The end of the beer babes?

Speaking of men, sales, and pictures of women… Adrants reports that advocacy groups are turning up the heat on beer makers to turn down the heat in their commercials.

Not surprisingly, the brewers don’t seem terribly sympathetic.

Adrants ran a poll of their readership which indicated that 73% felt that the current beer babes trend was just fine, 17% felt they were getting boring, 8% felt they were racy but okay, and an underwhelming 2% were concerned about their effects on children…

I might miss my guess, but I’m assuming those were mostly men answering…

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2.8

Phonecams, gender & objectification

Jen at knowitallgirl had some further thoughts about my musings regarding phonecams and social change the other day.

She put this in a gender perspective that hadn’t occurred to me, but of course she’s correct—a lot of the more voyeuristic aspects of this are and will be applied by the men.

I suspect however that the reciprocal objectification of men she suggests isn’t likely to happen to any great extent. 

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Media Cops

I know things are tough all over, but check this job posting for an MPAA Internet Enforcement Administrator.

I’m not sure whether to be amused or scared.

On the one hand, I have to wonder about anyone who actually meets all of these requirements and is willing to work for $40K a year in a job that most people would rank as just beneath “Customs Inspector” on the evolutionary scale.

On the other hand, maybe whoever gets the job will be doing it because they are really dedicated to the eradication of those pesky DVD-rippers — perhaps their mother was frightened by a DIVX codec at birth, or their sister ran off with a De-CSS hacker type…

Then on the gripping hand…

(via Ars Technica)

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2.8

Class IV Enforcement Drone

I know things are tough all over, but check this job posting for an MPAA Internet Enforcement Administrator. 

I’m not sure whether to be amused or scared. 

On the one hand, I have to wonder about anyone who actually meets all of these requirements and is willing to work for $40K a year in a job that most people would rank as just beneath “Customs Inspector” on the evolutionary scale.

On the other hand, maybe whoever gets the job will be doing it because they are really dedicated to the eradication of those pesky DVD-rippers— perhaps their mother was frightened by a DIVX codec at birth, or their sister ran off with a De-CSS hacker type…

Then on the gripping hand…

(via Ars Technica)

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Pocket Convergence

Things are hopping in the mobile world. 

Microsoft this week simplified their Pocket PC and Smartphone efforts into Windows Mobile 2003″.

Palm is acquiring Handspring, which just brought out the Treo 600, the latest update of their Palm / mobile phone hybrid. A week or two ago they announced that their wi-fi enabled Tungsten C would soon have a VOIP phone client.

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Always on — camera

knowitallgirl discusses the dark side of phonecams, as pointed up in the Phonecam Nation article from the latest Wired.

One thing that emergent technology is good at is creating vast grey areas between “right” and “wrong”…

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Nokia 3650 Resources

Here are a collection of links to useful resources for users of the Nokia 3650; I’ll update this list as I find new stuff. 

Please feel free to add your own in the comments.

(Note: The 3650 uses the Symbian Series 60 OS)

My-Symbian Series 60 Section

Series 60 Forum @ HowardForums

Configuring Windows Bluetooth for the 3650/7650

Nokia 3650 Applications Compatibility List

Nokia Phone Setup Page (sends setups to your phone)

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GTFW

Commenting on “Google attempting to avoid being another verb in the dictionary”, Techdirt observes that:

“I’ve never heard anyone use google as a verb in a case where they weren’t actually using Google to then do the search.”

Exactly.

When I tell someone to “Google something”, I don’t mean that they should wander off to Yahoo Search, Altavista, or Inktomi—I mean for them to go to Google and type in the search phrase.

Besides, it’s more warm and fuzzy than just telling them to STFW.

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2.8

Reclaim the Public Domain

This just arrived in my in-box…

“We are now up to 13,600+ signatures, and the number is still climbing. It is amazing how far we’ve come in just three short weeks.

Our work has gotten attention, and this next week will be crucial. So I urge you to explain this issue to your friends, family, colleagues, and neighbors and in turn urge them to sign the petition.  Please, by next Tuesday, try to get five new people to sign.  If half the people who’ve already signed each get five new signatures, then we’ll have our 50,000.  We are hopeful that we might get some movement on the bill next week, and every single additional signature before then will make a difference.

If you want more information, check out http://eldred.cc

Folks, if you haven’t already, please go sign the Reclaim the Public Domain Petition —it takes a few seconds of your time, is all done online, and is completely painless.  Momentum is starting to build, and we REALLY need everyone’s support.

If you have signed, please accept my personal thank you—I’m looking forward to the benefits of this going into effect as much as anyone.  Now please get out there and get five more people to sign this, and we can all enjoy the rewards.

This is a cause with an enormous up-side for everyone, and virtually no down-side for anyone. 

Please take a few moments to help.

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Moblogging from the mobile phone

Moblogging from the mobile phone

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