Youtube Audio Preview (28)
share
digg
by
xkcd (55)
on
xkcd (55)
1 day, 21 hours
ago
permalink
Wow. It seems someone at YouTUBE took this comic seriously and decided to add an “Audio Preview” feature. Now you can hear your comments read aloud to you. Of course, it’s an optional button using speech synth rather than a mandatory dramatic reading, so it’ll just be used for entertainment by people who haven’t played with a speech synthesizer before: But then, after a little more browsing around, I see this: So maybe there’s hope ...
-
Kuushal said:
Yay Billy!
-
trygve said:
Hahaha, Google follows xkcd's suggestions, that's awesome.
Nobel Prize Winning Physicist Explains How Intellectual Property Damages Innovation (7)
share
digg
by
Michael Masnick (645)
on
Techdirt (692)
1 day, 21 hours
ago
permalink
Over the last year or so, there have been a bunch of excellent books that have come out highlighting many of the issues we talk about here on a regular basis. The latest may be The Crime of Reason and the Closing of the Scientific Mind, written by Nobel Prize winning physicist, Robert B. Laughlin. I became aware of the book thanks to the fact that he'll be speaking at the Cato Institute this week ...
Do-Not-Call Lists (6)
share
digg
by
schneier (289)
on
Schneier on Security (351)
2 days, 20 hours
ago
permalink
Turns out you can add anyone's number -- or remove anyone's number -- to/from the Canadian do-not-call list. You can also add (but not remove) numbers to the U.S. do-not-call list, though only up to three at a time, and you have to provide a valid e-mail address to confirm the addition. Here's my idea. If you're a company, add every one of your customers to the list. That way, none of your competitors will ...
Plagiarizing Speechwriter Pushed For Stronger Copyright Laws (2)
share
digg
by
Michael Masnick (645)
on
Techdirt (692)
6 days, 22 hours
ago
permalink
Why is it so often that we find those who strongly push for certain types of draconian laws are later found to be guilty of violating those laws? The latest is a mini-scandal in Canada, involving a plagiarized speech. Now, I've pointed out before that I'm actually all for plagiarizing politicians. However, as Rob Hyndman points out, it turns out that the guy who copied the speech, one Owen Lippert, wrote a book on intellectual ...
Great news from the McCain campaign (8)
share
digg
by
Lessig (105)
on
Lessig Blog (198)
1 week
ago
permalink
I received this letter from the McCain/Palin campaign today in response to our call for them to support "open debates." Wonderfully progressive and right from these candidates on the Right.
-
Bramha said:
not bad from the McCain campaign - here's hoping that the Obama campaign and the Commission take up Dr. Lessig's suggestions
Using Google Suggest To See If A Company Is A Scam (4)
share
digg
by
Michael Masnick (645)
on
Techdirt (692)
1 week
ago
permalink
Jeremy Wagstaff has a neat little trick to determine if a company contacting him is likely to be a "scam" of some sort. He just types the name into the Google search bar in Firefox and lets the "Google Suggest" feature take over. Google Suggest, of course, tries to suggest what you might be searching for based on the most common searches done on what you've already started typing in. For some companies, Wagstaff has ...
So How Will The Financial Crisis Impact The Wider Economy? (6)
share
digg
by
Michael Masnick (645)
on
Techdirt (692)
1 week
ago
permalink
Earlier this week, we received a tremendous response to our post about the financial crisis and how it might impact the tech industry. We received multiple requests for more posts along those lines -- and American Express has decided to help foster the discussion. This post is being posted both here and at American Express' Open Forum blog. Also, more importantly, AmEx is sponsoring a Techdirt Insight Community Case to facilitate a larger conversation about ...
-
rob said:
what's really significant here is that amex is sponsoring and promoting this type of discussion
How To Do Advertising On YouTube: Make It Awesome (8)
share
digg
by
Michael Masnick (645)
on
Techdirt (692)
1 week, 1 day
ago
permalink
In the past, as we've talked about how advertising is content and content is advertising, we've pointed out that many folks who worry about "advertising" on YouTube are missing out on the fact that the YouTube videos are advertising themselves. But, of course, with millions and millions of videos on YouTube, it helps to do something special. Our own Tim Lee sent over this example of a YouTube video about a Nintendo Wii game that's ...
Don't Say 2012 Olympics Unless You've Paid Your Licensing Fee (3)
share
digg
by
Michael Masnick (645)
on
Techdirt (692)
1 week, 2 days
ago
permalink
The Olympics are notorious for getting local governments to grant them extra special intellectual property rights that go so far beyond what's reasonable (and local existing laws) that it's become something of a pure mockery of the concept of intellectual property. Remember how non-sponsored brands found in and around the Olympics in Beijing were covered by tape? Well, that may be nothing compared to what's going to happen in London. Two years ago, we noted ...
Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal (updated daily) (103) permalink
Shared by Blaise (22) Brandon Bloom (20) Carlos Riquelme (36) Jameson (17) Jess (19) Jessica L. Hannah (26) Matthew (20) sinisterff (20)
