Links for 11-26-2008

• Open Sources Episode 3: Why does technology hate us? | Negative Approach - CNET News - What I found most striking was that Matt and Dave appear to take it pretty much as given that the "give away all the bits and charge for support" basically doesn't work.
• Books of The Times - In ‘Outliers,’ Malcolm Gladwell, Author of ‘The Tipping Point’ and ‘Blink,’ Parses the World - Review - NYTimes.com - Gladwell's books and articles are usually enjoyable reads but there's more than a little truth in this largely critical review of Outliers, his latest.

Fish market (Tsukiji), Tokyo

Fish market (Tsukiji), Tokyo
Originally uploaded by ghaff

I recently got back from a couple of weeks in Japan. It was a business trip but I also had about a week to scoot around the country a bit. All my tagged photos from this trip are here.

eBay's Problems

eBay Traffic Plummeting (EBAY)

IMO, this comment sums it up pretty well:

"The root of these problems is that eBay is no longer a place where people can go to find inexpensive goods for sale.

It has transformed, through it's own strategy, to a marketplace of fixed price sellers. And these fixed price sellers charge as much or more than places like Amazon for the same goods. So, as a buyer, why should I wade through hundreds of amateurish listings, deal with massive gouging on shipping, and worry about getting the product from some fly-by-night seller when I can one-click it on Prime from Amazon, get guaranteed authentic goods, delivered in 2 days, with no hassle returns, from a vendor I completely trust, often for less money?"