Daily Blog: Scouting the Internet and World at large

Could a rise in Spam originating from Gmail accounts indicate the nearing end of effective CAPTCHA scheme? The folks at IT world believe that to be the case. They attribute the rise to more sophisticated CAPTCHA busting algorithm which defeat Google's account creation scheme. While not perfect CAPTCHA is the main line of defense for most web based apps including user signup, blog and message board commenting, and query tools such as DNS lookup.

My view is that while CAPTCHA isn't perfect it still works most of the time. When applied along with a layered approach such as user/admin moderation the technique weeds out well over 95% of site Spam. Unfortunately this isn't a practical system for Gmail who I'd estimate receives thousands of new account creation requests per day. Ultimately email users can't rely on CAPTCHA to prevent Spam, especially from Google. Until a better Turing test can be developed folks will have to rely upon Bayesian filters, white lists and black holes for basic Spam management.

Salsarita's opens at Charlotte/Douglas Airport

Salsarita's Fresh Cantina, a Charlotte franchise specializing in Mexican food, has opened at Charlotte/Douglas International Airport.

The 800-square-foot restaurant is in concourse E.

"This is our first airport location and a significant opening for Salsarita's," says Bruce Willette, president and founder of the company. "This is a great opportunity to reach people who may not be familiar with Salsarita's. It's also a way to welcome or send off customers who already know us."

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Richard MacManus recently unveiled the following slideshow detailing what to expect from the web in 2008. While we're nearly three months into the year this presentation is still interesting from the perspective of what web companies and web entrepreneurs expect from the space. What remains to be seen is how accurate these predictions are and more importantly what effect the slowing economy will have on these company's plans.

Web Technology Trends for 2008 and Beyond

The Charlotte Regional Realtor Association reported that real estate closings dropped in February along with the average home price. Closings were down about 24% while the average sale price dropped by 1.4% with typical properties on the market for 133 days. The sales decline is modest by comparison with the broader real estate market which has hit areas like California extremely hard. Still it's not hard to imagine that even properties in the Charlotte metro area are over valued, especially in Mecklenburg county where school, taxes and city government woes weigh heavily on homeowner's minds.

Charlotte-area home closings, prices drop

The number of houses sold in the Charlotte area fell last month, and the average closing price declined, according to the Charlotte Regional Realtor Association.

The data covers homes that have existed for at least a year and some newly constructed residences in Mecklenburg, Union, Iredell, Lincoln, Cabarrus, Gaston and Stanly counties.

The Charlotte Regional Realtor Association operates the Carolina Multiple Listing Services Inc., which has more than 10,000 subscribers. The group is a trade association that provides resources and services to more than 9,000 Realtor members.