Internet & Law

The New York Times is running an interesting story about how technology (iPhones and BlackBerrys) is causing a huge increase in the number of mistrials as jurors are using them to look up information not presented during trial. Read the full article:

As Jurors Turn to Web, Mistrials Are Popping Up

Google's Fall From Perfection

Google has admitted that some of their search ranking results have been determined by staff and not its algorithm. Think of the implications--Google was once heralded as giving a mechanism for giving truly unbiased and relevant rankings. Now that staff is a part of this process this potentially introduces a human bias. However, the human element may be needed to give truly relevant results. Either way, my view of Google will never be quite the same.

Read the full story.

Business Week - Open Source: The Model Is Broken

Business Week has written an interesting article discussing the real value behind open source software. It's a short read--but a great point. The real value is in collaboration facilitated between giants--not necessarily in the software itself.

http://www.businessweek.com/print/technology/content/nov2008/tc20081130_276152.htm

Economics of Spam

A recent study by University of California Berkeley and UC, San Diego gives insight on why spam still exists. Although they only receive 1 response per 12.5 million emails, the researchers would be able to net about $7,000 a day had they really been engaging in illegal operations.

Read the full article

These are True... But Read Carefully!

"The active ingrediate in Coke is phosphoric acid. It's ph is 2.8 and will dissolve a nail in about 4 days."

"The commercial trucks carrying Coca-Cola syrup (the concentrate) must use 'Hazardous Material' place cards reserved for highly corrosive materials."

"The distributors of coke have been using it to clean the engines of their trucks for about 20 years."

Destined to be ...

I recently read a book titled The War of Art. It's an interesting book suggesting an invisible force, Resistance, keeps us for attaining what we truly desire to become. This quick read makes some good points, but it seems to repeat itself. It finds what seems like at least 100 slightly different ways of describing Resistance. The end of the book gives some actionable suggestions--but I completely disagree with the ending. It says that because of the book, I can become the x (artist, writer, etc) that I was born to become. I don't agree that there is a single career I was predestined to do and cannot be truly happy without doing that one thing.

I believe I was given a set of skills and abilities. Once discovered, it is my responsibility to find a job where I can use these attributes and develop them to the best of my ability. I believe that I have a range of potential--not a predetermined single destination I must reach for true happiness. And maybe, to reach my full potential and be truly happy, I need to explore all my abilities in a number of different careers. I wonder if the author has considered this perspective at all or how he would address it.

It Happened....

Well, it finally happened. I lost my stylus on my Treo 750. I went to take it out of my case and the stylus was just gone. I looked all over, nowhere to be found. So, I ordered a 3-pack (yes, you can only order them in 3-packs) and I will try again. I'm sure about the time the 3-pack arrives, I'll find the other one back.