The Mike Abundo Effect

Facebook is Right to Ban Lindsay Lohan

Mike Abundo — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 09:06:35 +0000

Kudos to Facebook on banning Lindsay Lohan for using a fake name. Lohan had been posting as “Lindsay Ronson”, using the surname of her girlfriend Samantha Ronson. Facebook requires users to post with their real names. Lohan is now whining about the ban on the world’s second biggest social network, MySpace.

This is brilliant move on two levels. Not only did Facebook get a mainstream celebrity talking about them, they also demonstrated that not even celebrities are above their terms of use. The latter makes Facebook feel even more like a level playing field, and less like a desperate media company sucking up to Hollywood (a la Semel-era Yahoo).

Not only did Facebook get publicity from Lohan’s whining, they’ve also earned the respect of their most passionate users. Well played, Mr. Zuckerberg, well played. This isn’t quite as ballsy as Kevin Rose defying the MPAA, but it’s still the right thing to do.

As for Ms. Lohan: cry moar. The Internet hates whiners, regardless of their “celebrity” status. Lohan would be better off apologizing to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg. If she’s lucky, he just might ask her out. After all, Paris Hilton dated MySpace CEO Chris DeWolfe.

(Photo by Rafael Amado Deras.)

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Nokia N97: Touchscreen and Keyboard

Mike Abundo — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 13:29:47 +0000

Between the Apple iPhone and the HTC G1, mobile phone leader Nokia has been under enormous pressure to come up with a high-end touchscreen phone. Nokia now rises to the challenge with the N97, their first S60 touchscreen handset.

The N97 one-ups the G1 with an iPhone-sized 3.5 inch screen that actually tilts above the keyboard. It also boasts 32 gigabytes of storage (expandable to 48 GB with a 16 GB microSD card) and a 5 megapixel camera. That’s better than both the iPhone (16 GB, 2 Mpx) and the G1 (3.2 Mpx).

We’ll soon see if all that powerful hardware makes for a better phone. The Nokia N97 will retail for 550 Euros in the first half of 2009.

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Apple “Encourages” Antivirus on Macs

Mike Abundo — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 10:36:14 +0000

The first Apple switch ad claimed Macs didn’t get viruses. Now Apple admits that ad was a lie.

The only reason Macs didn’t get many viruses until now was because of their previously tiny market share. Now that every Starbucks-posing geek-wannabe is sporting a Macbook, virus creators now have a large pool of potential victims with deep pockets and shallow computer skills. That’s why Apple now “encourages” Mac users to install antivirus utilities.

Apple never was a big fan of truth in advertising. Just last week, they got another iPhone ad banned in the UK for showing unrealistic 3G download speeds. Wonder which ridiculous Apple claim will get shot down next.

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Obama’s Site Should Be Public Domain

Mike Abundo — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 19:07:58 +0000

By law, all works of the United States government are public domain unless classified or contracted. That’s why I find it odd that President-Elect Barack Obama’s transition site, Change.gov, would adopt a Creative Commons license. I’m a huge fan of the freedom offered by the Commons, but a Creative Commons license is still more restrictive than a public domain dedication. Change.gov bears the top level domain of a government office, but not the copyright policy.

I’m as big an Obama fan as the next guy, but this is really making me scratch my head here. Even if Change.gov were created by a government contractor, and thus subject to copyright, a restrictive license is simply inconsistent with Obama’s platform of transparent governance.

It’s not like anyone will steal Obama’s content and pretend to be the next leader of the free world. The Obama transition team should just put Change.gov under a public domain dedication and be done with any copyright headaches.

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iPhone Linux

Mike Abundo — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 16:56:15 +0000

An iPhone hacker has figured out how to run Linux on the iPhone 2G, iPhone 3G, and the first generation iPod Touch. Since Android is based on Linux, we could soon see Google’s mobile OS running on iPhones.

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Nokia Phones to Control Home Appliances

Mike Abundo — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 10:07:41 +0000

Have you ever left the house wondering if you left the oven on? Thanks to Nokia, that soon won’t be a problem.

It is the stuff of science fiction: house lights, ovens, televisions and even security systems that can all be remotely operated and controlled at the touch of a button.

But now a new type of smart technology from mobile phone maker Nokia looks set to turn that fantasy into a reality.

The Home Control Center, which will go on sale at the end of next year, will mean British consumers are one step closer to living in “networked homes”, where everyday systems and devices are connected to the internet, allowing the home owner to monitor and activate them remotely using their mobile phone.

Nokia’s platform will run the open-source Linux operating system, meaning that third-party manufacturers that make fridges and televisions, will be able to build compatible technology into their devices at minimal cost. The Home Control Center will enable other smart-home solutions to be connected together, and provide users with a single, consistent way of controlling all their gadgets.

Smart homes have been around for years, but they’ve never been integrated into a single mobile interface intuitive enough for the average homemaker. As many Nokia users will tell you, Nokia makes beautifully intuitive mobile interfaces.

Apple makes a great mobile interface too, but they’re far too elitist to integrate their precious iPhones with common household appliances. Nokia’s combination of interface expertise and collaborative ethics could provide the missing key to the house of the future.

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Microsoft Buying Yahoo Search? Rubbish.

Mike Abundo — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 08:20:11 +0000

The Times of London says Microsoft is about to buy Yahoo search, providing a surprising amount of detail on the supposed deal. BoomTown’s Kara Swisher says it’s nonsense.

…a convoluted $20 billion deal that would include well-known Internet execs Jon Miller and Ross Levinsohn, is–in the words of one key player–”total fiction.”

Actually, that’s Levinsohn speaking, on the record. But that’s also the essential word from all key players regarding the Times’ report.

BoomTown has spoken to top sources at Yahoo (YHOO) and Microsoft (MSFT) too and all scoff at such a deal now taking place or that either side has been in any such discussions of late.

Yahoo’s entire market cap, in fact, is only $16 billion.

I’m with Kara on this one. She was the first to break the story of Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang stepping down, so she’s got good sources there. Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has also made very clear his vehement disinterest in Yahoo, much to Yang’s utter humiliation.

That, and common sense dictates you don’t buy part of a $16 billion company for $20 billion. Of course, Ballmer isn’t known for his common sense, but even he must know that sixteen is less than twenty.

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Alodia and Ashley Cosplay for ZXOnline

Mike Abundo — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 18:45:52 +0000

After putting Filipina gamer-blogger-cosplayer Alodia Gosiengfiao on the cover of their 2009 cosplay calendar, Philippine game publisher E-games now puts Alodia and her younger sister Ashley in costumes to announce its latest online game. Alodia (left) and Ashley (right) cosplay Biyao and Lu Xueqi from ZXOnline.

This is not the first time the popular gamer sisters have endorsed a game together. They previously danced for the Sega arcade game Love and Berry.

(Via Mei Yan.)

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YouTube Live Tokyo Photos

Mike Abundo — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 13:45:48 +0000

Minamoto

Danny Choo

Genki Rockets

Blue Man Group

BoA

Kreva

YouTube Live Tokyo failed as a live broadcast, but it certainly succeeded as a party for over 2,000 people in the live audience. Reader Alex Lopez sent in these photos from the concert. Korean singer BoA Kwon headlined YouTube Live Tokyo, but Japanese rapper Kreva brought the house down for the last act. Otaku culture blogger Danny Choo also livened up the proceedings by dancing around the area in his famous Imperial Stormtrooper costume.

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The Facebook Globe

Mike Abundo — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 08:58:52 +0000

Facebook is now the world’s number one social network, and being number one sure looks pretty. A group of engineers at Facebook have put together Project Palantir, an animated globe showing all the interactions on the social network in real time. Imagine the view from space as 120 million people throw supersonic flaming sheep at each other across the curve of the Earth.

Palantir isn’t live yet, but Facebook is thinking about rolling it out. Which spark are you?

(Via Michael Arrington.)

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The Mike Abundo Effect

Facebook is Right to Ban Lindsay Lohan

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