To pull off its blinking September cover, Esquire will implement microcapsules filled with pigment that are thinner than a human hair that, when juiced with a slight electrical charge, produce an image on the top of the surface. Just so you know how much trouble David Granger went through to make the most obnoxious magazine to hit newsstands ever.
It took only a six-figure investment, a Chinese engineer making a special battery, manufacturing gurus in Texas and Ohio, and sponsorship from Ford for Esquire to move forward with plans to turn your local newsstand into the flashing nightmare that is Times Square.
To celebrate his magazine's 75th anniversary, David Granger (claims to have) dreamed up the idea to produce an electronic cover. Now, it will be revealed, with 100,000 copies hitting newsstands in September with an embedded battery to power a slim display screen.
Reserving an exclusive license from E Ink (the same guys behind Amazon's Kindle), Esquire's flashing front will blink "the 21st Century Begins Now." Not only will the cover be 100 percent annoying, it'll also be eight years late — and, by the time you get around to fishing the issue out of a stack of unread magazines five years from now, vintage.
If you were going to sit around a conference room and brainstorm with some brilliant minds on what you could take away from the newspaper industry next, what would it be? No, not the fact that its product still makes a mess of your hands — we're talking revenue streams. Craigslist all but decimated their classified business. When Jeff Taylor started Monster.com fourteen years ago, he started what eventually would decimate their job listings business. So what's the next big idea that can usurp the struggling industry one more time? Dead people. CONTINUED »
To prevent kids from purchasing cigarettes at automated vending machines, the techno-geniuses in Japan are rolling out machines with face recognition technology, which aims to age verify a buyer to make sure he's of age. To circumvent the technology, kids who want to purchase cigarettes at automated vending machines can simply hold up a photo of someone that's of age. [PT]
Media fingerprint technology isn't exactly new. Movie studios use it when they send out screeners to track down who's leaking copies of Hancock on BitTorrent. Record companies do the same with advanced albums. And now … the Associated Press? Using a technology from Attributor, the AP plugs its copyrighted content into the software, which then crawls the web to match strings of that content against material published elsewhere. If a match is made, the AP (or other clients) are alerted, and "the software can be programmed to automatically send out 'takedown notices' that require sites to remove contested content, and the data it generates could end up being used to build a case against alleged copyright infringers."
That's how the AP originally found all that material on The Drudge Retort, and started a flame war with bloggers.
One big problem: The software will likely have a hard time, or no ability at all, to determine actual fair use (like a video clip snippet for a movie review) and genuine infringement, which means there's room for plenty of false positives. And if the software automatically fires off a DMCA takedown notice, folks like the AP could find themselves in trouble of their own: The Digital Millennium Copyright Act bars copyright owners from issuing this types of requests for instances when there is no actual infringement (i.e. sending the notices as a bullying tactic), and can hold those owners liable for the defense's damages, including legal fees.
But this type of software, it turns out, can be used for good! And surprise of all surprises, none other than Conde Nast sees the light. CONTINUED »
When a trio of ABC News writers were asked to sign a waiver agreeing not to be compensated for checking their BlackBerry when they were off the clock, a mini debate began between the news network and the Writers’ Guild of America, East, which wants to make sure its members aren't being required to maintain a 24/7 workplace without compensation. The dispute, since resolved (though the Times doesn't explain what terms were reached), raised an issue we often hear from media types with and without guild representation: Everybody wants a BlackBerry, but nobody wants to be required to be on call after they leave the office. And now, the issue reintroduces itself at none other than the Times: Later this summer, as the newspaper's IT department switches to Microsoft Exchange, staffers will be able to access their company email on practically any smartphone, not just BlackBerrys. Meaning the iPhone-toting geeks will also be expected to interrupt their sleep when their gadget dings. Suckers.
In relaying Time magazine's report about Japan's elder porn industry, we missed this item from yesterday, also from Time, about how the new 36 iPhone is going to be a hot bed for porn. The magazine reports an uptick in Google searches for "iPhone porn," even though Apple, officially, bans adult content from its offerings. So either: Time magazine really is on the cusp of cultural trends, or they're so desperate for newsstand readers and pageviews that they've resorted to the same link bait as most blogs.
Salon tech writer Farhad Manjoo, who blogged for the web magazine's Machinist, is making a job change … to Slate, where he can feud with Jack Shafer over whether the web will kill the newspaper. [SIA]
"Starbucks said Wednesday that it had resolved a dispute with T-Mobile stemming from the coffee chain's recent launch of free Wi-Fi through AT&T. Details of the settlement were not made public, but a Starbucks spokesperson said the coffee chain will continue to offer customers up to two hours of free Wi-Fi each day via AT&T.
"Last week, T-Mobile sued to block the deal. Starbucks had announced in February that AT&T would replace T-Mobile as Wi-Fi provider for the coffee chain, but the process was supposed to be gradual, according to T-Mobile's lawsuit." [MP]
Politicians! Without a Democratic primary plotline to update, Politico grabs this evergreen off the shelf to report on how business on The Hill has changed with everyone thumbing away at their email. "While average citizens still reach out to their elected representatives via letters or e-mails to a general inbox, donors and friends are more likely to have a member’s personal e-mail address — and with it, a virtual hotline to the member’s hip." [Politico]
Harry McCracken, the PC World editor who left the magazine after daring to criticize big advertiser Apple, then rejoined when then CEO Colin Crawford was faced with backlash, left the magazine again in May to work on his own thing. Now, his own thing has a name: It's Technologizer, and it'll be an indie tech site launching this summer. It's a smart move, considering that print is dead, or dying, or something, but McCracken joins a long list of competitive tech sites already out there. So what sets him apart? Maybe his affinity for cartoons.
This just in: Giving children laptops to learn is bad for them. [Slate]
Apparently, tricking people into signing up for fee-riddled cell phone ringtone services does not sit well with some customers. Which is why search giant Google – which is sporting a brand new "fav icon" lately – is on the hook for letting advertisers attach the word "free" to their text ads, getting visitors to enter their mobile numbers, and then surreptitiously billing them for that hot new T.I. tone. And so comes the lawsuit, from a New Jersey woman who claims "Google accepts deceptive ads for ringtones in violation of its stated policy of only allowing ads for mobile content if the landing page 'clearly and accurately displays price, subscription, and cancellation information.'" [MP] And ya know, we're kinda all for this lawsuit; nobody should be tricked into paying for lame ringtones and phone wallpapers when they're advertised as free. (AT&T just paid $2.5m for something similar.) But we also have the same level of sympathy to those who see those awful television commercials advertising free ringstones, where half the screen is filled with unreadable fine print, and the other half is asking you to text "SXXXY" to 430459.
Teens are sending naughty camera phone pics of themselves to friends and crushes! And then, magically, those photos get forwarded around and posted online, bringing shame and depression to their creators! [AP] But if Pete Wentz can do it …
Citizen experts, and not citizen journalists, will be carrying Nokia handsets for Reuters, along with their regular journalists, in an attempt to expand the media giant's coverage in places where regular TV cameras might not be appropriate. Sure, the quality of a mobile phone's camera and microphone is really only good enough for web clips, but that's enough of an incentive for Reuters to begin handing out the phones to insiders. For example, says Ilicco Elia, a mobile product manager for the company, "being able to give a device to a famous footballer for example and say, you interview someone you find interesting would make for a very different piece." Yes indeed. Especially if it took place in the locker room. And the footballer was Cristiano Ronaldo. Yes, we can see why this is a wise investment.
While you watch those sad sacks wait in line at the Apple store for the probably-not-going-to-come 3G iPhone – we'll call them "sad sacks" for now, but if they actually get a 3G iPhone, we'll eat our words – perhaps it's worth taking a trip down memory lane and remember what the cell phone industry has become since 1985 and the birth of the Zack Morris phone.
If you're some geek who records TV on your Windows Vista machine, you might've had trouble recording some NBC shows. That's because the jerks at 30 Rock sent out their broadcasts with a copyright "flat," which triggers a "featuere" in Windows' DVR software, Media Center, and disables recording. [Ars Technica]
This happened to viewers on Monday night during primetime, which means many of you were not treated to instant-replays of Sue Simmons "What the fuck are you doing?" outburst.
You poor things. So here it is, again.
[Photo: JustinJas]
Relays the Times about an exciting new print ad gimmick: "Rolling Stone and Men’s Health are both testing programs in which readers can take cameraphone pictures of icons on ads, then send them to a certain number. In exchange, they’ll receive more information or an offer from the advertiser.
"In Rolling Stone’s current issue, five advertisers are running these offers. They include a motorcycle ring tone for Allstate’s motorcycle-insurance program and a video preview of The Discovery Channel’s new season of Man vs. Wild. Men’s Health is going even further, saying each full-page advertisement in its July-August issue will have the added feature."
Wait a second. Haven't we seen something like this before? CONTINUED »
WEBSITES WORTH VISITING ONCE A new "Barack Obama is Your New Bicycle" spin-off takes one part Hillary Clinton and one part failed DVD successor HD-DVD. [HillaryClintonIsYourNewHDDVDPlayer.com]
