Category: News

Many Web CMS products tout "in-context," wiki-like content editing as an important feature or enhancement. In-context means letting contributors create or edit content from within the context of the site, without actually having to retrieve a content item from the back-end and filling in long forms.

Not all vendors offer in-context editing, and many do so only partially.  You can find more about different vendors’ support for in-context editing in our Web CMS Report.

To be sure, many products have allowed you perform in-context editing for some time now. However, the difference is that in the past, clicking on "edit" in the site would open up the back-end form, whereas now, you can typically make in-place changes right on the page.

From the point of view of usability and convenience, this is certainly useful. In fact, I see in-page editing actually becoming a "preferred content contributor interface" rather than just a "casual business user content contributor interface" of yesteryear.

The main problem I have with this approach, if used exclusively as recommended by some vendors, is that it goes against a basic tenet of Content Management — to separate content from its presentation. Basically when you create content based on how it looks, you tend to think about only those fields that appear on that specific page. Consider the implications:

• What happens to those extra fields that do not appear but exist because of other reasons – administration, reporting, analytics, personalization, search and so on? They would either take default values or be ignored. Or perhaps someone else will enter those values later.
• When you enter content in context of a page, what happens if the content appears at different destinations with a different look and feel – say an intranet and public website? Even worse, what if the fields that appear on the Intranet are different from those that appear in the public website?
• Similarly, if an article appears on the home page with a few fields and on a detailed page with many other fields?
• And then what do you do if the look and feel is changed due to a redesign?

There are many other implications that we detail in our research reports.  Like everything else, there are obvious work-arounds as well as trade-off here, and the trick is to maintain a balance between in-context content contribution and more traditional content contribution.

Make sure that the WCM products you are evaluating support different mechanisms of content contribution: from form based, to in-context authorship, to integration with external products and automated ingestion. Also consider very carefully the scenarios and then enable appropriate roles with the right corresponding content entry mechanisms.  Not all contributors will require in-context editing.

We’ve picked up on a couple of new scans for Nintendo’s The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks. The scans are from a Japanese magazine, though not necessa…

The video we have here is a sneak peek of the Beta Live for Dice’s Battlefield: Bad Company 2 (PS3, Xbox 360, and PC). Guiding us through the 13-minu…

USA Today: As expected, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released revised H1N1 estimates Thursday indicating that 3,900 people in the U.S. have died from the virus, including 540 children (Sternberg, 11/12).

The Washington Post/The Associated Press: “Estimates of deaths caused by the swine flu have grown to nearly 4,000 since April, roughly quadrupling previous estimates. But that doesn’t mean swine flu suddenly has worsened.” Instead, the data offers a “long-awaited better attempt to quantify the new flu’s true toll. Most cases still don’t require a doctor’s care.” Overall, the H1N1 virus has sickened an estimated 22 million Americans, since April (Neergaard, 11/13).

VGP-BMS80 is the latest VAIO Bluetooth Laser mouse and trust me Sony has come up with a different kind of a mouse this time. Since VAIO as a brand has been introduced there were a dozen of mice that Sony created and in recent years bluetooth mice dominate the market. All kinds of colors were introduced to match your VAIO. I will be prepping up a post in the near future about a VAIO Mouse and how this device has been evolving throughout years. For now, check out this pictorial and watch out for the upcoming video of this laser mouse to be paired with PS3. Our earlier post about it can be found here.

The Bluetooth Laser Mouse VGP-BMS80 is a multifunctional mouse that can connect to a VAIO PC or PLAYSTATION 3 without using a dedicated device driver. It has the following modes of operation:

1. PC Modes. There are 2 PC Modes available for you to operate with your VAIO:

• Air Mode
• Mouse Mode

During Air Mode you can freely operate your personal computer at a distance from the display. For example, you can operate your VAIO connected to a TV to play movies or music, or view a Web browser from the comfort of a sofa. While in Air Mode, the mouse  operates in your hand and does not have to be on any surface.

During Mouse Mode you can use this BT multifunctional mouse as a standard mouse with some enhanced features for browsing, scrolling, etc (additional software supplied).

PS3 Mode

There are two modes available: Air and Mouse mode. Once connected to PS3, the mouse functions similarly to a PS3 controller. However, the mouse has no functionality within PS3 games.

You can move the mouse pointer freely with the Optical Finger Sensor in the middle of the mouse. You can also input an URL or perform keyword searches using the supplied software keyboard. The input language is switched to your personal computer’s display language. Compliant languages are English, French, Spanish, Italian, Russian and Japanese.

We all know the importance of Section 230 safe harbors that protect a service provider from actions done by its users. While there have been a few cases that chipped away at those protections, on the whole, they’re quite solid. However, Eric Goldman brings us the story of how some lawyers seem to be dealing with this. They’ve stopped suing the sites directly, but they then file a lawsuit against the party who actually created the content they want taken down — but if that person does not show up in court, then the suing party can get a default judgment, and then use that default judgment to get the content taken offline — since the default judgment can be used to enforce injunctions against third parties. From the perspective of the suing party, then, they have every incentive in the world to try to get a default judgment, rather than even fighting with the real person in court. Then, with the default judgment, they can force a site to take down the content. As Goldman notes:

For the price of a complaint and a defendant’s default (which can be engineered by targeting a phantom author), plaintiffs obtain an effective cudgel to excise unwanted content throughout the web.

That’s not a good thing.

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This post is for the few people out there that actually use the DSi’s camera. Sure, many probably snapped a few pics when they first got the device, but it’s more of a novelty feature and probably not something you would use everyday. But if you do, this $20 kit from Thrustmaster is for you.

The kit includes just about every camera accessory you could ever want: macro lens, telephoto lens, wide angle lens, removable flash, color filters, and a handy storage bag. It’s only $20, which means this kit could totally be a Christmas gift to a younger child. Just be prepared for it to end up in a junk drawer before the end of the year.

[Thrustmaster via ubergizmo]

Sony has introduced a number of keyboards to accessorize your VAIO from wired to wireless (VGP-WKB1 and VGP-WKB5)

Here is a pic of VGP-WKB5:

This is the first time Sony went with Bluetooth option (the ones above used RF). We have written about its introduction here and now it is time to unbox it. Watch out for a video review and its interaction with PS3 later on.

The government mailed out 64 million $40 coupons for DTV conversion. The program ended on the 9th, with 35 million of the coupons used. How can this be? There must be at least half a billion TVs in the US, and a lot of those households or stores needed to upgrade to digital. Do they not like free money? Did they get theirs through magic, or a secret non-government program?

If you’re looking for more info at the coupon website, good luck. It’s dead for me.

We do know that Modern Warfare 2 (Xbox 360, PS3, and PC) made some record-breaking debut all over the world. But it sure would be even more interestin…

BullJustin points out to us that the guys behind Star Wreck (which we wrote about back in 2006) are trying a few interesting things to promote their follow-up movie project Iron Sky — a story about Nazis who fled to the moon in 1945 with plans to return to Earth in 2018. To connect with fans, the Iron Sky project released some Creative Commons material for a movie teaser remix and is selling “War Bonds” to crowdfund part of the movie production. To be clear, the “War Bonds” aren’t actually bonds — just a limited-edition package (only 2,000) of keepsakes that includes:

• a 16-page book with very pretty pictures
• a DVD with the teaser trailer and two documentaries
• a signed certificate of support
• official dogtags
• undying gratitude

There are about 1,760 war bonds still available at 50€ a piece. Though, you can get some of the items separately from the Iron Sky online store (undying gratitude is presumably included in all purchases).

With only 240 war bonds sold since August 2008, the Iron Sky movie isn’t going to be completely funded by fans. But it looks like the British Stealth Media Group has chipped in up to 1 million euros for worldwide distribution rights — and the movie’s total budget has grown to be at least 5 million euros. On top of that, the Star Wreck folks seem to have even bigger plans — with a separate Iron Sky game project called Iron Sky: Operation Highjump that is looking for contributions/suggestions from fans to create a single-player video game based on the movie’s background story. All of which is based on the WreckAMovie community that encourages more films to be bootstrapped and crowdsourced from a collection of both amateur and professional filmmakers.

So for much less than $200 million, the Star Wreck crew is developing creative ways to interact with their fans (and other filmmakers) to get their projects accomplished more cost effectively. They’ve given away free promotional materials for fan remixing. They’ve set up a process for fans to donate ideas and money to the project. They’re creating movie accessories that get an audience excited about a movie that hasn’t even been made yet. Shouldn’t this be the way more movies are produced?

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The gaming blog Destructoid has a hot tip on some possible color variations coming for the PSP Go. Apparently, marketing firm Hall & Partners Europe (connected with Sony) posted a survey on their Valued Opinions website that shows the image in this post. The survey queries users as to what colors they would like to see next for the PSP Go – including, Bright Yellow, Coral, Burgundy, Light Grey, Camo Green, Blue, Turquoise, Pink, Bright Red, Lemon, Navy Grey and Ocean Blue. It doesn’t surprise me that Sony would go down this route since the regular PSP-3000 is available in several various colors in various regions.

Which one do you like? I like the Blue of course! It would remind me of Sony Insider.

Wanna know who the top-billers are for NPD’s October sales charts? You don’t have to look further, cos we have it right here. On the software front,…

MONSANTO COMPLETES U.S. REGULATORY SUBMISSIONS IN SUPPORT OF VISTIVE III SOYBEANS THAT PRODUCE HEALTHIER COOKING OILS
Press release

Vistive III Oil Significantly Reduces Saturated Fats and Helps Eliminate Trans Fats

ST. LOUIS (November 12, 2009) – Monsanto Company (NYSE: MON) has completed regulatory submissions to the U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Food and Drug Administration in support of the Vistive III soybean trait. This second-generation product builds on Monsanto’s existing Vistive product and would provide food companies with a healthier, more stable soybean oil for frying and baking that contains significantly lower levels of saturated fat and eliminates trans fats.
Research has shown that a diet low in saturated and trans fats promotes heart health.
“Vistive III is a win for farmers, food producers and consumers,” said Jerry Hjelle, vice president of regulatory for Monsanto. “This provides a glimpse into the next-generation of biotech products that can bring direct health benefits to consumers. We also expect farmers to benefit from the premium pricing opportunity the market is likely to offer for the oil once it’s commercialized. And food producers should benefit from a more stable and more healthful soybean oil to use in its food products”
Completing regulatory submissions in the United States is an important step forward in bringing the benefits of this next-generation soybean product to the market, he added.
Vistive III soybean oil is more stable at high temperatures and is shown to have significantly extended fry life when compared to commodity soybean oil, or existing low-linolenic soybean products.
“Application studies show that products fried in the new oil maintain optimum flavor quality,” said Richard Wilkes food applications lead for Monsanto.
Vistive III eliminates the need for hydrogenation, resulting in foods with zero trans fats and reduced overall saturated fat content, thus bringing health benefits to consumers.
“Vistive III anticipates the needs of my customers and will help me offer them the best soybean product today’s technology can create,” said John Buck, a farmer in New Bloomington, Ohio, who has been growing the first-generation Vistive soybeans for several years. This year, Buck is growing only soybeans with the Vistive trait. “As a third-generation farmer who has been in agriculture for a decade, I look forward to advancements in soybeans that continue to improve food quality and can help me and my family eat healthier while enjoying the foods we eat.”

About Monsanto Company
Monsanto Company is a leading global provider of technology-based solutions and agricultural products that improve farm productivity and food quality. Monsanto remains focused on enabling both small-holder and large-scale farmers to produce more from their land while conserving more of our world’s natural resources such as water and energy. To learn more about our business and our commitments, please visit: www.monsanto.com. Follow our business on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MonsantoCo, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/MonsantoCo, or subscribe to our News Release RSS Feed.

Recently, a NY Times article about the giant patch of floating garbage in the ocean got some attention, not so much for the contents of the article, but because it was the first time the NY Times had worked with Spot.us to fund some journalism. If you’re not familiar with Spot.us, it’s an innovative non-profit startup, that helps “crowdfund” certain journalism projects. I’m not convinced it’s a great business model, but it is one that’s interesting to watch, and a partnership with the NY Times is definitely a big win for the organization.

However, I think Mathew Ingram really highlighted the most interesting thing about the whole project. While the NY Times article that came from Spot.us was somewhat mundane and didn’t add much to the half a dozen or so other articles that have been written about the garbage patch, the blog written by the reporter who did this project, Lindsey Hoshaw, was a lot more interesting and compelling than the NY Times article itself. But the blog wasn’t a part of the NY Times at all.

What Mathew was really showing was how some traditional publications get locked into a certain way of doing things because “this is how we do things.” And in that world “the article” is the ultimate goal. It’s a “deliverable.” The process and the journey seem less important — even though they’re quite often the most interesting parts, to a wider community that wants to feel more and more a part of the journalism process itself. The NY Times is pretty good about doing certain topic blogs, and even brought in the Freakonomics blog under its own brand, a while back. But Mathew makes a really good point that this sort of thing probably would have worked better if the entire blog was seen as a part of the NY Times process. It could have ended with a big “story” — or not. It’s not even clear that’s needed here. In the end, the real point is that the old structures don’t always make sense. And while it was already a big step for the NY Times to create this story using such a new and different process as Spot.us, the end result might have been even better if they’d gone even further and highlighted the journey of the story, rather than just the endpoint.

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So my wife was still cooking breakfast. I couldn’t go back to sleep on an empty stomach. ‘Decided to play a practice game online with nine other players.

So I finally got on a team where only one was feeding himself to the opposing group. We won:

I killed four enemy champions, made 12 assists and… didn’t die. (Click on the pic. Check it out; 0 deaths. Way to go for a support champion.) Wooohooo! Kayle the Judicator’s skills really make her one tough, metal encased mama.

The wonders of starvation I guess. 😀 😀 😀

Wanna know where you can download this free to play Warcraft DotA clone? The download link can be found after the jump.

>>> The download link and an HD trailer of the game can be found HERE

>>> See more downloadable free full version real-time strategy (RTS) games HERE

Earlier this week, an Australian coder by the name of Ikee wrote an interesting iPhone worm targeting users with jailbroken iPhones — specifically those users who had not RTFM and changed their root password. The worm was programmed to scan the 3G IP ranges of the Telus, Optus, and Vodafone networks in Australia. Once a vulnerable iPhone was found, the exploit would change the wallpaper of said device to…Rick Astley. Respect. In an interview Ikee explains that his worm was designed as more of a warning shot than an attempt to compromise user data. Ikee had hoped users would be motivated to change their root password, which is set to “alpine” by default post-jailbreak, after seeing the consequences of a compromised root password. Fast forward to today, and a new anonymous coder has modified Ikee’s worm, and this new variant has less of that public service announcement feel to it. The modified strain, dubbed “iPhone/Privacy.A” by the online security firm Intego, is programmed to do several things: act silently and retrieve e-mail messages, SMS messages, calendar appointments, contacts, photos, music files, videos, along with any other data recorded by your iPhone apps. Currently details on where the worm is uploading the farmed data is scarce, and the threat of being infected is low. What’s our recommendation? If you have a jailbroken iPhone, change the root password. Maybe this is why Apple’s looking to secure their incredibly unsecure mobile operating system…

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