24 Jul 2006
Microsoft IPod 'Killer' Is Doomed

Good analysis... why they still don't "get it", and probably never will.

The record labels would love to see somebody step up to compete with iTunes and the iPod. But their insistence on DRM makes it unlikely. Commentary by Eliot Van Buskirk.

(link) [Wired News: Top Stories]

07:57 /Technology | 1 comment | permanent link

Mechanical Turks

I'm not sure what to think about this: virtual sweatshop or blessed relief for the bored and intelligent? I tried it out myself after reading, and allegedly made $0.15 in about 15 minutes. We'll see if my answers were accepted, though - the terms of service are particularly stiff. But it was kinda fun ...

A picture of a woman's pink shoe floats on my computer screen. It's a flat, a street version of a ballet shoe. My job is to categorize the shoe based on a list of basic colors: Is it red, blue, pink, purple, white, green, yellow, multicolored? A description next to it reads "Pink Lemonade Leather." This is not exactly a brain-busting task; I'm doing it while talking to a friend on the phone. With the mouse, I check a box marked "pink." In the next split second, a picture of a navy blue shirt appears. I check "blue." Assuming my answers jibe with those of at least two other people being paid to scrutinize the same pictures, I've just earned 4 cents.

(link) [Salon]

via MyAppleMenu:Reader

07:56 /Technology | 0 comments | permanent link