Dan Gillmor

Google has put up its 2001 archive, so folks can do comparisons between now and then. Naturally, the first thing most of us check is, um, ourselves.

Here are the references to me from 2001 and now. Hint: more references now…

Wired News: Despite Airlines’ Promises, Customers Find a Way to Make VOIP Calls on Flights. Just days after American Airlines made the big-deal announcement that it had rolled out in-flight internet on certain routes, hackers have found a way to use the service for voice-over-internet protocol calls, despite promises from the airline that its air-to-ground system, developed by Aircell, would block voice calls.

I have a simple fix for noisy mobile callers. I listen carefully to their conversations — making clear that I’m listening. If that doesn’t work, I start taking notes.

You would be amazed (or maybe not) how quickly this technique works to get people to hang up and shut up, or at least talk so quietly that it’s no longer a bother.

NY TImes: Home Sales Increase, and So Do Inventories. Home sales perked up in July, a respite for the housing slump, as falling prices appeared to lure more buyers into the market. Skip to next paragraph Related National Association of Realtors News Release But the number of homes for sale increased significantly as well, which could push prices down even further. While lower prices could spur sales, they also cut into homeowners’ equity and household worth.

We haven’t seen the bottom in prices, not by a long shot, in most places. I’d still be very, very cautious about buying in any of these markets.

I’m honored to be giving a keynote talk at Highway Africa, which has become the biggest annual gathering of African journalists and has a strong element of how technology is changing journalism. A key theme this year is citizen journalism.

The conference has some scholarships available for working journalists. A link to the application is here.

Yes, I now have an iPhone. I bought it used — a first-generation model — from a friend who bought the 3G phone.

Now, notice, in the upper left part of the screen what carrier I’m using (in the U.S.).

Yes, it’s T-Mobile, the other major GSM carrier. I used the excellent jailbreak/unlock application from the iPhone Dev Team, and it worked flawlessly.

More about this in upcoming posts…

If this video is to be believed, you can pop popcorn with the signals. Holy crap.

Whoops, it’s not to be believed.

But I still think it’s safer to use a headset.

AP: Dunkin’ Donuts pulls Rachael Ray ad. Dunkin’ Donuts has pulled an online advertisement featuring Rachael Ray after complaints that a fringed black-and-white scarf that the celebrity chef wore in the ad offers symbolic support for Muslim extremism and terrorism.

Just when you think companies can’t be any more cowardly, Dunkin’ Donuts proves they can. Good grief.

The news so far from the Wall Street Journal’s All Things Digital conference is Bill Gate’s unintentionally hilarious comment in last night’s show-opening interview, in which he said: “Guys like us avoid monopolies. We like to compete.”

Who knew?

I have a particular disdain for people who park SUVs in spots marked “Compact” — especially when there are bigger spots 50 feet further away.

Here’s my Parking Jerk of the Day, on level 4 of the Yahoo parking garage.

At UC Berkeley’s Journalism School tomorrow evening, there’s a Screening of “Citizen McCaw”:

the new documentary film about the journalism ethics battle and meltdown at the Santa Barbara News Press. The screening will be followed by a panel discussion on the state of journalism with former News Press Editor Jerry Roberts, “Citizen McCaw” director Sam Tyler and San Francisco Chronicle Editorial Page Editor John Diaz, moderated by journalism school professor Cynthia Gorney.

“Meltdown” is an understatement for what has happened at the Santa Barbara newspaper, a once-respected journal that has fallen under harsh times during the Wendy McCaw ownership.

If I were going to be in California tomorrow I’d be at this screening. If you’re in the neighborhood and have the time (and nontrivial but $50 admission going to the legal defense fund of people who were kicked out of the paper), please consider it.