Bundestrojaner
1984 mitten in Deutschland? In Bayern? Der Bundestrojaner: verfassungswidrig im BKA-Einsatz; http://eicker.at/Bundestrojaner
Updates from October, 2011 Toggle Comment Threads | Keyboard Shortcuts
Gerrit Eicker
Siri: Let’s Talk!
Potentially Apple’s Siri changes how we interact with computers entirely: Siri, let’s talk! http://eicker.at/Siri
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Gerrit Eicker
Apple: “Siri. Your wish is its command. – Siri on iPhone 4S lets you use your voice to send messages, schedule meetings, place phone calls, and more. Ask Siri to do things just by talking the way you talk. Siri understands what you say, knows what you mean, and even talks back. Siri is so easy to use and does so much, you’ll keep finding more and more ways to use it. … Talk to Siri as you would to a person. Say something like ‘Tell my wife I’m running late.’ ‘Remind me to call the vet.’ ‘Any good burger joints around here?’ And Siri answers you. It does what you say and finds the information you need. And then it hits you. You’re actually having a conversation with your iPhone. … Siri not only understands what you say, it’s smart enough to know what you mean. So when you ask ‘Any good burger joints around here?’ Siri will reply ‘I found a number of burger restaurants near you.’ Then you can say ‘Hmm. How about tacos?’ Siri remembers that you just asked about restaurants, so it will look for Mexican restaurants in the neighborhood. And Siri is proactive, so it will question you until it finds what you’re looking for.”
Wikipedia: “Siri is a personal assistant application for iOS. The application uses natural language processing to answer questions, make recommendations, and perform actions by delegating requests to an expanding set of web services. The iOS app is the first public product by its makers, who are focused on artificial intelligence applications. Siri was acquired by Apple Inc. on April 28, 2010. – Siri’s marketing claims include that Siri adapts to the user’s individual preferences over time and personalizes results, as well as accomplishing tasks such as making dinner reservations and reserving a cab. … Siri was founded in December 2007 by Dag Kittlaus (CEO), Adam Cheyer (VP Engineering), and Tom Gruber (CTO/VP Design), together with Norman Winarsky from SRI’s venture group. … It was announced on October 4, 2011 that Siri will be included with the iPhone 4S. The new version of Siri is deeply integrated into iOS, and offers conversational interaction with many applications, including reminders, weather, stocks, messaging, email, calendar, contacts, notes, music, clocks, web browser, Wolfram Alpha, and maps. Currently, Siri only supports English (US, UK, and Australia), German and French. … Siri is a spin-out from SRI International’s Artificial Intelligence Center, and is an offshoot of the DARPA-funded CALO project, described as perhaps the largest artificial-intelligence project ever launched.”
TC: “The integration with iOS seems to be just as impressive as we’ve been hearing: you can ask it to remind you to call someone before you leave the office, and it’ll automatically create an entry in the Reminders app, complete with a geo-fence just to be sure. You can also ask Siri to read your queued messages to you and make an appointment in the Calendar app. – The worst part so far? Siri indeed seems to require the iPhone 4S’s extra horsepower, because it appears to be a 4S exclusive. The kicker? Siri was originally a run-of-the-mill iPhone app. What a shame. – Siri will be a beta for the time being, as it only supports English, German, and French voice input, but there are more language add-ons and tweaks to come.”
WP: “As rumored, Apple’s doing some all-new voice-control AI stuff in iOS 5. It’s called Siri, which is the name of the app Apple bought for $200 million a couple years ago. … You can also ask Siri to look things up on Wikipedia for you, and Siri can use Wolfram Alpha to do more complicated calculations. Siri’s list of capabilities is near endless, including asking it to play genres of music for you, look up something on maps, or what the weather is. Our favorite question? ‘Siri, who are you?’ Siri responds: ‘I am your humble personal assistant.’ … The bad news? All this great stuff is only available for the iPhone 4S – Apple had to do something to force an upgrade! In all seriousness, some of this AI functionality can be incredibly processor intensive, so Siri might be leaning on the A5 chip quite heavily.”
MLS: “Siri Search, makes use of Yelp’s business ratings, thus this makes instantly makes Yelp a strong local competitor to Google Places. Yelp is now very relevant to your small business rankings. Google Places has been the big dog in local optimization or as I call it, Local Awesomeization… And your places ranking and profile completion has become very important for your local marketing.- Now, Siri, which is a virtual assistant will be able to find you anything you want… and it is using the Yelp Reviews to rank the recommendations. … Nuture your Yelp account now. Claim it, and begin getting good reviews. Local search is a science, and you have to get that information out there.”
GigaOM: “Apple’s intent when it bought Siri was rumored to be building a search engine, though Jobs defused that speculation by saying, ‘We have no plans to go into the search business. We don’t care about it – other people do it well.’ But Jobs also said earlier last year: ‘On a mobile device, search is not where it’s at, not like on the desktop. They’re (consumers are) spending all their time on these apps – they’re using apps to get to data on the internet, not generalized search.‘ – With Siri, Apple doesn’t have to get into the search game if it can use Siri to direct people to the apps, services and information they need. That’s probably not a big money-gainer for Apple, but it could put a hurt on rival Google, which relies on search advertising.”
TUAW: “Curious about the iPhone 4S’s new voice assistant feature? So were we. – [We] tracked down a set of example phrases that the new Siri voice assistant is capable of understanding. It turns out that Siri can handle many categories of voice interaction. – Without further ado, here they are, ordered by interaction category, along with Apple-supplied examples of using each category.”
FC: “Don’t let her dulcet voice and easygoing, eager-to-please manner fool you. Behind Siri, the voice-controlled personal assistant app destined to power Apple’s iPhone 4S, lies the heart of a hardened combat veteran. That’s because the technology was spun out of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the Pentagon’s high-tech research and development arm. … For now it can only respond to simple commands, but the technology underlying it is anything but. The problem with most speech recognition technology has been that it has a hell of a time with all-too human variations in speech – accents, dialects, intonation, enunciation, and slang. Tell it you want to hide under ‘a rock’ and it might tell you about ‘Iraq.’ Like the dream of the paperless office, which the advent of the personal computer was supposed to herald, speech recognition often makes more work than it saves. Siri promises to change all that, and you should thank the wizards at DARPA. While they didn’t create the technology, they incubated it. … I can’t wait to tell that to my Siri-powered iPhone, although I doubt it’ll know how to respond – not yet, anyhow.”
TC: “The most talked about element of … Apple event had to be Siri. The new feature of the iPhone 4S, born out of Apple’s purchase of the company by the same name in 2010, looks amazing. But one thing never mentioned during the keynote was a key piece of technology behind Siri: Nuance. – We first reported that Siri would be a key part of iOS 5 back in March. As we dug deeper, we learned that Apple and Nuance were involved in negotiations to make sure this could be a reality. You see, Siri does not work without Nuance. … So, is Nuance a part of Apple’s implementation of Siri as well? Yes. Though, don’t bother trying to get anyone to admit that. …Nuance is powering Siri. But Apple clearly struck a deal with Nuance which precludes them from talking about it. This is Apple technology, this is not about Nuance, is how I imagine Apple may put it. Apparently, Nuance is happy enough with Apple’s undoubtedly large check for this licensing agreement that they are willing to keep quiet.”
RWW: “Apple finally introduced the availability of the voice-command personal assistant app it paid $200m for today, called Siri. The military spin-off technology was both widely loved and often panned when it was available independently; it was either lovable Skynet or a fish on a bicycle, depending on who you ask. I tended towards thinking it the latter, myself. … But what do I want as a user – on my iPhone? I want Swype! Swype is a keyboard program available on almost every smartphone in the world except the iPhone. … It’s the fastest way to provide input on a mobile device. It’s fabulous and it’s incredible that Swype isn’t on iOS yet. I assume it’s because of Apple’s strict control over interface design and unwillingness to provide options in design. … Time will tell, but I don’t think Siri is going to be a killer app on the iPhone. Will it be used more than the current iPhone voice control? We’ll see.”
TUAW: “Since the iPhone 4S features the same A5 processor as the iPad 2, owners of Apple’s current-gen tablet have wondered if it’s possible that Siri, Apple’s new voice assistant, might be offered on the iPad 2. … Voice Control as it now exists on the iPhone 3GS and iPhone 4 doesn’t function on the iPad or iPad 2, but there’s a reason for that: the existing commands would be essentially useless on those devices. … On the other hand, Siri’s commands would be immensely useful on the iPad. … In fact, we’ve done some digging into Siri and found that most of the actual work of understanding voice commands gets offloaded to external servers. In essence, the iPhone 4S and its built-in processing functions determine what you said, while Apple’s servers translate that into what you meant and send that information back to your iPhone. … For the time being, Siri remains an iPhone 4S exclusive and one we have yet to test for ourselves. We look forward to putting this innovative feature under our interrogation lights once the iPhone 4S is released on October 14.”
Waxy: “In 1987, Apple released this concept video for Knowledge Navigator [the rest of the video is newer, probably circa 1996 or so, but the Knowledge Navigator part is from 1987], a voice-based assistant combined with a touchscreen tablet computer. … Based on the dates mentioned in the Knowledge Navigator video, it takes place on September 16, 2011. The date on the professor’s calendar is September 16, and he’s looking for a 2006 paper written ‘about five years ago,’ setting the year as 2011. – And … at the iPhone keynote, Apple announced Siri, a natural language-based voice assistant, would be built into iOS 5 and a core part of the new iPhone 4S. – So, 24 years ago, Apple predicted a complex natural-language voice assistant built into a touchscreen Apple device, and was less than a month off.“
Gerrit Eicker
Nuance Acquires Swype
Nuance adds Swype to its speech and imaging applications, brings Swype to iOS? http://eicker.at/NuanceSwype
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Gerrit Eicker
UC: “Nuance has acquired Seattle-based startup Swype for something more than $100 million, says a source with knowledge of the deal. – I’m a big fan of Swype, and this is a brilliant acquisition by Nuance. … Nuance already has T9, a predictive text application first developed in the 90s, and T9 competes directly with Swype.”
TC: “Swype has been blowing minds since it first launched at TechCrunch 50 back in September of 2008. For those unfamiliar, Swype is the maker of an awesome app that allows users of touchscreen mobile devices to type messages with one swipe of the finger or stylus motion across the screen keyboard. The alternative (and patented) input method has proven to be super speedy, allowing data entry at over 40 words per minute, and has swept across Android devices. … The speech recognition giant has also been in the news of late, as it is has been in negotiations with Apple over licensing for Lion OSX. What’s more, while Apple did not confirm, MG held that Nuance is also a large part of the technology behind Siri, which will be native on all iPhone 4Ses.”
ATD: “As touchscreen phones became more popular, the predictive texting that eliminated triple-tapping became less necessary, as new forms of input on a piece of glass became mandatory. Nuance bought the technology from AOL. … The importance of voice and text entry became even more prominent this week after Apple unveiled Siri, a voice-activated assistant.”
TC: “Earlier today, I spoke with Swype CEO Mike McSherry, who explained the thinking behind the deal. ‘The broadest vision,’ says McSherry, ‘is we want to be the input for every single stream. You talk to your refrigerator and in-car navigation, you want your language models to follow you around.’ – When he puts it that way, Swype seems like a much more strategic acquisition for NUance than one which simply fills a hole. … Yes, Nuance is powering the new Siri Assistant in Apple’s upcoming iPhone 4S with its voice recognition technology. So does that mean that Swype could be coming to the iPHone as well? ‘I’d love to be able to see that,’ says McSherry, adding, ‘There are certainly lots of requests to see Swype on the iPhone.’”
RWW: “This could be the first steps to bringing Swype to the iPhone. We lamented after the iPhone 4S announcement that Siri, the voice input “assistant” coming in iOS 5, should have been Swype. Apple was a good working relationship with Nuance and if the parties can figure out a good graphical interface for Swype on the iPhone, it may be the next important feature in iOS. … Even if Swype never comes to the iPhone, Nuance has made a very astute acquisition. Nuance was already the leader in speech-to-text technology, ahead of others like Vlingo, The acquisition gives Nuance the clear lead in input methods for mobile devices. With Swype as part of the team, Nuance has planted its flag to be the leader in the vertical for the foreseeable future.“
Gerrit Eicker
Diaspora Marketing?
The public perception of Diaspora is low: time for some questions regarding its marketing; http://eicker.at/DiasporaMarketing
Gerrit Eicker
Google Call Tracking
Google enables and optimises call tracking from mobile landing pages; http://eicker.at/GoogleCallTracking
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Gerrit Eicker
Google: “Mobile advertising has created an entirely new opportunity for businesses to drive phone calls to sales teams and call centers, generating a new method for our advertisers to receive qualified incoming leads. In fact, since we introduced the click-to-call feature to advertisers over a year ago, we’ve had more than half a million customers globally run campaigns with phone extensions. – Two of the most common ways to get mobile customers to call you are either by listing your phone number on a click-to-call ad, or adding your phone number onto your website. It’s easy to measure calls from a click-to-call ad from your Campaign reports, but it can be more challenging to track the calls made by consumers clicking on the phone number on your website. – Today, we are introducing a new conversion tracking metric to help advertisers and agencies do just that: all AdWords accounts will now have the ability to report calls placed from mobile pages. … You’ll now be able to attribute clicks on your phone number or ‘call’ button back to the AdWords campaign, ad group, ad or keyword that brought a customer in. As this is a new tracking metric, there won’t be new charges or changes to CPCs. We hope that this new metric will give advertisers and agencies new, richer information on the value and returns from their mobile advertising.”
Google: “This January [2011], we launched a Click-to-call functionality for mobile ads that enables advertisers to directly connect with potential customers over the phone. In less than a year, Click-to-call (CTC) ads have come a long way and hundreds of thousands of advertisers are using the ad format today. In fact, over the past three months we’ve seen the number of Google advertisers using phone extensions on mobile grow 28% month-over-month, globally. What’s more, Click-to-call ads on both Google Search and Display Networks are generating millions of calls every month on mobile. – We’re excited to see this response to Click-to-call ads and we’re only just getting started! … For more insight into the performance of your Phone Extensions and Call-only Creative ads, enable the AdWords Call Metrics feature. Using a dynamically assigned Google Voice number, Call Metrics provide campaign-level statistics on the number of phone leads generated by your AdWords ads including call duration and caller area code. Currently, Call Metrics is only available to a limited number of US advertisers, but we plan to bring this feature to more advertisers in the coming months.”
SEL: “Google’s Click to Call program has been a huge success. About a year ago Google reported that it had 500,000 advertisers using Click to Call. (That number was repeated again today in a blog post.) And last year former Google Product SVP Jonathan Rosenberg said ‘Click-to-Call ads are generating millions of calls every month.‘ – Calls and call metrics are increasingly important to Google because they’re a form of ‘offline’ conversion tracking that provides more visibility on the true efficacy of keywords and campaigns. … Google’s Click to Call program has relied to date on AdWords phone extensions. Phone numbers in mobile ads (on smartphones) are highlighted, users click them and initiate calls. Those calls are tracked. … For the present the new tracking capability is free. On the PC side Google charges $1 per completed call for its call tracking capability. I’m speculating by analogy that Google may eventually charge a fee for the service. They have not indicated to me that they will however.“
Gerrit Eicker
Wikipedia vs. Italy
Wikipedia shuts Italian language site, fights against DDL intercettazioni (Wiretapping Act); http://eicker.at/WikipediaVsItaly
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Gerrit Eicker
Wikipedia – L’enciclopedia libera: “Dear reader, at this time, the Italian language Wikipedia may be no longer able to continue providing the service that over the years was useful to you, and that you expected to have right now. As things stand, the page you want still exists and is only hidden, but the risk is that soon we will be forced to actually delete it. – Over the past ten years, Wikipedia has become part of the daily habits of millions of web users looking for a neutral, free-content, and – above all – independent source of Knowledge. A new, huge multi-lingual encyclopedia, freely available to all, at any time, and free of charge. – Today, unfortunately, the very pillars on which Wikipedia has been built – neutrality, freedom, and verifiability of its contents – are likely to be heavily compromised by paragraph 29 of a law proposal, also known as ‘DDL intercettazioni’ (Wiretapping Act). – This proposal, which the Italian Parliament is currently debating, provides, among other things, a requirement to all websites to publish, within 48 hours of the request and without any comment, a correction of any content that the applicant deems detrimental to his/her image. – Unfortunately, the law does not require an evaluation of the claim by an impartial third judge – the opinion of the person allegedly injured is all that is required, in order to impose such correction to any website. – Hence, anyone who feels offended by any content published on a blog, an online newspaper and, most likely, even on Wikipedia can directly request to publish a ‘corrected’ version, aimed to contradict and disprove the allegedly harmful contents, regardless of the truthfulness of the information deemed as offensive, and its sources. … With this announcement, we want to warn our readers against the risks arising from leaving to the arbitrary will of any party to enforce the alleged protection of its image and its reputation. Under such provisions, web users would be most probably led to cease dealing with certain topics or people, just to ‘avoid troubles’. – We want to be able to keep a free and open-to-all encyclopaedia, because our articles are also your articles – Wikipedia is already neutral, why neutralize it?”
BBC: “Wikipedia’s Italian edition has taken all entries but one offline in protest at a draft privacy law restricting the publication of police wiretaps. – Transcripts of his telephone calls have embarrassed Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, on trial for corruption and using underage prostitutes. – The draft law would oblige websites to amend content within 48 hours if the subject deems it harmful or biased. – Italian protesters wearing gags gathered outside parliament in Rome. … Wikipedia says it may take down its Italian site, http://www.wikipedia.it, permanently if the law is passed. Amendments would have to be published within 48 hours at the request of the person making the complaint, without any recourse to a court or independent adjudicator.”
CDT: “DDL Intercettazioni, the proposed wiretap law (see page 24, paragraph 29(a)), would require online publications and websites to publish a correction within 48 hours of receiving notice about any content that any third party believes is detrimental to his or her image, with scant safeguards against abuse or judicial involvement. Failure to publish a correction could result in a [Euro] 12,000 fine. – It is unclear how this mandate would apply to websites that enable user-generated content – for example, a social network or a blog that allow users to comment on articles. Such websites should be protected under the Italian transposition of the E-Commerce Directive for the defamatory statements made by third party users. However, you can imagine that harmed victims may simply send requests for corrections to the user-generated content platform itself. – As Italian Internet activists have rightly pointed out, this requirement could profoundly chill freedom of expression and innovation online.”
TD: “All-in-all, the Italian politicians behind this proposed legislation emerge with little honor; at the very least, the new law will cast a chill over freedom of expression online in Italy, and at worst could see the Italian Wikipedia shut down permanently – a huge loss for its users and Italian culture. – Update: Via Carl Levinson, Roberta Ranzani and Jillian C. York on Google+, we’ve learned that the controversial paragraph 29 of the Wiretapping bill has been dropped (details in Italian). It’s not clear exactly why, but the action by the Italian Wikipedia must surely have concentrated people’s minds. However, it’s important to note that the rest of the bill is still going forward – and has plenty of other changes that will harm freedom of speech in Italy if enacted.“
Gerrit Eicker
Steve Jobs
RIP – Steve Jobs: Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life; http://eicker.at/SteveJobs
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Gerrit Eicker
Jobs: “When I was 17, I read a quote that went something like: ‘If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you’ll most certainly be right.’ It made an impression on me, and since then, for the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: ‘If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?’ And whenever the answer has been ‘No’ for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something. – Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything – all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure – these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart. – About a year ago I was diagnosed with cancer. I had a scan at 7:30 in the morning, and it clearly showed a tumor on my pancreas. I didn’t even know what a pancreas was. The doctors told me this was almost certainly a type of cancer that is incurable, and that I should expect to live no longer than three to six months. My doctor advised me to go home and get my affairs in order, which is doctor’s code for prepare to die. It means to try to tell your kids everything you thought you’d have the next 10 years to tell them in just a few months. It means to make sure everything is buttoned up so that it will be as easy as possible for your family. It means to say your goodbyes. – I lived with that diagnosis all day. Later that evening I had a biopsy, where they stuck an endoscope down my throat, through my stomach and into my intestines, put a needle into my pancreas and got a few cells from the tumor. I was sedated, but my wife, who was there, told me that when they viewed the cells under a microscope the doctors started crying because it turned out to be a very rare form of pancreatic cancer that is curable with surgery. I had the surgery and I’m fine now. – This was the closest I’ve been to facing death, and I hope it’s the closest I get for a few more decades. Having lived through it, I can now say this to you with a bit more certainty than when death was a useful but purely intellectual concept: No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don’t want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life’s change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new. Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away. Sorry to be so dramatic, but it is quite true. – Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma – which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.“
Gerrit Eicker
Best Global Brands 2011
Interbrand’s Best Global Brands 2011 follow an ordinary scheme: Apple, Google, IT grow strong; http://eicker.at/Brands2011
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Gerrit Eicker
Shanbhag, Interbrand: “Today we’re seeing an upheaval in the technology sector unlike any before. Driven by changes in the technology itself, we’re seeing brands that didn’t exist a few years ago driving the conversation. Teenagers like Google, Baidu, and Amazon are powering forward by blurring the lines between business models to create user value, while upstarts like Facebook and Zynga are creating business models that simply never existed. – But, for all the brand value being created, there is an equal amount of upheaval taking place with what might be considered the elder statesmen of the tech world. Whether it is Dell or HP, Intel or Microsoft, SAP or Oracle, the story is the same. Brands that once held the key to the hearts and wallets of the tech public aren’t what they once were. … So, what’s driving this change? It isn’t that the technology has changed (which it has), or that new technology has expanded what people can do with it (which it has, too). It’s that the world has changed. … [T]echnology brands from yesterday that stand the greatest chance of surviving today’s upheaval are the ones who have turned their attention to their audiences and focused on brand relevance. They are asking what matters to users and what will matter, and building entire portfolios of brands, products, and offerings that address the needs of today and tomorrow. They’re finding a space for themselves in the new tech order by putting real innovation – in product and point of view – front and center. In a way, they’re simply taking a page from the competition’s play books.”
Perlmutter, Interbrand: “It’s no surprise that Customer Experience has become critically important for brands. The evidence is mounting and has become almost cliché at this point. Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon.com, put it in the most basic terms: ‘Your brand is formed primarily not by what your company says about itself, but by what the company does.‘ With a net promoter score at 70 percent – among the highest of all companies according to Satmetrics, and an impressive 34 percent year-or-year brand value increase in the Interbrand Best Global Brands ranking, he has the ear of many industries. … Simply put, many companies are not yet set up to deliver the best possible customer experience. Marketing and operations are not well connected, customer understanding is weak, and overall, no one person or department is held accountable for bringing it all together on behalf of the customer. … Strong brands like IBM have an aligned company mission and brand meaning that is reinforced throughout all they say and do. And look closely at brands known for a successful, well-defined customer experience – Virgin Airlines, W Hotels, US Airways, BMW Mini, Whole Foods – and you’ll find a well-activated brand strategy as the foundation. … If brand strategy is the catalyst for change, then customer understanding is the roadmap. … Some companies have capitalized on having an intimate understanding of customers’ needs and the ability to anticipate desires. They have then used these insights to improve their customer connectedness with appealing products and services and involving marketing programs that engender loyalty. … Some of today’s best brands are successful because they are authentic. Pure and simple, they stay true to who they are, and they are well differentiated as a result. … Activating an effective customer experience transformation is no small feat for any company. But for those looking to make some headway, using brand strategy to set the course for orchestrating what’s needed, is a great place to start.”
Gerrit Eicker
HuffPo Acquires Localocracy
HuffPo (aka HPMG, aka AOL) acquires Localocracy, local platform for registered voters; http://eicker.at/HuffPoLocalocracy
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Gerrit Eicker
AOL: “The HuffingtonPost Media Group (HPMG), a leading source of news, opinion, entertainment, community and digital information, today makes several key announcements: (1) HPMG is acquiring Localocracy, a groundbreaking online engagement platform enabling citizens to solve problems in their communities, and its founders, Conor White-Sullivan and Aaron Soules, and technology lead, Jay Boice, are joining the Huffington Post Media Group to work on the intersection of editorial and technology, and deepen the sites’ engagement with users; (2) The Huffington Post (HuffPost) is launching four sites this week; today, Huff/Post50, with Rita Wilson as editor-at-large; HuffPost Gay Voices; and HuffPost Weddings; tomorrow, HuffPost High School. They are the latest of 21 new verticals since The Huffington Post merged with AOL in March; (4) Lisa Belkin is joining HPMG as Senior Columnist from The New York Times, where she wrote the ‘Motherlode’ blog. She’ll be covering parenting, work/life balance and family; and (5) HuffPost has recently achieved record size and engagement, with its largest number of UVs ever, 37MM, and greatest number of monthly comments, 5.1MM. In an important milestone, the site also surpassed 1 billion page views for the first time.”
Localocracy: “…is an online town common where registered voters using real names can weigh in on local issues. – Citizens Have a real influence on issues that matter – Governments Engage with real constituents – Journalists Find the real stories”
VB: “Localocracy, based in Amherst, Mass., was founded in 2009 to help citizens better engage with local issues and coordinate with others on how to fix them. The company plans to expand on its local democracy ambitions with the help of HuffPo’s community platform and massive audience. ‘What we’ve learned with Localocracy is that by harnessing user-generated content, we’re able to unleash a lot of people power,’ founders Conor White-Sullivan and Aaron Soules said in a statement today. ‘Our methodology is simple: we believe that everyone is an expert about something, so we want to give voice to that expertise and allow an exchange of ideas for all to see and participate in.’”
TNW: “It’s unclear if Localocracy will continue in its current form. The wording of the press release makes the acquisition sound like a talent grab to build similar platforms for Huffington Post Media Group (HPMG), stating that the team ‘will build on their innovative approach to enhancing local democracy while leveraging HPMG’s powerful online community platform to engage its large and networked audience. Also joining the Group from Localocracy is Jay Boice, who will be instrumental in building new technologies to support enhanced online community interaction.’”
ATD: “The Huffington Post Media Group, which says it has topped one billion page views for the month of August, has bought an online grassroots platform called Localocracy. – The price for the site, whose key execs will join the AOL content unit, is under $1 million, said sources close to the situation.”
BW: “Huffington Post said it logged more than 1 billion page views and 37 million readers in August, citing measurement firm ComScore Inc. New York-based AOL said it has introduced 21 new sites since acquiring Huffington Post in March.“
Gerrit Eicker
Facebook Cookies
Cubilovic: Logging out of Facebook is not enough; maybe fixed. – Arrington: brutal dishonesty; http://eicker.at/FacebookCookies
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Gerrit Eicker
Arrington: “‘Facebook does not track users across the web,‘ – A Facebook spokesperson on September 25, 2011 and ‘Generally, unlike other major Internet companies, we have no interest in tracking people.‘ – Facebook employee on September 25, 2011 v. ‘A method is described for tracking information about the activities of users of a social networking system while on another domain.‘ – Facebook Patent application dated September 22, 2011 – Whoops”
Cubrilovic: “[L]ogging out of Facebook only de-authorizes your browser from the web application, a number of cookies [including your account number] are still sent along to all requests to facebook.com. Even if you are logged out, Facebook still knows and can track every page [that integrate facebook] you visit. The only solution is to delete every Facebook cookie in your browser, or to use a separate browser for Facebook interactions. … To clarify, I first emailed this issue to Facebook on the 14th of November 2010. I also copied the email to their press address to get an official response on it. I never got any response. … I have been sitting on this for almost a year now. The renewed discussion about Facebook and privacy this weekend prompted me to write this post.”
Cubrilovic: “My goal was to both identify bugs in the logout process and see that they are fixed, and to communicate with Facebook in getting some of the unanswered questions answered so that the Facebook using public can be informed of how cookies are used on the site – especially with regard to third-party requests. – In summary, Facebook has made changes to the logout process and they have explained each part of the process and the cookies that the site uses in detail. … Facebook has changed as much as they can change with the logout issue. They want to retain the ability to track browsers after logout for safety and spam purposes, and they want to be able to log page requests for performance reasons etc. I would still recommend that users clear cookies or use a separate browser, though. I believe Facebook when they describe what these cookies are used for, but that is not a reason to be complacent on privacy issues and to take initiative in remaining safe. – I discovered a lot of other issues and interesting areas ripe for further investigation while researching the cookie logout issue – and I will be taking each one of them up on the blog here in the near future.”
BBC: “Facebook has said that it has ‘fixed’ cookies that could have tracked users after they logged out of the site. … In a statement, the firm told the BBC that it had done nothing wrong. ‘There was no security or privacy breach-Facebook did not store or use any information it should not have. Like every site on the internet that personalises content and tries to provide a secure experience for users, we place cookies on the computer of the user.’ … Most cookies perform basic tasks like storing your login details or personal preferences. – But some track the sites users visit, which means that they may be presented with adverts for products or services they researched on the web once they visit other unrelated sites. Consumer concerns over this type of cookie led to a new EU directive, with online firms across Europe currently working out how they can allow users to opt out of these bits of code.”
SEW: “It was recently discovered that some Facebook cookies were left in-tact after logout. While the issue has since been resolved, select data is still tracked and recent Facebook patent information indicates that all logged-out tracking may be intentional. … Facebook reports that the remaining cookies exclude personal identifiers and are completely benign in nature; they serve functions such as generating timestamps, contributing to Facebook’s page reporting, and helping to keep public computers secure. … Facebook isn’t the only one facing privacy and tracking issues, either. Marketers should give note to a couple other stories, including The Wall Street Journal’s recently revised privacy policy (which permits WSJ to track personally identifiable behavior without user consent) and the FTC probe into undeletable ‘supercookies‘ used by Hulu and MSN.com.”
SMH: “On Friday, 10 public interest groups asked the US Federal Trade Commission to investigate Facebook’s tracking of internet users after they log off. They urged the commission to examine whether Facebook’s new ticker and timeline features increased privacy risks for users by combining biographical information in an easily accessible format. … The lawsuit – filed by Perrin Aikens Davis, of Illinois – seeks class status on behalf of other Facebook users in the US. Davis seeks unspecified damages and a court order blocking the tracking based on violations of federal laws, including restrictions on wiretapping, as well as computer fraud and abuse statutes. – ‘We believe this complaint is without merit and we will fight it vigorously,’ Andrew Noyes, a Facebook spokesman, said in a statement.“
Gerrit Eicker 07:55 on 10. October 2011 Permalink |
CCC: “Der Chaos Computer Club (CCC) hat eine eingehende Analyse staatlicher Spionagesoftware vorgenommen. Die untersuchten Trojaner können nicht nur höchst intime Daten ausleiten, sondern bieten auch eine Fernsteuerungsfunktion zum Nachladen und Ausführen beliebiger weiterer Schadsoftware. Aufgrund von groben Design- und Implementierungsfehlern entstehen außerdem eklatante Sicherheitslücken in den infiltrierten Rechnern, die auch Dritte ausnutzen können. … Nicht erst seit das Bundesverfassungsgericht die Pläne zum Einsatz des Bundestrojaners am 27. Februar 2008 durchkreuzte, ist von der unauffälligeren Neusprech-Variante der Spionagesoftware die Rede: von der ‘Quellen-TKÜ’ (‘Quellen-Telekommunikationsüberwachung’). Diese ‘Quellen-TKÜ’ darf ausschließlich für das Abhören von Internettelefonie verwendet werden. Dies ist durch technische und rechtliche Maßnahmen sicherzustellen. … Die Analyse des Behörden-Trojaners weist im als ‘Quellen-TKÜ’ getarnten ‘Bundestrojaner light’ bereitgestellte Funktionen nach, die über das Abhören von Kommunikation weit hinausgehen und die expliziten Vorgaben des Verfassungsgerichtes verletzen. … Der CCC fordert: Die heimliche Infiltration von informationstechnischen Systemen durch staatliche Behörden muß beendet werden. Gleichzeitig fordern wir alle Hacker und Technikinteressierten auf, sich an die weitere Analyse der Binaries zu machen und so der blamablen Spähmaßnahme wenigstens etwas Positives abzugewinnen. Wir nehmen weiterhin gern Exemplare des Staatstrojaners entgegen.”
CCC: “Der Chaos Computer Club (CCC) nimmt den Quellenschutz und die Hackerethik ernst. Dieses Addendum beschreibt die Positionen in der veröffentlichten Version von einem der uns zugespielten Staatstrojaner, an denen Daten modifiziert wurden, um die genaue Herkunft der Programme zu verschleiern.- Wir gehen nach der vergleichenden Analyse der uns vorliegenden Versionen davon aus, daß die Behörden anhand von Ermittlungsfall-spezifischen Bezeichnern (also Trojaner-Binary-interne ‘Aktenzeichen’) die Herkunft des veröffentlichten Programmes nachvollziehen können. … Der veröffentlichte Trojaner ist nicht der aktuellste, den wir besitzen. Wir haben Grund zur Annahme, daß die uns vorliegenden Versionen über einen Zeitraum von anderthalb bis zwei Jahre zusammengebaut und eingesetzt wurden. Es kann also nicht von einer ‘Beta-Version’ gesprochen werden.”
FAZ: “Der Staatstrojaner, dessen Selbstmordprogramm offenbar versagt hat, wurde von Hackern gefunden, wiederhergestellt und dann wieder in seine Bestandteile zerlegt. Das Ergebnis, wenn die Analyse des Chaos Computer Clubs zutrifft, ist eindeutig, und das Ergebnis ist schlimm: Die staatliche Überwachungssoftware verfügt nicht nur über illegale Fundamentalfunktionen, sie scheint auch so fahrlässig programmiert zu sein, dass jeder, der den Trojaner entschlüsselt hat, alle anderen gleichartigen knacken und fernsteuern kann. … Computer sind nicht nur Kommunikations-, sie sind Denkwerkzeuge. Die sekundengenaue und lückenlose Dokumentation des Bildschirminhalts (weitergeleitet in die Vereinigten Staaten und von dort wieder nach Deutschland) überwacht das Denken selbst, als Entstehungsstufen eines Textes: niemals verschickte Mails, digitale Selbstgespräche. Was hier technologisch geschieht, ist wirklich das nackte Grauen. In Zeiten einer ‘Piratenpartei’ kann der Fund des Chaos Computer Clubs die politische Geographie nachhaltig ändern. … Jetzt, seit dem Erfolg der Piratenpartei, besteht die Chance, dass diese Aufgabe zum Gegenstand von Realpolitik wird. Dazu aber ist es nötig zu erkennen, dass die neue Welt nicht nur schön ist und neu, sondern das Zeug dazu hat, den Staat zum Ungeheuer zu machen.”
ZEIT: “Die viel diskutierte Onlinedurchsuchung funktioniert. Ermittler von Landeskriminalämtern, vom Zoll oder dem Bundeskriminalamt können auf fremde Computer zugreifen und sich von ihnen beliebige Informationen holen – und sie tun es auch, obwohl sie das gar nicht dürfen. … Angesichts der nun entdeckten Spähsoftware entsteht der Eindruck, dass sich die Behörden nicht an die vom Verfassungsgericht gesetzten Beschränkungen halten und sogar bewusst dagegen verstoßen. … Ein besserer Schutz wäre klarere Gesetze. Der CCC fordert denn auch zwei Dinge: Erstens müsse endlich sauber geregelt werden, welche Ermittlungsverfahren wann zulässig sind und welche nicht. Es gebe immer noch zu viele Grauzonen, sagt Rieger. Und zweitens müsse verboten werden, illegal erlangte Beweise verwerten zu dürfen. … Und grundsätzlich findet der Club, dass ‘die heimliche Infiltration von informationstechnischen Systemen durch staatliche Behörden’ beendet werden müsse.”
SZ: “Code gegen das Gesetz: Das Verfassungsgericht hatte staatlicher Wanzensoftware zur Überwachung von Kommunikation im Internet enge Grenzen gesteckt. Doch jetzt zeigt der Chaos Computer Club, dass die Spähprogramme womöglich viel mehr leisten als erlaubt – und gleichzeitig mühelos durch Dritte missbraucht werden könnten. Die Justizministerin ist entsetzt, die Hacker spotten, der Trojaner sei die Arbeit von ‘studentischen Hilfskräften’.”
SO: “Der Bundesdatenschutzbeauftragte Peter Schaar hat angekündigt, die von deutschen Sicherheitsbehörden eingesetzte Software zur Überwachung verschlüsselter Kommunikation unverzüglich zu überprüfen. … Heftige Kritik übte Schaar an fehlenden Rahmenbedingungen: ‘Der Einsatz von Überwachungssoftware ist nur lückenhaft geregelt. Während für das Bundeskriminalamt zur Abwehr schwerster Verbrechen eindeutige gesetzliche Vorgaben bestehen, fehlen vergleichbar klare Auflagen für Polizei und Staatsanwaltschaft im Bereich der Strafverfolgung’, sagte er.”
Danisch: “Weiß jemand, woher der CCC bei diesem anonym zugesandten Trojaner eigentlich weiß, daß es ein Bundes-/Landes-/Behördentrojaner war? Das Innenministerium dementiert, daß das Ding vom BKA stammt. Und bei anonym zugesandten Platten könnte das immer auch ein Täuschungsmanöver/Hoax sein. – Wenn man es nicht klar einer bestimmten Behörde zuordnen kann, woher weiß man dann, daß es überhaupt einer Behörde zuzuordnen ist und gerade einer deutschen? – Der Gedanke, daß jemand das dem CCC untergejubelt hat, wäre nicht so völlig fernliegend. Und das muß nicht mal ein Gegner des CCC sein. Es könnte auch ein Versuch sein, BKA/LKA/Regierungen zu diskreditieren, indem ein bewußt schlecht gebauter Trojaner als Bundestrojaner untergeschoben wird.”
Welt: “Bevor die Empörungswellen nun hochschlagen, ist zunächst zu klären, wo der ‘Staatstrojaner’ herkommt und ob er eingesetzt wurde. Sollten deutsche Ermittler auf eigene Faust mit einer lausig programmierten Software unterwegs gewesen sein, sind Konsequenzen unvermeidlich. – Handelt es sich bei dem Trojaner aber um eine alte Version, die vor dem Bundesverfassungsgerichtsurteil eingesetzt wurde, sollte die Diskussion über zeitgenössische Werkzeuge der Verbrechensbekämpfung dort weitergeführt werden, wo sie vor den CCC-Enthüllungen aufgehört hat. Und sie sollte endlich zu Ergebnissen führen.”
NP: “Es ist dieses diffuse Gefühl der Angst und Ohnmacht, dass nach zehn Jahren Ausbau des Überwachungsstaates durch unzählige Sicherheitsgesetze, diese gegen die eigene Bevölkerung eingesetzt werden. Es ist dieser weiterer Schritt, weniger Vertrauen in unsere Sicherheitsbehörden zu haben, weil diese ja (zumindest in den dokumentierten Fällen) offensichtlich machen, was sie wollen. Und das ist gefährlich für einen Rechtsstaat, der davon lebt, dass die Bürger an ihn glauben. – Wer übernimmt eigentlich die politische Verantwortung?”
FR: “Interne Schriftwechsel aus dem Bayerischen Justizministerium zeigen, dass schon vor vier Jahren mit der Entwicklung und dem Einsatz von rechtswidriger Überwachungssoftware begonnen wurde – und dass der Staat die Kontrolle über das Programm der Trojaner in die Hände privater Firmen legte. … Alle jetzt geknackten Trojaner wiesen die Merkmale auf, die im Schriftwechsel genannt wurden – mit Möglichkeit der Live-Ausspähung, Totalkontrolle und unbemerkten Datenhochladens. In Bayern kam die umstrittene Spionage-Software bereits mehrfach zum Einsatz. Der Staat spionierte trotz rechtlicher Schranken offenbar einfach weiter. Umfassend, in Echtzeit, ohne Legitimation.”
NP: “Es gibt einen ersten Spitzenkandidaten unter den Bundesländern bei der Suche, wer den Bundestrojaner / Staatstrojaner illegal eingesetzt hat. Sowohl Erich Moechl bei FM4 als auch die Frankfuter Rundschau von Morgen tippen auf Bayern. Das ist natürlich vollkommen überraschend, wenn man den Hashtag #0zapftis genauer betrachtet. Erich Moechl verweist auf Dokumente der Firma Digitask aus Hessen, die seit 2008 bei Wikileaks liegen. Digitask bietet die passende Software an, die alle Spezifikationen erfüllt, die der CCC entdeckt hat.”
NP: “Alexander Svensson beschreibt den Staatstrojaner und was der CCC über diesen herausgefunden hat: Der Staatstrojaner in dreieinhalb Minuten [Video]”
FDP: “Zu Medienberichten, wonach der Chaos Computer Club staatliche Überwachungssoftware geknackt haben soll, erklärt die stellvertretende FDP-Bundesvorsitzende, Bundesjustizministerin Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger: ‘Es ist mehr als beunruhigend, dass die berechtigten technischen Argumente der Beschwerdeführer in der Klage gegen die Online-Durchsuchung vor dem Bundesverfassungsgericht jetzt bestätigt werden. Wenn die Vorgaben des Bundesverfassungsgerichts in der Praxis durch die Technik nicht eingehalten werden, verschwindet das Vertrauen der Bürger. – Die FDP hat immer vor den Gefahren staatlicher Schnüffelsoftware gewarnt, weil dadurch die Unsicherheit von Kommunikation im Netz zunimmt. Noch beunruhigender ist, wenn staatliche Überwachungssoftware sich nicht an die rechtlichen Grenzen des Zulässigen oder Nicht-Zulässigen hält. Das durch das Bundesverfassungsgericht geschaffene so genannte Computergrundrecht hat Auswirkungen auf alle Ermittlungsbefugnisse im Netz.’”
Piratenpartei: “‘Das Bundeskriminalamt (BKA) bewegt sich damit klar außerhalb verfassungsrechtlicher Grenzen’, macht Sebastian Nerz, Vorsitzender der Piratenpartei Deutschlands, deutlich. ‘Statt den Kernbereich privater Lebensgestaltung zu schützen, wurden offensichtlich durch den Trojaner zusätzliche Möglichkeiten geschaffen, mit denen weitere, auch unbefugte Personen, Zugriff auf diese Bereiche bekommen können. Der Staat sollte seine Bürger schützen und sie nicht durch Inkompetenz oder gar vorsätzlich weiteren Sicherheitsrisiken aussetzen. … Der Einsatz des Bundestrojaners muss sofort gestoppt werden.‘ … Bernd Schlömer, Stellvertretender Vorsitzender der Piratenpartei Deutschlands..: ‘Die Piratenpartei erwartet, dass alle Verantwortlichen beim BKA sowie beim Bundesministerium des Inneren öffentlich Stellung nehmen. Im Falle eines nachweislich fahrlässigen Verhaltens sollten personelle Konsequenzen folgen. Dieses schließt explizit auch die Amtsleitung des BKA, Herrn Präsidenten Jörg Ziercke, sowie den verantwortlichen Bundesinnenminister Dr. Hans-Peter Friedrich mit ein.’”
Gerrit Eicker 13:53 on 10. October 2011 Permalink |
Heise: “Eine der Quellen für die vom CCC analysierte staatliche Spionagesoftware kommt aus Bayern. Insgesamt soll es aber mindestens zwei voneinander unabhängige Quellen des CCC für die Spionagesoftware geben. … Patrick Schladt, Anwalt eines Betroffenen, der mittels Staatstrojaner überwacht wurde, teilte nun mit: ‘Einer der vom CCC dokumentierten Staatstrojaner wurde auf der Festplatte eines meiner Mandanten gefunden, die ich im Einvernehmen mit dem Mandanten an einen öffentlich bekannten Vertreter des CCC habe übergeben lassen. Es handelt sich dabei um den Fall des ‘Screenshot-Trojaners’, der bereits im Frühjahr diesen Jahres Gegenstand der öffentlichen Diskussion war.’ Die Beweiskette von Schladt zum CCC sei lückenlos dokumentiert. – Aufgespielt sei der Trojaner bei Gelegenheit einer Kontrolle seines Mandanten durch den Zoll auf dem Münchener Flughafen worden, erklärt Schladt weiter.”
Schladt: “Nachdem ich aufgrund der Aktenlage erkannt hatte, dass Screenshots angefertigt worden waren, war mir bewusst, dass hier durch einen Trojaner der Laptop manipuliert war. Ich bedanke mich bei dem CCC, dass dieser bereit war – quasi als Gutachter – die Fähigkeit des Trojaners zu analysieren. Durch diese Analyse konnte möglicherweise eine starke Kompetenzüberschreitung bayrischer Behörden aufgedeckt werden.”
Gerrit Eicker 16:29 on 10. October 2011 Permalink |
Hans-Peter Uhl: “Wer … wie die Bundesjustizministerin eine spezialgesetzliche Rechtsgrundlage für die Quellen-TKÜ verweigert und die Strafverfolgungsbehörden damit zum Rückgriff auf die allgemeine TKÜ-Rechtsvorschrift zwingt, darf nicht beklagen, dass Vorgaben nicht eingehalten würden, die es derzeit noch nicht gibt und für deren Schaffung die Justizministerin zuständig wäre.”
Gerrit Eicker 18:16 on 10. October 2011 Permalink |
BR: “‘Ozapft is’ – so lautet ein Teil des Quellcodes des Trojaners, der seit dem Wochenende die Schlagzeilen beherrscht. Daraus könnte man schließen, dass diese Schadsoftware aus Bayern stammt. Und genau das bestätigte nun Innenminister Joachim Herrmann (CSU). … Der Minister gab am Montagnachmittag an, der vom Chaos Computer Club (CCC) am Wochenende bekannt gemachte ‘Staatstrojaner’ zur Online-Überwachung stamme aus Bayern. Die Erstbewertung des Landeskriminalamts (LKA) habe ergeben, dass die dem CCC zugespielte Software einem Ermittlungsverfahren der bayerischen Polizei aus dem Jahr 2009 zugeordnet werden könne… Der Minister betonte aber, dass das LKA nach Einschätzung des Ministeriums beim Einsatz der Trojaner alle rechtlichen Vorgaben eingehalten hat.“
Gerrit Eicker 23:53 on 10. October 2011 Permalink |
FAZ: “Ob der zum Bundesfinanzministerium gehörende Zoll den Staatstrojaner eingesetzt hat, ist noch offen. Beim Bundeskriminalamt, beim Bundesverfassungsschutz und bei der Bundespolizei ist die Spionagesoftware nach Auskünften des Innenministers Hans-Peter Friedrich (CSU) nicht zum Einsatz gekommen. – Seine Amtskollegen aus den Bundesländern hingegen gestehen nach und nach die Anwendung der umstrittenen vom Chaos Computer Club analysierten Software. So bestätigte Bayerns Innenminister Joachim Herrmann (CSU), dass sie einem Ermittlungsverfahren der bayerischen Polizei von 2009 zugeordnet werden kann. … Auch das niedersächsische Landeskriminalamt (LKA) setzt das umstrittene Trojaner-Computerprogamm ein.”