Technology

Blogging - Computers - Democrats/Leftists - Elections - Ethics - Government - Inernet - Liberals - North Carolina - Progressives - Technology - Warner Todd Huston

Another Democrat Slams Bloggers

October 14, 2012 by 1 Comment

-By Warner Todd Huston

Ron Hewitt ran for the Lee County School Board back in 2002. He ran as a progressive liberal but claimed fiscally conservative ideas. He won but quit not long after to pursue his own business interests outside the state of North Carolina. The assessment of his tenure was that he offered promise and delivered on nothing.

Now he’s back claiming to be an “independent” and running for a spot on the Lee County Board of Commissioners. He also appears to fear bloggers.

In the Sunday Herald on October 14, Hewett published the following ad…

Now the blogger that Mr. Hewett is so afraid of is Sheila Barber of Fresh Brewed Conservatism.

Sheila points out that Mr. Hewett isn’t even in office yet and he’s attempting to intimidate, discount, and ridicule a private citizen.

Can you trust someone who basically is trying to shut up the voice of a citizen before he’s even elected? What exactly will he do IF HE IS ELECTED? Don’t we get enough of trampling on our free speech from the Obama Administration?

She goes on to note that, “The last thing Lee County needs is someone who thinks the citizen’s voice is a blight to society! We are tired of being treated like 2nd class citizens. Mr. Hewett just did this.”

Not a good way to make a political comeback, is it, Mr. Hewett?
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Another Democrat Slams Bloggers”

Blogging - CBS - Computers - Democrats/Leftists - Ethics - Government - Inernet - Journalism - Liberals - Media - Media Bias - New Media - Progressives - Warner Todd Huston

Morely Safer is ‘Appalled’ By New Media

October 10, 2012 by 1 Comment

-By Warner Todd Huston

Last month, broadcast TV lifer Morely Safer of CBS’s 60 Minutes fame appeared on CSPAN and pronounced himself “appalled” by the denizens of the new media.

Citizen journalists aren’t trained well enough to be trusted as a source of news, Safer declared to CSPAN’s Brian Lamb on Sept. 13.

In fact, he’s downright “appalled” by the whole idea of Internet journalism and seems to wish it would all just go away. We need to leave the “reporting” to him and his professional class of “real” journalists, Safer sonorously declared.

The question about citizen journalism was put to Safer after host Lamb showed the aged newsman a clip of former Daily Caller correspondent Michelle Fields. On the clip, Fields was seen celebrating the advent of the new media.

Safer, a Canadian, admitted that he “sounds like a Neanderthal” with his hatred of citizen journalism — which, he said, he’d trust as much as he’d trust “a citizen surgeon” — nonetheless he rejects the idea that mere citizens can be a legitimate source of news reporting.
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Morely Safer is ‘Appalled’ By New Media”

Blogging - Business - Capitalism - Computers - Economy/Finances - Facebook - Inernet - New Media - Technology - Warner Todd Huston

Facebook Breaks One Billion Users

October 6, 2012 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

On October 4, Facebook announced the milestone of reaching one billion users worldwide, a major example of how social media has changed the way humanity interacts in an increasingly tech heavy world.

In an interview on NBC’s Today show, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg proclaimed his amazement on the achievement. It’s “just unbelievable,” said Zuckerberg.

Facebook and other social media outlets have changed the way we interact, indeed.
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Facebook Breaks One Billion Users”

Computers - Democrats/Leftists - Elections - Facebook - GOP - Inernet - Journalism - Liberals - Media - President - Republicans - Twitter - Warner Todd Huston

Conventions a Hit on Social Media, Not TV

September 7, 2012 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

TV viewing of the GOP convention dropped sharply over its 2008 counterpart and there is little reason to expect that the Democrat convention will fare any better this year. But the Republican’s affair was a big hit on social media and that will likely be mirrored this week for the Democrats.

According to Nielson, TV ratings for the GOP convention tallied to about 30.3 million viewers this year. Compared to 2008’s convention ratings of 39 million viewers, that is a 23 percent drop in viewership.

But online, the GOP convention saw an uptick from the 2008 events. The Republican National Committee reported some 2.8 million viewers via its live streaming video on its Youtube page and, while viewing numbers aren’t known, there were many, many other outlets that offered a live stream of the convention.

Twitter, too, saw a deluge in communications of the event.
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Conventions a Hit on Social Media, Not TV”

Animals - Biology - Inernet - Science - Technology - Warner Todd Huston

New Insect Species Found… On Photo Sharing Website

August 26, 2012 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

There may be nothing new under the sun, but there appears to be at least one thing new on the Internet. Scientists have announced this year that a new bug was identified on the Internet. No, not a virus or trojan program, but a real bug. An insect, now dubbed Semachrysa jade, was discovered by an entomologist who was looking at pictures of bugs uploaded by a user of the photo sharing site Flickr.

As entomologists are wont to do, Shaun Winterton was perusing Flickr last year looking at pictures of bugs uploaded by users of the photo sharing site when he came across a photo of a bug he’d never seen before.

The photo shows a green lacewing with black lines and shimmering blue spots on its wings. Winterton, a senior entomologist at the California Department of Food and Agriculture, says that this coloration has never been seen before on a lacewing.

Winterton sent the photo to several bug-loving colleagues of his quizzing them if they had ever seen the insect. Turns out none of them had. Winterton had found a bug unknown to science and on the Internet of all places.
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New Insect Species Found… On Photo Sharing Website”

Blogging - CNN - Computers - Conservatives - Elections - Facebook - GOP - Government - Inernet - Journalism - Media - Mitt Romney - New Media - Paul Ryan - President - Republicans - Technology - Twitter - Warner Todd Huston

Paul Ryan: Most Talked About Pol on Facebook

August 16, 2012 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

CNN reported this week that Rep. Paul Ryan has become the king of Facebook by knocking President Obama off “the most talked about” list of US politicians.

CNN recently entered into a partnership with Facebook to track things political on the social sharing network and according to the new “Facebook-CNN Election Talk Meter,” in the 54 hours after presumptive GOP nominee Mitt Romney introduced Rep. Paul Ryan as his choice for the vice presidency, Paul Ryan became the star of social media.

Facebook-CNN talk meter scores

  1. Rep. Paul Ryan 5.21
  2. President Barack Obama 4.84
  3. Vice President Joe Biden 4.01
  4. Gov. Mitt Romney 3.74

In fact, Ryan became such a hot topic on social media that he almost matched Olympic swimming star Michael Phelps on the Talk Meter and that is pretty impressive considering how badly politics typically shows up on Internet “top” lists compared to pop culture and sports. As CNN measured it, in the days after he won all his most recent Olympic medals Phelps rated a 6.51 to Ryan’s 5.21 on the 1-10 scale.
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Paul Ryan: Most Talked About Pol on Facebook”

Blogging - Education - Home Schooling - Inernet - Society/Culture - Technology - Warner Todd Huston

Internet Portends Major Changes to Colleges, Universities

July 31, 2012 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

Over at Poynter.org, Howard Finberg has quite an interesting piece about the changing world of education — he focusing specifically on educating future journalists.

Finberg and others have been ruminating on how e-learning will change the profession of education and of course they are ultimately right. But, I think some important factors were missed in the discussion, factors that will tend to put a dampener on these new ways to educate.

The question of change in our process of educating students has really ramped up with the ubiquity of technological innovation. Many education watchers imagine that, just as with brick-and-mortar businesses that have been affected so heavily by the Internet, so will in-person classrooms dwindle or go the way of the dodo bird as people turn to the Internet to find education while sitting in the comforts of their own home.

And who is to blame these futurists for imagining this brave new world of e-learning? After all, it would certainly be cheaper for the students to sign onto a website, listen to a lecture, or otherwise participate electronically, than have to re-locate to some new city and incur the major expenses associated with that effort. It would also be far cheaper for the school, no doubt.
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Internet Portends Major Changes to Colleges, Universities”

Business - Campaign Finance - Capitalism - Computers - Democrats/Leftists - Elections - Inernet - Liberals - Technology - Warner Todd Huston

Big Obama Donor, Google’s Marissa Mayer to Rake in Millions as New Yahoo! Chief

July 22, 2012 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

Former Google Vice President Marissa Mayer is set to rake in a million dollars a year and more than ten times that in stock options if she can stick it out for three years as the new Yahoo! chief executive.

As the announcement of Mayer’s ascension to the position broke, industry watchers learned that, along with her $1 million per year salary, she will get a $2 million per year cash bonus if the Internet company reaches earnings goals. She will also get $12 million in Yahoo! stock after a three year vestment period not to mention a $30 million one-time award of stock after a five-year vestment.

Mayer will also reportedly get a $14 million bonus of stock to make up for compensation she’ll lose as a top Google employee. Mayer was one of the earliest employees Google hired.
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Big Obama Donor, Google’s Marissa Mayer to Rake in Millions as New Yahoo! Chief”

Barack Obama - Democrats/Leftists - Ethics - Government - Journalism - Liberals - Media - Media Bias - President - Twitter - Warner Todd Huston

Most Dishonest Democrat Party Tweet EVAH!

July 12, 2012 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

Obama has been blaming every problem he’s faced in the last three years on Bush. Obama also spent four years blaming Bush before being elected President. Every other phrase out of Obama’s mouth is “the mess we inherited,” or “the previous administration.”

So, what is the Democrat National Committee’s latest tweet? Why, what else but to say that Romney blaming others for anything “isn’t very Presidential.”

If this isn’t the biggest, most glaring example of hypocrisy, what is?

And the fact that the DNC is quoting a “journalist” is even worse. Liars stick together and these liars are incredibly brazen, aren’t they?
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Most Dishonest Democrat Party Tweet EVAH!”

Apple - Business - Capitalism - Computers - Inernet - Technology - Warner Todd Huston

Apple Quietly Drops Claims that Macs Don’t Get Viruses

July 8, 2012 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

As a Mac user since the early 90s, I’ve always laughed at Windows users so constantly beset by viruses that destroy their computers. My computer, I would tell them, is safe from that nonsense. That Macs don’t get viruses has been such a common assumption that even Apple said so on its website. But now Apple has quietly dropped that boastful claim after hundreds of thousands of computers were hijacked last April by a Trojan virus.

In April the Flashback Trojan hit some 600,000 Macs worldwide, said to be more than one percent of Mac users.

This Trojan masqueraded as an update to Adobe Flash, a web browser graphics application, and once activated by the user exploited a vulnerability in the web language program Java to take over the computer. Users were then slammed with unwanted advertisements from the web but were also open to having their financial and banking information stolen.
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Apple Quietly Drops Claims that Macs Don’t Get Viruses”

2nd Amendment - Anti-Americanism - Barack Obama - Business - Capitalism - Constitution - Democrats/Leftists - Elections - Google - Guns - Inernet - Liberals - Media - Media Bias - President - Technology - Warner Todd Huston

Google, Big Obama Donors, Bans Firearm Accessory Sales in Ads

July 2, 2012 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

Second Amendment, Schmecond Amendment. Google wants you to know that it is thinking of your “safety” as it announces that it has banned anything to do with firearms on its Google Shopping service. That’s what they’ve told HamLund Tactical, a Texas-based company that deals in ammunition and firearms accessories, anyway. Further, firearms customers have recently found that Google Shopping won’t give them any search results for firearm-related products anymore even though the change over isn’t supposed to fully take effect until July 1.

The folks at HamLund Tactical posted the letter they received from Google on a gun enthusiast’s message board called 68forums. In that letter, Google informs dealers in firearm accessories and ammunition that they will no longer be allowed to sell their wares through the Google service.

Starting July 1 Google has implemented the new policy, HamLund was informed. “We do not allow the promotion or sale of weapons and any related products such as ammunitions or accessory kits on Google Shopping. In order to comply with our new policies, please remove any weapon-related products from your data feed and then re-submit your feed in the Merchant Center,” the letter says.

This goes for knives as well as firearms and related products.
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Google, Big Obama Donors, Bans Firearm Accessory Sales in Ads”

Barack Obama - Campaign Finance - Computers - Congress - Democrats/Leftists - Elections - GOP - Government - Inernet - Mitt Romney - Republicans - Senate - Technology - Twitter - Warner Todd Huston

Chirpify: A New Twitter Political Fundraising Tool Debuts Today

June 19, 2012 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

A new Twitter-based fundraising tool debuts today and the new service already has the two biggest names in the Politics biz signed up as clients: Barack Obama and Mitt Romney. Chirpify begins at the top of the heap client-wise as it not only has teams Obama and Romney signed up as clients but it also has some 25 House and Senate candidates.


Click to see larger image

The new Twitter-based fundraising tool will incorporate Paypal into its payment system and will feature an easy, one-click interface that will make it easy to donate to political candidates, non-profit organizations, and presumably anyone that signs up to use the service. It’s seems to be a very easy transaction for the donor, too.

We all know that politicians and candidates are using Twitter more than ever. But what many wondered is what the social networking tool could do for the campaign’s bottom line?
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Chirpify: A New Twitter Political Fundraising Tool Debuts Today”

Anti-Americanism - Blogging - Democrats/Leftists - Inernet - Journalism - Las Vegas - Liberals - Media - Media Bias - Nevada - New Media - Technology - Warner Todd Huston

Right Online 2012: Hoft’s Great Rant, Old Media vs New

June 16, 2012 by 1 Comment

-By Warner Todd Huston

Duane Lester of All American Blogger caught some video of a great rant by Jim Hoft of Gateway Pundit delivered at one of the breakout panels at Right Online 2012.

Go get ’em Jim…

He’s exactly right, too. before the New Media finally came about there was practically no way to get the truth.

Remember, we are all Breitbart, now.
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Right Online 2012: Hoft’s Great Rant, Old Media vs New”

Barack Obama - Blogging - Computers - Democrats/Leftists - Elections - Ethics - Government - Inernet - Journalism - Liberals - Media - Media Bias - New Media - Politico - President - Technology - Twitter - Warner Todd Huston

Politico Gives Team Obama Pass on Its Twitter-tastrophies

June 12, 2012 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

[Note: A shorter version of this article appears on BigJournalism.com]

One cannot help but feel that Politico is once again giving cover to Barack Obama’s reelection campaign with its latest love letter of an article. This time Politico is sure that Obama is king of the Internet. But it seems that at least one Internet-based area has been a disaster for Obama of late: Twitter. Not that Politico mentions any of that, of course.

Politico’s piece lauds Obama’s data advantage, sure that the President’s highly paid “techies” housed on the sixth floor of his Chicago HQ are sweeping away all before them on the Internet. In fact, Politico is so impressed with Obama’s “techie” effort that they proclaimed that this year’s organization makes the 2008 campaign’s “look like cavemen with stone tablets.”

That’s pretty definitive, isn’t it?
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Politico Gives Team Obama Pass on Its Twitter-tastrophies”

Business - Capitalism - Computers - Democrats/Leftists - Free Trade - Google - Inernet - Net Neutrality - Regulation - Scott Cleland - Technology

EU’s Regulated Mobile Prices Higher than US Competitive Mobile Prices

June 1, 2012 by

-By Scott Cleland

The EU’s latest round of mobile price regulation provides a golden opportunity to show how market competition produces much better results for consumers than government price regulation. Ironically, the European Parliament voted this week to lower mobile roaming charges by mid-2014 to levels that will still be much higher than America’s competitive wireless market prices are today.

Per New York Times reports, the EU mandated price for making a roaming mobile voice call will be reset from 35 cents a minute today to 19 cents a minute by mid-2014, and the price for receiving a roaming mobile voice call will be reset from 11 cents a minute today to 5 cents by mid-2014. Putting this in perspective, Recon Analytics’ research shows that Americans pay 4.9 cents a minute vs. 16.7 cents a minute for Europeans — ~70% less; and because of these dramatically lower American wireless prices, Americans consumers use more than twice as much wireless as Europeans, 875 minutes of use per month vs. 418 minutes for Europeans. Simply, the EU’s ~50% mandated price reductions will still have European consumers paying much more for mobile usage even if one incorrectly were to assume that competition won’t further lower the market price for American consumers like it has every year.
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EU’s Regulated Mobile Prices Higher than US Competitive Mobile Prices”

Budget - Business - Computers - Democrats/Leftists - Ethics - Free Trade - Google - Inernet - Jobs - Liberals - Net Neutrality - Regulation - Scott Cleland - Taxes - Technology

Netflix’ Net Neutrality Corporate Welfare Plan

May 26, 2012 by

-By Scott Cleland

Apparently Netflix is angling to become Silicon Valley’s king of corporate welfare. We learn from a New York Times economics column advocating for an Internet industrial policy that “Netflix is trying to build a coalition of businesses to make the case for… net neutrality.” And that the “online video powerhouse Netflix started a political action committee to complement a budding lobbying effort in support of the idea that all content must be allowed to travel through the Internet on equal terms” — translation: always at no cost to Netflix.

But Netflix isn’t in need of public assistance; it is America’s video subscription leader with 23 million subscribers. Netflix has $3.3b in annual revenues, $1.2b in gross profits, $800m in cash, a 34% return on equity, and a market valuation multiple over twice the market’s. And Netflix flexed its exceptional pricing power last year in raising its prices 60% without losing many subscribers.

Netflix’ net neutrality plan is a shameless Washington plea for corporate welfare via Government price regulation of privately-owned broadband networks so… Netflix’ uniquely voracious 33% usage of the Internet’s traffic peak does not cost Netflix anything! Greedily, Netflix is asserting that it somehow has an inalienable “right” to forever gorge on nearly a third of the Internet’s peak capacity without any obligation, responsibility or expectation to either responsibly use, or contribute to the cost of operating or investing in, the Internet infrastructure that they use more than any entity.
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Netflix’ Net Neutrality Corporate Welfare Plan”

Anti-Americanism - Blogging - Crime - Democrats/Leftists - Ethics - Journalism - Liberals - Media - Media Bias - Technology - Terrorism - Warner Todd Huston

Brett Kimberlin: Liberals Embrace Convicted Criminal as Their Own

May 24, 2012 by 9 Comments

-By Warner Todd Huston

Looks like a left-wing, wannabe murderer and convicted domestic terrorist has decided to start threatening several conservative bloggers over their posts about his violent past. The scumbag in question, one Brett Kimberlin, even found the home phone number of one of these bloggers and left a veiled threat to the man’s wife and family.

Robert Stacy McCain of The Other McCain has vacated his house for a while just in case this convicted bomber decides to come calling. I’d say Robert observed a good precaution since this monster called his house and threatened his wife and family and since this leftists is a convicted bomber, and all.

For a quick overview of who this creep is, Lee Stranahan made a short introduction video on Brett Kimberlin:

Lee also has a lot of other info on Kimberlin on his blog. Another extensive series of posts was made by Arron Worthing. Also Michelle Malkin wrote about this typical liberal Democrat.
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Brett Kimberlin: Liberals Embrace Convicted Criminal as Their Own”

Business - Capitalism - Computers - Congress - Democrats/Leftists - Google - Government - Inernet - Jobs - Liberals - Net Neutrality - Regulation - Scott Cleland - Taxes - Technology

Verizon-Cable Opponents Goading FCC to Overreach its Authority Again — Part 9 of Series

May 17, 2012 by

-By Scott Cleland

Opponents urging the FCC to block the Verizon-Cable secondary market spectrum transaction are pushing the FCC into dangerous institutional territory, effectively goading it to: overreach its statutory authority; ignore FCC precedent, evidence, and facts; and game its own spectrum-screen process. The same FreePress radical fringe — that goaded the FCC to flout the D.C. Appeals Court decision and pass the Open Internet Order and Data-Roaming Order — are at it again.

The FreePress radical fringe who care not for the rule of law, are again goading the FCC to trump up some new public interest rationale and statutory theory to allow the FCC to transmogrify its limited public interest authority into unbounded authority that disregards the law, FCC precedent, or the facts. This radical manipulation of the process may be good for forwarding FreePress’ anti-business, Internet commons goals, but it is not good for the institution of the FCC, which is a creature of Congress and subject to the rule of law. And nor is it good for the American public.

The FreePress coalition appreciates that the FCC is in search of relevance in the broadband Internet era, and is preying on that uncertainty to goad the FCC to re-imagine its own legal authority by declaring broadband a Title II common carrier service and/or by interpreting their limited public interest authority boundlessly. If the FCC determines it needs new authority, it must seek it from Congress.
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Verizon-Cable Opponents Goading FCC to Overreach its Authority Again — Part 9 of Series”

Dr. Don Boys - Google - Inernet - New Media - Scott Cleland - Technology - Twitter

Google’s Poor & Defiant Settlement Record

May 15, 2012 by

-By Scott Cleland

Google’s poor and defiant track record in respecting government agreements and settlements is likely one of the reasons the FTC hired an undefeated former Federal prosecutor and litigator to lead their Google antitrust probe and potential litigation against Google. The EU and the FTC are naturally exceptionally skeptical about negotiating an antitrust settlement with Google, given the substantial evidence that shows Google is consistently less-than-trustworthy in abiding by its agreements with Governments.

Specifically, the evidence shows that Google has not abided by either of its privacy agreements with the FTC concerning Street-View WiSpy or Google-Buzz, nor has Google fully-abided by its criminal Non-Prosecution-Agreement with the DOJ concerning its advertising of illegal prescription drug imports. In addition, Google attempted to broadly game the justice system in negotiating a Google Book Settlement that would have rewarded it with a partial monopoly for its mass copyright infringement.
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Google’s Poor & Defiant Settlement Record”

Blogging - Budget - Business - Capitalism - Computers - Crony Capitalism - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Ethics - Government - Inernet - Jobs - Net Neutrality - New Media - Scott Cleland - Technology

‘Leaf’ Vision & Broadband Usage Caps

May 10, 2012 by

-By Scott Cleland

Near hysterical opponents of broadband data usage caps need to breathe slowly, drop their magnifying glass, look up and take in the big world all around them. They are not just missing the forest for the trees, they are missing the leaves, stems, branches, trees, forest and sky, because they can’t take their magnifying glass off of the leaf with which they are myopically obsessed.

Broadband data usage caps are a very small, normal, and essential part of a healthy and economically-sustainable Internet ecosystem. Pricing is the central mechanism for any marketplace to balance supply and demand and to create economic incentives and disincentives for behavior that can drive costs. There is nothing wrong with pricing caps, tiers, and other pricing mechanisms that are used to manage networks, avoid network congestion, achieve a return on investment, manage a business model, differentiate a business, and/or earn a profit.

Does an average consumer get indignant when an all-you-can-eat buffet limits them from: piling food on a tray and not a plate; sharing their food with someone who hasn’t paid; or putting it in a bag to take home? No. Does an average consumer expect to be able to run their AC at max 24-7 during a heat wave when the system is at peak usage? No. Does an average consumer imagine that they can pay a flat rate for water, electricity, or gasoline, and then consume it without any usage limit or extra payment for high-usage? No. Most all American consumers understand the most basic economic principle, that if one uses more of a good or a service, one can expect to pay more for it. Only the small but very vocal group of Internet commons radicals that are currently indignant over broadband data usage caps imagine that broadband communications should somehow be a public unlimited free good.
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‘Leaf’ Vision & Broadband Usage Caps”

Blogging - Computers - Google - Inernet - Net Neutrality - Scott Cleland - Technology

Consumer Groups’ Advocacy Hypocrisy

May 8, 2012 by

-By Scott Cleland

Consumer groups by definition, are supposed to be protecting consumers’ interests — not be pushing a special interest political agenda under the guise of the “public interest.” Let’s spotlight a recent and blatant hypocrisy whereby consumer groups near-completely ignored an instance of obvious widespread consumer harm (the FCC’s proposed fine of Google for obstructing its Street View wiretapping investigation), while in another contemporaneous issue, consumer groups gang-pummeled a non-issue to push a political Internet commons agenda (strongly objecting to Comcast’s new market offering where XBox usage does not apply to a user’s 250 Gig monthly data cap.)

Google Street View Wiretapping: Why is Google obstructing a Federal wiretapping investigation affecting the privacy of literally tens of millions of American households’ — not a consumer protection issue? How come consumer groups routinely and loudly call for FCC investigations of broadband companies’ legal marketplace actions, but are silent on the obvious obstruction of a Federal investigation into Google allegedly being involved in potentially the largest wiretapping and mass invasion of citizens’ privacy by a corporation in U.S. history? How is it in consumers’ interest for the government to not be able to determine if Google actually violated Federal law or not?
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Consumer Groups’ Advocacy Hypocrisy”

Business - Capitalism - Computers - Crony Capitalism - Google - Inernet - New Media - Scott Cleland - Technology

Google’s PR Strategy in Advance of the EU’s Monopoly Charges — A Satire

May 3, 2012 by

-By Scott Cleland

Confidential Memorandum:

To: All 11,342 Google PR/Spokespeople

From: Brandi Sparkles, Google PR Chief & Googlerati Whisperer

Subject: PR Statement/Strategy in Advance of EU’s Monopoly Charges

We expect the European Union’s antitrust authority to issue a Statement of Objections against Google shortly, which will charge Google with being a monopoly that anti-competitively ranks its own content #1 while ranking its competitors’ content where few will find them.

So you can help rally the Googlerati in the media to Google’s side and organize a chorus of Google adoration among the masses to make this problem blow over, we are sharing an advance copy of our public statement for public dissemination and also a copy of our confidential PR strategy for this event, so you can be in the know. But remember, this PR strategy is not for public distribution.
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Google’s PR Strategy in Advance of the EU’s Monopoly Charges — A Satire”

Business - Computers - Economy/Finances - Google - Inernet - Net Neutrality - Scott Cleland - Technology

AAI’s Analysis of Verizon-Cable Is Industrial Policy Not Antitrust

April 30, 2012 by

-By Scott Cleland

Reading through The American Antitrust Institute’s white paper on Verizon-Cable, it is striking how little analysis is relevant to antitrust/market-competition and how it is basically a thinly-veiled tacit pitch for the DOJ and the FCC to pursue an aggressive industrial policy for the wireless industry.

The white paper presumes that because the DOJ blocked the AT&T/T-Mobile merger to preserve T-Mobile as a disruptive fourth wireless competitor, and because T-Mobile now claims it needs more spectrum, that the government should intervene somehow to effectively redirect the spectrum to T-Mobile and away from Verizon.

The huge flaw in the AAI’s analysis is its central presumption, which is contrary to longstanding spectrum auction law, that the government, not market forces, should allocate spectrum. The analysis ignores that the law of the land allocates spectrum via property rights and auctions enabling the spectrum to find the party that most economically values it and has the most economic incentive to put it to productive use. The AAI’s analysis appears biased against existing law in assuming that the only or primary reason that the largest wireless providers would want more spectrum would be to anti-competitively keep it from its smaller competitors, and not the obvious and real reason that they want to provide better, faster, more reliable mobile broadband service to more people in more of the country to make more money.
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AAI’s Analysis of Verizon-Cable Is Industrial Policy Not Antitrust”

Anti-Americanism - Barack Obama - Business - Capitalism - Democrats/Leftists - Environment - EPA - Ethics - Government - Journalism - Liberals - Media - Media Bias - President - Regulation - Taxes - Warner Todd Huston - YouTube

EPA ‘Crucifixion’ Video Pulled From Youtube, The Liberal Cockroach Behind the Move

April 28, 2012 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

Earlier in the week a video surfaced on Youtube of Al Armendariz, head of the EPA office in Dallas, saying that he and his agency planned to “crucify” any business that crosses them. The video caused a lot of consternation on Capitol Hill as well as recriminations for the EPA. But by Friday the video had been pulled by Youtube because of complaints from the man that originally made the video. Turns out he’s an extreme environut connected with the gay community.

To quickly recap the video, Armendariz noted that his job as an EPA enforcer was like that of the ancient Romans. He joked that the EPA’s philosophy was like the Roman’s who, when mollifying a populace, would “find the first five guys they saw and they’d crucify them.” This, he laughed, would make the town “easy to manage for the next few years.”

So apparently Armendariz felt that the EPA’s job was that of indiscriminate intimidation as opposed to law enforcement.

That said, how does one guy get a video like this pulled and why did it happen?
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EPA ‘Crucifixion’ Video Pulled From Youtube, The Liberal Cockroach Behind the Move”

Apple - Business - Capitalism - China - Computers - Democrats/Leftists - Ethics - Journalism - Liberals - Media - Media Bias - MSNBC - NPR - Radio - Warner Todd Huston

Will Media Apologize for Airing Anti-Apple Computer Activist’s False Claims?

March 22, 2012 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

When it broke, the Old Media was all over Mike Daisey’s story of the horrid working conditions at Apple Computer’s foreign manufacturing plants. The story had oppressed workers, pathos, and best of all, eeevil corporate greed. Daisey was well on the road to making Apple the liberal’s newest bete noire and was being hailed as the next Upton Sinclair. Until, that is, it became clear that he made it all up.

One of the first major media outlets to push Daisey’s anti-Apple claims was the program This American Life aired on the venerable Public Radio station WBEZ. The program featured Daisey’s claims in a January episode, but has now been faced with the “difficult news,” as representatives of the show have said, of Daisey’s fabrication.
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Will Media Apologize for Airing Anti-Apple Computer Activist’s False Claims?”

Blogging - Computers - Humor - Inernet - Warner Todd Huston

Americans with Disabilities Act Necessity: Conservative, White, Male Bloggers NEED a Federal Subsidy

March 10, 2012 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

OK, you people, I am sick and tied of this. The Americans with Disabilities Act is NOT being fairly applied. That’s right. You read that headline correctly. Conservative, white, male bloggers NEED a hand from Washington. In fact, I’d say we have a right to it. We are being discriminated against even from those on our own side. It’s time for redress. I DEMAND a handout.

For years I’ve been wondering why the heck few of us white, male, bloggers ever make it big. Why aren’t there ever any white, male, conservative bloggers on TV or radio? Ever wondered that? There aren’t any. Think about it. How many can you think of? I can think of but one.

Oh, there are plenty of conservative Internet sensations that have made it big, mind you. There’s Mary Katherine Ham. Hot chick. There’s Michelle Malkin. Hot Chick and a minority to boot. There’s S.E.Cupp, no lacking the hotness there. There’s all the women from Smart Girl Politics, more hot chicks than I can shake a box of Viagra at (I did not get this from an online Canadian pharmacy. Really). Em Zanotti, Elizabeth Crum, Liz Mair, Pam Geller, Lila Rose, Susannah Fleetwood, Tina Korbe, Dana Loesch, Bettina Inclan — they are almost all married, or soon to be (good luck Bettina) so back off you slobs. Still hotness overload, already.

It isn’t just hot chicks, either.

There’s ZO!, AlfonZo Rachel. Despite being named “Rachel,” not a hot chick, but a black conservative guy. Then there is Kevin Jackson of The Black Sphere, another black conservative. Bob Parks of Black and Right — yep, black guy. Lloyd Marcus, ditto. La Shawn Barber, black female conservative. Star Parker also a female, black conservative. Many more, too. Joe Biden told me these are all clean and articulate bloggers.

As a side note, this whole minorities being conservative thing really chaps my hide. I mean, the left tells me that only white men should be conservative and all these minorities… well it’s just too much competition going on. Could it be that the left doesn’t know what they are talking about? I’m dubious.
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Americans with Disabilities Act Necessity: Conservative, White, Male Bloggers NEED a Federal Subsidy”

Blogging - Computers - Conservatives - Elections - GOP - Government - Inernet - Liberals - President - Republicans - Rick Santorum - Ron Paul - Society/Culture - Warner Todd Huston

Stupid Internet Meme of the Week: Santorum’s ‘Rough’ Handshake With Ron Paul Outrage

February 24, 2012 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

Buzzfeed was the first to indulge it’s inner gossip — well, maybe its outer gossip since that is all that site is; gossip. Anyway, the stupid story of the day is based on the hearty handshake that Rick Santorum gave Ron Paul after Wednesday’s debates. Paul’s fans took offense at the handshake for some idiotic reason and now it is the “thing” to talk about it.

First, let’s go to the video, shall we?

As Buzzers has it:
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Stupid Internet Meme of the Week: Santorum’s ‘Rough’ Handshake With Ron Paul Outrage”

Barack Obama - Budget - Business - Capitalism - Computers - Crony Capitalism - Democrats/Leftists - Ethics - Government - Inernet - Jobs - Liberals - President - Regulation - RightPundits.com - Taxes - Technology - Warner Todd Huston

Obama-Supported Wireless Startup Suffers Massive Tech Failure

December 10, 2011 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

The startup wireless service that the Obama administration is investing both financial and political capital in, a company called LightSquared, seems to have suffered a massive technical failure, one that has been warned about for some time. Despite the warnings, though the administration continues to push LightSquared causing many to worry about another Solyndra-like calamity.

Bloomberg Businessweek reports that testing of the wireless service is showing that its signal disrupts 75% of all global-positioning system receivers (GPS). Apparently, there is no doubt about this result, either….

Read the rest at RightPundits.com.