Archive for June, 2006
June 12, 2006 at · Filed under internet
several countries in europe are looking into regulation that will require apple to open up its DRM , so the songs bought on iTunes can play on any device (right now they only play on iPods).
i think it is ridiculous and that governments should stay away from regulating this space.
people are right to be upset with apple and their iTunes service. the apple DRM is terrible to consumers. it is very hard to move iTunes songs from PC to PC. it only supports iPods. you can't share the files with your friends. you can't resell the content.
but the way to deal with it is different.
if people are upset with Apple's conduct, then they should stop using iTunes (i did) to express their discontent.
btw, if you're really care about this issue there are demonstrations at Apple stores tomorrow.
June 8, 2006 at · Filed under internet, mobile
despite my carrier's (t-mobile) weak/non-existent/pathetic marketing of ringback tones (they call it Caller Tunes?) i have subscribed to the service and started using it.
the default ringback was terrible. some hip-hop tune by some unknown group with very questionable quality. this was a smart move by t-mobile, because i immediately went online to replace it.
a few observations:
- the pricing is too high, but unlike ringtones which i can download any MP3 i want without paying, for this service to work i must buy the ringback from the carrier
- the interface to change ringback tones is terrible on a consistent basis across their web, wap and ivr. the ivr is the worst, and is impossible to navigate. the wap is ok, but you can't preview the ringback.. the web is ok, but could be greatly improved
- the feature of customizing the ringback based on caller-id, time of day, holidays and more is extensive, but probably will not be used by most users unless they improve the user interface
- the selection of ringbacks is very limited
i think they should be a bit less greedy and offer an option for users to upload their own MP3 files. i would be willing to pay a higher subscription fee if they let me upload my own content (there is probably no chance they will adopt this idea..). they can actually make more money this way, since one the problems of ringback tones is that people forget to change them, so charging a higher subscription fee and letting the user upload may actually increase their revenues (still there is no chance they are going to do it..)
June 8, 2006 at · Filed under politics, religion
so we finally got Zarqawi.
good.
zarqawi is dead, long live [ ] (name will be filled within a matter of weeks). this is the nature of this conflict.
before Bush comes out with statements such as "this may turn the tide" (which is an interesting acknowledgment of the status of the "war on terror" so far), he may want to speak with a few of his israeli friends.
israel had been killing "public enemy #1", "most wanted in gaza/west-bank" for years now. every couple of months the israeli air-force/special forces are successful in killing these #1 guys. the issue is that there is always a replacement.
unless the resistance is very, very small removing the head does not change much in the macro. it does not mean that these guys should not be prosecuted and removed, but you just need to be realistic in the expectations of the impact. zarqawi will be a martyr, we will have a new #1 guy we must get, and life will go on.
btw, the picture at the top is of an iraqi woman celebrating his death (according to the AP). they sure know how to have fun these guys.
June 7, 2006 at · Filed under books
i am not a big fan of oprah, but i really like what she is doing with her book club.
thanks to her featuring Night by Elie Wiesel in her book club, and bringing it back to ALL the book stores, i picked it up as well. it's a quick read, so i finished it during one of my flights a couple of weeks ago.
i was a bit disappointed with the book (i had very high expectations). it's probably not a popular stand to take, criticizing a book about the holocaust, but i'll do it anyway..
i didn't like it for the following reasons:
- i thought it was a bit over dramatic in its description of events. in my opinion just describing what happened without the added adjectives would have had a stronger impact.
- maybe it is the fact that it was written in the sixties (though the translation is very recent), but i did not connect to the language and the flow of the story
- it was a bit hollywoodish (too many things connected, too many characters intersected)
- i thought it smelled a bit of "truthiness", not that i doubt the core facts it just feels to me that some of the story is a bit embellished (in that sense it may be a theme oprah is going for following her success with james frey)
overall i think the story is very strong, but that the writing is weak (again a bit like mr. frey).
P.S
something tells me i am going to regret this post. but this is what i feel. maybe this is the point to say that my grandparents were holocaust survivors, so maybe it gives me some space to criticize Elie Wiesel in this overly politically correct world…
June 6, 2006 at · Filed under internet, politics
i wrote about it in the past, and it is becoming worst.
it seems like every day there is a new failed company suing a successful company for infringing on its patents (a failed company is actually a good case, in many cases the company filing the lawsuit never tried to build a real business but rather started by buying a patent and hiring lawyers on success fee).
the latest case in the news is Net2Phone suing Skype. since Skype got acquired by eBay it has been sues by at least 3 companies, all looking to stick their hands into eBay's deep pockets.
it is getting to the point where it is out of control, and is starting to hurt businesses. the whole patent system should be changed, it is old, corrupt and misguided, and now it is being abused. it has become Plan B for many companies, and i hear it from start-ups more and more "well we're building a real IP portfolio, so even if we don't make it as a business we can always sue anyone that goes into that space". and this is the good ones, the bad ones are lawyers with an entrepreneurial spirit who want to go into the business of buying patents and than suing companies.
there are 2 approaches: focused and big, spread and small.
Focused and Big - this is the case of NTP vs. RIM. go after a big company with deep pockets and threaten to put it out of business. it takes years, but the reward could be huge (ask RIM..).
Spread and Small - this is the case of Accacia vs. the rest of the world. go after hundreds thousands of companies. ask them for a small license fee (e.g. $5000), otherwise you will sue. for most companies it makes more sense to pay than to pay legal fees. so they pay. pure extortion business.
obviously i have a problem with both tactics, and i hope sooner rather than later the laws will be changed, but since i have zero faith in this (or the next) congress i am not optimistic on this one. it going to get much uglier before it gets better.
June 6, 2006 at · Filed under internet
the klonies are officially out!
starting today you can create your own klonie for skype (http://skype.klonies.com).
we (at comverse) have been working on klonies for over a year, so it's great to finally see them live on the internet. this is just the first step. we have lots of plans for where to take klonies from here.
i believe avatars are going to become extremely popular on the web, as well as on the mobile. hopefully klonies will lead the charge in terms of content, innovation and eventually audience. i am pretty limited in terms of what i can share publicly with regard to the roadmap of klonies, so i'll try to focus more on the social and commercial aspects of the avatar trend in general.
June 6, 2006 at · Filed under books
finished reading Haunted by Chuck Palahniuk.
it is the latest (i think) novel by Palahniuk, which i picked up in an airport when i forgot to a book (i think a good portion of my library was built this way. to be honest in many cases i buy books at airports even when i already have a book with me..).
i don't think it is one of his best books, and he starts to get repetitive. the theme of this book is a bunch of writers/poets/screen-writers who are signing up for a "writer's retreat" and find themselves locked up in a building for 3 months. the book is filled with short stories from each of the characters (that for some reason read as if they were all written by the same person: Palahniuk..).
the best story is the first one. Guts. i don't read many short stories, but this one seems better than most, an earns extra points for shock value. in the epilogue of the book Palahniuk claims that when he told this story in public readings people fainted. i find it hard to believe, but maybe.
i don't recommend reading the whole book unless you're into the genre and specifically into Palahniuk, but i do recommend reading Guts.
you can listen to it (just the Guts story).
or read (just the Guts story).
enjoy.
June 5, 2006 at · Filed under books, politics, religion
took me a long time but i am finally done with the "clash of civilizations".
it was one of the best and thought provoking books i have ever read. i should have read it long ago.
had to stop many times to debate (mostly with myself) its assertions, many of them contradictory to what i believe.
while i think it is a must-read book i disagree with some of its basic assumptions and summary conclusions (plus i think it makes a very self-serving and shallow use of statistics and anecdotal evidence to prove its point).
the analysis of post cold-war international relations is eye opening. drawing the relationship between different cultures and future conflicts proved to be prescient. specifically the escalation between Islam and the West, and the growing tensions between China and the US.
the main points where i disagree with him are around the values of the West and their applicability to the rest of the world, and related to it the simplistic (in my opinion) and too static view of the differences between civilizations (and the people that make them up).
Huntingtion identifies several values as being Western Values among them democracy, human rights, individualism. he claims towards the end of the book that anyone who have read this book so far, and still believes that Western values have universal appeal is living in a different reality. well i guess i qualify as one of these people.
i don't think all Western values are universal (e.g. individualism), but others (e.g. human rights) are. with the benefit of hindsight i think that the improved communication and information sharing capabilities are proving that people from all civilizations are aspiring to Western freedoms. it does not mean adopting all Western values, but it may be the case that it is impossible to adopt just some of these values. in which case we'll see all civilizations not just modernize, but also westernize (this goes against the main theme of the book).
the differences between civilizations will still exist, and nations (in some cases civilizations) will still want to assert themselves and grow their influence, so that part of Huntington's theory still stands. the West superiority will not last forever, but whomever takes over will most likely do it using western "tools".
a book which makes it to my must-read list, but in my opinion should not be taken as the bible on international relations, and a crystal ball for where the world is headed.
June 2, 2006 at · Filed under general
i just received a new pair of shoes .
the blackspot sneaker v2.0.
they are "earth friendly, anti-sweatshop, cruelty free, and pro grassroots, blackspots are the only rough-and-ready shoes designed to give toxic megacorporations what they truely need the most: a swift kick in the brand".
with my shoes i also received a BLACKSPOT SNEAKER SHAREHOLDER CERTIFICATE.
it said:
DEAR BLACKSPOTTER,
You are now the owner of a pair of blackspot sneakers. I hope you feel a real sense of empowerment as you slip them on and, like so many others before you, embark on a life charged up with social activism.
The anti-logo, hand drawn on the side of your blackspots, is a symbol of resistance againt multinational hyper-branders like Nike that, over the past few years, have come to dominate so much of our lives. The red tip, hand painted on the nose of your sneaker, is for kicking mega-corporate ass and transforming the sneaker industry, and indeed capitalism isself, into more diverse, grassroots affairs.
By buying this pair of sneakers you become a voting member of The Blackspot Anticorporation. When you log onto blackspotsneaker.org you can use your unique shareholder number as your password and vote on the style of our future sneakers, what materials to use, where to make them, how to market them and how the profits will be used. The ultimate goal? An exciting, shareholder driven enterprise with our own co-op factories and retail outlets around the world.
If we succeed in this venture, we will have set a precedent that can transform other industries. Imagine: an independent blackspot music label that cuts into Big Music's share. Or a chain of blackspot restaurants that takes business away from McDonald's by serving only locally-produced food. Bit by bit, I predict that our open source anti-logo will grow into the most powerful brand in the world.
We hold no copyright on the blackspot anti-logo. Take it and use it. Together we will create an authentic, non corporate cool and change the way the world does business.
signed by Kalle Lasn (CEO of The Blackspot Anticorporation).
in a separate leaflet they say that in their opinion the next evolutionary stage of capitalism is one where small will trump big, local will beat global, and shared open source brands like blackspot will triumph over jealously guarded COPYRIGHTS.
while very naive this is an impressive effort. and so far looks well executed. i think the anti-corporate message will be one hard to sell to the masses, so it is very likely an anti-logo type venture can be successful on the fringes and adopted by trendsetters, but will have hard time breaking beyond that niche.
a more likely scenario is one where the corporation will be smart enough to bank on the trend, and adopt it themselves. a good example being Whole Foods in the organic food industry.
in any case i plan to support these guys in their ass-kicking efforts.
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