It’s interesting that the W3C has felt the need to start a process around allowing users the choice to inform sites they visit of a desire to protect their privacy. A social need has been identified, and the W3C has decided a standard is needed. This seems somewhat of a new remit—or are there other standards of this more socially-driven nature there already?
WebMonkey has a good writeup of the proposal, liberally links to primary sources:
It’s not the end of capitalism at all
A great article from Faisal Islam, Channel 4 News’s economics editor, about how capitalism, in the strict sense, is in the process of reaping rewards rather than on the verge of collapse.
If you look at capitalism through the lens of Marx, then it’s pretty clear that right now, capital has never been so ascendant over labour. Capital is capturing the returns to growth, and labour is losing them.
iOS 5 appears to have created a rock and a hard place to place a certain category of applications, among them Instapaper—one of my favourites:
When customers save an article with Instapaper, get a book in iBooks, or download a podcast with Instacast, they expect it to be there next time they launch the app. Even though it’s technically re-downloadable, customers see that as their data—they put it there, and it’s theirs to remove if and when they see fit.
Guardian journalist Nick Davies told the committee: “The world is full of people who would like to control the flow of information.” He said the rise of the PR industry means: “They are winning the information war. The liars are winning.”
That’s from The Guardian, in evidence to the House of Lords culture committee, on the state of investigative journalism. While it’s a problem generally, it’s particularly acute in the technology sector, as TechCrunch note in the article Facebook PR: tonight we dine in hell.
The Macalope on reaction to the iPhone 4S
But what about Siri? Apple introduced, what appears to be—if it works—some serious Star Trek-level voice technology. And you’re complaining about the shape of the box it came in.
I’m curious about Siri, and not exactly 100% a believer, but the response has been a great example of books, covers and judgements.