techie

Craigslist took down Adult Services in the U.S. four days ago, replacing it with the word "censored" without explanation. Advocates seized on the ambiguous move today, calling on Craigslist to remove the infamous section in cities across the world.

It's hard to say what the effect of shuttering Adult Services will be on the profitability of the sex trade. But it will certainly curtail Craigslist's ability to profit from sex traders.

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The New York Times estimates Adult Services ads could have brought in $44 million for Craigslist this year, based on the $10 it costs to post and $5 to repost. Post-censorship, ads for sex are migrating to other classifieds sites and other sections of Craigslist. The first stop after getting kicked out of Adult Services is the personals section "Casual Encounters," where it is free to post an ad.

By focusing on Adult Services, Craigslist's opponents are targeting a symptom instead of a problem.

"If Craigslist is seriously committed to ending the site's use as a platform for sex trafficking and the sexual enslavement of children and young women, it will immediately close the remaining sections around the world," the groups said in statement.

Ending the site's use as a platform. Not ending abusive sex trafficking, because shutting down Adult Services won't do that. Really, advocates want Craigslist to stop being a "digital pimp," to borrow Microsoft researcher Danah Boyd's phrase. From an advocate's perspective, the fact that Craigslist makes money off of prostitution and sex trafficking - some of it voluntary, some of it coerced and some involving minors - colors anything the company says.

Profit is a powerful motivator and the fact that Craigslist makes so much money off these ads undermines its moral authority. But is ending that revenue stream a worthy pursuit, given the strong arguments that Craigslist does more good than harm by making it easy for law enforcement to find and track sex traffickers, and empowering prostitutes to escape often-abusive middlemen?

On Monday, there were 23,453 ads posted in the "Adult Services" section across Craigslist sites for cities outside the U.S., according to the anti-human trafficking advocacy group The Polaris Project. By comparison, there were 12,834 ads posted in Adult Services" in the U.S. on Tuesday, July 21, 2009. (Singapore, where the Internet is censored for porn, is the only Craigslist site without an Adult Services section. Ironically, Singapore has an aboveground sex industry regulated by the government.) Getting the section taken down in the rest of the world is now top priority for the groups behind this push.

Craigslist fumbled its public response to accusations that it encourages abusive prostitution (see Feeling Burned By the Press, Craigslist Hunkers Down), even though it has two strong arguments from both the free speech and human rights angles as well as the protection of the law. Perhaps we'll see a better defense based on data collected during the Adult Services blackout when Craigslist testifies before Congress during a hearing on sex trafficking of minors on Sept. 15.

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Now this is an HTPC worth gawking at. Zotac has just revised its long-standing Zbox line with a new duo, and we have to say -- we're digging the new look. Beyond the exterior improvements, the outfit has bolstered the internals by providing the HD-ID33 and HD-ID34 with Intel's new 1.8GHz Atom D525 CPU, 2GB of DDR2-800 memory, NVIDIA's next-gen Ion graphics platform, an HDMI output, 6-in-1 card reader, gigabit Ethernet, 802.11b/g/n WiFi, a couple of USB 2.0 ports and an unexpected pair of USB 3.0 sockets. The only notable difference between the two is the inclusion of a 250GB hard drive in the ID34, while the 2.5-inch HDD slot is left open for DIYers in the ID33. Windows 7 is onboard, naturally, as is a slot-loading Blu-ray drive that the company is (rightfully) proud of. It's not talking prices just yet, but we're willing to overlook a modest premium to finally get BD support within a delightfully small package. Hit the gallery below for more eye candy.

Continue reading Zotac introduces ID33 and ID34 Zbox mini PCs, complete with Atom D525 and Blu-ray

Zotac introduces ID33 and ID34 Zbox mini PCs, complete with Atom D525 and Blu-ray originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 08 Sep 2010 20:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Kno Inc., the company behind the 14-inch dual-touchscreen tablet unveiled at D8 earlier this year, announced it has closed a $46 million debt-and-equity round led by Andreessen Horowitz.

The leading venture capital firm, which has also financed prominent startups such as Foursquare, Zynga and Skype, was joined by Silicon Valley Bank and TriplePoint Capital. Andreessen had previously led a $7.5 million Series B, which Kno closed in December 2009.

The digital textbook company plans to use the funds to continue developing its e-reader tablet and accompanying platform, which includes digital textbooks, educational apps and other related media.

“We plan to use the infusion of capital to get the Kno into the hands of students for beta testing this fall and ultimately for the first customer ship later this year,” Kno Co-founder and CTO Babur Habib said in a statement.

Room for digital innovation in the education sector is certainly there. A recent study from Simba Information estimates that e-textbooks will account for 11% of textbook sales by 2013. Furthermore, tablet sales are expected to grow from 3.5 million units in 2010 to 20.4 million units in 2015, according to Forrester. Whether students will be eager to purchase Kno’s 5.5-pound — and likely expensive (the company claims it will be “under $1000,” which is none-too-promising) — dual-screen tablet remains to be seen, however.

---

Reviews: Foursquare, Skype

More About: e-books, e-readers, e-reading, e-textbooks, Kno, Tablet

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Web search giant unveils Google Instant, which serves up predictive search results as you type.

John Seely Brown and John Hagel are two of the most respected technology and business thinkers in Silicon Valley. Seely Brown is best known as the long time Chief Scientist at Xerox Parc, while Hagel is the author of a number of influential business articles and books including Net Worth.

As the co-chairmen of Deloitte’s intriguingly named Center for the Edge, Seely Brown and Hagel have just come out with a new book called The Power of Pull: How Small Moves, Smartly Made, Can Set Big Things in Motion which is a big-picture attempt to conceptualize the shift from the old industrial economy to today’s revolutionary digital economy.

The great change in contemporary economic life – what Seely Brown and Hagel call the “big shift” – is between the old centralized command-and-control industrial economy and today’s democratized edge economy. Sometimes sounding more like Marxist revolutionaries than Deloitte consultants, Seely Brown and Hagel see the pull economy as fundamentally changing every aspect of 21st century life – from business to education to politics to social activity.

This is a big, bold take on the digital revolution which has elicited highly favorable reviews from Bill Clinton, Newt Gingrich, Joichi Ito, Richard Florida, Eric Schmidt and Walter Isaacson. As Seely Brown and Hagel argue in the The Power of Pull: “The ultimate promise of pull is the opportunity to reclaim our individuality and pursue our potential in a was that were never feasible in a world of push…. For the first time ever, we have the real opportunity to become we are, and more importantly, who were meant to be.”

On Xerox Parc and the Center for the Edge

On why the power of pull represents the end of the command and control economy.

On the role of education and the power of imagination in restructuring business and society.

On the profound long-term shifts in the global economic system

On the cloud.

Google unveiled a new way to display its search results this morning, called Instant Search. Instant brings search results to your browser, as you type. Letter by letter - it's amazing. The feature will be rolled out to all users over the coming hours and days but is available to be tested here.

It's fast. It's satisfying. But if respected critics like Nicholas Carr have raised the alarm that Google's legacy search product might make us stupid - what might Google Instant do to our brains and thinking? There are at least two ways to look at the question.

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Google Instant as a Mental Limit

"The normative influence of Google just got a lot stronger," Kevin Marks, a British Telecom technologist, former Googler and internet intelectual, said today on Twitter.

In other words, Google's influence over what we consider the norm, or what we take for granted as an assumption, regarding any particular topic, will become stronger now that we're instantly given suggested search queries and answers to questions we haven't even finished asking yet.

When the Great Google in the Sky interrupts you asking it a question and says (effectively) "don't even bother finishing, we know what you're going to ask and here's the answer" - how many of us might just concede to ask what Google expects we were going to?

Google Instant as a proscriptive and limiting influence over the boundaries of our consideration; that's something to think about.

Google Instant as Brain Stimulation

I'm not sure yet, but I don't think I experience Google Instant as a limitation to my brain's power to consider infinite possibilities. I really like it, so far. Perhaps that's just the comfort of clear, controlled and limited choices, though.

Think of this, however. Google executives said in a press Q&A session about Instant today that users participating in tests of the service quite often saw links they were interested in at the bottom of the page and then extended their search queries with text that would bring those results up to the top of the page.

Google Instant Search feels to me like a call-and-response exchange with the Google robots. "If I type this in, what are you going to say?" I ask. "Ok, I see that now, but what if I type this in" is the logical next step.

My theory: by making search a more interactive, call & response activity, Instant Search could stimulate mental activity, as opposed to Google making us stupid.

"That's very true," says Dr. Ellen Weber, President of the MITA (Multiple Intelligences Teaching Approach) International Brain Based Center in New York, "in that the brain holds multiple intelligences - and to engage more and diverse types of thinking is better than to engage less and with the same. Every time you do a thing the same way - you grow new neuron pathways for that same way of doing things. Do things differently, and engage your curiosity, and you physically rewire your brain."

Weber has written about how to use social media effectively to support healthy brain development.

The essential core of the idea is a timeless one, before Instant Search, before computers even: interact with new and different people and perspectives in order to expand your horizons and keep your brain functioning sharply.

Is that what Google Instant offers? I think it may; with its pleasing combination of rapid results, sneak peeks into potentially related topics as we begin to explore, and a responsive interface that encourages more sophistication in our interaction with search engines than the classic 2-word grunt-queries typically deliver. I'm not sure yet, but that's my theory.

What do you think? Is Instant Search a potential boon or bane for the health of our brains?

Discuss

If you just want to send e-mail or get access to the Web from your phone, there are many entry-level devices to peruse.

Here is an amazing price on the Apple MacBook Pro MC373LL/A Core i7 15.4-inch Notebook.  This computer has a 3.33GHz Intel Core i7 620M processor, 500GB hard drive, 4GB of DDR3 RAM, 15.4-inch 1440×900 LED display, OS X 10.6, WiFi b/g/n, Bluetooth 2.1 +EDR, 5.6lbs, NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M and a DVD burner.

They’ve got this slender beast for $2,049 – $150 mail-in-rebate + no ship = $1,899!

This rebate ends 9/30

Nothing seems to evolve faster than the Internet, and Google's new search experience is designed to keep Google ahead of the curve and as fast as possible.

One of the big debates in the venture capital industry lately has been the growing argument between so-called "super angels" and traditional VCs - the former being prone to mention how they feel the latter "sucks." As one would expect, many voices in the industry have made themselves heard in the form of VC blog posts and passionate, profanity-laced shouting matches. But when the fog of war clears, what should startups take away from the debate? Should they seek investment from VCs or super angels? Or both? Thankfully, some level-headed perspectives have emerged that are aimed at helping young startups interpret the lessons to be learned.

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Is there a benefit to one over the other? As Founder Collectvie's Eric Paley said in a blog post on the topic earlier this week, "the world isn't so black and white." When it comes down to it, every startup is unique, just as every VC is unique and every angel is unique - so there is probably no blanket assumption that can be made about the industry. For startups setting their sights on the beast of the early-stage funding market, Chip Hazard, a partner at Flybridge Capital, suggests to simply figure out what works best for your company.

"Put together an overall multiyear plan for your business, assume it takes longer and more money than what the plan suggests, and then determine what that means," writes Hazard. "The simple point here is that the financing sources that are appropriate if you need a total of $1 million are different than if you need $10 million or $100 million."

He also notes that while many would prefer to raise all of this capital at once, the smart decision is to raise it piece-be-piece.

"Funding through milestones such as these will allow you to raise subsequent rounds of capital at higher prices," he says. "Reducing risk and demonstrating potential upside will always translate into higher valuations."

Because every VC and angel is unique and has their own idea about where your company is headed and how involved they should be, picking one or another is not a decision to be made lightly, says Hazard. "One of the greatest sources of conflicts between entrepreneurs and investors happens when this alignment is not in place from day one," says Hazard.

Discuss

The tech pundits weigh in on the latest lineup of Apple iPods, offering in-depth reviews, side-by-side comparisons and even a logo contest.

The tech pundits weigh in on the latest lineup of Apple iPods, offering in-depth reviews, side-by-side comparisons and even a logo contest.

Mac Connection still has a stellar price on the Apple MacBook Pro (MC372LL/A) Core i5 15-inch Laptop. This computer has a 2.53GHz, 3.06GHz Intel Core i5 540M, 4GB of DDR3 RAM, 500GB hard drive, DVD burner, Mac OS X 10.6, WiFi b/g/n, 1440×900 LED display, Bluetooth 2.1 +EDR, NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M and more.

It’s $1,879 – $150 mail-in-rebate + no shipping = $1,729!

This rebate ends 9/30

New museum apps for New York demonstrate the potential for technology to help people make the most of a museum visit.

MacConnection ain’t messing around with the Apple MacBook Pro MC024LL/A Core i5 17-inch Notebook.  They’ve got the best deal on the Web that you won’t find any where else.

Specs:

• 2.53GHz, 3.06GHz Intel Core i5 540M processor
• 500GB hard drive
• 4GB of DDR3 RAM
• 17-inch 1920×1200 LED display
• NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M, Intel HD Graphics
• WiFi N
• Bluetooth 2.1 +EDR
• 9 hour battery life
• 6.6lbs
• Mac OS x 10.6

It’s $2,149 – $150 mail-in-rebate + free ship = $1,999!

This rebate ends 9/30

MacConnection has an amazing rebate on the Apple MacBook Pro MC375LL/A Core 2 Duo 13.3-inch Notebook.  This computer includes a 2.66GHz Intel Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 4GB of DDR3 RAM, NVIDIA GeForce 320M, WiFi N, Bluetooth 2.1 EDR, DVD burner, 320GB hard drive, OS X 10.6, 10 hour battery life and 4.5lb weight.

It’s $1,429 – $130 mail-in-rebate + free shipping = $1,299!

Amazon now rocks the best price for the Samsung ML-1665 Personal Laser Printer.  It matches the price we posted from Buy.com in August.  It’s $114.99 – $65 instant off + free ship = $49.99!  This printer prints in Monochrome, has a 1200×600 dpi, up to 17 pages per minute, 8mb of memory and more.

Filed under: Security, Adobe

Anyone else having deja vu? Adobe's improved security efforts have been a welcome change, but it sure seems like they're still not doing enough. Of course, it's also possible that things have been footloose and fancy-free for so long that it's going to take a while to sort out. They've promised sandboxing is coming, and that should help. In the meantime, however, we're going to see more news like this: there's yet another new exploit which could allow an attacker to remotely exploit code on a compromised machine. That's bad. But at least they've identified the hole. That's good. They also admit they're not sure how to mitigate the vulnerability. That's bad. Adobe are, however, sharing information with various security firms to that your favorite anti-malware app can protect you. That's... er... something. Once people like Microsoft, Symantec, and Eset have updated their defenses you should be ok until Adobe sorts things out. Anyone else having deja vu? [via CNet]

Adobe issues zero-day warning for Reader, Acrobat -- again. originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 08 Sep 2010 18:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments Microsoft - Adobe Acrobat - Adobe Systems - Security - Symantec

Pardon us as we coin the term "apportunity" to describe the upcoming developer program Eye-Fi has just announced. Developers will able to tie their apps / applications / sites into Eye-Fi features and services through the web, including accessing an Eye-Fi card for photos and video, changing settings on the card, and uploading to online sharing sites through Eye-Fi channels instead of directly connecting to each site. It all sounds very promising in a niche, people-who-use-WiFi-SD-cards sort of way, and we look forward to the results as Eye-Fi starts giving out API keys in phases, beginning this fall.

Eye-Fi starting up a developer program, will have some APIs open for business this fall originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 08 Sep 2010 19:16:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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HP sells their HP ENVY (VR869AV) Core Duo 13-Inch Notebook for a $200 discount.  Make sure you first bump your RAM to 5GB – ya, it’s big.  Then checkout as normal.  Other features include a 1.6Ghz Intel Core2 Duo SL9300 processor, 512MB ATI Mobility Radeon(TM) HD 4330 Graphics, 250GB hard drive, 4-cell battery, 13.1-inch LED 1366×768 display, webcam, WiFi N, Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit and more.

It’s $1,249.99 – $200 coupon (NBB168471) + free shipping = $1,050!

Don’t forget the coupon: NBB168471 (expires: soon)