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Thursday, June 27, 2002 |
OS X software updates of note
The following updates are noted on Macupdate today:
8:44:26 PM 
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Checking out WeatherPop Advance 1.1
I am taking a look at the WeatherPop Advance 1.1 program from Glucose Development Corp. The program adds a weather icon to your menu bar under OS X that when clicked offers a drop-down menu with current weather information and forecasts for the next four days, based on your zip code. There is a 14-day demo of the program available, and the shareware fee is just $8...
12:37:12 PM
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Photo Explorer 2.0 released
Photo Explorer 2.0 is a photo management application that is pitched as the next step up from iPhoto 1.1.1. The application costs $24.95.
9:31:18 AM
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Will Worldcom collapse threaten the Net?
A commentary on NPR this morning by Reed Hunt, former head of the FCC under the Clinton Administration (I think...), points out that more than 70 percent of Internet traffic passes through pipes owned and managed by Worldcom at some point on its route across the Net. Is that Internet traffic in trouble if Worldcom crumbles? Should the federal government get to work now to ensure that the Net stays up and the email goes through? That is what Hunt was arguing...
9:03:18 AM
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iCab 2.8.1 brings bug fixes, better Java
A small update to the iCab X 2.8.1 Web browser fixes a few bugs and brings HTTPS access support to users working behind a firewall. The release is also supposed to improve Java support under OS X. For more information, check the iCab news page...
8:26:08 AM
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Watching the Salon train wreck
The Kuro5hin site takes a look at Salon living on borrowed time today:
According to Salon Media Group's annual report and a just released auditor's report, there is "substantial doubt" about its ability to continue as a going concern. Salon has been charging for premium content, but it wasn't enough to offset a loss of $11.3 million or make a dent in the accumulated debt of $76.6 million.
This is a sad story on many levels, but one that really bothers me is that the eventual collapse of Salon will be seen by many as proof that it is not possible to run a successful Internet media company, and more specifically that charging for premium content doesn't work. After all, Salon has talented writers and engaging content, and it didn't make it.
The problem with Salon is that, even as the Internet economy collapsed around it, it seems from my vantage point that it continued to be run like a successful magazine. It doesn't seem to me that Salon has been nimble enough to reshuffle and re-create itself to fit the reality of the Internet. And the move to paid content never had a chance. Like so many other companies, Salon has been giving away everything before realizing that they couldn't live off investor funds forever, and when you are giving away that kind of quality content for that long, and then you ask people to politely pay for it - it isn't going to happen.
If Salon collapses it should teach some more lessons, especially about charging for premium content. Mainly, people will pay for valued content. Some Internet sites do make money by serving a narrow niche and covering the snot out of it. But people don't seem ready to pay a blanket fee for accessing general interest stories. Hell, I don't pay for Salon access...I don't have the time to read it thoroughly and make my subscription worthwhile. Now, if they charged a small fee for reading a particular article, I would do that...
8:18:36 AM
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© Copyright 2002 Rob McNair-Huff.
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