Loads of Ads

2007-10-29T16:03:00.000+05:30

Insurance - All that you wanted to know about insurance

The general purpose of any insurance policy is to provide protection to the economic value of assets in case of any uncertain event. Whether it is life insurance or auto insurance the basic principle on which it works remains more or less the same. For instance, if you have taken a car insurance policy then it will safeguard you in the form of any damages that you can claim if your car were to meet with an unfortunate accident. Similarly a medical insurance policy can come in really handy helping the policy holder to meet out expensive medical treatment at some point in time, in case of any unfortunate illness. Since insurance protects you against financial ruins you should always choose your insurer and plan with utmost care. This is of vital importance since you never know when something like a health insurance policy will come to your rescue.

This being the case you should carefully consider several aspects before you decide on a insurance policy. The purpose of your taking an insurance policy will of course dictate your choice to a lot of extent. For instance the needs of someone going in for a home insurance will be different from that of someone who wants life insurance coverage and so on and so forth. Similarly a person who often travels abroad may be in need of travel insurance while a businessperson may need to avail business insurance. Whatever may be the case whether it is a house insurance policy or even dental insurance that you are looking at; you need to carefully analyze every aspect of the policy before you sign on dotted lines.

While shopping around for insurance companies try and get in touch with as many of them as possible. Talking to several insurance companies helps in making the right choice. You should talk to their individual company representatives and tell them what exactly your insurance needs are. These professionals will then give you expert advice on aspects such as the kind of charge that the company may want you to pay in order to cover you. While talking to these company representatives you should also remember that these are sales people who are making their living selling insurance polices. It is you who has to make a prudent decision after hearing the sales pitch of several insurance companies.

Doing a little bit of research always helps in choosing the right insurance policy. You should go through the history records of the particular insurance company that you intend to choose. You can find important information such as whether a particular insurance company has a record of refusing to pay claims or if a certain company charges any type of special loadings on premium. All this information will come in really handy and help you in choosing the right type of insurance coverage, whether it is life insurance or any other type of insurance such as auto insurance.

You should remember that the state governments are responsible for regulating American insurance companies. You can always go through the online sources of the state governments and find out more about these regulations. In case of employees they can always get in touch with employers to find out more in detail about the various group insurance schemes that are on offer. One person who can help you out immensely will be an experienced insurance agent. Whether it is cheap car insurance that you are looking for you or rental insurance that you need insurance agent will have comprehensive information. Getting as much information as possible from different sources is the key to choosing the right insurance policy ideally suited to your needs.

Computing help

2007-04-29T19:45:00.000+05:30

Any software that covertly gathers user information through the user's Internet connection without his or her knowledge, usually for advertising purposes. Spyware applications are typically bundled as a hidden component of freeware or shareware programs that can be downloaded from the Internet. Once installed, the spyware monitors user activity on the Internet and transmits that information in the background to someone else. ...

Spyware is computer software that collects personal information about users without their informed consent. The term Spyware, which was coined in 1995 but wasn't widely used for another five years, is often used interchangeably with adware and malware (software designed to infiltrate and damage a computer respectively).

Personal information is secretly recorded with a variety of techniques, including logging keystrokes, recording Internet web browsing history, and scanning documents on the computer's hard disk. Purposes range from overtly criminal (theft of passwords and financial details) to the merely annoying (recording Internet search history for targeted advertising, while consuming computer resources). Spyware may collect different types of information. Some variants attempt to track the websites a user visits and then send this information to an advertising agency. More malicious variants attempt to intercept passwords or credit card numbers as a user enters them into a web form or other applications.

The spread of spyware has led to the development of an entire anti-spyware industry. Its products remove or disable existing spyware on the computers they are installed on and prevent its installation. However, a number of companies have incorporated forms of spyware into their products. These programs are not considered malware, but are still spyware as they watch and observe for advertising purposes. It is debatable whether such 'legitimate' uses of adware/spyware are malware since the user often has no knowledge of these 'legitimate' programs being installed on his/her computer and is generally unaware that these programs are infringing on his/her privacy. In any case, these programs still use the resources of the host computer without permission.

History and development

The first recorded use of the term spyware occurred on October 16, 1995 in a Usenet post that poked fun at Microsoft's business model.^[1] Spyware at first denoted hardware meant for espionage purposes. However, in early 2000 the founder of Zone Labs, Gregor Freund, used the term in a press release for the ZoneAlarm Personal Firewall.^[2] Since then, "spyware" has taken on its present sense. In early 2001, Steve Gibson of Gibson Research realized that advertising software had been installed on his system, and suspected it was stealing his personal information. After analysis, he determined that it was adware from the companies Aureate (later Radiate) and Conducent. Gibson developed and released the first anti-spyware program, OptOut. Many more have appeared since then.^[2] According to a 2005 study by AOL and the National Cyber-Security Alliance, 61% of surveyed users' computers had some form of spyware. 92% of surveyed users with spyware reported that they did not know of its presence, and 91% reported that they had not given permission for the installation of the spyware.^[3] As of 2006, spyware has become one of the preeminent security threats to computer systems running Microsoft Windows operating systems. In an estimate based on customer-sent scan logs, Webroot Software, makers of Spy Sweeper, said that 9 out of 10 computers connected to the Internet are infected.^[4] Computers where Internet Explorer (IE) is the primary browser are particularly vulnerable to such attacks not only because IE is the most widely-used,^[5] but because its tight integration with Windows allows spyware access to crucial parts of the operating system.^[6]^[7]

[edit] Comparison

[edit] Spyware, adware and tracking

The term adware frequently refers to any software which displays advertisements, whether or not the user has consented. Programs such as the Eudora mail client display advertisements as an alternative to shareware registration fees. These classify as "adware" in the sense of advertising-supported software, but not as spyware. Adware in this form does not operate surreptitiously or mislead the user, and provides the user with a specific service.

Most spyware is adware in a different sense: it displays advertising. Claria Corporation's Gator Software and Exact Advertising's BargainBuddy are examples. Visited Web sites frequently install Gator on client machines in a surreptitious manner, and it directs revenue to the installing site and to Claria by displaying advertisements to the user. The user receives many pop-up advertisements.

Other spyware behavior, such as reporting on websites the user visits, occurs in the background. The data is used for "targeted" advertisement impressions. The prevalence of spyware has cast suspicion upon other programs that track Web browsing, even for statistical or research purposes. Some observers describe the Alexa Toolbar, an Internet Explorer plug-in published by Amazon.com, as spyware (and some anti-spyware programs report it as such).^{[citation needed]}^{[citation needed]} Many users, however, choose to install it.

Similarly, software bundled with free, advertising-supported programs such as P2P act as spyware, (and if removed disable the 'parent' program) yet people are willing to download it. This presents a dilemma for proprietors of anti-spyware products whose removal tools may inadvertently disable wanted programs. These recent test results show how a bundled software (WhenUSave) is ignored by popular anti spyware program AdAware, (but removed as spyware by most scanners) because it is part of the popular (but recently decommissioned) Edonkey client. To address this dilemma, the Anti-Spyware Coalition has been working on building consensus within the anti-spyware industry as to what is and isn't acceptable software behavior. To accomplish their goal, this group of anti-spyware companies, academics, and consumer groups have collectively published a series of documents including a definition of spyware, risk model, and best practices document.

[edit] Spyware, virus and worm

Unlike viruses and worms, spyware does not usually self-replicate. Like many recent viruses, however, spyware — by design — exploits infected computers for commercial gain. Typical tactics furthering this goal include delivery of unsolicited pop-up advertisements; theft of personal information (including financial information such as credit card numbers); monitoring of Web-browsing activity for marketing purposes; or routing of HTTP requests to advertising sites.

[edit] Routes of infection

Spyware does not directly spread in the manner of a computer virus or worm: generally, an infected system does not attempt to transmit the infection to other computers. Instead, spyware gets on a system through deception of the user or through exploitation of software vulnerabilities.

Most spyware is installed without users being aware. Since they tend not to install software if they know that it will disrupt their working environment and compromise their privacy, spyware deceives users, either by piggybacking on a piece of desirable software such as Kazaa, or tricking them into installing it (the Trojan horse method). Some "rogue" anti-spyware programs even masquerade as security software.

The distributor of spyware usually presents the program as a useful utility — for instance as a "Web accelerator" or as a helpful software agent. Users download and install the software without immediately suspecting that it could cause harm. For example, Bonzi Buddy, a spyware program targeted at children, claims that:

He will explore the Internet with you as your very own friend and sidekick! He can talk, walk, joke, browse, search, e-mail, and download like no other friend you've ever had! He even has the ability to compare prices on the products you love and help you save money! Best of all, he's FREE!^[8]

Spyware can also come bundled with shareware or other downloadable software, as well as music CDs. The user downloads a program and installs it, and the installer additionally installs the spyware. Although the desirable software itself may do no harm, the bundled spyware does. In some cases, spyware authors have paid shareware authors to bundle spyware with their software. In other cases, spyware authors have repackaged desirable free software with installers that add spyware.

A third way of distributing spyware involves tricking users by manipulating security features designed to prevent unwanted installations. Internet Explorer prevents websites from initiating an unwanted download. Instead, it requires a user action, such as clicking on a link. However, links can prove deceptive: for instance, a pop-up ad may appear like a standard Windows dialog box. The box contains a message such as "Would you like to optimize your Internet access?" with links which look like buttons reading Yes and No. No matter which "button" the user presses, a download starts, placing the spyware on the user's system. Later versions of Internet Explorer offer fewer avenues for this attack.

Some spyware authors infect a system through security holes in the Web browser or in other software. When the user navigates to a Web page controlled by the spyware author, the page contains code which attacks the browser and forces the download and installation of spyware. The spyware author would also have some extensive knowledge of commercially-available anti-virus and firewall software. This has become known as a "drive-by download", which leaves the user a hapless bystander to the attack. Common browser exploits target security vulnerabilities in Internet Explorer and in the Microsoft Java runtime.

The installation of spyware frequently involves Internet Explorer. Its popularity and history of security issues have made it the most frequent target. Its deep integration with the Windows environment and scriptability make it an obvious point of attack into Windows. Internet Explorer also serves as a point of attachment for spyware in the form of Browser Helper Objects, which modify the browser's behaviour to add toolbars or to redirect traffic.

In a few cases, a worm or virus has delivered a spyware payload. Some attackers used the Spybot worm to install spyware that put pornographic pop-ups on the infected system's screen.^[9] By directing traffic to ads set up to channel funds to the spyware authors, they profit personally.

[edit] Effects and behaviors

A spyware program is rarely alone on a computer: an affected machine can rapidly be infected by many other components. Users frequently notice unwanted behavior and degradation of system performance. A spyware infestation can create significant unwanted CPU activity, disk usage, and network traffic, all of which slow the computer down. Stability issues, such as application or system-wide crashes, are also common. Spyware which interferes with networking software commonly causes difficulty connecting to the Internet.

In some infections, the spyware is not even evident. Users assume in those situations that the issues relate to hardware, to Windows installation problems, or a virus. Some owners of badly infected systems resort to contacting technical support experts, or even buying a new computer because the existing system "has become too slow". Badly infected systems may require a clean reinstallation of all their software in order to return to full functionality.

Only rarely does a single piece of software render a computer unusable. Rather, a computer is likely to have multiple infections. As the 2004 AOL study noted, if a computer has any spyware at all, it typically has dozens of different pieces installed. The cumulative effect, and the interactions between spyware components, cause the symptoms commonly reported by users: a computer which slows to a crawl, overwhelmed by the many parasitic processes running on it. Moreover, some types of spyware disable software firewalls and anti-virus software, and/or reduce browser security settings, thus opening the system to further opportunistic infections, much like an immune deficiency disease. Some spyware has disabled or even removed competing spyware programs, on the grounds that more spyware-related annoyances make it even more likely that users will take action to remove the programs. One spyware maker, Avenue Media, even sued a competitor, Direct Revenue, over this; the two later settled with an agreement not to disable each others' products.^[10]

Some other types of spyware (Targetsoft, for example) modify system files so they will be harder to remove. Targetsoft modifies the "Winsock" Windows Sockets files. The deletion of the spyware-infected file "inetadpt.dll" will interrupt normal networking usage. Unlike users of many other operating systems, a typical Windows user has administrative privileges, mostly for convenience. Because of this, any program the user runs (intentionally or not) has unrestricted access to the system. Spyware, along with other threats, has led some Windows users to move to other platforms such as Linux or Apple Macintosh, which are less attractive targets for malware. This is because these programs are not granted unrestricted access to the operating system (due to the Unix underpinnings upon which both Linux and Mac OS X are built^{[citation needed]}) though some allege it's mainly due to the far smaller number of machines installed with these operating systems making spyware development potentially less profitable for these platforms.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Advertisements

Many spyware programs display advertisements. Some programs simply display pop-up ads on a regular basis; for instance, one every several minutes, or one when the user opens a new browser window. Others display ads in response to specific sites that the user visits. Spyware operators present this feature as desirable to advertisers, who may buy ad placement in pop-ups displayed when the user visits a particular site. It is also one of the purposes for which spyware programs gather information on user behavior. Pop-ups are one of users' most common complaints about spyware.^{[citation needed]}

Many users complain about irritating or offensive advertisements as well. As with many banner ads, many spyware advertisements use animation or flickering banners which can be visually distracting and annoying to users. Pop-up ads for pornography often display indiscriminately. When children are the users, this could possibly violate anti-pornography laws in some jurisdictions.

A further issue in the case of some spyware programs has to do with the replacement of banner ads on viewed web sites. Spyware that acts as a web proxy or a Browser Helper Object can replace references to a site's own advertisements (which fund the site) with advertisements that instead fund the spyware operator. This cuts into the margins of advertising-funded Web sites.

[edit] "Stealware" and affiliate fraud

A few spyware vendors, notably 180 Solutions, have written what the New York Times has dubbed "stealware", and what spyware-researcher Ben Edelman terms affiliate fraud, a form of click fraud. Stealware diverts the payment of affiliate marketing revenues from the legitimate affiliate to the spyware vendor.

Spyware which attacks affiliate networks places the spyware operator's affiliate tag on the user's activity—replacing any other tag, if there is one. The spyware operator is the only party that gains from this. The user has their choices thwarted, a legitimate affiliate loses revenue, Networks' reputations are injured, and vendors are harmed by having to pay out affiliate revenues to an "affiliate" who is not party to a contract.^[11]

Affiliate fraud is a violation of the terms of service of most affiliate marketing networks. As a result, spyware operators such as 180 Solutions have been terminated from affiliate networks including LinkShare and ShareSale.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Identity theft and fraud

In one case, spyware has been closely associated with identity theft.^[12] In August 2005, researchers from security software firm Sunbelt Software believed that the makers of the common CoolWebSearch spyware had used it to transmit "chat sessions, user names, passwords, bank information, etc.",^[13] but it turned out that "it actually (was) its own sophisticated criminal little trojan that's independent of CWS."^[14] This case is currently under investigation by the FBI.

The Federal Trade Commission estimates that 27.3 million Americans have been victims of identity theft, and that financial losses from identity theft totaled nearly $48 billion for businesses and financial institutions and at least $5 billion in out-of-pocket expenses for individuals.^[15]

Spyware-makers may commit wire fraud with dialer program spyware. These can reset a modem to dial up a premium-rate telephone number instead of the usual ISP. Connecting to these suspicious numbers involves long-distance or overseas charges which invariably result in high charges. Dialers are ineffective on computers that do not have a modem, or are not connected to a telephone line.

[edit] Digital rights management

Some copy-protection technologies have borrowed from spyware. In 2005, Sony BMG Music Entertainment was found to be using rootkits in its XCP digital rights management^[16] Like spyware, not only was it difficult to detect and uninstall, it was so poorly written that most efforts to remove it could have rendered computers unable to function. Texas attorney general Greg Abbott filed suit,^[17] and three separate class-action suits were filed.^[18] Sony BMG later provided a workaround on its website to help users remove it.^[19] technology state

Beginning in April 25, 2006, Microsoft's Windows Genuine Advantage Notifications application^[20] install on most Windows PCs as a "critical security update". While the main pupose of this deliberately non-uninstallable application is making sure the copy of Windows on the machine was lawfully purchased and installed, it also installs software that has been accused of "phoning home" on a daily basis, like spyware.^[21]^[22] It can be removed with the RemoveWGA tool.

[edit] Spyware and cookies

Anti-spyware programs often report Web advertisers' HTTP cookies, the small text files that track browsing activity, as spyware. While they are not always inherently malicious, many users object to third parties using space on their personal computers for their business purposes, and so many anti-spyware programs offer to remove them.

[edit] Examples of spyware

These common spyware programs illustrate the diversity of behaviors found in these attacks. Note that as with computer viruses, researchers give names to spyware programs which may not be used by their creators. Programs may be grouped into "families" based not on shared program code, but on common behaviors, or by "following the money" of apparent financial or business connections. For instance, a number of the spyware programs distributed by Claria are collectively known as "Gator". Likewise, programs which are frequently installed together may be described as parts of the same spyware package, even if they function separately.

CoolWebSearch, a group of programs, takes advantage of Internet Explorer vulnerabilities. The package directs traffic to advertisements on Web sites including coolwebsearch.com. It displays pop-up ads, rewrites search engine results, and alters the infected computer's hosts file to direct DNS lookups to these sites.^[23]

Internet Optimizer, also known as DyFuCa, redirects Internet Explorer error pages to advertising. When users follow a broken link or enter an erroneous URL, they see a page of advertisements. However, because password-protected Web sites (HTTP Basic authentication) use the same mechanism as HTTP errors, Internet Optimizer makes it impossible for the user to access password-protected sites.^[23]

Zango (formerly 180 Solutions) transmits detailed information to advertisers about the Web sites which users visit. It also alters HTTP requests for affiliate advertisements linked from a Web site, so that the advertisements make unearned profit for the 180 Solutions company. It opens pop-up ads that cover over the Web sites of competing companies.^[24]

HuntBar was a toolbar distributed by trafficsyndicate.com, a URL of IBIS, LLC. It was installed by third party distributers in a drive-by download , or by unauthorized advertisements displayed by other spyware programs -- an example of how spyware can install other programs. The Huntbar tracked user activity in an aggregated or non-identifiable manner. However, Personally Identifiable Information (PII) was never collected or tracked in any manner whatsoever.^[25]^[26]

Movieland, also known as Moviepass.tv or Popcorn.net, is a movie download service that has been the subject of thousands of complaints to the Federal Trade Commission Washington State Attorney General's Office, the Better Business Bureau, and others by consumers claiming they were held hostage by its repeated pop-up windows and demands for payment.^[27] The FTC has filed a complaint against Movieland.com and eleven other defendants (list), charging them with having "engaged in a nationwide scheme to use deception and coercion to extract payments from consumers." The complaint alleges that the software repeatedly opened oversized pop-up windows that could not be closed or minimized, accompanied by music that lasted nearly a minute, demanding payment of at least $29.95 to end the pop-up cycle; and claiming that consumers had signed up for a three-day free trial but did not cancel their membership before the trial period was over, and were thus obligated to pay.^[28]^[29] (FTC), the

[edit] Legal issues related to spyware

[edit] Criminal law

Unauthorized access to a computer is illegal under computer crime laws, such as the U.S. Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, the U.K.'s Computer Misuse Act and similar laws in other countries. Since the owners of computers infected with spyware generally claim that they never authorized the installation, a prima facie reading would suggest that the promulgation of spyware would count as a criminal act. Law enforcement has often pursued the authors of other malware, particularly viruses. However, few spyware developers have been prosecuted, and many operate openly as strictly legitimate businesses, though some have faced lawsuits.^[30]^[31]

Spyware producers argue that, contrary to the users' claims, users do in fact give consent to installations. Spyware that comes bundled with shareware applications may be described in the legalese text of an end-user license agreement (EULA). Many users habitually ignore these purported contracts, but spyware companies such as Claria claim these demonstrate that users have consented.

Despite the ubiquity of EULAs and of "clickwrap" agreements, under which a single click can be taken as consent to the entire text, relatively little case law has resulted from their use. It has been established in most common law jurisdictions that a clickwrap agreement can be a binding contract in certain circumstances.^[32] This does not, however, mean that every such agreement is a contract or that every term in one is enforceable.

Some jurisdictions, including the U.S. states of Iowa^[33] and Washington,^[34] have passed laws criminalizing some forms of spyware. Such laws make it illegal for anyone other than the owner or operator of a computer to install software that alters Web-browser settings, monitors keystrokes, or disables computer-security software.

In the United States, lawmakers introduced a bill in 2005 entitled the Internet Spyware Prevention Act, which would imprison creators of spyware.^[35]

[edit] Civil law

Former New York State Attorney General and now current Governor Eliot Spitzer has pursued spyware companies for fraudulent installation of software.^[36] In a suit brought in 2005 by Spitzer, the California firm Intermix Media, Inc. ended up settling by agreeing to pay US$7.5 million and to stop distributing spyware.^[37]

The hijacking of Web advertisements has also led to litigation. In June 2002, a number of large Web publishers sued Claria for replacing advertisements, but settled out of court.

Courts have not yet had to decide whether advertisers can be held liable for spyware which displays their ads. In many cases, the companies whose advertisements appear in spyware pop-ups do not directly do business with the spyware firm. Rather, they have contracted with an advertising agency, which in turn contracts with an online subcontractor who gets paid by the number of "impressions" or appearances of the advertisement. Some major firms such as Dell Computer and Mercedes-Benz have sacked advertising agencies which have run their ads in spyware.^[38]

[edit] Libel suits by spyware developers

Litigation has gone both ways. Since "spyware" has become a common pejorative, some makers have filed libel and defamation actions when their products have been so described. In 2003, Gator (now known as Claria) filed suit against the website PC Pitstop for describing its program as "spyware".^[39] PC Pitstop settled, agreeing not to use the word "spyware", but continues to describe harm caused by the Gator/Claria software.^[40] As a result, other antispyware and antivirus companies have also used other terms such as "potentially unwanted programs" or greyware to denote these products.

[edit] Remedies and prevention

As the spyware threat has worsened, a number of techniques have emerged to counteract it. These include programs designed to remove or to block spyware, as well as various user practices which reduce the chance of getting spyware on a system.

Nonetheless, spyware remains a costly problem. When a large number of pieces of spyware have infected a Windows computer, the only remedy may involve backing up user data, and fully reinstalling the operating system.

[edit] Anti-spyware programs

Report on scan of an infected system from Lavasoft's Ad-Aware

Many programmers and some commercial firms have released products designed to remove or block spyware. Steve Gibson's OptOut, mentioned above, pioneered a growing category. Programs such as Lavasoft's Ad-Aware SE and Patrick Kolla's Spybot - Search & DestroyMicrosoft acquired the GIANT AntiSpyware software, rebranding it as Windows AntiSpyware beta and releasing it as a free download for Windows XP and Windows 2003 users. In early spring, 2006, Microsoft renamed the beta software to Windows Defender, and it was released as a free download in October 2006. Microsoft currently ships the product for free with Windows Vista. Other well-known anti-spyware products include Webroot Spy Sweeper, Trend Micro's Anti-Spyware, PC Tools' Spyware Doctor, and Sunbelt's CounterSpy (which uses a forked codebase from the GIANT Anti-Spyware, now called Microsoft's Windows Defender). Blue Coat Systems released a gateway anti-spyware solution in 2004. rapidly gained popularity as effective tools to remove, and in some cases intercept, spyware programs. More recently

Major anti-virus firms such as Symantec, McAfee and Sophos have come later to the table, adding anti-spyware features to their existing anti-virus products. Early on, anti-virus firms expressed reluctance to add anti-spyware functions, citing lawsuits brought by spyware authors against the authors of web sites and programs which described their products as "spyware". However, recent versions of these major firms' home and business anti-virus products do include anti-spyware functions, albeit treated differently from viruses. Symantec Anti-Virus, for instance, categorizes spyware programs as "extended threats" and now offers real-time protection from them (as it does for viruses). Recently, the anti virus company Grisoft, who make the AVG anti-virus program, acquired anti-spyware firm Ewido Networks, re-labeling their Ewido anti-spyware program as AVG Anti-Spyware. This shows a trend by anti virus companies to launch a dedicated solution to spyware and malware. Zone Labs, who make the Zone Alarm firewall have also released an anti spyware program.

Microsoft Anti-Spyware, in real-time protection blocks an instance of the AlwaysUpdateNews from being installed.

Anti-spyware programs can combat spyware in two ways:

1. They can provide real time protection against the installation of spyware software on your computer. This type of spyware protection works the same way as that of anti-virus protection in that the anti-spyware software scans all incoming network data for spyware software and blocks any threats it comes across.

2. Anti-spyware software programs can be used solely for detection and removal of spyware software that has already been installed onto your computer. This type of spyware protection is normally much easier to use and more popular. With this spyware protection software you can schedule weekly, daily, or monthly scans of your computer to detect and remove any spyware software that has been installed on your computer. This type of anti-spyware software scans the contents of the windows registry, operating system files, and installed programs on your computer and will provide a list of any threats found, allowing you to choose what you want to delete and what you want to keep.

Such programs inspect the contents of the Windows registry, the operating system files, and installed programs, and remove files and entries which match a list of known spyware components. Real-time protection from spyware works identically to real-time anti-virus protection: the software scans disk files at download time, and blocks the activity of components known to represent spyware. In some cases, it may also intercept attempts to install start-up items or to modify browser settings. Because many spyware and adware are installed as a result of browser exploits or user error, using security software (some of which are antispyware, though many are not) to sandbox browsers can also be effective to help restrict any damage done.

Earlier versions of anti-spyware programs focused chiefly on detection and removal. Javacool Software's SpywareBlaster, one of the first to offer real-time protection, blocked the installation of ActiveX-based and other spyware programs.

Like most anti-virus software, many anti-spyware/adware tools require a frequently-updated database of threats. As new spyware programs are released, anti-spyware developers discover and evaluate them, making "signatures" or "definitions" which allow the software to detect and remove the spyware. As a result, anti-spyware software is of limited usefulness without a regular source of updates. Some vendors provide a subscription-based update service, while others provide updates free. Updates may be installed automatically on a schedule or before doing a scan, or may be done manually.

Not all programs rely on updated definitions. Some programs rely partly (for instance many antispyware programs such as Windows Defender, Spybot's TeaTimer and Spysweeper) or fully (programs falling under the class of Hips such as BillP's WinPatrol), on historical observation. They watch certain configuration parameters (such as certain portions of the Windows registry or browser configuration) and report any change to the user, without judgment or recommendation. While they do not rely on updated definitions, which may allow them to spot newer spyware, they can offer no guidance. The user is left to determine "what did I just do, and is this configuration change appropriate?"

Windows Defender's Spynet attempts to alleviate this through offering a community to share information, which helps guide both users, who can look at decisions made by others, and analysts, who can spot fast-spreading spyware. A popular generic spyware removal tool used by those with a certain degree of expertise is HijackThis, which scans certain areas of the Windows OS where spyware often resides and presents a list with items to delete manually. As most of the items are legitimate windows files/registry entries it is advised for those who are less knowledgeable on this subject to post a HijackThis log on the numerous antispyware sites and let the experts decide what to delete.

If a spyware program is not blocked and manages to get itself installed, it may resist attempts to terminate or uninstall it. Some programs work in pairs: when an anti-spyware scanner (or the user) terminates one running process, the other one respawns the killed program. Likewise, some spyware will detect attempts to remove registry keys and immediately add them again. Usually, booting the infected computer in safe mode allows an anti-spyware program a better chance of removing persistent spyware. Killing the process tree can also work.

A new breed of spyware (Look2Me spyware by NicTechNetworks is a good example) is starting to hide inside system-critical processes and start up even in safe mode. With no process to terminate they are harder to detect and remove. Sometimes they do not even leave any on-disk signatures. Rootkit technology is also seeing increasing use,^[41] as is the use of NTFS alternate data streams. Newer spyware programs also have specific countermeasures against well known anti-malware products and may prevent them from running or being installed, or even uninstall them. An example of one that uses all three methods is Gromozon, a new breed of malware. It uses alternate data streams to hide. A rootkit hides it even from alternate data streams scanners and actively stops popular rootkit scanners from running.

Malicious websites attempt to install spyware on readers' computers.

[edit] Fake anti-spyware programs

It has been suggested that this section be split into a new article entitled List of fake anti-spyware programs. (Discuss)

Malicious programmers have released a large number of fake anti-spyware programs, and widely distributed Web banner ads now spuriously warn users that their computers have been infected with spyware, directing them to purchase programs which do not actually remove spyware — or worse, may add more spyware of their own.^[42]^[43]

The recent proliferation of fake or spoofed antivirus products has occasioned some concern. Such products often bill themselves as antispyware, antivirus, or registry cleaners, and sometimes feature popups prompting users to install them. They are called rogue software.

Known offenders include:

On 2006-01-26, Microsoft and the Washington state attorney general filed suit against Secure Computer for its Spyware Cleaner product.^[44] On 2006-12-04, the Washington attorney general announced that Secure Computer had paid $1 million to settle with the state. As of that date, Microsoft's case against Secure Computer remained pending.^[45]

[edit] Security practices

To deter spyware, computer users have found several practices useful in addition to installing anti-spyware programs.

Many system operators install a web browser other than IE, such as Opera or Mozilla Firefox. Although these have also suffered some security vulnerabilities, they are not targeted as much as IE because most users who are likely to fall for spyware are not using them.^{[citation needed]}ActiveX. Though no browser is completely safe, Internet Explorer is at a greater risk for spyware infection due to its large user base as well as vulnerabilities such as

Some ISPs — particularly colleges and universities — have taken a different approach to blocking spyware: they use their network firewalls and web proxies to block access to Web sites known to install spyware. On March 31, 2005, Cornell University's Information Technology department released a report detailing the behavior of one particular piece of proxy-based spyware, Marketscore, and the steps the university took to intercept it.^[46] Many other educational institutions have taken similar steps. Spyware programs which redirect network traffic cause greater technical-support problems than programs which merely display ads or monitor users' behavior, and so may more readily attract institutional attention.^{[citation needed]}

Some users install a large hosts file which prevents the user's computer from connecting to known spyware related web addresses. However, by connecting to the numeric IP address, rather than the domain name, spyware may bypass this sort of protection.

Spyware may get installed via certain shareware programs offered for download. Downloading programs only from reputable sources can provide some protection from this source of attack. Recently, CNet revamped its download directory: it has stated that it will only keep files that pass inspection by Ad-Aware and Spyware Doctor.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Notable programs distributed with spyware

Bonzi Buddy^[47]
Dope Wars^[48]
ErrorGuard^[49]
Grokster^[50]
Kazaa^[51]
Morpheus^[52]
RadLight^[53]
WeatherBug^[54]
EDonkey2000^[52]
Sony's Extended Copy Protection involved the installation of spyware from audio compact discs through autorun. This practice sparked considerable controversy when it was discovered.
WildTangent^[55] The antispyware program CounterSpy used to say that it's okay to keep WildTangent, but it now says that the spyware Winpipe is "possibly distributed with the adware bundler WildTangent or from a threat included in that bundler". [1]

[edit] Notable programs formerly distributed with spyware

AOL Instant Messenger^[55] (AOL Instant Messenger still packages Viewpoint Media Player, and WildTangent)
DivX (except for the paid version, and the "standard" version without the encoder). DivX announced removal of GAIN software from version 5.2.^[56]
LimeWire (all free Windows versions up to 3.9.3)^[52]
FlashGet (trial version prior to program being made freeware)^[57]

randomize

2007-01-02T12:18:00.000+05:30

Everything to know about Spam

What would you say if I told you that we all ought to join together to make more enemies. Why am I talking about Spam, you may ask? I share all I know, which is not little. When the war raged life was a little more peaceful. Unfortunately, maybe. OK, but back to the story. But it was different that time. Nothing like something, anything, nothing. And then...

Everything to know about Boing Boing

What would you say if I told you that there is more to life than to enjoy the small joys. How is this related to Boing Boing, you probably wonder... Well. About the time I broke up with my ex I had a house nearby the woods. Unfortunately, maybe. And here's the gist; Yet, somehow I didn't feel like I should have felt. I met the X-Files. But wait until you hear how...

I thought of Memes

Last night I dreamt humanity is lost if we forget to make peace on earth. Why am I talking about Memes, you probably wonder... So... Back in school I was happy. Unfortunately, maybe. My point is... But something felt awkward. Using Google, I found the police. This is special, because...

2007-01-02T12:13:00.000+05:30

Everything to know about Spam

Everything to know about Boing Boing

I thought of Memes

Apple

2006-12-25T23:00:00.000+05:30

Apple Computer, Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL, LSE: ACP) is an American computer technology corporation with worldwide annual sales in its fiscal year 2005 (ending 24 September 2005) of US$ 13.9 billion.^[3] The company has 14,800 employees in several countries. Headquartered in Cupertino, California, Apple develops, sells, and supports a series of personal computers, portable media players, computer software, and computer hardware accessories. The company's best-known products include the Macintosh line of personal computers, the Mac OS X operating system, the iPod portable music player, and the iTunes Store.

Apple operates retail stores in the United States, Canada, Japan and the United Kingdom. The stores carry most of Apple's products as well as many third-party products and offer on-site support and repair for Apple hardware and software.

For a variety of reasons, ranging from its philosophy of comprehensive aesthetic design to its countercultural, even indie roots as a company that differentiates itself from the rest of the industry by “thinking different,” Apple has cultivated a customer base that is unusually devoted to the company and its brand.

History

Main article: History of Apple Computer

Apple has revolutionized personal computing since its founding in 1976. The Apple II microcomputer, introduced in 1977, was a hit with home users. In 1983, Apple introduced the Lisa, the first commercial personal computer to employ a graphical user interface (GUI), which was influenced in part by the Xerox Alto. Lisa was also first personal computer to have the mouse. In 1984, the Macintosh was introduced, furthering the concept of a user-friendly graphical user interface. Apple's success with the Macintosh became a major influence in the development of graphical interfaces elsewhere, with major computer operating systems such as Commodore Amiga, and Atari ST, appearing on the market within two years of the introduction of the Macintosh.

In 1991, Apple introduced the PowerBook line of portable computers. The 1990s also saw Apple's market share fall as competition from Microsoft Windows and the comparatively inexpensive IBM PC compatible computers that would eventually dominate the market. In the 2000s, Apple expanded its focus on software to include professional and prosumer video, music, and photo production solutions, with a view to promoting their computers as a "digital hub". It also introduced the iPod, the most popular digital music player in the world as of August 2006.^[4]

[edit] 1975 to 1980: The early years

Apple was founded on April 1, 1976 by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne^[5] (and later incorporated January 3, 1977^[6] without Wayne, who sold his share of the company back to Jobs and Wozniak) to sell the Apple I personal computer kit at US$666.66. They were hand-built in the garage of Jobs' parents,^[7] and the Apple I was first shown to the public at the Homebrew Computer Club.^[8] Eventually 200 computers were built. The Apple I was sold as a motherboard (with CPU, RAM, and basic textual-video chips) - not what is today considered a complete personal computer.^[9] The user was required to provide two different AC input voltages (the manual recommended specific transformers), wire an ASCII keyboard (not provided with the computer) to a DIP connector (providing logic inverter and alpha lock chips in some cases), and to wire the video output pins to a monitor or to an RF modulator if a TV set was used.^[10]

Jobs approached a local computer store, The Byte Shop, which ordered fifty units and paid $500 for each unit after much persuasion from Jobs. Jobs then ordered components from Cramer Electronics, a national electronic parts distributor. Using a variety of methods, including borrowing space from friends and family and selling various items including a Volkswagen Type 2 bus, Jobs managed to secure the parts needed while Wozniak and Ronald Wayne assembled the Apple I.^{[citation needed]}

The Apple II was introduced on April 16, 1977 at the first West Coast Computer Faire. Despite a price higher than competitors, it quickly pulled away from its two main rivals, the TRS-80 and Commodore PET, to become the market leader (and the symbol of the personal computing phenomenon) in the late 70s due to its color graphics, high build quality, and open architecture. While early models used ordinary cassette tapes as storage devices, this was quickly superseded by the introduction of a 5 1/4 inch floppy disk drive and interface, the Disk II.

Another key to success for Apple was software. The Apple II was chosen by programmers Dan Bricklin and Bob Frankston to be the desktop platform for the first "killer app" of the business world—the VisiCalc spreadsheet program. VisiCalc created a business market for the Apple II, and the corporate market attracted many more software and hardware developers to the machine, as well as giving home users an additional reason to buy one—compatibility with the office. (See the timeline for dates of Apple II family model releases—the 1977 Apple II and its younger siblings the II+, IIe, IIc, and IIGS.)

By the end of the 1970s, Jobs and his partners had a staff of computer designers and a production line. The Apple II was succeeded by the Apple III in May 1980 as the company struggled to compete against IBM and Microsoft in the lucrative business and corporate computing market. The designers of the Apple III were forced to comply with Jobs' request to omit the cooling fan, and this ultimately resulted in thousands of recalled units due to overheating.^[11] An updated version was introduced in 1983, but it was also a failure due to bad press and wary buyers. Nevertheless, the principals of the company persevered with further innovations and marketing.

In the early 1980s, IBM and Microsoft continued to gain market share at Apple's expense in the personal computer industry. Using a fundamentally different business model, IBM marketed an open hardware standard created with the IBM PC, which was bundled with Microsoft's MS-DOS (MicroSoft-Disk Operating System).

Apple's sustained growth during the early eighties was in large part due to its leadership in schools around the world, particularly with its marketing of Apple Logo, developed by Logo Computer Systems Inc.(LCSI) of Montreal, Canada. The majority of the first computers entering schools around the world were Apple II's with Apple Logo. The drive into education was accentuated in California with the donation of one Apple II and one Apple Logo software package to each public school in the state. The deal concluded between Steve Jobs and Jim Baroux of LCSI, and having required the support of Sacramento, established a strong and pervasive presence for Apple in all schools throughout California. The initial conquest of education environments was critical to Apple's acceptance in the home where the earliest purchases of computers by parents was in support of children's continued learning experience.

Based on the marketing and technical savvy of Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, and the business expertise of Mike Markkula, Apple dominated the personal computer industry from 1977 to 1983.

[edit] 1981 to 1989: Lisa and Macintosh

Apple's 1984 ad, set in a dystopian future modeled after the Orwell novel Nineteen Eighty-Four, set the tone for the introduction of the Macintosh in one of the most famous ads ever aired on television.

Jobs and several other Apple employees including Jef Raskin visited Xerox PARC in December 1979 to see the Alto computer. Xerox granted Apple engineers three days of access to the PARC facilities in return for selling them US$1 million in pre-IPO Apple stock (approximately US$18 million net).

Jobs was immediately convinced that all future computers would use a GUI, and decided to take over design of Apple's first project, the Apple Lisa, to produce such a machine. The Lisa was named after Jobs' daughter (however, a backronym, Local Integrated Software Architecture, was coined). He was eventually pushed from the group due to infighting, and instead took over Jef Raskin's low-cost computer project. Branding the new effort as the product that would "save Apple", an intense turf war broke out between the Lisa's "corporate shirts" and Jobs's Macintosh "pirates", both teams claiming they would ship first and be more successful. In 1983 the Lisa team won the race, and Apple introduced the first personal computer to be sold to the public with a GUI. However, the Lisa was a commercial failure as a result of its high price tag (9,995 USD) and limited software titles.

In 1984, drawing upon its experience with the Lisa, Apple next launched the Macintosh. Its debut was announced by a single national broadcast of the now famous US$1.5 million television commercial, "1984", based on George Orwell's novel Nineteen Eighty-Four. The commercial was directed by Ridley Scott and aired during Super Bowl XVIII on January 22, 1984. Jobs' intention with the ad was to represent the IBM PC as Big Brother, and the Macintosh as a nameless female action hero portrayed by Anya Major. While the Macintosh initially sold well, follow-up sales were not particularly strong. The machine's fortunes changed with the introduction of the LaserWriter, the first laser printer to be offered at a reasonable price point, and PageMaker, an early desktop publishing (DTP) package. The Mac was particularly powerful in this market due to its advanced graphics capabilities, a side-effect of the GUI, and it can be said that the combination of these three products are responsible for the creation of the DTP market. As DTP became widespread, Apple's sales reached a series of new highs.

In anticipation of the Macintosh launch, Bill Gates, co-founder and chairman of Microsoft, was given several Macintosh prototypes in 1983 to develop software. While the company was indeed ready with its BASIC and the MultiPlan spreadsheet at the Macintosh's launch, in 1985 Microsoft launched Windows, its own GUI for IBM PCs using many of the elements of the Macintosh OS. By 1990, Windows 3.1 was a usable alternative to the Macintosh.

An internal power struggle developed between Jobs and new CEO John Sculley in 1985. Apple's board of directors sided with Sculley, and Jobs was removed from his managerial duties. Jobs later resigned from Apple and founded NeXT Inc., a computer company that built machines with futuristic designs and ran the UNIX-derived NeXTStep operating system. Although powerful, NeXT computers never caught on with buyers, due in part to their high purchase price.

[edit] 1989 to 1991: The Golden Age

The Macintosh Portable was Apple's first "portable" Macintosh computer, released in 1989.

Having learned several painful lessons after introducing the bulky Macintosh Portable in 1989, Apple turned to industrial designers and adopted a product strategy based in three portable devices. One portable was built by Sony, which had a strong reputation for designing small, durable and functional electronics devices. Sony took the specs of the Mac Portable, put in a smaller two-hour battery, a much smaller (physically) twenty megabyte hard drive and a smaller nine-inch passive matrix screen.

Called the PowerBook 100, this landmark product was introduced in 1991 and established the modern form and ergonomic layout of the laptop computer.^{[citation needed]} This solidified Apple's reputation as a quality manufacturer, both of desktop and now portable machines.^{[citation needed]} The same year, Apple introduced a massive upgrade to the Mac OS, in the form of System 7. Although resource-hungry (for the era), System 7 dramatically improved the Macintosh experience, adding color to the interface, simplifying common operations, and introducing a number of powerful new networking capabilities. System 7 would be the basis for the Mac OS until 2001.

The success of the PowerBook and several other Apple products during this period led to increasing revenue. The computer press listened to Apple press releases with rapt attention, and speculation was rife about what projects from Apple's famed Advanced Technology Group would next come to market. Apple merely had to mention a technology, Taligent for instance, for people to christen it the "new standard". For some time, it appeared that Apple could do no wrong, introducing new products that were the best on the market, and generating increasing profits in the process. The magazine MacAddict named the period between 1989 to 1991 the "first golden age" of the Macintosh.

The continuing development of Microsoft Windows eventually resulted in an interface that many people thought was superior to the Macintosh in terms of ease of use and overall look and feel. Combined with a huge base of low-cost computers and peripherals and an improving software suite, an increasing number of potential customers turned to the "Wintel" standard instead.

Apple, relying on high profit margins to maintain their massive R&D budget, never developed a clear response. Instead they sued Microsoft for theft of intellectual property. The lawsuit dragged on for years before finally being thrown out of court. Worse, the lawsuit distracted management while a deep rot developed within the engineering ranks, which became increasingly unmanageable. At first there was little outward sign of the problem, but a series of major product flops and missed deadlines destroyed Apple's reputation of invincibility.

A QuickTake 200 digital camera, released in 1997. The QuickTake line of cameras was not successful for Apple.

At about the same time, Apple branched out into consumer electronics. One example of this product diversification was the Apple QuickTake digital camera, one of the first digital cameras brought to the consumer market. A more famous example was the Newton, coined a PDA by Sculley, that was introduced in 1993. Though it failed commercially, it defined and launched the new category of computing and was a forerunner and inspiration of devices such as Palm Pilot and PocketPC.

During the 1990s, Apple greatly expanded its computer lineup. It offered a multitude of models ("Quadra 840av", "Performa 6116"), but many felt Apple failed to adequately differentiate one model from another and the cost of supporting so many products adversely affected profitability. Apple lost market share to Microsoft Windows, particularly Windows 95 - a major turning point in the history of the rival Windows operating system.

[edit] 1994 to 1997: Attempts at reinvention

Apple Computer, 1 Infinite Loop, Cupertino, CA.

By the mid-90s, Apple realized that it had to reinvent the Macintosh in order to stay competitive in the market. The needs of both computer users and computer programs were becoming, for a variety of technical reasons, harder for the existing hardware and operating system to address.

In 1994 Apple surprised its loyalists by allying with its long-time competitor IBM and CPU maker Motorola in the so-called AIM alliance. This was a bid to create a new computing platform (the PowerPC Reference Platform or PReP), which would use IBM and Motorola hardware coupled with Apple's software. The AIM alliance hoped that PReP's performance and Apple's software would leave the PC far behind, thus countering Microsoft, which had become Apple's chief competitor.

As the first step toward launching the PReP platform, Apple started the Power Macintosh line in 1994, using IBM's PowerPC processor. This processor utilized a RISC architecture, which differed substantially from the Motorola 68k series that had been used by all previous Macs. Apple's OS was rewritten so that most software for the older Macs could run on the PowerPC series (in emulation).

Throughout the mid to late 1990s, Apple tried to improve its operating system's multitasking and memory management. After first attempting to modify its existing code, Apple realized that it would be better to start with an entirely new operating system and then modify it to fit the Macintosh interface. Apple did some preliminary work with IBM towards this goal with the Taligent project, but that project never produced a replacement operating system. A new internal effort, Copland, ran afoul of Apple's now uncontrollable engineering and became a massive failure. A new attempt was made with the Gershwin operating system.

They then investigated using Be's BeOS, NeXT's NeXTSTEP OS, and also Microsoft's Windows NT. NeXTSTEP was chosen, and this supplied the platform for the modern Mac OS X. On February 7, 1997, Apple completed its purchase of NeXT and its NeXTSTEP operating system, thus bringing Steve Jobs back into Apple.^[12] On July 9, 1997, Gil Amelio was ousted as CEO of Apple by the board of directors after overseeing a 12-year record-low stock price and crippling financial losses. Jobs stepped in as the interim CEO and began a critical restructuring of the company's product line.

On November 10, 1997, Apple announced a new online retail store, based upon the WebObjects application server the company had acquired in its purchase of NeXT. The new direct sales outlet was also tied to a new build to order manufacturing strategy, and announced at the same time as new machines using the G3 PowerPC processor.

[edit] 1998 to 2005: New beginnings

Steve Jobs introducing the original iMac computer in 1998.

On August 15, 1998, Apple introduced a new all-in-one Macintosh reminiscent of the original Macintosh 128K: the iMac. The iMac design team was led by Jonathan Ive, who later designed the iPod. While technically unimpressive, it featured an innovative new translucent plastic exterior, originally in Bondi Blue, but later many other colors. The iMac proved phenomenally successful, selling close to 800,000 units in its first five months and significantly boosting the company's revenue and profitability. Thanks in part to the iMac, fiscal 1998 was Apple's first profitable year since 1993. The iMac is now considered an industrial design icon of the late 90s.

At the National Association of Broadcasters convention, Apple purchased the Final Cut software from Macromedia, beginning its entry into the digital video editing market, and signaling a return to application development after a decade long policy of delegating non-system software to its Claris subsidiary. iMovie was released in 1999 for consumers, and Final Cut Pro was released for professionals in the same year. Final Cut Pro has gone on to be a significant video-editing program. Similarly, in 2000 Apple bought Astarte's DVDirector software, which morphed into iDVD (for consumers) and DVD Studio Pro (for professionals) at the Macworld Conference and Expo of 2001.

In 2001, Apple introduced Mac OS X, the operating system based on NeXT's OPENSTEP and BSD Unix. Aimed at consumers and professionals alike, Mac OS X sought to marry the stability, reliability and security of the Unix operating system with the ease of use afforded by a completely overhauled user interface. To aid users in moving their applications from Mac OS 9, the new operating system allowed the use of OS 9 applications through Mac OS X's Classic environment. Apple's Carbon API also allowed developers to adapt their OS 9 software to use Mac OS X's features often with a simple recompile.

Company headquarters on Infinite Loop in Cupertino, California.

In May 2001, after much speculation, Apple announced the opening of the Apple retail stores, to be located in major U.S. consumer locations. These stores were designed for two purposes: to stem the tide of Apple's declining share of the computer market and to counter a poor record of marketing Apple products by third-party retail outlets. The company faced challenges to balance the deployment of its own retail stores with its dependence on, and the demands of, its existing channel partners and dealers.

On October 23, 2001 Apple introduced its first iPod portable digital audio player and released it on November 10 of that year, a product that has proven phenomenally successful. Nearly 60 million units have been sold even though it was not originally perceived to be a successful product.^[13] Apple's iTunes Store was introduced soon after, offering online music downloads for US 99¢ a song and integration with the iPod. The service quickly became the market leader in online music services, with over 1.5 billion downloads by September 2006.^[14]

In 2002 Apple purchased Nothing Real and their advanced digital compositing application Shake, raising Apple's professional commitment even higher. In the same year they also acquired Emagic, and with it, obtained their professional-quality music productivity application Logic, which led to the development of their consumer-level GarageBand application. With iPhoto's release in 2002, this completed Apple's collection of consumer and professional level creativity software, with the consumer-level applications being collected together into the iLife suite.

Apple progressively abandoned flashy colors in favor of white polycarbonate for consumer lines such as the iMac and iBook, as well as the educational eMac, and metal enclosures for the professional lines. This began with the 2001 release of the titanium PowerBook and was followed by the 2001 white iBook, the 2002 flat-panel iMac, the 2003 Power Mac G5 and the 2004 Apple Cinema Displays. Divergent to this consumer/professional identity, the low-cost Mac mini has an aluminum case while featuring the distinctive white polycarbonate top.

2006-12-25T22:43:00.000+05:30

iPod is a brand of portable media player designed and marketed by Apple Computer and launched in 2001. In addition to the full sized models, there is the iPod mini, which was discontinued with the introduction of the iPod nano, and the iPod shuffle, so called because it has no screen and was marketed with the ability to shuffle songs. Recent iPods are designed around a central scroll wheel — although the iPod shuffle has buttons only. The full-sized model stores media on an internal hard drive, while the other models use flash memory, allowing for a physically smaller size. The most expensive iPods can hold audio, photos, movies, and games, though most are used primarily as music players, which is the originally intended design function. Like many digital audio players, iPods can also serve as external data storage devices, holding any file type.

Apple focused its development on the iPod's unique user interface and its ease of use, rather than on technical capability, which has been criticized for not including certain features such as radio. For simplicity, media files are not managed on the iPod itself but instead take advantage of Apple's jukebox application, iTunes. The software now runs cross-platform on Apple's Macintosh computers and competitor Microsoft's Windows operating system, as do recent iPod models, and is available as a free download from Apple. It stores a comprehensive library of music on the user's computer and can play, burn, and rip music from a CD, and serves as a browser for the iTunes Store, all of which can be done without an iPod. However, iTunes is required to sync media files to an iPod.

The iPod is currently the world's best-selling range of digital audio players and its worldwide mainstream adoption makes it one of the most popular consumer brands. Some of Apple's design choices and proprietary actions have, however, led to criticism and legal battles.

History and design

The iPod came from Apple's digital hub strategy, as the company began creating software for the growing market of digital devices being purchased by consumers. While digital cameras, camcorders and organizers had well-established mainstream markets, the company found digital music players lacking in user interface design and decided to develop its own. "iPod" was a name that Apple registered for Internet kiosks, but never put to use.^[1]

Apple's hardware engineering chief Jon Rubinstein assembled a team of engineers to design it, including engineers Anthony Fadell, Stan Ng and Jonathan Ive. They developed the product in less than a year, and it was unveiled on 23 October 2001. CEO Steve Jobs announced it as a Mac-compatible product with a 5 GB hard drive that put "1000 songs in your pocket."

Uncharacteristically, Apple did not develop the iPod's software in-house. Instead, Apple used a Design Chain and contracted with PortalPlayer, who already had a reference design (based on 2 ARM cores) with rudimentary software running on a commercial microkernel embedded operating system. PortalPlayer had previously been working on an IBM-branded MP3 player with Bluetooth headphones.^[2] Apple contracted another company, Pixo, to create and refine the user interface, under the direct supervision of Steve Jobs.

Once established, Apple continued to refine the software's look and feel. Starting with the iPod mini, the Chicago font (once used on early Macintosh computers) was replaced with Espy Sans, which was originally used in eWorld and Copland. Later iPods switched fonts again to Podium Sans — a font similar to Apple's corporate font Myriad. The iPods with color displays then adopted some Mac OS X themes like Aqua progress bars and brushed metal in interface used to lock the volume limit in place.

[edit] User interface

A mock-up display of the fifth generation iPod, playing the song "Feel Good Inc." by the band Gorillaz

The iPods with color displays use high quality anti-aliased graphics and text, with sliding animations. These iPods have five buttons and the newer generations have the buttons integrated into the scroll wheel — an innovation which gives an uncluttered, minimalistic interface. The buttons are:

Menu — to traverse backwards through the menus, and toggle the backlight on older iPods
Center — to select a menu item
Play / Pause — this doubles as an off switch when held
Fast Forward / Skip Forward
Fast Reverse / Skip Backwards

The other operations such as scrolling through menu items and controlling the volume are performed by using the touch-wheel in a rotational manner. These iPods also have a Hold switch at the top, which prevents accidental button presses. Newer iPods automatically pause playback when the headphones are unplugged from the headphone jack, but playback does not resume when the headphones are re-inserted. An iPod that has crashed or frozen can be reset by switching 'Hold' on then off, then holding Menu and Center (Menu and Play on the 3G iPod) for 6 seconds. Apple also provides further troubleshooting advice.^[3]

The iPod shuffle does not use a touch-wheel and instead has five buttons positioned differently to the larger models. It has a Play / Pause button in the center, surrounded by four buttons: Volume Up / Down and Skip Forward / Backwards.

[edit] Software

The iPod can play MP3, AAC/M4A, Protected AAC, AIFF, WAV, Audible audiobook, and Apple Lossless audio file formats. The fifth generation iPod can also play MPEG-4 (H.264/MPEG-4 AVC), .mp4 and QuickTime video formats, with restrictions on video dimensions, encoding techniques and data-rates. Unlike most other media players, Apple does not support Microsoft's WMA audio format — but a converter for non-DRM WMA files is provided with the Windows version of iTunes. MIDI files cannot be played, but can be converted to audio files using the "Advanced" menu on iTunes. Alternative open-source audio formats such as Ogg Vorbis and FLAC are not supported.

Each time an iPod connects to its host computer, iTunes can synchronize entire music libraries or music playlists and the user can choose for automatic or manual synchronization. Song ratings can be set on the iPod and synchronized later to the iTunes library. If songs were added to the iPod on other computers, however, they won't be copied back to the music library.

[edit] iTunes Store

Main articles: iTunes and iTunes Store

The iTunes Store (formerly iTunes Music Store) is an online media store run by Apple and accessed via iTunes. It was introduced on 29 April 2003 and it sells individual songs relatively easily and cheaply, with typical prices being US$0.99, EU€0.99, or GB£0.79 per song. iPods are the only portable music players that can play the purchased music in its original format (encrypted AAC); users can re-encode purchased music via iTunes into formats playable on any portable music player. The store became the market leader soon after its launch^{[verification needed]} and Apple announced the sale of videos through the store on 12 October 2005. Full-length movies became available on 12 September 2006.^[4]

Purchased audio files use the AAC format with added encryption. The encryption is based on the controversial FairPlay digital rights management (DRM) system. Up to five authorized computers and an unlimited number of iPods can play the files. Burning the files onto an audio CD removes the DRM, at a cost of reduced quality when re-compressed from a lossy format to the standard CDDA (CD audio) format.

iPods cannot play music files from other competing music stores such as Napster or MSN Music which use rival DRM technologies like Microsoft's protected WMA or RealNetworks' Helix DRM. RealNetworks claims that Apple is creating problems for itself,^[5] by using FairPlay to lock users into using the iTunes Store. Steve Jobs stated that Apple makes little profit from song sales, but Apple uses the store to promote iPod sales.^[6]

[edit] File storage

All iPods can function as mass storage devices to store data files. If the iPod is formatted on a Mac OS X computer it uses the HFS Plus file system format. If it is formatted on Windows, the FAT32 format is used because Windows cannot access HFS filesystems. Unlike UMS/MTP-capable digital audio players, simply copying files to the drive will not allow the iPod to properly access them (although some third party iPod software allows this). Instead, the user must use iTunes or a compatible third-party software to load audio, videos, and photos in such a way that they are playable and viewable on the iPod.

An iPod formatted as HFS Plus is able to serve as a boot disk for a Mac computer, allowing one to have a portable operating system installed. The older iPods with FireWire ports could additionally function in FireWire Disk Mode. With the advent of the Windows-compatible iPod, the iPod's default file system switched from HFS Plus to FAT32, although they can be reformatted to either filesystem (excluding the iPod shuffle which is strictly FAT32).

iTunes cannot transfer songs or videos from device to computer (although iTunes 7 allows it for music purchased online). The media files are stored on the iPod in a hidden folder, together with a proprietary database file. However, the hidden content can be accessed on the host operating system by enabling hidden files to be shown. The audio can then be recovered manually by dragging the files or folders onto the iTunes Library or by using third-party software.

In earlier iTunes versions, files were copied into these hidden folders using their original filenames. In later versions of iTunes, files were copied using random four-character filenames (such as ABCD.mp3) to make it more difficult to simply search for files and drag them out of the hidden folders. This can be worked around by either using an application that can read the tags from the files directly and display and copy them along with the filenames, or by using third-party software that is able to read the iPod database format, since the iPod's database links the randomly-named files to their titles, artists, and other information.

[edit] Additional features

The larger models also have limited PDA-like functionality and can display text files. Contacts and schedules can be viewed and synchronized with the host computer, and some built-in games are available including Brick, Parachute, Solitaire and Music Quiz. Brick (which is a clone of Breakout) was originally invented by Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak in the 1970s.

A firmware update released in September 2006 brought several new features to 5th generation iPods including downloadable games, adjustable screen brightness, and gapless playback.

[edit] Open-source alternatives

The iPodLinux project has a port of an ARM version of the Linux kernel alongside an interface called "Podzilla" that runs on all iPods, although only the first, second and third generations are officially supported by the developers. The iPod shuffle is not supported and the September 2006 iPods are incompatible.

An open-source firmware called Rockbox allows the iPod nano, mini, and all display-capable iPods after the third generation (except for the updated video iPods) to play Ogg Vorbis, FLAC, Musepack, WavPack, Shorten, and MIDI files, but not FairPlay-encrypted files. Rockbox also offers gapless playback and a more sophisticated equalizer but is in a testing stage as of September 2006.

There are also several open source alternatives to iTunes. gtkpod allows machines running virtually any OS to connect to the iPod. Yamipod is a free application to manage your iPod under Mac OS X, Windows and Linux. ephPod is another Windows iTunes alternative. MediaChest is a Java application which allows users to synchronize the iPod from different operating systems. There are also iPod plug-ins for popular music players.

There are several closed source and commercial iPod content synchronizers.

[edit] Connectivity

Originally, a FireWire connection to the host computer was used to update songs or recharge the battery. The battery could also be charged with a power adapter that was included with the first 4 generations.

The third generation began including a dock connector, allowing for FireWire or USB connectivity. This provided better compatibility with PCs, as most of them did not have FireWire ports at the time. However, the device could not be charged over USB, so the FireWire cables were nonetheless needed to connect to the AC adapter. The dock connector also brought opportunities to exchange data, sound and power with an iPod, which ultimately created a large market of accessories, manufactured by third parties such as Belkin and Griffin. The 2nd generation iPod shuffle uses a single 3.5 mm jack which acts as both a headphone jack and a data port for the dock.

The fourth generation iPod allowed recharging via USB and eventually Apple began shipping iPods with USB cables instead of FireWire, although the latter was available separately.

As of the 5th generation iPod, Apple discontinued using FireWire for data transfer and made a full transition to USB 2.0, due to its widespread adoption. FireWire was then used for recharging only.

[edit] Chipsets and electronics

Making money

2006-12-01T20:56:00.000+05:30

Do you actually want to monetize your blog?

Some people have strong personal feelings with respect to making money from their blogs. If you think commercializing your blog is evil, immoral, unethical, uncool, lame, greedy, obnoxious, or anything along those lines, then don’t commercialize it.

If you have mixed feelings about monetizing your blog, then sort out those feelings first. If you think monetizing your site is wonderful, fine. If you think it’s evil, fine. But make up your mind before you seriously consider starting down this path. If you want to succeed, you must be congruent. Generating income from your blog is challenging enough — you don’t want to be dealing with self-sabotage at the same time. It should feel genuinely good to earn income from your blog — you should be driven by a healthy ambition to succeed. If your blog provides genuine value, you fully deserve to earn income from it. If, however, you find yourself full of doubts over whether this is the right path for you, you might find this article helpful: How Selfish Are You? It’s about balancing your needs with the needs of others.

If you do decide to generate income from your blog, then don’t be shy about it. If you’re going to put up ads, then really put up ads. Don’t just stick a puny little ad square in a remote corner somewhere. If you’re going to request donations, then really request donations. Don’t put up a barely visible “Donate” link and pray for the best. If you’re going to sell products, then really sell them. Create or acquire the best quality products you can, and give your visitors compelling reasons to buy. If you’re going to do this, then fully commit to it. Don’t take a half-assed approach. Either be full-assed or no-assed.

You can reasonably expect that when you begin commercializing a free site, some people will complain, depending on how you do it. I launched this site in October 2004, and I began putting Google Adsense ads on the site in February 2005. There were some complaints, but I expected that — it was really no big deal. Less than 1 in 5,000 visitors actually sent me negative feedback. Most people who sent feedback were surprisingly supportive. Most of the complaints died off within a few weeks, and the site began generating income almost immediately, although it was pretty low — a whopping $53 the first month. If you’d like to see some month-by-month specifics, I posted my 2005 Adsense revenue figures earlier this year. Adsense is still my single best source of revenue for this site, although it’s certainly not my only source. More on that later…

Can you make a decent income online?

Yes, absolutely. At the very least, a high five-figure annual income is certainly an attainable goal for an individual working full-time from home. I’m making a healthy income from StevePavlina.com, and the site is only 19 months old… barely a toddler. If you have a day job, it will take longer to generate a livable income, but it can still be done part-time if you’re willing to devote a lot of your spare time to it. I’ve always done it full-time.

Can most people do it?

No, they can’t. I hope it doesn’t shock you to see a personal development web site use the dreaded C-word. But I happen to agree with those who say that 99% of people who try to generate serious income from their blogs will fail. The tagline for this site is “Personal Development for Smart People.” And unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on your outlook), smart people are a minority on this planet. So while most people can’t make a living this way, I would say that most smart people can. How do you know whether or not you qualify as smart? Here’s a good rule of thumb: If you have to ask the question, you aren’t.

If that last paragraph doesn’t flood my inbox with flames, I don’t know what will. OK, actually I do.

This kind of 99-1 ratio isn’t unique to blogging though. You’ll see it in any field with relatively low barriers to entry. What percentage of wannabe actors, musicians, or athletes ever make enough money from their passions to support themselves? It doesn’t take much effort to start a blog these days — almost anyone can do it. Talent counts for something, and the talent that matters in blogging is intelligence. But that just gets you in the door. You need to specifically apply your intelligence to one particular talent. And the best words I can think of to describe that particular talent are: web savvy.

If you are very web savvy, or if you can learn to become very web savvy, then you have an excellent shot of making enough money from your blog to cover all your living expenses… and then some. But if becoming truly web savvy is more than your gray matter can handle, then I’ll offer this advice: Don’t quit your day job.

Web savvy

What do I mean by web savvy? You don’t need to be a programmer, but you need a decent functional understanding of a variety of web technologies. What technologies are “key” will depend on the nature of your blog and your means of monetization. But generally speaking I’d list these elements as significant:

blog publishing software
HTML/CSS
blog comments (and comment spam)
RSS/syndication
feed aggregators
pings
trackbacks
full vs. partial feeds
blog carnivals (for kick-starting your blog’s traffic)
search engines
search engine optimization (SEO)
page rank
social bookmarking
tagging
contextual advertising
affiliate programs
traffic statistics
email

Optional: podcasting, instant messaging, PHP or other web scripting languages.

I’m sure I missed a few due to familiarity blindness. If scanning such a list makes your head spin, I wouldn’t recommend trying to make a full-time living from blogging just yet. Certainly you can still blog, but you’ll be at a serious disadvantage compared to someone who’s more web savvy, so don’t expect to achieve stellar results until you expand your knowledge base.

If you want to sell downloadable products such as ebooks, then you can add e-commerce, SSL, digital delivery, fraud prevention, and online databases to the list. Again, you don’t need to be a programmer; you just need a basic understanding of these technologies. Even if you hire someone else to handle the low-level implementation, it’s important to know what you’re getting into. You need to be able to trust your strategic decisions, and you won’t be able to do that if you’re a General who doesn’t know what a gun is.

A lack of understanding is a major cause of failure in the realm of online income generation. For example, if you’re clueless about search engine optimization (SEO), you’ll probably cripple your search engine rankings compared to someone who understands SEO well. But you can’t consider each technology in isolation. You need to understand the connections and trade-offs between them. Monetizing a blog is a balancing act. You may need to balance the needs of yourself, your visitors, search engines, those who link to you, social bookmarking sites, advertisers, affiliate programs, and others. Seemingly minor decisions like what to title a web page are significant. In coming up with the title of this article, I have to take all of these potential viewers into consideration. I want a title that is attractive to human visitors, drives reasonable search engine traffic, yields relevant contextual ads, fits the theme of the site, and encourages linking and social bookmarking. And most importantly I want each article to provide genuine value to my visitors. I do my best to create titles for my articles that balance these various needs. Often that means abandoning cutesy or clever titles in favor of direct and comprehensible ones. It’s little skills like these that help drive sustainable traffic growth month after month. Missing out on just this one skill is enough to cripple your traffic. And there are dozens of these types of skills that require web savvy to understand, respect, and apply.

This sort of knowledge is what separates the 1% from the 99%. Both groups may work just as hard, but the 1% is getting much better results for their efforts. It normally doesn’t take me more than 60 seconds to title an article, but a lot of experience goes into those 60 seconds. You really just have to learn these ideas once; after that you can apply them routinely.

Whenever you come across a significant web technology you don’t understand, look it up on Google or Wikipedia, and dive into it long enough to acquire a basic understanding of it. To make money from blogging it’s important to be something of a jack of all trades. Maybe you’ve heard the expression, “A jack of all trades is a master of none.” That may be true, but you don’t need to master any of these technologies — you just have to be good enough to use them. It’s the difference between being able to drive a car vs. becoming an auto mechanic. Strive to achieve functional knowledge, and then move on to something else. Even though I’m an experienced programmer, I don’t know how many web technologies actually work. I don’t really care. I can still use them to generate results. In the time it would take me to fully understand one new technology, I can achieve sufficient functional knowledge to apply several of them.

Thriving on change

Your greatest risk isn’t that you’ll make mistakes that will cost you. Your greatest risk is that you’ll miss opportunities. You need an entrepreneurial mindset, not an employee mindset. Don’t be too concerned with the risk of loss — be more concerned with the risk of missed gains. It’s what you don’t know and what you don’t do that will hurt you the worst. Blogging is cheap. Your expenses and financial risk should be minimal. Your real concern should be missing opportunities that would have made you money very easily. You need to develop antennae that can listen out for new opportunities. I highly recommend subscribing to Darren Rowse’s Problogger blog — Darren is great at uncovering new income-generating opportunities for bloggers.

The blogosphere changes rapidly, and change creates opportunity. It takes some brains to decipher these opportunities and to take advantage of them before they disappear. If you hesitate to capitalize on something new and exciting, you may simply miss out. Many opportunities are temporary. And every day you don’t implement them, you’re losing money you could have earned. And you’re also missing opportunities to build traffic, grow your audience, and benefit more people.

I used to get annoyed by the rapid rate of change of web technologies. It’s even more rapid than what I saw when I worked in the computer gaming industry. And the rate of change is accelerating. Almost every week now I learn about some fascinating new web service or idea that could potentially lead to big changes down the road. Making sense of them is a full-time job in itself. But I learned to love this insane pace. If I’m confused then everyone else is probably confused too. And people who only do this part-time will be very confused. If they aren’t confused, then they aren’t keeping up. So if I can be just a little bit faster and understand these technologies just a little bit sooner, then I can capitalize on some serious opportunities before the barriers to entry become too high. Even though confusion is uncomfortable, it’s really a good thing for a web entrepreneur. This is what creates the space for a college student to earn $1,000,000 online in just a few months with a clever idea. Remember this isn’t a zero-sum game. Don’t let someone else’s success make you feel diminished or jealous. Let it inspire you instead.

What’s your overall income-generation strategy?

I don’t want to insult anyone, but most people are utterly clueless when it comes to generating income from their blogs. They slap things together haphazardly with no rhyme or reason and hope to generate lots of money. While I’m a strong advocate of the ready-fire-aim approach, that strategy does require that you eventually aim. Ready-fire-fire-fire-fire will just create a mess.

Take a moment to articulate a basic income-generating strategy for your site. If you aren’t good at strategy, then just come up with a general philosophy for how you’re going to generate income. You don’t need a full business plan, just a description of how you plan to get from $0 per month to whatever your income goal is. An initial target goal I used when I first started this site was $3000 per month. It’s a somewhat arbitrary figure, but I knew if I could reach $3000 per month, I could certainly push it higher, and $3000 is enough income that it’s going to make a meaningful difference in my finances. I reached that level 15 months after launching the site (in December 2005). And since then it’s continued to increase nicely. Blogging income is actually quite easy to maintain. It’s a lot more secure than a regular job. No one can fire me, and if one source of income dries up, I can always add new ones. We’ll address multiple streams of income soon…

Are you going to generate income from advertising, affiliate commissions, product sales, donations, or something else? Maybe you want a combination of these things. However you decide to generate income, put your basic strategy down in writing. I took 15 minutes to create a half-page summary of my monetization strategy. I only update it about once a year and review it once a month. This isn’t difficult, but it helps me stay focused on where I’m headed. It also allows me to say no to opportunities that are inconsistent with my plan.

Refer to your monetization strategy (or philosophy) when you need to make design decisions for your web site. Although you may have multiple streams of income, decide which type of income will be your primary source, and design your site around that. Do you need to funnel people towards an order form, or will you place ads all over the site? Different monetization strategies suggest different design approaches. Think about what specific action you want your visitors to eventually take that will generate income for you, and design your site accordingly.

When devising your income strategy, feel free to cheat. Don’t re-invent the wheel. Copy someone else’s strategy that you’re convinced would work for you too. Do NOT copy anyone’s content or site layout (that’s copyright infringement), but take note of how they’re making money. I decided to monetize this site with advertising and affiliate income after researching how various successful bloggers generated income. Later I added donations as well. This is an effective combo.

Traffic, traffic, traffic

Assuming you feel qualified to take on the challenge of generating income from blogging (and I haven’t scared you away yet), the three most important things you need to monetize your blog are traffic, traffic, and traffic.

Just to throw out some figures, last month (April 2006), this site received over 1.1 million visitors and over 2.4 million page views. That’s almost triple what it was just six months ago.

Why is traffic so important? Because for most methods of online income generation, your income is a function of traffic. If you double your traffic, you’ll probably double your income (assuming your visitor demographics remain fairly consistent). You can screw almost everything else up, but if you can generate serious traffic, it’s really hard to fail. With sufficient traffic the realistic worst case is that you’ll eventually be able to monetize your web site via trial and error (as long as you keep those visitors coming).

When I first launched this blog, I knew that traffic building was going to be my biggest challenge. All of my plans hinged on my ability to build traffic. If I couldn’t build traffic, it was going to be very difficult to succeed. So I didn’t even try to monetize my site for the first several months. I just focused on traffic building. Even after 19 months, traffic building is still the most important part of my monetization plan. For my current traffic levels, I know I’m undermonetizing my site, but that’s OK. Right now it’s more important to me to keep growing the site, and I’m optimizing the income generation as I go along.

Traffic is the primary fuel of online income generation. More visitors means more ad clicks, more product sales, more affiliate sales, more donations, more consulting leads, and more of whatever else that generates income for you. And it also means you’re helping more and more people.

With respect to traffic, you should know that in many respects, the rich do get richer. High traffic leads to even more traffic-building opportunities that just aren’t accessible for low-traffic sites. On average at least 20 bloggers add new links to my site every day, my articles can easily surge to the top of social bookmarking sites like del.icio.us, and I’m getting more frequent requests for radio interviews. Earlier this year I was featured in USA Today and in Self Magazine, which collectively have millions of readers. Journalists are finding me by doing Google searches on topics I’ve written about. These opportunities were not available to me when I was first starting out. Popular sites have a serious advantage. The more traffic you have, the more you can attract.

If you’re intelligent and web savvy, you should also be able to eventually build a high-traffic web site. And you’ll be able to leverage that traffic to build even more traffic.

How to build traffic

Now if traffic is so crucial, how do you build it up to significant levels if you’re starting from rock bottom?

I’ve already written a lengthy article on this topic, so I’ll refer you there: How to Build a High Traffic Web Site (or Blog). If you don’t have time to read it now, feel free to bookmark it or print it out for later. That article covers my general philosophy of traffic-building, which centers on creating content that provides genuine value to your visitors. No games or gimmicks.

There is one other important traffic-building tip I’ll provide here though.

Blog Carnivals. Take full advantage of blog carnivals when you’re just starting out (click the previous link and read the FAQ there to learn what carnivals are if you don’t already know). Periodically submit your best blog posts to the appropriate carnivals for your niche. Carnivals are easy ways to get links and traffic, and best of all, they’re free. Submitting only takes minutes if you use a multi-carnvival submission form. Do NOT spam the carnivals with irrelevant material — only submit to the carnivals that are a match for your content.

In my early traffic-building days, I’d do carnivals submissions once a week, and it helped a great deal in going from nothing to about 50,000 visitors per month. You still have to produce great content, but carnivals give you a free shot at marketing your unknown blog for free. Carnivals are like an open-mic night at a comedy club — they give amateurs a chance to show off their stuff. I still submit to certain carnivals every once in a while, but now my traffic is so high that relatively speaking, they don’t make much difference anymore. Just to increase my traffic by 1% in a month, I need 11,000 new visitors, and even the best carnivals don’t push that much traffic. But you can pick up dozens or even hundreds of new subscribers from each round of carnival submissions, so it’s a great place to start. Plus it’s very easy.

If your traffic isn’t growing month after month, does it mean you’re doing something wrong? Most likely you aren’t doing enough things right. Again, making mistakes is not the issue. Missing opportunities is.

Will putting ads on your site hurt your traffic?

Here’s a common fear I hear from people who are considering monetizing their web sites:

Putting ads on my site will cripple my traffic. The ads will drive people away, and they’ll never come back.

Well, in my experience this is absolutely, positively, and otherwise completely and totally… FALSE. It’s just not true. Guess what happened to my traffic when I put ads on my site. Nothing. Guess what happened to my traffic when I put up more ads and donation links. Nothing. I could detect no net effect on my traffic whatsoever. Traffic continued increasing at the same rate it did before there were ads on my site. In fact, it might have even helped me a little, since some bloggers actually linked to my site just to point out that they didn’t like my ad layout. I’ll leave it up to you to form your own theories about this. It’s probably because there’s so much advertising online already that even though some people will complain when a free site puts up ads, if they value the content, they’ll still come back, regardless of what they say publicly.

Most mature people understand it’s reasonable for a blogger to earn income from his/her work. I think I’m lucky in that my audience tends to be very mature — immature people generally aren’t interested in personal development. To create an article like this takes serious effort, not to mention the hard-earned experience that’s required to write it. This article alone took me over 15 hours of writing and editing. I think it’s perfectly reasonable to earn an income from such work. If you get no value from it, you don’t pay anything. What could be more fair than that? The more income this blog generates, the more I can put into it. For example, I used some of the income to buy podcasting equipment and added a podcast to the site. I’ve recorded 13 episodes so far. The podcasts are all ad-free. I’m also planning to add some additional services to this site in the years ahead. More income = better service.

At the time of this writing, my site is very ad-heavy. Some people point this out to me as if I’m not aware of it: “You know, Steve. Your web site seems to contain an awful lot of ads.” Of course I’m aware of it. I’m the one who put the ads there. There’s a reason I have this configuration of ads. They’re effective! People keep clicking on them. If they weren’t effective, I’d remove them right away and try something else.

I do avoid putting up ads that I personally find annoying when I see them on other sites, including pop-ups and interstitials (stuff that flies across your screen). Even though they’d make me more money, in my opinion they degrade the visitor experience too much.

I also provide two ad-free outlets, so if you really don’t like ads, you can actually read my content without ads. First, I provide a full-text RSS feed, and at least for now it’s ad-free. I do, however, include a donation request in the bottom of my feeds.

2006-12-01T20:51:00.000+05:30

Do you actually want to monetize your blog?

Can you make a decent income online?

Can most people do it?

If that last paragraph doesn’t flood my inbox with flames, I don’t know what will. OK, actually I do.

Web savvy

blog publishing software
HTML/CSS
blog comments (and comment spam)
RSS/syndication
feed aggregators
pings
trackbacks
full vs. partial feeds
blog carnivals (for kick-starting your blog’s traffic)
search engines
search engine optimization (SEO)
page rank
social bookmarking
tagging
contextual advertising
affiliate programs
traffic statistics
email

Optional: podcasting, instant messaging, PHP or other web scripting languages.

Thriving on change

What’s your overall income-generation strategy?

Traffic, traffic, traffic

Just to throw out some figures, last month (April 2006), this site received over 1.1 million visitors and over 2.4 million page views. That’s almost triple what it was just six months ago.

If you’re intelligent and web savvy, you should also be able to eventually build a high-traffic web site. And you’ll be able to leverage that traffic to build even more traffic.

How to build traffic

Now if traffic is so crucial, how do you build it up to significant levels if you’re starting from rock bottom?

There is one other important traffic-building tip I’ll provide here though.

Will putting ads on your site hurt your traffic?

Here’s a common fear I hear from people who are considering monetizing their web sites:

Putting ads on my site will cripple my traffic. The ads will drive people away, and they’ll never come back.

2006-12-01T20:44:00.000+05:30

A '''blog''' is a website where entries are made in [[journal]] style and displayed in a reverse [[chronological order]].

Blogs often provide commentary or news on a particular subject, such as food, politics, or local news; some function as more personal [[online diary|online diaries]]. A typical blog combines text, images, and links to other blogs, web pages, and other media related to its topic. The ability for readers to leave comments in an interactive format is an important part of many blogs. Most blogs are primarily textual although some focus on [[photograph]]s ([[photoblog]]), [[video]]s ([[vlog]]), or [[audio]] ([[podcasting]]), and are part of a wider network of [[social media]].

The term "blog" is derived from "Web log." "Blog" can also be used as a verb, meaning ''to maintain or add content to a blog.''

As of November 2006, blog search engine [[Technorati]] was tracking nearly 60 million blogs.{{cite web|url=http://technorati.com/about/|title=Technorati: about us||date=2006-11-11|accessdate=2006-11-11}}

== History ==
[[Chronicle]]s, [[commonplace]]s, [[personal journal|diaries]], and [[perzine]]s can all be seen as predecessors of blogs.

Before blogging became popular, digital communities took many forms, including [[Usenet]], [[electronic mailing list|e-mail lists]] and [[bulletin board system]]s (BBS). In the 1990s, [[Internet forum]] software, such as [[WebEx]], created running conversations with "threads". Threads are topical connections between messages on a metaphorical "corkboard".

=== 1994 – 2001 ===
{{Main|Online diary}}
[[Image:Brad Fitzpatrick.jpg|left|thumb|200px|[[Brad Fitzpatrick]], an early blogger.]]
The modern blog evolved from the [[online diary]], where people would keep a running account of their personal lives. Most such writers called themselves diarists, [[journalist]]s, or journalers. A few called themselves [[escribitionist]]s. The Open Pages [[webring]] included members of the online-journal community. [[Justin Hall]], who began eleven years of personal blogging in 1994 while a student at [[Swarthmore College]], is generally recognized as one of the earliest bloggers.{{cite web|url= http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2005/02/20/MNGBKBEJO01.DTL|title=Time to get a life — pioneer blogger Justin Hall bows out at 31|last=Harmanci|first=Reyhan|publisher=San Francisco Chronicle|date=2005-02-20|accessdate=2006-06-09}}

Other forms of journals kept online also existed. A notable example was game programmer [[John Carmack|John Carmack's]] widely read journal, published via the [[finger protocol]]. Websites, including both corporate sites and [[personal homepage]]s, had and still often have "What's New" or "News" sections, often on the [[home page|index page]] and sorted by date. One example of a news based "weblog" is the [http://drudgereport.com/ "Drudge Report"] founded by the self styled maverick reporter [[Matt Drudge]], though apparently Drudge dislikes this classification. Another is the [[Institute for Public Accuracy]] which began posting news releases featuring several news-pegged one-paragraph quotes several time a week beginning in 1998. One noteworthy early precursor to a blog was the [[tongue-in-cheek]] personal website that was frequently updated by [[Usenet]] legend [[Kibo]].

Early weblogs were simply manually updated components of common [[website]]s. However, the evolution of tools to facilitate the production and maintenance of web articles posted in said chronological fashion made the publishing process feasible to a much larger, less technical, population. Ultimately, this resulted in the distinct class of online publishing that produces blogs we recognize today. For instance, the use of some sort of browser-based software is now a typical aspect of "blogging". Blogs can be hosted by dedicated [[blog hosting service]]s, or they can be run using [[blog software]], such as [[WordPress]], [[blogger (service)|blogger]] or [[LiveJournal]], or on regular [[web hosting service]]s, such as [[DreamHost]].

The term "weblog" was coined by [[Jorn Barger]] on [[17 December]] [[1997]]. The short form, "blog," was coined by Peter Merholz, who jokingly broke the word ''weblog'' into the phrase ''we blog'' in the sidebar of his blog Peterme.com in April or May of 1999.{{cite news|url=http://www.economist.com/surveys/displaystory.cfm?story_id=6794172|title=It's the links, stupid|publisher=[[The Economist]]|date=2006-4-20|accessdate=2006-07-21}}{{cite web|url=http://web.archive.org/web/19991013021124/http://peterme.com/index.html|title=Peterme.com|last=Merholz|first=Peter|publisher=[[The Internet Archive]]|date=1999|accessdate=2006-07-21}}{{cite web|url=http://www.kottke.org/03/08/its-weblog-not-web-log|last=Kottke|first=Jason|authorlink=Jason Kottke|title=kottke.org|date=August 26, 2003|accessdate=2006-07-21}} This was quickly adopted as both a noun and verb ("to blog," meaning "to edit one's weblog or to post to one's weblog").

After a slow start, blogging rapidly gained in popularity: the site [[Xanga]], launched in 1996, had only 100 diaries by 1997, but over 20 million as of December 2005. Blog usage spread during 1999 and the years following, being further popularized by the near-simultaneous arrival of the first hosted blog tools:
* [[Open Diary]] launched in October 1998, soon growing to thousands of online diaries. Open Diary innovated the reader comment, becoming the first blog community where readers could add comments to other writers' blog entries.
* [[Brad Fitzpatrick]] started [[LiveJournal]] in March 1999.
* Andrew Smales created [[Pitas.com]] in July 1999 as an easier alternative to maintaining a "news page" on a website, followed by [[Diaryland]] in September 1999, focusing more on a personal diary community.Jensen, Mallory [http://www.cjr.org/issues/2003/5/blog-jensen.asp?printerfriendly=yes A Brief History of Weblogs]
* [[Evan Williams (blogger)|Evan Williams]] and [[Meg Hourihan]] ([[Pyra Labs]]) launched [[blogger.com]] in August 1999 (purchased by [[Google]] in February 2003)

Blogging combined the personal web page with tools to make linking to other pages easier — specifically [[permalink]]s, [[blogroll]]s and [[TrackBack]]s. This, together with [[List of search engines#blog search engines|weblog search engines]] enabled bloggers to track the threads that connected them to others with similar interests.

=== 2001 – 2004 ===
Several broadly popular American blogs emerged in 2001: [[Andrew Sullivan]]'s AndrewSullivan.com, [[Ron Gunzburger]]'s [[Politics1.com]], Taegan Goddard's [[Political Wire]] and [[Jerome Armstrong]]'s [[MyDD]] — all blogging primarily on [[political blog|politics]] (two earlier popular American political blogs were Bob Somerby's [[Daily Howler]] launched in 1998 and [[Mickey Kaus]]' Kausfiles launched in 1999).

By 2001, blogging was enough of a phenomenon that how-to manuals began to appear, primarily focusing on technique. The importance of the blogging community (and its relationship to larger society) increased rapidly. Established schools of [[journalism]] began researching blogging and noting the differences between journalism and blogging.

In 2002, Jerome Armstrong's friend and sometime [[business]] partner [[Markos Moulitsas Zúniga]] began [[Daily Kos|DailyKos]]. With up to a million visits a day during peak events, it has now become one of the Internet's most trafficked blogs.

Also in 2002, many blogs focused on comments by [[United States Senate Majority Leader|U.S. Senate Majority Leader]] [[Trent Lott]]. Senator Lott, at a party honoring [[United States Senate|U.S. Senator]] [[Strom Thurmond]], praised Senator Thurmond by suggesting that the United States would have been better off had Thurmond been elected president. Lott's critics saw these comments as a tacit approval of [[racial segregation]], a policy advocated by Thurmond's [[U.S. presidential election, 1948|1948 presidential campaign]]. This view was reinforced by documents and recorded interviews dug up by bloggers. (See [[Josh Marshall]]'s ''[[Talking Points Memo]]''.) Though Lott's comments were made at a public event attended by the media, no major media organizations reported on his controversial comments until after blogs broke the story. Blogging helped to create a political crisis that forced Lott to step down as majority leader.

The impact of this story gave greater credibility to blogs as a medium of news dissemination. Though often seen as partisan gossips, bloggers sometimes lead the way in bringing key information to public light, with mainstream media having to follow their lead. More often, however, news blogs tend to react to material already published by the mainstream media.

Since 2002, blogs have gained increasing notice and coverage for their role in breaking, shaping, and [[Spin (public relations)|spinning]] [[news]] stories. The [[2003 invasion of Iraq|Iraq war]] saw bloggers taking measured and passionate points of view that go beyond the traditional [[left-right politics|left-right]] divide of the [[political spectrum]].

Blogging by established politicians and political candidates, to express opinions on war and other issues, cemented blogs' role as a news source. (See [[Howard Dean]] and [[Wesley Clark]].) Meanwhile, an increasing number of experts blogged, making blogs a source of in-depth analysis. (See Daniel Drezner and [[J. Bradford DeLong]].)

The second Iraq war was the first "blog war" in another way: Iraqi bloggers gained wide readership, and one, [[Salam Pax]], published a book of his blog. Blogs were also created by soldiers serving in the Iraq war. Such "[[warblog]]" gave readers new perspectives on the realities of war, as well as often offering different viewpoints from those of official news sources.

Blogging was used to draw attention to obscure news sources. For example, bloggers posted links to traffic cameras in Madrid as a huge anti-terrorism demonstration filled the streets in the wake of the [[11 March 2004 Madrid attacks|March 11 attacks]].

Bloggers began to provide nearly-instant commentary on televised events, creating a secondary meaning of the word "blogging": to simultaneously transcribe and [[Editorial|editorialize]] speeches and events shown on television. (For example, "I am blogging Rice's testimony" means "I am posting my reactions to [[Condoleezza Rice|Condoleezza Rice's]] testimony into my blog as I watch her on television.") Real-time commentary is sometimes referred to as "liveblogging."

=== 2004 – present ===

In 2004, the role of blogs became increasingly mainstream, as [[political consultant]]s, news services and candidates began using them as tools for outreach and opinion forming. Even politicians not actively campaigning, such as the [[Labour Party (UK)|UK's Labour Party's]] [[Member of Parliament|MP]] [[Tom Watson (politician)|Tom Watson]], began to blog to bond with constituents.

[[Minnesota Public Radio]] broadcast a program by [[Christopher Lydon]] and [[Matt Stoller]] called "The blogging of the President," which covered a transformation in politics that blogging seemed to presage. The ''[[Columbia Journalism Review]]'' began regular coverage of blogs and blogging. Anthologies of blog pieces reached print, and blogging personalities began appearing on radio and television. In the summer of 2004, both United States [[Democratic National Convention|Democratic]] and [[Republican National Convention|Republican]] Parties' conventions credentialed bloggers, and blogs became a standard part of the publicity arsenal. Mainstream television programs, such as [[Chris Matthews]]' ''[[Hardball with Chris Matthews|Hardball]]'', formed their own blogs. [[Merriam-Webster]]'s Dictionary declared "blog" as the word of the year in 2004.{{cite news|url=http://en.wikinews.org/wiki/blog_declared_Word_of_the_Year Wikinews|publisher=Wikinews|title=blog declared Word of the Year|date=2004-12-01|accessdate=2006-06-22}}

Blogs were among the driving forces behind the "[[Rathergate]]" scandal, to wit: (television journalist) Dan Rather presented documents (on the CBS show ''[[60 Minutes]]'') that conflicted with accepted accounts of [[President Bush's military service]] record. Bloggers declared the documents to be [[forgery|forgeries]] and presented evidence and arguments in support of that view, and CBS apologized for what it said were inadequate reporting techniques (see [[Little Green Footballs]]). Many bloggers view this scandal as the advent of blogs' acceptance by the mass media, both as a source of news and opinion and as means of applying political pressure.

Some bloggers have moved over to other media. The following bloggers (and others) have appeared on radio and television: [[Atrios|Duncan Black]] (known widely by his pseudonym, Atrios), [[Glenn Reynolds]] ([[Instapundit]]) , [[Markos Moulitsas Zúniga]] ([[Daily Kos]]), [[Alex Steffen]] ([[Worldchanging]]) and [[Ana Marie Cox]] ([[Wonkette]]). [[Hugh Hewitt]] is an example of a media personality who has moved in the other direction, adding to his reach in "old media" by being an influential blogger.

Some blogs were an important source of news during the [[2004 Indian Ocean earthquake|December 2004 Tsunami]] such as [[Medecins Sans Frontieres]], which used SMS text messaging to report from affected areas in Sri Lanka and Southern India. Similarly, during [[Hurricane Katrina]] in August 2005 and the aftermath a few blogs which were located in New Orleans, including [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interdictor_%28Blogger%29 the Interdictor] and [[Gulfsails]] were able to maintain power and an internet connection and disseminate information that was not covered by the [[Main Stream Media]].

In the [[United Kingdom]], ''[[The Guardian]]'' [[newspaper]] launched a redesign in September 2005, which included a daily digest of blogs on page 2. Also in June 2006, [[BBC News]] launched a weblog for its editors, following other news companies.{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/5116654.stm|title=Down with blogs... so here's another|first=Dawn|last=Wilson|date=2006-06-26|accessdate=2006-06-26|publisher=[[BBC News]]}}

In January 2005, ''[[Fortune (magazine)|Fortune]]'' magazine listed eight bloggers that business people "could not ignore": [[Engadget|Peter Rojas]], [[Xeni Jardin]], [[Ben Trott]], [[Mena Trott]], [[Jonathan I. Schwartz|Jonathan Schwartz]], Jason Goldman, [[Robert Scoble]], and [[Jason Calacanis]].

== Types of blogs ==
[[Image:Moblog.png|thumb|200px|right|A photo of Joi Ito's moblog.]]
There are various types of blogs, and each differs in the way content is delivered or written.

;By media type: A blog comprising videos is called a [[vlog]], one comprising links is called a [[linklog]],{{cite news|title=What is a weblog?|url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/weblogarticle/0,6799,394059,00.html|first=Jane|last=Perrone|publisher=Guardian Unlimted|date=2004-05-20|accessdate=2006-06-25}} or one comprising photos is called a [[photoblog]]{{cite web|url=http://wiki.photoblogs.org/wiki/What_is_a_Photoblog|title=What is a photoblog|publisher=Photoblogs.org Wiki|accessdate=2006-06-25}}

;By device: Blogs can also be defined by which type of device is used to compose it. A blog written by a [[mobile device]] like a [[mobile phone]] or [[PDA]] is called a [[moblog]].{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/2783951.stm|publisher=[[BBC News]]|title=Blogging goes mobile|date=2003-02-23|accessdate=2006-06-25}}

;[[Genre]]: Some blogs focus on a particular subject, such as [[political blog]]s, [[travel blog]]s, [[fashion blog]]s or legal blogs (often referred to as a blawgs).

;[[Legal status]] of publishers: A blog can be private, as in most cases, or it can be for [[business]] purposes. Blogs, either used internally to enhance the communication and culture in a [[corporation]] or externally for [[marketing]], [[branding]] or [[Public relations|PR]] purposes are called [[corporate blog]]s.

;[[List of search engines#blog search engines|Blog search engines]]: Several blog search engines are used to search blog contents (also known as the [[blogosphere]]), such as [[blogdigger]], [[Feedster]], and [[Technorati]]. Technorati provides current information on both popular searches and [[tag]]s used to categorize blog postings.

== Business models ==
While the great majority of blogs are non-commercial, full-time bloggers have struggled to find a way to make a profit from their work. The most common and simplest method is to accept targeted [[web banner|banner advertising]]. However, some bloggers have been hesitant to use this because of negative reader response to the ads. A more discreet form of advertising is for bloggers to promote merchandise from other sites, receiving a commission when a customer buys the item after following a blog link.

Others have tried a [[click-to-donate]] model. Prominent political blogger [[Andrew Sullivan]] claimed at one point that accepting voluntary donations to his blog was more lucrative than his magazine work for [[The New Republic]]. Following the practice of public television, Sullivan boosted donations with periodic "[[pledge drives]]," one of which was reported to net him $120,000. Sullivan's attempt at securing corporate sponsorship for his blog fell apart after strong negative reader response to the deal.

However, In the early twenty-first century, many magazines and newspapers began sponsoring personal blogs by their employees. The business model in this case is essentially the same as that of a traditional newspaper columnist. In a creative extension of the model, employees at other media companies began blogs focusing on the companies' products. For example, many actors in pornography blog about their work on company sites, creating a sense of personal connection between consumer and product.

Fairly new, and highly controversial, is the pay-per-blog model, in which the blogger writes a set number of words on a topic (usually a web page or product) provided by an advertiser. The post always includes at least one link to a web site relevant to the topic, as a way of creating "buzz" and helping the advertised page's rank in search engines. In return, the blogger receives a small amount of money, usually no more than 10 US dollars.

The reason for the controversy is that many bloggers do not reveal to their readers that they are being paid for a given post, leading to the impression that they are sincerely endorsing the product or service when in fact they're acting as writers of ad copy. In response, many bloggers denounce the practice of paid posting as "facilitating the pollution of the blogosphere{{cite web|url=http://www.techcrunch.com/2006/10/29/payperpost-is-now-officially-absurd/|title=TechCrunch on PayPerPost}}" and even "evil". Others claim that there is no ethical problem as long as the blogger discloses that he or she is being paid. This dispute seems unlikely to be resolved in the forseeable future.

== Anatomy of a blog entry ==
[[Image:Typical blog.png|thumb|250px|A [[screenshot]] of a typical blog.]]
A variety of different systems are used to create and maintain blogs. Dedicated [[web application]]s can eliminate the need for bloggers to manage this software. With web interfaces, these systems allow travelers to blog from anywhere on the Internet, and allow users to create blogs without having to maintain their own server. Such systems allow users to work with tools such as Ecto, Elicit and [[Blogger (service)|Blogger]] which allow users to maintain their Web-hosted blog without the need to be online while composing or editing posts. Blog creation tools and blog hosting are also provided by some Web hosting companies ([[Tripod]]), Internet service providers ([[America Online]]), online publications ([[Salon.com]]) and internet portals ([[Yahoo! 360°]] or [[Google]]). Some advanced users have developed custom blogging systems from scratch using [[Server-side scripting|server-side]] software, and often implement membership management and password protected areas. Others have created a mix of a blog and wiki, called a [[bliki]].

A blog entry typically consists of the following:
* ''Title'', the main title, or headline, of the post.
* ''Body'', main content of the post.
* ''[[Permalink]]'', the [[URL]] of the full, individual article.
* ''Post Date'', date and time the post was published.

A blog entry optionally includes the following:
* ''Comments''
* ''Categories'' (or [[tag]]s) - subjects that the entry discusses
* ''[[Trackback]]'' and or ''[[pingback]]'' - links to other sites that refer to the entry

=== Comments ===
{{main|Feedback comment system}}

Comments are a way to provide discussion on blog entries. Readers can leave a [[comment]] on a post, which can correct errors or contain their opinion on the post or the post's subject. Services like [[coComment]] aim to ease discussion through comments, by allowing tracking of them.

== Blog popularity ==
Recently, researchers have analyzed the dynamics of how blogs become popular. There are essentially two measures of this: popularity through citations, as well as popularity through affiliation (i.e. [[blogroll]]). The basic conclusion from studies of the structure of blogs is that while it takes time for a blog to become popular through blogrolls, permalinks can boost popularity more quickly, and are perhaps more indicative of popularity and authority than blogrolls, since they denote that people are actually reading the blog's content and deem it valuable or noteworthy in specific cases.Marlow, C. [http://alumni.media.mit.edu/~cameron/cv/pubs/04-01.pdf Audience, structure and authority in the weblog community]. Presented at the International Communication Association Conference, May, 2004, New Orleans, LA.

The [[blogdex]] project was launched by researchers in the [[MIT Media Lab]] to crawl the web and gather data from thousands of blogs in order to investigate their social properties. It gathered this information for over 4 years, and autonomously tracked the most contagious information spreading in the blog community. The project is no longer active.

Blogs are also given rankings by [[Technorati]] based on the amount of incoming links and [[Alexa Internet]] based on the web hits of Alexa Toolbar users. In August 2006, Technorati listed the most linked-to blog as that of Chinese actress [[Xu Jinglei]] and the most-read blog as group-written [[Boing Boing]].Fickling, David, [http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/news/archives/2006/08/15/internet_killed_the_tv_star.html Internet killed the TV star], [[The Guardian]] NewsBlog, [[15 August]] [[2006]]

It was reported by Chinese media [[Xinhua]] that the blog of [[Xu Jinglei]] received more than 50 million page views, claiming to be the most popular blog in the world.{{cite news|url=http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2006-08/24/content_672747.htm|title=Xu Jinglei most popular blogger in world|date=2006-08-24|accessdate=2006-11-18|publisher=China Daily}} In mid-2006, it also had the most incoming links of any blogs on the Internet.

==Blogging and the mass media==
Many bloggers differentiate themselves from the [[mainstream media]], while others are members of that media working through a different channel. Some institutions see blogging as a means of "getting around the filter" and pushing [[messages]] directly to the public. Some critics worry that bloggers respect neither [[copyright]] nor the role of the [[mass media]] in presenting society with credible news.

Many mainstream journalists, meanwhile, write their own blogs -- well over 300, according to CyberJournalist.net's J-blog list. The first known use of a Weblog on a news site was in August 1998, when [[Jonathan Dube]] of The [[Charlotte Observer]] published one chronicling Hurricane Bonnie.{{cite news|title=blogging Bonnie.|work=Poynter.org|date=18 September, 2003 |url=http://www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=52&aid=48413/}}

Blogs have also had an influence on [[minority language]]s, bringing together scattered speakers and learners; this is particularly so with blogs in [[Goidelic language|Gaelic languages]], whose creators can be found as far away from traditional Gaelic areas as [[Kazakhstan]] and [[Alaska]]. Minority language publishing (which may lack economic feasibility) can find its audience through inexpensive blogging.

== Legal issues ==
The emergence of blogging has brought a range of legal liabilities. Employers have "[[dooce]]d" (fired) employees who maintain personal blogs that discuss their employers.{{cite news|url=http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/11/03/airline_blogger_sacked/|title=Queen of the Sky gets marching orders|publisher=The Register|date=2004-11-03|accessdate=2006-06-23}} The major areas of concern are the issues of proprietary or confidential information, and defamation. Several cases have been brought before the national courts against bloggers and the courts have returned with mixed verdicts. In ''John Doe v. Patrick Cahill'', the [[Delaware Supreme Court]] held that stringent standards had to be met to unmask anonymous bloggers, and also took the unusual step of dismissing the libel case itself (as unfounded under American libel law) rather than referring it back to the [[trial court]] for reconsideration. In a bizarre twist, the Cahills were able to find the ISP address of John Doe, who turned out to be the person they suspected: the town's mayor, Councilman Cahill's political rival. The Cahills amended their original complaint, and the mayor settled the case rather than going to trial.[http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data2/delawarestatecases/266-2005.pdf "John Doe No. 1 v. Patrick Cahill and Julia Cahill]

In [[Singapore]], on the other hand, two ethnic Chinese were [[imprisoned]] under the country’s [[Sedition Act (Singapore)|anti-sedition law]] for posting [[anti-Muslim]] remarks in their weblogs.{{cite journal|last=Kierkegaard|first=Sylvia|authorlink=Sylvia Kierkegaard|year=2006|url=http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6VB3-4JH47F6-5&_user=1004260&_handle=V-WA-A-W-AB-MsSWYWW-UUA-U-AACUCWYVWU-AAVYAUEWWU-YDDYCBWVV-AB-U&_fmt=summary&_coverDate=12%2F31%2F2006&_rdoc=5&_orig=browse&_srch=%23toc%235915%232006%23999779997%23619171!&_cdi=5915&view=c&_acct=C000050178&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=1004260&md5=9278207a80ea3ebbe2c672944a3fb67a|title=Blogs, lies and the doocing: The next hotbed of litigation?|journal=Computer Law & Security Report}} Internet Service Providers, in general, are immune from liability for information that originates with Third Parties (U.S. [[Communications Decency Act]] and the EU Directive 2000/31/EC).

In [[Malaysia]], eight [[Royal Dutch Shell]] Group companies collectively obtained in June 2004 an Interim Injunction and Restraining Order against a Shell [[whistleblower]], a Malaysian [[geologist]] and former Shell employee, [[Dr John Huong]]. The proceedings are in respect of alleged [[defamatory]] postings attributed to Dr Huong on a weblog hosted in [[North America]] but owned and operated by an 89 year old British national, Alfred Donovan, a long term critic of Shell. The Shell action is directed solely against Dr Huong. Further proceedings against Dr Huong were issued by the same [[plaintiff]] companies in 2006 in respect of publications on Donovan weblog sites in 2005 and 2006. The further proceedings include a "Notice to Show Cause" relating to a "[[contempt of court]]" action potentially punishable by imprisonment. The contempt hearing and a related application by the eight Royal Dutch Shell [[plaintiff]] companies for Dr Huong to produce Alfred Donovan for [[cross-examination]] in connection with an [[affidavit]] Donovan provided, was scheduled to be heard in the High Court of Malay in [[Kuala Lumpur]] on 17th August 2006. Donovan's principle weblog is [[royaldutchshellplc.com]].

In Britain, a college lecturer contributed to a blog in which she referred to a politician (who had also expressed his views in the same blog) using various uncomplimentary names, including referring to him as a "Nazi". The politician found out the real name of the lecturer (she wrote under a pseudonym) via the ISP and successfully sued her for [[Pound sterling|£]]10,000 in damages and £7,200 costs.{{cite news |first = Owen |last = Gibson |url = http://www.guardian.co.uk/law/story/0,,1737445,00.html |title = Warning to chatroom users after libel award for man labelled a Nazi |work = [[The Guardian]] |date = [[2006-03-23]] |accessdate = 2006-05-17}} In the spring of 2006, [[Erik Ringmar]], a tenured senior lecturer at the [[London School of Economics]] was ordered by the convenor
of his department to "take down and destroy" a blog in which he discussed student life at the school.{{cite news|url=http://education.guardian.co.uk/higher/news/story/0,,1766663,00.html|publisher=The Guardian|title=Lecturer's Blog Sparks Free Speech Row|date=2006-05-03|accessdate=2006-10-15}}

[[Mark Cuban]], owner of the [[Dallas Mavericks]], was recently fined during the 2006 [[National Basketball Association|NBA]] playoffs for criticizing NBA officials on the court and in his blog.{{cite news|url=http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/playoffs2006/news/story?id=2440355|publisher=ESPN|title=NBA fines Cuban $200K for antics on, off court|date=2006-05-11|accessdate=2006-06-23}}

[[Ellen Simonetti]], a US airline attendant, lost her job after posting photos of herself in uniform displaying more [[cleavage (breasts)|cleavage]] than ordinary on her blog "The Queen of the Sky".{{cite web|url=http://google.findlaw.com/blogger-1005.html|title=DOOCES WILD: How Employers Can Survive the New Technological Poker Game of Employee Blogging|author=Philip L. Gordon and Christopher E. Cobey of Littler Mendelson|month=October|year=2005|publisher=FindLaw}} Simonetti took legal action against the airline for "wrongful termination, defamation of character and lost future wages".{{cite news|url=http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/11/03/airline_blogger_sacked/|title=Queen of the Sky gets marching orders|publisher=The Register|date=2004-11-03|accessdate=2006-06-23}}

In India, blogger Gaurav Sabnis resigned from [[IBM]] after his posts exposing the false claims of a management school, IIPM, led to management of IIPM threatening to burn their IBM laptops as a sign of protest against him.{{cite news|url=http://gauravsabnis.blogspot.com/2005/10/update.html|title=Gaurav Sabnis's blog entry after quitting IBM|publisher=Vantage point|date=2005-10-10|accessdate=2006-06-23}}{{cite news|url=http://gauravsabnis.blogspot.com/2005/10/im-disconnecting-my-cable-connection.html|title=Gaurav Sabnis's blog entry when he got the Legal notice from IIPM|publisher=Vantage point|date=2005-10-10|accessdate=2006-06-23}}{{cite news|url=http://gauravsabnis.blogspot.com/2005/08/fraud-that-is-iipm.html|title=Gaurav Sabnis's blog entry which offended the management of IIPM and lead to the chain of events resulting in him quitting his job at IBM|publisher=Vantage point|date=2005-10-10|accessdate=2006-06-23}}

In the [[United States]] blogger [[Aaron Wall]] was sued by Traffic Power for [[defamation]] and publication of [[trade secrets]] in [[2005]].{{cite news |first=David |last=Kesmodel |title=Blogger Faces Lawsuit Over Comments Posted by Readers |url=http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB112541909221726743-_vX2YpePQV7AOIl2Jeebz4FAfS4_20060831.html?mod=blogs Wall Street Journal |publisher=Wall Street Journal Online |date=2005-08-31 |accessdate=2006-11-18}} According to Wired Magazine, Traffic Power had been "banned from Google for allegedly rigging search engine results."[[Wired Magazine]], [http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,68799,00.html Legal Showdown in Search Fracas], Sept 8, 2005 Wall and other "white hat" [[search engine optimization]] consultants had exposed Traffic Power in what they claim was an effort to protect the public. The case was watched by many bloggers because it addressed the murky legal question of who's liable for comments posted on blogs.[http://yro.slashdot.org/yro/05/08/31/1427228.shtml?tid=123 Slashdot, Aug 31]

== See also ==
{{portalpar|Internet}}
* [[List of search engines#blog search engines|blog search engines]]
* [[blog software]]
* [[List of blogging terms]]
* [[Blogburst]]
* [[blogebrity]]
* [[Buzzword]]
* [[Corporate blog]]
* [[Political blog]]
* [[Online diary]] - the precursor to blogs
* [[Virtual Community]]
* [[Massively distributed collaboration]]
* [[Citizen journalism]]
* [[Content Management System]]
* [[Google bomb]]
* [[MySpace]] - social networking site
* [[Facebook]] - social networking site
* [[Windows Live Spaces]] - Microsoft's Social Networking platform
* [[News aggregator]] - client software that uses a web feed to retrieve syndicated web content such as weblogs, podcasts, vlogs, and mainstream mass media websites
* [[Podcasting]] - a method of distributing multimedia files, such as audio programs or music videos, over the Internet
* [[TagWorld]] - a MySpace competitor
* [[User-generated content]]
* [[Yahoo! 360°]] - a personal communication portal
* [[List of social networking websites]] - includes many blog and journal sites

Buttons!

2006-11-06T00:57:00.000+05:30

Current button count is 3778!

Blogware / Stats

2006-11-06T00:53:00.000+05:30

Current button count is 3778!

Personal

2006-11-06T00:52:00.000+05:30

Music / Bands

2006-10-30T12:28:00.000+05:30

http://jenjen.typepad.com/stoppiracy/2005/11/no_piracy_blink.html
StopPiracy: No Piracy Blinkies

2006-10-29T20:11:00.000+05:30

[tagname]" rel="tag">[tagname]

[tagname]+[tagname]" rel="tag">[tagname tagname]

global warming

2006-10-24T13:12:00.000+05:30

The Fan

Sports. I figured out why I'm such an addict to sports.

Its always been a known fact to those around me that if people are competing in doing something, I will watch. It doesn't matter what they're competing at, as long as someone is out to win. It reached a stage where I would watch Darts live on television. Phil "the Power" Taylor is undefeatable, despite the best efforts of Scholten and Co. Cricket, Rugby, Tennis, Ice Hockey, American Football, Football, Basketball, Formula 1.. those are sports that I not only watch, but have a decent knowledge base about and a pretty up-to-date awareness of results and standings.

There's one sport up there, a major sport, that I never had any interest in. America's favourite pasttime.. Baseball. The other day my flatmate, a big Oakland A's fan, tuned in to watch the 4th game of the ALCS between the Tigers and the A's. I sat there watching with him and was slowly getting more interested in the game. Its not my first time watching baseball, I've had many times where I've tried to force myself to watch but was completely disinterested. I understand the fundamentals, I've physically played the game before and I do hold some trivial knowledge of current as well as historic players and events. I just never managed to get INTO to.

Why so different this time? Sense of occasion. That's when I realized what draws me into watching all these weird and wonderful sports. Why I actually sat there and watched the Gold medal game of Curling during the last winter olympics. Why I would tune in and cheer when Phil Taylor got a crucial 180 in the last few legs of the Darts championship final. Why I would hold my breath while Rocket Ronnie O'Sullivan raced to a 100 break in the quarterfinal of the Snooker World Championship. Occasion.. the feeling that I was witnessing something historic. Something that will forever go down in the folklore of that sport. Even if it wasn't exactly Micheal Jordan's last 10 seconds shot to win the Championship in Game 6 over the Utah Jazz in 1998. It doesn't have to be that momentous as to almost define a sport. A quarter of that magic is enough to capture this big kid's imagination.

But that's not the whole story. That's only a gateway in. Once I'm sucked into a sport through a moment of brilliance, I'll keep on watching it and will have an active interest in it. It becomes hard, maintaining such a large portfolio of interest in so many sports.. but some ALWAYS take precedence. Cricket has been on the backburner since the Ashes ended, and will come back to the fore once the 2007 World Cup starts. Rugby was big on the agenda during the Tri-Nations.. but it'll have to wait until the 6 Nations is back to spark my interest again. The same goes for American football and Hockey, which I loosely follow (who's hot and who's not) up until playoff time where things really get interesting.

Football, however, is a different story. That's just one sport that will forever hold me captive, no matter who's playing and in what competition. I'm always up for watching a match, even U21 internationals or pre-season friendlies. No matter how big of a sports nut I may be, I'm still sane enough to recognize what the best sport out of them all actually is.

2006-10-24T13:11:00.000+05:30

Sometimes I wonder we cannot continue to participate in acts of aggression. Does the responsibility lie with Bush, you probably wonder... OK. Sometime around last year my whole body was filled with fear. Well well, you may say. In a nut-shell: Although it felt more like a dream to me then. I found the police. Which is fine by me yet...

Making money

2003-12-01T20:55:00.000+05:30

Do you actually want to monetize your blog?

Can you make a decent income online?

Can most people do it?

If that last paragraph doesn’t flood my inbox with flames, I don’t know what will. OK, actually I do.

Web savvy

blog publishing software
HTML/CSS
blog comments (and comment spam)
RSS/syndication
feed aggregators
pings
trackbacks
full vs. partial feeds
blog carnivals (for kick-starting your blog’s traffic)
search engines
search engine optimization (SEO)
page rank
social bookmarking
tagging
contextual advertising
affiliate programs
traffic statistics
email

Optional: podcasting, instant messaging, PHP or other web scripting languages.

Thriving on change

What’s your overall income-generation strategy?

Traffic, traffic, traffic

Just to throw out some figures, last month (April 2006), this site received over 1.1 million visitors and over 2.4 million page views. That’s almost triple what it was just six months ago.

If you’re intelligent and web savvy, you should also be able to eventually build a high-traffic web site. And you’ll be able to leverage that traffic to build even more traffic.

How to build traffic

Now if traffic is so crucial, how do you build it up to significant levels if you’re starting from rock bottom?

There is one other important traffic-building tip I’ll provide here though.

Will putting ads on your site hurt your traffic?

Here’s a common fear I hear from people who are considering monetizing their web sites:

Putting ads on my site will cripple my traffic. The ads will drive people away, and they’ll never come back.