If you think TiVo has got the network advertisers running scared, imagine a world in which not only advertising but the configuration of your product itself becomes a matter of choice for consumers. The genius of the Firefox browser is not just that it is wickedly fast, but that it also allows third party developers to extend its functionality. As you can imagine, when the world’s ubergeeks contemplate hotting up their browsers, ad skipping and site modification are at the top of their list. But this is not just a web fringe phenomenon. With global Firefox adoption rates now gaining momentum, publishers will soon have to accept that it will be readers and not editors who will decide not only what they look at, but also in what form and at what cost. 

For once the latest showdown in Hollywood is not about a hysterical actor demanding a pay rise, a larger trailer and a rewrite of his fumbled love scene. Instead, four giants of entertainment and retail are all converging on what is becoming one of the most hotly contested battles for customer mindshare – the online DVD rental space. And the funny part is - it all began with a simple idea – nobody likes late fees.

Blogging, podcasting, mobile picturing taking, file swapping – lately you might be forgiven for wondering whether there is any limit to the technology bandwagons consumers will happily jump on. Yet there is method to their madness. In the main, technology has stopped being the calling card of myopic ubergeeks, and become as embedded in average people’s lives as the TV or telephone. Forget applications. It’s all about appliances.

One of the wierdest creative tensions in Hollywood is between finding new distribution channels for old content, whilst rigorously defending existing channels from new challenges. Back when the box office was king, getting the DVD format greenlight was an uphill battle. Now that DVD is a $17.5 billion dollar industry, you can just imagine the reception to proposals for digital downloading replacements. Still, potential lost billions or not, it seems this time round Sony is determined to avoid being iPodded again.

In case you missed it, Kijiji is 'Swahili' for village. As it turns out, it is also 'eBay' for cloning Craigslist. Only month's after acquiring a stake in the infamous online classifieds site, eBay has launched an international network of local community trading boards which replace their auction gavel with free listings.