Tuesday, January 06, 2004

11:45:54 PM   Year of the geek. CNET News.com's Michael Kanellos hands out his awards for the top people, companies and trends that defined the last dozen months in high tech. [CNET News.com - Front Door] - There's some good chuckles in here, AOL's $299 computers and Google's ivory towers arrive in my aggregator just in time.

11:36:28 PM   Bankers, "Sex in the City" gaga for Google.  "Googling" is a hot topic of conversation on HBO's hit show. [CNET News.com - Front Door] - This cracked me up.  The latest and first episode of this the last season of SITC suddenly has found Google and dropped it in several times thsi week.  Seems like the girls in NYC are little behind.  Just about the time that Google starts to look like another Big company and tries to cash in by IPO before it comes back to earth.  Like all things big and mighty (AOL comes to mind), there ain't nowhere to go but down.

11:31:43 PM   Apple unveils smaller iPod, new software. updateSteve Jobs previews a smaller, less-expensive iPod, as well as software including Microsoft Office 2004 and the 'GarageBand' audio recording application. [CNET News.com - Front Door]

11:26:04 PM   Real offers new tech, song store. The multimedia company is preparing a sweeping overhaul of its audio and video software that supports other's products--even Apple's iTunes songs. [CNET News.com - Front Door]

11:25:24 PM   EarthLink to outsource call center jobs. The Internet service provider is laying off most of its call center employees and outsourcing the work to domestic and overseas companies. [CNET News.com - Front Door]

11:21:38 PM   krap:Lawmakers urge Indian firms to hire in U.S.. As worries mount over U.S. jobs lost to countries such as India, some members of Congress say a solution could be for Indian companies to do their own offshore hiring. [CNET News.com - Front Door]

11:36:58 AM   Microsoft abandons Smart Display effort. Just a year after launching the software, which provided access to a PC from anywhere within Wi-Fi range, Microsoft has dumped the project. [CNET News.com - Front Door] -  I wanted one of these when I first came across them but now looks like time to find close out deals on them.

12:19:30 AM   Marketing Profs: "It's not because TiVo is a bad company -- but, like the Matt Damon character in Good Will Hunting, it cannot seem to reach anything near its unlimited potential." [Scripting News] - I love the little quiz at the bottom.  So many companies just don't get it.   Note, I've been known on more than one occasion to take over selling or unselling many pieces of technology because the people selling it are clueless.  Last one I can remember is the little FM transmitters for your portable music player so you can "here it in FM stereo" or something like that.  So far from two that I have tried, they are krap.  In the beautiful Apple Store in Woodfield I killed a sale in seconds.  Hate to do it but I hate much worse seeing people pay for technology that sucks.

12:11:36 AM   krap: TiVo sues EchoStar over DVR patent. Moving to protect its licensing business, TiVo files suit against the satellite TV provider, saying EchoStar's technology infringes on one of its digital video recording patents. [CNET News.com - Front Door]

12:07:58 AM   People who support Bush apparently don't like the MoveOn.Org comparison of Bush to Hitler. I haven't seen the ad, but I don't find the idea offensive. It's about time people outside the blogging world started ringing the bells. Wake up. They're taking the Bill of Rights apart. Get your priorities straight. An ad with some imagery you find offensive is nothing compared to what the Republicans are doing. We live in amazing times. The professional press isn't covering the laws that are passing in Congress and being signed by the President. [Scripting News]