Monday, 14 July 2014

How To Make A Fortune From Free Software


Apparently, there's a ton of money to be made out of Open Source. "How come?" I hear you cry? Well, according to this piece on the BBC web site: "The source code may be free, but there is gold in software support, training and publishing." Which may explain why the documentation with so many Open Source products is so appalling. It's done deliberately to drum up business. And there was me thinking it was just incompetence.

Friday, 15 February 2013

Free, Legal and Disco...



It’s nice to see that some pop groups are embracing the possibilities opened up by the Internet rather than fighting a losing battle against them. The Swedish disco group, Alcazar, not only has their videos online (see The Media Room) but even provides high quality MP3 downloads of most of their hits. The downloads aren’t the versions of the songs you’ll find on their albums (they still want you to buy those); instead, they are remixes - and, frankly, none the worse for that.

Now if only Günther would put online some extended remixes of The Ding Dong Song, my happiness would be complete….

Thursday, 9 August 2012

Rants and Raves

Adult services controversies and closure
Craigslist website as it appeared on September 4, 2010 with black censored box in place of Adult Services

Advertisements for "adult" (previously "erotic") services were initially given special treatment, then closed entirely on September 4, 2010, following a controversy over claims by state attorneys general that the advertisements promoted prostitution.

In 2002, a disclaimer was put on the "men seeking men", "casual encounters", "erotic services", and "rants and raves" boards to ensure that those who clicked on these sections were over the age of 18, but no disclaimer was put on the "men seeking women", "women seeking men" or "women seeking women" boards. As a response to charges of discrimination and negative stereotyping, Buckmaster explained that the company's policy is a response to user feedback requesting the warning on the more sexually explicit sections, including "men seeking men." Today, all of the above listed boards (as well as some others) have a disclaimer.

On May 13, 2009, Craigslist announced that it would close the erotic services section, replacing it with an adult services section to be reviewed by Craigslist employees. This decision came after allegations by several U.S. states that the erotic services ads were being used for prostitution. Postings to the new category cost $10 and could be renewed for $5.

Wednesday, 17 August 2011

Southern Royal Albatross

The Southern Royal Albatross has a length of 115–123 cm (45–48 in) and a weight of 8.5 kg (19 lb). The juvenile has a white head, neck, upper mantle, rump, and underparts. There are black speckles on the mantle, and they have dark brown or black wings with white flecks on coverts. Their tail is white except for the black tip as is the under-wing. As they age the back, wings, and tail. All ages have a pink bill with black on the cutting edge on the upper mandible, and the legs are flesh. They are hard to differentiate from the Northern Royal Albatross and the Wandering Albatross, with the Southern having white on the upper wing. The average life span is 42.3 years.