To improve is to change; to be perfect is to change often. Sir Winston Churchill as quoted by Michael Dobbs in House of Cards
Author Archives: Joseph Bou-Younes
Is the open internet dead?
I was fortunate enough to get online in the mid-90’s. I wrote some terrible software to configure Dial Up Networking in Windows 3.1, and then sold it to a local ISP for years of free access. At that point, consumers were rapidly adopting what I’ll call “open” technologies, including email, forums (USENET), messaging (IRC) and file transferContinue reading “Is the open internet dead?”
Privacy, Trust and Identity are now at the forefront for all consumers, and have wide-ranging impact on technology and media businesses. From tech companies, expect lobbying actions, new tools, new policies and more personal control to rebuild users’ confidence, and from the policy world expect more guidelines around use of personal data and stricter repercussionsContinue reading
Dog loses airline – now THAT’s a story!
I think I would just ignore, it is local news doing a story on a lost dog. Their entire government is shut down and about to default and this is how the US media spends its time. An Air Canada rep unintentionally candid response to a questions about a lost show dog from a reporterContinue reading “Dog loses airline – now THAT’s a story!”
saila: I for one welcome Bezos as washingtonpost’s overlord if this becomes the voice of its Twitter account (ht @susinsky)
If Peter Thiel Calls…
I’m a crotchety old guy. I worry about all these new companies. I’m glad that they’re easier to start, but the problem is, they’re just as hard to finish as they have always been. Mike Olson — “Student Entrepreneurs: If Peter Thiel Calls — Hang Up” (via donnabrewingtonwhite) Source: donnabrewingtonwhite
The Exhibition place is not someplace to come and get sick. Except of course, if we make you sick by putting you on a ride but that’s a different story. David Bednar, general manager of The Ex, as quoted in “Food vendor remains closed during wait for test results after 34 fall ill at CNE”Continue reading
Continuations: Wattpad’s Fanfunding Experiment
continuations: I have written a lot about the challenges of charging for content as digital content production and distribution has skyrocketed. The fundamental problem from here on out is that the supply of content far outstrips the demand which means that at the margin the price for content will be zero…. I commend Wattpad forContinue reading “Continuations: Wattpad’s Fanfunding Experiment”
Following the money at Bixi Toronto
Help me understand the Bixi Toronto service model. This isn’t meant as a criticism of bike sharing; I like the idea, and am happy to subsidize it. I’m just annoyed with what seems to be the opaque way that it’s funded. Let me see if I have this right: the City of Toronto, like other cities,Continue reading “Following the money at Bixi Toronto”
“With a massive database of one BILLION vehicle sightings and the addition of up to 50 million new sightings each month, Vehicle Sightings provide valuable information for both locating subjects and investigating the historical whereabouts of both individuals and vehicles,” advertises TLO, a data broker that caters to lawyers, private investigators, law enforcement and insuranceContinue reading
