This is a tough time to be a government in the U.S. Ranging from municipal to federal, governments are under attack by conservatives and liberals alike for overspending, budget shortfalls, and service shortcomings. Now, corporations make sure that they can’t do anything right, either. Continue reading »
Craig Dietrich
May 102011
Unlike a past Microsoft rumor I mentioned, this is a real deal: as reported by a few news sites including MSNBC, Microsoft is closing a deal to purchase Skype for $8.5 billion. From a New York Times analysis, the big winners are current Skype investors,
Now, several investors stand to benefit from Microsoft’s planned $8.5 billion acquisition of Skype, which was announced on Tuesday. Skype’s hodge podge of owners, including a private equity firm, a pension fund, and a venture capitalist reflects its changing fortunes over the years.
NEW YORK CITY, 19 Nov 2010 —
MYFOXNY.COM – Some might say there is a ‘war on cars’ going on in New York City.
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Feb 232011
Don’t believe what you hear — contracts with banks do go both ways: Continue reading »
In one of the primary hubs for Pacific Ocean intercontinental internet traffic, residents consume what many would consider “old media.” Continue reading »
Dear Jules Dervaes,
Cheers,
Craig
Believe it or not, that line/link above may land me a trademark infringement letter. Continue reading »
Want to beat out a few more of your peers looking to get into graduate school? Now you have the chance, given an extra hour soon to be tacked on to the GRE, Continue reading »
Dec 302010
Edward Tufte has pointed out that PowerPoint and other presentational software reduce rather than enhance knowledge transfer from experts to audiences. His solution is technical documents—distributed before a presentation—explicit in their methodology and outcomes. Continue reading »
Just in case you were wondering…
Researchers are sure that they can put lab-grown meat on the menu — if they can just get cultured muscle cells to bulk up.
What do a 15th century mural, performance art documentation photo, and Google Maps screengrab have in common? Continue reading »
Sure, it doesn’t address the full meme lifecycle (“Payload -> Circulation -> Direction -> Vector -> Hook -> Payoff” [1]), but it’s a clever distraction meme-within-a-meme.
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As reported by GOOD.is, McDonald’s franchise owner Paul Siegfriend packaged a letter in his employee’s paychecks suggesting they vote for the local Republican candidates. His rational? It would help the business grow and therefore raise employee benefits.
While we wait for irony to pass, or any examples of a bottom-line-dependet company converting their cheap labor into costly labor, let’s hope Ohio prosecutes this clear violation of election law.
Full report at http://www.good.is/post/mcdonald-s-owner-tells-employees-to-elect-the-right-people
Oct 072010
I can’t turn up any solid references, but it has always been my suspicion that Adobe is creating an operating system (Adobe OS?). Anyone that’s used their CS suite over the last couple years probably notices the trend away from the native operating system look/feel towards a different, mostly gray, and those wierd side-bar-kinda-pop-out aesthetic.
It looks like Adobe may have their chance to break into the OS market… sort of. Rumor is, Microsoft will buy Adobe, at least according to a Google News search and some Twitter buz [nb, link shelf life].
I like where Windows has headed with Windows 7. I don’t like where CS has gone, especially on Windows. Curious what a mash-up might be like.
Stable report at:
http://www.thestreet.com/story/10883012/1/fast-money-recap-microsofts-rumored-bid.html?cm_ven=GOOGLEN
“It’s not a focus on opening up restaurants… it’s re-purposing land, arable land.” Not something you hear everyday from a restaurant proprietor. Continue reading »
When the rich get richer in the digital sphere, there’s no real consequences… right?
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Aug 102010
Anil Dash of dashes.com offers up this provocative companion to NMDNet’s subheading,
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Jul 132010
Admittedly, it’s the “Steven King” in this story that caught my eye, this being a UMaine blog and all. But beyond the fake name that isn’t the same spelling as Maine’s prolific author, this is a good resource for those interested in Internet non-security,
On the off chance someone might defeat that first bastion of security, Cavion® employs another fool-proof barrier: JavaScript.
Full text at http://thedailywtf.com/Articles/Classic-WTF-Banking-So-Advanced.aspx.
May 172010
I’m a big fan of the John Cage | Fluxus Happening | guerilla urban architecture mashup Frozen Grand Central. I’m also a fan of public transportation. So you can imagine my delight when I stepped off the metro at UCLA’s Westwood & La Conte and stumbled upon this:
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May 062010
Viewers from a range of disciplines will get a lot out of this 30-minute interview with writer and digital humanist Cheryl Ball. Describing issues and concerns for new media education, Cheryl offers concrete solutions and examples from her work at Illinois State University and beyond.
(The UMaine community will recognize Cheryl; interview segments with her were featured preminantly in Magic, a Without Borders installation put together by Still Water‘s John Bell, Vanessa Vobis, and Craig Dietrich.)