Enough of the Hills and Woods, Can I Send Grandma an E-Card?

I like this article for taking on the entitlement of air travel and social networks like Facebook all in one swoop. Read story at NewsCloud.

Facebook Preparing Payment System for Members

Facebook is quietly preparing a payment system that would likely allow its members to send cash to each other and provide e-commerce services to its expanding application platform. A payment system would allow Facebook to compete more directly with PayPal (acquired by eBay for $1.5 billion), Google Checkout and Amazon's recently launched payment service.

In a forum post Tuesday, Facebook asked interested developers to sign an NDA to participate in a payment system beta.

Posted by: Facebook Platform Team Administrator

Subject: Facebook seeking developers to explore accepting payments

Interested in accepting payments on Facebook? Email jmorgenstern@facebook.com with the subject "Payments on Facebook" to become part of a beta group of developers to discuss payments on Facebook. An NDA will be required prior to any subsequent participation. You’ll be among the first informed for anything payments-related on Facebook, including opportunities to participate in any related beta launches.

Thanks!

Technorati Tags: paypal, facebook, facebook payments

Try out the Lending Library

You can now visit the Lending Library without a Facebook account:

http://www.ourlendinglibrary.com

Please share the URL with your friends.

Technorati Tags: lending library, tool library, community, facebook

Verizon's Wireless Broadband UM150 is Free in December

I've been using Verizon's USB UM150 WiFi device for a few weeks now and it works great. I have unlimited DSL-speed Internet anywhere I go. With a two year service agreement, the device is free right now. Similar to these devices: Verizon Wireless USB720 EVDO Rev A USB Modem. I am very satisfied with the speed and reliability of the service.

Technorati Tags: sprint, um150, verizon wireless, verizon, wifi, wireless, wireless broadband

Using OpenID to Improve Web Usability and Security

If you’re tired of creating a password each time you register at a new Web site, you might be surprised to learn that there is a free public technology called OpenID that will eventually eliminate this requirement. Yet, web sites have been slow to support OpenID as a result of turf wars by titans such as Google, Yahoo! and Microsoft. This may be changing.

Last week, a number of leading technology companies, including Microsoft and Yahoo!, endorsed the use of OpenID as a way for consumers to more easily login to many Web sites without having to create new passwords at every site.

When hackers broke into Convio Inc. and stole email addresses and passwords from 92 charities last month (Hackers Cracked Charities’ Addresses and Passwords, The New York Times 11/27/07), they potentially gained access to the private email accounts of thousands of donors. Once a hacker can access an email account, they can find old registration emails that contain passwords or use the forgot my password feature on many Web sites to gain access to other accounts, including online bank accounts.

Most consumers don’t realize that each time they register at a Website, it’s up to the individual Web site operator to properly protect the security of their password. Not all do. If a Web site fails to properly encrypt your password in their database, nefarious employees and hackers can access your private data. Since most of us reuse passwords at a number of Web sites, hackers that break into one system can potentially access our data at a number of other Web sites.

Even when Websites take basic precautions, hackers that gain access can decipher encrypted passwords using other methods. Recently, researchers cracked user passwords by searching Google for the resulting encryption code generated by an algorithm commonly used by many Web sites. Passwords made up of names, common dictionary words and numbers are especially vulnerable to this technique.

With OpenID, the user creates an account and password at a site they trust, e.g. Yahoo! When the user logs into another site with their OpenID account, that Web site verifies the users identity with Yahoo! without using your password. If a hacker breaks into a Web site you use, they can obtain your OpenID username but never your password.

Technorati Tags: openid, convio, firefox, hackers, microsoft, mozilla corporation

Whistler Ticket Prices Rising Faster Than They Can Update Their Website

Whistler's a winter wonderland right now with snow down to the base. That said, day ticket prices are scheduled to go up to $83 CDN per day (plus tax) for adults next week. Early season is $77 CDN per day.

Apparently, the great snow must have convinced them to increase rates beyond that currently listed on the Web site:

Technorati Tags: whistler, ticket prices

Idealog Surpasses 1 Million Page Views

I take Web stats with a grain of salt, but TypePad reports Idealog has surpassed 1 meeeeeeellion page views. Thanks for dropping by. It's a nice milestone.

Technorati Tags: idealog

Writers' Strike Means Baby Boom

I suspect we'll see a baby boom next Sept/Oct as a result of this year's writers' strike. TV-addicted Americans with no Daily Show, no Late Night, no Tonight Show are bound to do something. While some are apparently watching Nightline, I think expecting a more informed electorate might be too much to hope for.

To refer to these oncoming newborns, Jon coined the phrase Test pattern babies... a tip of the hat to the old test patterns that appeared (before infomercials) when nothing else was on.

Technorati Tags: writers strike, baby boom

Facebook Opens Third Party Applications to Public Web

Last week, Facebook quietly removed the sign in restrictions that previously hid third party applications from the public Web. In other words, Facebook now allows its applications to be viewable on the Web by anonymous visitors and indexable by search engines. Until now, if someone visited the URL of a Facebook application, they were asked to log in or sign up before they could see any pages of the application. Now, the application developer can allow some or all parts of the application to be viewable from anonymous Web users before deciding whether they wish to sign in or register with Facebook. This is a significant change and was not widely reported.

Essentially, Web developers now have the choice of building an application using Facebook's platform that can be used by anyone on the Internet - not just Facebook members. In doing so, developers can leverage Facebook's login and registration as well its other platform services, which are becoming more and more substantial.

Here's how it works: If a user who happens to have a Facebook account visits your Web site and wants to register, you allow them to do this through Facebook. If a user who already has a Facebook account wishes to use your application, they can just sign in with their existing account. If people email links to or blog about your Web site, the links will actually work for anonymous Web users rather than show a Facebook sign up page.

You can see this at work in the Lending Library application. The home page, browse and search, detail and about pages are open to the public. If a Web user wishes to use a feature that requires registration, they are redirected to the Facebook sign up process.

Technorati Tags: authentication, facebook, facebook applications

Kittens for Adoption in Seattle

If you're interested in one of these five cute critters, they will be available to fantastic homes in the coming weeks. Drop me a note and I'll direct you to the foster mom. See more photos on Flickr.

Technorati Tags: animals, cute, kittens, pets