Net neutrality for mobile applications; The NFL’s absurd new video policy; Browser Wars 2.0: Revenge of the Fruit; Billboards that know you’re watching them

Spectrum Warriors of the Digital Infrastructure
“This year the Federal Communications Commission will auction off another chunk of wireless spectrum; the U.S. Senate will hold hearings on the plans for the sale this week. Now a band of technology veterans and wireless entrepreneurs is asking the FCC to set aside a chunk of that spectrum as a kind of sandbox for entrepreneurs.” This is basically Net Neutrality for mobile.

Apple Reignites the Browser Wars
“On June 11, Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs stepped up his assault on [Microsoft]. … Jobs, clad in his traditional uniform of black turtleneck and jeans, announced new versions of Apple’s Safari Web browser for the ubiquitous Windows operating system.”

Google’s PowerPoint viewer goes live
“Gmail users who get Microsoft PowerPoint attachments in their in-boxes can now view them without having PowerPoint installed on their machines.”

Internet bringing back the dignity of video storytelling
“If documentaries are hard to get shown in theaters and on TV, imagine the obstacles faced by serious shorts. But now, in the online archives of U.S. papers are thousands of videos, among them dozens of exceptional short docs, more like miniature Frontlines or public-radio-with-pictures than like network-news segments, available anytime. This is video-journalism-on-demand years ahead of digital television …”

Eye-Tracking Device Lets Billboards Know When You Look at Them
Ok, this just really creeps me out.

Online video shows absurdity of NFL policy
“Great work by the Houston Chronicle’s John McClain, who interviewed some Houston Texan football players and put together this video that shows just how silly the NFL’s draconian rules about online video use really are.”

A Brief Interview with Jason Calacanis of Mahalo
Introducing a new ‘human-powered search index’ from Jason Calacanis

Doing Local Right
Great presentation on doing local news right.

Trulia Hindsight – Maps of Properties Through Time
This is really beautiful. (Or depressing, if you watch Detroit.)

Defense Contractors Reap Windfall in 2005 Earmarks
So Boeing made a 4,352% payback on it’s lobbying and campaign contributions? Yeesh. I feel sick. Sunlight Foundation, you are awesome.

How much does 48TB really cost
Yeesh… only 88 hours of 1080P video storage for $66,300?

Etsy: A Site for Artisans Takes Off
“Etsy is actually making money. Just a few days shy of its second anniversary, the site has grown to a community of more than 250,000 registered members and 50,000 sellers, and is expanding daily. By the fall, the team expects Etsy to be completely in the black.” Shameless plug: Support your local artists and craftsmen / craftswomen, like my homie Cyd!

No Ads in Embedded YouTube Player (Yet…)
“YouTube is developing its video-fingerprinting technology, to ’spot television shows and films posted by consumers without the content owners’ permission, so the sites can remove them or share advertising revenue.’”

HD DVD sales spike in wake of price cuts
HD vs. Blu-Ray battle ending finally?

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“…just felt like a good thing at the time” — Tim Berners-Lee, apologizing for the use of double slashes in web addresses

Yahoo! omg
omg is right. Yahoo! continues building niche content sites. Something newspapers need to seriously consider (hopefully not celeb gossip though… although it’d definitely get traffic.)

J-Lab: Knight-Batten Awards
TODAY’S THE LAST DAY TO ENTER!

MySpace IM launches
I thought this would have come a lot earlier, given their core demographic.

Yahoo! Food
Yahoo Food is quite awesome in it’s use of tagging. I love how they tag by taste “Buttery,” “Cheesey,” “Chocolately” for when you’re in the mood. This is a sleeper site that’s doing awesome stuff.

“Interactivity: an open sewer through your newspaper website”
“What does it mean when you don’t have the resources to verify, to select or to think? It can mean that you can be [only] as reliable as the next blogger. But if you want to think, if you want to take your time, you will be perceived as being as slow as the postman. The amazing worldwide web, what does it mean to your little paper? It can mean you are hosting a clash of civilisations and because of linking the beheading of a hostage or some child-porn may only be one click away.“