Um, I would venture to guess that 90% of the articles on Memestreams are generated by this user. If this is indeed a human, I'd like to know what they do for a living, other than read articles online and post them on Memestreams. I check the site almost daily and there's absolutely no way I could ever read the amount of material generated by this user. Much less absorb it, comment on it, and pontificate about it. What's up?

Is possibly noteworthy possibly a bot?

The album, which became available for download just after 3 a.m. Eastern time on Monday, appears to represent the first time a superstar act has distributed an entire album without any opportunity for people to pay for it. Its release comes two months after the band issued the instrumental album “Ghosts I-IV” and allowed fans to obtain a portion of it for free or the entire recording for $5. Before that, the British rock act Radiohead broke with convention by offering its 2007 album, “In Rainbows,” online under a tip-jar-style setup in which people could name their own price — including zero.

Mr. Reznor’s new offer could serve as another test of how the easy availability of free music online affects subsequent CD sales and other money-making opportunities. “The Slip” will not be sold on CD or vinyl until at least July, according to representatives for the band. But the free digital version could stoke interest for Nine Inch Nails’ recently announced concert tour. Already, radio stations have shown interest in “Discipline,” a song from “The Slip” that was released about two weeks ago.

This is still very much an experiment and I reckon one that is ultimately going to fail. While NIN has probably net profited from the release of Ghosts, probably why releasing The Slip for free was done, it still remains to be seen if it maintains or grows his revenue stream from the subsequent tour and follow on releases. The thing that's been missing from this whole shebang is what record companies do best: promotion.

Most of the promotion that's been gotten for this album has been its novel approach. But what happens when it's the 60th album to be released this year in this fashion? NIN won't even make a blip on the newsfeeds, especially because it's not a MoR pop act. One thing that I noticed during With Teeth and even Year Zero was that I heard singles and saw promotion. Survivalism was in constant rotation on Sirius, Music Choice, MTV, and all over iTunes. Same for the other singles from With Teeth. I also saw billboards at HMV and Virgin in a few major markets (NYC, Chicago, and Detroit). But I haven't seen jack shit for Ghosts and haven't heard Discipline on any outlet. I don't expect to hear material from Ghosts on radio outlets because it is decidedly non-radio friendly.

That's not to say that gimmicks like the promotion for Year Zero aren't effective. But it's a very crowded marketplace and not every artist can pull something like that together for every release. The point being that the system that's currently used by the labels, for all its trappings (ahem... payola), WORKS. It gets product to the table and pushes sales and that's ultimately what an artist needs to break through the noise (no pun intended). If you go independent, and you're not investing a good chunk of your proceeds into marketing and promotion (just like a label that's fully supportive of your release will be doing), then you are playing a zero sum game. Probably a negative sum game, because ultimately only your fans will buy the product, and that's a shrinking market for every artist unless you are delivering LCD hits time after time. Also, this can only be possible for an established artist. I do not see a way that a new artist can break in this fashion. They simply won't get enough exposure in a mass space long enough to build a fan base.

I'm no fan of the patron model used by the record labels. BUT, if this is really going to work, NIN and Coldplay and others need to make sure that they are working the promotion angle enough to ensure success. The economics of which I can't see working for an artist on a case by case basis. How are you going to compete with the economies of scale that the label offers for these services? It's like building my own little data center in a wiring closet compared to IBM.

Nine Inch Nails Album Is Free Online

"But when you try to tell the victims that their penises are still there, they tell you that it's become tiny or that they've become impotent. To that I tell them, 'How do you know if you haven't gone home and tried it'," he said.

Best. Quote. Ever.

Lynchings in Congo as penis theft panic hits capital

This means we'll probably see a lot of intra-company networking tools (souped-up corporate directories, for example, or internal forums) as well as more interactive varieties of technical support. Not surprisingly, Young's report predicts the biggest adopters will be large companies where you can't just stroll over to the HR or IT folks for a little face time, and where instituting collaborative tools from 37Signals or Zoho could speed things up when not everyone's based in the same building (or time zone).

Wasn't this a potential biz model for Memestreams back in the day?

\Social networking means business, big business

Another holdup has been aviation safety. The Federal Aviation Administration has barred the use of mobile phones on U.S. flights for years because of potential interference with a plane’s navigational signals. Those concerns might diminish once the foreign airlines’ test results come in. However, one study at Carnegie Mellon University found that passengers were surreptitiously making cellphone calls despite the ban, and suggested that there were around 25 incidents of interference with aircraft communications each year (although the evidence that this was caused by cellphones is circumstantial). Other experts note that no accidents have been directly tied to use of cellphones. FAA spokesman Les Dorr told PM that as long as the FCC is opposed, “it’s a moot point anyway.”

Airlines in the U.S. could, of course, push for cellphones if they thought their customers really wanted it. Instead, they’re competing to be the first to offer wireless Internet access. A few months ago JetBlue started its limited in-flight broadband Wi-Fi service on a few aircraft, in partnership with Yahoo and Research in Motion; Blackberry users can send and receive e-mail from any account, while laptop users are limited to Yahoo for their e-mailing and instant messaging. American Airlines and Virgin America are also working with U.S. provider AirCell to roll out Web browsing and e-mail capabilities, and just won FAA approval to start installing the hardware abroad American’s 767-200 fleet. Southwest and Alaska Airlines are also planning Wi-Fi experiments of their own.

Bullshit! It has nothing to do with this. Airphone was a massive success that was only curtailed because the costs were too high. The reason why this is being scuttled is because talking on the plane is a last mile paradigm, and until the airlines and the FCC figure out a way to make it a monopoly just like the land line, they're going to sit on it. The customer be damned. I don't buy that most people were opposed to in flight calls. Being trapped in a sardine tube for 4 hours while flying coast to coast is completely dead time. PLUS, what are they going to do when WiFi service goes up and I make a Skype call? Through my VPN to avoid service blocking?

Why U.S. Airlines Still Won't Join the Mobile Mile-High Club - Cell Phones on Planes - Popular Mechanics

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On his way home he stopped a truck loaded down with his work ladders, lawn mower and weed eater.

"I informed them I was the owner, but they refused to give the stuff back," Salisbury said. "They showed me the Craigslist printout and told me they had the right to do what they did."

The driver sped away after rebuking Salisbury. On his way home he spotted other cars filled with his belongings.

Once home he was greeted by close to 30 people rummaging through his barn and front porch.

PWN3D!!! - Oregon Man's Home Ransacked After Craigslist Hoax

The investments from cable companies are said to have roots in a desire to expand beyond wired data. In some cases, the cable networks are looking into co-developing handhelds that would tap into the content they already host as part of their TV deals, according to the report. Their investments are likely tied to stakes in Xohm that would allow them to buy bulk access to the WiMAX service for new, related services.

WRONG! They're investing in alternative last mile technologies because it's a fundamental pillar of their strategy to own the last mile. You cannot collude and lever everyone else out of business without controlling it. It has nothing to do with handheld devices and repurposing content. Sure, there might be a handheld device, but that's a red herring. The gold is in being the bridge troll.

Comcast, Google funding Sprint WiMAX network?

Sen. McCain, who was in Paris on Friday, said any breach of passport privacy deserves an apology and a full investigation.

"The United States of America values everyone's privacy and corrective action should be taken," McCain said.

Y'know... unless we need to spy on you without a warrant!

Clinton, Obama, McCain passports breached, State Department says

Communications is also a big part of it. If the high-level objective is to reduce the energy intensity of the U.S. economy, why don't we run fiber-optic cable to everyone's house? That will support applications to allow people to stop commuting.

No shit.

Economics 101 states that in bad times, investment in basics is what pulls you through. Want to prime yourself for the recovery? A long term energy strategy, communications infrastructure (WHICH INCLUDES POLICY/REGULATION REFORM!), and health are all excellent candidates for attention. All three are at crisis stage, and all three can provide the foundation for tremendous growth and innovation for the next 20+ years. Let's get to it!

Investor Eric Janszen Says Clean Tech Is Only Hope for the Collapsing Economy