Buzz Out Loud Podcast

Think you've seen the worst of the global financial collapse? Well, you haven't. Microsoft's dipping its toe into subprime software lending, otherwise known as providing free software to start-ups making less than $1 million. We'd call it the "crack dealer" model, but it doesn't have the same current-events gravitas. Also today: we can now officially project that Yahoo is the biggest loser of them all. Sigh.

EPISODE 846

No more GooHoo: Google pulls out of ad deal with Yahoo
http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2008/11/ending-our-agreement-with-yahoo.html
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10082800-93.html

Yahoo's reaction: disappointed Google withdrew, but the deal was only 'incremental' anyway
http://www.paidcontent.org/entry/419-yahoos-react-the-deal-was-only-incremental/

CNN’s human hologram on election night
http://news.cnet.com/8301-11386_3-10082802-76.html
http://gadgets.boingboing.net/2008/11/04/cnns-election-night.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=thOxW19vsTg
http://gizmodo.com/5076663/how-the-cnn-holographic-interview-system-works

FCC opens up wireless "white spaces;" Assessing winners, losers and wild-cards
http://blogs.zdnet.com/BTL/?p=10688
http://www.alleyinsider.com/2008/11/fcc-approves-wi-fi-on-steroids-good-news-for-consumers-bad-news-for-telcos
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7709775.stm

Sprint and Clearwire merger approved
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20081105-wimax-combo-gets-fcc-blessing-as-does-verizonalltel-union.html

FCC launches probe into possible cable-pricing shenanigans
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20081105-fcc-launches-probe-into-possible-cable-pricing-shenanigans.html

Microsoft to give free software to start-ups
http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Application-Development/Microsoft-Launches-Effort-to-Spark-Startups/
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13860_3-10082506-56.html

The end of an era--Windows 3.x
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7707016.stm

EA recommends hilarious work-around for RA3 CD-key
http://games.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/11/05/143240

VOICEMAIL
Mark from Florida: what’s up with that CNN wizardry?
http://www.osnews.com/story/19730/Perceptive_Pixel_s_Magic_Wall_Finds_New_Niche

E-MAIL

About three years ago, I did some research for an ISP on P2P indexing and
redirecting (before it was called P4P) because 80 percent of the traffic on
the ISP was P2P. In the end I advised the ISP NOT to use the
technology. Here’s why:
1 - You need a big ISP for P4P to work. (Ours was under 100K subs)
otherwise there are not enough people to seed it.I guess that's OK for
most U.S. based ISPs though.
2 - Edge networks are expensive and peer traffic prices were in
freefall. It was easier to manage increasing peering costs rather than
balancing edge network costs and fair bandwidth utilisation.
3 - P2P protocols are a moving target.

The biggest problem though was taking the hands-on approach to an
architechture often used for transferring illegal content. The
unknowns there were HUGE and would have been a big risk for bad
publicity, manpower dealing with police requests etc etc.

I really dont expect many ISPs to have much long-term success with P4P.

Love the show.
Steve.
UMPCPortal.

Oh, P.S. THe Dell Mini 12 doesnt use the Intel netbook architechture -
interestingly enough it uses a processor and chipset designed for
MIDs. Could it get more confusing!

Cheers!

Steve ‘Chippy’ Paine

**********

TMJX,

I answered the call and volunteered at my local polling place. I helped setup the voting machines, and then signed people in to vote for 12 hours! At the end of the night the pole watchers came in for the final tally. Our polling place allowed electronic or paper ballot. Paper ballots were scanned as soon as they were filled out, and at the end of the night the lady in charge printed the detail report for the votes. The “detail report” didn’t contain any details! It mearly printed the total amount of ballots. It did not break down how many votes came in for the candidates. We are required to post those results outside the door of the polling place. The pole watchers went off like molly at Spectacle Fest when she found out that wifi wasn’t free. . . they threatened to call CNN and were making allegations of voter fraud. The lady in charge was crying and saying that she’ll never work the polls again. I calmly called the elections office and asked to speak with IT and in no time was able to print a tally report that had the vote tally on it. Everyone was happy. Go Buzz Brigade! Love the show.

Ron Hudson Jr.
Associate Pastor
Calvary Baptist Church

**********

Now your done encouraging Americans to vote, could you please
put a call out for any New Zealand buzz listeners to vote. The NZ
election is this Saturday, Nov 8th.

Mark - the long distance voter.
London.

**********

I haven’t listened to today’s show, yet, but I suspect you’ll be talking about white space spectrum again.

A couple years back, IEEE Spectrum had an article on “smart radio” and using “white space.” This is *my* understanding of a “white space radio.”

The radio samples the spectrum in its current location at the current time. If someone is using this slice of spectrum, move to another. It’s not using space “between” TV channels, it’s using the TV channels that are not active in the current location (city, town, county, valley, whatever).

White space radios cannot interfere with an *active* wireless mike. The radio will perceive that part of the spectrum occupied and look for another chunk. That said, if the white space radio is already operating and you *then* turn on a wireless mike, you may get some interference until the white space radio samples the spectrum and decides to move somewhere else in frequency.

I use the term “radio” to identify an arbitrary wireless communication link. It could be carrying analog signals or various digital modulation schemes on top of which, the designer might implement TCP/IP or other network protocols.

Like the others, LTS (love the show)

Charlie

EPISODE 707

Skype offers unlimited long-distance plan
http://www.reuters.com/article/companyNewsAndPR/idUSN2141013920080421

Google tops Microsoft, Apple in brand power
http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9924273-7.html

Britannica makes content free with widgets, publisher registration
http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9923867-7.html

Hackers cancel attack on CNN
http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/144850/hackers_cancel_attack_on_cnn.html

Prediction: Microsoft will leapfrog Vista, release Windows 7 early, and change its OS business
http://blogs.techrepublic.com.com/hiner/?p=664

Microsoft: Finding flaws on our Web site is OK
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/04/21/microsoft_oks_online_flaw_finding/

Xbox 360 burns house down
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2008/04/21/arkansas_xbox_360_fire/

Zune getting Audible
http://www.engadget.com/2008/04/21/zune-getting-audible/

Twitter FAIL Day 3: Communications Breakdown
http://www.parislemon.com/2008/04/twitter-fail-day-3-communications.html

PayPal denies plan to block Safari
http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/144880/paypal_denies_plan_to_block_safari.html

Russia announces end to space tourism in 2010
http://news.slashdot.org/news/08/04/20/218214.shtml

VOICE MAIL

Ryan Colorado
How to get notifications about Twitter.

Barry Georgia
Why you can’t let the transmitters run after the cutoff date.

E-MAIL

Exactly how does Microsoft count their OSes?

Hi guys!

All this “Windows 7″ talk got me thinking: how was the number 7 arrived at? If Vista is “6″, then XP would be “5″. But wouldn’t that mean that 95, 98, ME, and 2000 were all “4″ since before 95 there was 3.1? Right? Or is it just that Bill Gates, like George Costanza, is a big Mickey Mantle fan? I’m confused so any help would be appreciated. Thanks!

--Roy (Bethesda, Md.)

P.S. I’ve been listening since around November 2006, through all the downs and ups, and I can say that I truly do love your show. You guys really do need a big ol’ Webby Award. Is there a “For Your Consideration” campaign we can start for next year?

Old episodes

I just noticed that you changed your XML feed. Now I see that many of the older shows on the list, including all of those older than episode 586 (the first episode I listened to, we hate flash drives) are no longer available for regular download. Where can I find an archive of past shows?

--Tony

Cablevision lies to customers to get them to switch to digital service

Hey Buzz Crew,

Thought this would be worth a molly rant …

http://consumerist.com/379852/cablevision-blatantly-lies-to-subscribers-as-the-fcc-twiddles-its-thumbs

Cablevision has decided to send notice out to customers about them moving channels off of analog and moving them to digital and not informing the customer service so...they make random facts up from what they have heard is happening.

Patrick