http://bit.ly/ptAKvY Tulasi Ram - Venkatesh, who arrives from a factionist loved ones, falls in adore with a style designer Vasundara - Nayantara in his journey to Europe. As Vasu reciprocates positively, they get married and are blessed with a infant boy. Vasu looses her only brother - Shivaji, in some conflicts, she misunderstands Tulasis violence is responsible for her brothers loss of life and will get separated from her hubby, taking away her little son. The rest of the tale is how Tulasi gets again her and their son. Click on http://bit.ly/ofvtoB to observe the greatest of Telugu songs, scenes, trailers, Tv reveals and so forth.
http://bit.ly/nn2jNo Tailored by Robert Bolt and Constance Willis from Bolt's hit phase perform, A Gentleman for All Seasons stars Paul Scofield, triumphantly repeating his phase function as Sir Thomas A lot more. The crux of the movie is the staunchly Catholic More's refusal to acknowledge King Henry VIII (Robert Shaw)'s break from the church to divorce his initial spouse and marry Anne Boleyn (an unbilled Vanessa Redgrave). Sir Thomas willingly goes to the chopping block fairly than sacrifice his ideals. Director Fred Zinnemann retains the play's verbosity with out sacrificing the film's strong perception of visuals. The impeccably selected forged includes Wendy Hiller as Sir Thomas' likably contentious wife Alice, John Hurt as the deceitful Richard Rich (More's put-downs of this despicable character present some of the film's largest laughs), Orson Welles as a dour Cardinal Woolsey, Leo McKern as the ambitious Thomas Cromwell, and Susannah York as More's daughter Margaret. The "Common Guy," an important bridging-the-scenes character in the unique play, is removed from the movie version, which does just great without having him. A Man for All Seasons won six Oscars, including Best Photo, Greatest Director, and Greatest Actor, as nicely as 7 British Film Academy awards.
http://bit.ly/oX9bv9 Apparently some men and women have been hunting for this one particular. This is a trailer from the Iria assortment extras DVD. I was just blown absent by the songs when I noticed it. It's named Forces, by Susumu Hirasawa. The DVD truly presented the trailer in mono, if you can feel that. So I painstakingly cut the tune and set it again in to match the original. Here's a substantial good quality down load: http://bit.ly/q7vB9 Or if your personal computer is not rapidly sufficient for H264 video (you need to have like one+ gHz) you can obtain a medium quality XviD edition: http://bit.ly/q7vB9
http://bit.ly/nn7svG David Arquette
David Arquette, Courteney Cox, Coco Super-Happy Family at DWTS
david arquette
For his Dancing with the Stars debut on Monday, David Arquette had two lovely ladies cheering the loudest for him: his daughter Coco, 7, and estranged wife Courteney Cox. "I thought David did such an amazing job," Cox, 47, told Us Weekly after the show ...
Dancing with the Stars Premiere 09/19/11
David Arquette, Courteney Cox, Coco Super-Happy Family at DWTS
david arquette
For his Dancing with the Stars debut on Monday, David Arquette had two lovely ladies cheering the loudest for him: his daughter Coco, 7, and estranged wife Courteney Cox. "I thought David did such an amazing job," Cox, 47, told Us Weekly after the show ...
Dancing with the Stars Premiere 09/19/11
http://bit.ly/nshffF 1923 Moon Model 6-58/Sport Touring
1923 Moon Sport Touring
Steven Gerrard surveys the action on his return to the Liverpool first team. Photograph: Peter Cziborra/Action Images
Steven Gerrard returned to Liverpool colours after six months out with groin trouble and claimed the team's 4-0 defeat at Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday was "out of our system now" with this third-round Carling Cup win at Brighton & Hove Albion.
England's vice-captain replaced Luis Suárez 73 minutes into Liverpool's 2-1 victory and assumed a central-midfield position alongside Jay Spearing and Lucas Leiva. Gerrard, now 31, confined himself to neat short passes and half-speed forward thrusts as Liverpool contained a dangerous second-half fightback from Championship opposition.
"Tonight was not about me. It was about progressing in the cup and getting that Tottenham performance out of our system and I think we have now done that," he said. "It is down to the manager now. I have been out for six months so it is about getting training sessions under my belt and match time. Hopefully I will be selected for the 18 against Wolves [at the weekend]."
"Steve coming back in was fantastic for everyone coming at the football club, but we are more pleased for Steven than anyone else," Kenny Dalglish, the Liverpool manager, said. "He had a few setbacks along the way and we have had to manage it to get him this far. We need to be careful and we won't get carried away – but it's great for everyone."
Gerrard, who has scored 140 times in 556 appearances for the Anfield club, had not played since the 3-1 win over Manchester United on 6 March. His recovery from a groin injury was complicated by infection. Warming up in the first half he was applauded by home supporters and finally joined the action to acclaim from both sets of fans.
His return will both fortify Liverpool's league campaign after defeats at Stoke and Spurs and increase competition for places in central midfield, where Charlie Adam, Spearing and Lucas are also in contention. Jordan Henderson's move to the right has taken him out of that traffic jam but Dalglish is likely to consider a new team shape with Gerrard's recovery and Craig Bellamy's excellent form in his second spell on Merseyside.
"It certainly makes us stronger. We said during the transfer window that having Stevie back would be like a new signing for us," Dalglish said. "To have the talisman of the club back on the right road to fitness is, selfishly for us, fantastic, but we have to be careful with him."
1923 Moon Sport Touring
Steven Gerrard surveys the action on his return to the Liverpool first team. Photograph: Peter Cziborra/Action Images
Steven Gerrard returned to Liverpool colours after six months out with groin trouble and claimed the team's 4-0 defeat at Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday was "out of our system now" with this third-round Carling Cup win at Brighton & Hove Albion.
England's vice-captain replaced Luis Suárez 73 minutes into Liverpool's 2-1 victory and assumed a central-midfield position alongside Jay Spearing and Lucas Leiva. Gerrard, now 31, confined himself to neat short passes and half-speed forward thrusts as Liverpool contained a dangerous second-half fightback from Championship opposition.
"Tonight was not about me. It was about progressing in the cup and getting that Tottenham performance out of our system and I think we have now done that," he said. "It is down to the manager now. I have been out for six months so it is about getting training sessions under my belt and match time. Hopefully I will be selected for the 18 against Wolves [at the weekend]."
"Steve coming back in was fantastic for everyone coming at the football club, but we are more pleased for Steven than anyone else," Kenny Dalglish, the Liverpool manager, said. "He had a few setbacks along the way and we have had to manage it to get him this far. We need to be careful and we won't get carried away – but it's great for everyone."
Gerrard, who has scored 140 times in 556 appearances for the Anfield club, had not played since the 3-1 win over Manchester United on 6 March. His recovery from a groin injury was complicated by infection. Warming up in the first half he was applauded by home supporters and finally joined the action to acclaim from both sets of fans.
His return will both fortify Liverpool's league campaign after defeats at Stoke and Spurs and increase competition for places in central midfield, where Charlie Adam, Spearing and Lucas are also in contention. Jordan Henderson's move to the right has taken him out of that traffic jam but Dalglish is likely to consider a new team shape with Gerrard's recovery and Craig Bellamy's excellent form in his second spell on Merseyside.
"It certainly makes us stronger. We said during the transfer window that having Stevie back would be like a new signing for us," Dalglish said. "To have the talisman of the club back on the right road to fitness is, selfishly for us, fantastic, but we have to be careful with him."
http://bit.ly/n3rgdv Party and Politics *
*
PARTY-POLITICS*
• Jede Party ist politisch, auch ohne Transparente und Flugblätter.
• Politisch ist der Umgang der Leute miteinander: Gemeinschaftlich oder sind alle auf einem Ego-Trip?
• Politisch ist es, wenn alle ehrfürchtig zum DJ hinauf blicken und ihn bejubeln, was immer er auch macht.
• Politisch ist, ob es bei einer Party um die Community geht oder nur um Profit.
• Politisch ist auch das Verhältnis zur Natur bei einem Open-Air: Bleiben Müllberge zurück?
• Politisch sind Partys auf denen in Straßen, Supermärkten und Konzernzentralen für Veränderung getanzt wird.
• Und politisch sind Partys, die sich bewusst Kommerz, Konsum und Kontrolle widersetzen, um dadurch zu einem wirklichen Freiraum zu werden...
- * -
PARTY-POLITICS*
• Every party is political. There needn’t be a banner hanging with a political demand anywhere.
• So, for example, the question of who makes money out of a party is political. Is it a single person that thrives on inflated admission charges? Or is it a group of people that are mainly concerned with a good party?
• Political is the handling of nature at an Open-Air event. Does one strive to use the place sensibly or are there piles of rubbish left behind?
• Political is how people interact with each other at a party. Is it collaborative or an Ego-trip?
• Of course a consciously organized party that becomes a free space and defies the guidelines of commerce and consumption and control is also political.
• Political is as well how drugs are handled on a party.
• For example it is also political if all reverentially look up to the DJ and acclaim whatever he may do.
• Political is more than the question whether a track has political lyrics. Policy is also more than the talk of ministers. Policy is the relationship between us. Policy is our daily action ...
Wolfgang Sterneck
http://bit.ly/qENwSU
- * -
*
The annual Forbes 400 list of wealthiest Americans has landed amid heated rhetoric over 'class warfare.' Members saw their net worth ($ 1.53 trillion combined) rise 12 percent in the past year.
The annual Forbes list of wealthiest Americans has landed just in time to throw some extra fuel on a hot political debate over "the rich" and whether their taxes should go up.The top 400 on this "rich list," led by Microsoft founder Bill Gates and investor Warren Buffett, saw their net worth rise 12 percent in the past year (the 12 months ended on Aug. 26).All 400 had net worth of at least $ 1.05 billion, and their combined wealth reached $ 1.53 trillion, Forbes magazine reported as it released the list Wednesday.For comparison, Americans overall have also seen their net worth rise, on average, but with a percentage gain somewhere in the single digits, judging by data tracked by the Federal Reserve.
Skip to next paragraph
The "rich get richer" trend won't necessarily come as a surprise, but it does come as the nation is focusing on a gauntlet thrown down earlier this week by President Obama, as he outlined a proposal for reducing federal deficits."I will veto any bill that changes ... Medicare but does not raise serious revenues by asking the wealthiest Americans or biggest corporations to pay their fair share," Mr. Obama said.His plan calls for raising an extra $ 1.5 trillion in tax revenue during the next decade from households earning more than $ 250,000 in income. Obama mentioned Mr. Buffett as a supporter of such a tax hike. Much of the Nebraska billionaire's income is taxable at the low rate levied on long-term capital gains, leading Obama to say that "Warren Buffett’s secretary shouldn’t pay a higher tax rate than Warren Buffett."Obama's support for such a tax change is not new, nor is the response of Republican opponents. They have blasted Obama and other Democrats for engaging in "class warfare" that seeks to pit the majority of voters against their richest fellow citizens.House Speaker John Boehner called Obama's deficit-reduction proposal "a $ 1.5 trillion tax hike on American job creators," and said it amounted to a "campaign document" rather than a sound fiscal plan.Both parties appear moving increasingly into campaign mode as the 2012 elections come into closer view. Political analysts say Obama is sounding more passionate, and more willing to fight against the firm no-tax-hike line that Republicans have laid down in the deficit debate.A bipartisan "supercommittee" of a dozen lawmakers in Congress has until late November to come up with a plan to reduce future deficits, either through spending cuts alone or with some increased tax revenues added in.The 12 percent gain in net worth for those on the Forbes 400 list may sound surprising, given all the recent weakness in the stock market. But thanks to gains late last year, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by nearly that much during the 12-month period tracked by the magazine.How have average Americans fared during that time?The answers depend on the circumstances of individuals and families, but Federal Reserve data show overall American wealth to have risen by about $ 4.4 trillion between the second quarter of 2010 and the second quarter of this year. That's about an 8 percent gain, fueled largely by changes in financial assets. (Home prices have fallen during that time, as has household debt.)The Fed data do not allow an exact comparison with the time period in the Forbes report, but by looking at the performance of the stock and housing markets during the August-to-August period, it seems likely that overall American net worth rose by less than 8 percent.But for millions of middle- or lower-income families, their home is a bigger part of their net worth than are financial assets. Meanwhile, ownership of such assets is concentrated in the hands of the wealthiest 20 percent of Americans. For these reasons, any gains in net worth for the typical US family were probably very modest. And according to recently released Census Bureau numbers, the number of Americans living in poverty rose in 2010.
Carryy On Shekhar - Shekhar light hearted take on politics - Episode 16
*
PARTY-POLITICS*
• Jede Party ist politisch, auch ohne Transparente und Flugblätter.
• Politisch ist der Umgang der Leute miteinander: Gemeinschaftlich oder sind alle auf einem Ego-Trip?
• Politisch ist es, wenn alle ehrfürchtig zum DJ hinauf blicken und ihn bejubeln, was immer er auch macht.
• Politisch ist, ob es bei einer Party um die Community geht oder nur um Profit.
• Politisch ist auch das Verhältnis zur Natur bei einem Open-Air: Bleiben Müllberge zurück?
• Politisch sind Partys auf denen in Straßen, Supermärkten und Konzernzentralen für Veränderung getanzt wird.
• Und politisch sind Partys, die sich bewusst Kommerz, Konsum und Kontrolle widersetzen, um dadurch zu einem wirklichen Freiraum zu werden...
- * -
PARTY-POLITICS*
• Every party is political. There needn’t be a banner hanging with a political demand anywhere.
• So, for example, the question of who makes money out of a party is political. Is it a single person that thrives on inflated admission charges? Or is it a group of people that are mainly concerned with a good party?
• Political is the handling of nature at an Open-Air event. Does one strive to use the place sensibly or are there piles of rubbish left behind?
• Political is how people interact with each other at a party. Is it collaborative or an Ego-trip?
• Of course a consciously organized party that becomes a free space and defies the guidelines of commerce and consumption and control is also political.
• Political is as well how drugs are handled on a party.
• For example it is also political if all reverentially look up to the DJ and acclaim whatever he may do.
• Political is more than the question whether a track has political lyrics. Policy is also more than the talk of ministers. Policy is the relationship between us. Policy is our daily action ...
Wolfgang Sterneck
http://bit.ly/qENwSU
- * -
*
The annual Forbes 400 list of wealthiest Americans has landed amid heated rhetoric over 'class warfare.' Members saw their net worth ($ 1.53 trillion combined) rise 12 percent in the past year.
The annual Forbes list of wealthiest Americans has landed just in time to throw some extra fuel on a hot political debate over "the rich" and whether their taxes should go up.The top 400 on this "rich list," led by Microsoft founder Bill Gates and investor Warren Buffett, saw their net worth rise 12 percent in the past year (the 12 months ended on Aug. 26).All 400 had net worth of at least $ 1.05 billion, and their combined wealth reached $ 1.53 trillion, Forbes magazine reported as it released the list Wednesday.For comparison, Americans overall have also seen their net worth rise, on average, but with a percentage gain somewhere in the single digits, judging by data tracked by the Federal Reserve.
Skip to next paragraph
The "rich get richer" trend won't necessarily come as a surprise, but it does come as the nation is focusing on a gauntlet thrown down earlier this week by President Obama, as he outlined a proposal for reducing federal deficits."I will veto any bill that changes ... Medicare but does not raise serious revenues by asking the wealthiest Americans or biggest corporations to pay their fair share," Mr. Obama said.His plan calls for raising an extra $ 1.5 trillion in tax revenue during the next decade from households earning more than $ 250,000 in income. Obama mentioned Mr. Buffett as a supporter of such a tax hike. Much of the Nebraska billionaire's income is taxable at the low rate levied on long-term capital gains, leading Obama to say that "Warren Buffett’s secretary shouldn’t pay a higher tax rate than Warren Buffett."Obama's support for such a tax change is not new, nor is the response of Republican opponents. They have blasted Obama and other Democrats for engaging in "class warfare" that seeks to pit the majority of voters against their richest fellow citizens.House Speaker John Boehner called Obama's deficit-reduction proposal "a $ 1.5 trillion tax hike on American job creators," and said it amounted to a "campaign document" rather than a sound fiscal plan.Both parties appear moving increasingly into campaign mode as the 2012 elections come into closer view. Political analysts say Obama is sounding more passionate, and more willing to fight against the firm no-tax-hike line that Republicans have laid down in the deficit debate.A bipartisan "supercommittee" of a dozen lawmakers in Congress has until late November to come up with a plan to reduce future deficits, either through spending cuts alone or with some increased tax revenues added in.The 12 percent gain in net worth for those on the Forbes 400 list may sound surprising, given all the recent weakness in the stock market. But thanks to gains late last year, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by nearly that much during the 12-month period tracked by the magazine.How have average Americans fared during that time?The answers depend on the circumstances of individuals and families, but Federal Reserve data show overall American wealth to have risen by about $ 4.4 trillion between the second quarter of 2010 and the second quarter of this year. That's about an 8 percent gain, fueled largely by changes in financial assets. (Home prices have fallen during that time, as has household debt.)The Fed data do not allow an exact comparison with the time period in the Forbes report, but by looking at the performance of the stock and housing markets during the August-to-August period, it seems likely that overall American net worth rose by less than 8 percent.But for millions of middle- or lower-income families, their home is a bigger part of their net worth than are financial assets. Meanwhile, ownership of such assets is concentrated in the hands of the wealthiest 20 percent of Americans. For these reasons, any gains in net worth for the typical US family were probably very modest. And according to recently released Census Bureau numbers, the number of Americans living in poverty rose in 2010.
Carryy On Shekhar - Shekhar light hearted take on politics - Episode 16
http://bit.ly/pmx15X DEMOfocus on Consumer Technologies, Fall 2011
Sri Rao Rao, Founder & CEO, SenseAide, LLC.
The Launchpad for Emerging Technology.
DEMO Fall 2011 is taking place at the Hyatt in Silicon Valley, CA. Companies both large and small come to DEMO to launch their products to the Technology world. DEMO offers the access, interaction, and validation of the new emerging technologies.
For more information:
DEMO Fall 2010 Website
Follow DEMO on twitter @demo
Social Media presented by New Media Synergy
Photos by Stephen Brashear
Amazon has launched its e-book lending program for libraries, following through on a promise it made earlier this year to offer its Kindle e-book reader to libraries across the country as an alternative way to lend e-books. The program allows users of the Amazon reader — as well as the Kindle app for the iPad and other devices — to borrow books from more than 11,000 public libraries in the U.S. with a single click. The lending program comes on the heels of news that Amazon is also working on a “Netflix for books”-style rental program for electronic books, and together these offerings make it clear that Amazon is stepping up its plans to disrupt the book-publishing industry.
When the news first emerged last week that Amazon was planning a book-rental program similar to what Netflix provides for movies and TV shows (something the company still hasn’t officially confirmed) the response from some book-lovers was concern that such a service might compete with public libraries. As I described in the post I wrote about the news, the same approach that Netflix takes to video content also makes a lot of sense for books: just as Netflix’s streaming service dispenses with the cumbersome physical form that movies and TV shows typically take — and thus makes renting them much more convenient — a rental service like Amazon is said to be planning could do the same for borrowing or renting books.
Partnering with libraries, not competing with them
The obvious fear was that this kind of service would eat into the market that libraries serve since they also effectively rent out books, just as Amazon is planning to do. As a number of commenters on my original post pointed out, many libraries also lend e-books in a number of formats — including the open ePub format — although in many cases there are restrictions on how many copies of a particular book a library will have, how long it can be borrowed for, and so on.
What Amazon seems to be planning is a two-pronged extension of its existing e-book business into the rental market. On the one hand, libraries now get the ability to connect their books to the hugely popular Kindle reader ecosystem, which increases the number of readers they can serve and thereby fulfills the public-service mission that most libraries operate under (users don’t even need an app, since Amazon’s Cloud Reader works in most web browsers). And at the same time, Amazon can also launch the book-rental business that the Wall Street Journal described, as a way to serve a market that either wants access to books that aren’t available through the library system — and/or is willing to pay extra for more convenience and better lending terms.
In a sense, the two programs together (assuming Amazon actually launches the “Netflix for books” idea) could operate as a kind of freemium service: library borrowing is free or relatively low-cost, but doesn’t offer as many options or as much convenience, while the premium program offers access to a wider catalogue and better terms.
Publishers are still reluctant to give up control
One of the biggest flaws in such a program is something Amazon itself doesn’t have much control over, and neither do the libraries that are partnering with it, and that’s the restrictions that book publishers place on their titles when it comes to lending. The ability to lend e-books via the Kindle has existed since Amazon first developed the platform, but many publishers restrict the lending in such draconian ways that many users don’t even bother — and the restrictions on libraries are not much better: HarperCollins forces libraries to pay for new copies after its books have been lent out just 26 times.
As many critics of this approach have pointed out, publishers are essentially trying to duplicate the same kind of control they had over print books with electronic books — and in the case of lending, they are actually trying to assert new controls that they have never had in the past: when you bought a physical book, you were free to sell it or lend it to whomever you wished, but e-books don’t carry the same rights. Google is in the middle of its own war with publishers and authors about what it can do with books: although the web giant argues that scanning them is covered by fair use principles, the book industry argues otherwise, and it is even suing libraries that have partnered with Google.
The bottom line, as we’ve described before at GigaOM, is that the nature of the book and the book industry is changing, just as virtually every other form of physical content — from movies and television to newspapers and magazines — is also being disrupted by the move to digital formats. The book is becoming just another piece of content that can be distributed and consumed in multiple ways. Amazon has been at the forefront of those changes since it was first founded, and both its library-lending program and the rumored Netflix-for-books are signs that it plans to continue pushing that transition forward, whether the publishing industry likes it or not.
Post and thumbnail photos courtesy of Flickr users Marcus Hansson and Marya
Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.
Connected Consumer Q2: Digital music meets the cloud; e-book growth explodes
What media companies can learn from the book industry’s disruption
The state of the e-book lending market: Business models and challenges
Sri Rao Rao, Founder & CEO, SenseAide, LLC.
The Launchpad for Emerging Technology.
DEMO Fall 2011 is taking place at the Hyatt in Silicon Valley, CA. Companies both large and small come to DEMO to launch their products to the Technology world. DEMO offers the access, interaction, and validation of the new emerging technologies.
For more information:
DEMO Fall 2010 Website
Follow DEMO on twitter @demo
Social Media presented by New Media Synergy
Photos by Stephen Brashear
Amazon has launched its e-book lending program for libraries, following through on a promise it made earlier this year to offer its Kindle e-book reader to libraries across the country as an alternative way to lend e-books. The program allows users of the Amazon reader — as well as the Kindle app for the iPad and other devices — to borrow books from more than 11,000 public libraries in the U.S. with a single click. The lending program comes on the heels of news that Amazon is also working on a “Netflix for books”-style rental program for electronic books, and together these offerings make it clear that Amazon is stepping up its plans to disrupt the book-publishing industry.
When the news first emerged last week that Amazon was planning a book-rental program similar to what Netflix provides for movies and TV shows (something the company still hasn’t officially confirmed) the response from some book-lovers was concern that such a service might compete with public libraries. As I described in the post I wrote about the news, the same approach that Netflix takes to video content also makes a lot of sense for books: just as Netflix’s streaming service dispenses with the cumbersome physical form that movies and TV shows typically take — and thus makes renting them much more convenient — a rental service like Amazon is said to be planning could do the same for borrowing or renting books.
Partnering with libraries, not competing with them
The obvious fear was that this kind of service would eat into the market that libraries serve since they also effectively rent out books, just as Amazon is planning to do. As a number of commenters on my original post pointed out, many libraries also lend e-books in a number of formats — including the open ePub format — although in many cases there are restrictions on how many copies of a particular book a library will have, how long it can be borrowed for, and so on.
What Amazon seems to be planning is a two-pronged extension of its existing e-book business into the rental market. On the one hand, libraries now get the ability to connect their books to the hugely popular Kindle reader ecosystem, which increases the number of readers they can serve and thereby fulfills the public-service mission that most libraries operate under (users don’t even need an app, since Amazon’s Cloud Reader works in most web browsers). And at the same time, Amazon can also launch the book-rental business that the Wall Street Journal described, as a way to serve a market that either wants access to books that aren’t available through the library system — and/or is willing to pay extra for more convenience and better lending terms.
In a sense, the two programs together (assuming Amazon actually launches the “Netflix for books” idea) could operate as a kind of freemium service: library borrowing is free or relatively low-cost, but doesn’t offer as many options or as much convenience, while the premium program offers access to a wider catalogue and better terms.
Publishers are still reluctant to give up control
One of the biggest flaws in such a program is something Amazon itself doesn’t have much control over, and neither do the libraries that are partnering with it, and that’s the restrictions that book publishers place on their titles when it comes to lending. The ability to lend e-books via the Kindle has existed since Amazon first developed the platform, but many publishers restrict the lending in such draconian ways that many users don’t even bother — and the restrictions on libraries are not much better: HarperCollins forces libraries to pay for new copies after its books have been lent out just 26 times.
As many critics of this approach have pointed out, publishers are essentially trying to duplicate the same kind of control they had over print books with electronic books — and in the case of lending, they are actually trying to assert new controls that they have never had in the past: when you bought a physical book, you were free to sell it or lend it to whomever you wished, but e-books don’t carry the same rights. Google is in the middle of its own war with publishers and authors about what it can do with books: although the web giant argues that scanning them is covered by fair use principles, the book industry argues otherwise, and it is even suing libraries that have partnered with Google.
The bottom line, as we’ve described before at GigaOM, is that the nature of the book and the book industry is changing, just as virtually every other form of physical content — from movies and television to newspapers and magazines — is also being disrupted by the move to digital formats. The book is becoming just another piece of content that can be distributed and consumed in multiple ways. Amazon has been at the forefront of those changes since it was first founded, and both its library-lending program and the rumored Netflix-for-books are signs that it plans to continue pushing that transition forward, whether the publishing industry likes it or not.
Post and thumbnail photos courtesy of Flickr users Marcus Hansson and Marya
Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.
Connected Consumer Q2: Digital music meets the cloud; e-book growth explodes
What media companies can learn from the book industry’s disruption
The state of the e-book lending market: Business models and challenges
http://bit.ly/qOGYln National Small Business Week Day 1
The U.S. Small Business Administration's National Small Business Week was held in Washington, D.C., marking the 56th anniversary of the agency, and the 46th annual proclamation of National Small Business Week.
More than 100 small business owners from across the country gathered at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel along with keynotes and panels fro leading speakers including Karen Mills,Administrator , U.S. Small Business Administration and Michael Porter
Bishop William Lawrence University Professor,based at Harvard Business School
(cc) Shashi Bellamkonda Social Media Swami Network Solutions If you use this picture please credit as shown.
Share
Investors who hold retail stocks are nervously looking towards the weekend when it is understood High Street giant Tesco will launch a price war among the country’s grocers.Shareholders ordinarily become nervous when the words ‘price war’ are mentioned in such a mature and competitive sector as retailing. They hurt margins and it is unclear whether short-term revenue gains can be held over the long term.But Tesco is no ordinary retailer – it accounts for £1 out of every £7 spent on the High Street. And despite Tesco chief executive Philip Clarke’s comments earlier this summer that some of its UK products are looking tired, it still remains a formidable force.
Asda, owned by US retailer Wal-Mart,
has been price-cutting for a while and market watchers say Tesco has
decided to offer more price cuts to consumers as a way of more clearly
showing the savings inside its stores.Tesco is also seeing its market share squeezed by discount retailers such as Aldi, Lidl, Waitrose and Marks & Spencer (up 1.1p at 336.7p) at the top end.Analysts
at Shore Capital say Tesco seems keen to ‘stimulate mellow UK trading
set against a demonstrably tough UK consumer economy’.
FTSE CLOSE: Stocks fall ahead of US news; BoE gives hope of new stimulus
But any price cuts Tesco does make also have a significant knock-on effect on under pressure grocery delivery business Ocado. Ocado’s
prices match Tesco on 7,400 products, and if it has to lower prices on
hundreds of items, that will hurt its profitability. The business was the biggest faller in the FTSE 250 on these concerns, sinking 13.2p to 102.5p. On
Monday Ocado saw its shares take a 10 per cent hit after it warned of
slower quarterly sales growth in a trading statement. Panmure Gordon
analyst Philip Dorgan said price-cutting by ‘Tesco will hurt Ocado’s
sales numbers for the rest of the year and in future years’.If Tesco does launch a price war, it is likely to cast a large shadow right across the British High Street. The FTSE 100
slid 75.30 points to 52888.41, as a cautious market noted the latest
minutes from the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee discussed
quantitative easing – boosting the flow of money circulating though the
flagging economy. Though only Adam Posen, of its nine members, thought
this should be done now.In
New York the Dow Jones index fell 36.97 points to 11,371.69, in early
trading as investors waited on a statement from America’s Federal
Reserve, due after the bell, on plans to extend stimulus measures to
boost the US economy in a move known as Operation Twist.‘The
opening of the market in Wall Street was as flat as a pancake,’ said
Hargreaves Lansdown head of equities Richard Hunter. ‘Volumes were not
that high on both sides of the Atlantic as traders largely sat on
their hands in advance of the Fed announcement.’Financials bucked the trend as Lloyds Banking Group climbed 1.93p to 36.16p, Royal Bank of Scotland gained 0.29p to 23.38p, and Barclays slipped 1p to 153.25p.UBS
published research which sought to measure companies’ exposure to the
faltering euro. As a result the bank added insurer Aviva to its list of
‘least preferred’ stocks in the sector, due to its ‘significant
exposure’ to the eurozone.‘Aviva
generates over 50 per cent of profits and has circa 45 per cent of
capital invested in the eurozone,’ said UBS analyst James Pearce. Aviva dropped 12.7p to 295p, one of the biggest single fallers on the FTSE 100.Within the same sector, UBS moved Prudential on
to its ‘most preferred’ list, mentioning ‘its ability to benefit from
economic expansion in Asia’ as well as its ‘lack of exposure to the
euro’. Prudential rose 3p to 597p.A
range of housebuilders remained solid on news that the MPC is
considering boosting QE, which would lead to further asset purchases.Bellway was boosted 21.5p to 627.5p, Bovis Homes was up 13p to 418.6p, and Taylor Wimpey advanced 1.1p to 34.52p. After being bolstered by bid talk over the last few weeks, satellite launch company Inmarsat lost 13.3p to 490.2p as the market began to lose faith in a suitor for the firm coming forward.Analysts
from Citigroup warned of regulatory concerns in America and the
uncertain prospects for its core mobile satellite services business. And
Morgan Stanley also downgraded its recommendation to ‘underweight’ from
‘equalweight’, due to concerns about the US side of the business.
Shares in Dillistone closed
flat at 74.5p after the Aim-listed firm that makes specialist software
for recruitment companies bought rival Woodcote Software for £1.89m in
cash and shares.
The London-based business placed
644,445 shares with institutions at 72p to raise £500,000. Dillistone
also posted first-half pre-tax profits up 8 per cent to £551,000, on
strong trading. Its dividend remains at 1.2p.
The U.S. Small Business Administration's National Small Business Week was held in Washington, D.C., marking the 56th anniversary of the agency, and the 46th annual proclamation of National Small Business Week.
More than 100 small business owners from across the country gathered at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel along with keynotes and panels fro leading speakers including Karen Mills,Administrator , U.S. Small Business Administration and Michael Porter
Bishop William Lawrence University Professor,based at Harvard Business School
(cc) Shashi Bellamkonda Social Media Swami Network Solutions If you use this picture please credit as shown.
Share
Investors who hold retail stocks are nervously looking towards the weekend when it is understood High Street giant Tesco will launch a price war among the country’s grocers.Shareholders ordinarily become nervous when the words ‘price war’ are mentioned in such a mature and competitive sector as retailing. They hurt margins and it is unclear whether short-term revenue gains can be held over the long term.But Tesco is no ordinary retailer – it accounts for £1 out of every £7 spent on the High Street. And despite Tesco chief executive Philip Clarke’s comments earlier this summer that some of its UK products are looking tired, it still remains a formidable force.
Asda, owned by US retailer Wal-Mart,
has been price-cutting for a while and market watchers say Tesco has
decided to offer more price cuts to consumers as a way of more clearly
showing the savings inside its stores.Tesco is also seeing its market share squeezed by discount retailers such as Aldi, Lidl, Waitrose and Marks & Spencer (up 1.1p at 336.7p) at the top end.Analysts
at Shore Capital say Tesco seems keen to ‘stimulate mellow UK trading
set against a demonstrably tough UK consumer economy’.
FTSE CLOSE: Stocks fall ahead of US news; BoE gives hope of new stimulus
But any price cuts Tesco does make also have a significant knock-on effect on under pressure grocery delivery business Ocado. Ocado’s
prices match Tesco on 7,400 products, and if it has to lower prices on
hundreds of items, that will hurt its profitability. The business was the biggest faller in the FTSE 250 on these concerns, sinking 13.2p to 102.5p. On
Monday Ocado saw its shares take a 10 per cent hit after it warned of
slower quarterly sales growth in a trading statement. Panmure Gordon
analyst Philip Dorgan said price-cutting by ‘Tesco will hurt Ocado’s
sales numbers for the rest of the year and in future years’.If Tesco does launch a price war, it is likely to cast a large shadow right across the British High Street. The FTSE 100
slid 75.30 points to 52888.41, as a cautious market noted the latest
minutes from the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee discussed
quantitative easing – boosting the flow of money circulating though the
flagging economy. Though only Adam Posen, of its nine members, thought
this should be done now.In
New York the Dow Jones index fell 36.97 points to 11,371.69, in early
trading as investors waited on a statement from America’s Federal
Reserve, due after the bell, on plans to extend stimulus measures to
boost the US economy in a move known as Operation Twist.‘The
opening of the market in Wall Street was as flat as a pancake,’ said
Hargreaves Lansdown head of equities Richard Hunter. ‘Volumes were not
that high on both sides of the Atlantic as traders largely sat on
their hands in advance of the Fed announcement.’Financials bucked the trend as Lloyds Banking Group climbed 1.93p to 36.16p, Royal Bank of Scotland gained 0.29p to 23.38p, and Barclays slipped 1p to 153.25p.UBS
published research which sought to measure companies’ exposure to the
faltering euro. As a result the bank added insurer Aviva to its list of
‘least preferred’ stocks in the sector, due to its ‘significant
exposure’ to the eurozone.‘Aviva
generates over 50 per cent of profits and has circa 45 per cent of
capital invested in the eurozone,’ said UBS analyst James Pearce. Aviva dropped 12.7p to 295p, one of the biggest single fallers on the FTSE 100.Within the same sector, UBS moved Prudential on
to its ‘most preferred’ list, mentioning ‘its ability to benefit from
economic expansion in Asia’ as well as its ‘lack of exposure to the
euro’. Prudential rose 3p to 597p.A
range of housebuilders remained solid on news that the MPC is
considering boosting QE, which would lead to further asset purchases.Bellway was boosted 21.5p to 627.5p, Bovis Homes was up 13p to 418.6p, and Taylor Wimpey advanced 1.1p to 34.52p. After being bolstered by bid talk over the last few weeks, satellite launch company Inmarsat lost 13.3p to 490.2p as the market began to lose faith in a suitor for the firm coming forward.Analysts
from Citigroup warned of regulatory concerns in America and the
uncertain prospects for its core mobile satellite services business. And
Morgan Stanley also downgraded its recommendation to ‘underweight’ from
‘equalweight’, due to concerns about the US side of the business.
Shares in Dillistone closed
flat at 74.5p after the Aim-listed firm that makes specialist software
for recruitment companies bought rival Woodcote Software for £1.89m in
cash and shares.
The London-based business placed
644,445 shares with institutions at 72p to raise £500,000. Dillistone
also posted first-half pre-tax profits up 8 per cent to £551,000, on
strong trading. Its dividend remains at 1.2p.
http://bit.ly/oXnKqI Release Date: 30 April 2010 Genre: Horror Forged: Dieter Laser, Ashley C. Williams, Ashlynn Yennie, Akihiro Kitamura Director: Tom Six Author: Tom 6 Studio: IFC Movies Plot: During a stopover in Germany in the center of a carefree roadtrip by way of Europe, two American women uncover on their own by yourself at night time when their car breaks down in the woods. Browsing for support at a nearby villa, they are wooed into the clutches of a deranged retired surgeon who explains his mad scientific vision to his captives' utter horror. They are to be the topics of his sick lifetime fantasy: to be the initial to link folks, one particular to the next, through their gastric system, and in undertaking so provide to life 'the human centipede'. Subscribe Now: http://bit.ly/9b2Y3D
http://bit.ly/mVoxrl Sangam, a enjoy triangle is a psychologically multifaceted tale about male bonding and the meaning of really like and friendship. Sunder, Gopal and Radha are childhood buddies but Sundar quickly commence preventing the other two�s pleasure and finally also thwarts his personal.
http://bit.ly/nsJrrt We go for an exclusive interviews with Director Stephen Daldry and actor David Kross to discuss about The Reader. For far more movie trailers, movie critiques, superstar interviews, complete videos, clips and much more, go to: http://bit.ly/8jjHvk Link with other film fans on Facebook http://bit.ly/91S2P7 Adhere to us on Twitter: twitter.com
http://bit.ly/ns0o8J Fantastic new trailer for an indie horror/thriller motion picture - From a 1st look it feels a bit like a mix in between "Cabin Fever" and "Red State" - so check out it out! A man who's wife is dying of a mysterious sickness normally requires the law into his own hands right after his daughter witnesses a double homicide and narrowly escapes the grasp of two serial killers... Music by Nathaniel Sutton (Motion picture Trailer Voice In excess of by the great Scott "Scooter" Fortney) Verify out the film's FB web page at http://bit.ly/91S2P7 Published, Made, & Directed by: Barry J. Gillis Starring: Nigel Hartwell, Kelly AH Bird, Alex Sharpe, Donald A. Morin, John Scott, Toby S. Krekoski, Edwin Autridge, Yunona Anders, Kinga Satora, Barry J. Gillis, and Kim Sønderholm
http://bit.ly/qJGL15 To guarantee a total lucrative time, circus manager Brad Braden engages The Wonderful Sebastian, however this moves his girlfriend Holly from her challenging-won middle trapeze spot. Holly and Sebastian start a harmful 1-upmanship duel in the ring, whilst he pursues her on the ground. Subplots entail the secret previous of Buttons the Clown and the efforts of racketeers to shift in on the game concessions. Let the display begin! Authored by Rod Crawford [IMDB.COM] Release: ten January 1952 Working Time: 152 min Awards: Won 2 Oscars. An additional 3 wins & 4 nominations Producer: Cecil B. DeMille Director: Cecil B. DeMille Writer: Fredric M. Frank, Barré Lyndon, Theodore St. John Forged: Betty Hutton (Holly), Cornel Wilde (The Great Sebastian),Charlton Heston (Brad Braden),Dorothy Lamour (Phyllis) Genre: Drama, Household, Romance Domestic Complete Gross: million [IMDB.COM][BOXOFFICEMOJO.COM]
http://bit.ly/oEDF6d Trailer for horror comedy starring Anna Paquin, Dylan Baker, Brian Cox, and Leslie Bibb. Developed by Bryan Singer. Directed by Michael Dougherty. Now obtainable on DVD, Blu-Ray, iTunes, and On Desire. http://bit.ly/psYXO3
http://bit.ly/o46zwh SONIC THE HEDGEHOG IS Copy Proper SEGA/SONIC Group I DO NOT Own SONIC THE HEDGEHOG OR ANY OF ITS Content material. I uploaded these movies so you can easily uncover the sonic hedgehog motion picture and get pleasure from it... no copyright infringement was meant.
http://bit.ly/oMZ9VL "The Muppets" In Theaters this Thanksgiving Become a fan on Facebook: facebook.com Adhere to Statler & Waldorf on Twitter: twitter.com Check out the Official Web site: disney.com When Walter, the world's most significant Muppet fan, and buddies Gary (Jason Segel) and Mary (Amy Adams) discover the nefarious approach of oilman Tex Richman (Chris Cooper) to raze the Muppet Theater, they aid Kermit reunite the Muppets to stage The Greatest Muppet Telethon Ever and elevate the million necessary to preserve the theater.
http://bit.ly/pXL7Ir Shel Silverstein
Kid Lit Author Shel Silverstein Comes Back From the Dead to Save Bedtime
shel silverstein
And by classic authors, I mean two of the biggest names in the game: Shel Silverstein and Maurice Sendak. Making things cooler
Kid Lit Author Shel Silverstein Comes Back From the Dead to Save Bedtime
shel silverstein
And by classic authors, I mean two of the biggest names in the game: Shel Silverstein and Maurice Sendak. Making things cooler
http://bit.ly/qleAhg 1929 Marquette Model 34 4-Passenger Sport Roadster (3 of 9)
The Marquette was launched by the Buick Division of General Motors as a sister make in the 1930 model year. In the GM food chain, the Marquette ranked just below Buick and just above Oldsmobile. The Marquette arrived in dealer showrooms on June 1, 1929, and many of the early cars - including the one shown in this photograph - were registered as 1929 models. Six models of the Series 30 (Phaeton, Sport Roadster, Coupe, Business Coupe, 2-Door Sedan, and Four-Door Sedan) were built by Buick during the brief (1929-31) run of the Marquette brand.
Photographed at the McLean County Antique Auto Club Show held on the grounds of the David Davis Mansion in Bloomington, Illinois on August 7, 2010.
****************************************************************************************************
You are invited to stay and browse through my stream. Here's a quick index to my little corner of Flickr:
The Marquette was launched by the Buick Division of General Motors as a sister make in the 1930 model year. In the GM food chain, the Marquette ranked just below Buick and just above Oldsmobile. The Marquette arrived in dealer showrooms on June 1, 1929, and many of the early cars - including the one shown in this photograph - were registered as 1929 models. Six models of the Series 30 (Phaeton, Sport Roadster, Coupe, Business Coupe, 2-Door Sedan, and Four-Door Sedan) were built by Buick during the brief (1929-31) run of the Marquette brand.
Photographed at the McLean County Antique Auto Club Show held on the grounds of the David Davis Mansion in Bloomington, Illinois on August 7, 2010.
****************************************************************************************************
You are invited to stay and browse through my stream. Here's a quick index to my little corner of Flickr:
http://bit.ly/pysE8q DEMOfocus on Consumer Technologies, Fall 2011
Ted W. Larson, CEO & Founder, OLogic, Inc.
The Launchpad for Emerging Technology.
DEMO Fall 2011 is taking place at the Hyatt in Silicon Valley, CA. Companies both large and small come to DEMO to launch their products to the Technology world. DEMO offers the access, interaction, and validation of the new emerging technologies.
For more information:
DEMO Fall 2010 Website
Follow DEMO on twitter @demo
Social Media presented by New Media Synergy
Photos by Stephen Brashear
Is Google evil? Members of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights tried to decide that today in a hearing on Google’s market power and whether it is beneficial for consumers or not. The end result was that the Senators requested Google make voluntary changes to its search ranking, and tried to keep Google “honest” through tough questions. But while the hearing exposed some questionable results on Google searches — notably product searches — it also exposed a lack of clarity around who Google’s customers are, and a fundamental conflict of cultures between Silicon Valley and Washington, D.C.
Consumer friend or gatekeeping monopolist?
Does Google exist to help consumers find web pages and deliver search results, or is it a monopoly gatekeeper that charges businesses to connect them with online consumers? Who would the government be protecting if it interfered with Google’s market power — and would that serve businesses or consumers? Google’s Chairman Eric Schmidt and Susan A. Creighton, a Partner Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, went to great pains to illustrate that consumers could just move from Google to a competing search engine if they didn’t like Google’s results — meaning D.C. need not get involved.
Those who feel that Google acts as a gatekeeper between consumers and businesses on the web were represented by Jeremy Stoppelman of Yelp and Jeff Katz CEO of Nextag Inc. Each explained their firms couldn’t compete or even begin their businesses in today’s search climate because Google is making the entry of web-based companies that provide consumers information so difficult. But I’m not sure I can buy into the gatekeeper idea as a reason for Washington to intervene.
Stoppelman did a great job explaining that he began Yelp in 2004 because he saw a hole in the market. He then outlined how Google played rough with the site in terms of scraping its content after Yelp refused a deal with it. That’s a crappy thing to do, but that’s what lawsuits are for. Check out Skyhook’s lawsuit with Google over location. Yelp wasn’t having its content taken because it was a small business unable to buy lawyers — it was having its content taken because it was a company so successful that Google actually tried to buy it, and Yelp said no. Stoppelman might not see a hole in the market today, but it’s kind of ridiculous to expect any market to stay the same for seven years.
If consumers can switch easily to a new search engine, Congress getting involved makes it seem like we are in danger of becoming a nanny state to protect specific business interests. And that makes me nervous (my colleague Mathew Ingram is also skeptical about the need for an antitrust investigation of Google, arguing that technological innovation has disrupted more monopolies than any government ever has. Indeed, I found it odd watching Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) ask Schmidt about how its algorithms affect small businesses and what might be done to protect those businesses from changes to Google’s algorithm.
Is part of the problem a clash of cultures?
Schmidt, like any computer scientist, tried to argue that the algorithms do what they are supposed to do. From a computer science view, if an algorithm is fair, then changing to protect a certain class of those affected by it makes it fundamentally unfair to others (something Congress routinely does with exceptions and carve outs when it’s making legislation). In fact, the biggest elephant in the room was a clash of cultures between the Silicon Valley culture of the free market — and using technology to create a better consumer experience — and Washington D.C.’s inherent cynicism and pandering to constituents.
Also, the senators wanted broadband. Both Senators Klobuchar and Chuck Schumer (D-NY) requested Google’s fiber to the home experiment in their states. I don’t blame them, but it was odd to hear Google be castigated for abusing its search advantage (and hearing Senators tie that advantage to its infrastructure and scale earlier in the hearing) while other members of the committee requested services that would enhance Google’s ability to create higher barriers to entry. In the binary world of Silicon Valley that may not make sense, but in D.C. it apparently does.
Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.
Communications, Platforms, Privacy Ruled NewNet in Q4
Google and the Ghost of Silicon Valley Past
Shopping Matters When it Comes to Location-Based Apps
Ted W. Larson, CEO & Founder, OLogic, Inc.
The Launchpad for Emerging Technology.
DEMO Fall 2011 is taking place at the Hyatt in Silicon Valley, CA. Companies both large and small come to DEMO to launch their products to the Technology world. DEMO offers the access, interaction, and validation of the new emerging technologies.
For more information:
DEMO Fall 2010 Website
Follow DEMO on twitter @demo
Social Media presented by New Media Synergy
Photos by Stephen Brashear
Is Google evil? Members of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights tried to decide that today in a hearing on Google’s market power and whether it is beneficial for consumers or not. The end result was that the Senators requested Google make voluntary changes to its search ranking, and tried to keep Google “honest” through tough questions. But while the hearing exposed some questionable results on Google searches — notably product searches — it also exposed a lack of clarity around who Google’s customers are, and a fundamental conflict of cultures between Silicon Valley and Washington, D.C.
Consumer friend or gatekeeping monopolist?
Does Google exist to help consumers find web pages and deliver search results, or is it a monopoly gatekeeper that charges businesses to connect them with online consumers? Who would the government be protecting if it interfered with Google’s market power — and would that serve businesses or consumers? Google’s Chairman Eric Schmidt and Susan A. Creighton, a Partner Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, went to great pains to illustrate that consumers could just move from Google to a competing search engine if they didn’t like Google’s results — meaning D.C. need not get involved.
Those who feel that Google acts as a gatekeeper between consumers and businesses on the web were represented by Jeremy Stoppelman of Yelp and Jeff Katz CEO of Nextag Inc. Each explained their firms couldn’t compete or even begin their businesses in today’s search climate because Google is making the entry of web-based companies that provide consumers information so difficult. But I’m not sure I can buy into the gatekeeper idea as a reason for Washington to intervene.
Stoppelman did a great job explaining that he began Yelp in 2004 because he saw a hole in the market. He then outlined how Google played rough with the site in terms of scraping its content after Yelp refused a deal with it. That’s a crappy thing to do, but that’s what lawsuits are for. Check out Skyhook’s lawsuit with Google over location. Yelp wasn’t having its content taken because it was a small business unable to buy lawyers — it was having its content taken because it was a company so successful that Google actually tried to buy it, and Yelp said no. Stoppelman might not see a hole in the market today, but it’s kind of ridiculous to expect any market to stay the same for seven years.
If consumers can switch easily to a new search engine, Congress getting involved makes it seem like we are in danger of becoming a nanny state to protect specific business interests. And that makes me nervous (my colleague Mathew Ingram is also skeptical about the need for an antitrust investigation of Google, arguing that technological innovation has disrupted more monopolies than any government ever has. Indeed, I found it odd watching Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) ask Schmidt about how its algorithms affect small businesses and what might be done to protect those businesses from changes to Google’s algorithm.
Is part of the problem a clash of cultures?
Schmidt, like any computer scientist, tried to argue that the algorithms do what they are supposed to do. From a computer science view, if an algorithm is fair, then changing to protect a certain class of those affected by it makes it fundamentally unfair to others (something Congress routinely does with exceptions and carve outs when it’s making legislation). In fact, the biggest elephant in the room was a clash of cultures between the Silicon Valley culture of the free market — and using technology to create a better consumer experience — and Washington D.C.’s inherent cynicism and pandering to constituents.
Also, the senators wanted broadband. Both Senators Klobuchar and Chuck Schumer (D-NY) requested Google’s fiber to the home experiment in their states. I don’t blame them, but it was odd to hear Google be castigated for abusing its search advantage (and hearing Senators tie that advantage to its infrastructure and scale earlier in the hearing) while other members of the committee requested services that would enhance Google’s ability to create higher barriers to entry. In the binary world of Silicon Valley that may not make sense, but in D.C. it apparently does.
Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.
Communications, Platforms, Privacy Ruled NewNet in Q4
Google and the Ghost of Silicon Valley Past
Shopping Matters When it Comes to Location-Based Apps
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