interesting things
Kayak Software Corp. slowed its march to the stock market in one of the clearest examples yet of the fallout from Facebook Inc.’s tumultuous initial public offering.
via WSJ.com: What's News US http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304821304577436770415313132.html?mod=rss_whats_news_us
BEIRUT (AP) — When the gunmen began to slaughter his family, 11-year-old Ali el-Sayed says he fell to the floor of his home, soaking his clothes with his brother’s blood to fool the killers into thinking he was already dead….
via AP Top Headlines At 11:05 p.m. EDT http://hosted.ap.org/specials/bluepage.html
How many hours per week does a person have to work in order to afford a two-bedroom apartment at minimum wage? Following a report (PDF) by the National Low Income Housing Coalition, a rather striking infographic has been making the rounds (NYT) on the web. The bottom line: nowhere in the USA is it possible to afford a two-bedroom apartment on forty hours per week of minimum wage work.
via MetaFilter http://www.metafilter.com/116475/Living-on-Minimum-Wage
After a significant drop in viewership, the show’s owner is preparing to diversify even as it looks for ways to support “Idol.â€
via NYT > Most Recent Headlines http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/31/business/media/american-idol-and-its-owner-to-get-a-retooling.html
A proposal that would take effect as soon as next March is the most ambitious effort yet by Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s administration to combat rising obesity.
via NYT > Most Recent Headlines http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/31/nyregion/bloomberg-plans-a-ban-on-large-sugared-drinks.html
Researchers have found evidence that the evolution of birds is the result of a drastic change in how dinosaurs developed. Scientists have long understood that modern birds descended from dinosaurs. Rather than take years to reach sexual maturity, as many dinosaurs did, birds sped up the clock — some species take as little as 12 weeks to mature — allowing them to retain the physical characteristics of baby dinosaurs.
via ScienceDaily: Latest Science News http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/05/120530212105.htm?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+sciencedaily+%28ScienceDaily%3A+Latest+Science+News%29
Buying fine art is a bet that the rich are going to get richer.
via NYT > Most Recent Headlines http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/03/magazine/how-the-art-market-thrives-on-inequality.html
Manchester City striker Mario Balotelli has said he will “leave the pitch and go home” if there are racist incidents at the European Championships in Poland and Ukraine.
Michelle Obama stopped by The Daily Show last night, and while she did some promoting of her Big Vegetable agenda, Jon Stewart spent most of his time digging for some inside dirt. He asked Michelle if she lords her higher approval rating over the President to win arguments, but, ever the professional, she used the opportunity to put in a plug for her husband’s job performance. Stewart also tried to get the goods on America’s Crazy Uncle Joe Biden and Barack’s time as a wayward youth, but she playfully avoided all the traps he laid, ending with, “I’m not taking any bait.” Smart move, Michelle, though we wouldn’t blame you if you did gloat a bit over dinner about your approval ratings.
via Jezebel http://jezebel.com/5914176/michelle-obama-doesnt-take-jon-stewarts-bait-even-though-he-promises-its-organic
Image-sharing site Pinterest has been in negotiations for months with photo service Getty. A breakthrough could dispel some of the copyright questions hanging over the hot startup — but one expert says not to hold your breath.
According to Bill Rosenblatt, an engineer and authority on digital rights issues, the two sides are likely in a logjam over how — or if — Pinterest should use Getty’s image detection software, PicScout. Getty acquired PicScout, which tracks images across the Internet, last year for $20 million.
Rosenblatt speculates that Getty wants Pinterest to license the technology. This would allow Pinterest to take on a role similar to YouTube, a company that responded to copyright criticism by offering rights owners a tool to track and monetize their content:
If you make that analogy, someone like Pinterest, if they feel they’re getting a significant amount of legal threats, it would be reasonable to adopt that technology as a prophylactic against legal action.
The problem is that Pinterest, which is now valued north of $1 billion, might be equally inclined to tell Getty and other image owners to jump in the lake. The site has claimed in the past that it is protected by “safe harbor†rules that protect websites from being liable for users’ activities as long as they comply with takedown requests. If the rule holds, Pinterest should be no more responsible for someone posting a copyrighted picture than a search engine should be for listing a file-sharing site in its search results.
Getty could, of course, go to court and try to evict Pinterest from its safe harbor by showing it controlled the user content — maybe by pointing out that Pinterest fiddles with links attached to the photographs. But that’s not a slam dunk case. Likewise, Getty could try to affect the Pinterest user experience by taking down as many pictures as possible, but, as Rosenblatt notes, Getty isn’t large enough to have that big an impact.
The upshot is a stalemate. Getty and other image owners can huff and puff about infringement, but the reality is they may not have much legal leverage. In the meantime, Pinterest is taking steps to improve its relationship with photographers by, for example, making attribution easier and offering “do not pin†options.
Surely there is a way for the sides to find a viable business model before someone pulls the lawsuit trigger.
For now, Getty would only repeat its claim of four months ago that it’s “discussing it†with Pinterest. The the latter is saying nothing at all.
See also: “Pinterest: Is it a Facebook or a Grokster?“
(Image: Cora Reed via Shutterstock)
