This is a great example of individual empowerment and how the Internet can drive success…

Nick Haley took just 30 minutes to pluck the Brazilian band CSS from obscurity and hurl it into the national spotlight.

In September, Haley paired the band’s dance-pop song “Music is My Hot, Hot Sex” with his 30-second amateur video, displaying the capabilities of Apple’s new iPod Touch.

The video ends with the lyrics, “My music is where I’d like you to touch.”

“I was like, ‘This song is too perfect,’ ” said Haley, 18, by phone from the University of Leeds in England, where he studies politics. “It’s punchy, loud, fast and naughty.”

Marketers at Apple headquarters in Cupertino were so impressed with the song selection and YouTube video, they arranged for Haley to travel from England to Los Angeles, where he helped advertising executives at TBWA/Chiat/Day produce Apple’s newest iPod television commercial. [Link --->]

Interesting…German police want to trojan suspect machines in order to engage in surveillance…

German police are unable to decipher the encryption used in the internet telephone software Skype to monitor calls by suspected criminals and terrorists, Germany’s top police officer said.

Skype allows users to make telephone calls over the internet from their computer to other Skype users free of charge.

Law enforcement agencies and intelligence services have used wiretaps since the telephone was invented, but implementing them is much more complex in the modern telecommunications market where the providers are often foreign companies. [Link--->]

I’ve been playing a little more with the Kindle the past two days, so here are a few more thoughts:

1)  I’ve emailed myself PDF files (free book by Seth Godin) and MOBI files (free copy of Heart of Darkness) and both worked perfectly.  I had to pay $0.10 to get the files to the device (the Mobi could be moved for free), but I didn’t mind paying $0.20 to get two really good pieces of content delivered.  There is a lot of complaining on the Amazon forums about the lack of PDF functionality, but it works fine for me.  My guess is Amazon will release a desktop conversion tool as well.

2)  There are thousands of free MOBI format books available on a multitude of sites like MOBI Free Books.

3)  Battery life is great.  Tonight is the first time I’ve charged the device and I’d say it had about 20% power left when I plugged it in.  Amazon’s claims of 30 hours without a charge seem accurate.

4)  Accidental page forward button presses is an issue.  I’ve seen a lot about this on the web as well and it has happened to me as well.  It is a minor inconvenience at the price of being able to easily press the buttons with one hand.

5)  Newspapers are still my favorite feature.  It is just neat to wake up with papers to read first thing in the morning.

6)  Purchased my first book with no problems (Dreaming in Code)

Overall, I am still very impressed and no buyers remorse yet!

The Kindle arrived today and I’ve spent a few hours playing with it. Here are some preliminary reactions….

1) I’d classify this as a knowledge device. It is meant to facilitate the consumption of knowledge in a consumer vice conversational format. Folks that complain that it doesn’t have an email client or other interactive features are missing the point.

2) I like the fact that when I search I get results on my device (great if you are storing a lot of books/articles), on wikipedia, the onboard dictionary, and the web. In addition, I can trigger that same search term on the Amazon Kindle store.

3) The device interface is very usable. It certainly isn’t an iPhone, nor will it ever be if it is going to meet the power requirements necessary to make this a useful device. The next page and previous page buttons are much more intuitive than those on the Sony eReader (which I also own). The menu system works….no manuals required. The only thing I will have to look up is how to lock the device when I put it in my bag so I don’t bump the next page button by accident. There is one critical design flaw in that the OFF button is on the back of the device which is rendered inaccessible when the device is in its nice faux leather binder.
4) The Kindle store rocks. This is a dangerous device for an impulse buyer like me. I can purchase a book directly on the device or via the web and it will be on my device waiting for me next time I pull it out. No more waiting for the brown truck…this device facilitates instant gratification. Being able to download a preview of the book is a killer feature. I’ve read two sample chapters tonight and it is like being able to open the book in a bookstore before making a purchase. One book resonated with me, the other didn’t. I also like being able to access Amazon reviews in real-time.
5) Newspaper implementation is fantastic. It is probably my favorite feature thus far. It will be great to wake up to the Mercury News, Investor’s Business Daily, and the New York Times (Wall Street Journal and Washington Post come the old fashion way to the office, but I can see subscribing to the WSJ as well). Working through a paper in sequential order (you can jump around if you want) just works well for me. It is closely aligned with how I would typically consume the paper. Sure, I read lots of newspaper stories online already, but I don’t “read” the paper online. The Kindle is different in a way that is hard to explain here, but definitely different in a very good way.
6) It is unlikely I will ever use the blog subscription feature. Sorry Amazon, the price points just don’t work for me. RSS feeds stay on the iPhone for now. I may purchase one blog to test, but I can’t see myself spending the money.

7) My publishing attempt was successful. I am now a published author in the Kindle store. I bought one of my own articles to test and it worked perfectly. This device will be perfect for premium content offerings in lots of niche markets. If you have content that is valuable and your target market has adopted the Kindle I think the revenue potential is very real.

I don’t need to be sold on the need for a device like this. It works for me and I am definitely in the target market, having already bought a Sony eReader before. The Kindle easily dominates the Sony eReader with its integration with my Amazon account and the ability to push content to the device. I think this is a game changer for Amazon. If they can integrate PDF file conversion into the service, get rid of DRM, and solve the huge “ugly” problem they are facing, I think we will see a persistent increase in the adoption rate of this device.

Amazon is generating lots of buzz with the release of their Kindle ebook platform today. Many of the people I follow on Twitter made some sort of announcement regarding the order that they placed and mine is on the way.

I think Kindle is significant for several reasons:

1) No reliance on tethering to a computer - I am a Sony eReader owner and as a Mac user I hate the fact that the store is only available via PC. Kindle puts the store on the device, which follows on the trend Apple initiated with the iTunes store on the Apple iPhone and the iPod Touch.

2) The barrier for electronic publishing has been lowered - Tonight I put two works of mine on the Amazon Kindle marketplace. Both are available for free on this site, but I was overly enthusiastic and wanted to test the system. The process was very easy, perhaps too easy. In addition, I could set micropayments of $0.49 for my content. The implications for companies like the TRC could be very interesting if this device becomes mainstream. My next challenge is getting my RSS feeds on there.
3) Electronic delivery of newspapers - One metric I apply for success of new technologies is whether they deliver on the promise of science fiction. The Kindle does so in that I will have the NY Times on my device every morning no matter where I am or where I wake up (unless I am outside the Sprint network coverage I guess). That is stuff of science fiction. Yes, I can already do this on several devices, but the Kindle model just seems to be more “magical”.

4) Integrated Wikipedia and on-board dictionary - nice touch.
A few areas for improvement:

1) Give me the option to get content via WiFi. If I am in Amman, Jordan, why not let me browse the store over my NetGear WiFi router I travel with. The U.S. only content delivery system will need to be expanded.

2) Price point on blogs needs to go down ASAP. These should be micropayments of $.10 or less a month or offer a flat unlimited blog access charge of $10.00/month. For now, I’ll read RSS feeds on my iPhone.

3) Provide web browsing - Apparently a browser is present in the experimental folder, but I need it as an integrated part of the device if RSS feeds are going to have any value. I love Instapundit, but it is primarily a link blog and has no value if I can’t follow the link and read the original story.

4) Give Sony eReader customers amnesty and give me a free copy of all the books I’ve bought on that platform. That would drive a real nail in the coffin of the current market leader for eBooks and generate great publicity.

5) Sustain the business model. Keep things cheap, or go even cheaper. The money you save on physical delivery should be applied to keeping the books heavily discounted.

6) Sell bundles. If I want to buy a real book and it is also on Kindle, give me a copy on Kindle to get started and expire it when you get delivery confirmation that my physical copy has arrived (this is actually my friend Eric’s idea, but I like it!)
7) Make the device less ugly.

Integrate this with my iPhone (yeah right).

9) Get rid of the DRM.

10) Let me send it PDF files! (update: you can send it PDF files via email.  Works like a charm!)

I first heard of Jason Calacanis on the TWIT podcast (#57) about a year ago. I wasn’t impressed with his performance and his negative reputation was reinforced as I observed how regularly he served as a whipping boy on sites like ValleyWag, etc. I heard him on TWIT again a few weeks ago and a few things he said really resonated with me, so I decided to check out his podcast. It has easily become one of my favorites and is certainly one of the most informative podcasts I listen to. He conducts great interviews with some of Silicon Valley’s most interesting people. He is always well prepared, well spoken, and is certainly well informed.

If you are interested in the “behind the scenes” view of Silicon Valley, Web 2.0, and Internet entrepreneurship, I highly recommend you check out a few episodes of his show. Ignore the Internet echo and let Jason speak in his own voice and you might be pleasantly surprised.