Bush Pardons: A Little Late?

Today, W. pardoned the following people. Doesn't this seem like a case of too little, too late?

*Kristan Diane Bullock Akins, Raleigh, North Carolina, embezzlement by a bank employee. Sentenced in August 1990 to three years' probation, 100 hours of community service and a $1,000 fine.

*Ronald William Cauley, East Providence, Rhode Island, misapplication of bank funds by an employee. Sentenced in November 1980 to one year of probation.

*Stephen Davis Simmons, Austin, Texas, possession of counterfeit obligations. Sentenced in 1981 to five years' probation and a $2,000 fine.

*Roger Charles Weber, Northridge, California, theft from interstate shipment. Sentenced in February 1969 to two years probation and a $200 fine.

Thanks a lot!

Vertical Integration Wins for Devices, Gives Microsoft Troubles

Vertically integrated software/hardware companies have a powerful advantage in the mobile device market over software-only vendors. The iPod and the Blackberry are examples of the decisive role form-factor and hardware usability play in mobile success. Without hands-on hardware design control, Microsoft can deliver the most robust Windows Media Player software or Pocket PC operating system, but will be hard-pressed to match the success of a device where the software and hardware were designed in concert. In the world of portable computing, the smaller a device the more critical the tactile human interface is to its popular acceptance.

So Interesting: Yahoo! Exclusively Distributes the new Jib Jab Production

Yahoo! is exclusively distributing the new Jib Jab production, which is such an interesting development in the multimedia content/distribution world. With broadband and video search, portals will be able to distribute content like network television -- signing deals with sitcom producers and exclusively hosting content on-demand at Yahoo! TV.

Herb Greenberg: "Stock craziness will end like that"

Greenberg, in an article entitled "Stock craziness will end like that", writes: "They will not ring a bell to signal when this craziness is about to end. It will just end -- like that. Click of a finger. Like it did in 2000 and like it does in every bubble."

Blinkx unveils video search engine

CNET has an article on Blinkx TV a new video search engine. Seems that these technologies are searching the meta-data around the video, i.e. closed captioning, etc. versus doing image search like Pixlogic.

Launch Video for Acoona Search Engine

Doesn't this launch event for Acoona seem like the beginning of a Bruce Willis movie, or maybe some bad made for TNT "startup" flick?

Russian Zeitgeist as per Google

The Google Zeitgeist center tracks search trends and query popularity. Here are the top 9 October results for Russian Google searches (not even sure what to comment on the number one search item, and not sure why number nine is so popular):

1. pet therapy
2. germany world cup
betting odds
3. translator
4. scotia princess cruises
5. japanese stock trading
6. TSB bank ireland
7. instant motor insurance
quote
8. bargain airline ticket
9. plastic windows

NYT: How to hold a voting stake in a company without economic interest

The NYT reports in an article entitled Nothing Ventured, Everything Gained that a "new trading tactic that could tip proxy fights and takeover battles has emerged from the shadows of the hedge fund industry, igniting outrage among some investors and corporate governance experts.
The tactic is a complex hedging technique that allows an investor to buy a voting stake without actually holding an economic interest in the company. While Wall Street has long speculated about such a tactic, it was not until this week that the first signs of such a strategy were disclosed amid a takeover fight for King Pharmaceuticals, a generic drug maker, by its larger rival, Mylan Laboratories."

The Weapon We Don't Have

In an otherwise didactic polemic, Clifford May (President of the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies), had an interesting insight into the 'war' against terror during a speech in Denver last night. One weapon that we don't have and that the terrorists do is suicide bombers, he said. We just don't have that deadly weapon in our arsenal -- the will to target civilians for death and injury is out of our reach.