Barlow at the #eG8

The key point to me bears repeating:

"Property is something that can be taken from me. If I don’t have it, somebody else does. Expression is not like that. The notion that expression is like that is entirely a consequence of taking a system of expression and transporting it around, which was necessary before there was the internet, which has the capacity to do this infinitely at almost no cost."

Amplify’d from www.wired.com

Copyfight: EFF Co-Founder Enters e-G8 ‘Lion’s Den,’ Rips Into Lions

“I just arrived at the Tuileries for the #eG8, already a hoot. Unfounded smugness to rival the World Economic Forum.”

John Perry Barlow—EFF co-founder, Grateful Dead lyricist, and, improbably, now a rancher—arrived in Paris and began tweeting up a storm from the e-G8 summit gathered there this week to discuss the future of the internet.

After listening to French President Nicolas Sarkozy call repeatedly for internet regulation and more copyright protection, Barlow added, “You’d have thought from Sarkozy’s talk he was addressing a convocation of Anonymous and the Pirate Party. He wasn’t.”

Barlow was a late addition to a panel on intellectual property; his name wasn’t even included on the schedule. But he accepted the invitation even as colleagues begged him not to go and activists like Cory Doctorow turned down invitations to the event, which was seen as an industry/government cabal bent on regulating the ‘Net for its own ends. Barlow made the most of his opportunity. On stage with the French culture minister and the heads of 20th Century Fox, Universal Music France, Bertelsmann, and a French publisher, he waited though 30 minutes of opening statements filled with comments like:

“We do not believe that you can remove ‘content’ from the internet, and if you do this, what is there left? Basically, the internet then is a set of empty pieces and boxes.” (Bertelsmann)

“When someone comes to you and says I need a few hundred million dollars to make a movie about 10 foot tall blue people on another planet, that’s not an easy decision to make. But if you do make that decision and it does turn out to be Avatar, then you’d like to be compensated.” (20th Century Fox; Avatar set the world box office record)

“In France, there are still people who maintain their criticism of this [three strikes authority HADOPI], who view it as a repressive body, whereas in actual fact it creates momentum from a pedagogical standpoint.” (Minster of Culture)

When Barlow had a chance to speak, he expressed his own surprise at being on the panel, “because I don’t think I’m from the same planet, actually.” He then proceeded to trash the foundational assumptions of everyone who had just spoken.

I may be one of very few people in this room who actually makes his living personally by creating what these gentlemen are pleased to call “intellectual property.” I don’t regard my expression as a form of property. Property is something that can be taken from me. If I don’t have it, somebody else does.

Expression is not like that. The notion that expression is like that is entirely a consequence of taking a system of expression and transporting it around, which was necessary before there was the internet, which has the capacity to do this infinitely at almost no cost.

In Barlow’s view, the e-G8 has been about “imposing the standards of some business practices and institutional power centers that come from another era on the future, whether they are actually productive of new ideas or not.”

He added that he was more interested in talking about “incentivizing creativity by people who create things, and not large institutions who prey on them and have for years.”

Barlow’s biggest contribution to the e-G8 may have been the reminder that this illusion of calm is only possible in a setting where one screens the dissenting voices—and that those voices are still raging outside. Read more at www.wired.com

 

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This is getting some buzz on Google Buzz (even the Scoble is commenting!) Apparently, people who run publicly traded companies have to be careful about what they say in public: who knew? Also, in a sign of journalistic excellence, Techcrunch edited it out of the video. I'm sure that will mollify the SEC. My favorite comments from the Buzz thread:

"Robert Scoble - At all the public companies I've worked for this is an instant fireable offense. Will be interesting to see if she survives. I bet she will since they just invested $300 million in her, but I love that Techcrunch already deleted the offending piece of video." 3:32 pm

"Linda Lawrey - That won't negate the legal ramifications if anyone pursues it. But I think it was just a dumb statement, with no ill intent. However, if it affects the stock, then ill intent isn't the deciding factor." 3:37 pm

"Brad McCarty - And therein lies the problem.@Manan is asking me on Twitter whether pub companies should never be allowed to assure that investors will do well. The answer, of course, is that no they can't do that. Legal definitions don't change according to context." 3:38 pm

Amplify’d from thenextweb.com

Did Arianna Huffington use stage to engage in market manipulation of AOL stock?

This morning at TechCrunch Disrupt,  president and editor-in-chief of The Huffington Post Media Group, Arianna Huffington, in a “Fireside Chat” made an interesting and possibly illegal statement concerning the stock of AOL.

According to a Tweet from Dylan Byers, a reporter for AdWeek, Huffington, speaking to Michael Arrington, founder and co-editor of TechCrunch, stated the following,

A Twitter search of “AOL Stock” features a stream of similar Tweets concerning Huffington’s statement.

Interestingly the video of Huffington’s statements have been cut off at the point where Arrington enters the stage.

That said, it could be argued that that Huffington is engaging in market manipulation concerning AOL’s stock.

We’ll continue to follow developments in this story as they present themselves.  In the interim, it might be wise of Ms. Huffington to refrain from making any statements on stock she has a vested interest in. Read more at thenextweb.com

 

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Rapture Bombing

This sounds like a prank I could get into.

Amplify’d from gizmodo.com

Let’s Punk the Rapture

Mat Honan — A lot of people think the Rapture is coming May 21. It's not. But assuming your pets are okay, here's a prank we'd like you to pull. We call it Rapture Bombing.

On May 21, get a bunch of your old clothes in full sets of pants, shirts, and shoes. Bonus points if you leave accessories like an old watch or sunglasses to go with them. Lay them out as if people have suddenly disappeared, leaving only the clothes behind. Be creative. Take pictures. Post them on our Facebook page, or tweet them with the hashtag #rapturebomb. We'll run the best ones; our favorites will win prizes. (Don't get too excited—we're talkin' iPhone cases and shit.) And if you make your local news? You'll be Giz's hero for the day. [via MLKSHK] Read more at gizmodo.com

 

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Macho Man R.I.P.

I have to say, the Macho Man was one of my favorites; up there with Andre the Giant, and definitely above Hulk Hogan. It makes me a little sad, actually ...

Amplify’d from gawker.com

Wrestling Superstar Randy ‘Macho Man’ Savage Dies in Car Crash

Brian Moylan — The WWF's Randy "Macho Man" Savage, the great friend then foe of Hulk Hogan and lover of Miss Elizabeth, died in Tampa, Florida, today. He was 58. According to police reports, he had a heart attack while behind the wheel and his car coasted over the median, into oncoming traffic and finally collided with a tree. He died from injuries in the crash, not the heart attack.

We can only hope that Randy is holding up a World Champion Belt standing aloft the buckles of the great wrestling ring in the sky right now. Read more at gawker.com

 

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How Microsoft Can Fix Microsoft

Something that Paul Thurrott has been working on for some time, he has finally crystallized it into a post on his site. This is a longish clip from a longer article, but there is some really thought-provoking content here. And he is up front that these are just some ideas to initiate a discussion, not (necessarily) a prescription from someone who thinks he knows better. One of my favorites is "Embrace your past" and "Go on a buying spree," and there is "Learn better branding" for @AlexSchleber



The post itself doesn't allow comments, so he has an open thread here: http://www.winsupersite.com/blogs/entryid/76452/discussing-how-microsoft-can-fix-microsoft if you are interested.

Amplify’d from www.winsupersite.com

A few years back, during the Windows Vista debacle, I would complain to various Microsoft employees and PR people that the software giant wasn't responding to Apple's increasingly antagonistic (and incorrect) portrayal of the OS in its infamous "I'm a Mac, I'm a PC" ads. Finally, an exasperated Microsoftie called my bluff and asked what it was, exactly, that I recommended they did. I'm a professional critic, I replied. So I can easily point out the problem. But fixing it is your job.

But the wider issue here one of responsibility. It's easy to criticize, to point out the mistakes you believe others have made. And on the Internet, especially, such criticism is often anonymous and cheap, without merit.

When I look back over the past decade with Microsoft, I see lots of missed opportunities. I see some great products, yes, but looked at very generally, the 2000s was the time when Microsoft ceded control of the tech industry, control it now shares with other, faster-moving companies such as Apple and Google. There is no doubt--none at all--that Microsoft will continue into the future as an enormous, financially successful superpower. But my concern as a technology enthusiast is that Microsoft, by ceasing to lead, will cease to be interesting or, worse, relevant.

Understanding the cause of a problem is, of course, important. But it's only a first step. Once you've identified that there is a problem, the goal should be to solve it. And this is of course the area in which professional critics such as myself have always come up short. I've been pointing out my belief that there is a problem for years. But how can we fix this problem? How can Microsoft fix this problem?

The truth is, I really don't know. But helped by the Twittersphere and listeners of the Windows Weekly podcast, I've assembled a list of often-contradictory suggestions that should at least trigger some debate. Do I expect Microsoft to implement any of these changes? No. Do I believe that any of these changes can "save" Microsoft from a fate that perhaps only I believe would be catastrophic? Again, no. But let's start the conversation at least.

With all that in mind, let's dive in. Here are some ways in which I feel Microsoft could and should fix itself. In no particular order...

You're a business software maker, deal with it

Separate the wheat from the chaff

Microsoft needs to figure out what works and keep what's successful, and be aggressive about trimming out the products that are not successful. And the way it does this is by evaluating this success on a product by product basis and not allowing successful products to subsidize the dogs beyond an initial three year (or whatever) "startup" phase. If it's not working, just kill it.

Simplify

My take on employment at Microsoft--which has been confirmed by dozens of current and former Microsofties--is that you sign up expecting to change the world, get beat down by the endless infighting and corporate hierarchy and then end up just punching the clock, collecting a salary and benefits while nothing gets done. They mean well. It's just that most aren't empowered.

Realizing it was heading down a similar path, Google recently retrenched, cut away at levels of hierarchy and sped up the decision making process. (And they were already moving much more quickly than Microsoft!!) The software giant could learn from its competitors and simplify its own business, cull executives and hierarchy, and speed decision making. It's overdue. The creeping size of Microsoft is killing it from within.

Feel fear

Move more quickly

Split up the company

Learn better branding

Branding matters, a lot. Avalon was cool, Windows Presentation Foundation is not. Longhorn? Awesome. Windows Vista Home Premium 32-Bit Upgrade Edition? Terrible. (Imagine if Microsoft just called the thing Windows Longhorn, as Apple names things like Mac OS X Lion. Perfect.)

Branding is also hard, and there are actually examples where Microsoft curiously decided not to tack Windows or Windows Live on the front of something (maybe Bill Gates was on vacation that week) and actually came up with a unique brand. The trouble is, some work, some don't: Xbox worked, Zune did not. Bing? Still up in the air, but the simple fact that many people still think of "Chandler Bing" when they hear this name--seven long years after "Friends" went off the air--is perhaps a bad sign.

Fire Steve Ballmer

But Microsoft doesn't need a business guy at the top. It needs people who understand technology. So on that note, I present my choices for this leadership team: Mark Russinovich, who possesses a titanic technical genius, and Steven Sinofsky, who may be the ultimate manager of engineers.

By the way, Bill Gates is not coming back, so get over it.

Start over from scratch

It's worth mentioning that some parts of Microsoft already get this. Microsoft's servers are already transitioning to superior, cloud-based services, and those business units are using this migration as an excuse to get things right this time. So architecturally and from a user experience standpoint, these new products are in fact new, technically superior, and simpler to use. Brilliant. So this advice applies only to client version of Windows and other end user products.

Stop smothering good ideas

There's obviously some cross-over here with my previous comments about corporate hierarchy and whatnot, but Microsoft needs to say Yes to good ideas more frequently. This can only happen within an organization that actually listens and rewards the forward thinkers. You know, places like Apple and Google.

Sweat the details

Windows 7 was successful because it took a solid foundation from Vista and cleaned it up and simplified it. But even Windows 7 lacks detail-orientation, with a mélange of user interfaces both new and old. So it's better. But it's not refined enough.

This is the type of thing Apple gets right, or at least gets it better. (Not perfect though. Even the beloved OS X is marred by some curiously inconsistent and scatter-brained UIs.)

Don't be afraid to copy

Recognize when to partner and when not to partner

The thing is, Microsoft has a bad habit of simply aping a previously successful strategy when it enters new markets. It did this with mobile devices (PDAs, smart phones, and now tablets) and it did it with video games, though few people remember it: The first Xbox, really, was arguably Sega's Dreamcast. And as history has shown us, the partner strategy only works some of the time. Sometimes you need to stand alone.

I'd also point out that some of Microsoft's biggest partners are all invested in other platforms now. For example, the world's biggest PC maker, HP, is now starting to push webOS first as a dual-boot thing with Windows on PCs. But you know where this is going to end up if HP is successful. And it's not just HP. Dell and many other companies have jumped on the Android bandwagon. And they'll all drop Microsoft like a bad habit when and if that other stuff gets big enough.

So why does Microsoft protect these goons when they obviously aren't returning the favor? Why did it hand AT&T the keys to the kingdom by allowing it, and not the users of Windows Phone, to determine when software updates can be delivered to their devices?

Embrace your past and port to all successful platforms

I'm talking full-blown versions of Microsoft Office on iPhone, iPad, and Android. Xbox LIVE games. Go nuts, guys. The world is heterogeneous now. But you know this.

Really embrace the cloud

To be fair, Microsoft really is embracing the cloud. But I'm thinking more along the lines of software delivery. Much of the software giant's client catalog--Windows, Office and Xbox 360 games, for example--is delivered primarily on physical media, like it was 1995 again. Let's rid the world of boxed software, Microsoft. Make it all electronic. Don't just move to the cloud. Be in the cloud.

Since we're reaching for the stars here, let's end the silly licensing restrictions for individuals while we're at it. When you buy it, you own it, and you can install it on any PC. This is the new baseline, thanks to the Mac App Store. And it's overdue.

Go on a buying spree

While many people have criticized Microsoft's recent decision to purchase Skype at what appears to be an 800 percent premium, at least they're putting themselves out there and making a big bet. Surely, this move deserves some respect, since it suggests that someone at Microsoft actually believes they need to do ... something.

With this in mind, Microsoft needs to go on a buying spree, spend its cash assets until there's nothing left, and then integrate the hell out of what they bought. If you can't build it in-house, go get it. I'm talking about Twitter for starters. Then Adobe. Then, when it's fallen hard enough, RIM and/or Nokia. You can't build everything, Microsoft. And you don't have to. Read more at www.winsupersite.com

 

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Stuxnet was only the beginning

Fortunately for most of us, Stuxnet was targeted at specific systems for a specific purpose in a specific place, but it infected systems all over the world, and if it had been less finely tuned it could have caused more damage. The PLC systems that run everything around the world appear to be so vulnerable that someone just looking to cause mischief can cause real damage and injury, let alone a rogue nation looking for trouble. I am actually surprised that these vulnerabilities haven't been exploited already; they have obviously been extant for many years ...

Amplify’d from www.wired.com

Fearing Destruction, Researcher Cancels Disclosure of New Siemens SCADA Holes

A security researcher has discovered multiple security vulnerabilities in Siemens industrial control systems that he says would allow hackers with remote access to the systems to cause physical destruction.

Dillon Beresford canceled a planned demonstration of the vulnerabilities on Wednesday at the Takedown security conference in Texas after Siemens and the Department of Homeland Security expressed concern over the phone and at the conference about disclosing information before Siemens could patch the vulnerabilities.

The vulnerabilities affect the programmable logic controllers in several Siemens SCADA systems. Siemens PLC products are used in companies throughout the U.S. and the world controlling everything from critical infrastructure systems such as nuclear power and enrichment plants to commercial manufacturing facilities. It was a vulnerability in a PLC belonging to Siemens’ Step7 control system that was the target of the sophisticated Stuxnet worm. Stuxnet was discovered on systems in Iran last year and is believed to have been designed by a nation state aimed at destroying uranium enrichment centrifuges at the Natanz nuclear facility in Iran.

Beresford wouldn’t say how many vulnerabilities he found in the Siemens products but said he gave the company four exploit modules to test. He believes that at least one of the vulnerabilities he found affects multiple SCADA system vendors, which share “commonality” in their products. Beresford wouldn’t reveal more details but says he hopes to do so once Siemens releases a statement, which he says the company is preparing for Thursday.

Beresford contacted ICS-CERT to disclose the vulnerabilities. ICS-CERT (Industrial Control Systems Cyber Emergency Response Team) is a computer security group that the Department of Homeland Security operates in partnership with Idaho National Laboratory. The group researches vulnerabilities in industrial control systems and helps alert vendors and customers about security holes in products.

ICS-CERT contacted Siemens, based in Germany, and the company began to work on patches for the vulnerabilities. Both Siemens and ICS-CERT had been fine with Beresford’s initial decision to talk about the vulnerabilities at the conference but changed their mind once they saw his presentation.

Siemens was still working on patches but had found a remediation for one of the vulnerabilities. But Beresford found he was easily able to get around it.

Once Siemens saw in his presentation that their mitigation didn’t work, the company realized it had to go back to the lab and reassess how to address the vulnerability, Beresford said.

“This is different from simply stealing money out of someone’s bank account,” said NSS Labs CEO Rick Moy. “Things could explode. I don’t want to overplay this and sound like it’s a bunch of FUD but physical damage can occur and people can be seriously injured or worse. So we felt … it was best to be prudent and wait a little bit longer until we get more information.” Read more at www.wired.com

 

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Stuxnet was only the beginning

Fortunately for most of us, Stuxnet was targeted at specific systems for a specific purpose in a specific place, but it infected systems all over the world, and if it had been less finely tuned it could have caused more damage. The PLC systems that run everything around the world appear to be so vulnerable that someone just looking to cause mischief can cause real damage and injury, let alone a rogue nation looking for trouble. I am actually surprised that these vulnerabilities haven't been exploited already; they have obviously been extant for many years ...

Amplify’d from www.wired.com

Fearing Destruction, Researcher Cancels Disclosure of New Siemens SCADA Holes

A security researcher has discovered multiple security vulnerabilities in Siemens industrial control systems that he says would allow hackers with remote access to the systems to cause physical destruction.

Dillon Beresford canceled a planned demonstration of the vulnerabilities on Wednesday at the Takedown security conference in Texas after Siemens and the Department of Homeland Security expressed concern over the phone and at the conference about disclosing information before Siemens could patch the vulnerabilities.

The vulnerabilities affect the programmable logic controllers in several Siemens SCADA systems. Siemens PLC products are used in companies throughout the U.S. and the world controlling everything from critical infrastructure systems such as nuclear power and enrichment plants to commercial manufacturing facilities. It was a vulnerability in a PLC belonging to Siemens’ Step7 control system that was the target of the sophisticated Stuxnet worm. Stuxnet was discovered on systems in Iran last year and is believed to have been designed by a nation state aimed at destroying uranium enrichment centrifuges at the Natanz nuclear facility in Iran.

Beresford wouldn’t say how many vulnerabilities he found in the Siemens products but said he gave the company four exploit modules to test. He believes that at least one of the vulnerabilities he found affects multiple SCADA system vendors, which share “commonality” in their products. Beresford wouldn’t reveal more details but says he hopes to do so once Siemens releases a statement, which he says the company is preparing for Thursday.

Beresford contacted ICS-CERT to disclose the vulnerabilities. ICS-CERT (Industrial Control Systems Cyber Emergency Response Team) is a computer security group that the Department of Homeland Security operates in partnership with Idaho National Laboratory. The group researches vulnerabilities in industrial control systems and helps alert vendors and customers about security holes in products.

ICS-CERT contacted Siemens, based in Germany, and the company began to work on patches for the vulnerabilities. Both Siemens and ICS-CERT had been fine with Beresford’s initial decision to talk about the vulnerabilities at the conference but changed their mind once they saw his presentation.

Siemens was still working on patches but had found a remediation for one of the vulnerabilities. But Beresford found he was easily able to get around it.

Once Siemens saw in his presentation that their mitigation didn’t work, the company realized it had to go back to the lab and reassess how to address the vulnerability, Beresford said.

“This is different from simply stealing money out of someone’s bank account,” said NSS Labs CEO Rick Moy. “Things could explode. I don’t want to overplay this and sound like it’s a bunch of FUD but physical damage can occur and people can be seriously injured or worse. So we felt … it was best to be prudent and wait a little bit longer until we get more information.” Read more at www.wired.com

Top Ten Rapture Tips

In preparation for the end of the world this weekend ...

Amplify’d from patriotboy.blogspot.com

In preparation for Saturday's Rapture, I'm sharing my top ten rapture tips: 10. Pass gas before leaving atmosphere to prevent embarrassing trajectory changes. 9. Bring a firearm in case some bastard cuts you off at the Kolob exit. 8. Refrain from drinking liquids--God ain't going to pull over. 7. Good manners dictate that you shake Jesus' hand before hugging Ayn Rand and punching Gandhi. 6. Call out greetings to friends immediately after liftoff--in space, no one can hear you scream. 5. To decrease atmospheric friction, refrain from using Cialis, Viagra, or any other hardening agents after midnight on Friday. 4. Wear clean underwear; you don't want to embarrass your mother if you're the bastard who cuts me off at the Kolob exit. 3. Bring a big bottle of Aquafina. Jesus loves a good wine. 2. Don't buzz the Jews. 1. Keep your sunroof open. Read more at patriotboy.blogspot.com

 

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Politics of Power in a New York Hotel

A perspective on the arrest of IMF head Dominique Strauss-Kahn on sexual assault charges. My thinking is that if they thought they had enough evidence for an arrest, particularly of a high profile figure, then this is a case that needs to be heard. I hope he doesn't get off simply because he hired a high-priced lawyer; the DA better bring his "A-game."

Amplify’d from subrosa-blonde.blogspot.com

Power and sex is a heady mix but the arrest of Dominque Strauss-Kahn, the head of the IMF is, without doubt, the stuff of conspiracy theorists.  He has been accused of the sexual assault of a New York hotel chambermaid.

In my youth I had a career in hotel management which I practiced both in England, Switzerland and Germany.  It wasn't unusual for housekeeping staff to make complaints against guests and many, when investigated, were substantiated once the threat of police involvement was threatened.

There are some - usually men - who think, when they reserve a hotel room, they are entitled to abuse the staff as well as benefit from the usual services offered.  These folks are transparent within minutes of their arrival in the building.  The words 'please' or 'thank you' never cross their thin lips and their self-importance is highly visible.  Little do they know that experienced staff suss them out immediately and can have great amusement at the expense of their arrogance.  They are people who feel a hotel should feel privileged to have a 'VIP' guest such as themselves.

It wasn't only pitiful married men who fostered a desire to looking for excitement; on several occasions international figures attempted more complex ways to ensure a female member of staff would enter their domain.

Never, in my years in the industry, did I hear of a court case connected with improper conduct being brought, by a hotel employee, against a guest. The issues were quickly resolved without the law being involved.

But Mr Strauss-Kahn's case is different.  There's no cover-up and the law appears to have been speedily engaged. Society has changed since my youth but I suspect there's more to this than a complaint from a chambermaid.

Whatever the outcome of his arrest, his position of power looks distinctly much weaker than it did a week ago. If I were a believer in conspiracy theories I would suggest that Mr Strauss-Kahn will be quietly removed from his post in the next couple of months.  Few would notice and what does it matter to joe public anyway? As a non-believer I would like to see the man brought before his peers, if there is a good enough case against him.  Too often have I been aware of men, in positions of power, abusing female hotel staff in the anonymous environment of a hotel room then using their money and power to buy silence. Read more at subrosa-blonde.blogspot.com

 

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Seven thoughts on Microsoft buying Skype

It is easy to be negative about Microsoft and their acquisition of Skype. Here are some thoughts that are generally upbeat. Yes, Microsoft has Live Messenger, but as Tom Merritt said the other day, nothing else does everything Skype does as well as Skype does.

Amplify’d from gdgt.com

Seven thoughts on Microsoft buying Skype

1. I have to confess that I had an inkling something was up when I suggested that Microsoft buy Skype in the newsletter a couple of weeks ago. I'd been hearing from some of my sources that the two companies were talking, I just didn't think it'd happen quite so quickly -- or even at all given the interest Skype was also getting from Google and Facebook (and probably some other names that haven't emerged).

2. Microsoft probably overpaid -- but it's too early to tell. $8.5 billion comes out to about $50 per active user (they claim about 170 million "connected users"). That's a lot of value to have to try and extract given that most Skype users don't pay anything at all to use the service. Even so, the strategic value in owning Skype is considerable and not to be underestimated. It's just going to be a challenge to justify the price that was paid unless they're really aggressive in -- and especially successful at -- leveraging both the technology and the social network to create new revenue opportunities. There are the obvious things they can do to integrate, but, given that we're just at the cusp of this big transition to IP-based communication, it's hard to tell just how large those other opportunities could be and, as a result, it'll be a long time before we can tell whether Microsoft spent too much.

3. This is good for Facebook. It was hard to imagine a pre-IPO Facebook doing such a large deal anyway, and now given, Microsoft's investment and partnership, it seems likely that they'll be able to piggyback on the purchase and get the kind of deeper integration with Skype they were looking for. Plus now they don't have to worry about Google snapping Skype up and using it to build some sort of competitive social offering.

4. This is great for Windows Phone and Nokia. Microsoft will be able to layer Skype into its mobile OS in ways that weren't possible before, and I'm sure Nokia, which has always been partial to Skype (see what they did with Skype and the N900, for example), will be happy to market a phone that appeals to heavy Skype users.

5. Of course, the carriers are going to be wary. They already don't like Skype -- because, well, they don't like anything that might lead to them becoming simply dumb pipes -- but with Microsoft's weight (and buckets of cash) behind it, Skype might very well be able to make inroads here. It'll be interesting to see how much the carriers push back.

6. Microsoft bringing Skype to Xbox and Kinect is a no-brainer. They've done a good job turning the Xbox into more than just a gaming console, and adding Skype video calling to the mix only adds to its appeal. This probably would have happened anyway, but now it'll probably happen more quickly and the integration with Live will be better than it would have been otherwise.

7. It's harder to tell how this will impact Skype users more generally, but Microsoft says it's committed to keeping Skype on non-Microsoft OSes, and I honestly think they'd be crazy not to. (Want an easy way to impress everyone? Improve the horrible Mac client Skype released recently.) In fact, there's really no point to buying Skype if Microsoft isn't going to use it as an opportunity to evolve how it thinks about its products, and so, if anything, they should expand the number of products and platforms for which Skype is available. The opportunity here, at least as I see it, isn't just the access to Skype's userbase and technology, it's that it gives Microsoft a way to embrace the multiplatform world I described in that earlier newsletter. To put it another way: Microsoft needs to become more like Skype. Yes, bringing Skype to Outlook and the Xbox like that will be good, but the wider implication for Microsoft is in how Skype thinks of itself as a product, i.e. one that becomes more valuable the more devices and platforms it works on. Read more at gdgt.com

 

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Android Lightbulbs

This looks good. I'm going to have to get me one of these ...

Amplify’d from gigaom.com

Google, Lighting Science Working on Open Source Home Wireless Protocol

Google unveiled this bit of energy news out of its developer conference in San Francisco on Tuesday: before the end of the year, LED company Lighting Science Group will start selling the first Android-connected LED bulb. It’s essentially an energy efficient bulb connected to a radio, which can be controlled and monitored via Google’s mobile operating system. But one of the more unusual things about the project is that Google and Lighting Science Group say they are working on a wireless protocol that will be used to connect the bulb to the Android operating platform, as well as other devices in the home like appliances and thermostats.

Holland said the wireless mesh networking protocol will run between the 800 – 915 MHz frequency bands, but wouldn’t give the name of the protocol or other companies working on it besides Google and Lighting Science Group (though, he said there are others). Holland said the wireless protocol would have a smaller footprint in terms of requiring less RAM and less Flash storage to implement, and would have a better latency than current home wireless protocols (so there’s no lag time between pressing a button to turn a light on and the bulb responding).

Holland said that Lighting Science Group wanted to work with Google because it is the champion of open source, and that Google will be making the wireless protocol open source. The wireless protocol could help proliferate LED and smart lighting technology across the market, said Holland, and Lighting Science Group plans to launch a whole suite of lighting products around the wireless tech at the lighting expo Lightfair next week. We know that our competitors will ultimately be working on this technology, but from a technology perspective this will open up the market.

The LED bulb itself will be available before Christmas of this year, and will be targeted at consumers. Holland said that in terms of cost the bulb will be on par with the cost of other LED bulbs. Read more at gigaom.com

 

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Taxpayers Averted

A catchy title, I think, taken from the "Muck and Mystery" article below, describing the quandary that is China. The article quotes liberally from an article in the Guardian http://goo.gl/phaQH .



From the Guardian, "the day is in sight when China will run out of the cheap labour that has fuelled its growth in the past three decades; second, that the gender imbalance is worryingly large, the result of a preference for an only son over an only daughter; and third, that the burden of caring for a growing population of elderly citizens, in what is the world's most rapidly ageing population, will inevitably fall on a shrinking proportion of the economically active." Sounds similar to the situation in this country, but maybe a little more harsh. Perhaps the Chinese, not being as inured to general wealth, will be better able to deal with the consequences; or, having just gained general wealth, will be unwilling to give it up.



Particularly interesting is the conjecture that we will have to develop Africa as a major agricultural powerhouse, as Brazil is now, just to feed the world. As the author says, "damn all the planners."

Amplify’d from www.garyjones.org

Since 20% of the people on this planet are Chinese their policies and behaviors matter to us all.

The true problem, when seeing like a state, is a dearth of net taxpayers. Old folks consume more than they produce, and as has been argued for many years this threatens China's development.

China may get old before it gets rich. Ageing has been perceived almost exclusively as a problem for industrialised economies, following years of urbanisation and industrialisation. Fewer people have associated ageing with a developing country where labour is often ample and the cost of child-raising inexpensive. China may be an exception. Although it is still considered a developing country by many standards, China has the fastest ageing trend among the 14 developing economies in the BRICs and the N-11. Our analysis suggests that by the time China becomes an ëaged societyí in 2027, it will probably be considered a developed country, although it will still be considerably poorer than the US or Japan on a per-capita income basis. We believe the rapid build-up of human capital and the continued release of surplus labour from the agriculture sector will mitigate the negative influences on the labour supply from ageing.

What does "the continued release of surplus labour from the agriculture sector" actually mean?

most striking in the data released so far, China's migrant workers – the underprivileged and exploited floating population who left the land to build China's cities – has nearly doubled, up 81% to more than 261 million. The future of these migrants is another headache for Chinese planners. Migration for work does not bring the right of residence in China since the household registration system, devised half a century ago to keep China's peasants tied to the land, remains in force. While China's cities rely on migrant labour, they are unwilling to shoulder the costs of providing migrants with health, housing or welfare. As they cannot register as urban residents, migrant labourers can be expelled by force to their home towns, they have no access to medical services and their children have no right to be educated in city schools. It's a system that has exacerbated China's deep social divisions and has been increasingly questioned as the country moves towards middle income status, a target it is likely to attain by the time of the next census in 2020. By then, if things go according to plan, another 300 million people will have moved off the land and China's small farms will have been consolidated as the government attempts to feed the country's many mouths. By then, too, it has been predicted that 30 million Chinese males will not be able to find wives, with unpredictable social consequences. That may prove an even more intractable problem for China's planners.

One of the major issues in agriculture has been and continues to be the rapid growth of Brazil as an agricultural power house. In effect, they make more land while at the same time making all of their land more productive. This is a result of a concerted effort to improve their agronomic methods and rise above the developing world's typically paltry production levels and consequent poverty. The idea that there is a fixed amount of available land for food and fiber production is as silly as all "proven reserves" ideas about resource limitations. The abstract idea that everything is finite is abused to argue that the limits are known. They are not, and more importantly for these sorts of policy discussions the limits are far in excess of what the Malthusian anti-humanists claim.

The significance of Brazil's progress is hugely amplified by consideration of Africa. Many of Brazil's new methods apply to African soils just across the ocean from Brazil. Since they were once joined together before continental drift took them apart the parent materials of those soils are much the same. This doesn't just mean that another Brazil is possible since Africa is truly huge. The USA, Europe, China and India together aren't as large as Africa. Not all of that land has Brazil like soil and climate, but it perhaps helps one understand the silliness of the idea of immanent limits to food and fiber production due to land shortage.

A hue and cry will be raised - is being raised - by those who would prefer that such lands remain forever unused by humans, but they are not thinking clearly. There are no levers of power to control the trajectory of development. All that can be done by the planners is to create ever more baroque messes such as China has done. Sensible policies can only result from honest evaluation of current realities, and that includes the nature of humans and their societies. Rather than standing athwart history impotently screeching stop!, it is better to do what can be done to improve the results of developments. Read more at www.garyjones.org

 

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Contingency Planning at the Royal Wedding

If only this were true ...

Amplify’d from www.theregister.co.uk

"So we said, look, if she bottles it we'll just have to get her out pronto, helicopter off the roof maybe, then sort her out with a new identity and young Bill will just have to go on the honeymoon on his own."

However our source said that royal officials were unhappy with that plan. They reluctantly accepted that Ms Middleton remains free to bolt right up until the last moment, but argued that she should be compelled to flee on foot for at least a short distance, so allowing the Prince to pursue her and so perhaps regain some PR benefit for the royal family - and maybe even persuade the absconding future consort to come up to scratch once more.

"That's when it got difficult," says our source. "Now you've got her running out of the Abbey, crowds everywhere, him chasing after her. She's got to be able to run, he's got to be able to catch up if he can. Nightmare."

After protracted, top-secret negotiations between royal staff from Clarence House and representatives from the Metropolitan Police, MI5 and elements of the military, a compromise was agreed. In the event of Operation Pumpkin being put into effect Ms Middleton will be permitted to run out of Westminster Abbey with her bodyguards trailing discreetly at a distance. Plain-clothes undercover police, MI5 officers and SAS soldiers stationed in the crowd will form a mobile flying wedge ahead of her, clearing a path for the fugitive future princess to escape down.

Prince William will then have a limited time, the subject of tense negotiations between Clarence House and security chiefs, in which the path behind Ms Middleton will be kept open for him to go after her, after which the mobile protective cordon will close again at the Abbey end due to lack of manpower and the Prince will have let his bride slip through his fingers.

If Wills reacts fast enough, however, he will be able to chase after his fleeing fiancee for just under half a mile.

"Clarence House wanted a full mile," says our source. "But we said come on, play fair, she's in her wedding dress and there has to be some limit on the overtime budget."

If the Prince fails to intercept Ms Middleton over that distance, the security team will decide that no on-the-spot reconciliation is possible and a strategically positioned taxi, driven by an undercover SAS operative and unobtrusively escorted by several unmarked police cars, will opportunely pull up to carry the escaping ex-future-princess to safety.

On the other hand if Wills manages to come up with Kate he will be allowed to attempt to persuade her to return with him for a limited period.

"We got Clarence House to cut that by a few minutes by agreeing they could put ringers in the crowd to shout stuff like 'Go on love, give him a kiss'," reveals our source. Read more at www.theregister.co.uk

 

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