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Mabye, just maybe, the don't recognize OSS as a viable business alternative becuase it isn't a viable business alternative.

OSS makes a lot of sense if you are a company selling consulting services. They want you to spend your money on consultants, not software. Ideally, there wouldn't be any software. You would just hire these guys to write custom software for you at enormous cost. Like hiring stonemasons to carve your house out of local limestone.

But for everyone who won't buy that expertise, there is a lot to be said for something that you buy or license that just works out of the box. Fire the stone masons and buy bricks instead. The brick factory churns these things out by the millions, so they are cheap. (Of course the analogy doesn't fit exactly because the second copy of a software program costs close to nothing.)

For a publisher, one can spend a bunch of dough bulding the software, then press a hundred million copies and divide those costs among all the boxes. So you and I can plunk down $179 and get something like five million lines of code representing some insane number of man hours. This is a pretty compelling business model.

None of this says that a all of MS's software fulfils all the promises it makes, but then again, has anyone seen a consultant meet all his promises?

I would question the wisdom of trusting IBM, ORACLE, and Sun, over MSFT.
While by no means infallible, those graphs tend to favor MSFT over the others.

Of course IBM wants OSS, they sell the consulting services. Of course Oracle wants OSS (except postgres), becuase what you don't spend on a UNIX license you can spend on an Oracle license. Sun likes OSS because...well they *are* the platform company that championed a platform agnostic programming language. I wouldn't put much stock in their advice.

Mabye, just maybe, the don't recognize OSS as a viable business alternative becuase it isn't a viable business alternative.

OSS makes a lot of sense if you are a company selling consulting services. They want you to spend your money on consultants, not software. Ideally, there wouldn't be any software. You would just hire these guys to write custom software for you at enormous cost. Like hiring stonemasons to carve your house out of local limestone.

But for everyone who won't buy that expertise, there is a lot to be said for something that you buy or license that just works out of the box. Fire the stone masons and buy bricks instead. The brick factory churns these things out by the millions, so they are cheap. (Of course the analogy doesn't fit exactly because the second copy of a software program costs close to nothing.)

For a publisher, one can spend a bunch of dough bulding the software, then press a hundred million copies and divide those costs among all the boxes. So you and I can plunk down $179 and get something like five million lines of code representing some insane number of man hours. This is a pretty compelling business model.

None of this says that a all of MS's software fulfils all the promises it makes, but then again, has anyone seen a consultant meet all his promises?

I would question the wisdom of trusting IBM, ORACLE, and Sun, over MSFT.
While by no means infallible, those graphs tend to favor MSFT over the others.

Of course IBM wants OSS, they sell the consulting services. Of course Oracle wants OSS (except postgres), becuase what you don't spend on a UNIX license you can spend on an Oracle license. Sun likes OSS because...well they *are* the platform company that championed a platform agnostic programming language. I wouldn't put much stock in their advice.

Mabye, just maybe, the don't recognize OSS as a viable business alternative becuase it isn't a viable business alternative.

OSS makes a lot of sense if you are a company selling consulting services. They want you to spend your money on consultants, not software. Ideally, there wouldn't be any software. You would just hire these guys to write custom software for you at enormous cost. Like hiring stonemasons to carve your house out of local limestone.

But for everyone who won't buy that expertise, there is a lot to be said for something that you buy or license that just works out of the box. Fire the stone masons and buy bricks instead. The brick factory churns these things out by the millions, so they are cheap. (Of course the analogy doesn't fit exactly because the second copy of a software program costs close to nothing.)

For a publisher, one can spend a bunch of dough bulding the software, then press a hundred million copies and divide those costs among all the boxes. So you and I can plunk down $179 and get something like five million lines of code representing some insane number of man hours. This is a pretty compelling business model.

None of this says that a all of MS's software fulfils all the promises it makes, but then again, has anyone seen a consultant meet all his promises?

I would question the wisdom of trusting IBM, ORACLE, and Sun, over MSFT.
While by no means infallible, those graphs tend to favor MSFT over the others.

Of course IBM wants OSS, they sell the consulting services. Of course Oracle wants OSS (except postgres), becuase what you don't spend on a UNIX license you can spend on an Oracle license. Sun likes OSS because...well they *are* the platform company that championed a platform agnostic programming language. I wouldn't put much stock in their advice.

Yep. They're just one more Microsoft partner turned victim.

More recently, SGI has been working with Linux, which means that Microsoft really wants SGI dead.

And that means that you can't trust the price of SGI's stock to provide an honest picture of what's happening in SGI. Even if SGI does the necessary financial restructuring, and improves their financial outlook, their stock will remain low, because that's where Microsoft wants it to stay. When you have enough money to burn, and you don't care about the law, it's easy to manipulate the stock price of a smaller company. Microsoft did the same thing to Corel when they were trying to arrange some bridge financing, and their Linux business was starting to grow.

The good news is that it may not be as bad as the Slashdot article says. Unlike the intro blurb, the linked article does not mention bankruptcy. Instead, it shows a 10 percent loss on $170 million revenue. That's in the "fixable" range.

Over the next while, I expect to see a lot of FUD aimed at SGI, in order to discourage investors from providing SGI with any financial assistance. That's another thing that Microsoft did to Corel.

Unlike Corel, I think SGI has a fairly good chance of getting past this. Corel's business was mostly based on Windows, via WordPerfect and Corel Draw. Corel's business was therefore very vulnerable to various Microsoft tactics, and it's no surprise that business had been shrinking for years.

SGI, on the other hand, does not have the same sort of ongoing problems. Instead, SGI's problems stem from their past, and much of that was arranged by Microsoft. You may recall former SGI CEO Rick Belluzzo, who was instrumental in changing SGI's business from their own brand of high-end computer hardware, to a strategy based on Windows NT:

> Belluzzo gave customers another reason to stick around: The Visual Workstation, a Windows NT machine that carries SGI's trademark slick design and dazzling graphics--but not its premium pricing. Instead, he's plunging SGI smack into the rough-and-tumble business of making high-volume workstations based on Intel and Microsoft standards.

That was the same Rick Belluzzo who made similar moves while working as Executive Vice-President at Hewlett-Packard, with similar negative results for that company. Belluzzo later got a job as COO at Microsoft, which many viewed as a reward for his work at SGI and HP.

Anyway, the point is that those problems for SGI are in the past. SGI's current business is based on their strengths, in the areas of high-end computing, and computer graphics (e.g. for Hollywood), which includes consulting, and work on Linux. While, as history has shown, Microsoft can still do things to try to cut off SGI's air supply, at least SGI's business is not tied to Windows, which makes them less vulnerable than Corel.

Yep. They're just one more Microsoft partner turned victim.

More recently, SGI has been working with Linux, which means that Microsoft really wants SGI dead.

And that means that you can't trust the price of SGI's stock to provide an honest picture of what's happening in SGI. Even if SGI does the necessary financial restructuring, and improves their financial outlook, their stock will remain low, because that's where Microsoft wants it to stay. When you have enough money to burn, and you don't care about the law, it's easy to manipulate the stock price of a smaller company. Microsoft did the same thing to Corel when they were trying to arrange some bridge financing, and their Linux business was starting to grow.

The good news is that it may not be as bad as the Slashdot article says. Unlike the intro blurb, the linked article does not mention bankruptcy. Instead, it shows a 10 percent loss on $170 million revenue. That's in the "fixable" range.

Over the next while, I expect to see a lot of FUD aimed at SGI, in order to discourage investors from providing SGI with any financial assistance. That's another thing that Microsoft did to Corel.

Unlike Corel, I think SGI has a fairly good chance of getting past this. Corel's business was mostly based on Windows, via WordPerfect and Corel Draw. Corel's business was therefore very vulnerable to various Microsoft tactics, and it's no surprise that business had been shrinking for years.

SGI, on the other hand, does not have the same sort of ongoing problems. Instead, SGI's problems stem from their past, and much of that was arranged by Microsoft. You may recall former SGI CEO Rick Belluzzo, who was instrumental in changing SGI's business from their own brand of high-end computer hardware, to a strategy based on Windows NT:

> Belluzzo gave customers another reason to stick around: The Visual Workstation, a Windows NT machine that carries SGI's trademark slick design and dazzling graphics--but not its premium pricing. Instead, he's plunging SGI smack into the rough-and-tumble business of making high-volume workstations based on Intel and Microsoft standards.

That was the same Rick Belluzzo who made similar moves while working as Executive Vice-President at Hewlett-Packard, with similar negative results for that company. Belluzzo later got a job as COO at Microsoft, which many viewed as a reward for his work at SGI and HP.

Anyway, the point is that those problems for SGI are in the past. SGI's current business is based on their strengths, in the areas of high-end computing, and computer graphics (e.g. for Hollywood), which includes consulting, and work on Linux. While, as history has shown, Microsoft can still do things to try to cut off SGI's air supply, at least SGI's business is not tied to Windows, which makes them less vulnerable than Corel.

Yep. They're just one more Microsoft partner turned victim.

More recently, SGI has been working with Linux, which means that Microsoft really wants SGI dead.

And that means that you can't trust the price of SGI's stock to provide an honest picture of what's happening in SGI. Even if SGI does the necessary financial restructuring, and improves their financial outlook, their stock will remain low, because that's where Microsoft wants it to stay. When you have enough money to burn, and you don't care about the law, it's easy to manipulate the stock price of a smaller company. Microsoft did the same thing to Corel when they were trying to arrange some bridge financing, and their Linux business was starting to grow.

The good news is that it may not be as bad as the Slashdot article says. Unlike the intro blurb, the linked article does not mention bankruptcy. Instead, it shows a 10 percent loss on $170 million revenue. That's in the "fixable" range.

Over the next while, I expect to see a lot of FUD aimed at SGI, in order to discourage investors from providing SGI with any financial assistance. That's another thing that Microsoft did to Corel.

Unlike Corel, I think SGI has a fairly good chance of getting past this. Corel's business was mostly based on Windows, via WordPerfect and Corel Draw. Corel's business was therefore very vulnerable to various Microsoft tactics, and it's no surprise that business had been shrinking for years.

SGI, on the other hand, does not have the same sort of ongoing problems. Instead, SGI's problems stem from their past, and much of that was arranged by Microsoft. You may recall former SGI CEO Rick Belluzzo, who was instrumental in changing SGI's business from their own brand of high-end computer hardware, to a strategy based on Windows NT:

> Belluzzo gave customers another reason to stick around: The Visual Workstation, a Windows NT machine that carries SGI's trademark slick design and dazzling graphics--but not its premium pricing. Instead, he's plunging SGI smack into the rough-and-tumble business of making high-volume workstations based on Intel and Microsoft standards.

That was the same Rick Belluzzo who made similar moves while working as Executive Vice-President at Hewlett-Packard, with similar negative results for that company. Belluzzo later got a job as COO at Microsoft, which many viewed as a reward for his work at SGI and HP.

Anyway, the point is that those problems for SGI are in the past. SGI's current business is based on their strengths, in the areas of high-end computing, and computer graphics (e.g. for Hollywood), which includes consulting, and work on Linux. While, as history has shown, Microsoft can still do things to try to cut off SGI's air supply, at least SGI's business is not tied to Windows, which makes them less vulnerable than Corel.

I wish they'd give more consideration to functionality for these awards. Don't get me wrong, I like things that are visually pleasing, but when something sacrifies functionality for asthetics, it's pretty lame.

http://images.businessweek.com/ss/05/06/idea2005/s ource/109.htm
I was at the design museum, and while there's definitely some awesome things there, this staircase bothered me. It looks cool, but the steps are very dark, and I watched several people trip on their way up in the few minutes I was in the lobby. It's pretty easy to get hurt falling on stairs, so why give a design award to something that increases the danger for users? If they would improve safety and make it look better, that would definitely be deserving of an award.

this one - I used this 'concept' at least 20 years ago. It really works, all you need is a wool thread.

Yes, for instance, #13 is the Samsung M40 laptop which is "the slimmest and lightest 17-inch laptop currently available (less than 1.5 inches high" -- light years beyond the 1 inch Powerbooks that Apple has been selling since 2000.

i rephrase my question. student projects?

some of these sell quite sucessfully
http://images.businessweek.com/ss/05/06/idea2005/s ource/135.htm

Before I got this, I felt human, mortal and weak. Now I'm part of a powerful collective that assimilates all resistance and destroys entire dimensions.

OK, I've been totally unfair to this product; anything that helps people to breathe and sleep is a good thing, even if it makes you look monstrous. I just wish the designer was less inspired by the work of H. R. Giger

http://images.businessweek.com/ss/05/06/idea2005/s ource/22.htm
The description writes it out as jellyfish looking, all I can think of is the connectors that plug into peoples backs in the matrix :P

The item earning this fine praise - a showerhead!

need proof ?
http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D8B2L GFO0.htm?campaign_id=apn_tech_down

stealing millions of dollars from your employees... 10 years in prison
(http://www.fbi.gov/dojpressrel/pressrel04 /enron01 1404.htm)

inflating your companies earnings by $2.7 billion dollars, so you can get rich off the stock...acquittal on 36 counts.
(http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/050628/healthsou th_scrush y.html?.v=25)

using what amounts to slave labor to fatten your pockets...become the largest and richest company in the world.
(http://www.businessweek.com/2000/00_40/b3 701119.h tm)

revealing the identity of an undercover cia officer because her husband doesn't like your president...get off scot free.
http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2003/10/02/novak /index_np.html

sharing a movie with friends...5 years in prison.

this is insane.

With the exception of the Wired references, the other references seem to have come from a recent Business Week article.

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/05_26 /b3939013.htm

Is this the same Nextel that Sprint bought?

This technology many years ago was called Pointcast.
Nobody cared about Pointcast, except a few news junkies and nobody cares about RSS today, except a few news junkies.
http://www.businessweek.com/1999/99_17/b3626167.ht m
It negates the entire idea of surfing the web.
Move on nothing to see here.

I hope the Intel chip is capable of snagging all the different flavors of wireless. We already have a bunch in the 802.11 area. Now with WiMax...especially in the US...we have a bunch more. Scary thing is, the "The Federal Communications Commission has chosen to allocate radio spectrum in the 3.5- and 10-gigahertz bands to private WiMax providers. The rest of the developed world has WiMax allocation in different spectrum locations." Business Week Thus, we have a myriad of flavors here in the US, then the US standards of course don't conform to international standards. We may be needing laptops with a whole slew of different chips or for Intel to kick some major arse in their chip R&D.

Wildstrom at BusinessWeek likes the X41 a lot!

Plastic is stronger and lighter than aluminum so the plane can fly faster and use 20% less fuel. There are only 20% as many fasteners as would be needed with aluminum. Maintenance is being guaranteed to be 30% lower than for aluminum planes. They will also be able to pressurize the cabin at the equivalent of 6,000 feet instead of the usual 8,000, which should make it easier to control cable temperature and humidity.

linking to a site called p2pnet.net doesn't really prove your point.

Did you even click the link provided? Try actually looking at it sometime before deciding you already know what it is.

By the way, I do live in the real world, thank you. The world is full of cynics like you too, you're proof of that. But if you have facts that show the music industry is losing money--as opposed to just releasing fewer titles so it can blame p2p for a "loss in sales"--why don't you provide these? Someone might consider taking your argument seriously.

If this were the case, all stores would have all items for free with a place to send your money "if it was worth it" or the customer would have to return it. This doesn't happen because any store that did this would go out of business within the first week

True, duh. That's cause stores are selling objects. Music is not an object that can be picked up and carried off. (A CD is. But we're not talking about "stealing music" as in people stealing CDs. That's something else entirely.) Music and the software files that package it is incorporeal, can be duplicated indefinitely without harm to the original, and can be broadcast worldwide, using the existing digital infrastructure, without the cost of shipping or logistics management. Apples, meet oranges. Your point about the Steven King book was more germane, but again, books are not music. Books take hours to read and are rarely re-read once the reader is finished. Music is meant to be enjoyed many times, and the effort required by the listener is nil, whereas a book requires the reader's primary attention. Apples, meet pineapples. Do better.

Dude, did you even watch the hug?

Jobs was clearly going for a handshake. It's those Intel guys you have to watch out for... Steve was clearly uncomfortable with the whole touchy-feely embrace thing.

Let the flameware begin! That whole 'excellent karma' thing gets dull after a while...

But seriously, Steve didn't seem to be down with the hug. He's doing this because IBM's not giving him what he wants, not because he's hot for Intel.

And yea, I know. You were trying to make a lame joke. But at least pin the queer behavior on the right CEO- Otellini.

Why after 30 years of Artificial Intelligence, millions of dollars and lots of basic science cant we create intelligent computers?

`... And the Blue Brain Project just might culminate in a new breed of supersmart computers that will make even BlueGene/L seem like a piker. ...` [0]

I was expecting an interesting read with new insights of how the mind process works and how it solves lots of different bits of incomplete data and still come to reasonable conclusions. But reading the above line I lost a bit of that interest.

The failure of non thinking computer decision making has its roots in the Aristotelian approach [1] rounding off data to true or false. This kind of thinking extends right down to the fundamentals of science and ultimately the decision making algorythms. What happens when we want to process non-linear data? How do we compute equations to solve them? Traditional Western Scientific approaches (True or Not True) ignore the vagueness of answers and try to fit the results neatly into boxes. In dealing with real world data, the Eastern Confusion approach (True and Not True) can more accurately accommodate such data.

One approach to improve the intelligence of computed decision is to try using the Fuzzy Approximation Theorem or FAT. [2] The idea is that you can make decisions on non-linear data by covering the data curve with fuzzy linguistic rules (rule patches). It is then possible to map the language to the measured data and get a meaningful result.

For example, I`m working on a simple problem right now that grabs my local weather forecast for the day (date + time + 4 sets of min., max. temp, textual forecast description). The intention is to use the weather data numbers to determine how COLD, COOL, JUST RIGHT, WARM, HOT it is then based on this work out which clothes I need to wear using fuzzy rules such as

• IF temp is COLD THEN trouserlength = LONG
• IF temp is JUSTRIGHT THEN trouserlength = MEDIUM
• IF temp is HOT THEN trouserlength = SHORT

Using this approach I can determines the answer to 3 particular questions.

• What do I wear today?
• If I have the washing on the line, do I bring it in? If I have washing to hang out do I hang it out?
• Do I bother going on a picnic in the afternoon based on today`s weather forecast?

But the catch is, I don`t really need to guess the solution equation. The fuzzy system does it for me. Using FAT I should be able to get reasonable answers without equations. Sounds counter intuitive doesn?t it?

Well Man has been doing this kind of problem solving for thousands of years yet it seems its being ignored yet again. If you want to read more about this try reading Fuzzy Thinking [3] by Bart Kosko. [4]

Reference

[0] Otis Port , Blue Brain: Illuminating the Mind, Business Week Online, 2005 JUN 06:

http://www.businessweek.com/print/technology/conte nt/jun2005/tc2005066_6414_tc024.htm?chan=tc

[1] Aristotelian Logic, or syllogistic logic is a particular type of logic that dominates Western Scientific thinking:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aristotelian_logic

[1] Fuzzy Approximation Theory, FAT:

http://www.google.com/search?num=20&hl=en&lr=&q=+F AT+fuzzy+approximation+theory&btnG=Search

Don't worry, China has spares.

Long term biological warfare: drop the pesticides on your strategic enemy.

In the case of China, though, they are doing it to themselves. They, culturally, hate baby girls so much that they abort (and/or kill) them, so there is a huge male/female ratio. Less females -> lower population.

http://www.euthanasia.com/china-ra.html

But then, it may also be the Hepatitis B virus.

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/05_09 /b3922034_mz007.htm
http://www.inquit.com/article/431/is-hepatitis-b-t he-source-of-chinas-gender-imbalance

All it takes to simulate a human brain is 22.8 teraflops? I thought I was smarter than that.

You are.

According to the Business Week article this thing will be simulating about 10 thousand neurons. The human brain has about 100 billion neurons. This will be simulating a small section of cortex, not an entire brain. The goal seems to be to understand how cortical columns work, not to create a simulated mind. They actually will not even have enough "neurons" to match one human cortical column, but will probably still learn alot about the circuitry....

with more details:
http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/jun 2005/tc2005066_6414_tc024.htm

Am I the only one who is tired of all this podcasting, bodcasting, roadcasting, godcasting, and rod casting?

The CNet article does not mention any sites that are vulnerable to registration attacks and password reminder attacks by name. The study http://www.bluesecurity.com/the_blue_zone/2005/05/ hostile_consume.html that sparked this article does not mention any sites either. I found only one article http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/05_23 /b3936026_mz006.htm/ that does name vulnerable sites, including Victoria's Secret, Amazon.com and L.L. Bean. I checked them out, and indeed those sites are vulnerable.

Perhaps someone from these sites is willing to confirm (or deny) that there were actual attacks? Are there any other web masters or users that have some clear evidence of actual exploits?

Also, the Blue Security's original paper claims most ISPs and Web Email Providers leak their users' email addresses. Has anyone seen some examples of vulnerable sites? I was unable to find any specific examples in the press. It looks like Gmail is not vulnerable, but I did not check other email providers.

http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D8ABG GK80.htm?campaign_id=apn_tech_up

He's just part of the conpiracy... http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/mar200 2/nf20020313_1562.htm

Look at all the nay-saying posts that accumulate whenever something positive is said about Apple Computer. I'm not computer literate at all. I'm not interested about the hows and whys of how a computer works just as long as it works. Which is why I use a Mac. If I was into games I would probably buy a PC but I'm not. Yes I am your average clueless computer user that you IT people should be thankful for. I click on those links and open those attachments. You should be kissing our asses. We help keep you employed. If more people start getting 'mad as hell' then I think that most of you IT folk may end up waiting in the unemployment line. ....maybe that's why all the anti-switching nay-saying....hmmmmmm? http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/mar200 2/nf20020313_1562.htm

BusinessWeek ran an article on blogging called "Blogs Will Change Your Business" in the May 2 issue. The article is written in the form of a blog, and the main idea is that no business can afford to ignore blogs. My opinion when I read it was that the article was a little heavy on hype, but for a businessman who knows nothing about blogs it's probably a good introduction. In any case, the article also announced that BusinessWeek was starting its own blog, called Blogspotting, to continue to follow blogs as they relate to business.

Of course, I have to ask one question. What is IE's market share in Asia on machines not running pirated copies of Windows? That's the end game scenario involving Microsoft winning market share by giving away copies of software, isn't it?

a few pippin links
http://www.businessweek.com/1996/14/b346998.htm
the business week artical from 96
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Pippin
The wikipedia entry

http://www.macgeek.org/museum/pippin/
and the macgeek pippin / bandi museem

I belive it was released by bandi it just got drowned by the price and the fact it was a bit ahead of its time (look at consoles now , offering simmilar multi media features)

Wonder why the iTunes phone isn't out yet?

No carrier wants to touch it. Let people sync their *own* files with their *own* phone?? Unheard of!

They want to charge $2 or more per song that you download to your phone. "Paying for convenience", as it were, or so they say...

It is not free trade if you create an unfair advantage through currency. To quickly point out what the Business Week article says, "Legislation that would impose 27.5 percent across-the-board tariffs on all Chinese imports is gaining support in Congress because of lawmakers' frustration with the refusal of the Chinese to stop linking their currency tightly to the U.S. dollar -- a practice American manufacturers contend gives Chinese companies a tremendous price advantage over U.S. goods."

The article is Business Week's attempt to explain why Bush and the GOP's polling numbers drop into the toilet even further every time they try to push piratizing Social Security.

As a native of Hamilton, I think I can speak on this point. Robert Young is also a native of Hamilton, and I highly doubt he bought the 'cats for financial reasons, but rather for sentimentality; ie home-town pride. He's therefore unlikely to sell the team in order to make a quick buck.

And considering he has a net worth of $2 ,000,000,000, I doubt he'll ever be forced to by financial reasons.

Both of these companies were not just major users of H-1b and outsourcing -- they were the leaders of this trend.

Again, Microsoft isn't just another H-1b user -- its a mainline corporate junkie of the H-1b fix that's proven only to put stockholders in a fix.

This isn't ironic or puzzling -- it is entirely predictable and it was predicted by people who are now going to take the information industry back from the brainiacs who thought they were being very clever and cosmo and, above-all, fashionable, by throwing open the doors of the US to the world.

Ever since Scott McNealy said:

I am fighting with our government to allow H1B visas cap to be raised. I was in at the White House talking to the chief of staff to get the H1B visa cap raised. We already half way through the fiscal year, capped out on the number of really bright Israelis and Indians.

First Sun.

Then HP.

Now Microsoft.

Guess what, suckers?

You lose.

The correct term is beleaguered Apple .

Learn it, love it, use it.

Now that other companies are releasing similarly featured products I wonder when they'll figure out that they need to sell the whole widget: easy to use jukebox with easy to use player and style to boot.

I don't think Apple will stay on top forever, but they do deserve the lead. Take the controversy over the Motorolla iTunes phone. Apple wants to make a phone that hooks up to one's PC/Mac and interfaces like an iPod. This means you purchase your songs or add them to iTunes and download them into your phone. You would manage playlists exactly as you do with an iPod. The phone industry wants you to purchase them for $3 a pop over their phone service directly to your phone instead. Although I like the idea of direct to phone purchase and download, I don't like the pricing structure and I'm not certain those songs can ever make it off that phone without third party hacks. MP3 makers haven't figured out how Apple's been winning the game, and now the phone companies are just as clueless.

From a Business Week article:

For starters, a quarter of the world's population already has a mobile phone. That's 1.4 billion people, compared with 10 million iPods sold to date. Most of those cell-phone toters pay a monthly phone bill, making it a snap to add a music charge. Perhaps most important, wireless technology could provide access anytime, anywhere to millions of songs. "You don't have to be a genius to see that the phone will be your own portable stereo that's with you wherever you go," says Jordan Schur, co-president of Geffen Records, whose artists include Snoop Dogg and Garbage.

Someone may figure it out someday, but until then none of these new toys are going to do much more than nibble at Apple's bottomline for some time. Still, I'm glad to see there's so much energy about this market out there. They should keep Apple on their toes for some time. And we all win in the long run with better products to play with.

No, they are not an arm of the govt. They do however own some of the politicians in it...

Does anyone else think it's strange that there are so few US new agency reporting this, and the OP is quoting a Canadian agency??? There are a few national reports, but mostly local reports. It sure isn't seeming to get much attention...

I don't get your point, since the article is from BusinessWeek.

Unless you believe that BusinessWeek has no consideration for corporate interests.

One slide said "Half of Users Say Linux Deployment Is Cheaper than Windows." You might draw the conclusion that the other half say Windows is cheaper than Linux. But you'd be wrong. The bar chart on the slide showed that 34% of the respondents have not deployed a Linux server, so have no grounds for an opinion, and only 9% said their Linux deployments were more expensive than Windows deployments.

why every one is using Movable Type. I know it is best know out there but is not the only one even after bait and switch tactic See Netcraft

Other are very good tested e.g. Drupal at Spread Firefox

http://blogs.businessweek.com/mt/mt-check.cgi
http://blogs.redhat.com/cgi-bin/mt-check.cgi

Original Posting:

hackajar writes ""It's time for a frank talk. And no, it can't wait. We know, we know: Most of you are sick to death of blogs. Don't even want to hear about these millions of online journals that link together into a vast network." So says BusinessWeek after Paul Graham sounded off yesterday about PR in the press. In the format of a "blog" it appears BusinessWeek is trying to turn-off the public to blogs, obviously.

Punched a monkey in his eye and mad the web real phony.

bought a company out of fear and called it MacrAdobe!

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/05_16 /b3929120_mz018.htm

From the url:

"Even though such transistors are still in their infancy, says IBM's Avouris, "Carbon nanotubes can get around most of the problems that doom very small silicon devices." In the lab, he has backed this statement up. It took him four years to assemble his current, third-generation prototype of a carbon nanotube transistor, but in the end, the device can carry up to 1,000 times the current of the copper wires used in today's silicon chips, making it vastly more efficient."

Comcast, the top U.S. cable TV network operator, is being sued by a Seattle-area woman for disclosing her name and contact information, court records showed Thursday.

That's funny... given Comcast's poor reliability this week, I find it shocking that she'd be able to upload or download anything.