Bambi Francisco

Why do we need record labels?

GarageBand.com CEO says 150,000 artists have put their songs up on the site.  Their songs are ranked by fellow musicians. With podcasting, GarageBand.com hopes the independent songs that many of his users are creating will hit the consumer market.  If the cost of producing and distributing music has declined dramatically, why does anyone need a record label? Ali says budding musicians still need record labels to promote the best artists. 

Watch my interview with Partovi

Online Poker

What's behind the online poker fascination?

Online Poker TV package on CBS MarketWatch Weekend

 

Who's serving up your ads?

As I stepped ashore on the island of Cozumel last year after a pleasant few days aboard a cruise ship, I was accosted by solicitors offering scuba-diving tours before I could get 50 feet away from the ship. One after the other, they invaded my space. I thought: "Ugh! Live pop-ups!" That happened once. But on a computer, the digital equivalents of pesky sporting tours or timeshare touts haunt us every minute of each day.

The way they get on our computer is through adware, which is on an estimated nine out of 10 computers. The definition is fluid, but, broadly speaking, adware is software that's mysteriously installed on computers without user consent. It can track user activity and serve up advertisements related to that activity. It's typically bundled with applications, like screensavers, or music file-sharing applications or when people mistype URLs.

NY Attorney General Eliot Spitzer is looking into the adware industry. His office sued Intermix last week. But they tell me that it's just the start. Many advertising networks use distributors who use adware to deliver their ads. They may not know, however. Ask Jeeves dropped a distribution partner on Monday after I showed them a video clip of Ben Edelman (spyware sleuth) getting an AJ application on his computer without asking for it. 

Read my column on MarketWatch