LinkedIn for business...

...This has to be my favourite quote of the day:
"LinkedIn is quite clear on one thing: they don’t want Facebook-style donut-throwing time wasters;" says Mashable . As LinkedIn is developing a business API they don't want to be squatted by vampires. Here at Fortune Cookie we are very optimistic at the moment in spite of all the early Christmas sales and the financial doom and gloom. The internet is going mobile and in a period of transition those who are serious and professional should survive and thrive. The shine has gone off Facebook for many reasons and we welcome LinkedIn's attempt to target a more businesslike audience. This app should also be cool for job hunting and finding people to work with on your projects.

My first iMac...

My iMac's new home at Rebeka's house..., originally uploaded by Leighton Cooke.

...and some coffee from paradise. This little baby is still working fine and is now used by the children. I still like to connect the keyboard to my MacBook and sit on the balcony in the evening.

iPhone brings Apple and Google closer together...

...as the Google Interface is optimized for the iPhone. Google says, "the iPhone's Safari browser not only delivers an excellent mobile Internet experience; it enabled our product and engineering teams to create an optimal Google experience on a mobile device." So Gmail, Google Reader and other services will be available on a single interface. Instead of Android being a competitor to the iPhone the two companies seem to be moving together to exploit the opportunities available in the mobile internet. This makes sense as Android's Linux and the iPhone's UNIX based OS are similar enough to enable developers to create apps for both platforms without too many difficulties. Then a 3G iPhone would really make sense. In the long run Apple will have to open up more in the mobile market where the rules are different. The two companies have much to offer each other.

Block Facebook Beacon...

...by enabling this Firefox plug-in. As more news comes out about how Facebook Beacon follows you around and collects data from other websites you visit perhaps it's time to think twice about clicking the "Remember me" button and to disable cookies on a regular basis. This is one Cookie that's getting tired and bored of Facebook. Hang on I just need to throw this sheep and bite that vampire. I'll be right back. Leighton is drinking green tea and eating chocolate (at this time of night too!) and the tea is organic. The chocolate is left over from my son's birthday and I've been listening to some classical music, and...ah! Get a life!
Update December 6: Mark Zuckerberg has now apologized for the way in which Beacon was launched and there is now a complete opt out option according to Macworld:
"Still, Zuckerberg's blog posting doesn't directly address the findings of a CA security researcher that have fueled the privacy controversy over Beacon in recent days.
Stefan Berteau found that Beacon tracks users even if they are logged off from the social-networking site and have declined having their activities broadcast to friends.
In this case, users aren't informed that data on their activities at these sites is flowing back to Facebook or given the option to block that information from being transmitted, according to Berteau, senior research engineer at CA's Threat Research Group."

Vodafone loses iPhone case in Germany...

...as a Hamburg court yesterday turned over its own ruling on T-Mobile's exclusive deal with Apple. The new ruling seems to mean the end of unlocked iPhone sales in Germany, leaving France the only country where an unlocked iPhone is legally available. So far 20% of all iPhone sales in France have been of unlocked phones, say Orange.

Broadband digital divide...

...It's getting bigger. The digital divide between broadband services in cities and towns and the countryside is getting larger says the BBC today. I know this to be true from talking to some farmers recently. They were complaining about their poor internet connection and how it was directly affecting their business. Farmers who wish to get into direct marketing of their produce need a good internet connection. Part of the Raluy permaculture project in Spain is dedicated to looking into finding a solution for the digital divide by using WiMAX which avoids the need to use prohibitively expensive cable connectivity.
Wimax stands for Worldwide Interoperablity for Microwave Access. It is based on the IEE 802.16 standard, also known as WirelessMAN.
It can provide wireless data over much longer distances than wifi.
In countries with good fixed line infrastructure, WiMAX acts as a filler but in some developing countries is can be the dominant infrastructure for broadband access. Countries such as Pakistan are planning nationwide WiMAX rollouts.
WiMAX can deliver speeds of up to 70Mbps and operate over distances of up to 50km, although not concurrently.
WiMAX Forum
WiMAX has the potential to be a cost effective means for rural communities to get a fast broadband internet connection and could play an important part in rural development.

iPhone magic...

...this iPhone even makes coffee and you can use it as a shaver.

All we want for Christmas is an iPhone...

...so do we head for Paris or Berlin? How about starting a campaign to persuade a UK mobile provider to offer a discount on a deal on an unlocked iPhone just like Debitel are doing in Germany. You get 600 euros cashback when you sign up with them, which means you end up getting an unlocked iPhone for 399 euros. Or should we wait till next Christmas and get a 3G iPhone with much faster internet connectivity? I'm inclined to wait as I think that faster internet will help to make this an amazing piece of kit. PC World The only downside could be battery life so we shall have to wait and see how Apple solve that problem.

Cookiepedia...conspiracy theories...

...started shortly after 911 BC when Julius Caesar was murdered by the Illuminati. A secret society based inside the tomb of Tutankhamun took over the world and invented the Republican party. This annoyed the Roman emperor who invented the bible to convince everyone that they had to give everything to Caesar, who by then had been reborn as the Roman emperor. When this scam no longer worked the Emperor wrote his name with a capital letter and invented the Catholic Church so he could have a regular supply of choir boys. In 911 AD he changed his name to the Pope and claimed he knew God's telephone number. When the Templars found God's email address the Pope had them all burnt at the stake. Meanwhile Leonardo da Vinci painted a picture of the pope in drag and sold it to the Louvre for 1789 euros and they renamed the pope Mona Lisa and got Nat King Cole to sing a song about him. When Nelson defeated Napoleon at Waterloo Station in a game of poker he would have brought the Mona Lisa to London but it went down with the Titanic at the Battle of Trafalgar. So the secret Da Vinci code was lost till Turing cracked Enigma during the Battle of Britain thus allowing the Freemasons to go on tour with Glenn Miller. They also went on to go on tour with John F. Kennedy, Marylin Munroe, Martin Luther King and John Lennon, all of whom died mysterious deaths shortly afterwards. The pope then changed his name to Bush and went on to win the Florida recount for Miss Drag Queen, 9/11 2001. Since then the world has been run by a supercomputer called Blow Jobs and everything you experience is just an illusion created by the mice.

iPhone latest prices...

...749 euros unlocked in Paris, France or with a 600 euro rebate from Debitel in Germany when you by the unlocked iPhone from T-Mobile for 999 euros. The Debitel contract is for 40 euros per month.
Update: You may want to wait for the 3G iPhone rumoured to be coming out next year.

Cookiepedia...the internet...

...The internet was invented by Al Gore, Made in China and is run by the Pentagon in the US and by the CIA in the rest of the world. It is mostly used for watching porn, selling stuff and throwing sheep at your friends on Facebook. The internet has a zero privacy policy. It is highly addictive and requires large amounts of coffee to be understood.

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WWW should not be confused with the internet. WWW stands for World War Won and was a secret group of Nazi scientists working for Al Gore to create viruses that would destroy the internet. WWW was sold to Google in 1984. To use the internet you need to be under 16 and fluent in HTML, which is short for Hotmail, and is used for spreading viruses. On no account open a hotmail as it can cause impotence and brain drain. The internet is housed in a building called Web 2.0 which stands on a paradigm shift that is expected to cause a tsunami soon.

Cookipedia...coffee...

Breakfast...
Originally uploaded by Leighton Cooke

...the sacred ritual sacrament of offices, breakfast and insomnia Coffea arabica, known originally as the wine of the bean, owes its origins to the observation of particularly vital goats. Coffee became widely accepted after it was baptized by Pope Clement VIII in 1600. Also known as latte or espresso, coffee is the cure for all known forms of mental derangement and is an excellent substitute for breakfast. The reason why you are reading this is because British supermarkets have a habit of numbering coffee strength. So I decided to use up the rest of my French blend (strength 5) in my coffee pot. The remains turned out to be double the usual dose, which as you all know is much better than being half the usual dose, and the resulting brew is the mother of all black coffees. Now I know why the Sufi drank it to prevent sleep.
Status update: Leighton is wide awake.
Leighton and the Yemenite Sufi mystic Shaikh ash-Shadhili, observer of vital goats while traveling in Ethiopia, are now friends.
Leighton and the vital goat are now friends.

Cookiepedia...online banking...

...is readily available in Siberia at the phishing branch of most High Street banks for as little as $75. You will need two CD copies of the ID of 25 million people to set up your own branch or you can get details from a Russian-registered vendor "offering UK and US bank logins with 'good price and service!'" At some time of course you will need Money for online banking.
(Cookie's First Law: For most things you need money.)
(Cookie's Second Law: For most things Richard Branson always has money.)
(Cookie's Third Law: Try buying Branson's ID in Siberia.)
Money has been known to work as an aphrodisiac, especially in the part of Amsterdam to the left of the Damrak as you come from Centraal Station. It can also be exchanged for drugs, alcohol, coffee and chocolate. For these pleasures offline banking, or even better, hard cash is recommended. Hard cash is the kind that can be exchanged for drugs...etc.
Online banking, like blogging, has its health hazards but is very handy if you want to buy sexy underwear on eBay.

Melinda has rhythm...

...and soul. Tony Bennett is right. Melinda Doolittle is a great singer and she sure made my day as I discovered her for the first time this evening. What a voice as she puts real feeling and power into her music.

Amsterdam Photoblog...goes live...

...with lots of friends online. Based on the concept of the Barcelona Photoblog the Amsterdam Photoblog will be a unique insider view of this amazing city, with lots of cool links to the inside track of all the latest in Mokum.

Cookiepedia...Amsterdam...

...Considered by many to be a figment of the imagination especially this week as this lovely Thanksgiving website that looks like a Christmas tree shows. A residential home for old hippies, the City of Amsterdam is in fact a theme park that is far more fun than the one run by a certain mouse in Florida and Paris. Also the home of the famous Cookie mouse, Amsterdam has more mice per square mile than anywhere on earth. A mecca for dreamers, metrosexuals and those who have difficulty in speaking Dutch, Mokum is also famous for bicycles and bicycle thieves. It is the only city on earth where a pickpocket will steal your pocketbook and your bicycle and then offer to sell it back to you for 10 euros on the Koningsplein. Spinoza came from Amsterdam but got thrown out for proving that God is everywhere and doesn't give a damm. (Or was that a dam!) Anne Frank kept a diary in Amsterdam which is why the Prinsengracht near the Westerkerk is always so crowded and should be avoided at all costs if you are in a hurry. The cheapest organic beer in Amsterdam is available on the Overtoom in OT 301. Cannabis is available everywhere so please buy plenty of chocolate. Coffee is the Dutch business drug of choice and also goes very well with chocolate. As the euro is going up we recommend you should visit Amsterdam now or never if you are on a budget.

Cookiepedia...Privacy...relevance 100 per cent...

..."Privacy is the ability of an individual or group to control the flow of information about themselves and thereby reveal themselves selectively." says the good old Wikipedia. It's not been a good week for privacy as the personal details of millions of British citizens and their children go missing. Join a social network on the internet and you agree that they can and will collect data about you to "enhance your user experience." They will also collect data about you from third parties and broadcast your shopping habits to all and sundry. I was actually wondering whether I should post copies of my bank statements on my blog just to prove that I've nothing to hide, which in my case would quite literally be the case. Where will this all end? Is it perhaps not time to go offline and live an analogue life? Well the government has put pay to that illusion. You can't even claim child benefit without living in fear of your private details going lost. As Privacy International says, "criminals need to have only a basic level of information about an individual. They can then use resources such as public records or the Internet to fill in gaps. Social engineering tactics such as impersonation will then ensure that they can take over a person’s identity.”
“NI numbers, address data, date of birth and bank details are more than enough to nourish even the most incompetent criminal.”
There must surely be a growing mistrust of all kinds of electronic data storage and the uses, or rather misuses, to which it is being put. What about data protection? The very concept seems to be an illusion. Fast forward in time...The Gruaniad November 2017...Privacy shock as copy of entire national identity database is lost when junior civil servant loses mobile phone at Thanksgiving party in Amsterdam (known over there as the Cannabis Cup). When questioned by police the official said he had forgotten to send the details of the register to the National Audit Office before popping over for a naughty weekend in Dam. Far fetched? Remember that the records and bank details of 25 million people were on just two CDs! Recently I've had loads of spam claiming to be from banks with whom I never opened an account. I even get spam on Skype! Every day we lose a little bit more of our privacy one way or another and the increasing use of public and private partnerships means less, not more, security and protection of our data. A government that is so incompetent is not fit to govern.

Get your iPhone in Germany...

...where as the result of a court injunction in Hamburg, after an action brought by Vodafone, T-Mobile is to sell unlocked iPhones for 999 euros. It will also now be possible to get the SIM lock removed if you already bought an iPhone from T-Mobile in Germany.

What a little darling!...

...as the Revenue & Customs loses personal details of 25m people and its chairman Paul Gray resigns, how secure would our personal data on a national ID register be? The information lost includes names, dates of birth, national insurance numbers and in some cases the bank details of those claiming child benefit. So when the government starts collecting your travel information when you enter or leave the country how do you know that the information collected will be secure? Campaign group Action on Rights for Children (Arch) warned that children could have been put in danger. "It's a simple and vital precaution which any self-respecting government agency should be practicing," its director, Terri Dowty, said.

"This appalling security lapse has placed children in the UK in immediate danger especially those who are already vulnerable.

"Child benefit records contain every child's address and date of birth. We are not surprised that the chair of HMRC's board has resigned immediately."

No more dollars at the Taj Mahal...

...as India decides only rupees will do to visit the Mughal's jewel in the crown. In a word it's over for the dollar. The only question to be answered is will there be an orderly queue at the exit or a stampede. We are of course talking about Gresham's law "When there is a legal tender currency, bad money drives good money out of circulation." Or, more accurately, "Money overvalued by the State will drive money undervalued by the State out of circulation." Very simple really. So it's all over for the the dollar. China will quietly and slowly buy Euros and sell dollars. That's it really. Cookienomics for dummies. Soon we will see a spot market for oil priced in Euros in Rotterdam. Till that day comes keep your powder dry and hang onto your hats. There will be a bumpy ride ahead. Without a revaluation of China's Renminbi the country is facing fierce inflation. The only way out is to convert their foreign reserves into Euros and, as Japan did before, revalue their currency. So, bye, bye dollar, it was nice knowing you.