AllOfMp3 saga continues
Regular readers of this blog know about AllOfMp3.com, a Russian music site that sells music of all kinds for a ridiculously low price. It's kind of like the iTunes or EMusic store, but at a fraction of the price.
Every so often there is news that they are about to be shut down because they are fraudulently selling copyrighted music. They say that what they are doing is strictly legal by Russian law.
I don't know who is right. But as they say, "If it seems too good to be true, then it probably isn't true…"
Anyway, from time to time their ability to be paid via credit card (like Visa etc.) is disabled. I have to assume it is through the machinations of people trying to shut them down pressuring Visa etc to not do business with them. It happened again recently, and now, at least from the US and Canada, you can't pay them with a credit card.
Here are a couple of interesting recent links I came across:
In the story "P2pnet talks to AllofMp3.com" there's an interview that reveals some of the latest dynamics:
"We believe it is legal in Russia under Articles 44 and 45 of the Law of the Russian Federation No. 5351-1 On Copyright and Related Rights dated July 9, 1993, as amended, (the Copyright Law), which authorizes Russian non-profit Russian organizations for collective management of copyrights (Russian Licensing Societies) to grant licenses to entities such as ALLOFMP3. ALLOFMP3 has up-to-date licenses from the Russian Licensing Societies from the Federation of Rights Holders for Collective Management of Copyright with Respect to the Use of Musical Works in Interactive Regime (FAIR) and from the Russian Organization on Collective Management of Rights of Authors and Other Right Holders in Multimedia, Digital Networks & Visual Arts (ROMS).
Russian Copyright Law allows holders of intellectual property rights to establish non-profit organizations such as ROMS which in its capacity oversees licensing agreements and collects royalties and pays them out to copyright holders, aside from some commissions." (from P2Pnet talks to AllofMp3)
And here is another one that is kind of amusing. The article ("Other Russian music stores bedsides AllofMp3") says that:
"All stores listed bellow are fully accessible outside Russia and operate in collusion with Visa, MasterCard and many other international payment services. Some important details of their illegal activities are also included.",
But if you think about it, it is actually a thinly veiled list of other sites you can try instead of AllOfMp3.
Dave (not that one) writes about Fear of Failure
I just came across Dave Dupre's blog. Some good reading there, for example:
"[…snip] If the single test does not show a huge improvement, the project is considered a failure and scrapped. This happens all the time, and it always stifles innovation. Why propose something new if you have to be right all the time?
Innovation does not proceed on a schedule. To maintain a culture of innovation, occasional failure must be allowed - even encouraged! As long as you learn from your mistakes and move on and get better, the team and the company will be better off." (from Fear of Failure)
Technorati Tags: softwaredevelopment management
Check out Website Grader
You might find find this interesting and/or useful. WebsiteGrader does an SEO analysis of your site and gives you ideas on how to make it better. According to their site: "Website Grader is a software tool to help measure the marketing effectiveness of a website."
[STERN INSIDE BASEBALL] Wild day on Howard Stern show
Hey Stern fans, can you believe what kind of a day it was today? What a soap opera, but riveting.
I heard it in bits and pieces as I was driving between meetings today, and I was waiting either for Artie to quit or for Howard to fire him.
And then I read now on the Stern web site that indeed Artie says he is leaving the show in January.
"Artie would end up leaving the show…Artie agreed with him. When
Howard asked if that was true, Artie said yes, he planned to leave in
January. He went on to explain that he had gone to the doctor recently
and decided he was burnt out based on what the doctor told him so he
was going to take at least a 6month break from everything starting in
January."
As I say, a soap opera for sure, but riveting.
How many languages can you fit in one email?
Here's an email I received recently. How many different languages do you count?
"Danki pa e artíkulo d Sam. Mi a haña un email di dje siman pasá kaminda ela kontami ku pronto e artíkulo lo sali i ku e lo manda mi e link.
Maar jij was veel sneller. Avery a gusta e artikel hopi (mi tambe trouwens). Lo mi skibi Sam. He is a good writer.
Trouwens su mama a muri in the meantime (ela skibimi).Chag Sameach (Shavuot)"
Shamless self-promotion: Improv and moi mentioned in PC Magazine
PC Magazine's newest issue has a retrospective of their past 25 years and Lotus Improv gets mentioned for one of the big deals of 1993. And yes, you can see a bad picture of yours truly back in those days.
"Innovators: Pito Salas
// Set slideShowSpeed (milliseconds) var slideShowSpeed = 3000 // Duration of crossfade (seconds) var crossFadeDuration = 3 // Specify the image files var Pic = new Array() // don\'t touch this // to add more images, just continue // the pattern, adding to the array below Pic[0] = \'http://common.ziffdavisinternet.com/util_get_image/17/0,1425,i=175286,00.gif\' Pic[1] = \'http://common.ziffdavisinternet.com/util_get_image/17/0,1425,i=175289,00.gif\' // ======================================= // do not edit anything below this line // ======================================= var t var j = 0 var p = Pic.length var preLoad = new Array() for (i = 0; i
(p-1)) j=0 t = setTimeout(\'runSlideShow()\', slideShowSpeed) } //->
SLIDESHOW
runSlideShow(); Ever use the Pivottable widgets built into Microsoft Excel? If you're the sort who's serious about data crunching, you know what a godsend these tools can be—and they're nothing compared to Lotus Improv, the well-ahead-of-its-time spreadsheet app dreamed up by Pito Salas." (from 25 Years of PC Magazine)
Yeah its a few years ago… but still, pretty cool!
Leaving my friends – Twitterspam
I've been de-friending one person after another on Twitter. Why? Because many of them are A-listers who 'generously 'accepted my friendship and are now spamming me via Twitter with their latest exploits. Dull.
As I said in a previous post, this "Friends 2.0" phenomenon isn't doing it for me. My advice for Twitter users: only 'friend' people who you really know and at some weird level care whether they are having a ham sandwich.
Interesting (not good) news from Venezuela
You know that I follow what's going on in Venezuela. Here's an interesting article from the Washington Post about the latest developments:
"For years defenders of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez have harped on what they described as the domination of the country's independent media by his opponents -- proof, it was said, that Ch?vez was no dictator. Two weeks from today that argument will lose all credibility. By then, Radio Caracas Television, or RCTV, Venezuela's most popular television network, will almost certainly be off the air -- on Chavez's personal order." (from Dead Air in Caracas - Washington Post)
Fad 2.0: Is Twitter just another PR channel?
You've seen and heard of Twitter, haven't you? If not, congratulations for being immune to the latest Fad 2.0.
Other than the occasional "I just had a delicious hamburger", many if not most of my tweets are an announcement (read traffic bait) of one thing or another, usually including a link.
Why would I subscribe to that? Maybe I have the wrong kind of friends.
I think if your twitter friends are really people who are actual friends (Friends 1.0) and not quote friends unquote (Friends 2.0) then you might actually care about them having a delicious hamburger.
But do you know that actually has 350 friends (1.0?)