marketplace

The product Jobs won't announce, but should

Mac fans across the world are eagerly awaiting Steve Jobs keynote at Mac World with bingo cards in hand, but despite all the rumors of the " MacBook Air" and the iTunes video rental store, there is one feature that I wish Steve would announce but that I know will not materialize anytime soon. What I'd like to see from Apple in 2008 is an iTunes marketplace, a place where independent media creators can set their own price for their work and share the profits with Apple.

Yes, some independent artists have been able to sell their music in the iTunes store, but there is no means to sell video podcasts or other similar materials through Apple.

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Episode 621: Get Windows for free

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Snap shots: Zune Software & Marketplace

The next-gen Zune Marketplace makes a sharp departure from its Windows Media Player roots, embracing a clean, minimalist design with engaging visual imagery. As it's notably different from the standard jukeboxes, it takes a little getting used to, but it will please your eye in the interim. Check out our slide show of the Zune Software and Marketplace for a detailed look at the interface and service.

Snap shots: Zune Software & Marketplace

The next-generation Zune Marketplace makes a sharp departure from its Windows Media Player roots, embracing a clean, minimalist design with engaging visual imagery. As it's notably different from the standard jukeboxes, it takes a little getting used to, but it will please your eye in the interim. Check out our slide show of the Zune Software and Marketplace for a detailed look at the interface and service.

Microsoft is selling open source on Windows Marketplace

Windows Marketplace is a bit like the Red Hat Exchange: it's a place to learn about, download, and try applications that run on Windows. It's a Microsoft site that aims to increase use of Windows.

It's not, however, limited to Microsoft and its proprietary friends, as this picture shows:… Read more

Why does the DOJ oppose net neutrality?

According to Wikipedia, the Department of Justice is "designed to enforce the law and defend the interests of the United States according to the law and to ensure fair and impartial administration of justice for all Americans." So why is it that the Justice Department recently filed a press release stating its opposition to net neutrality? In the statement, the DOJ argues that "consumers and the economy are benefiting from the innovative and dynamic nature of the Internet," and that "regulators should be careful not to impose regulations that could limit consumer choice and investment in broadband facilities."

Of course, given that almost all locales are limited to at most two broadband carriers--the telephone and cable monopolies--there are already regulations that "limit consumer choice and investment in broadband facilities." The Justice Department seems to be tailoring its antitrust agenda in such a way as to serve the interests of certain big business interests and not the needs of the American people. If any company could enter the marketplace to offer high-speed Internet access then their position would at least be possible to defend. Were that the case, then people would be free to choose among a multitude of Internet offerings, some of which would likely offer neutrality while others would provide a preferential pipe. Only then would there be some teeth in the argument that the free market would ensure Americans get the best access at the best price. In reality, it is only the massive telecoms and cable companies that are able to provide high-speed Internet, and both camps have an economic incentive to abandon net neutrality.

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eBay launches lukewarm Facebook app

Today eBay launched a standalone Facebook app to let users browse eBay and show off their auctions to friends on the social network. This is hot on the heels of their slick "eBay to Go" Flash widget that made its migration to the Facebook apps platform late last month.

The new app lets you link up your eBay account to your Facebook profile and share items you've put up for auction with your friends, along with making your eBay watch list public to friends who are using the app. The integrated eBay search will pull up identical … Read more

Shopify rolls out search network, API

Shopify, which serves up do-it-yourself sales pages to sell your all sorts of items (including your junk, as Rafe experimented with in his hands-on) launched an interesting new feature this week called Marketplace. It links up people's Shopify stores to a central index that can be searched, sorted, and browsed by anyone and everyone. Owners of each Shopify store must opt-in to the program to be included, in the hopes of selling an item, or being discovered through the centralized directory. Shopify is also releasing an API in the coming weeks that will let developers tap into the new … Read more

Hands-on with Facebook Marketplace

Facebook's new "Marketplace" classifieds feature launched quietly this weekend, giving the social networking site's members the ability to post Craigslist-like ads and make them visible to their friends and "networks" (which, if you aren't familiar with Facebook, are based around regions, high schools and colleges, and companies). I gave it a quick run-through to test it out; here's what I found.

When you click on Marketplace, which is accessible by a link in the left sidebar (along with other Facebook staples like photos, groups, and notes) you are directed to the Marketplace homepage for your primary network, with tabs where you can navigate to the corresponding pages for your other networks if you're in more than one. In the image below, you can see the CNET network is the one displayed; I also have access to listings from my former university's network and to the NYC network. The interface is more or less just like the rest of Facebook--blue and white, without much clutter.

Read on after the jump...… Read more