Sony to Shrink PlayStation 209/17/2004 12:36 PM Sony Computer Entertainment is set to unveil a smaller version of the
PlayStation 2 on October 26, according to industry reports. Dubbed
"PStwo," the new console will be 30 percent smaller, but retail for
the same price. Sony reinvigorated sales of the original PlayStation
by making a smiliar move with the smaller PSone console. Sony refused
to comment on the rumors, but the company is holding a strategy
briefing in Tokyo next week where an official announcement is
expected.
Outsourcing to rise, but deals to shrink08/11/2004 01:22 PM Some 80 percent of businesses will farm out IT functions by the end of
next year, the Meta Group predicts.
FC Now: Corporate Shrink: Question of the Week
FC Now: Corporate Shrink: Question of the Week09/18/2004 05:53 AM What do you think about the use of personality tests, such as the
Myers-Briggs, in business situations, including hiring and promotion
decisions, career choices, and...
Report: Princess to Send Dog to Shrink (AP)01/04/2004 09:31 AM AP - Princess Anne will send her dog to an animal psychologist to
avoid having it euthanized after it attacked a royal maid and fatally
mauled one of Queen Elizabeth II's beloved corgis, the Sunday
Telegraph reported.
Nokia sees mobile market shrink07/15/2004 06:34 AM The Finnish mobile phone giant records a rise in quarterly profits,
but warns of pressures ahead as its market share contracts.
GE Unveils Nanotech Device, May Shrink Future Chips (Reuters)
GE Unveils Nanotech Device, May Shrink Future Chips (Reuters)07/07/2004 01:32 AM Reuters - Scientists at General Electric Co.
(GE.N) unveiled one of the smallest functioning devices ever
made on Wednesday, a carbon tube about 10 atoms wide that could
one day shrink computer chip technology.
The heat turned up in Manhattan today, as speeches by Zell Miller
and Dick Cheney provided red meat to party faithful, and protests
outside the convention hall increased in intensity and number.
After-hour parties abounded, but behind the scenes, the effect of money in
politics only got rarely
reported. More from on and off the floor:
Reactions to Zell Miller: The angriest spee
ch of the convention, seemingly came from Zell
Miller, as Glenn Reynoldsnotes, "It's
funny that the purest voice of Jacksonian America at this Republican
convention -- in fact, at either convention -- comes from a
Democrat.". Begging to Differ wrote, "Zell Miller was more effective
tonight than any Republican could have been. John Kerry will have to
answer, if he can."
The two Cheneys - diverse reaction from liberals and
conservatives The Technorati
Politics Attention Index™ saw heavy blogging from both the
left and right regarding Vice President Dick Cheney's speech tonight.
Conservatives like Si
ster Toldjah remarked, "A SOLID performance!". Ann Althouse wrote, ""He lays it out. And you
can take it or leave it. He's not doing the twist. He's Dick Cheney."
Liberals felt differently. Josh Marshall described a
common liberal perspective: "My first thought was, bold
words for a man whose office is the subject of an on-going criminal
inquiry. But apparently that’s not the subject of polite
conversation."
Arnold gets fact-checked The liberal blogosphere has been buzzing about Arnold
Schwartenegger's speech last night. Numerous bloggers pointed out
that while Arnoldhasspoken of Nixon debating Humphrey
in 1968, the debate never happened.
Protest Vignettes Outside of the convention, New York is
filled with protests, from big, to small, to personal. Inside the
convention hall, AIDS demonstrators disrupt
ed a Republican youth gathering on the floor, unveiling an anti-Bush sign and disrupting a speech by Andrew Card. Andrew Sullivan reports on a
particularly rude
protester, while Peter Northrup wrote "of a self-proclaimed liberal [that] was spending her day,
not protesting with angry slogans, but sitting in front of an empty
chair and a sign that invited conservatives to sit down and talk with
her about the future of the country." Ratherbiased has pictures of a
protester
being removed from tonight's Cheney speech.
Blogging a talk-show appearance: Michelle Malkin blogs her side of the
story after appearing on MSNBC's Hardball. First-hand accounts
like this are shifting the fulcrum away from show hosts and producers
who often attempt to unfairly create controversy. Malkin's account,
while completely subjective, allows her to get her side of the story
out to the world, just as the FCC's Mi
chael Powell or Mark
Cuban, the owner of the Dallas Mavericks, use their blogs to speak
to the world in a timely, unedited fashion.
Arnold, the Bush sisters, voting machines, Kerry Campaign shakeup
rumours, criticism of RNC bloggers, and censorship of Supreme Court
decisions were on the minds of bloggers today as the second day of the
Republican National Convention wrapped up.
Arnold's speech polarizing California governor Arnold
Schwartzenegger provoked strong reactions from both Liberals and
Conservatives. Lots of conservative bloggers swelled with pride at
Arnold's speech, according to the Technorati Conservative Politics
Attention Index™, such as Jay Reding, who wrote, "His story of living under
the shadow of Communism is an important reminder of why America is
still admired across the globe." Technorati's Liberal Politics
Attention Index™ showed liberal bloggers reacting strongly to
Arnold's jabs at Democrats: Luis Poza
wrote of the Governor's speech, "full of sound and fury and signifying
nothing".
The Bush sisters Jenna and Barbara Bush's speech provoked
jeers from authoritative liberal bloggers, and Conservatives largely
remained silent on the speech. Keith Berry wrote, "Up until now,
I've never really felt bad for anybody with the last name Bush, but
watching the Bush twins at the GOP Convention was was just so sad I
was nearly brought to tears. It was a train-wreck. An honest to God
train-wreck." On Dummocrats.com, a conservative
blog, James K. Hat wrote, "This convention has been great so far.
(Edit - great until the Bush daughters spoke... what in the world was
that?)", and the Washingon Monthly rreports on other conservative reactions.
Revelations on an easy way to hack voting machines made
their way through the blogosphere today, in this article on Bev
Harris' blackboxvoting.co
m, noting that the Diebold GEMS central tabulator, used in many
over 30 states, contains a stunning security hole.
Kerry campaign shakeup rumoursMickey Kaus reports on the
rumours, starting in the Washington
Prowler, that Kerry will shake up his campaign staff. This was
later covered by MSNBC, and CNN.
Blogger's Corner events, and critiques General Tommy Franks
came by the
bloggers' area at the RNC for a photo
opportunity, and while there announced his support for President
bush, a prelude to his more official annoucenet on Sean Hannity's
radio show. Salon.com publishes a
biting article on the actions of the RNC credentialed bloggers.
Redactions of Supreme Court decisions in Patriot Act
suit?The Memory Hole
reports on the "blacki
ng out" of passages quoting US Supreme Court decisions in the
ACLU's suit against the Justice department. This could be a breaking
story in tomorrows news.
The GET CREATIVE! Moving Image Contest
has gone the way of 2003. Many thanks to those of you who
submitted entries by the New Year. Our panel
of expert
judges is now sorting out the winners. Stay tuned!
G-Wrap 1.9.0
G-Wrap 1.9.006/30/2004 02:30 PM A wrapper generator.
While bloggers were a novelty at the DNC in Boston and were less of
a story in and of themselves during the RNC, the quality of commentary
and the number of breaking stories during the RNC show that bloggers
are starting to hit their stride. The toppling of Ed Schrock, two-term Republican congressman
from Virginia, after investigative reporting from a blogger showed the
growing political power of citizen journalism. The use of blogging
technology during protests and also from delegate phonecams on the
convention floor show that this pushbutton publishing technology is
filling an important journalistic niche.
The convention wrapped up as first President Bush spoke and then Senator Kerry, in an
unusual move,
followed from a campaign rally in Ohio. Bloggers at the
convention formed into two primary camps: mostly conservative RNC
credentialed bloggers, writing from Blogger's Alley in the Felt Forum,
outside the main convention hall, and a group of mostly liberal
bloggers that gathered at The Tank, a performance space in midtown
Manhattan. Of course, there were many other bloggers from all over
the country who were adding to the conversation. Top stories from the
final day of the convention include:
Democrats divided?That's what Dick
Morris wrote, in the New York Post's opinion column. " In an
incredibly striking contrast, Bush voters are united on virtually all
the questions that divide the Kerry vote. So Bush can advance his
agenda with impunity while taking aim at Kerry voters who are
antagonized by their candidate whenever he has to choose a position."
Not all liberals agree. Lambert from Corrente wrote, "If Kerry can get people to listen and
think, Bush is toast."
Zell Miller challenges Chris Matthews to a duel Chris
Matthews had a heated exchange with Zell Miller after his speech
Wednesday night. Here's the
clip in Windows Media Format. Media Bistro has more details, and ongoing
commentary on the Miller speech is here.
Word frequency analysis The New York Times reports via an
interesting graphic the frequencies of
different words used during the DNC and the RNC. Micah L. Sifry performs the
same analysis on Bush's acceptance speech.
President Bush's speech Similar to the DNC, Conservatives
went quiet after the final speech of the convention, but the Technorati
Attention Index™ showed a burst in anti-Bush postings after
the speech ended. this is probably because of the "satisfaction
effect" - that conservatives are happy with the climax of the
convention, while liberals are so unsatisfied, they are vociferously
blogging. William
Saletan commented after the speech, "The 2004 election is becoming
a referendum on your right to hold the president accountable."
Dave Winer wrote, "I'm glad Kerry responded to the Republicans.
Maybe it's time, though, to consider a new format, where they do a
Democratic talk show, with Mario Cuomo, Wesley Clark and James
Carville reviewing the Republicans. They require serious rebuttal.
Don't pretend they're going to roll over and let the Dems win. Fight
fire with fire. It's good that Kerry has shown his anger. It's not
good that he trailed off into his standard incoherent stump
speech."
George Bush's National Guard Service questions Two
important updates in the George Bush Alabama National Guard story -
Salon reports on the widow of a Bush family confidant who says that
Bush did no National Guard service in the spring of 1972. And Ben
Barnes, the former Texas official who says he pulled strings to get
George W. Bush into the Air National Guard will be appearing on 60 Minutes.
First off, a roundup of the best (and worst) coverage of webloggers
in the mainstream media: Note - I'm going to leave off weblogs penned
by pros, like the excellent CNN
weblog (nbote: I'm here at the DNC helping CNN make sense of the
blogosphere). Wired News' Adam L. Penenberg covers the eclectic mix of reporting going on from the
convention floor.
Many webloggers also were on the nightly news programs, and
posted
G-Wrap 1.9.1
G-Wrap 1.9.107/28/2004 03:08 PM A wrapper generator.
SID Wrap-Up
SID Wrap-Up06/02/2004 03:52 AM The "Big Picture"' at the Society of Information Display show was
exactly that--big picture screens. With Intel about to unveil cheap
and plentiful LCOS chips, the display market is in for a wild ride
over the next year. Grok Description matches for Why shrink wrap software won't die GrokA matches for Why shrink wrap software won't die
Veritas buys KVault Software in $225M deal
Veritas buys KVault Software in $225M deal08/31/2004 04:49 PM Storage and backup application vendor Veritas Software Corp. said
today that it is acquiring e-mail archiving vendor KVault Software
Ltd. in a deal expected to wrap up next month.
If you have kids that like to game online or each have their own
computer you are going to want to read the referenced article. My
blood pressure goes up when I read about how some software companies
are becoming so restrictive in their utilization of software. [Infowor
ld]
CA Said to Be Planning 1,000 Layoffs09/17/2004 09:40 PM Sources close to Computer Associates say the company will lay off at
least 1,000 employees as it ramps up its offshore development and
moves to cut costs.
New Report Says Outsourcing Causes 9% of U.S. Layoffs
More Info on Trapeze Layoffs10/29/2003 01:39 PM Trapeze let go 30 workers and has 80 left: A spokesperson said the
company hasn't felt the growth it expected so it has trimmed staff....
Layoffs in Linux Space06/05/2005 11:43 PM The OSDL dropped some of its staff, and analysts took the opportunity
to question the org's importance.
SCO Confirms 'Minor' Layoffs
SCO Confirms 'Minor' Layoffs05/04/2004 04:46 PM The company says the small number of layoffs across the board had
nothing to do with backer BayStar's demands that the company focus all
of its energy on its Unix litigation.
Supersized layoffs at AOL Music?
Supersized layoffs at AOL Music?12/09/2003 07:23 PM A BoingBoing pal who prefers anonymity says "AOL @ Music office NUKED
today.. ops, QA, eng, PMs all let go." Link
Forget Layoffs, Fire Them For Porn09/01/2004 01:26 PM One writer at ZDNet UK is wondering if the porn excuse is being used as
an alternative to laying people off. There are a growing number
of stories about people losing their jobs for viewing porn on work
computers, but the writer wonders how bad the offenses really are. He
also notes that no one seems to complain when a company gets rid of
people for porn, but layoffs seem like bad news all around. This
seems like a stretch (and also seems to imply that almost anyone you'd
want to layoff has been surfing porn on their work computer), but is
still somewhat amusing. Maybe we'll have a different stat next to
monthly layoffs: "fired for porn."
Area Downplays Apple Layoffs04/18/2004 06:59 PM The Apple Computer plant closing last week in the Laguna West section
of Elk Grove saddened residents and merchants there, but they said the
layoff of at least 235 workers shouldn't have an appreciable impact on
their community. By Michael Kolber, Sacramento Bee (via MyAppleMenu)
Deal With IBM Leading to NiSource Layoffs (AP)
Deal With IBM Leading to NiSource Layoffs (AP)06/22/2005 02:36 AM AP - NiSource Inc. announced Tuesday it would cut 445 jobs nationwide
as part of a $1.6 billion deal with IBM for it to take over some
business support services.
Friendster Rumors: Sassa Out, Layoffs, more VC Money
Friendster Rumors: Sassa Out, Layoffs, more VC Money06/05/2005 11:21 PM Long time readers know I'm no fan of Friendster. But I've heard from
multiple sources that the following are (or soon will be) true: CEO
Scott Sassa is out Layoffs More VC funding (even though they were
cashflow positive) Discuss. Or not. (Friendster hackers: If you're
looking for another job, ping me. I know folks hiring, both at Yahoo!
and elsewhere.) Update: More on this at The Tech Beat. Thanks for the
credit, guys. And now Jeff is woried about...
IBM plans fewer U.S. layoffs to compensate for offshoring
IBM plans fewer U.S. layoffs to compensate for offshoring08/16/2004 06:07 PM After internal documents revealed plans to send nearly 5,000 jobs to
developing countries over two years, IBM became an easy target for
critics of outsourcing. Will limiting layoffs take the sting out of
moving these jobs abroad?
