Category: Web 2.0

Social Content vs. Big Media Content: Do You Have to Pick a Side?

December 11, 2006August 20, 2008 Bob Caswell 6 Comments

Wow. The Blogosphere is all a buzz today on what seems to be a battle for which you’re supposed to pick a side. The major stories have to do with YouTube allowing CBS to filter comments on its videos and have them on a separate page (rather than right below the video itself) and the New York Times adding, that is, “surrendering to” social news (meaning, you can submit NYTimes articles directly to Digg, Newsvine, or Facebook from within an article).

Mix that with the lingering rumor that Fox, Viacom, CBS, and NBC might have a YouTube competitor in the works, and you have all sorts of opinions flying!

Internet, Media, Tech News, Web 2.0

The 12-Step Program for Email Addicts

December 10, 2006August 20, 2008 Bob Caswell 3 Comments

The Wall Street Journal (subscription required) has an excellent article discussing email addiction and what to do about it. It’s the type of thing you laugh about with words like “CrackBerry” until you realize that professionals (including time-management experts, professors of psychiatry and family studies, and family counseling therapists) have weighed in on the subject and consider it closely related to Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. Luckily, they’ve compiled a 12-step program for the email addict:

Do-It-Yourself Tech, Internet, Tech News, Web 2.0

Free Advertising: Microsoft $200, Google $50, LookSmart $300, & Ask $50

December 7, 2006August 20, 2008 Bob Caswell 66 Comments

Tis the season for online advertisers to attract new customers. If you have a website, blog, etc. and are looking for the perfect time to build exposure while freeloading, then these offers are for you. This is likely to be the best compilation of free offers available for some time; if interested, make your move now, as most these offers expire within a month. Here are the details and links for each company and offer:

Do-It-Yourself Tech, Google, Microsoft, Tech News, Web 2.0

Symantec Norton 360 Review with Screenshots

December 5, 2006August 20, 2008 Bob Caswell 83 Comments

Symanteclogo_1 Symantec recently released the beta version of its new security suite: Norton 360. The question is whether the 360 part of the name refers to what Symantec would have you believe: “Norton gives you a full circle of protection.” Or could it refer to Symantec doing a 360 and being right back where it started with a bloated, buggy, and overpriced product?

When I covered the Norton AntiVirus 2006 release last year, the thread turned into a place for consumers to vent on how the product caused more problems than fixes. Some were even wishing for a class-action lawsuit. Well, I’ve been playing with the latest iteration for a few days now to see which implication of using the term 360 is true. Here’s what I found:

Do-It-Yourself Tech, Internet, Privacy, Tech Reviews, Web 2.0

Review of Mozy: Free Online Backup

December 4, 2006August 20, 2008 Bob Caswell 16 Comments

So I recently reviewed Carbonite, a $5 per month online backup service for unlimited data backups from one computer. But the last few days I’ve been playing with Mozy, another online backup service with a different offering. In a nutshell, Mozy offers more control, more features, and is completely free for two gigabytes of online storage. The down side is that for $5 per month, you only get a maximum of 30 gigs (see update at end of article). And though the interface gives power users more control, it may be less inviting to the average user. But free is free. There is no reason why any of us shouldn’t take advantage of backing up our most important two gigabytes of data.

Do-It-Yourself Tech, Internet, Tech Reviews, Web 2.0

Search 2.0: Customize & Refine Your Results Easily

November 28, 2006August 20, 2008 Bob Caswell 3 Comments

Searchmashlogo A9logo Last week I pointed out that the easiest way for Google to improve search would be to allow one query to bring up separated results by regular sites, blogs, news, photos, and/or video. I mentioned that the big three for me would be regular search results, blog posts, and news. I’d be able to get pertinent, organized results in one third the time. Why not put in my search query once and get the top 10 results from each category on the same page?

Well, it turns out Google does do some of that through its experimental site SearchMash.com. Though, personally, I’m even more impressed with Amazon’s A9.com, which offers more customizations for even better search results. Here’s how they compare:

Amazon, Do-It-Yourself Tech, Google, Internet, Microsoft, Tech Reviews, Web 2.0

The Rise (or Fall?) of In-Text Advertising: Is It News…or Is It an Ad?

November 27, 2006August 20, 2008 Bob Caswell 8 Comments

Intextads The latest trend in online advertising (you know, that thing that feeds all these websites with otherwise free information) is in-text ads. If you see a word on a website with a double underline (supposedly the “double” part makes it so you won’t confuse it with a link), click on it and chances are an ad window will appear (see picture).

This embedded advertising has been online for a while even if only a few dozen larger sites have used it (such as IGN.com and ScienceDaily.com). But that’s all changing now with mainstream journalistic sites trying it out (such as Fox News and Popular Mechanics), which is already causing some controversy. The tradition in the print medium was to keep editorial content separate from ads, and many were hoping the tradition would hold true online.

Tech News, Web 2.0