November 2007 Archives

Everyone is bashing the Amazon Kindle so I might as well jump on the bandwagon.

In an age where Apple is continually raising the bar for aesthetically pleasing consumer electronics, I can't help but wonder how Amazon can come up with such an ugly looking device. I expect a futuristic device such as an eBook reader to look futuristic, like a PADD from Star Trek.

I would totally buy an eBook reader that looks like a PADD... but then again, I would buy pretty much any technology seen on Star Trek if they were real.

I just got an email from MSN Live Search a few minutes ago, inviting me to join their Live Search Trial Program where I can earn "tickets" that are redeemable for cool prizes for every search that I conduct using Internet Explorer and MSN Live Search.

I took a look at the list of prizes and there are some pretty nice things that you can win.

For example, for 20,000 tickets, you can get Windows Vista or a Zune. For 25,000 tickets, you can get Microsoft Office 2007. There's only one little wrinkle. There are 89 days between now and the end of the program (February 12, 2008) and you can only earn a maximum of 50 tickets per day.

While they do promise you 500 bonus tickets upon completion of the program, you can still only earn a possible maximum of 4950 tickets. 50 tickets short of redeeming the Bluetooth keyboard and mouse and impossible to win any of the "nicer" prizes.

I wrote MSN an email to inquire about their conflicting rule and prize structure.

RE: Be rewarded for using Live Search and MSN

Sent: Thu 11/15/07 5:07 PM

Hello Live Search,

I would like to point out that your Live Search Trial Program appears to be deceptive. Since participants can only earn 50 tickets per day and there are only 89 days between now and the end of the program, it is impossible to earn enough "tickets" to redeem the prizes that require 5000 tickets or more.

Winona

RE: Be rewarded for using Live Search and MSN

From: Live Search Trial Customer Service

Sent: Thu 11/15/07 5:24 PM

Hi Winona, thank you for your email, and for reporting this matter. There is an issue with our prize page, in that, it should only be showing prizes worth under 5000 tickets. This has been escalated to our web team, and we expect the page to be updated within 24 hours.

Thank you again for pointing this out. If you have further questions, please email us at: lscstsvc@microsoft.com.

Thank you,

Melanie

Live Search Trial Program Customer Service

So there you have it... the lucrative prizes don't really exist.

Pirate Kitteh!

Yeah baby!

I just read about Scott Andrew's first full-length studio album, Save You From Yourself on Photojunkie's blog. Scott is a very talented blogger and musician. I listened to his demos and was instantly impressed by his intelligent lyrics.

Scott is currently taking pre-orders of his CD to help pay for production costs until Monday, November 12th. There are various packages that you can choose from in order to contribute to the production. I got the Pirate Kitteh package because I like pirates.

If you get the SuperMegaGiant Destruct-O-Beast package (contribute $1000 or more) Scott will even play a private concert for you at your house (or some other venue of your choice!)

I think there's a difference between storing information about myself that I have expressly permitted Facebook to receive (i.e. photos, wall posts) versus receiving information about me through actions I take on other unrelated parts of the internet. It's a little bit creepy to know that if I visit the Internet Porn Emporium, this store might attempt to tell Facebook that I'm a patron.

Even if you don't normally care about your privacy, the new Facebook ad platform may still inconvenience you. Assume I was buying an awesome surprise present for a friend on some web site, but then the online store goes ahead and shares this information with my friends on Facebook so that it's no longer a secret. That would suck. How about announcing to my network that I just performed a financial transaction at Chase? What a boon this will be for phishers.

The following exchange I had with Facebook today explains why you should block Facebook's data-hungry JavaScript or at least log out of Facebook and clear your cookies before you interact with another site if you would like to guard your privacy. (Emphasis mine.)

Hello Facebook,

I am trying to opt out of allowing External Websites to send information to my profile but the option in the Privacy section is not allowing me to do this.

I would like this resolved as soon as possible.

Thanks.

Winona

Subject: [rt.facebook.com #7270101] Privacy Help: Privacy for External Websites not functional Date: Wed, 7 Nov 2007 11:22:36 -0800

Hi Winona,

Just as News Feed has always enabled you to share the actions you take on Facebook with your friends, now you can share many of the actions you take on rest of the web as well.

Facebook is now affiliated with a variety of websites to have the actions you take on their sites pulled back into Facebook and communicated to your friends through News Feed. To take advantage of this feature, you must be logged into Facebook while you interact with one of these affiliated sites. When you perform an action on an affiliated site, you have the option to have this action generate a story in your friends’ News Feed. You will always be notified and given the opportunity to opt out of having that particular story published.

As a Facebook user, you have complete control to determine your privacy settings for the actions you take on other websites. The next time you navigate to the Facebook Home page after interacting with an affiliated site, you’ll receive a second reminder that that website is about to publish a story on your behalf. Again, you can choose not to publish that particular story. You also have the option to specify whether you want that website to always publish stories, notify you before publishing stories, or never publish stories for you. As always, Facebook gives you full control of your information. You can edit your privacy at any time from the Privacy Settings for Third-Party Websites page.

Please let us know if you have any further questions or concerns regarding this new feature.

Thanks for contacting Facebook,

Clive
Customer Support Representative
Facebook

RE: [rt.facebook.com #7270101] Privacy Help: Privacy for External Websites not functional Sent: Wed 11/07/07 12:11 PM

Hi Clive,

My concern is that I am not given the opportunity to opt out of this program before my privacy has already been breached. It is simply not acceptable that my information is shared between two parties without my consent, whether or not this information is being published in my news feed for all of my friends to see. I understand that the affiliated sites are the ones who are violating my privacy by sharing this information with Facebook without my consent, but Facebook is the facilitator of this breach of privacy by creating this advertising solution.

Regards,
Winona

I'm absolutely delighted that someone (who is not me) has stepped up to mobilize the 2nd annual Mob of Waldos on Facebook! Come on out to re-create the most difficult Waldo puzzle ever! Come dressed in a red and white striped shirt and blue pants and meet other Waldo fans! This event will occur rain or shine. If it rains, we will congregate inside the Ferry Building.

What:
Arrive dressed as Waldo or Wenda and participate in re-enacting the scene of the most difficult Waldo puzzle ever. Come in a red and white striped shirt, blue pants and your choice of accessories and meet other Waldo fans!

Where:
Market and Embarcadero - the square outside the Ferry Building (inside the Ferry Building if it is raining)
1 Ferry Building
San Francisco, California 94111

Meeting place on Yahoo Maps | Google Maps | Live Local Maps

When:
Sunday, November 11, 2007
12:00 PM (noon) - 3:00 PM

Who:
Children of all ages. Be sure to bring your friends!