Uncategorized

Bloomberg: As of October, 3 million to 5 million people subscribed to Prime, a program begun in 2005 that provides two-day shipping for $79 a year, said the people, who asked not to be named because the figures are private. … Continued

Michael Geist: Public Safety Minister Vic Toews is expected to introduce lawful access legislation tomorrow in the House of Commons. An Act to enact the Investigating and Preventing Criminal Electronic Communications Act and to amend the Criminal Code and others … Continued

Dan Lyons, on his own blog: Yet now Arrington and Siegler have appointed themselves the watchdogs of tech journalism, eager to point out the irresponsible and inaccurate reporting that they see all around them. This might ring a little less … Continued

[caption id="attachment_20197" align="alignnone" width="240" caption="Jennifer Hudson"][/caption] The Week:

Sunday night’s Grammy Awards was all about two women: Adele and Whitney Houston. The former was the night’s big winner, emerging victorious in all six of the categories she competed in, including the Big Three: Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Album of the Year. And Houston’s death on Saturday permeated the event’s entire proceedings.Here are six of the performances from Grammy night that critics are buzzing about.

I’ve been watching this dog show on TV since I was a kid and it’s great to see a live stream of the event. It gives you a different view and impression of the show. Thanks to @HikerCA for the heads up!

Sony hiked the wholesale price of Whitney Houston’s digital albums after the singer was pronounced dead.

TechCrunch’s MG Siegler weighs in on the need for tech bloggers to constantly churn more page views on their sites.

Many thanks to Strange Flavour for sponsoring this week’s RSS feed with SlotZ Racer, its free iPhone and iPad racing game. Strange Flavour are back with a new spin on their hit slot car racing game SlotZ Racer! SlotZ Racer … Continued

It’s the “story of a man who taught his cat to use instant messaging.” Funniest thing you’ll read today…..Thanks to Sian Meades and Jared Earle for the heads up.

Gothamist:

It’s Shamrock Shake season, and the green stuff is already ready to be slung at your local McDonald’s, and this year all of America will be able to indulge in the seasonal treat. The chain announced today that the shake will go national this year, for the first time in its 42-year-long existence.According to the McDonald’s spokeswoman, Ashlee Yingling, the minty shake “is currently available at every one of McDonald’s 14,000 U.S. restaurants,” and will be available through March 25th.

Anyone else embarrassed to admit how much they look forward to these things each year?

[caption id="attachment_20090" align="alignnone" width="173" caption="100,000 Scovilles Naga Chilli Vodka"][/caption] Master of Malt:

We filled a carboy with vodka, and into it we poured so many Naga Jolokia chillies that there was nothing but darkness in that carboy, nothing but darkness. We left the chillies to infuse and impart their flavour, colour and deathly fire into the vodka, and we’ve bottled the result. We are sorry. We are truly sorry.This stuff smells like pure evil, like the very blood of Satan himself. Such a pungent nose of chilli, it makes your eyes water just sniffing it.

Not a fan of spicy food but if you are, why would you want to ingest something that can cause you this kind of pain?

TIME:

Though Facebook’s SEC filings are dominating headlines, social neophyte Pinterest is gaining traction and plenty of buzz as the newest social media darling.According to comScore, Pinterest was the fastest growing independent site to hit 10 million monthly unique visits in the U.S., while a new report claims it drives more referral traffic to online retailers than Google+, YouTube, Reddit and LinkedIn combined.But is Pinterest just a digital arts and crafts bulletin board piggybacking off of a social phenomenon, or is there value in joining?

[caption id="attachment_20069" align="alignnone" width="400" caption="Act of Valor"][/caption]

Wired’s Danger Room:

SEALs are supposed to be secretive, stealthy killers. The public will probably never know the identities of the SEAL Team Six members who killed Osama bin Laden. But the Navy and the Pentagon had no problem letting the producers of a forthcoming action movie put active-duty SEALs on camera. Their faces are on screen and their names — first names, at least — are in the credits, along with their rank.“There were many precautions taken with the project to make sure our advantages on the battlefield would not be compromised to the enemy,” explains Amanda Greenberg, a Navy spokeswoman. Well, that and the fact that Act of Valor — in theaters next Friday! — is one giant, explicit recruiting pitch.

Not expecting great acting or dialog but am expecting things to blow up real good!

[caption id="attachment_20053" align="alignnone" width="470" caption="Creamy Pasta With Shrimp And Vegetables"][/caption] Huffington Post:

There’s nothing more romantic than a private dinner for two when you want to spend some time with your significant other this coming Valentine’s Day. And you don’t need to make reservations weeks in advance or pay a pretty sum for dinner out.The following slideshow features quick, simple and easy recipes that are designed to serve just two people. Look for the classic filet mignon with compound butter, roasted mustard salmon, roast duck breasts with pomegranate, and more. Any of these recipes will impress your loved one and show them how much you care. Happy Valentine’s Day!

Some of these recipes look so easy to make, even someone who burns water could create a lovely meal.

Rasmussen Reports:

With positive ratings for Congress at an all-time low, it may come as no surprise that a plurality of voters nationwide believes a group of people randomly selected from a telephone book would do a better job than the current legislators.The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey of Likely U.S. Voters shows that 43% believe a group of people randomly selected from the phone book would do a better job than the current Congress. Thirty-eight percent (38%) disagree with that assessment, while another 19% are not sure.

Horace Dediu offers an interesting observation about Apple and RIM.

Tassimo is recalling its one-cup coffee makers after 140 reports of problems involving people getting doused with the contents of the “T-discs.”

Tesla’s newest electric car model is an SUV with “falcon wing” doors in back that open like a DeLorean.

Tommy Jordan decided to uphold his second amendment rights after his daughter mouthed off to him on Facebook.

Slate:

Canadians might love the Super Bowl, but we hate the commercials.Not the commercials you get to watch. I’m talking about the ones we get stuck with in Canada.What does that mean? When America got an overproduced Bud Light Platinum ad, British Columbia got a lightly droll spot for a domestic IPA, Alexander Keith’s. Around the time America was watching John Stamos peddle Greek yogurt, British Columbia was learning about job creation and infrastructure. Shortly after America watched a joyful promo for NBC shows such as Community, British Columbia watched a local advertisement for — I kid you not — an actual community college.

Americans have no idea how annoying this is. Canadians see and hear all the hype about the Super Bowl commercials and, come game time, we get ads for Speedy Muffler King.

Eastman Kodak Co., struggling to reinvent itself in the wake of bankruptcy, announced Thursday plans to “phase out dedicated capture devices” as part of a refocus of its consumer business.  That means that Kodak will no longer sell its own … Continued

[caption id="attachment_19954" align="alignnone" width="470" caption="Sniper nest"][/caption] Business Insider:

While the Lucas Oil Stadium was crammed with fans watching the biggest sporting event of the year on Sunday, there was also at least one well-equipped sniper in attendance.These pictures started circulating Tuesday night, and though speculation about their authenticity lingers, the original source has confirmed with me they are genuine.

Josh Davis:

If you post a pin to Pinterest, and it links to an ecommerce site that happens to have an affiliate program, Pinterest modifies the link to add their own affiliate tracking code. If someone clicks through the picture from Pinterest and makes a purchase, Pinterest gets paid. They don’t have any disclosure of this link modification on their site, and so far, while it has been written about, no major news outlet has picked up on the practice or its implications.

I use Pinterest and this is troubling. Yes, they need to make money but doing it behind the users back is a bit off putting.

Cool Material:

No guy looks forward to Valentine’s Day. Here’s what it would look like if guys wrote Valentine’s Day cards.

Om Malik:

First the news: Yes, the rumors are true. We are indeed buying the assets of ContentNext Media from Guardian News & Media Limited. And no, we are not disclosing the terms of the deal, except that we are buying the entire group of properties — paidContent.org, mocoNews.net, contentSutra and paidContent:UK and that a representative of Guardian News & Media will join our board of directors as an observer.

I have a tremendous amount of respect for Om and what he’s done. Good luck with this.

Online pawn shop Pawngo really stuck its foot in it this week when it tried to make fun of the New England Patriots’ performance in the Super Bowl, and is paying for it – literally and figuratively.