Copacabana Silicon Valley Parody

From the folks that brought you “Here Comes Another Bubble,” enjoy The Richter Scales‘ Silicon Valley Copacabana parody, “In the Valley.” The camera work was apparently done by my deceased grandmother, but you’ll enjoy the live performance at the Crunchies (source: Mark Casey sending me SFWeekly article). These guys aren’t lounge singers. They’re accomplished attorneys, engineers and…

How to Stop Kids from Using Electronics (Phone, PDAs) to Cheat in School

My 8-year-old son asked for help putting on his calculator watch this morning. He joked that he might use it during tests, and I quietly told him it might be a big mistake. His eyes perked up. “Why, dad?” “The alarm goes off… it’s really embarrassing  when the ‘cheating alarm’ goes off.” He smiled, realizing…

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Battered User Syndrome: YouTube and Online Monopolies

Want your Gmail to replace your YouTube messaging? Sorry- but here are some pretty thumb icons you can use to rate comments! Who would have thought the market would be so beholden to YouTube’s inside-out design… half way through 2008? By now, I would have predicted that Web 2.0 would offer us endless options for customizing a video…

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Where Are the YouTube Ads? (Insert Cricket Sound)

The biggest mystery of YouTube partners (those who share in advertising revenue generated by their videos) is yet unsolved. My post about Sxephil’s reaction generated a lot of discussion, but there’s still a big unanswered question…. Are the YouTube ads missing because advertisers aren’t buying? Or is there a technical glitch prohibiting them? Either option…