Fairfield-Echo.com

August 20, 2008

One of Clark's beloved free online music sites -- Pandora.com -- might be getting ready to go the way of the dodo. They're going broke because of some obscure rulings concerning compensation for artists and labels. In essence, they're being hit with "tariffs" on every song that are prohibitively high.

Pandora has long offered a free legal alternative to stealing music. The website uses artificial intelligence to play an endless stream of music suited to your personal tastes.

But as one door closes, a window opens. GrooveShark.com is another site Clark has discovered that allows you to both listen to and download music online for free.

For those who just want to listen to music -- but not own it -- there's GrooveShark Lite. This jukebox-style option allows you to stream music on your computer for free -- similar to Pandora.

Unlike Pandora, however, GrooveShark gives you the option to download free music via a credit system. For every song you upload, GrooveShark gives you credits that can be used to "pay" for downloading songs that others may have available. The rarer the track you upload, the more credits you'll receive.

No music in your collection to upload? No worries. You can just pay 99 cents/song -- much like iTunes -- for every download.

With GrooveShark, you get to own everything you download. They handle all the compensation for artists, labels and uploaders.

Here's Clark's take on the whole GrooveShark issue: In an era where 99% of all downloaded songs are stolen, this gives you another opportunity to do the right thing.

He suggests parents use GrooveShark to teach their children right from wrong when it comes to Internet music piracy.

August 8, 2008

Are you fed up with customer no service? One of the best ways to fight back is through the use of technology. YouTube, blogs, Twitter and message boards are being used to turn the tables on unfeeling companies. Those same companies now routinely monitor "new media" sites and respond to people who are complaining.

Meanwhile, Consumer Reports came up with HearUsNow.org exclusively for beefs with communications companies.

Clark thinks about Sprint's new CEO Dan Hesse who wanted to return a customer focus to the company. So he went on TV and gave out his e-mail address to customers. What a deluge he got!

As companies get larger, they get dumber. Employees kiss up to management, instead of kissing up to the customer.

Clark also believes more CEOs need to come down to earth and start eating with their employees (not in separate dining rooms); eliminating their own preferential parking; and losing the designer suits as status symbols.

July 18, 2008

Clark was recently disturbed to learn that your personal info can float out in cyberspace long after you think it has been removed. This is because of caching issues. More

July 9, 2008

Have you ever heard Clark talk about technology using lingo that befuddled you? If so, he's come up with an internet access glossary that explains some of the "techspeak" you commonly hear on the show. ... More

May 28, 2008

Clark recently spoke about protecting yourself online against cyber-criminals. Now technology columnist Walt Mossberg has compiled a handy list that reinforces the message. Below are some excerpts: ... More