• Doc Searls Weblog · We’re gonna need a bigger boat
  in other words, screen that ships without a mouse, ships broken (clay shirky)
  (tags: docsearls TV web shirky interactive consumer)
• Open-source software in the recession: Born free | The Economist
  a rather mediocre article on open source by the economist. The Open Cloud Manifesto seems a corporate effort and the real cloud is still the internet and not a proprietary attempt to lock data.
  (tags: opensource economist free data cloudcomputing)
• Managing Information and Dealing with Information Overload
  videos like this make us dumber
  (tags: information xerox funny video overload)

• ongoing · Where To Write?
  (tags: no_tag)
• isen.blog: Broadband without Internet ain't worth squat
  Annotated link http://www.diigo.com/bookmark/http%3A%2F%2Fisen.com%2Fblog%2F2009%2F04%2Fbroadband-without-internet-ain-worth.html
  (tags: no_tag)

• Copyright Information
  patronising to the extreme – didn't know they made them this way still!
  (tags: copyright video law)
• twopointouch | Surrender! Foucault and Twitter
  something about this 'analysis' just doesn't feel right. not sure what but it would start with describing porn and puerile humour as tools of capitalism. it also confuses my actions in deselecting friends and managing my online environment with some kind of social control and devious exercise of subtle social pressures as punishment for 'transgressions'. Not so. I also get the feeling that the author's idea of social media – that is being so compromised – doesn't contain much room for individual autonomy either. The web is going the wrong way for that, but not because we all do the social thing in the open. it's the closed platforms that's taken over the web and that's worth fighting. But renaissance of socialism? I'll take to the barricades against that!!!
  (tags: capitalism panopticon prison social socialmedia punishment socialism)

• Is State Control Making a Comeback?
  well, so nationalisation or socialism is not on the horizon, according to Lord Turnbull, however, free market this ain't either. Annotated link http://www.diigo.com/bookmark/http%3A%2F%2Fwww.strategy-business.com%2Fli%2Fleadingideas%2Fli00122%3Fpg%3Dall
  (tags: state government regulation free_market financial banking)

• Blackmail fears over stolen RAF data files – Telegraph
  (tags: raf blackmail data security government)

• Fuck the foundries [dive into mark]
  Fantastic! Annotated link http://www.diigo.com/bookmark/http%3A%2F%2Fdiveintomark.org%2Farchives%2F2009%2F04%2F21%2Ffuck-the-foundries
  (tags: font DRM open opensource professional web design)

Every time I write about the impossibility of effectively protecting digital files on a general-purpose computer, I get responses from people decrying the death of copyright. “How will authors and artists get paid for their work?” they ask me. Truth be told, I don’t know. I feel rather like the physicist who just explained relativity to a group of would-be interstellar travelers, only to be asked: “How do you expect us to get to the stars, then?” I’m sorry, but I don’t know that, either.
- Bruce Schneier in Protecting Copyright in the Digital World

• Maureen Dowd Admits Inadvertently Lifting Line From TPM's Josh Marshall
  and how exactly do you match your 'point' suggested by a 'friend' word by word in marshall's paragraph? Maureen Dowd can't even own up she lifted it verbatim. Unbelievable.
  (tags: plagiarism blogging stupid)
• The myth of the parasitical bloggers – Glenn Greenwald – Salon.com
  wow, a decent journo who is willing to apologise and admits his error. Makes such a huge difference!
  (tags: parasitical journalism media blogging)
• The myth of the parasitical bloggers – Glenn Greenwald – Salon.com
  (tags: parasitical media blogging)
• CIRCUS foundation » One Click Organisations
  (tags: legal organisation foundation FOSS)

• http://www.conservatives.com/expenses/expensesPopup.html
  hm, wonder if too much info makes for a meaningful perspective but once the data is out, it can be processed and analysed to offer such.
  (tags: politics expenses online transparency)
• Guatemala: In YouTube Video Shot Before His Death, Attorney Blames President for His Assasination – Boing Boing
  (tags: murder guatemala youtube internet distribution amazing)

• Caterina.net: Hunch!
  tested hunch with asking for which lumix camera to buy. learnt about more options, rather than making decision easier but that's to be expected. will continue to try it
  (tags: hunch VRM questions camera lumix applications)
• Apple MagSafe Airline Adapter – Apple Store (U.K.)
  need to get as virgin not capable of adding this to their list of available laptop airline adapters. big FAIL on their part.
  (tags: apple macbook gadgets virgin)
• Fun with brands – Jane’s Brand-timeline Portrait « Dear Jane Sample
  (tags: brand funny logos advertising)
• Digital Domain – Just Browsing? A Web Store May Follow You Out the Door – NYTimes.com
  Annotated link http://www.diigo.com/bookmark/http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2009%2F05%2F17%2Fbusiness%2F17digi.html
  (tags: shopping online marketing privacy data metrics)

A couple of weeks ago I signed up for Aroxo, which is a new site for matching buyers and sellers. One description says it’s like eBay but for both, the seller and the buyer. I liked the sound of that so I tested it by creating a request for a camera – an upgrade of my existing one – Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX40.

I set the price at lower than best retail price as found at Google because I wanted to a) test the system and b) was prepared to settle for less than perfect packaging etc. A few days later I got an ‘offer’.

I was suprised to see that Aroxo thought £209 plus p&p was a match to my £170. Fair enough, as I can negotiate the offer, and so in preparation I googled the camera and found out that £209 plus p&p is nowhere near the lowest price around, let alone an offer I can’t refuse. What I didn’t expect to find is that the seller made an offer on Aroxo that was higher than the price offered on their site!

So I contacted the seller:

Date: 18/05/2009
Subject: Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX40

I guess, thank you for your response though puzzled about something. UK Digital’s price (which seems to be you judging from your email: sales@ukdigitalcameras.co.uk) price on their site is £205. So why is your ‘offer’ to me higher at £209?
http://www.ukdigital.co.uk/panasonic-lumix-dmc-fx40-camera.htm

Also, FYI Amazon sells it for £204.99 free delivery.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Panasonic-Lumix-FX40-Digital-Camera/dp/B001T0H062/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1242650694&sr=8-1

More importantly, I am interested in buying the camera for well below the quoted price. I am testing Aroxo’s ability to connect me with sellers who need to move stock at discounted price and/or have unboxed cameras (but still new). I am not interested in Aroxo as another ‘marketing’ channel for sellers who offer prices higher than on their sites.

Caveat emptor is still valid. And Google is still your (shopping) friend.

UPDATE: Shortly after posting this I received a reply from the seller:

Date: 18/05/2009
Subject: Re:Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX40
Click to view Offer
Hi Adriana,

Yes we are UK Digital Cameras, (but the link you gave was to another company UK Digital). We are also at £204.99 plus delivery on our site: http://www.ukdigitalcameras.co.uk/__4_prod3_asp2_1_i4_53661_126_Panasonic_Lumix_FX40_Black8.html

The price on our website has dropped since we sent the offer – hence the difference. Feel free to send me a negotiation and see what happens!

Also – let me know if you want a quote from me about Aroxo on your blog post.

Cheers,

Andrew

So I stand corrected and kudos for willingness to engage i.e. quote for my blog post. Will negotiate and update the post if anything interesting happens.

• Why Economists Failed to Predict the Financial Crisis – Knowledge@Wharton
  Annotated link http://www.diigo.com/bookmark/http%3A%2F%2Fknowledge.wharton.upenn.edu%2Farticle.cfm%3Farticleid%3D2234
  (tags: no_tag)
• REI ATM / Loomis / Seattle Police Incident: The Cliff Notes « I Am Shane Becker
  amazing, gruesome and hopefully not over. We live in interesting times when incidents like these can get public attention beyond the imagination of those abusing power they have.
  (tags: police privacy photo ATM individual attention public)
• Digital Darwinism
  rearranging deck-chairs on the Titanic.
  (tags: media marketing advertising agency businessmodel)