how could you have guessed, listening to ‘ride the lightning’ in 9th grade that the world would
get so strange?

it is just me? do i smell a wiff of condescension?

“”We recognize that this is a very complicated issue with larger implications that our fans may not completely understand. We’ve always valued and respected our fans and wanted to discuss with them
directly why we have brought this suit and answer their questions and address their concerns directly.””

ntk has pointed to the irony in the latest lawsuits against napster:

So who had the worst week? Was it our Lord Jesus? Or was it NAPSTER, now caught in crossover court cases with Metallica *and* Dr Dre. Good to see someone whose early career was marked by a disrespect for authority and heavy reliance on sampled works (as well as a love for words ending with “z”)
taking out the Napsters with Attitude. And even better to see that, while heavy metal and rap still have artistic differences, they can unite under one ne attorney – LA’s Howard King, who is leading both court cases. And we’re sure that if the music industy mows Napster, Inc down in a legal bloodbath, absolutely no-one will step in to take over the server duties in an illegit manner. For that would be wrong.

[ image link via captain cursor | metallica text link via ars technica]

hmmmm. salon has a bit on over-hyped stocks after the correction. i’m betting that you probably won’t find it discussed on slashdot:

“Few companies fit the role of poster boys for the stock market roller coaster of the last six months better than Linux start-ups Red Hat and VA Linux. Acclaimed as Wall Street’s darlings after their stunning 1999 public offerings, both companies have of late been plagued with an unremitting stream of bad press as their share prices have declined. VA Linux is currently trading at $39, down from a high of $320. Red Hat is at $26 — call it $52 to account for a split, but that’s still down significantly from a pre-split high of $151.

Both companies also lumber under the additional burden of being treated as canaries in the Linux gold mine. Red Hat’s IPO was widely considered a validation of the commercial potential of Linux. But its stock price slide is now hailed as proof that there is no money to be made in the entire Linux sector.

One might expect the load of responsibility to get a bit tiresome. The day VA Linux went public was a day of great celebration at its Mountain View, Calif., headquarters. But it can’t be a whole lot of fun these days to check into Slashdot — the “news for nerds” Web site that VA Linux owns — and read another couple of hundred slams against the company every time the share price drops another notch.”

this comes on the heals of this similar story with an interesting twist that the salon piece misses:

“I used Andover myself long before the site hit most investors’ radar screens, and I was floored by the bloated price tag. It’s a great resource, but somehow I couldn’t shake the feeling that VA Linux got hoodwinked by the hoopla. After all, fair’s fair. But, this one looked like highway robbery.

Well, in a curious turn of events Wednesday, VA Linux announced plans to amend the terms of its deal with Andover. In addition to the lucrative stock swap, the original courtship called for $60 million in cold hard cash to be hand-delivered to the blushing bride-to-be. But, faster than a New York minute, all the
leaves have fallen off the money tree; and in this latest market downturn, it’s time for VA Linux to circle the wagons.

The company lopped off the cash payment, and not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, Andover graciously accepted. ”

it’s easy to flog targets like va linux and redhat. it’s even easier to flog slashdot since it’s fairly obvious that the quality of the submissions and responses has slid to the mediocre part of scale – even after thresholding out most of the noise [although this point is a bit of a red herring since i think this says more about the readers that slashdot has attracted due to its success rather than anything sinister relating to ipos and censorship]; however, in the end i have to agree with the author’s final point:

“The good news is that Linux players are finding a bottom, and there’s probably never been a better time to buy the leaders. Big fish will continue to gobble up the guppies, and the open source OS has a future so bright, it’s got to wear shades. Pundits are already penning Linux’ last chapter, but I’m betting its best days are ahead. Just a bit more grounded in cyber-reality.”

cnet is running a piece on freenet, which is, “…a peer-to-peer network designed to allow the distribution of information over the Internet in an efficient manner, without fear of censorship. Freenet is completely decentralized, meaning that there is no person, computer, or organisation in control of Freenet or essential to its operation.” needless to say this concept usually sparks a few questions. happily slashdot hosted an interview recently with the founder of freenet Ian Clarke regarding privacy.

on the other end of the spectrum there is Kids Online America (KOLA) which companies will soon offer as a benefit to empoyees. KOLA promises:

“Imagine how the Internet would be different if there were no anonymity — if access providers knew every user’s name, address, and telephone number. There would most certainly be a drag on free speech. But credit card thieves, child pornographers, and other Web criminals would think twice before embarking on illegal activities. That Internet just might be a place you could let your kids play without supervision.”

i have seen the future of the automobile – and it is filled with advertising and the internet (or here for an even cooler i-car). the advertising business model, in conjunction with the realization that the web-enabled auto is the ‘perfect’ vehicle [sic] for delivery of sevices will quickly bring the cost of an automobile to zero – or a nominal fee if you only want a discreet (think ‘text only’) ad on your auto. from the wired article:

“Andrew Everett, a 31-year-old physical therapist in Los Angeles, wears a full-wrap Yahoo ad with pride on his Jeep Cherokee, one of the premium $400 per month winners. He now washes and drives his SUV all the more carefully, feeling almost like he’s working for Yahoo.

“I love it. It doesn’t bother me at all, really. I definitely wash my car more than I used to in the past, and not just because they want you to keep (your) car clean.””

can the ‘free’ home be far behind?

{ intertwingled since 2000 }