Jeremy Hermanns dot org

How the social constructs of “if then” rewards sometimes don’t work | the disparity between Scientific thinking and Business thinking…

Read original post here at Andy Liu’s blog – Inspired Startup

Jason Calacanis went on an epic rant directed to Apple fanboys on Episode 12 of his web series This Week in Startups. Like one of the Ustream founders said: “It was a good rant.”

Check http://www.thisweekinstartups.com

Inventor Dean Kamen previews the prosthetic arm he’s developing at the request of the US Department of Defense. His quiet commitment to using technology to solve problems — while honoring the human spirit — has never been more clear.

This is an incredible technical achievement, but an important point is being lost in the noise of celebration: DARPA isn’t funding prosthetics research out of altruism.

Too much of the world lacks access to clean drinking water. Engineer Michael Pritchard did something about it — inventing the portable Lifesaver filter, which can make the most revolting water drinkable in seconds. An amazing demo from TEDGlobal 2009.

With cutting-edge nanotech, Michael Pritchard’s Lifesaver water-purification bottle could revolutionize water-delivery systems in disaster-stricken areas around the globe.

Right about now, Apple probably wishes it had never rejected Google Voice and related apps from the iPhone. Or maybe it was AT&T who rejected the apps. Nobody really knows. But the FCC launched an investigation last night to find out, sending letters to all three companies (Apple, AT&T, and Google) asking them to explain exactly what happened.

On its face, it might seem odd to some people that the FCC is investigating the rejection of a single iPhone app. After all, iPhone apps are rejected every day. But the Google Voice rejection caused an unusual amount of uproar, and there is nothing like a high-profile case to make an example out of in pursuit of pushing a bigger policy agenda. The FCC investigation is not just about the arbitrary rejection of a single app. It is the FCC’s way of putting a stake in the ground for making the wireless networks controlled by cell phone carriers as open as the Internet.

Why The FCC Wants To Smash Open The iPhone – washingtonpost.com

I’ve used Twitter more and more over the past few months, and have fully embraced it’s ability to help me communicate to the masses. Recently I was using a custom Hi-Res Twitter image from a Satellite at night, which is fun – but lacks any substance or branding. I spent the last few days crafting a new custom Twitter background that helps me speak about my activities and projects with the masses better! I’ve included a sidebar on the left with my sites, and short projects list – check it out below:









Honestly, it’s very simple – just follow these 5 crucial things when building your custom Twitter background and you’ll have it done in no time:

#1 – Ensure that you allow proper padding for any graphics placed to the left of the main content area (aka: “left sidebar”) because the content area shifts left and right depending on the browser’s window size (about 150 pix wide recommended).
#2 – Logically a bigger computer screens will cover up graphics placed to the right side of the sidebar – and naturally shift content accordingly.
#3 – Small font/images/text will become pixelated depending on the output quality of your image. This is why it is very important to follow step #4…
#4 – Make your template/image 1920×1200 pixels in size. This will be the most compatible with the masses computer screens. But, don’t feel constrained – your welcome to change the template size to whatever you like!
#5 – Always respect the copyrights of photographers and designers; when in doubt ask permission before using and anyone’s photos or designs unmodified. I honestly feel that emulation, is the best form of flattery!

Cheers,
Jeremy
Jeremy Hermanns Twitter / Home – Click Here!

At the 25th Chaos Communication Congress CCC today, researchers will reveal how they utilized a collision attack against the MD5 algorithm to create a rogue certificate authority. This is pretty big news, so read on.

When you make a secured connection to a website via HTTPS, a public key certificate is sent from the server to your computer. This certificate contains a digital signature which your computer uses to verify the identify of the site to which you’re connecting. Certificates are “signed” by a Certificate Authority CA, which acts as a kind of middle-man: you trust the CA, so you can trust the certificates signed by the CA. Anyone can create a certificate authority, though, so most browsers have a list of known reputable and trustworthy CAs. When your computer gets a certificate from a server, your browser checks the CA that issued it to determine whether the CA is trustworthy. If the CA is trustworthy, your browser assumes that the certificate being presented is trustworthy.

MD5 collision creates rogue Certificate Authority

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Apple could buy Dell with cash – Apple 2.0
Here’s an interesting corporate milestone: When the markets closed on Wednesday, Dell DELL was trading at $11.98 share, with 1.96 billion shares outstanding. That puts Dell’s market capitalization at $23.5 billion.

Meanwhile on Tuesday, Steve Jobs reported that Apple AAPL ended fiscal year 2008 with $24.5 billion in the bank.

In other words, Apple could buy Dell with the cash it has on hand and still have more than $1 billion left over. Or rather $10 billion, if you count, as reader Joe Goodart does, the $9 billion Dell has in the bank.

Hard to believe that it’s been only 11 years since Michael Dell, asked what he would do if he were Apple’s CEO, answered:

“What would I do? I’d shut it down and give the money back to the shareholders.” link

For the record, Apple’s market cap today stands at $85.8 billion.

Don’t cry for Michael Dell, however. According to a list of the 400 wealthiest Americans published last month, his net worth is still more than three times Steve Jobs’.

Michael Dell: $17.3 billion
Steve Jobs: $5.7 billion

I just wanted to let readers know that SEOintelligence (our entry into the SEO tools category) was recently featured on KillerStartups™. I am very excited to get the “KillerStartup” badge of recognition, but honestly we’re only halfway to the finish line with the toolset. SEOi has turned from a “pet project” into a full blown SaaS business model with teeth – and we’re really only touching the tip of the iceberg in regards to usability and customer value (which is a GREAT place to be as a app developer).

Many of you know Kyle (my Partner) and I have been hard at work on the v1.0 release and finally getting out of “beta” mode – we are also trying to take into account ALL the customer feedback to date to make SEOintelligence the BEST SEO toolset available online (shout out to to all our loyal users – thank you!).

Now please take 10 seconds and go over to KillerStartups and Vote SEOintelligence to the Top!

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