General musings, ramblings, thoughts and ideas about everything from education, professional development, the iPhone, web 2.0 tools and sites, technology in general, and anything else that I might want to throw in...
I blogged about this yesterday and today the cat comes out of the bag! Microsoft's MSN China partner admitted that parts of their code was directly copied from Plurk! Below is the full press release from Microsoft on this issue:
Additional information regarding the Juku beta application.
REDMOND, Wash. – Dec. 15, 2009 – On Monday, December 14, questions arose over a beta application called Juku developed by a Chinese vendor for our MSN China joint venture. We immediately worked with our MSN China joint venture to investigate the situation.
The vendor has now acknowledged that a portion of the code they provided was indeed copied. This was in clear violation of the vendor’s contract with the MSN China joint venture, and equally inconsistent with Microsoft’s policies respecting intellectual property.
When we hire an outside company to do development work, our practice is to include strong language in our contract that clearly states the company must provide work that does not infringe the intellectual property rights of others. We are a company that respects intellectual property and it was never our intent to have a site that was not respectful of the work that others in the industry have done.
We will be suspending access to the Juku beta indefinitely.
We are obviously very disappointed, but we assume responsibility for this situation. We apologize to Plurk and we will be reaching out to them directly to explain what happened and the steps we have taken to resolve the situation.
In the wake of this incident, Microsoft and our MSN China joint venture will be taking a look at our practices around applications code provided by third-party vendors.
There is no official response from Plurk at this time. However, I hope their lawyers are involved.
That is a good question don't you think? I recently blogged about the changes that Facebook made to its Privacy Policy... Since I already updated that post once, I thought that I would create a whole new post after I read this story. In the "Google Age" do we really have personal right to what we once called privacy? How much information do you give up to Google? Any idea? Some of us simply use Google as a search engine. We don't login to anything, we don't use iGoogle, we don't have a gmail address... so what can Google glean from us? Well a lot. Google and their partners, use "cookies" that they periodically leave behind in your browser depending on where you surf or click. No, it does not matter what browser you use.
However, if you DO login into Google or have a gmail address, Google is tracking a whole lot more about you. If you haven't, I recommend you going into your Google Dashboard... So, how does Google feel about your privacy?
"Google CEO Eric Schmidt explained his stance on online privacy: “If you have something that you don’t want anyone to know, maybe you shouldn’t be doing it in the first place. If you really need that kind of privacy, the reality is that search engines—including Google—do retain this information for some time and it’s important, for example, that we are all subject in the United States to the Patriot Act and it is possible that all that information could be made available to the authorities.”
So, it's all open to the public Google? I read that as a big resounding YES. How do you feel about it? Does it matter? Is Facebook more responsive to your concerns? What happens if [when] the Google Phone is will that impact privacy more? Will Eric Schmidt be saying; "well if you didn't want a transcript of your call made and posted publicly, then I guess you shouldn't have made that call..."
How about this... do you think you can fly under the radar? Stay away from the world by simply skulking under the search engines noses? If so, this might be a good read for you. Even if not, it really is a good read.
Overall, most of the adult population is aware of identity theft. Hopefully, no one I know has been a victim of this crime. We are concerned about credit card theft, mail theft, phone scams, phishing scams, and many more... why do we seem so flippant about what Google knows about us? Certainly it seem Google is...
The folks at Apple are wanting to wish all of us a very Happy Holiday Season! This is an awesome and FREE iTunes LP, so click here to head right over the iTunes store (iTunes will launch automatically - unless you are using Chrome, then you will have to click the view in iTunes link on the iTunes Preview page) to download 20 tracks of holiday goodness.
(the picture to the left will take you there too. :0) Enjoy!
I was going through my newsreader this morning and came across this article: Microsoft China rips off Asia’s No. 1 Microblogging Service.Now, I have publicly come out as not being a big fan of Plurk. However, that opinion is more about me and how my mind works as opposed to a poor endorsement of the microblogging service itself. It is more a reflection of how my brain works (or doesn't work depending on who you talk to). I just struggle moving back and forth in the timeline, trying to find the "conversation" and then working through it... However, I have a good number of friends who absolutely love Plurk. Now, onto the real direction of this post.
Now I have to say, I am a "Microsoft guy" but that view may be changing. While I will still accept the mantle of MSG, I was self-admittedly shocked to read Plurk's post on the possibility that MS completely stole not only their concept and design, but may have resorted to culling through Plurk's code and outright copying it (almost line for line). Here is a brief outline according to Plurk of Microsoft's possible actions:
According to Plurk
Microsoft China officially launched its own microblogging service, MSN Juku/Hompy/Mclub, some time in November, 2009.
The service’s design and UI is by and large an EXACT copy of Plurk’s innovative left-right timeline scrolling navigation system. (see screen captures below)
Some 80% of the client and product codebase appears to be stolen directly from Plurk! (see evidence below).
Plurk was never approached nor collaborated in any capacity with MS on this service.
As a young startup, we’re stunned, shocked, and unsure what to do next and need your support and suggestions."
They follow up in their post with screen shots and code snippets... To my untrained eye they really look close (maybe exact) I don't know. However, if these charges are indeed true, This is unacceptable on many levels. Well, I am not in China so perhaps that is why I cannot find ANY reference to Juku on Microsoft's site, nothing official from Bing or Google searches, or by any other means. However, here are a few quotes "supposedly from Microsoft on various blogs and news articles I could find: (quote link will take you to the article)
Things are really just heating up on this story, and I imagine more press as time goes on, but everyone needs to draw attention to this issue. Is this simply another one of the many many products that Chinese companies reverse engineer and preset as a knockoff? If this is the case, Microsoft cannot allow this type of action from one of its divisions. It sounds a bit like the line when Windows 7 was first released. Or could it be more line the 1991 film Anti-Trust?
[updated: update information appended to the bottom of this post]
Well, If you haven't heard, on December 9, 2009 Facebook has changed how it handles privacy on its social network. If you do not think that concerns you, I believe that you should think again. I took some time this evening to look and see what Facebook "opened up" on my behalf (and without my [and your] permission I might add) and I was frankly stunned to see how much of my information, photos, thoughts, friends, etc were now completely available to the world, and to search engines like Google and Bing.
Go, go on, login to Facebook and see how you feel... now.
When you login, Facebook will present you with a popup stating that its privacy settings have changed, and offering you the possibility to revert some of the settings back to the "old settings". So, initially you will feel comfortable... Unfortunately, I completed this task without grabbing a screen shot (sorry) but suffice it to say, I was glad to see some of the top of mind privacy settings were right there in front of me... I thought, "ok, this is not so bad, I can switch a number of settings (like contact information, work, phone numbers which were NOW defaulted to "EVERYONE") back to the "old settings" and all will be ok..." If you have done this as well, I'd recommend reading a bit closer, and if you have not, here is a bit of a "heads up."
Personally, my first indicator that I needed look a bit further into the privacy settings was the fact that Photo's in that first menu had an "Edit settings" button as opposed to the simple radio button to "old settings" but, like many I glossed over it initially... then just as I was going to press the "Submit" button, I read a little blurb about "external applications" being able to display personal contact information including my address, phone numbers, etc. even if I have chosen "Only Friends" for these settings on Facebook itself... Woah WHAT?! Also, note that this was written off to the side of the page, and the bottom, but in a very very light grey that almost blends into the background when you are not paying close attention. Really, I think that it is easy to over look this information and I think Facebook did this intentionally.
After submitting your changes (and feeling a bit more comfortable that you are "safe" again), Facebook pops up a little reminder that you can change these and OTHER privacy settings from the Settings Menu... but, access to this is NOT available from the actual menu itself! They are only available when you mouse over the word Settings on the screen, then an overlay will drop down where "Privacy Settings" is accessible from; simply move your mouse cursor down to Privacy Settings and left click to access.
Ok, now you will see the FULL level of choices for all of the Privacy Settings for your account.
GO THROUGH EACH OF THESE ITEMS! You will be amazed at all of the settings you "thought" would have been defaulted to "Only Friends" based on your previous choices... some (quite a few actually) are now set to Everyone. Be sure to look closely at both the Personal Information Section, Contact Information, and Applications and Websites... Here are some screens of what I found:
Be sure to look through the settings for ALL of your photo albums!
Check closely the settings for your contact information:
Finally look really closely as what information the applications you use are presenting to the world"
Be sure to look at the "Additional Settings" link on the Apps pages...
Really, you NEED to go through all of these settings to ensure that Facebook is not compromising your privacy and possibly your personal security and safety as well.
That said, while I am focusing on what I feel was a breach of my privacy without my permission, this form of granular permission levels really do provide the user with a strong way to share only the information you wish while keeping everything else hidden... However, I disagree with how Facebook handled the situation. As opposed to erring on the side of caution, starting with everything as secure as possible, Facebook (for possibly profit reasons you think?!) defaulted to almost everything being open to everyone. In an interview with WGN this morning, a Tribune reporter discussed Facebook's privacy changes and he related part of this move was to meet the demand for instant access to real-time information. He felt that soon Google searches will begin serving up Facebook status updates and twitter posts that have to do with subjects a person is searching... This should be concerning if nothing else from this blog post is...
So, what is Facebook officially saying about all of this? Well, they have expanded their Privacy FAQ page, and have created "A guide to privacy on Facebook." Here are a couple of excerpts from the Guide:
"On Facebook, there are three basic levels of privacy: Friends, Friends of Friends, Everyone. You also have a set of publicly available information, which helps your friends find and connect with you. This includes your Name, Profile Picture, Current City, Gender, Networks, Friend List and Pages. You can read our Privacy Policy here."
In relation to their recommendations"
"We recommend Everyone be able to see information that will make it easier for friends to find, identify and learn about you. This includes basic information like your About Me description, Family and Relationships, Work and Education Info, and Website, as well as posts that you create, like photo albums and status updates."
So, go out there and look into preserving your privacy. I know that I have restricted just about everything to "Only Friends" and if I have cut anyone off, I apologize in advance, but I am trying to learn more about what I am actually exposing to the world before I actually open things back up again.
[update] ZDNet just posted an article on Google Beefing Up Search which is what I referenced above. Here is a quote from that article and video they used in the presentation to the press.
"It’s a very cool enhancement that makes search - just your regular everyday queries on the regular Google home page - much richer. In the demo, the company typed a search for “Obama” and came back with a number of results, as one might expect. But within the results is a real-time stream, if you will, that scrolls with the most-up-to date results - blogs being posted, tweets being sent, news articles being published. (See video at bottom of this post for better understanding of how this works.)"
On the one hand, I think that this is a really cool enhancement for search overall. Being able to get real-time information and "nearby" information is a move in the right direction... however, it should not be at your privacy or trolling and presenting your personal information without you giving express permission.
Registration
is Open ICE Conference 2010: A Learning Odyssey
Dear ICE Member,
Members of the ICE Conference
Committee have been hard at work for the past several months organizing and
planning the upcoming 2010 ICE Conference at the Pheasant Run Resort and
Conference Center in St. Charles, IL. Our conference has evolved into one of
the premier educational technology events in the Midwest, and we are pleased
to announce that online registration is now open. Please see the information
below with links to the conference and registration sites.
Here is a quick overview of the conference events:
Tuesday: Full-day Workshops and Administrator Academies
Wednesday: Full-day Workshops and Administrator Academies
Thursday: Featured Speakers, Workshops, and Breakout Sessions
Friday: Featured Speakers, Workshops, and Breakout Sessions
The selection of workshops is one of the largest that we have ever offered,
with subjects covering a wide range of topics including Web 2.0 resources,
assistive technology strategies, software applications, multimedia tools, web
design, and instructional strategies. Please plan to join us for one or more
of these informative "hands on" sessions and then be sure to
register for at least one of the General Conference days on Thursday and
Friday.
ICE Conference 2010:A Learning Odyssey
Dates: February 23-26, 2010, at Pheasant Run Resort and Conference Center in
St. Charles, Illinois
Read more about conference registration guidelines at http://www.iceberg.org/ice_conference/registration
or click this link to take you directly to the online registration form.
The pre-conference book for
the 2010 conference is now posted on the ICE web site. If you would like to
read the descriptions of the full-day and half-day workshops, learn about the
featured Keynote and Spotlight speakers, or find about new events and
opportunities at the conference, just click the link above to view or
download the book.
Dr.
Robert Marzano
Friday
Keynote Speaker- February 26, 2010
It is
our pleasure to announce that one of our featured Keynote speakers at the
2010 ICE Conference will be Dr. Robert Marzano, a widely known and respected
author and researcher who has contributed much to the areas of instructional
design, leadership strategies, and innovative uses of technology resources
such as interactive whiteboards.
Dr. Marzano is co-founder and CEO of Marzano Research Laboratory in
Englewood, Colorado. He has become a speaker, trainer, and author of more
than 30 books and 150 articles on topics such as instruction, assessment,
writing and implementing standards, cognition, effective leadership, and
school intervention. His books include What Works in Schools: Translating
Research into Action, Designing & Teaching Learning Goals &
Objectives, District Leadership That Works, Designing &
Assessing Educational Objectives, Making Standards Useful in the
Classroom, and The Art and Science of Teaching.
Dr. Marzano will be the featured Keynote speaker on Friday, February 26, and
he will also conduct Spotlight presentations later that day. Be sure to mark
your calendar and join us--it is sure to be one of the highlights of the
conference!
Deadline
for ICE Awards
Educator
of the Year and ICE Scholarships
Each
year, the Illinois Computing Educators organization recognizes the amazing
efforts and contributions of several ICE members who have done exemplary work
in their schools or who seek to improve their skills by attending workshops
or courses leading to advanced degrees. Deadlines for two of the important
ICE programs are approaching.
Educator of the Year Awards
There are two categories for the annual Educator of the Year awards:
ICE
Educator of the Year Award -
Classroom teachers
ICE
Outstanding Technology Using Educator Award - Media Specialists,
technology coordinators and school administrators
The deadline to submit forms is December 18, 2009.
If you know or work with an outstanding educator or teacher, please take the
time to nominate this individual for one of these awards. Click here for nomination forms on the
ICE web site or contact Charlene Chausis for more information about this program.
ICE Scholarships
Also each year, ICE awards several scholarships in amounts up to $1,000 to
assist members pursuing advanced degrees or taking additional for-credit
college courses, members planning to attend professional development
workshops and conferences, and the
sons and daughters of members who are pursuing degrees in
education.
Please visit the ICE Scholarship section
on the web site for more information and links to the online application
forms. The deadline for submitting applications is April 2, 2010.
Contact Information: Illinois Computing Educators
If you have any questions about the status of your membership
or about any of the programs and benefits that we provide, please feel free
to call the ICE Office or send an e-mail message:
When I had my Motorola Q, I loved streaming live through Qik and tethering to my laptop and streaming all that was occuring at a conference, event, or other occassion. Well that all ended when I moved to the iPhone. Well no more!
UStream just launched a new broadcaster app to the AppStore which allows direct live streaming via wifi OR 3G right fom te iPhone! I have now had timeto try it out yet, but I intend to soon. This will make streaming sessions from the ICE 2010 coming up in February a breeze!
Not only can you stream live (or save locally and upload later) you also have the ability to geotag you location while streaming, create polls, announce to Twitter, and if you choose to save the video you can automatically link it to ustream, facebook, Twitter, or YouTube. Very slick!
Let me know if you try it and what you think! So far it really seems to stream well over 3G!
For those of you who know me well, this will be an interesting post. For a long time I have been a "PC guy." I like the cost structure, the form, the choices, and the options that the PC has always provided. Additionally, for a long... long... time there was a huge software differential both in choices and in lag time between development and release for the PC versus a follow up release for the MAC platform. Always being one for pressing the bleeding edge of technology, PC's were just where it was at. As I grew up, and began working in consulting, PC's were the platform of choice among almost all business partners and clients. Sure Apple and MAC had a few niche industries, but those were few.
Now, enter the 2000's and the component race to the bottom... sure quality and consistency may suffer a bit, but the trade offs were substantially lower costs while keeping moderate margins for manufacturers. Microsoft didn't suffer in the profit range as almost all manufacturers worked to ensure that their products and software conformed to running is whatever flavor of Windows Microsoft was dishing out at that time. So, quality continued to diminish market share closed, and major players like Compaq, HP, Gateway, and others began looking shakier and shakier... to the point where mergers were the only way to save brands... Heck it was either that or the need to divest a possible loss leader from a company for stock holders to maintain interest in the belief that executive management was looking out for the core business line a'la Lexmark and Lenovo... How is Big Blue doing today? Once a symbol of strength in quality of engineering and reliability for desktop and laptop machines (which the end user [business or consumer] paid a premium for) not you can find them in fortune 100 consulting and mainframe, but the Lenovo spinoff is all that is left of the PC business for IBM. Gateway and MPC merged and folded up shop, Compaq survives only as an HP product line (however, prior to that merger/acquisition it looked like HP was headed the way of the Dodo too...). Also, this race to the bottom, is beginning to really catch up with all PC manufacturers. This article about Dell clearly illustrates that point to me.
What you are asking does this have to do with the "Cult of MAC!" Well, interesting enough, Apple has had its rocky share of times itself. However, as almost anyone (really anyone) can tell you, with the triumphant return of Steve Jobs a bit back, Apple has held itself very successfully to the beat of a different drummer. Hearkening back to the high standards, morals, (and premium price of the IBM days) Apple has become the most successful technology company currently in the world. I have been amazed to watch the popularity, loyalty (occasionally stomach turning loyalty), and growth Apple has had in the past 10 years. There are many contributors to Apple's success, but one thing has been consistent in the success of Apple. They know how to find a fragmented market and then create a revolutionary product and service to penetrate said market. The iPod, iPhone, iTunes have really created a feeling of iWin (no pun intended) for consumers even at a premium price. Design, convenience, reliability and simplicity with a platform of robust (easy to use) features make most of Apple's products extremely desirable for consumers. Now in reference to the MAC itself, this has been a longer process, but one that I see is really gaining traction. Frankly, part of it also has to do with advertising... we all love the "I'm a PC, I'm a MAC commercials. Honestly, after being a "PC guy" for better than 30 years, I don't know if Microsoft's Windows 7 is enough to keep a person "loyal" to the PC platform... Granted, I really like Windows 7, but I am not actually buying "Microsoft" with the PC I buy, I am buying the lowest parts bid winner of the PC brand that "appears" to have the best price at that moment. Sure, some may look at quality, but with most of the industry experiencing up to or better than 33% failure rates in the first 3 years of owning (and this is an "OK" practice within the PC industry...). Microsoft has a long road ahead of it even given its install base.
However, I would like to leave you with the thought and copy of an email I received that spurred the genesis of this post. I have a student who I would consider a friend. I have watched him grow over the last year from a 17 year old kid who wanted nothing more than a job to pay off a $2200 behemoth of a gaming rig that he built... well that and play pirated games and videos on that box... to an individual who is driven and passionate about creating rather than sitting idle. A person who was also a "PC guy" who is singing to the beat of a different drummer:
From:
Mike
Subject:
My Mac experience
Date:
December 07, 2009 11:52:07 PM CST
To:
Scott Weidig
There is a ton more to write here but it's 11:30 and I'm just trying to get a point across. I find myself never booting into Windows 7. I got this machine [MacBook Pro] to make iPhone games and use as a basic computer. I didn't realize how amazing this machine really is until tonight. I tried to Hackintosh a hp tablet and as usual it was a mess and turned out bad, I then went back to my Dell Mini cleaning it up for chris to (hopefully) program on and am reminded of the pain of the tiny screen and small keyboard, weak power etc. I then thought back to my gaming PC. The mother of all computers. This thing was so overly beast that Nasa would ask "Why do you need so much power?" and after considering all things in computers from OS to Power to Size, I would still pick this MacBook Pro. It's no gaming PC but it gets the job done. Its a comfy size that allows portability yet enough screen room to fit all programs and windows. Also give me a very large trackpad that I find myself using even when there is a Magic mouse sitting to my right. And I still prefer this machine over a cheaper hackintosh even though I have to pay more because you know everything will work right and you don't have to second guess wether or not to download that new update. iPhone, Mac, MobileMe all working in perfect harmony intertwined with my digital life. It really is much better than I had expected and I find myself wanting to delete windows 7 to give more space to mac. I would %100 recommend buying a Mac as it will not hold the role as a toy but will become the central core of everything digital. This is my half asleep and completely unthought out endorsement for Mac. I can't say a mac will be as amazing for you as it is more me because I bought my mac with a specific purpose to fill. Making an iPhone game, so my mac fills that role perfectly plus, everything else I need with a computer but with it having that needed tool aspect it just fits even better in my life as a %100 360 degree solution for everything a computer can solve. To summarize this whole jumbled rant: Buy a MacBook.
-Mike
Overall, how can Microsoft and the "race to the bottom" PC manufacturers compete with that paragraph above. I began my journey into the Apple world through my iPhone. For a year, (until the 3G came out in Summer 2008) I even doubted the possibility that Apple could create a viable phone that could compete with the industry leaders of Motorola and Nokia when the deep pockets of Sony couldn't even make a dent in the market share of those two leaders. However, within 6 months of the launch of the 3G, I found myself drawn to the iPhone not because of it's phone capabilities, but because of the platform I saw it becoming. The potential of the AppStore. The possibility of convergence that Mike talks about... Last December 23rd, I purchased an iPhone 3G (my Christmas present from my family) and I have been enamored since. Last June I upgraded to the 3GS, passing my 3G to my wife. This platform has matured, and at last estimate, I am one of millions making up a 14-17% market share for Apple (who 3 years ago were NOT in the smartphone business... Like the months prior to my purchasing an iPhone, I am watching the MacBook platform from a different perspective and in all honesty, this 30 year "PC guy" is becoming enamored with a MAC. Time will tell if this is a passing fancy or the beginning of a possible long-term relationship. But for now, I can say there is an interest and intrigue that I have not felt about a PC product in a long time...
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