be mindful of the way different browsers display material from the Web site.
She noted that sometimes when I post the featured picture, the background and the text blend together. This happens when I have a dark background and use a dark color for the font. When I do this early in the morning, I sometimes forget that different browsers render colors differently on the computer screen. I will strive, I say strive, to make the background and font have more contrast. I enjoy this part of the creative process. I don't want to compromise the affect by failing to take color contrast into consideration.
The vast majority of the site visitors use Internet Explorer with Netscape a distant second and AOL an even more distant third. In each case, the browser version can make a difference. Throw in the variations between Mac and PC and it can get quite confusing. In any event, I'll try to boost the contrast so I hope all will benefit.
There has been some Internet news this week. Rupert Murdoch after proclaiming his intention to make the Wall Street Journal free when he bought control last year has backed down. The most successful paid online newspaper ever will continue as a subscriber site and the rates will be increased. I understand you can see some of the site's stories if you access them through Google News. I'll check this out.
A friend who worked for The Wall Street Journal was skeptical when Murdoch announced his plan last year. He didn't think Murdoch would get it by the company's board. Apparently Murdoch didn't.
Apple got punished in the stock market this week after reporting its best quarter ever. I've likened the market to a herd of domestic turkeys. They form a group and are scared of their own shadow. Ben Franklin once proposed that the wild turkey be named our national bird. As you know, the Bald Eagle won out. That makes all us men who are thin on top proud. But I wonder, if the turkey had won, what would have happened to Thanksgiving?
Thoughts?
As always, you can reach me at rpolk@chespub.com.
The month had barely gotten under way when I received word that my dad's youngest bother had died. I say youngest. He had turned 80 just the previous fall making all four brothers in that generation octogenarians. My dad has an older brother 82 and a twin a few moments younger at 81. When the youngest turned 80, the family had that generation together for eight decades. For us youngsters they seemed kind of permanent. They were the cornerstones of our family. One of the corners of the foundation was now gone.
Of course it is not possible for them to be permanent, but they had always been there in the living history of our family. So when uncle Dick succumbed to a massive stroke shortly after the new year, it was a surprise.
I carry that personal loss into the rest of the month which has been sad for the entire Mid-Shore. It is one thing for a man of 80 to pass on. It is quite another for a series of youngsters to lose their lives so tragically. There had been one other male in that generation but he was gone before anyone in my generation even existed. My mother had an older brother who was shot down over Italy in 1944. I know him only from pictures.
I come to work very early in the morning. I review the newspaper and check to see that some of the overnight work is done for the Web site. In our system, I gather the local material for the Web site and begin to distribute it to various portions of the Web site. As the stories of the accidents and the tragic loss of young life appeared each day, I began to approach the newspaper with foreboding each morning. My heart goes out to all the families. In many cases, the Web site has been used as a mechanism for people to express their grief. I'm doing it in this way.
I got a comment recently from one of the regular readers about the lead picture I put up each day. It served as a reminder to me to be mindful of the way different browsers display material from the Web site.
She noted that sometimes when I post the featured picture, the background and the text blend together. This happens when I have a dark background and use a dark color for the font. When I do this early in the morning, I sometimes forget that different browsers render colors differently on the computer screen. I will strive, I say strive, to make the background and font have more contrast. I enjoy this part of the creative process. I don't want to compromise the affect by failing to take color contrast into consideration.
The vast majority of the site visitors use Internet Explorer with Netscape a distant second and AOL an even more distant third. In each case, the browser version can make a difference. Throw in the variations between Mac and PC and it can get quite confusing. In any event, I'll try to boost the contrast so I hope all will benefit.
There has been some Internet news this week. Rupert Murdoch after proclaiming his intention to make the Wall Street Journal free when he bought control last year has backed down. The most successful paid online newspaper ever will continue as a subscriber site and the rates will be increased. I understand you can see some of the site's stories if you access them through Google News. I'll check this out.
A friend who worked for The Wall Street Journal was skeptical when Murdoch announced his plan last year. He didn't think Murdoch would get it by the company's board. Apparently Murdoch didn't.
Apple got punished in the stock market this week after reporting its best quarter ever. I've likened the market to a herd of domestic turkeys. They form a group and are scared of their own shadow. Ben Franklin once proposed that the wild turkey be named our national bird. As you know, the Bald Eagle won out. That makes all us men who are thin on top proud. But I wonder, if the turkey had won, what would have happened to Thanksgiving?
Thoughts?
As always, you can reach me at rpolk@chespub.com.
A week of sadness; expanding news online
In each of the first three weeks of this year/month, there has been a steady rise in average visitors per day to the stardem.com Web site. Each week shows gains over the previous week. This comes after a period of relatively flat activity.
It is obvious there is a cause and effect in force here. We have just experienced a tragic week on the Mid-Shore. Two youngsters were killed at school bus stops and a teen-ager was struck while trying to cross Route 404. These incidents tear at the heart of anyone who hears of them.
As I mentioned last week, the star dem.com Web site once again served as one of the conduits for people to express their grief and share their condolences. I read every one of them and many bring a tear to the eye.
Everyone should step back and reflect on these tragic incidents. Parents should talk with children and drivers need to make sure they are as watchful as possible when children are about. I know it is not always possible. The totally unexpected can happen. Perhaps it can be minimized by constant vigilance.
Let's move on to something different.
Print papers face several restrictions that are not shared by their online counterparts. Print newspaper do not have endless editorial space. A publisher must make basic economic decision each day as to how many pages they will print. There must be a balance of editorial and advertising material to keep the company in the black. The print paper is also restricted on how often they can update the news.
Some newspapers update once again. Some papers do it on a daily basis. If it is a large urban paper, the publication will often have several updates (called editions) during the day. The last edition is called the final and should represent the latest news with the fewest errors.
A paper with only one edition a day must strive to make the product final. Anyone who has taken a tour of a newspaper (I give them here at the Star Democrat), quickly becomes aware of how complicated the process is. Many hands and eyes take part in the process.
The online component has virtually limitless space and can be updated and corrected within minutes, if not seconds.
As I said, space is a big issue with print papers. This factor causes editors to make decision on what makes the paper and what is left out. As we progress through the year, I want to encourage more of your participation on the Website. We will expand the free areas to accommodate user generated content.
One area I would like to see developed is the area of local sports. I intend to make it easy for coaches and team reps to send info into the Website. For those of you who feel the print paper is not covering your sport or your development level (example jayvee teams), send me your reports on games.
Please share your thoughts on this. As always, you can reach me at rpolk@chespub.com.
It is obvious there is a cause and effect in force here. We have just experienced a tragic week on the Mid-Shore. Two youngsters were killed at school bus stops and a teen-ager was struck while trying to cross Route 404. These incidents tear at the heart of anyone who hears of them.
As I mentioned last week, the star dem.com Web site once again served as one of the conduits for people to express their grief and share their condolences. I read every one of them and many bring a tear to the eye.
Everyone should step back and reflect on these tragic incidents. Parents should talk with children and drivers need to make sure they are as watchful as possible when children are about. I know it is not always possible. The totally unexpected can happen. Perhaps it can be minimized by constant vigilance.
Let's move on to something different.
Print papers face several restrictions that are not shared by their online counterparts. Print newspaper do not have endless editorial space. A publisher must make basic economic decision each day as to how many pages they will print. There must be a balance of editorial and advertising material to keep the company in the black. The print paper is also restricted on how often they can update the news.
Some newspapers update once again. Some papers do it on a daily basis. If it is a large urban paper, the publication will often have several updates (called editions) during the day. The last edition is called the final and should represent the latest news with the fewest errors.
A paper with only one edition a day must strive to make the product final. Anyone who has taken a tour of a newspaper (I give them here at the Star Democrat), quickly becomes aware of how complicated the process is. Many hands and eyes take part in the process.
The online component has virtually limitless space and can be updated and corrected within minutes, if not seconds.
As I said, space is a big issue with print papers. This factor causes editors to make decision on what makes the paper and what is left out. As we progress through the year, I want to encourage more of your participation on the Website. We will expand the free areas to accommodate user generated content.
One area I would like to see developed is the area of local sports. I intend to make it easy for coaches and team reps to send info into the Website. For those of you who feel the print paper is not covering your sport or your development level (example jayvee teams), send me your reports on games.
Please share your thoughts on this. As always, you can reach me at rpolk@chespub.com.
Known by the company they keep
The in-laws were in town last week, and as avid birders they couldn't pass up a drive through the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge. They were thrilled at the sight of a golden eagle and just a little ho hum at spotting four bald eagles.
The dramatic recovery of the bald eagle's population is one of the great environmental success stories in modern times. I remember vividly a visit by the same birders about a decade ago. They were driving across the Dover Bridge crossing the upper Choptank when they sighted a mature bald eagle soaring low over the river. You'd have thought they discovered the Holy Grail, so great was their disbelief and excitement.
On this recent trip, they were mildly surprised to find that the golden eagle was hanging out with a group of vultures. It makes sense, of course. Vultures are the official sanitation crew for roadkill and carrion in general, a taste not disdained by eagles. Fish comprise some 90 percent of eagles' diets, but they're not fussy about freebies when the opportunity arrives.
All the same, it's hard to associate these regal beauties with the likes of vultures; even if you count the degree of baldness as a measure of merit, vultures would win by a mile. It has been surmised that their leathery, hairless pates are a function of hygiene, since they routinely stick their heads into gore. Really, it doesn't bear thinking about.
Speaking of eagles, I read this week that "Hunting with a partner, an eagle can bring down a deer." A piece by William K. Stevens under the title, "Birds of a Feather often Kill Together," states, "The majestic image of the lone eagle may often hold true, but scientists are also beginning to piece together a more complex picture of eagles, hawks and falcons as team players whose hunting tactics and keen intelligence invite comparison with the wolf and the fox."
"Eagles, in fact, not only mount concerted and successful attacks on the fox itself...by acting together, they are even able to bring down big animals like deer, antelopes and African bush-bucks."
Our local eagles may or may not fit that pattern. Most likely they are busy these days with home renovations. Nests are being readied for mating in two or three weeks from now, I'm told by a Blackwater staffer.
On the home front, flibbitygibbets rule the roost. Well, not actually the roost, which is unknown to me, but certainly the backyard feeders. Chickadees are all motion, all incessant energy as they swoop into the feeder, grab a mouthful and exit without breaking stride. Their bosom buddies are the tufted titmice that catch the contagious sense of rush-rush fun. I have watched chickadees hang upside down on a twig and poke its bill into a pine cone. The search is constant to find a seed or a tidbit hidden in a crevice.
The chickadee spends all day every day hunting for food. As Pat Furgurson writes, "He is driven by his metabolism, by a body temperature of 108 degrees and a heart that beats a thousand times a minute when he is up and on the job ... Such a heart demands constant hunting and feeding, which is why we never see the chickadee perched on high, rendering elaborate arias like the operatic mockingbird."
Now and again a nuthatch joins the crowd, but never seems to capture the frantic pace of chickadees. Nuthatches simply defy gravity. What a strange bird! It walks down a tree trunk head first, upside down. It circles the trunk methodically amid the flurry, the comings and goings of chickadees, titmice, sparrows, a pair of cardinals and a mockingbird that alights on the fence rail and quickly departs, wanting nothing to do with such a crowded lunch spot.
The nuthatch ignores it all. His bill is slightly tilted at the tip and he uses it to flick off bits of tree bark. That's where bugs have taken shelter to wait out the winter. He spirals down, sending a shower of chips in his wake. There's none of the nervous flitting and chatter of his neighbors. Feeding is just a job for the nuthatch, and when he's finished canvassing one tree he moves on to the next.
It's a wonder I get any writing done with all the action on the other side of my window. The last 15 minutes have been a circus and now, quite abruptly, the backyard is vacant. I don't see the sharp-shinned hawk, but it may be in the vicinity. Even the squirrels have disappeared, the same party crashers that knocked the big feeder askew twice already this morning.
On balance, the company I keep charms the socks off me.
The dramatic recovery of the bald eagle's population is one of the great environmental success stories in modern times. I remember vividly a visit by the same birders about a decade ago. They were driving across the Dover Bridge crossing the upper Choptank when they sighted a mature bald eagle soaring low over the river. You'd have thought they discovered the Holy Grail, so great was their disbelief and excitement.
On this recent trip, they were mildly surprised to find that the golden eagle was hanging out with a group of vultures. It makes sense, of course. Vultures are the official sanitation crew for roadkill and carrion in general, a taste not disdained by eagles. Fish comprise some 90 percent of eagles' diets, but they're not fussy about freebies when the opportunity arrives.
All the same, it's hard to associate these regal beauties with the likes of vultures; even if you count the degree of baldness as a measure of merit, vultures would win by a mile. It has been surmised that their leathery, hairless pates are a function of hygiene, since they routinely stick their heads into gore. Really, it doesn't bear thinking about.
Speaking of eagles, I read this week that "Hunting with a partner, an eagle can bring down a deer." A piece by William K. Stevens under the title, "Birds of a Feather often Kill Together," states, "The majestic image of the lone eagle may often hold true, but scientists are also beginning to piece together a more complex picture of eagles, hawks and falcons as team players whose hunting tactics and keen intelligence invite comparison with the wolf and the fox."
"Eagles, in fact, not only mount concerted and successful attacks on the fox itself...by acting together, they are even able to bring down big animals like deer, antelopes and African bush-bucks."
Our local eagles may or may not fit that pattern. Most likely they are busy these days with home renovations. Nests are being readied for mating in two or three weeks from now, I'm told by a Blackwater staffer.
On the home front, flibbitygibbets rule the roost. Well, not actually the roost, which is unknown to me, but certainly the backyard feeders. Chickadees are all motion, all incessant energy as they swoop into the feeder, grab a mouthful and exit without breaking stride. Their bosom buddies are the tufted titmice that catch the contagious sense of rush-rush fun. I have watched chickadees hang upside down on a twig and poke its bill into a pine cone. The search is constant to find a seed or a tidbit hidden in a crevice.
The chickadee spends all day every day hunting for food. As Pat Furgurson writes, "He is driven by his metabolism, by a body temperature of 108 degrees and a heart that beats a thousand times a minute when he is up and on the job ... Such a heart demands constant hunting and feeding, which is why we never see the chickadee perched on high, rendering elaborate arias like the operatic mockingbird."
Now and again a nuthatch joins the crowd, but never seems to capture the frantic pace of chickadees. Nuthatches simply defy gravity. What a strange bird! It walks down a tree trunk head first, upside down. It circles the trunk methodically amid the flurry, the comings and goings of chickadees, titmice, sparrows, a pair of cardinals and a mockingbird that alights on the fence rail and quickly departs, wanting nothing to do with such a crowded lunch spot.
The nuthatch ignores it all. His bill is slightly tilted at the tip and he uses it to flick off bits of tree bark. That's where bugs have taken shelter to wait out the winter. He spirals down, sending a shower of chips in his wake. There's none of the nervous flitting and chatter of his neighbors. Feeding is just a job for the nuthatch, and when he's finished canvassing one tree he moves on to the next.
It's a wonder I get any writing done with all the action on the other side of my window. The last 15 minutes have been a circus and now, quite abruptly, the backyard is vacant. I don't see the sharp-shinned hawk, but it may be in the vicinity. Even the squirrels have disappeared, the same party crashers that knocked the big feeder askew twice already this morning.
On balance, the company I keep charms the socks off me.
No theme, just some random thoughts
Once again we have received a comment to a story without a name or email address. It was about a convicted rapist receiving a suspended sentence. I hope the author didn't really think we would print the comment sans name and email address.
Now, email addresses are not published with comments. I see them. No one else does. I can use them to cross-check for authenticity. This is especially important if the comment could be controversial.
Don't expect your criticism to make the site, if you won't at least let me know who you are. So with that proviso, keep the comments coming. I appreciate them about me or anything to do with the site or the stories on it.
And now for further evidence of the rise of the Internet.
Last summer we reported that the Internet would overtake all other media in ad spending by 2011. Online Media Daily is now reporting that the Internet should overtake television in ad spending by next year 2009. Online display advertising is expected to grow some 14.4 percent this year which would outpace the growth of the overall industry.
The Mid-Shore Computer Users Group will hold its next meeting on Thursday, Jan. 17, at 7 p.m. at the Talbot County Chamber of Commerce Building in the Easton Plaza Shopping Center. "Rip that Music" will be the topic. The presentation will be led by Michael Alloy. If you want to learn how to select and copy your favorite music onto your computer, create playlists for portable music devices, this discussion might interest you. Want more information? Call 410-822-7207. The meeting is open to everyone.
If you monitor tech news on the Internet, you probably know that last week was the week of CES. The acronym stands for Computer Electronics Show and it takes place in of all places, Las Vegas, Nevada. It has come to be considered one of the major technology-related trade shows. Initial observations rippling across the Web have been less than spectacular this year. The show is full of huge flat-panel television displays. Bigger is better. So big you need to build your house around it and mortgage your home to pay for it, while you are at it.
The show also featured what is expected to be the last appearance of Bill Gates as the head of Microsoft.
Some notable product introductions at past CES sessions include: the Microsoft Xbox in 2001, the DVD in 1996, the compact disc (CD) player and the camcorder in 1981, Pong home console by Atari in 1975 and the video cassette recorder (VCR) in 1970. To give proper credit, all this was gleamed from the CES entry on Wikipedia.
Past shows have been attended by as many as 150,000 people. It is believed to be the largest electronics event in the United States.
The results are in on the New Year's Resolution question. A total of 42 percent don't find them useful, eight percent do and a whopping 51 percent don't bother with them. I wonder if they don't bother with them because they know they can't keep them?
Yes. I know the numbers add up to 101 percent. The percentages are rounded up for convenience and accuracy is often scarified for convenience. That is like saying "close enough for government work." If you are a government worker and take offense, I'm sorry. The image is well established.
Do you have an idea for a blog? I would be interested in your thoughts. One might be on local sports. I would be interested in contributions of the local sports scene. As always, you can send your thoughts, ideas and comments to me at rpolk@chespub.com. Even if you just want to vent, I'll listen.
Now, email addresses are not published with comments. I see them. No one else does. I can use them to cross-check for authenticity. This is especially important if the comment could be controversial.
Don't expect your criticism to make the site, if you won't at least let me know who you are. So with that proviso, keep the comments coming. I appreciate them about me or anything to do with the site or the stories on it.
And now for further evidence of the rise of the Internet.
Last summer we reported that the Internet would overtake all other media in ad spending by 2011. Online Media Daily is now reporting that the Internet should overtake television in ad spending by next year 2009. Online display advertising is expected to grow some 14.4 percent this year which would outpace the growth of the overall industry.
The Mid-Shore Computer Users Group will hold its next meeting on Thursday, Jan. 17, at 7 p.m. at the Talbot County Chamber of Commerce Building in the Easton Plaza Shopping Center. "Rip that Music" will be the topic. The presentation will be led by Michael Alloy. If you want to learn how to select and copy your favorite music onto your computer, create playlists for portable music devices, this discussion might interest you. Want more information? Call 410-822-7207. The meeting is open to everyone.
If you monitor tech news on the Internet, you probably know that last week was the week of CES. The acronym stands for Computer Electronics Show and it takes place in of all places, Las Vegas, Nevada. It has come to be considered one of the major technology-related trade shows. Initial observations rippling across the Web have been less than spectacular this year. The show is full of huge flat-panel television displays. Bigger is better. So big you need to build your house around it and mortgage your home to pay for it, while you are at it.
The show also featured what is expected to be the last appearance of Bill Gates as the head of Microsoft.
Some notable product introductions at past CES sessions include: the Microsoft Xbox in 2001, the DVD in 1996, the compact disc (CD) player and the camcorder in 1981, Pong home console by Atari in 1975 and the video cassette recorder (VCR) in 1970. To give proper credit, all this was gleamed from the CES entry on Wikipedia.
Past shows have been attended by as many as 150,000 people. It is believed to be the largest electronics event in the United States.
The results are in on the New Year's Resolution question. A total of 42 percent don't find them useful, eight percent do and a whopping 51 percent don't bother with them. I wonder if they don't bother with them because they know they can't keep them?
Yes. I know the numbers add up to 101 percent. The percentages are rounded up for convenience and accuracy is often scarified for convenience. That is like saying "close enough for government work." If you are a government worker and take offense, I'm sorry. The image is well established.
Do you have an idea for a blog? I would be interested in your thoughts. One might be on local sports. I would be interested in contributions of the local sports scene. As always, you can send your thoughts, ideas and comments to me at rpolk@chespub.com. Even if you just want to vent, I'll listen.
2007 comes to a close; what a year it was
The year 2007 is now over. We now leap into 2008. I say leap because this year will stay will us a bit longer than last. We have one of those rare February 29ths in it.
We have a leap year because the actually length of the year is 365.242 days. That quarter day makes it necessary to adjust the calendar every four years. Otherwise we would slowly drift out of sync with our seasons.
Now it is a hair less than a quarter day so we make further adjustments every century or so. To further refine our calendar, century years are only considered leap years if they are divisible by 400. Therefore the century years of 1700, 1800 and 1900 were not leap years.
The year 2000 was. The year 2100 will not be one. So get your calendars set.
How do I know this? Why I googled it and got the info almost word for word from an article on "The History of Leap Year" by Mary Bellis on About.com.
So back to the year 2007.
It was the year of the long awaited new Microsoft operating system Vista. I guess the term vista implies a new horizon for operating system. Well, many are still reluctant to climb the Microsoft mountain and take in the view. Vista is ram happy (a memory hog) and not as fast as advertized. If fact, in some cases, Windows XP has proved to be faster.
Vista will be the dominant operating system in the future. It has to be. Microsoft will make sure of that. As newer, faster, computers are sold, there will be less problems, and the grumbling will die down.
It also was the year of the iPhone. This device has upped the ante for cell phones. Already the market is expanding as new smart phones are brought onto the market to compete with Apples first generation phone. It has its flaws and short comings but it is showing the public just what a personal communications device can offer. And more people are deciding they want more that just a phone to make calls. They want a device that can connect them to the world.
We saw and heard an event near the end of the year that demonstrates the convergence I have been documenting for some time now. I mean by convergence the blending of the Internet into mainstream culture. YouTube, which is still a toddler in human years, continues to merge. We have candidate debates using video questions from YouTube and well as some Internet video stars moving to broadcast television. But now, perhaps the most interesting event was the broadcast by Queen Elizabeth II of her annual Christmas Message. This year it was done from the Queen's channel on YouTube.
Ironically, it was the 50th anniversary of the Queen's first video broadcast in 1957. Some of the footage was skillfully woven into the 2007 message. While YouTube is not known for its taste, this presentation was of top caliber as it was produced by the BBC.
Maybe George Bush could start is own YouTube channel?
During 2008, we plan to grow and expand the stardem.com Website. We plan to add some new blog and perhaps encourage some of you to participate. If you have an idea for a topic, drop me an email at the address I give at the end of this column. Some topics might include sports, Shore history and area events.
We also will be growing the recently added photo gallery. We will show you how you can contribute to this, too.
The timing of Christmas threw me off this year. I got screwed up on my deadline and missed my column last week. I did get it posted on the Web site and it is in my blog. I threatened to use it for this week's entry, but I managed to avoid that. Check it out in the Life area online.
I hope that 2007 went well for you and that 2008 will be part of a bright future.
As always, you can reach me at rpolk@chespub.com.
We have a leap year because the actually length of the year is 365.242 days. That quarter day makes it necessary to adjust the calendar every four years. Otherwise we would slowly drift out of sync with our seasons.
Now it is a hair less than a quarter day so we make further adjustments every century or so. To further refine our calendar, century years are only considered leap years if they are divisible by 400. Therefore the century years of 1700, 1800 and 1900 were not leap years.
The year 2000 was. The year 2100 will not be one. So get your calendars set.
How do I know this? Why I googled it and got the info almost word for word from an article on "The History of Leap Year" by Mary Bellis on About.com.
So back to the year 2007.
It was the year of the long awaited new Microsoft operating system Vista. I guess the term vista implies a new horizon for operating system. Well, many are still reluctant to climb the Microsoft mountain and take in the view. Vista is ram happy (a memory hog) and not as fast as advertized. If fact, in some cases, Windows XP has proved to be faster.
Vista will be the dominant operating system in the future. It has to be. Microsoft will make sure of that. As newer, faster, computers are sold, there will be less problems, and the grumbling will die down.
It also was the year of the iPhone. This device has upped the ante for cell phones. Already the market is expanding as new smart phones are brought onto the market to compete with Apples first generation phone. It has its flaws and short comings but it is showing the public just what a personal communications device can offer. And more people are deciding they want more that just a phone to make calls. They want a device that can connect them to the world.
We saw and heard an event near the end of the year that demonstrates the convergence I have been documenting for some time now. I mean by convergence the blending of the Internet into mainstream culture. YouTube, which is still a toddler in human years, continues to merge. We have candidate debates using video questions from YouTube and well as some Internet video stars moving to broadcast television. But now, perhaps the most interesting event was the broadcast by Queen Elizabeth II of her annual Christmas Message. This year it was done from the Queen's channel on YouTube.
Ironically, it was the 50th anniversary of the Queen's first video broadcast in 1957. Some of the footage was skillfully woven into the 2007 message. While YouTube is not known for its taste, this presentation was of top caliber as it was produced by the BBC.
Maybe George Bush could start is own YouTube channel?
During 2008, we plan to grow and expand the stardem.com Website. We plan to add some new blog and perhaps encourage some of you to participate. If you have an idea for a topic, drop me an email at the address I give at the end of this column. Some topics might include sports, Shore history and area events.
We also will be growing the recently added photo gallery. We will show you how you can contribute to this, too.
The timing of Christmas threw me off this year. I got screwed up on my deadline and missed my column last week. I did get it posted on the Web site and it is in my blog. I threatened to use it for this week's entry, but I managed to avoid that. Check it out in the Life area online.
I hope that 2007 went well for you and that 2008 will be part of a bright future.
As always, you can reach me at rpolk@chespub.com.
