Craig Thomler - Comments

Erhan Erdogan bookmarked a page on delicious

What is going on, blog: Mobile voice to blog text would be a great idea.: What's going on in the world, tech and everything else, blog

July 11 at 4:55 pm - Link

Susan Beebe and Steve Spalding liked this

FRESH TERM: "voice blogging" - Erhan Erdogan

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Well, if it can be done correctly, it would make a big differance on blogging world. Definitely an interesting idea. - M. Hakan Deryal

Jott.com? - Lindsay Donaghe

http://jott.com/ works! - Erhan Erdogan

: ) Lindsay!! At the same second ; ) Great! - Erhan Erdogan

But I didn't hear that jott has a niche product or an agreement with a service provider up to now. - Erhan Erdogan

I think you can have it forward your transcripted jots to an email address... and depending on your blogging software you could set it up to accept those emails and then you're set (I know you can do that with WordPress, and for sure Posterous). - Lindsay Donaghe

@bluecockatoo: Sorry to distrub this threads. I was looking for you! :) Could you please try again on NR and tell me ? :) (Note Toself= think about private msg feature) - directeur via NoiseRiver

Jott.com is perfect. Well, it used to be. Lately the transcriptions started to suck which kind of cooled me off from the service. It's already frustrating to jott to Twitter, imagine how much it would suck to blog. - Cem Catikkas via fftogo

Lindsay: I’ve pinged team for a comment. - Erhan Erdogan

Sorry for the delayed response! You can do just that-- blog with your voice-- through Jott. You can create an account at jott.com and then add what we call "Jott Links" to them. Right now we have Jott Links for Blogger, WordPress, Live Journal and TypePad. - Jott

Oh! I wanted to add too that if you are having trouble with transcriptions, especially with proper nouns and such, you can always spell them out :) - Jott

You are enough fast! : ) Thanks Kate?! - from jott team! ; ) - Erhan Erdogan

Tell something to them about jott+iPhone - all noise like iPhone news here around! : )) - Erhan Erdogan

Recording your speech is now considered blogging? Someone should tell the people who inaccurately call it 'podcasting' or 'radio' - Craig Thomler

@Craig - no this transcribes your voice - so technically it's all in writing. - Cem Catikkas

Cyndy posted an entry on Industry Standard Unique Content

Are Email newsletters the new black? Glam follows Calacanis lead.

July 14 at 1:38 pm - Link

Sarah Perez, Steve Spalding, Susan Beebe and 3 other people liked this

Only for people who want to talk but not listen. - Mike Bogle

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I think there is a place for newsletters. Smaller companies can really benefit from having a newsletter going out to keep their customer base in touch with them and, add a personal touch to things. A blog is also a good idea but, it's not as personal as seeing a newsletter come into your inbox from a company you support. It's just another way of building your community. - Candace Holly

we're just moving back in time.. web 4.0 will be IRC, Listsrv and Usenet :) - Naor

Naor - lol - Hutch Carpenter

Naor, please include gopher! - JC unwired

What I DO enjoy about Jason's new emails- one source for the info flow, easy to track source. Wish there was a way to thread conversations better here on ff. Scoble had some great conversations going regarding Energy and Intelligence, unfortunately they got lost in the noise. - Nice Fish Films

OMG @jody I wrote it and deleted :) thought i'm the only one that used it :) - Naor

Presumably, then, Web 5.0 will involve smoke signals and drums. - Michael Nielsen

hehe Naor, showing our age. Really, I wouldn't mind seeing a comeback as an alternative to web for phone browsing. - JC unwired

@CandaceHolly I cannot see how an impersonal e mail blast, resembling spam so much, can come to feel personal merely because it arrives via mail, especially after the novelty has worn away. I see it as a crutch for those who don't know how to use feeds and feedreaders. - John Lam

@John, I agree on the personable front, but the people who actually "know how to use feeds and feedreaders" is an incredibly small number compared to those who know how to use email. So it might make sense if your goal is to broadcast to more people in a format they're familiar with to pick a newsletter subscription over providing an RSS feed. - Lindsay Donaghe

@John - That's the point. A lot of people don't know how to use feeds and readers. For each of us who are so adept at the internet, there are probably 5 people who aren't. E-mail newsletters are great for small communities and small businesses that keep things on a more personal level. They aren't all e-mail blasts that seem like spam. I get a couple of e-mail newsletters from companies/organizations that I enjoy reading very much. - Candace Holly

notjasoncalacanis.blogspot.com - you can't leave blogs behind. - Mark "Rizzn" Hopkins

Every movement has a counter movement, and now that people have played with their social toys for as long as they can stand we're seeing some of them learn that they really don't care as much as they initially thought they would. That being said, it's hard to give up a captive audience and email is a great way to keep your feedback loop. - Steve Spalding

Are we seeing repeated fads in the online industry, just as we do for fashion - NO it could never happen! - Craig Thomler

Jeremy Zawodny posted an entry on Jeremy Zawodny's blog

Weight Based Pricing of Airline Tickets

July 14 at 2:23 pm - Link

Kirb, Carlo Zottmann, Zulu and 13 other people liked this

Don't all airline tickets weigh the same? - Stuart Grimshaw via twhirl

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I think it would be great, may even help not getting stuck between two large people on a flight back east. But please don't let TSA be responsible for weighing everyone we may never get to board. - Jon Erickson

Actually, I often get "electronic" tickets... I wonder if those weigh anything. - Jeremy Zawodny

This reminds me of living with roommates... you'd start out splitting the electricity bill evenly, but then someone complains that Carl has a server room that drains 70% of the power and then Carl complains that Eddie uses a lot of that server space and so on and so on... weight-based pricing sounds neat ... in theory... but could turn into disaster - Dave Dash via Alert Thingy

so how do you buy tickets in advance, or for a third person, when you can't price them until you actually show up to be weighed? - Chuq Von Rospach

It's an interesting concept ... but as mentioned above, could get messy. I've often thought about how this could be done in health care. THAT gets even messier though. - AJ Kohn

its a great idea, but people would scream discimination - that being overweight isn't their fault, not to mention it would be impractical - scales at the airport would slow things down, and if you didn't weigh people at the airport, surely folks would exaggerate their slenderness to get the best price. - Jason Kaneshiro

@Jason: You could weigh them at the security checkpoint without slowing them down too much. Hey, they even get to take the shoes off to lower the total! - AJ Kohn

@AJ, more likely it would have to be done at the luggage counter where people interact with the airline representative and pay for the additional charge, and second, all the people who don't check bags with e-tickets would then have to stand in line also to be weighed. - Jason Kaneshiro

I'm not sure that knowing the *exact* price in advance really matters. What you're "buying" in advance is a $/pound price point. Most poeple likely own scales and could easily ballpark their ticket prices. Hell, it wouldn't take long for popular booking web sites to add a little on-line calculator. - Jeremy Zawodny

Yikes, would be very embarrassing for many Americans. - Sonciary Honnoll

Here's an idea. At the airport, set up a series of poles set up with increasing distance between to measure girth. Charge accordingly depending on which posts the passenger can pass between. Essentially, if you're spilling out of your airline seat into the next one, you should pay for two. This would be similar to the "does your suitcase fit here?" type plastic boxes to measure carry ons. - Jason Kaneshiro

I'm thinking of it like in Total Recall with the wall of x-ray ... as you walk down you're assigned a weight. Perhaps it's not even a scale but simple math based on visual capture? - AJ Kohn

if you're going to attempt this in obese-nation, then ya need to seriously overhaul a ton of other crap like banning fast food, only see fruit vendors in airports and, if your feet cant reach the floor in your seat -sorry you cant lean back its felony if you do - Dan Rockwell via twhirl

Oh man I'm in trouble. Wouldn't this classify as weightism? :P - Shey

This is likely an unpopular view, but would it be a bad thing to provide some economic incentives to be a bit healthier? I mean, it's one thing if you choose to smoke, stuff yourself with fast food and not exercise and your quality of life and health diminishes. The problem is the rest of the populace pays for their care. - AJ Kohn

Weight is not always health related - some people are naturally larger or smaller. Also sometimes being overweight is a medical condition rather than the result of food consumption. So not a really fair system. - Craig Thomler

sort of understand the mass to cost to transport ratio - but surprised to see above is all about overweight - how about those of us who are genetically big, we'd be punished for our dna - mike "glemak" dunn

Final solution remedies always produce collateral damage,huh? - Mark Forman

Craig: see this response: http://jeremy.zawodny.com/blog... - Jeremy Zawodny

One way around the weight discrimination is to include carry ons in the pricing. An overweight person could reduce their ticket price by bringing less crap on board, and the skinny person with three "bags" (purse and bag of food) plus a rolly suitcase could pay just as much. - Jason Kaneshiro

Jason: smart approach... sorta huge line though to weigh all this stuff...monetizing air travel really does suck - Susan Beebe

im obese and what you just said kills me "put down the cinnabon before you board" - i hope we get to meet one day and you say that to my face! - Allen Stern

Allen, perhaps you're not familiar with my story? http://jeremy.zawodny.com/blog... - Jeremy Zawodny

No zealots like a convert. :) - Robert Cooper via twhirl

As someone who is bigger (tall and a bit wider) I think the only way I would agree to pay more is if they give me a bigger seat with more legroom. Short skinny people can spare the space. This is a reason I hate to fly. I would rather drive than pay more to get treated as sheep. - Dave Simon

Jeremy your system is flawed for so many reasons. Stick to coding pal :) - Allen Stern

Allen: thanks for your thoughtful analysis and advice. I'll be sure to only think and write about code from now on, for fear of a coming up with "flawed" ideas. - Jeremy Zawodny

I'm thinking Jeremy meant this like Swift's "A Modest Proposal" [satire] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A... - Sprague D

So in your plan, if I am fat, do I get a larger seat to go along with my higher price? Right now I pay for two seats, how does your system handle that? Or does everyone get the same seat but pays more because there's more weight in there? I am going to double-swipe my metrocard tomorrow on the subway because the train pulling me has to exert more force because of my weight. On a side note, congrats (seriously) on your weight loss. - Allen Stern

Allen: a larger seat would make a lot of sense, wouldn't it? - Jeremy Zawodny

i wish i had more time right now to go back and forth with you on this but 9 companies have decided to post news tomorrow at 9am and i have to write their stories - maybe we pick this up at another time - sorry - Allen Stern

This came up 6 years ago too. SouthWest decided they would force large people to buy a second ticket. http://scottkoon.org/2002/07/1... . This works out to a lose-lose situation for everyone. It does open some "slippery slope" possibilities. The real problem is that they put too many rows on the planes. Tall, skinny people would rather have one less row and some more leg room. I'd also advocate some sort of "smack in the head" policy for anyone reclining in their seat. - Scott Koon via twhirl

I would find this a lot more palatable if you also got a size-appropriate seat. If I'm 280 lbs and am paying twice as much as someone who weighs 140lbs, then I should get a chair that fits my size, and the 140 lb person should get a chair that fits their size. - Kevin Fox

This campaign was running a few weeks ago when I was in Philadelphia: http://flyderrie-air.com/derri... The first airline to charge by weight. It is coming. (No, it isn't real, but it is funny) Wasn't pay by the pound big with some small town restaurants in the 70's / 80's? I remember going to one as a kid and it was a nickel a pound for kids under 12. - Scott Schnaars

Besides larger seats for larger people you would also have to provide a bigger meal and more snacks. Ummm wait.. that's called first class. - Luis Figueiredo

A sensible idea. - Carlo Zottmann

all I know is that I just flew continental and was totally surprised to be fed... and I mean actual food not just peanuts - nick carrasco

It's not unreasonable to charge people according to the cost of carrying them & their luggage, whether or not you also offer to sell them custom sized seats, but it's probably a money losing scheme once you factor in people's resentment of it. Given a choice between equitable treatment and just treatment, people generally choose whichever benefits them more. - seth

Obsese people wouldn't get larger seats for their expensive tickets, they would get more fuel for their flight. Bigger seats are available right now; it's called first class. - Micah Sittig

David Sim bookmarked a page on delicious

Reading: "Linden prepares for an OpenSim future" OpenSim? Should I take this personally? ( )

July 14 at 2:00 am - Link

Sebastian Küpers liked this

Are you open to the possibility? - Craig Thomler

Craig Thomler bookmarked a page on delicious

Kiva - Loans that change lives

July 13 at 6:35 am - Link

An excellent online micro-loan service - Craig Thomler

Craig Thomler bookmarked a page on delicious

Kiva - Loans that change lives

July 13 at 6:35 am - Link

An excellent online micro-loan service - Craig Thomler

Craig Thomler bookmarked a page on delicious

Love Digital - The industry resource on digital marketing

July 13 at 3:50 am - Link

Light site with some useful stats on digital media - Craig Thomler

Craig Thomler bookmarked a page on delicious

Love Digital - The industry resource on digital marketing

July 13 at 3:50 am - Link

Light site with some useful stats on digital media - Craig Thomler

Loic Le Meur posted a message on Twitter

“Why do you think there are so few women in tech industry and conferences?”

July 12 at 8:41 pm - Link

Liz, Franklin Naval, edythe and 16 other people liked this

Loic is asking about women in tech industry/conferences is a big problem and not one we'll solve in 140 characters. - Robert Scoble

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The women in tech conference issue has been written about dozens of times, too. You should check out http://www.blogher.org - Robert Scoble

it is very sad we should work on it. Geraldine and myself want more at LeWeb. - Loic Le Meur

Loic, read this: http://www.kottke.org/07/02/ge... - Robert Scoble

Here is a list of tech speakers; lots of women http://tinyurl.com/6xkeaw - Roxanne Darling

Because when I was a computer scientist student, we had only one girl in the group? - directeur via NoiseRiver

Loic - I sent you two tweets; no idea why they don't show up in FriendFeed - Roxanne Darling

It would be good to see more women involved in conservations like this in places like this (friendfeed) too. - jjprojects

I was at TechEd last year; don't I count? Don't answer that. Host something where I don't have to book a flight or get a hotel! - MiɳiMagɘ (Sexy Scimitar)

this is one of the least settled arguments this year... have to say, seeing that conference you mentioned the other day - http://tinyurl.com/2jjalk - there's a huge balance there. So maybe it's just more about who is organizing. - Lucretia Pruitt

thanks all for the links and comments. Robert will read these. - Loic Le Meur

because I didnt receive an invitation .... - Margit Hinke

I think that's perception. I've met and worked with (and read about etc.) just as many women as I have men. There is much more a balance now then there was a few years ago. - Candace Holly

Because the tech industry self-selects for maleness. It's generally not woman friendly. - Craig Thomler

Lucretia: what's even more fun is that conference is within walking distance of my house. I love it when cool conferences happen literally in my back yard. - Robert Scoble

My own personal opinion and experience - they aren't taken as seriously as their male peers - Susanne "Renee" Bullo

@sbullo: My personal opinion? This distinction male/female doesn't have actually its place when it comes to tech. Because we tech folks are the very cute n' sweet assexual babies! :) - directeur via NoiseRiver

I've been asking that question ALL my life! - fbrunel

I'm available too - community building, networking & branding - just need an invite :) - Connie Bensen

Most men are fans of logic, which is used extensively in the Tech industry. There are women who love logic, but if mine is any indicator, logic is always a last resort! - Sean McGee

Is there still a huge gap between the salaries for men and women? As I alluded to before, conferences can be out of reach for financial reasons alone. I asked my employers to send me to TechEd for 3 years before it actually happened; I've been working there for 9 years. (Thank you, boss! I'm not complaining!) - MiɳiMagɘ (Sexy Scimitar)

Conferences? Look at the recommended here... there's a limited list of women anyone thinks of inviting to speak, etc. and they can't do every conference, yet there are tons of men. Why are there more men in tech in general? Speaking from my experience, it's a reality that if you have kids and drop out for even a few months, the world passes you by and you drop back down to the Z-list. Six months home with #1 and I had no career to go back to and had to start over again. - Cyndy

This one boggles my mind, because I've had great experiences with women in tech. Usually smarter and more mature than the guys anyway. - Eric @ CS Techcast

Sorry but I don't belive and won't believe that someone's sex defines his/her abilities. I've seen many smart and dumb women/men in my dev's life. Sure, there's differences in the way they solve problems (you just can't deny it :) ) BUT it's before all about the one who is willing to do a nice and clean job. - directeur via NoiseRiver

Most of the time, women are more straight forward and spend less time aspiring for higher positions, limelight or I should not say, attention, but women (i could be wrong) like to stay low key. Priorities in women are very different compared to men. Which starts another topic..why women sometimes feel inadequate competing with men. In most cases, women tend to give in easily. But lately there have been a lot of successful women who have received a lot of positive coverage, which is good. The more coverage women get, other women will see and gain confidence that there is potential for them in technology. (This is my own personal opinion. Others may share very different views. But hope this might help to shed some light on the topic. Good luck with the conference.) - Brenda McLaren

@cstechcast: Sorry, This is NOT true. It's just what you think :) - directeur via NoiseRiver

@directeur oh that would be lovely if it were true @sean I love being the exception to the rule - Susanne "Renee" Bullo

Because I'm too busy taking care of my kid, doing my "day job" and curing world hunger to try to grow my reach to that level. ;) But I soon hope to find a way to add several hours to the day in order to do so. Then... watch out! - Robyn Miller

@sbullo I'm glad someone got that I was saying there were exceptions to the rule! - Sean McGee

Brenda - very true about women not being as competitive as men, one place I worked for a short period of time was asking why it was that women providers were having a harder time getting jobs as the men. I shared with them something I found early on - women will downplay their abilities every time whereas men will (not lie, mind you) tend to overplay their abilities. Men tend to be better "self" salesmen. - Susanne "Renee" Bullo

@directeur, I hear you, sex does not define ability, I agree. But I have heard from a couple women who have had to deal with sexism and the issue of not being taken seriously. I've also met women who have moved up without having too many issues. Just my small sample, but some men put priority on building castles and have little regard for others, while women can be more willing to work together and get along. I do think some men don't take women seriously and that is part of the problem. - Eric @ CS Techcast

@robynmiller: Good luck :) And well, sorry to disapoint you, but you will never have more than 24hrs a day : http://www.gutenberg.org/etext... is a must read IMHO :) - directeur via NoiseRiver

+100 Robyn - Cyndy

@cstechcast: I hear you! Sincerly. But in the other hand I think that it's up to the individual person (man or woman) to define and follow till achievement his objectives and dreams. Keeping on saying "we women are underestimated...etc." is not the solution. You'll never hear a man saying "we men are underestimated" Not because it doesn't happen, but I (a man) take these things personaly and never generalize to my sex - directeur via NoiseRiver

@directeur: 10-4, understood. I just think some people still treat women unfairly for no reason, I've seen it. It's unfortunate because my experience with women in tech has been almost all positive. A small sample I know, and I know our choices determine our path. Agree with that. - Eric @ CS Techcast

@Susanne: Yes...very true...I am generally not comfortable upselling myself. - Brenda McLaren

The same people get asked to speak over and over again. It's lack of imagination on the part of organizers, or lack of knowledge of who is out there. Women don't self-promote (myself excluded). - Francine Hardaway via twhirl

The French! lol Loic don't you have many beautiful French girlfriends? lmao - Igor The Troll

What Cyndy, Robyn, Suzanne and Francine said. Also, in this age high tech is seen as a "man's" world. Women are just not taken that seriously or ostracized/objectified (ne Playboy) if reaching any kind of prominence. You all remember what happened to Kathy Sierra, right? The women Brenda talk about are the exception. - Helen Sventitsky

Helen, be careful I think Loic is trying to get hooked up! ;-) - Igor The Troll

They don't like them? - Sam Pullara

this industry and their conferences are mostly boring - Erno Hannink

I got an idea. I will start TechBitches.com and make a video on Seesmic. Then you can get Scoble and "Fast Company" to destroy my reputation and get every Soccer Mom to block me.... now wait didn't that already happen? um... hmmmmmm - ⓃⓄⒶⒽ ⒹⒶⓋⒾⒹ ⓈⒾⓂⓄⓃ

or was that someone else? I think it was called "Tech" something. - ⓃⓄⒶⒽ ⒹⒶⓋⒾⒹ ⓈⒾⓂⓄⓃ

"Tech"something. yes?... it is all coming to me now. Seems 2of offended a lot of blue state people who didn't know the context - ⓃⓄⒶⒽ ⒹⒶⓋⒾⒹ ⓈⒾⓂⓄⓃ

Not all sections of tech industry are male dominated. I joined a library tech team a couple of years ago as the 7th member and the 2nd male in the team. - Nick Cowie

Maybe Robert can cut it off and become the first Alister woman in tech industry! LMAO - Igor The Troll

But jokes a side, how about a Martha Steward of tech? What happened to the HP lady, Carly Fiorina? - Igor The Troll

edythe shared an item on Google Reader

How to Say Nothing in 500 Words (A Lesson on Writing)

July 11 at 9:56 pm - Link

Dobromir Hadzhiev, Heather Cee, Hassan Ibraheem and 11 other people liked this

this would have helped me when i was teaching composition and high school English! - edythe

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Ah, so you were a teacher... explains the natural editor's tendancy too. - Michael W. May via twhirl

Heh. I was *supposed* to be a teacher. Perhaps why I agree with you so much and find your interests so interesting. I <3 my online friends. :-) - Lisa L. Seifert

I really like this article I read it yesterday and bookmarked it. I really want to be a teacher some day... and although English was my favorite subject I don't think I could ever teach it. I'd have to teach Economics or Physics :D - Brandon

:) me, too... - edythe

Yeah. I had a semester of teaching 9th graders English. I learned more than they did, I'm sure. And I became a nanny shortly thereafter. :-) - Lisa L. Seifert

But it says nothing! - Craig Thomler

People have been saying nothing in 140 characters for awhile now. - Akiva Moskovitz

OMG me too! I will never forget the phone call home to tell my parents I hated teaching, and no, I did not know what I'd do with an English degree. - Cyndy

Social Media: Mark "Rizzn" Hopkins posted a link

Why Go Negative?

July 10 at 5:29 pm - via Reshare - Link

David, Ben Parr and Phil Glockner liked this

A bit on blogging negative and why I do it. - Mark "Rizzn" Hopkins

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You should never be negative! Controversy in blogs is a really bad idea - Craig Thomler

I was just about to react to that, Craig, but then I figured it out. You got me. - Phil Glockner

Craig, you're completely wrong, and I can't believe you said that! - Brian Carter

I am always negative, and it works for me! You got to believe what you doing! - Igor The Troll

I was a bit negative about something on my blog the other day - but I think it depends on what the situation/topic is. Also, corporate blogs you should never be negative - but a personal blog is yours and you have the freedom to do anything you want on it. - Adam Singer

We all have different styles. I try not to be negative unless I can back it up with examples of why I'm criticizing it, etc. Igor, you crack me up! I would only expect negative from you- that's your gig! - Jason Kintzler

Stephen Collins posted a message on Twitter

“When I say call... I mean on hold with some smooth jazz...”

July 10 at 3:45 pm - Link

So don't want your business much then :) - Craig Thomler

Mark Forman posted a message

“If there were a fuel-saving device that would allow you to realize between 5-15% savings per tank of gas. Would you be willing to spend between $20-$30?”

July 9 at 5:43 pm - Link

Phil Glockner, ♫ Rahsheen™ and Brian Sullivan liked this

I don't know why, but something tells me that you invented it? Did you? :) - directeur via NoiseRiver

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a fuel-saving device? like a bike? - fbrunel

Yes - once off cost of $30 pays for itself very fast - Craig Thomler

I would... I'm looking for birthday presents right now too - Stefan Hayden

Directeur-Involved with the development of said device. If it used a new (non-familiar technology) but can be proven to work would you still buy? This uses Far Infra-red radiant material in a device that attaches to the fuel line. - Mark Forman via NoiseRiver

Sounds like a scam to me - Brian Sullivan

have no idea what you just said but any fuel savings is good fuel savings so count me in - Marco (aureliusmaximus)

I think if it was proven to work anyone in their right mind would buy one. A $30 device that saved 5% of $4 gallon of gas would pay for itself in about 150 gallons. That said, I'm still happy I don't own a car! :) - John Biesnecker

Not another fuel line heater...geez - Robert Hafer via fftogo

New, non-familiar tech? Technobabble that would make The Doctor proud? Incredible effects at cheap price? My BS detector is off the charts with this one! (And of course, if it's real, you could sell it to Toyota for the price of a small country; so what's this $30 business?) - James Williams (willia4)

Brian-understand had same feeling when I was introduced to the material. FIR is a form of radiation that exists in sunlight and in certain minerals. It causes a constant level of heat to be emitted. This heat helps thin out the viscosity of gas and enables it to combust mor evenly. In any case-I'm sure whn peopel first heard of round earth they laughed much harder. Thanks for commenting. - Mark Forman via NoiseRiver

Say what? How could infrared light possibly reduce fuel consumption? Please explain. - Jason Wehmhoener

Jason -- The trick is in reversing the polarity. - James Williams (willia4)

James-Do you have a contact person at Toyota for me to send samples to? In any case my concern is not whether it works or not-that I have been convinced by results of my own savings and emissions testing. Just the perception and BS detector type responses. I feel with gas prices where they are more peopel would be willing to consider. Interesting conversation. Thanks to all for contributing. - Mark Forman via NoiseRiver

Bring back the J.C. Whitney Catalog. - Jay Tannenbaum

Jason et al: here is some info on Far Infra-red from Nasa http://science.hq.nasa.gov/kid... - Mark Forman via NoiseRiver

Yeah! - Jill, Superhero Librarian

Like this, Mark? http://www.freepatentsonline.c... - Ken Sheppardson

Ken-exactly. - Mark Forman via NoiseRiver

Mark -- Any sixth grade knows what infrared is and could easily infer "far infrared" (indeed, your reference is to the NASA kids page!). How does the existence of electromagnetic waves create fuel efficiency? That's the real question. (Though the number one question is: where's the peer reviewed research (or at least Consumer Reports research) demonstrating that it works?) - James Williams (willia4)

Patent sounds interesting anyway. - TDavid

yes, I'm familiar with the electromagnetic spectrum. So, the claim is that by warming the fuel it will burn more efficiently? Seriously Mark, I think you've been hoodwinked. - Jason Wehmhoener

A quick google search shows that (annecdotely, at least) you can get "modest efficiency increases" with a fuel line heater. I can't find anything terribly substantial though. And a 15% increase seems to be pushing things considerably. So I withdraw some of my more extreme criticism since it may not be entirely bunk. Once you start talking about "a heater", though, I think you've left the realm of "non-familiar technology". We've been heating stuff since pre-history, after all. - James Williams (willia4)

So James-if "modest efficiency increases" were attainable irregardless of how they were achieved with no negative impact on vehicle or environment, wouldn't that merit considering such a device if it were priced affordably? - Mark Forman via NoiseRiver

You guys are great. Wonderful to be able to have discussion this way. - Mark Forman via NoiseRiver

Depends on how "modest" we're talking (I'm a sucker for actual, reproducible numbers...) and negative side effects. If it's going to halve the life of my fuel injector, that's something to consider. I don't think I'll be adding one to my Prius any time soon, personally. Because it still sounds like a scam and you'll have to do a great deal of work to convince me otherwise (actual, reproducible numbers would be a great start obviously). - James Williams (willia4)

how much fuel do you end up having to burn to run the heater? - Nathan Rein

This Wikipedia article is pretty informative: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A... - Jason Wehmhoener

a better intake will do that(k&n filter or such), I've noticed a 2MPG improvement after installing my sport muffler(less blockage) - clarke thomas

Heater implies a device that is a machine. This is an attachment that covers fuel line leading into carb/fuel injector. Doesn't require running to activate. Device naturally emits FIR because it contains active material. James-understood. I have data and all that good stuff. Was hoping to engage more on the visceral gut reaction level with you folks. Will be happy to share more info soon, so you don't feel like I was just "playing" you. - Mark Forman via NoiseRiver

What is meant by "active material"? - Jason Wehmhoener

Mark -- my visceral, gut reaction for claims like this is to ask for numbers. :) Of course, I just like numbers and repeatable results in general... - James Williams (willia4)

Also, it sounds highly radioactive. Now I know I won't be adding that to my car!! - James Williams (willia4)

Mark - you should market to the bio-disel people, I understand that fuel gets thick and slughy and needs a heater. - Robert Hafer via fftogo

A $6 fuel saving device - Tire Pressure Gauge. Results may vary. - Andrew Smith

James-granted. Not being coy. Have plenty of data that needs to be converted from Chinese to English. Jason-the actual earth element, not sure of name. It emits FIR. - Mark Forman via NoiseRiver

Looks like there are many patents related to the tech... http://www.freepatentsonline.c... - Ken Sheppardson

Andrew-haha and a good one too. Ken-many patents indicate that many people are aware of the technology. Technology and development, and markets all different animals. So in our case we are not going patent route because we have proprietary manufacturing process for combining the active ingredient with the carrier thermo-elastic carrier. - Mark Forman via NoiseRiver

Here's one device already on the market: http://tinyurl.com/5gj7d6 - Ken Sheppardson

Here's another, but they're heating the intake air rather than the fuel: http://www.ecplaza.net/tradele... - Ken Sheppardson

...and another... http://www.ecplaza.net/tradele... - Ken Sheppardson

Not trying to burst your bubble, per se, Mark ;-) - Ken Sheppardson

Ken-you're the Google master. - Mark Forman via NoiseRiver

i'd think it was a scam or that i could get it for free; perhaps charging MORE might be better - Andrew Wise

And here's a page from the FTC which among other things has a list of many of the devices they've tested. http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pub... - Ken Sheppardson

Yeah, Google and me are tight. ;-) - Ken Sheppardson

If QLINK would just hurry up and ship the danged champagne Pegasus to Fayette Moped, I'd pay many times that for greater fuel economy and fun. /sigh - MiɳiMagɘ (Sexy Scimitar)

Aaron Brazell posted a message

“I don't WANT to write about politics but Congress is making it so fucking difficult not to with the Rules on social media and FISA. FRICK!”

July 9 at 5:10 pm - Link

Andrew Feinberg, Robert Scoble, Nick Cowie and 3 other people liked this

Rules on social media? Ridiculous. When will these corporations and organizations realize that they controlling anything online or digital, especially anything that the masses dont want controlled, just isnt going to work?... I guess it gives more people jobs though, but still. - The Kid

Ha ha! - Michelle Martinez

There will be control - but how will it be shaped? - Craig Thomler

Louis Gray shared an item on Google Reader

It's Official: There Is No Bubble

July 9 at 3:41 pm - Link

Jason Kaneshiro, Mike Fruchter, Steve Rubel and Julian Baldwin liked this

They blew the bubble (myth)? - Craig Thomler

Like they said, the bubble is in private valuations... like Facebook - Jason Carreira

Kevin Rose posted a message on Twitter

“whoa, I just heard that Apple is working on a █████, that can play █████ over █████, insane!”

July 9 at 3:03 pm - Link

Jamie, Nick Mutton, Charles Colp and 29 other people liked this

what are these censored remarks you are making? - Cole Orton

32 more comments

whoa, I just heard that Apple is working on a headset, that can play music over bluetooth, insane! - Nik Gomez

No fckn way! Awesome! - Scott Wamsley

Apple is working on a Macbook that can play xbox games over fields of cheese? - Simon Wicks

That would really K.I.L.L. - Markus

@Cole it's just randomness █ you can highlight and copy! - Joe Dawson (beta)

maybe it is "Apple is working on a IPHONE, that can play ANY STATION over WORLDSPACE, insane!" - slax

LOL too funny ... something that resembles government censorship as filtered through the reality distortion field. - Cathy Brooks

@Joe - yeah i was copying/pasting the black boxes into word and notepad to see what the heck it could be. ascii, i was thinking.. - Cole Orton

Mad libs! - Richard Klein

must be that iPhone with two batteries :) - Nathan Henderson

Its pretty cool i must say...i heard the same thing too ! ;) - Nicholas James

"Apple is working on a WINDOWS BASED IPHONE, that can play DRM FILES over INBUILT WINDOWS MEDIA PLAYER, insane!" lol :) - slax

what is going on with twitter and these black rectangles? - edythe

“whoa, I just heard that Apple is working on a whale, that can play tetris over a campfire, insane!” - Jack Smith

Apple is working on a SANDWICH, that can play CHECKERS over THE WEB, insane! This is fun. - Evan Ryan.

whoa, I just heard that Apple is working on a ROBOT that can play HOPSCOTCH over LAVA, insane! - Jason Hellmann

whoa, I just heard that Apple is working on a electric computer, that can play suckers out of their money over and over again, insane! - Paul Reynolds

Apple is working on an IBM-CLONE PC that can play 8-BIT SOUND over AND OVER AND OVER, insane! - Craig Thomler

lame - Paul D. Spradling

Its called the i███ - Nick Humphries

Cool! You can remove the redactions by highlighting the redacted text (█████) and then typing CMD-X! - Richard Klein

Crappy pcs...no cmd button...arg - Saul Mora via twhirl

wow I am glad they are finally fixing the things it doesn't do. now if it could coy and paste it would be almost as good as a blackberry - Jenz

This is like tech mad libs - Adrian

whoa! I just heard Apple is working on a [new design] that can play [a big role in the future of their company] over [there]! - Mark

I thought I had one too many greasemonkey scripts working ;) - Jay Tannenbaum

@casademora, don't sweat it (no cmd key) - I made it up. - Richard Klein

Oooh. Mad Libs. Fun! - Jenny

What is this shit anyway Kevin? - Ricardo Giesta

Kevin are you Censoring yourself? Why the blacked out words? - Igor The Troll

Probably because he █████ the █████ after the █████. - Ken Sheppardson

It was mostly a joke :) - Kevin Rose

-_ - Dru Kelly

This reminds me of the Yahoo Resiznr! lol! - Jeff Garlick

Mo Kargas posted a message on Twitter

“Another day, another dollar. That said, if anyone wants to give me more of those dollars, just buzz.”

July 9 at 3:31 pm - Link

If anyone wants to give me more of those days, let me know.... - Craig Thomler

Aaron Brazell posted a message on Twitter

“My official statement on the Congress/Social media fiasco (alot of reqs for comment). http://bit.ly/2IVZ0B”

July 9 at 3:29 pm - Link

Adrienne Van Houten liked this

Thanks - good to know! - Craig Thomler

Morton Fox posted a message on Twitter

“I was looking at a Seesmic conversation and two people there were shirtless. Oy!”

July 8 at 11:27 pm - Link

Jay Martin and Joanmarie liked this

Boys or Grrls? - Craig Thomler

Boys, of course. If it was girls, that would be quite a Seesmic. - Morton Fox

Maybe I should check out Seesmic then.... ;-) - Joanmarie

I've seen two via Seesmic on FF. must've been laundry day =\ - Mona N.

Aaron Brazell posted a message on Twitter

“Just found out that @timryan doesn't tweet for himself. He's done some but mostly his staff. Sad. Feel like I've been played.”

July 8 at 9:40 pm - Link

Charlie Anzman and Karoli liked this

well, who cares then, if he falls silent. I'm not surprsied they're putting a stop to that stuff. - rambn via feedalizr

4 more comments

Even if it is his staff at least it's still something talking to the people about what is going on. But yeah..kind of crappy. - Candace Holly

That's a bit rude. Why would we care what his staff member says? I don't want to talk to a Rep. through another person. - Slobokan

at a minimum his staff should NOT be writing in the first person - gfox

I don't care if it's him or staff, but if staff, should identify themselves as such. - Karoli

soooo cheesy that @timryan is not the author of his tweets. sooo cheesy. - tommy payne

Breaking one of the rules of social media! - http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r... - Craig Thomler

michael arrington posted an entry on TechCrunch