Category Archives: Internet

We Didn’t Give Away Our Information–It Was Extorted From Us (The Death of Contracts)

Posted on June 10, 2013 by

In the discussion surrounding the NSA spying revelations, I’ve seen a few people mention how people have freely given away their personal information. For instance, David Sirota writes: As I noted on CNN, when it comes to civil liberties, the … Continue reading →

Posted in Bidness, CIA Spy Shit, Civil Liberties, Internet | 1 Comment

Internet Killed the Video (and Radio) Star

Posted on May 16, 2013 by

In a very interesting interview, Jaron Lanier describes something that annoys me to no end (boldface mine): I’m quite concerned that in the future someone might not know what author they’re reading. You see that with music. You would think … Continue reading →

Posted in Internet, Music | 7 Comments

How to Make Your Browser Run Faster, and How That Will Alter Internet Economics

Posted on February 21, 2013 by

A while ago, I bemoaned all the crap on webpages that eat up memory and make your browser (or computer) sluggish. I recently came across a add-on that really helps, Ghostery (note: I have no financial ties to Ghostery). It … Continue reading →

Posted in Internet | 4 Comments

I Want This Job

Posted on January 22, 2013 by

Well, not really, but this Onion send-up of TED talks and social media is really funny:

Posted in Humor, Internet

More Glimpses of Our Coming Neo-Liberal Dystopia: The Sluggish Internet Edition

Posted on January 13, 2013 by

While not as outrageous as the inability to reliably provide electrical power less than ten miles from the supposed Capital of the Free World, the reality is that the U.S. internet infrastructure sucks–and we have very limited goals in improving … Continue reading →

Posted in Bidness, Conservatives, Economics, Internet | 3 Comments

The Free Internet Really Isn’t Free

Posted on January 6, 2013 by

Alexis Madrigal recently argued that if you don’t pay for software, such as Instagram, then they will ‘take your stuff’ in order to make money. While Instagram took your stuff rather clumsily by changing the terms of use to allow … Continue reading →

Posted in Internet

Sometimes Science Fiction Does Predict the Future: The Mars Trilogy Edition

Posted on September 10, 2012 by

A while ago, I finished reading The Mars Triology by Edgar Rice Burroughs and which serve as the basis for the recent movie, John Carter. This part from The Warlord of Mars is very prescient: The aide took us to … Continue reading →

Posted in Internet | 3 Comments

The Facebook IPO and the ‘Malincentivization’ of the Technology Sector

Posted on May 23, 2012 by

I agree with Stanford professor Steve Blank about the Facebook IPO (boldface mine): THOMPSON: But you think Silicon Valley is screwed, whether Facebook lives up to that valuation or not. Why? BLANK: I teach science and engineering. I see my … Continue reading →

Posted in Internet | 2 Comments

eCommerce, 1930s Style

Posted on March 25, 2012 by

While we treat delivery-focused eCommerce like online food delivery* as something novel, it’s actually not new. Delivery of groceries was actually standard for many Americans a few generations ago: (from the West End Museum, Boston, MA) The more things change…. … Continue reading →

Posted in Boston, Economics, Internet, Museums etc.