Why Search? On a fine sunny morning, not long after the birth of my third child, I typed “immortality” into Google and hit the “I’m feeling lucky” button. In an instant, Google takes me to the “Immortality Institute,” dedicated to “conquering the blight of involuntary death.” Not quite what I…
Why Search?
On a fine sunny morning, not long after the birth of my third child, I typed “immortality” into Google and hit the “I’m feeling lucky” button.
In an instant, Google takes me to the “Immortality Institute,” dedicated to “conquering the blight of involuntary death.”
Read MoreGentlemen, start your engines….once you input your zip code and state (for US residents only though no verification so far is made), there is a bunch of fun stuff here. A management presentation in text and video….featuring Eric, Larry, and Sergey…. The video is grainy but fine. After some legal…
A management presentation in text and video….featuring Eric, Larry, and Sergey….
The video is grainy but fine. After some legal stuff and a short intro from Eric, the video is set up as a Q&A with Larry and Sergey to start. It’s really quite striking how similar Larry and Sergey’s voices and cadences are. They are clearly playing it very straight, but address the same major questions as the S-1. Then Eric gives an overview of the Google business, insisting Google is first and foremost driven by technology. Then George Reyes, the CFO comes in and goes over the numbers and the auction process.
Read MoreOne of the cool projects I'm pleased to be associated with is Make, a new O'Reilly publication that was announced today at O'Reilly's OSCON conference. I helped O'Reilly flesh out the model and editorial concepts for this great new title, and I'm pleased Mark Frauenfelder, of Boing Boing and other…
One of the cool projects I’m pleased to be associated with is Make, a new O’Reilly publication that was announced today at O’Reilly’s OSCON conference. I helped O’Reilly flesh out the model and editorial concepts for this great new title, and I’m pleased Mark Frauenfelder, of Boing Boing and other fame, will be its Editor in Chief. For more info on Make, check Mark’s post here, or contact me if you’re a sponsor interested in knowing more (I’m also helping them on that side of things.)
Joi and Larry and others point to BitTorrent file of the hearings on the INDUCE Act, the latest salvo from the morons who brought us DMCA and DRM. I like this observation from Joi: BitTorrent is one of the most efficient p2p systems and is great for distributing movies and…
Joi and Larry and others point to BitTorrent file of the hearings on the INDUCE Act, the latest salvo from the morons who brought us DMCA and DRM. I like this observation from Joi:
BitTorrent is one of the most efficient p2p systems and is great for distributing movies and other large files. The Induce act is trying to make illegal basic technologies such as p2p which “could induce” people to break copyright.
With more powerful cameras and PCs, video and Flash have become important mediums for free speech. They are increasingly being used for political action. The integration of blogs and p2p technology for sharing these videos like the BitTorrent link above from Lessig are a good example. I believe this is substantial non-infringing use.
Read MoreA reader (thanks!) sent me this link to a Journal article (sub required) – written by Kara Swisher – good to see Kara covering this space again – about Wikis. I've been using Wikis for the past 9 months or so on a couple different projects and I certainly see…
Now, venture capitalists are funding several startups that are attempting to take the idea to a bigger and more lucrative general-business audience. Their goal is to try to solve one of the workplace’s most vexing problems: how to have employees collaborate and communicate better electronically….
….Getting average people to think about controlling the Web as comfortably as they might an e-mail or a Word document has not been easy. But the rise in popularity of Web logs known as blogs and other “social software” is changing that. Blogging, say wiki proponents, has revived the idea that a Web site can be an ever-changing organism that can be linked with other Web sites to create a larger and more informative picture….
….Jot’s Joe Kraus says that to make wikis more widespread, companies like his and Mr. Mayfield’s must make wiki software simple to integrate into existing applications that workers commonly use, add more features beyond document editing and make it even more enticing for people to deploy them. “People have to perceive that they only need to add a little information in order to get a lot out of it,” says Mr. Kraus.
As you will recall, Overture sued Google back in 2002 for allegedly infringing its patented ad matching technology. This suit has been pretty quiet for a while, but internetnews.com's Susan Kuchinskas has a good piece on where the suit stands and the key issues apparently informing it. Particularly interesting is…
As Google’s IPO approaches, the rivals are waiting for a critical ruling by Judge Jeffrey White of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. His so-called Markman order will define key words in the patent, drawing lines of battle.
“[A] Markman ruling defines the terms in the claim, which in turn define the scope of the invention, how broad or how narrow it is,” said Lee Bromberg, an intellectual property attorney with Bromberg & Sunstein. “It’s customary for each side to try to pick out certain important terms and to argue for their view of how they ought to be defined,” he continued. “It’s the judge’s job to decide what those terms mean. Sometimes the judge can define a term in a way that either establishes infringement or makes it impossible for infringement.”
Read MoreBloomberg reports on this week's NY road show: Google Inc. founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page came to New York in dark suits to sell their company's $3.3 billion initial public offering to investors at the Waldorf Astoria's Grand Ballroom. The presentation drew mixed reviews….The Google founders, escorted by bodyguards…
Google Inc. founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page came to New York in dark suits to sell their company’s $3.3 billion initial public offering to investors at the Waldorf Astoria’s Grand Ballroom. The presentation drew mixed reviews….The Google founders, escorted by bodyguards to the meeting, didn’t talk about future products, earnings or strategy, people who attended the meeting said. Brin and Page made no comments as to what the price of the IPO may be or when the share sale may happen. Reporters were barred from the meeting.
“Given the hype and hoopla surrounding the IPO I thought the presentation failed to live up to expectations,” said Eric Grollman, an analyst who attended the meeting and asked that his firm not be named.
Read MoreEarly reports indicate Terra has sold Lycos to an unnamed South Korean company for $95 million. Terra bought the company for $12.5 billion in 2000. Holy sh*t. Reminds me of AltaVista…….
Early reports indicate Terra has sold Lycos to an unnamed South Korean company for $95 million. Terra bought the company for $12.5 billion in 2000. Holy sh*t. Reminds me of AltaVista….
I get a daily news roundup on the term "Google IPO" from, yup, Google News. In any case, the headlines that just crossed my desk are pretty uniformly…cranky. A sampling: WHY not to bid on Google IPO San Jose Mercury News (subscription) – San Jose,CA,USA GOOGLE IPO May Hasten Staff…
WHY not to bid on Google IPO
San Jose Mercury News (subscription) – San Jose,CA,USA
GOOGLE IPO May Hasten Staff Turnover
San Jose Mercury News (subscription) – San Jose,CA,USA
MSFT launches Google News competitor today, Newsbot. Reviews from Greg Linden (of competitor and original Findory) here. Cnet coverage here. Chris Sherman's take here. Related: AP is looking to get into the same game…….
MSFT launches Google News competitor today, Newsbot. Reviews from Greg Linden (of competitor and original Findory) here. Cnet coverage here. Chris Sherman’s take here.
Related: AP is looking to get into the same game….
