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How a Record Gets Leaked

Here’s an infographic explaining how a record gets leaked from a Spin article titled Days of the Leak:

Preview image of “How a Record Gets Leaked”
Click the image to see it at full size.

According to the infographic, there are a number of opportunities for an album to make it into the public’s hands between its completion and release:

  • At the studio: 4 months before release — As soon as a record is finished, anyone from the producer to the engineer to the band members can spoil the fun.
  • At the label: 3 1/2 months before release — Labels send albums to companies like Sonic Arts to add a digital encryption code that can identify evildoers…but not necessarily stop them.
  • By the press: 3 months before release — Considered to be the most common source of album leakage, watermarks or not. Oops!
  • At the plant: 1 month before release — While in the process of being manufactured, a CD is ostensibly secured under lock and key, but sometimes copies fall off the back of trucks.
  • At the warehouse: 2 weeks before release — Once CDs await shipping to retailers, it’s virtually guaranteed that a copy will find its way online.
  • At retail: And of course, once an album is for sale online and in stores, all bets are off.
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Do It (Effing) Now

Alec Baldwin’s “Always Be Closing” scene from “Glengarry Glen Ross”
Okay, so I doctored this photo a little.

Jeff “Coding Horror” Atwood writes in his one of his latest articles, Yes, But What Have You *Done*?:

At the point when I spend all my time talking about programming, and very little of my time programming, my worst fear has been realized: I’ve become a pundit. And the last thing the world needs is more pundits. Pundits only add ephemeral commentary to the world instead of anything concrete and real. They don’t materially participate in the construction of any lasting artifacts; instead, they passively observe other people’s work and offer a neverending babbling brook of opinions, criticism, and witty turns of phrase. It’s pathetic.

Perhaps that’s why I find this blog entry from SEO Black Hat so inspiring:

Do it F***ing Now.

Don’t wait. Don’t procrastinate. The winners in this world are not the ones who find the greatest excuses to put off doing what they know will make them more money. The winners are the ones that prioritize and seize the day.

Create a list of action items to make sure your important tasks get accomplished. Every project you’re working on should be in action. If you’re not moving, you’re standing still. Your next step towards making money must not be “something I’ll take care of maybe sometime next week.” If it’s going to help make you money: Do it F***ing Now.

Some of you may think that you don’t need the “f***ing” in “do it f***ing now”. You do. You need that impact, that force, that call to action, that kick in the ass to get you moving. Otherwise, you’ll end up another loser that had a great idea a long time ago but never did anything about it. Dreamers don’t make money. Doers make money. And doers “Do it F***ing Now.”

Need some inspiration to get off your butt? I can send you to Steve Pavilina’s essay, Do It Now.

If you need something a little more visceral and sweary, here’s the “Always Be Closing” scene from Glengarry Glen Ross. Choose either, or choose both — whatever it takes to get you doing less talking and producing more output:

Cross-posted to the Tucows Developer Blog

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FacebookRestClient’s “Friends” Methods

T-shirt: “I Facebooked Your Mom”More tutorial goodness for those of you who are getting started writing Facebook apps, and especially if you’re attending next Tuesday’s Facebook Developer Garage [here’s the wiki page | here’s the Facebook event]: I’ve got another Facebook developer tutorial up on the Tucows Developer Blog. This one covers the “Friends” methods of the FacebookRestClient class.

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Homer Simpson X-Ray Used in Medical Article in Chinese News

Take a look at this article from China View, the English-language site run by China’s official Xinhua News Agency and pay particular attention to the accompanying photo:

Small screenshot of China View article featuring Homer Simpson’s head x-ray
Click the screenshot to see it at full size.

What’s happening here? I’ll let Computerworld explain:

The article, which appeared on China’s official Xinhua News Agency’s English news site on Monday, displays text about a new genetic discovery relating to MS, attributed to “agencies.” Alongside is an x-ray rendering of the diminutive brain of the cartoon character Homer Simpson, attributed as a “file photo.”

This isn’t the first time Chinese media has fallen prey to satire presented to an English-language audience. In 2002, the Beijing Evening News (Beijing Wan Bao) picked up an article from humor site The Onion, stating that the U.S. Congress had threatened to move out of the Capitol building in Washington, D.C., unless the building were upgraded to include a retractable dome. The newspaper also ran a drawing The Onion had published of the fictional new roof design.

Both online and print media in China routinely use photos downloaded or scanned from other sources without proper attribution or copyright permission.

I can understand how it’s possible that someone at China View might not known enough North American cultural folderol under their belt to recognize Homer Simpson, but wouldn’t whoever incuded the x-ray image have thought that it looked a little odd? I suppose it’s possible that he or she thought it was a diagram in the style of Asian electronics instruction manuals, which are full of cartoony characters.

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Google Directions Now Include a Rush Hour Estimate

Many lanes of traffic

It may be a small addition, but it’s a useful one. You know how Google Maps directions give you an estimate of how long your trip will take? They now include an additional estimate: how long your trip will take in traffic.

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Using the FacebookRestClient Class’ “Event” Methods, Part 2

Facebook developer wiki logoHey, budding Facebook developers! I’ve got another installment of my series of articles on Facebook development: Using the FacebookRestClient Class’ “Event” Methods, Part 2.

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Seven Lessons from Intuit

Cover of the book “Inside Intuit”Patrick “Fitzblog” Fitzsimmons has been reading Inside Intuit and has come up with Seven Startup Lessons from Intuit (which could be applied to any business, not just startups):

  1. Business skills and technical skills are equally important.
  2. Learn from non-technology businesses.
  3. Your competitor is not other companies, but the way that things are done now.
  4. Talk to as many potential customers as you can, from the very beginning.
  5. Focus your product on the absolute essential user needs.
  6. Even future billion dollar companies will teeter on the brink of defeat.
  7. Do right by your customers.

The article has this list, with each point explained in more detail.