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<title>Haaze.com / pornohasusasuha / All</title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com</link>
<description>Test Web 2.0 Content Management System</description>
<pubDate>Sat, 21 May 2011 07:10:07 +0000</pubDate>
<language>en</language>
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<title><![CDATA[People use today's end of world to confess on Twitter]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=people-use-todays-end-of-world-to-confess-on-twitter</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=people-use-todays-end-of-world-to-confess-on-twitter</comments>
<pubDate>Sat, 21 May 2011 07:10:07 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>pornohasusasuha</dc:creator>
<category>Marketing and advertising</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=people-use-todays-end-of-world-to-confess-on-twitter</guid>
<description><![CDATA[It might have slipped your mind, but the world is, or was, actually ending today.I know, I know. You've been busy. But today is, or was, indeed, Judgment Day, at least according to an 89-year-old retired engineer called Harold Camping.You might have guessed there'd be an engineer behind this optimistic prediction. However, you might not have guessed that humanity's fear would be so great that it would use Twitter as a last minute confessional.On my TweetDeck the hashtag endoftheworldconfessions is trending worldwide with a speed beyond too fast for a bionic eye.(Credit:Screenshot: Chris Matyszczyk/CNET)One of the most popular tweets thus far comes from Doctor Swagger, who offered: &quot;EndofTheWorldConfessions....the world ain't ending son, my yogurt expires in 2013... ThugLife.&quot;Well, indeed. But if you focus on your TweetDeck as it rushes through the results, you will be mesmerized by some of the admissions you'll discover.&quot;Luke, I am your mother,&quot; tweeted one lady whose name I couldn't quite catch. Why on earth didn't she tell us before She could have made some money out of that, and we might have had some closure.And what do you imagine BiebsFan34 would have tweeted as her last and most painful confession No, nothing to do with a Bieber-based, debased fantasy, but this: &quot;I let the dogs out :( &quot; Oh, it was HER. Although I suspect a few more people will be claiming responsibility for this fair deed.&quot;I was on the grassy knoll,&quot; admitted Kokonameth.As my eyes have turned into Apple's little rainbow-colored wheel of mortality, I have espied a man who desperately wanted to marry Serena Williams, another who has been hiding Jimmy Hoffa, someone who claims to have found Waldo, and someone who wants to drink a girl's bathwater. Then there was someone who shot the sheriff and the deputy, someone who told over a million lies, someone who wishes she'd become a prostitute, and many people who are desperately in love with people who are not their lovers.(Credit:Screenshot: Chris Matyszczyk/CNET)After a while it became entirely mesmerizing. There was someone who wished to confess he was amazing, someone who admitted she had two pairs of jeans from Sears (heinous, that), someone who confessed she didn't like Beyonce's new song, someone who quite cleverly pointed out that the world couldn't possibly end before Oprah's last show, and someone who hates her family so much she hopes the Rapture does happen.Inevitably, there was someone who claimed to be Arnold Schwarzenegger's second love child, someone who claimed to run naked through his home town at night all covered in honey, and quite a few people who seem not frightened at all because they already have reserved a place for themselves in Heaven.I am sure that this hashtag will trend on for the rest of the day--or even for the rest of time. Because, well, people tend to go on and on when they're having fun.On balance, this Rapture thing does seem like frightful poppycock. But, just in case, might I confess that I didn't think it was frightful poppycock at all <br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[How well does your ISP stream Netflix]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=how-well-does-your-isp-stream-netflix</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=how-well-does-your-isp-stream-netflix</comments>
<pubDate>Thu, 27 Jan 2011 08:11:08 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>pornohasusasuha</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=how-well-does-your-isp-stream-netflix</guid>
<description><![CDATA[A chart released by Netflix shows how ISPs perform at distributing the company&amp;39's streaming video. Charter comes in first, while Clearwire finishes last.(Credit:Netflix)As promised, Netflix released a report today on the company's tech blog about which Internet service providers are best at distributing the company's streaming video to customers' homes. According to Netflix's data, the nation's largest cable operators are tops in delivering the company's content. Netflix, the high-flying video rental service, said cable operator Charter Communications was the best-performing Internet service provider, with Cox Communications, Comcast, Cablevision, and Time Warner Cable all outperforming phone companies AT&amp;T and Verizon Communications, as well as wireless broadband provider Clearwire.Ken Florance, Netflix's director of content delivery, wrote on the company's technology blog: &quot;We find ourselves in the unique position of having insight into the performance of hundreds of millions of long-duration, high-definition video streams delivered over the Internet.&quot;For January 15, the last date Netflix included in the report, the best-performing ISPs were as follows: 1. Charter2. Comcast3. Time Warner 4. Cox5. Suddenlink6. Cablevision7. Cable One8. Verizon9. AT&amp;T10. BellSouth 11. Embarq12. Windstream13. Qwest14. Century Tel15. Frontier16. ClearwireNetflix's release of such a report is rooted in its dissatisfaction with ISPs that insist it pay all the costs of delivering streaming content to customers' homes. &quot;We think the cost sharing between Internet video suppliers and ISPs should be that we have to haul the bits to the various regional front doors that the ISPs operate,&quot; CEO Reed Hastings wrote. He then argued that ISPs should carry the bits the last mile to customers' homes, as it's their customers who are ordering Netflix's service. By releasing the report, Netflix appears to be sending the message that it is prepared to try making some ISPs uncomfortable. The performance data released by Netflix, however, makes it difficult to determine which companies Netflix may have been trying to embarrass. Comcast is one of the ISPs that has disagreed with Netflix on the issue of who should pay for &quot;the last mile&quot; of delivery to customers' homes, but the ISP fared well in Netflix's report. Best and worstTo get a handle on which broadband service providers offered the best service to Netflix's streaming-video customers, the company compiled data from October 2010 to January 15, 2011. Netflix tracked the performance of customers streaming high-definition video over their broadband connections. A time-weighted bit rate metric was used to represent the effective data throughput subscribers received over many of the top ISPs.Content delivery director Florance explained that Netflix's top HD streams are about 4,800 kilobits per second. But it's likely that Netflix subscribers will switch through a number of bit rates, as they watch a movie streamed over the Internet. Sometimes, the streams ramp up to the highest bit rates, but when networks are congested, they shift down to lower bit rates. Viewers cannot sustain a 4,800kbps bit rate from start to finish, Florance said. But the higher the bit rate that can be sustained throughout the viewing of the video, the better the performance and ultimately the better the quality of the image over the duration that the video is played at home. &quot;We find ourselves in the unique position of having insight into the performance of hundreds of millions of long duration, high-definition video streams.&quot;--Ken Florance, director of content delivery, NetflixFlorance also pointed out that the quality of the video stream is affected by a number of factors, including which content delivery networks--or even which physical technology of the broadband network--are used by the viewer. This means that performance could vary between fiber-based Internet Protocol networks, DSL networks, wireless broadband, or cable networks. Regions of the country where infrastructure is better may also play a part. In its study, Netflix averaged the performance of these network providers throughout their footprints. This means that Verizon's results include data about performance on its DSL network, as well as its faster Fios, fiber-to-the-home network. And AT&amp;T's results include DSL, as well as its fiber-to-the-neighborhood U-verse service.  Charter came in first by providing an average bit rate of 2,667 kilobits per second over the three-month period evaluated. &quot;Charter strives to consistently deliver the fastest and most reliable Internet service,&quot; a representative said in an e-mail to CNET. &quot;We're pleased that our efforts are paying off.&quot; At the bottom of the pack, Clearwire delivered an average bit rate between 1,400Kbps and 1,600Kbps, Netflix reported. The results should not shock anyone. On average, cable networks offer faster throughput on their broadband networks than either the phone companies or wireless broadband providers. With DOCSIS 3, cable operators are capable of delivering download broadband speeds up to 160Mbps. DOCSIS 3 is the next generation of cable-networking technology that allows operators to bond digital channels together to get faster throughput. In areas where they have deployed their fiber networks, AT&amp;T and Verizon are able to keep up with cable operators, in terms of download speeds. This is especially true of Verizon, which has spent billions of dollars over the past few years upgrading about 70 percent of its footprint with fiber to the home.  Fiber provides almost limitless broadband capacity. AT&amp;T was not as aggressive in its fiber deployment, but the company has been able to significantly boost fiber deep into neighborhoods and get big boosts in performance.  The problem for each of these providers is that they are unable to provide these faster services to every customer. About 30 percent of Verizon's customer base will never get access to the Fios fiber service. Instead, these customers are only offered the slower DSL technology. And the DSL technology that is used to deliver broadband services for the phone companies in these areas cannot compete, in terms of speed, with cable offerings.  It's also not surprising that Clearwire's service doesn't perform as well as the cable or phone companies' broadband services. One problem with wireless is that network performance degrades the further away a user is from a cell tower. So customers on the edge of the network will get slower network connections than customers very close to the bay stations. This likely factors into the overall quality of streamed video into the home. <br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Understanding the Level 3-Comcast spat (FAQ)]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=understanding-the-level-3-comcast-spat-faq</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=understanding-the-level-3-comcast-spat-faq</comments>
<pubDate>Tue, 30 Nov 2010 08:10:36 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>pornohasusasuha</dc:creator>
<category>Marketing and advertising</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=understanding-the-level-3-comcast-spat-faq</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Internet backbone provider Level 3 says that cable giant Comcast is threatening the openness of the Internet and Comcast is accusing Level 3 of trying to get a free ride on its network. Which one is rightAccusations between the two companies have been flying since the end of the day Monday. Level 3 has accused Comcast of violating Net neutrality principles by insisting that Level 3 pay for sending more traffic over Comcast's network. Level 3 has recently won a contract to deliver video services for Netflix, which is the largest single producer of Internet traffic on the Web in North America. Comcast argues that Level 3 is trying to use its free peering relationship with Comcast to add twice as much traffic onto Comcast's network without paying for it. Meanwhile, Level 3's content delivery network competitors are forced to pay for the same access Level 3 wants to get for free. Much of the dispute is focused on business relationships, largely hidden from the average consumer. To help people better understand what's going on, CNET has put together this FAQ. What is a content delivery networkA content delivery network or content distribution network (CDN) is a system of servers that is placed throughout the Internet to bring content and data closer to end users. By storing data closer to consumers, Web pages can load faster and streaming movies can be transferred faster than if the data was stored in a central location.The problem CDNs solve is that they maximize the speed at which content can be delivered into people's homes. CDNs also cut down on the amount of traffic that must travel across Internet backbone networks. This reduces bandwidth costs and saves money while also creating a better experience for end users.CDN providers, such as Akamai, Limelight, and Amazon CloudFront, have created businesses that send significantly more traffic over another carrier's infrastructure than they receive on their own network. For that reason, they typically purchase services from Internet backbone providers. A source close to Comcast confirmed that Comcast had a commercial arrangement with Akamai to deliver all of its services to Comcast customers, including the Netflix content.Comcast said in its statement that the dispute with Level 3 is over a peering relationship. What does that meanComcast and Level 3 are services providers who each own their own infrastructure. Comcast is one of the largest broadband providers in the U.S. It connects thousands of homes and businesses directly to the Internet via its local and regional network. Level 3 is what is called a backbone Internet provider. Traffic from regional and local networks, such as Comcast's broadband network, are aggregated at various points and then connected to Level 3's network. Think of it like the road system in the U.S. Level 3 is a big interstate highway that carries data long distances. At some point, the traffic must leave the interstate highway and get on state and local highways to reach its final destination.Carriers charge for access to their networks. But if two service providers each own infrastructure, they can create a peering arrangement. If they each carry roughly the same amount of traffic from the other carrier on their network, they can simply swap the traffic for free. Does money ever get exchanged for these transactions or do they swap the traffic for freeIt depends on the terms of the deal and the nature of the relationship. Networks may charge a fee for using their network, but if each provider is sending equal amounts of traffic onto another carrier's network, then they may simply swap traffic without money changing hands at all.But when one network sends more traffic to another network, the sender usually pays a metered fee for the traffic it has sent. This makes sense because when more traffic is sent to a network, that network operator must upgrade its network to handle the additional traffic.Is this the type of relationship that Level 3 and Comcast have hadYes, Comcast said in a letter to the FCC today that the amount of traffic the companies sent to each other was roughly equal. Comcast said that Level 3 typically send more traffic to Comcast than Comcast sent to Level 3, but under traditional peering arrangements this was considered roughly equal. And it made sense, since most consumers download more content and media over their broadband connections than they upload.So is Level 3 a backbone provider or a CDN providerThe answer is that it's both. Level 3 is one of the largest Internet backbone providers in the world, but it also runs a content delivery network business. Because it owns its own nationwide backbone network, it has an advantage over its competitors, such as Akamai, which do not own any network infrastructure. The big advantage is that Level 3 doesn't have to pay to access its own nationwide backbone that carries traffic to regional networks, such as Comcast's network. But Level 3 does not own the local and regional broadband networks.Is this where the dispute with Comcast comes into playYes, it is. This is the heart of the disagreement. In that letter Comcast sent to the FCC today, it said that under its former agreement, Comcast and Level 3 exchanged all on-network Internet traffic for free. But Comcast actually paid Level 3 to interconnect its network. Even though the parties exchanged traffic on a 2:1 basis in which Comcast actually terminated twice as much traffic from Level 3 as the company carried from Comcast, the companies considered it an even swap.Comcast said in its statement yesterday that Level 3's deal with Netflix will double the amount of traffic that Level 3 will send to Comcast's network. The ratio of traffic will soon be 5:1, in which Netflix sends a greater amount of traffic over Comcast's network than Comcast sends over Level 3's network. What's more, Comcast had been charging Akamai, which previously delivered Netflix's video content. Now that Level 3 has won that business, Comcast is not collecting that fee from Akamai. As such, Comcast argues that it must charge Level 3 the fee to deliver the traffic. So Level 3 doesn't want to pay Comcast to deliver its traffic even though its competitor, Akamai, was charged for delivering the Netflix contentThat is correct. Level 3 likely won the deal with Netflix because it was able to undercut its competition in terms of pricing. And it feels that since it is a network peering partner with Comcast that it should not have to alter its agreement, even though it is adding a new CDN customer that will consume a lot more bandwidth than other customers using its CDN network.What does all of this have to do with Net neutralityLevel 3 claims that Comcast is singling out the Netflix video traffic and attempting to charge a fee for delivering a specific type of traffic to customers on its network. The company argues that it has no other option but to agree to this fee if it wants to deliver Netflix video to customers in Comcast's territory. And so Level 3 claims this is a violation of the Net neutrality principles that the FCC has already established and is currently working to make official regulation. These principles state that network operators should not slow or degrade Web traffic from a competitor in an effort to make its own service more appealing to consumers. Net neutrality supporters have also been pushing the FCC to adopt provisions that would prohibit network operators from charging companies higher fees to deliver high bandwidth content at a higher quality.What do you think Is Comcast violating Net neutrality principles or is this merely a peering disputeMy gut tells me this is more of a peering dispute than a true violation of Net neutrality. And there are several reasons why I think this. For one, Comcast isn't stupid. I doubt very much Comcast would risk rattling the FCC's cage as it puts the finishing touches on new Net neutrality regulations or as it deliberates over conditions on Comcast's merger with NBC Universal, both of which are happening right now.Second, Comcast has said that it doesn't care if Level 3 is delivering video from Netflix or high-capacity files from NASA, the fact that Level 3 will be more than doubling the amount of traffic it dumps onto Comcast's network is the problem. Comcast summed it up this way, again in today's letter to the FCC:&quot;Level 3 is trying to game the process of peering--one that has worked well and consensually, without government interference, for over a decade--in order to gain a unique and unfair advantage for its own expanding CDN service. Level 3's problem apparently arises out of the fact that it recently won a bid to become one of Netflix's primary CDN providers--in competition with the major national CDNs that already send Netflix and other traffic to Comcast's network. In order to undercut its CDN competitors, Level 3 wants to avoid the commercial arrangements other CDN companies use to terminate traffic onto Comcast's and other providers' networks, and instead force Comcast to accept its CDN traffic for free, under a 'peering' relationship. This is not how peering works, here or anywhere in the world. What Level 3 is suddenly pushing--a &quot;new theory&quot; of peering--would throw the traditional, &quot;balanced traffic&quot; peering rulebook out the window, give Level 3 an unfair cost advantage over its competitors, and shift all of the costs from Level 3 and its content customers onto Comcast and its high-speed Internet customers.&quot; Lastly, I find Level 3's assertions somewhat hypocritical. In a press release issued five years ago when Level 3 was in a peering dispute with Cogent, it argued, as Comcast has, for fair and balanced free peering. In that statement, Sureel Choksi, executive vice president of Level 3, said &quot;In order for free peering to be fair to both parties, the cost and benefit that parties contribute and receive should be roughly the same.&quot;Level 3 said that there were a number of factors that determined whether a peering relationship is mutually beneficial. And it determined that the arrangement with Cogent was not fair because it sent far more traffic over Level 3's network than Level 3 sent over Cogent's network.&quot;It is important to keep in mind that traffic received by Level 3 in a peering relationship must be moved across Level 3's network at considerable expense. Simply put, this means that, without paying, Cogent was using far more of Level 3's network, far more of the time, than the reverse. Following our review, we decided that it was unfair for us to be subsidizing Cogent's business.&quot;It sounds to me like Level 3 is asking Comcast to do something it has refused to do for its peering partners.So what happens next Will Comcast customers not be able to watch Netflix moviesNo, Comcast is not blocking Netflix. And it has no intention of blocking Netflix.&quot;Any rumors about blocking Netflix are false,&quot; a Comcast spokeswoman said in an e-mail. &quot;Our customers can and do watch video from any online video provider, including Netflix and dozens of others, on our high-speed Internet service.&quot;FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said during a press conference today that he will look into Level 3's claims. As I mentioned before, Comcast has already written a letter to the FCC explaining its position. Level 3 has not lodged any formal complaint at the FCC. Smaller peering disputes are usually settled in court. And the two parties in dispute usually cut off access to each other. But that's unlikely to happen in this case. Level 3 and Comcast are too dependent on each other for sending massive amounts of Internet traffic for their customers. It would make them both look bad if they refused to provide service to each other. It's more likely the companies will settle their dispute between now and January when the bulk of Netflix's traffic is transferred to the Level 3 network. <br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Supreme Court to hear Microsoft I4i patent appeal]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=supreme-court-to-hear-microsoft-i4i-patent-appeal</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=supreme-court-to-hear-microsoft-i4i-patent-appeal</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 29 Nov 2010 08:10:21 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>pornohasusasuha</dc:creator>
<category>Mobile &amp; Electronics</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=supreme-court-to-hear-microsoft-i4i-patent-appeal</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Microsoft's patent fracas with Canadian firm I4i has been given new life, as the U.S. Supreme Court has decided to hear the software giant's appeal. The case, which went in favor of I4i last year, centered around Microsoft's use of XML technology within its Word software. Following I4i's victory, Microsoft was required to strip the functionality from its software as part of an injunction.&quot;We are gratified by the court's decision,&quot; Microsoft's corporate vice president and deputy general counsel for litigation David Howard said in a statement. &quot;It's a clear affirmation that the issues raised in this case are critical to the integrity of our patent system. We look forward to presenting our case to the Supreme Court.&quot;I4i Chairman Loudon Owen said in a statement that &quot;In light of both the importance of this case, and the facts that have already been tried, I4i is confident we will continue to prevail before the courts.&quot;The appeal is part of a larger push by Microsoft, as well as other tech companies, to change the way patents are legislated. Earlier this year, Microsoft's now-granted appeal, was given a push by Apple, Intel, Google, Yahoo, Facebook, and Hewlett-Packard, among others, as part of that initiative.In a call with CNET earlier today, Owen said the banded support of these companies was neither a surprise, nor a concern. &quot;In fact, it's probably at one level a good thing,&quot; Owen said. &quot;Because it highlights where the divide is, and where the dichotomy is.&quot;Owen also said that the case continues to bring to light the importance of patents as being an equalizer for small companies competing with large ones. &quot;The companies that already have gargantuan balance sheets and massive market shares, and entrenched positions in the markets have aligned in favor of reducing the value of patents, and making patents bordering on unenforceable for a lot of companies,&quot; Owen said.&quot;So it's not surprising. In fact, in some ways it's helpful to see how they have aligned because it brings into focus and brings into clarity just what the issue is and how important it is,&quot; he said.Bloomberg is reporting that Microsoft has not yet paid the $200 million-plus award to I4i, despite following through with changes to the software itself. Owen confirmed that to CNET, saying &quot;We're still firing away, and working on the next steps. And we don't get paid until we win, and that's just the way the system works.&quot; Updated at 11:50 a.m. PT with comment from I4i.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Microsoft touts strong October for Xbox 360]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=microsoft-touts-strong-october-for-xbox-360</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=microsoft-touts-strong-october-for-xbox-360</comments>
<pubDate>Wed, 17 Nov 2010 08:10:10 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>pornohasusasuha</dc:creator>
<category>Mobile &amp; Electronics</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=microsoft-touts-strong-october-for-xbox-360</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Although October video game sales slid 4 percent, according to market research firm NPD, at least one company is happy with its performance on the month.Microsoft announced late yesterday that for the fifth-consecutive month, itsXbox 360 led thePlayStation 3 andNintendo Wii in overall sales. The company said it sold 325,000 Xbox 360 units in October, representing a 30 percent year-over-year gain. So far this year, Microsoft has enjoyed 34 percent year-to-date growth. It is worth noting, however, that Nintendo's DS had the highest hardware unit sales on the month, though neither NPD nor Nintendo revealed to reporters how many units were sold. Microsoft also performed quite well in software. Although 2K Sports' NBA 2K11 led in overall game sales, Microsoft-published Fable III tallied 580,000 unit sales on the month, grabbing the second spot in October. Microsoft also said it sold 315,000 Halo: Reach units on the month. Microsoft's sales figures were made available by the company itself. Last month, NPD announced that it would no longer share hardware or game unit sales each month, as it once did. The onus is now on hardware and software makers to reveal unit sales if they wish to do so. <br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Kinect's ad potential could be in augmented reality]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=kinects-ad-potential-could-be-in-augmented-reality</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=kinects-ad-potential-could-be-in-augmented-reality</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 15 Nov 2010 08:10:18 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>pornohasusasuha</dc:creator>
<category>Mobile &amp; Electronics</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=kinects-ad-potential-could-be-in-augmented-reality</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Microsoft&amp;39's Kinectimals may be a precursor to the future of Microsoft&amp;39's advertising on the Xbox 360. (Credit:GameSpot/CBS Interactive)SAN FRANCISCO--Kinect is already proving to be a hot seller for Microsoft, but some of the real revenue opportunities could lay in ads that make use of its cameras.Speaking to a crowd as part of a panel discussion at the Web 2.0 Summit here, Yusuf Mehdi, who is Microsoft's senior vice president of Online Audience Business, said that Microsoft's gaming peripheral could one day end up offering Kinect owners a more tangible experience at trying out products right in their living rooms (emphasis mine):&quot;The amazing thing is, you can use your hand to manipulate. And there's a little game product that my daughter was playing with this tiger where you can effectively pet the tiger. And you can imagine that that's an open IP platform. And you can imagine that as people are going around, they can look at a product, and you can imagine they can actually pick it up and take a look at it.And what would you pay to have someone pick up and sort of hold your brand, and look at it, and know--oh, this person--they were actually looking at it, as opposed to on the other aisle looking at the other product And so the number of different experiences that will open up platforms is going to be so rich--and I think John [Hayes] said that, is that you just have to kind of steal yourself from the fact there will be a lot of opportunities and that you just have to pick and choose which ones deliver value.&quot;Mehdi's possible future use for Kinect, which cannot currently be found on the console, comes less than a week after Microsoft VP Dennis Durkin suggested to audience members at BMO Capital Markets' Digital Entertainment Conference that the company could use the Kinect to serve up different ads based on things like who was using the console or how many people were in the room. Microsoft was quick to issue a statement that such a system was not currently in place but did not deny that it might come at a later date.Kinect's true advertising prowess and Microsoft's plans for it in that capacity are sure to unfold more extensively as the peripheral ages. As it stands, the company is only selling one third-party ad spot on the Kinect Hub--a specialized version of theXbox 360 dashboard, which is already speckled with advertising--including ones with motion and sound, which were introduced as part of the pre-Kinect system software overhaul. Building more interactive experiences into that spot could certainly demand bigger ad dollars, especially with detailed information on the person who is using it, as Mehdi had suggested. Besides talking about the future possibilities of Kinect, Mehdi also talked Bing--specifically some of the things the company does to test and take the product forward. Part of that includes running what Mehdi says are around 100 different versions of the search engine at any given time. Each one has slight variations on things like on-page marketing, keywords, and color. The company then sees the effects of those tests in real time and can make decisions about updates based on the data.One thing Mehdi says the company still spends a large amount of time on, and what it continues to build out, is how people accomplish tasks. Mehdi cited a situation like trying to look up flights and going to three of four different carriers being made simpler by adding some of those destination functionalities inside of Bing's product. To take that one step further, Mehdi said that same kind of problem is happening with mobile phone apps, so to get beyond that part of figuring out which app is the best, Mehdi envisions Bing delivering that basic function instead. &quot;Even today, the little apps that we talk about become a problem when you have so many of them,&quot; Mehdi said. &quot;If you want to plan a night out, the question is do I install and run Urbanspoon or Yelp or Opentable, which of these do I pick They're all good services. It would be so much easier if I could say 'hey book this table,' or 'I want to plan a night out, what are my options' and have the options come to bare.&quot; You can catch a replay the whole panel, which also includes Google's Nikesh Arora and American Express' John Hayes, below:Watch live streaming video from web20tv at livestream.com        Josh Lowensohn     Full Profile E-mail Josh Lowensohn   E-mail Josh Lowensohn If you have a question or comment for Josh Lowensohn, you can submit it here. However, because our editors and writers receive hundreds of requests, we cannot tell you when you may receive a response.   Submit your question or comment here: 0 of 1500 characters       Josh Lowensohn joined CNET in 2006 and now covers Microsoft. Before that, Josh wrote about everything from new Web start-ups, to remote-controlled robots that watch your house.  <br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Will RockMelt sock it to Flock]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=will-rockmelt-sock-it-to-flock</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=will-rockmelt-sock-it-to-flock</comments>
<pubDate>Fri, 12 Nov 2010 08:10:01 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>pornohasusasuha</dc:creator>
<category>Mobile &amp; Electronics</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=will-rockmelt-sock-it-to-flock</guid>
<description><![CDATA[While the Big Five browsers duke it out to see which one can come up with the best mix of speed, compatibility, and add-ons, social networking bruisers Flock 3 (Windows only) and RockMelt beta (Windows | Mac) have taken off the kid gloves to beat each other senseless over Twitter and Facebook integration.$lazy(window.GeckoVideoPlayer, CBSi.lazy.videoPlayer, function(){loadGeckoVideoPlayer({parentElement: 'universalVideoid50089088',flashVars:{autoplay: 'false',adTargetType: 'Page',adPreroll: 'true',contentType: 'id',contentValue: '50089088',playlistDisplay: 'over'}},'blogLarge')'})'Currently, both Flock 3 and RockMelt 0.8.34.833 beta are built on Chromium 6.User numbers aside, RockMelt plays David handily against Flock's Goliath. First off is the login procedure. RockMelt access is based on your Facebook login. You download it, you use your existing Facebook username and password, and you're ready to get your social on. Flock doesn't require you to create a new Flock account, although you have to be able to synchronize your data across computers. Both browsers synchronize your data to the cloud, so there's no hassle to use either one on multiple computers, but RockMelt wins this round for cutting out the registration process.However, RockMelt is currently restricted by invitation. The browser offers a simple sharing method to help you distribute the invites allocated to you among your Twitter followers and Facebook friends, but that undercuts the otherwise fast registration process.The RSS reader in the RockMelt makes it easy to subscribe to pages, and to see feeds from your favorites. It&amp;39's not as fully-developed as the search result viewer, though.(Credit:Rafe Needleman/CNET)Supported accounts are a major area of contention. RockMelt only supports Facebook and Twitter, while Flock 3 works with both of those plus YouTube and Flickr. Supporting accounts is not enough for these browsers, which are basically Google Chrome with souped-up social networking extensions. How the accounts and their features are exposed is immensely important, with the major difference being that RockMelt maintains a single-serving update of one friend per service at time, while Flock creates a unified stream of all supported services. RockMelt emphasizes its connection to Facebook. The &quot;Friends Edge&quot; on the left is dedicated to your Facebook friends, showing who's online, filterable by favorites, and a Show All Friends button. The right sidebar, the &quot;App Edge,&quot; is where you can toggle social networks, providing one-click access to your Facebook news feed, your Facebook profile, and your Twitter account. An indicator will tell you when you've got new updates. Chrome extensions that you install will also live here, although they don't always work. The search box has been improved, too, with hooks into your Facebook friends' lists.RockMelt has tweaked the RSS feed subscription process into a more obvious notification. When you land on a page with an RSS feed, the browser will autodetect it and provide a one-click button for subscribing from the App Edge.The new sidebar, a first for Chromium when it debuted in June, allows users to maintain a single friend stream. You can also create Groups to help you keep them all organized.(Credit:Screenshot by Seth Rosenblatt/CNET)It's undeniable that RockMelt has polish that Flock lacks. The edges utilize the mobile-app style rounded-box icons and real-time update indicators. Flock's sidebar doesn't work well when narrowed down because you lose access to the filtering features at the top and it cuts off status updates. You can hide it with a toggle on the right side of the browser, but then you must actively reopen it to see what's going on.While those are solid hits from RockMelt, Flock's overall feature set is far more robust. You can edit your contacts, merging contact info and creating groups to organize them. These groups can then be applied to your contact stream, which lives in the right sidebar. RockMelt allows you to &quot;favorite&quot; friends in the Friends Edge, but it doesn't support the powerful sorting that Flock has. Where RockMelt only searches for Facebook contacts, Flock will search all of its supported services for your friends' updates from the location bar. Both browsers do allow you to share currently viewing sites to supported services with comments, a key feature.So which one is best That still depends on what you're looking to get out of the browser. Because of the tight integration with your friends and the slick design, RockMelt will give you the strongest Facebook experience of the two browsers. Since Twitter searches aren't supported from the location bar in RockMelt, along with the support for grouping and other social networking services in Flock, Flock is the better browser for a cross-discipline, unified social affair. And as noted, Mac users will have to wait until the OS X version of Flock 3 comes out.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Tablets eating Netbooks A Microsoft GM says yes]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=tablets-eating-netbooks-a-microsoft-gm-says-yes</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=tablets-eating-netbooks-a-microsoft-gm-says-yes</comments>
<pubDate>Thu, 04 Nov 2010 07:10:10 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>pornohasusasuha</dc:creator>
<category>Mobile &amp; Electronics</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=tablets-eating-netbooks-a-microsoft-gm-says-yes</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Is the spread of tablet computers eating into the Netbook business In an interview this week with Seattlepi.com, Microsoft general manager for Windows product management Gavriella Schuster said that, yes, that is &quot;definitely&quot; the case. How much that has cut into Microsoft's Windows licensing may be the bigger question.Hewlett-Packard&amp;39's Slate 500 will be in the first crop of Windows 7 tablets, a form factor that is reportedly eating into Netbook sales.(Credit:HP)The topic had come up during the interview where Schuster had a Netbook in front of her. When asked whether such a device was being threatened by tablets--many of which are being launched in the course of the next year, Schuster said &quot;these are definitely getting cannibalized.&quot; Schuster then added that she considers Netbooks and tablets to be a secondary device on top of a regular computer--an area where Microsoft dominates in OS market share.The cannibalization of more traditional laptops by smaller form factor devices has been a hot-button topic since Netbooks became a common offering by hardware makers.In an interview with Best Buy's CEO Brian Dunn in September, The Wall Street Journal had Dunn making--and later clarifying--a statement about theiPad making deep cuts into the sales of laptop PCs in Best Buy's retail stores. Though even in the updated statement, the company had not declared the basic premise of cannibalization to be untrue. This issue is of special interest to Microsoft's place as a software provider for new PCs, as the company has worked hard to get XP, and later Windows 7 onto Netbooks. WhileWindows 7 tablets, such as the upcoming HP Slate 500 begin arriving later this month, others will be shipping with operating systems from Google and HP-owned Palm. <br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Paula Abdul takes a crack at startups with a way to find fame on the Internet]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=paula-abdul-takes-a-crack-at-startups-with-a-way-to-find-fame-on-the-internet</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=paula-abdul-takes-a-crack-at-startups-with-a-way-to-find-fame-on-the-internet</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 30 Nov -001 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>pornohasusasuha</dc:creator>
<category>Latest News</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=paula-abdul-takes-a-crack-at-startups-with-a-way-to-find-fame-on-the-internet</guid>
<description><![CDATA[There&amp;'s a subtle difference between being famous and being internet famous.Entertainer Paula Abdul, at one point a judge on the hit talent-seeking show American Idol, has decided that there aren&amp;'t enough ways to become famous in the traditional sense. So she&amp;'s launching a new startup that will help young up-and-coming stars find talent agents and gigs.The service, called AuditionBooth, lets users upload videos and other forms of media displaying their talents and abilities. Prospective performers can search through open auditions and other gigs, fire away a quick resum and a few close-ups and hope for the best. The site&amp;'s free to use, but will charge users an extra $12 a month to get access to earlier auditions and a few other premium services.It&amp;'s not for people looking to become internet famous, mind you a4&quot; that&amp;'s what YouTube and other video sharing sites are for. If you&amp;'re confused, don&amp;'t worry: that&amp;'s why VentureBeat is here. Internet famous celebrities usually pop up on YouTube and other video-sharing sites after doing something noteworthy. Here are some examples of stars that are &amp;''regular&amp;'' famous and &amp;''Internet&amp;'' famous, just to show the difference between the two.MC Hammer a4&quot; not Internet famous. MC Hammer is famous in the traditional sense for his entrepreneurial strategies and musical skills. In his early days, MC Hammer would be a good target for AuditionBooth.Star Wars Kid a4&quot; Internet famous for the crazy antics he filmed and threw up on YouTube.Carol Bartz a4&quot; traditionally famous for being the CEO of Yahoo (though her propensity to fire from the hip has made her Internet famous.)Chris Crocker a4&quot; Internet famous for his nigh-absurd appeals to leave pop star Britney Spears &amp;''alone!&amp;''Abdul is hoping to attract a pretty specific audience with this venture into the startup world. She has some pretty high aspirations, as well a4&quot; Abdul and her crew expect to have 125,000 paying customers by the end of next year, and a few more than 600,000 subscribers total.Abdul plans to stay on the creative side for the most part, but she is investing some serious cash into the company. AuditionBooth&amp;'s investors include Abdul, Celli, Infusion founder and CEO Greg Brill and Conundrum Capital Partners. They have invested around $4 million into the startup so far.Musicians and artists like Abdul have certainly seen some success when taking a crack at the entrepreneurial space. Hip-hop star MC Hammer is actually an accomplished entrepreneur. Hammer has offered ministerial advice to entrepreneurs in the past at events such as the Intel Capital annual dinner. He has his own music label and runs strategy at startupDanceJam.com, funded by SoftBank and Rustic Canyon Ventures.[Photo: Anonymous9000]Next Story: Badgeville raises $2.5M to spread game mechanics across the web Previous Story: iPad beats back first Android tablet &amp;8212' what does it all meanPrintEmailTwitterFacebookGoogle BuzzLinkedIn      DiggStumbleUponRedditDeliciousGoogleMore&amp;8230'          Tags: Internet famous, regular famousCompanies: AuditionBooth, YouTubePeople: Carol Bartz, Chris Crocker, MC Hammer, Paula Abdul, Star Wars Kid          Tags: Internet famous, regular famousCompanies: AuditionBooth, YouTubePeople: Carol Bartz, Chris Crocker, MC Hammer, Paula Abdul, Star Wars KidMatthew Lynley is VentureBeat's enterprise writer. He graduated from University of North Carolina, where he studied math and physics, in May 2010. He has reported for Reuters. He currently lives in San Francsico, Calif. You can reach him at mattl@venturebeat.com (all story pitches should also be sent to tips@venturebeat.com), and on Twitter at @logicalmoron.VentureBeat has new weekly email newsletters.  Stay on top of the news, and don't miss a beat.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[SlideShare Launches Company Networks, IBM Joins As Pilot&nbsp'Partner]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=slideshare-launches-company-networks-ibm-joins-as-pilotnbsppartner</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=slideshare-launches-company-networks-ibm-joins-as-pilotnbsppartner</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 30 Nov -001 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>pornohasusasuha</dc:creator>
<category>Latest News</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=slideshare-launches-company-networks-ibm-joins-as-pilotnbsppartner</guid>
<description><![CDATA[SlideShare,the a4AYouTube for presentations,a4 is launching a new feature todaya4&quot;Company Networks. Networks are basically a way for businesses to curate content from all of their employees and partners on one branded page. SlideShare lets anyone share presentations and video and also serves as a social discovery platform for users to find relevant content and connect with other members who share similar interests. IBM is launching as a pilot partner for the Company Networks feature, with the IBM Expert Network. The page shows all of the IBM employees or experts on Slideshare page as well as content that is curated from each expert&amp;'s profile. Slideshare also allows users to feature particular presentations more prominently and categorize content from employees. SlideShare&amp;'s CEO Rashmi Sinha tells us that the ability to create a branded company network is part of the company&amp;'s premium offerings, which were rolled out in August. She says that since moved to a freemium model, traffic has been increasing from 30 million unique visitors in August to 40 million unique visitors in October. As we&amp;'ve written in the past, SlideShare is branding itself as a sharing platform for professional content and is steadily gaining traction as a hub for this type of content. And bringing on a big name company like IBM as a partner is certainly a coup for the company.CrunchBase InformationSlideShareInformation provided by CrunchBase<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Zynga&'s CityVille becomes the biggest-ever app on Facebook]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=zyngarsquos-cityville-becomes-the-biggest-ever-app-on-facebook</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=zyngarsquos-cityville-becomes-the-biggest-ever-app-on-facebook</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 30 Nov -001 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>pornohasusasuha</dc:creator>
<category>Latest News</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=zyngarsquos-cityville-becomes-the-biggest-ever-app-on-facebook</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Who would have thought that a simple city simulation would become the biggest-ever app on Facebook, eclipsing FarmVille Zynga&amp;'s CityVille game crossed 84.2 million monthly active users over the weekend, beating Zynga&amp;'s FarmVille, which peaked at 83.76 million users in March, 2010, according to market analyst AppData.It&amp;'s a sign that social interaction &amp;8212' something that CityVille has on steroids, by not only tapping your friends, but encouraging you to help friends build out their own cities too &amp;8212' is still seeing new forms of innovation online. True, CityVille is merely an evolution from Frontierville, another Zynga game which has similar features. But CityVille had a second force behind it: With Facebook&amp;'s reach still growing quickly, namely in Asia, CityVille&amp;'s growth comes on the back of an larger Facebook &amp;8212' which arguably helps grow games even faster. The open questions are: What sort of social features will game makers devise next to enthrall users in new games this year  And when does the Facebook &amp;''growth effect&amp;'' begin to plateauCityVille debuted on Dec. 2 and has been the fastest-growing app and social game on Facebook. In fact, it is the fastest-growing game in history, in terms of the numbers of users signing up to play it. The game is available for free and users can choose to pay real money for virtual goods such as more energy.Over the past week, the game has averaged gains of over 2 million monthly active users per day, according to Inside Social Games. So its total usage will likely keep breaking records. But not everybody is coming back on a daily basis. CityVille&amp;'s daily active user count is about 16 million, compared to FarmVille&amp;'s peak of 34.5 million daily active users. Overall, Zynga has 281.9 million monthly active users, which is either near or above its peak in the spring. The next-closest rival on Facebook is Takeoff Monkey, with just 57 million monthly active users.CityVille passed FarmVille&amp;'s current monthly active user count of 58 million on Dec. 24.In the game, you can build a town with homes, shops, farms and community buildings. Though the interactivity is limited in some ways, CityVille does a good job of creating the illusion of real-time play, where lots of things are happening on the screen at the same time. As you can tell from the screen shot, your friends can help you manage the city as well. It thus appears to be more social and interactive than a lot of other Facebook games, where you generally play by yourself, taking one turn at a time.In an interview with VentureBeat, CityVille&amp;'s Mark Skaggs said the CityVille team was formed from scratch in the spring and that 95 percent of the team had never worked on a game before. A few were veterans like Skaggs, who previously worked at Electronic Arts. The vision was to create a game that actually felt like you were controlling a city in real time.As I&amp;'ve played the game, it&amp;'s easy to see how Zynga hopes to generate revenue from it. Every move you make in the game takes energy, and your stores need inventory to sell. Both are in short supply. If you want to accelerate your progress and generate more inventory and energy, you can purchase it with real money. That helps generate revenue, since a small percentage of the players will go ahead and spend money.Or you can visit your friends&amp;' cities to earn more resources. You can also generate more virtual revenue for your city by opening retail franchises in other cities. These factors make the game more social. Zynga has also figured out ways to keep the engagement, or time spent per game session, higher. You can, for instance, plant some strawberries on a farm and reap the resources within five minutes. Normally, in games such as FarmVille, it takes hours or days before the crops can be harvested.But Zynga had better be on alert as it scales this game even bigger. It has performance problems and I don&amp;'t know why. The game has to be frequently refreshed after it stalls. And whenever you do something that requires the use of Facebook resources, such as inviting a friend to the game, it takes a long, long time to load the screen. That will turn off impatient users.Next Story: With Google&amp;'s involvement, digital newsstands set to make their mark in 2011 Previous Story: VentureBeat&amp;'s top 10 tech trends of 2011 (vote for your favorite)PrintEmailTwitterFacebookGoogle BuzzLinkedIn      DiggStumbleUponRedditDeliciousGoogleMore&amp;8230'          Tags: CityVille, FarmvilleCompanies: Facebook, Zynga          Tags: CityVille, FarmvilleCompanies: Facebook, ZyngaDean is lead writer for GamesBeat at VentureBeat. He covers video games, security, chips and a variety of other subjects. Dean previously worked at the San Jose Mercury News, the Wall Street Journal, the Red Herring, the Los Angeles Times, the Orange County Register and the Dallas Times Herald. He is the author of two books, Opening the Xbox and the Xbox 360 Uncloaked. Follow him on Twitter at @deantak, and follow VentureBeat on Twitter at @venturebeat.VentureBeat has new weekly email newsletters.  Stay on top of the news, and don't miss a beat.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Free-to-play games creep closer to killing monthly subscriptions]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=free-to-play-games-creep-closer-to-killing-monthly-subscriptions</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=free-to-play-games-creep-closer-to-killing-monthly-subscriptions</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 30 Nov -001 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>pornohasusasuha</dc:creator>
<category>Latest News</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=free-to-play-games-creep-closer-to-killing-monthly-subscriptions</guid>
<description><![CDATA[The free-to-play model has all but taken over the online game industry. Next stop: everything else.Free online games, which make money through upgrades and other digital bonuses which help speed play along, continues to grow in popularity. Nearly one in five gamers now pay for virtual goods, up from 15 percent in 2008, according to a report by international research firm Parks Associates.The freemium model, which lets users download applications for free and then makes money through the sale of virtual goods or other premium services within the application, was basically popularized by video games. The runaway success of Zynga, the largest producer of freemium games like FarmVille and Mafia Wars, has made it the de facto business model for casual games.Now that the free-to-play model has pretty much taken over games, it&amp;'s circling back to the rest of the app economy. It&amp;'sserved iPhone applications well a4&quot; seeing as about a third of the top-grossing applications of all types on the Apple App Store are free to download and make their money through virtual goods. If the success of the freemium model in video games is any indicator of how successful it will be for all apps, the subscription economy may well be on its way out.Meanwhile, the subscription model, which powers online games like World of Warcraft and the soon-to-be-released Star Wars: The Old Republic, is still to losing momentum. In 2008, 35 percent of all gamers playing online games paid a monthly fee to access the game. Only 28 percent of people playing games online paid some kind of a subscription fee this year.World of Warcraft, one of the most successful games of all time, currently charges users $15 per month to access a persistent world. The game currently has around 12 million subscribers a4&quot; which would amount to around $180 million each month in recurring revenue. It&amp;'s the most successful example of an online game that&amp;'s using online subscriptions as a recurring revenue model.But it&amp;'s pretty much the only one. Activision Blizzard, the creator of World of Warcraft, has eaten the lunch of just about every other online game that&amp;'s attempted to use subscriptions as a revenue source. Turbine, a producer of massive multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs) like Lord of the Rings Online started with a subscription model for its games but has since made them free-to-play. After changing its games from a subscription-based revenue model to free-to-play, Turbine&amp;'s revenue from its games doubled.As media companies dive into apps and contemplate charging subscriptions, it&amp;'s something to consider. The video-games business, which saw subscriptions turn into a billion-dollar business by 2008, is now turning away from the model. Should publishers look at virtual-goods sales insteadNext Story: You&amp;'ve Got Mail! How Facebook can avoid becoming the new AOL Previous Story: Are enterprise sales headed for a free-fall this holiday seasonPrintEmailTwitterFacebookGoogle BuzzLinkedIn      DiggStumbleUponRedditDeliciousGoogleMore&amp;8230'          Tags: free-to-play, freemium, online subscriptions, subscription economy, World of WarcraftCompanies: Activision Blizzard, Turbine          Tags: free-to-play, freemium, online subscriptions, subscription economy, World of WarcraftCompanies: Activision Blizzard, TurbineVentureBeat has new weekly email newsletters.  Stay on top of the news, and don't miss a beat.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[NSFW: Sarah Palin &8211' How&'s That Promotey, Embargoey Stuff Workin&' Out for&nbsp'Ya]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=nsfw-sarah-palin-8211-howrsquos-that-promotey-embargoey-stuff-workinrsquo-out-fornbspya</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=nsfw-sarah-palin-8211-howrsquos-that-promotey-embargoey-stuff-workinrsquo-out-fornbspya</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 30 Nov -001 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>pornohasusasuha</dc:creator>
<category>Latest News</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=nsfw-sarah-palin-8211-howrsquos-that-promotey-embargoey-stuff-workinrsquo-out-fornbspya</guid>
<description><![CDATA[On Thursday, I suggested that Sarah Palina4a4s kidsa4a4 ill-judged behaviour on Facebook could be traced back to their mothera4a4s attitude towards online critics.The post garnered a range of considered and thoughtful responses from commenters, ranging from warnings that I should expect to be shot, to the suggestion that (I quote) a4APAUL CARR PROBABLY ABORTED I.E. MURDERED ALL OF HIS OWN ILLEGITIMATE SONS &amp;amp' DAUGHTERS.a4 One helpful commentera4seven suggested I a4Ago home and talk to [my] children. Tell them your a traitor to your country and your fellow Americansa4 &amp;8211' which, given Ia4a4m a Brit, was somewhat wrong-headed and, given I apparently killed all of my children, was remarkably insensitive.For all the sound and fury, though, there was one distinct theme: that, in the absence of a clear technology angle, stories about political figures have no place on TechCrunch. And thata4a4s a reasonable point: the Facebook angle was a stretch' a flimsy hook on which to peg my broader thesis that Sarah Palin is setting a terrible example to her kids. Kids who she herself thrust into the spotlight the moment she put them on stage at the Republican National Convention. Because shea4a4s just an awful, AWFUL human being.Nonetheless, never let it be said I dona4a4t listen to my critics. The next time I write anything about Sarah Palin (who, for the avoidance of doubt, I dislike intensely), Ia4a4ll make sure therea4a4s a totally iron-clad justification for it to appear on TechCrunch. Like if, for example, she uses Twitter to prompt her publisher to take legal action against a hugely popular gossip blog for reposting extracts from an electronic copy of her new book. Which shea4a4s been heavily promoting through social media.You know, like just happened.Sweet!The story began when Gawker- taking a rare break from paying for lurid, non public-interest tittle-tattle about celebritiesa4a4 sex lives &amp;8211' acquired an advance pdf copy of Palina4a4s new book, &amp;''America By Heart&amp;'' (original title: a4AAmerica Written On The Back Of My Handa4).Arguing the fair use doctrine &amp;8211' which allows  a4Alimited usea4 of copyrighted material for the purposes of criticism, review or news reporting &amp;8211' the blog posted various extracts of the book, along with their a4Atrademarka4 a4Asnarkya4 a4Acommentarya4. It wasna4a4t long before Palin, spotting another opportunity to pose as the victim of a conspiracy by members of the media establishment , raced to Twitter&amp;8230'The short answer to Palina4a4s question is a4Ano, probably nota4. But Ia4a4ll forgive Sarah Palin for not having read the law before commenting on it' after all she thought Laura Schlessinger quitting her radio show was a first amendment issue. Whata4a4s takes a bit longer to fathom &amp;8211' save through the cynical lens of publisher idiocy &amp;8211' is the grounds on which Palina4a4s publisher, Harper Collins, fired off a cease and desist letter to Gawker. And why, when Gawker ignored the letter, they decided to go ahead and sue for breach of copyright. Still, for good or ill, a federal judge in New York has now ordered Gawker to remove the post and barred them from &amp;''continuing to distribute, publish or otherwise transmit pages from the book&amp;'', pending a hearing on November 30th.Much of initial online commentary around the story pointed out how clueless both Palin and Harper Collins are when it comes to the promotional benefits of having a book extracted online. Therea4a4s almost no evidence to suggest that having even lengthy chunks of a work available for free does anything but encourage sales. This is particularly the case with an author like Palin: her army of supporters will buy the book anyway (not least because most of them dona4a4t read Gawker), her army of opponents wona4a4t, and those sitting on the fence now have an additional opportunity to try before they buy, much like they could in a book store. Thus, from a purely promotional point of view, Gawkera4a4s post &amp;8211' snarky as it was &amp;8211' can only be A Good Thing.But arguing on that point alone shows a lack of understanding of how publishing works. Publishers know damned fine that releasing previews of books before publication helps sales. My next book isna4a4t out until early next year but already therea4a4s half a foresta4a4s worth of preview copies of the (non-final) manuscript floating around the offices of journalists, bookstore buyers and anyone else who might be useful to the booka4a4s prospects. Eventually my publicist will sidlea4sup to carefully selected publications and offer them copies of the complete, finished book, in the hope that they will be interested in reviewing it or &amp;8211' better yet &amp;8211' publishing a lengthy extract.In the case of my book, that extract will almost certainly be offered for free (the promotional benefits of being syndicated in a newspaper are consideration enough) but in the case of a book like America By Heart, the first syndication rights could be very valuable indeed. And therein lies the real point of the Harper Collins / Gawker lawsuit: by publishing unauthorised extracts from Palina4a4s book, Gawker has seriously damaged the publishera4a4s ability to earn a fortune from selling those extracts to others. Theya4a4ve also upset a meticulously planned timeline whereby extracts will be released to the press at a succession of times designed to optimise the publicity surrounding the book. No wonder Palin is pouting and Harper is suing: Gawker just cost them both a shit-ton of money, and screwed up a publicity plan that was months in the making.Unfortunately, though, the reality of the Internet / social media / whatever ita4a4s called this week &amp;8211' age is that publishers simply dona4a4t have the luxury of controlling the flow of information any more. The idea that they can release thousands of preview copies of a new title, in electronic form, weeks (or even months) ahead of publicationa4sand rely on a gentlemana4a4s agreement with the press that their embargo will be respected is simply laughable.Wholesale piracy is one thing, and if Gawker were offering the complete downloadable pdf (or even a full chapter) then the lawsuit would be both right and proper. But the only way to prevent fair-use extracting online is either to forgo the distribution of preview copies entirely,a4sor to take a leaf out of Applea4a4s book and escort the preview editions from door to door under armed guard. Neither of those suggestions is practical, or desirable.The only option left to publishers, then, is to engage with high-traffic bloggers, rather than fighting them.  The first step down this road requires the book industry to realise that their days of controlling who can publish pre-publication extracts of hot titles are over. It wona4a4t be an easy realisation, much as it wasna4a4t easy for PR people to comprehend that their days of holding journalists to embargos on press announcements were behind them.The second step demands that they get creative: having realised that the moment they start distributing preview copies, ita4a4s only a matter of time before extracts start to show up online, they should focus their attentions on owning that process. Create a pdf of all the funny, juicy or in other way controversial extracts of the book and send it to bloggers' encourage them to publish the extracts, along with their own commentary, snarky or otherwise. Many minor-league bloggers be flattered by the suggestion, others will just be glad of the free content. As for the bigger blogs' any snark on the part of sites like Gawker will hopefully be balanced out by more positive coverage elsewhere (unless your author really is evil, but why would you give a person like that a book deal, Harper Collins Oh yeah.) And if any sites do publish unauthorised extracts As long as ita4a4s not more than a page or two, ignore it. The fight isna4a4t worth the candle and it probably just means you didna4a4t pick the right quotes to send out in the first place.Will this new strategy reduce the likelihood of some publications paying for exclusive extracts Probably. But thata4a4s easy to fix too. Along with the extract, influential blogs should be offered an exclusive interview with the author, and the promise that she will provide quotes and stories that cana4a4t be found in the book. That kind of content is un-stealable, which is why music piracy cana4a4t make a dent in the profitability of live performance. Given the choice between a sit-down with Palin or the crappy traffic he got from the book extract, I guarantee Denton would take the sit-down. Hell, he nearly soiled his pants when Fred Durst sent him flowers.Ia4a4ve long been an advocate of protecting intellectual property, and ana4sopponent of slackening the laws just because the Internet makes everyone a thief. But whata4a4s happening here has little to do with the law and everything to do with publishers trying to cling on to their ability to control every aspect of the promotion of their titles. Gawkera4a4s publication of quotes from America By Heart is just the latest example of that reality. Now ita4a4s down to publishers whether they waste even more time and money on legal fees, or refocusa4stheir energies on new and more interesting ways of promoting authors and their work.Sadly, especially given today&amp;'s judgement, I suspect I know which approach Harper Collins and Sarah Palin will take.(Next Week: Sarah Palin embarrasses herself on FourSquare, is still awful)<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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