Brian Kelley › Comments

"Monday's news that social giant Facebook is acquiring the less than two-year old FriendFeed included an important postscript: "FriendFeed.com will continue to operate normally for the time being as the teams determine the longer term plans for the product." But for FriendFeed users, the future seems unclear. Will development on the service be discontinued as the now Facebook-employed FriendFeed creators have been tapped to work on a bigger, and more popular social-networking site? Probably." - Brian Kelley from Bookmarklet

MyFreeCopyright.com captures your original creation's fingerprint, stores the fingerprint in a database and sends a copy of the fingerprint to you in an email. The email contains the verified date; the fingerprint verifies the digital creation, and your email address verifies it belongs to you. - Brian Kelley from Bookmarklet

"In 2007, a pair of British wisecrackers had a great idea: Let's reproduce album covers using the primitive art software Microsoft Paint! This excellent idea inspired other artists to do the same, and now almost 1,800 album covers are posted onto PaintMyAlbum.net. Here are 10 instant classics. Think you can do better? Send your own submissions to paintmyalbum@gmail.com." - Brian Kelley from Bookmarklet

"Christian Beach will be peforming at historic John & Peter’s in New Hope, Pa., this coming Sunday night (July 19) at 9:30 p.m. He will also be making a return to Fergie’s Pub (1214 Sansom St.) in Philadelphia on Wednesday, July 22, at 9 p.m." - Brian Kelley from Bookmarklet

"US radio stations don't pay performers and producers for the music they play, but the recording industry hopes to change that with a new performance rights bill in Congress. Webcaster Pandora has jumped into the fray on the side of the artists and labels, asking why radio gets a free ride when Pandora does not." - Brian Kelley from Bookmarklet

"The plethora of legal music options online has prompted Internet users in the UK to cut down on their P2P ways. According to an annual report from media and technology research firm The Leading Question, monthly file sharing has dropped among all users since the last national survey in 2007. The drop is particularly significant among teens, where file-sharing has declined by a third. Still, users continue to share music—just a little more the old-fashioned way." - Brian Kelley from Bookmarklet

"When Apple discussed the new features of the forthcoming iPhone OS 3.0, SVP of iPhone Software Engineering Scott Forstall said that the iPhone would be capable of streaming video and audio directly over HTTP. Apple also advertised HTTP streaming as a feature of QuickTime X, the update of its media architecture coming in Snow Leopard. What it failed to explain, at least publicly, is how this streaming would be accomplished. Fortunately, Apple submitted its proposed protocol last month to the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) in the hopes that it will become a ubiquitous standard." - Brian Kelley from Bookmarklet

"A fifth of online video aficionados watch less TV as a direct result of online video, seemingly confirming the fears of TV networks that their traditional audience is moving online. A new report from Frank N. Magid Associates and Metacafe claims that online video offerings are now becoming as or more entertaining than shows on the boob tube, and the types of clips people watch online span many different genres." - Brian Kelley from Bookmarklet

"First, an explanation of what Earth Class Mail does. The company allows customers in 170 countries (including the US) to sign up for an address where they will have their mail delivered. When the mail starts coming in, its outer packaging/envelopes are scanned—without being opened—and an image is e-mailed to you. From there, you can decide to recycle the junk (according to the New York Times, Earth Class Mail customers recycle 90 percent of their mail), have the mail forwarded, or have it opened and the contents scanned. All the images are encrypted, and you can even request that mail that contains personal information (such as bills or credit card offers) be shredded. This is all done with your authorization—if you're in the US, you must file a form with the US Postal Service so they know someone's not just trying to steal your mail—and the company promises the utmost privacy and security with your documents." - Brian Kelley from Bookmarklet

"The new OIG report on the NSA-run Presidential Surveillance Program (PSP), of which the previously revealed warrantless wiretapping program was just a part, contains a number of stunning revelations; I'll go through some of those in subsequent articles. But perhaps the report's greatest value is in the way that it provides a glimpse into how the secrecy-obsessed Bush administration actually sabotaged the NSA's massive, law-free surveillance program by overly restricting intelligence personnel's knowledge of and access to it. In short, the PSP was too secret for its own good." - Brian Kelley from Bookmarklet

"Phillies centerfielder Shane Victorino is in a tight race for the National League team’s final roster spot in MLB’s Final Vote competition. Voting ends today at 4 p.m. ET, so CLICK HERE NOW and vote as many times as you can (there is no limit) before 4 p.m. to send Shane to the All-Star Game." - Brian Kelley from Bookmarklet

"The Detroit Tigers have teamed with the Philadelphia Phillies to vote for both Tigers third baseman Brandon Inge and Phillies outfielder Shane Victorino in the 2009 All-Star Game Sprint Final Vote. The Detroit Tigers and Philadelphia Phillies organizations, two of baseball's most storied franchises, are encouraging businesses located throughout Michigan and Pennsylvania to allow their employees time today and tomorrow to vote for Inge and Victorino." - Brian Kelley from Bookmarklet

"Former New York Met Lenny Dykstra is officially broke -- he just filed for bankruptcy -- so he owes the TMZ staffer he called a "f***ing drama queen" last month an apology. Dykstra, who just filed for Chapter 11 in California, went ballistic when we called to ask if his $400,000 Rolls-Royce Phantom had been repossessed. We had a photo of the car being towed -- so it's not like the question came out of left field." - Brian Kelley from Bookmarklet

"Internet radio, once on its deathbed, is likely to survive after all. On Tuesday, after a two-year battle, record labels and online radio stations agreed on new royalty rates that cover music streaming. Many of the music sites had argued that the old rates were so high that they were being forced out of business. That could have come back to haunt the record labels, since for many people the sites are becoming a useful way to discover music. “This is definitely the agreement that we’ve been waiting for,” said Tim Westergren, the founder of Pandora, one of the most popular Internet radio sites with 30 million registered users." - Brian Kelley from Bookmarklet

"NEW YORK – A New York Police Department rookie just couldn't wait to get started. One of the NYPD's newest officers made his first arrest Thursday just minutes after graduating from the Police Academy in a ceremony at Madison Square Garden. Officer Dariel Firpo, 23, was leaving the midtown Manhattan ceremony when he saw a 79-year-old man being robbed of his wallet and thrown to the ground by a mugger, police said. The mugger tried to run away, but Firpo caught him without incident, they said." - Brian Kelley from Bookmarklet

""If the world's biggest pop star only made $12 million a year from his recordings, why would anyone make serious music? Where did the rest of the money go? Why, straight into record labels' pockets. Did they make better music with it? Nope — they made Britney and Lady GaGa. And that's how they killed themselves: by underinvesting in quality" - Brian Kelley from Bookmarklet

"Liquid Audio, for instance, was trying to launch a DRM-protected music service years before iTunes. As Liquid Audio exec Gerry Kearby tells the story, "One day in a moment of pure honesty, [a Sony rep] said, 'Look, Kearby, my job is to keep you down. We don't ever want you to succeed.' Some of them were more interested in experimenting than others, there's no doubt about it. But they were, in effect, buggy-whip manufacturers, trying to keep the auto at bay as long as they could."" - Brian Kelley from Bookmarklet

"If the lack of widespread credit bothered Harvey Levin, the managing editor of TMZ, he wasn't admitting it. "That's typical," Levin said during a phone interview when asked about rivals' hesitation to credit the site. "No matter what they say, people know we broke the story. That's how competitors handle it. There's no issue about our credibility. "Today I made 100 phone calls, and everyone else made 100 calls," Levin said of his staff. "Everyone blanketed the city. . . . We were getting calls from everyone under the sun, established news operations, asking, 'Are you sure?' That's such an odd question. We would not have published it if it were not true."" - Brian Kelley from Bookmarklet

"Dobbs, who played first base against the Rays on Thursday night, immediately thought of his blast against the Red Sox when Cederstrom elected to review the ground-rule double. "I think [it was going through] all of our minds," said Dobbs, who remains convinced that his hit left the field of play in fair territory. "Why would they consider reviewing that play when the game is where it's at, when 2 weeks earlier we couldn't even get a truly game-changing play [reviewed] that was a lot closer and, in my eyes, a lot more questionable, and a lot more impactful on the outcome of the game. Why couldn't we get that?"" - Brian Kelley from Bookmarklet

"How will the RIAA react to this one? FriendFeed, the popular site that enables discovery and discussion of "interesting stuff your friends find on the web", has added the ability to share any file, including music, by attaching it to a FriendFeed post." - Brian Kelley from Bookmarklet

"The conceit of the new Disney/Pixar cartoon epic, Up, is that an old guy’s house gets attached to a bunch of helium balloons which lift it up out of the city and on a wonderful adventure. That got Wired Science thinking: Could that actually work? And if so, how many balloons would you need? We called Wolfe House Movers, which specializes in moving old structures and had Kendal Siegrist, a manager, take a look at the images from the movie to see how much the house might weigh. “A building like that, you’d figure right around 100,000 pounds,” Siegrist said. Then we did some calculations. Air weighs about 0.078 pounds per cubic foot; helium weighs just 0.011 pounds per cubic foot. A helium balloon experiences a buoyant upward force that is equal to the air it displaces minus its own weight, or 0.067 pounds per cubic foot of helium balloon. One more simple calculation — 100,000 pounds divided by 0.067 pounds per cubic foot — and you’ve got that it would take 1,492,537 cubic feet of... more... - Brian Kelley from Bookmarklet

"Two days ago, ESPN reported a "developing story" about Brett Favre scheduling surgery to repair his partially torn biceps tendon. The WWL made a big deal about it. Yesterday, ESPN walked the story back. Ed Werder cited a source that said Favre would not undergo surgery. ESPN didn't use the "developing story" graphic on the follow-up. It just sort of slipped the new information to viewers and moved on, but not before it blamed the inaccurate report on the St. Paul Pioneer Press. Funny. Because when the WWL was running the initial "developing story" about Favre, I don't remember it giving the Pioneer Press credit. Must have been an oversight." - Brian Kelley from Bookmarklet

"One of Britain's most popular actors has been named the new host of Masterpiece contemporary. David Tennant, well known to fans of British television for his acclaimed star turns as Doctor Who and Casanova, will make his hosting debut when Masterpiece contemporary returns in October, 2009, with Endgame, a drama about the last days of apartheid. "How many actors can nail the characters of Casanova and Doctor Who?," says Masterpiece executive producer Rebecca Eaton. "David's talent, versatility and unique appeal make him the perfect match for Masterpiece contemporary."" - Brian Kelley from Bookmarklet

"Variety calls it "a captivating odd-couple adventure that becomes funnier and more exciting as it flies along", noting one particular highlight being "an exquisite interlude that, in less than five minutes, encapsulates the life-long love affair between Carl Fredericksen and his wife Ellie in a manner worthy of even the most poetic of silent-film director". It concludes that it's both very funny, and "an exceptionally refined picture". The Hollywood Reporter is singing from the same song sheet, calling Up a "wonderful big picture", noting that it's "winsome, touching and arguably the funniest Pixar effort ever" and "Chaplin-esque". It also reckons that when it comes to box office potential with Up, "the sky's the limit"." - Brian Kelley from Bookmarklet

"The Polar Music Prize is Sweden's biggest music award and is typically shared by a pop artist and a classical musician. It was founded by Stig Anderson, manager of Swedish pop group ABBA, in 1989. The prize committee cited Gabriel, 59, for "his groundbreaking, outward-looking and boundary-busting artistry." The former Genesis frontman and Grammy-winner has made 11 solo albums, and his "Sledgehammer" video has been voted the best video of all time. In 1980 he founded the World of Music Arts and Dance, or WOMAD — a foundation that has presented more than 150 festivals in 40 countries. He also founded Real World, a group of companies including a multimedia outlet. In 2000, he co-founded online British music distributor On Demand Distribution (OD2), which sold for millions to a Seattle company in 2004." - Brian Kelley from Bookmarklet

"But when a fan "googles" Ten Ton Rock Machine do they find a great band or the latest in granite splitting technology? And when the fan finally finds the band, will their MySpace page and an article from the Peoria Rocks blog be at the top of the rankings? Or will they find the band's official web site where they control the message and can capture email addresses? In an age of too many choices and 10 second attention spans, this stuff matters. Courtesy of Jason Feinberg of PBS' MediaShift blog, here are 7 Search Engine Optimization Tips For Musicians:" - Brian Kelley from Bookmarklet

"Tony Stark is out of the superhero closet, and it's no picnic. The sequel to last summer's blockbuster, which began shooting three weeks ago and opens May 7, 2010, takes place six months after Stark revealed his identity as Iron Man, says director Jon Favreau. And the development is playing out with unexpected results. "How many superheroes are open about their true identities?" he asks. "We wanted to play with that idea. But it obviously has consequences — in his relationships, on the team. There are a lot of areas we can explore."" - Brian Kelley from Bookmarklet

"Wilson, a doctoral student in biomedical engineering, was confirming an announcement he had made two weeks earlier -- his lab had developed a way to post messages on Twitter using electrical impulses generated by thought. That's right, no keyboards, just a red cap fitted with electrodes that monitor brain activity, hooked up to a computer flashing letters on a screen. Wilson sent the messages by concentrating on the letters he wanted to "type," then focusing on the word "twit" at the bottom of the screen to post the message. The development could be a lifeline for people with "locked-in syndrome" -- whose brains function normally but who cannot speak or move because of injury or disease." - Brian Kelley from Bookmarklet

"Never before have we had so many ways of discovering new music. Though Baby Boomers sometimes lament the good old days, when you could tune into FM radio and hear an eclectic mix of tunes, that golden age of radio seems like the dark ages in comparison to what's possible with today's music-related startups and internet radio stations. In fact, today's web-based options for uncovering new tunes are so diverse and varied, you might wonder if you'll ever have time to listen to the music you're discovering." - Brian Kelley from Bookmarklet

"And after thumbing through a series of lawsuits that stretches from coast to coast and chatting up his business associates, you wonder if this aspiring financial Pied Piper is, indeed, living in a fantasyland. You wonder if the dream, built on glitz and greed in a time of economic uncertainty, is a teetering house of cards. You wonder if anyone this side of Bernie Madoff has ticked off more people -- business partners and family, alike -- than Lenny K. Dykstra. The lawsuits suggest that one of two things is going on here: Either Lenny hates to pay his bills, or he's a financial train wreck. Just in the past two years, Dykstra has been the subject of at least 24 legal actions, including 18 since November. Three suits hit the courts on Jan. 29. He's been sued by publishers and print companies, by three different groups of pilots and by a Maryland-based financial and litigation consulting firm that offered expert testimony on his behalf in an earlier lawsuit." - Brian Kelley from Bookmarklet