Baldy’s Paradox

In its ongoing battle against software patents, the Free Software Foundation (FSF) has launched PlayOGG.org, a campaign to promote the use of the OGG Vorbis standard for compressed audio. The patent-free and licence-free standard is being punted as an ethically, legally and technically superior audio alternative to the proprietary MP3 format. The most common music format is currently MP3, but what most people don’t realise is that any time a distributor sells or gives away music encoded as an MP3, they are responsible for paying a fee to the owners of the MP3 patents. Any software that runs MP3s is also affected by this. The OGG Vorbis specification, being in the public domain, is free from such restrictions and anyone can use the format or write software to use it without needing permission from a patent holder.

Source: FSF launch playOGG.org

The bash shell is available on many Linux and UNIX systems today, and is a common default shell on Linux. In this tip you will learn how to handle parameters and options in your bash scripts and how to use the shell’s parameter expansions to check or modify parameters.

Source: Bash Parameters in Linux

Videos of the One Laptop Per Child

The first children to receive their laptops, surf the net, listen to music.

Source: olpc.tv

~LC

A nice, clean, well put together table of Linux commands, with decriptions and explanations. Handy to print out and keep beside the computer.

Check it out here

~LC

Thu May 17, 5:35 PM

By Michael Liedtke
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Deceptive clicks on Internet advertising links distributed by Google Inc., Yahoo Inc. and other online marketing vehicles are probably occurring far more frequently than the network operators acknowledge, according to a study by fraud detection specialist Fair Isaac Corp.

The chicanery involves automated computer programs or scam artists who repeatedly click on ad links with no intention of buying anything. The short ad links, which appear alongside search results and other content at thousands of websites, typically trigger a commission with each click - a financial formula ripe for mischief, Minneapolis-based Fair Isaac found.

The study’s preliminary conclusions, scheduled to be discussed Friday during a Fair Isaac conference in San Francisco, threaten to revive suspicions among advertisers that they have been overcharged as part of a ruse known as “click fraud.”

After reviewing a handful of websites since last August, Fair Isaac believes 10 to 15 per cent of the advertising traffic is “pathological,” indicating a likelihood of click fraud, said Joseph Milana, the company’s chief scientist of research and development.

“It’s still an early result,” Milana said. “The question remains about how broad the problem is in the entire marketplace.”

Source: Yahoo News

~LC

Thu May 17, 8:35 PM

By Michael Liedtke

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - The media’s recent legal and competitive challenges to Internet video pioneer YouTube haven’t fazed co-founders Chad Hurley and Steve Chen, who have diligently sought to make money for new owner Google Inc., as well as the creators of the content that fuels their Web site’s whirlwind growth.

“We have been a little bit silent, but we haven’t been sleeping,” Chen told The Associated Press during the duo’s first extensive interview since Google closed its $1.76 billion purchase of YouTube last November.

Source: Yahoo News

~LC

Associated Press

May 18, 2007 at 6:21 AM EDT

NEW YORK — At least 25 countries around the world block websites for political, social or other reasons as governments seek to assert authority over a network meant to be borderless, said a U.S.-British-Canadian study out Friday.

The actual number may be higher but the OpenNet Initiative had the time and capabilities to study only 40 countries and the Palestinian territories. Even so, researchers said they found more censorship than they had initially expected, a sign the Internet has matured to the point governments are taking notice.

“This is very much the revenge of geography,” said Rafal Rohozinski, a research fellow at the University of Cambridge in England.

China, Iran, Myanmar, Syria, Tunisia and Vietnam had the most extensive filters for political sites. Iran, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Tunisia, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen had the strictest social-filtering practices, blocking pornography, gambling and homosexual sites.

Read More: Globe & Mail

~LC

The rest of the gaming world might be immersed in the Halo 3 multi-player beta test, but here at TheFeed, we’re all about the Pirates of the Carribean Online beta

Sure, it’s partly because the Xboxes are all the way down the hall and we have PCs on our desks, but it’s also because, judging from the hour or so we played it, Pirates of the Caribbean Online is a pretty damn cool game.

The writing and art style have obviously been carefully considered and implimented to give the feeling of Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean films, the character customization is niiice, and the mythology of the pirate-centric universe is a very cool setting for a game.

Source: G4TV

~LC

Linux/Java has topped CEO Ed Zander’s list of things to look for from Motorola as it attempts a financial turnaround, according to a story at LinuxDevices.com. At a New York press conference May 15, Zander introduced Linux-based “Rokr” and “Razr2″ models, along with new top-level executives.

Zander opened the conference by introducing a new CFO, and new VPs of products and sales. He said the company is working to reset its strategy, prioritize its markets and technology investments, and “put the ‘Wow’ back” into its devices.

Source: Desktop Linux

~LC