After seeing Amazon suggest purchasing clean underwear with almost every item we put in our shopping carts, Ariella and I have wondered if the Internet superstore’s recommendation engine is broken. Amazon.com Admits Concocting Some Recommendations, a TechWeb News story from a couple of weeks ago, reveals the truth: “Amazon.com made the shocking admission that it […]
RIAA doesn’t get it, but O’Reilly does
Last night, I read Tim O’Reilly’s superb article on “piracy” and the evolution of online distribution. Brilliant. Especially apropos was O’Reilly’s comparison of Internet access to television: most of use don’t use “free” TV from the airwaves, but instead get cable or satellite. And many people with subscriptions to TV services pay extra for premium […]
We Are Robots
Watched an episode of We Are Robots with Ariella and Hannah. It’s hilarious. “My credit card isn’t rejected. You’re rejected. I didn’t want that sweater anyways.” I am AngryBot.
Hebcal by Phone beta
Well, it turns out it wasn’t that hard. After just a couple of hours of playing around with VoiceXML, I managed to create a Tellme extension that works. Call Tellme at 1-800-555-TELL Say extensions Dial 00613 Dial or say your 5-digit zipcode Listen to the candle-lighting times for your area If you want to see […]
VoiceXML for Hebcal
I just thought of a new project for my Jewish Calendar website. I want to create a Tellme extension so people can call an 800 number to get candle-lighting times. Over the past 4 years, I have used my hebcal.com site as an experimental test-bed for various web technologies. It all started when I wanted […]
Turing Tests for Humans
Article about Udi Manber in New York Times Science Section: Human or Computer? Take This Test. As chief scientist of the Internet portal Yahoo, Dr. Udi Manber had a problem: how to differentiate human intelligence from that of a machine. By Sara Robinson. The guy is brilliant. Amazon.com is lucky to have him. Yahoo! was […]
Jury Duty: Day 2
It was over before it even had a chance to begin. The judge dismissed the jury today with the thanks of the court. He gathered us all around, explained to us that the case had been resolved without the need for a trial, so we were all free to go. He didn’t say it explicitly, […]
Jury Duty: Day 1
I showed up for Jury Duty today at the criminal courthouse in Downtown LA. I’m completely filled with a sense of civic pride and good old-fashioned patriotism. As I mentioned yesterday, I think that serving on a jury is one of the major duties of a citizen, right up there with paying taxes. (Pop quiz: […]
Jury Duty
I got a notice in the mail saying that I was summoned for jury duty at the Superior Court of Los Angeles County. So I called this weekend to see if they actually wanted group number 2 for court location 11, and sure enough, I’m actually scheduled to report at 7:45am tomorrow morning. So it […]
Online music still not ready for prime-time
In CNET News.com today: Liquid Audio to evaporate. The company’s board of directors votes unanimously to dissolve the company and distribute its cash reserves to shareholders. Pretty pathetic. Liquid was one of the very first innovators to attempt to make a legal online music system in the Napster age. The fact that they’ve gone out […]