Rebecca blogs about the first
BloggerCorps success story. BloggerCorps is project to try
to hook up local bloggers with important local projects who need help
from bloggers. It's a great idea which just needs a bit more momentum
I think. It ties in well with the Global Voices stuff. (The first
version of the manifesto is done.)
Gene therapy has proven to be promising, but the unexpected death
of one test subject a couple of years ago put some testing on hold. A
recent success may get the ball rolling again.
Now comes news from a German and Swiss collaboration
that have successfully treated patients with chronic granulomatous
disease (CGD), an immune deficiency, by removing bone marrow-derived
stem cells from the patients, inserting the working copy of the target
gene, and then replacing the modified cells.
Good news, especially for one of the subjects who is able to stop
taking antibiotics for his condition.
There's also news on Titan's volcanos, the effect of some types of
pornography on sperm motility, as well as climate change.
Shark Tank: Another consulting success story
Shark Tank: Another consulting success story04/23/2004 12:14 AM All this consultant has to do is write and test a little code to glue
an ERP system to a sales and delivery application. At least, that's
what he thinks.
Linux in action: A public library's success story05/05/2004 07:00 AM Over the past year, the Howard County (Md.) Public Library has
migrated more than 200 public PCs from Windows 98 and Windows NT to
Linux. These PCs are used both to surf the Internet and to access the
library's catalogues. NewsForge recently spoke with Brian Auger,
associate director of the library, and the IT team responsible for the
migration. We wanted to learn more about why and how it was
accomplished, and how pleased they are with the results.
OSCON winds down with success story, economic nonsense, and a big gorilla
OSCON winds down with success story, economic nonsense, and a big gorilla07/31/2004 07:12 AM The final day at OSCON kicked off with an encouraging and standing
ovation-evoking keynote from Cartography Associates President David
Rumsey, who laid out how open source principles may be applied to an
emerging "digital library world." That was followed by a Novell talk
about the success of switching from proprietary to open source, a
discussion of some "nonsense" economic theory, and a call for open
source to step up and help feed a big, bad gorilla known as King Kong.
Earlier OSCON stories: Day one, day two, day three, day four.
Mobile Phone Tracking Success Story for Locate Mobiles.com and Trace A Mobile.com (featureXpress)
The Story Behind The Story Of The Google IPO?07/26/2004 12:14 PM This morning, it seems like the big Wall Street tech story is the
official release from Google about what they think they'll raise from
their IPO. Looking over all the different coverage, it appears that
many (especially in the financial press) seem to be getting the story
a little mixed up. The basic facts seem to be that approximately 24.6 million shares
will be put on the market with a range of $108 to $135 per share.
As noted in the story, some seem to think that breaking $100 may prove
to be a psychological barrier for many retail investors, even if the
actual price per share is meaningless. Still, if the price is a
psychological barrier, rather than a calculated decision, the investor
probably shouldn't be buying anyway. A minimum bid from anyone must
be for five shares, so anyone who wants in is spending over $500. The
range is higher than expected, and could lead to a valuation pushing
$40 billion. One analyst makes the bizarre statement that: "The question is not what the company is
worth, but instead what people will pay for it," which misses the
fairly simple, but important, point that the price people are willing
to pay for the stock is what the company is worth. Meanwhile,
many news articles are claiming that Google will raise
$3.3 billion in the offering, which is not true at all (or at
least, extremely unlikely). The details show that Google is likely to
bring
in about $1.66 billion (and possibly as high as $1.9 billion at
the top of the range). That's because only 14.1 million of the 24.6
million shares are actually being sold by the company. The other 10.5
million are being sold by insiders. Now, that's a curious point that
no one seems to be focusing on. While insiders do sometimes sell
during an IPO, it generally doesn't look too good. While there are
plenty of reasons (liquidity, liquidity, liquidity) that people might
want to sell, usually insiders get locked up for a bit. It does
happen, but in this case, an awful lot of that $3.3 billion (or
whatever the amount actually is) isn't going to the company, but to
others. The initial IPO filing tried to spin all this insider selling
as a good thing, but that's pretty questionable. If people really
believe in the stock, why are so many selling it at the very
first chance they get? Doesn't inspire the most confidence in the
world.
Google IPO Called a Success08/27/2004 01:26 PM Contrary to some published views, the Dutch-auction process of
Google's IPO last week was a success for the Internet search engine
and its investors, despite a "horrendous" market, a legal commentator
claims.
Google falling victim to success02/10/2003 12:07 PM How long will Google stay top dog? For more than three years, Google
of Mountain View has been the dominant search engine. Some ...
(This is also my colu
mn today in the San Jose
Mercury News.)
Early this year, back before Google Mania grew to bubble-era
proportions, some optimists were speculating that the company's
prospective initial public offering might produce an overall market
value north of $20 billion. That sounded, in those days, like an
amazing number for such a young outfit, and it was an affirmation of
Silicon Valley's ability to reinvent itself.
Yet today, having bettered that number by a considerable margin in its
IPO, Google is beset by second-guessers -- including people with
distinct axes to grind -- who are calling the exercise a failure.
Google's management certainly did screw up in some ways. But overall,
this IPO was a success. Don't let the naysayers, especially the Wall
Street crowd, tell you otherwise.
The most important element of the success was the auction, which
Google forced down the throats of investment bankers. Under the cozy
old system, the bankers would set the price of hot IPO stocks grossly
low and make sure their friends and favored clients got shares at the
offering price, which they could then unload for fat profits.
This time, the company got the money, except for some relatively low
fees to the banks. The stock had a modest surprising (to me, at least)
first-day rise anyway, but the people profiting from that were those
who bid in the public auction process, not insiders.
Google's sale of shares to bidders for $85 each was considered low
only because the company itself, in what will be noted in
business-school case studies as a monumental mistake, set an
outrageously high target price in late July. That was hubris, and it
was just the wedge the Wall Street crowd needed to talk down the
actual selling price.
Political operatives might have given Google better advice: Set
expectations low.
Presidential candidates heading into the early caucuses and primaries
know that if expectations are too high, they can lose even if they win
the voting. Conversely, if expectations are low enough, they can win
in public perception even if they lose a particular contest.
Google created expectations that it could not possibly meet,
especially after wider market conditions turned south and rational
investors looked closely at the deal. Its hubris in other ways,
including plans for substantial unloading of stock in the IPO by
insiders and too little information about corporate strategy, added to
potential bidders' unease.
Had the company set a lower target price earlier -- a price that still
would be impressive by any other standard -- it would have looked
downright brilliant today.
Wall Street's pique continues to fuel a retrograde spin on this story.
The bankers, still sniping from the bushes, weren't vindicated by this
IPO. Let's see more auctions.
SEO SPECIALIST in HYDERABAD :: SURESH KRISHNA :: SEO EXPERT in HYDERBAD and INDIA
SEO SPECIALIST in HYDERABAD :: SURESH KRISHNA :: SEO EXPERT in HYDERBAD and INDIA06/14/2004 10:01 AM Let me introduce myself first . I got my Master's Degree Maths from
Osmania University in 1998. I finished my Advanced Diploma in Web
Publishing and Multimedia from Zee Interactive Limited I am involved
in the use of internet for Search Engine Optimization. I am working
as SEO (Search engine optimization) Team leader from past 3 years in G
S Concepts Pvt Ltd (formerly it is ITlsoftware.com). I know even Web
Designing also. G S concepts Pvt Ltd is one of the Well known SEO
company. It has much expertise in SEO from past 3 years. It has done
arond 50+ SEO projects national and international. [PRWEB Jun 13,
2004]
AP Story Says Google China Censorsoring Links
AP Story Says Google China Censorsoring Links09/25/2004 03:40 PM Round 4 of Googles' China Syndrome. "... tests that found Google omits
results from the government-banned sites if search requests are made
through computers connecting to the Internet in China."
"The CBS Story That Didn't Run - Bush Admin too dumb to use Google"
Reviews of pens05/20/2004 05:43 PM Illustrator
Danny Gregory has reviewed a bunch of pens, accompanied by his
drawings of the pens.
"Rotring Rapidoliner: I am really in love with this pen
these days and I never would of thunk it. I first tried Rapidographs
when I was a teenager but they always clogged and leaked and were a
pain to fill. I was forever dismantling the nibs and washing them in
the sink and finding ink blots on my shirts. This pen is perfect. My
nib is the finest they make and the pen just won’t clog or skip.
The guts are disposable, for $4 you get a fresh new nib and supply of
Indian ink. I have been drawing with this pen every day for two months
and am still on my original cartridge. The pen’s feeling is
ultra smooth, a little creamy and a little brittle, like icing on a
cupcake. The best $10 I ever spent."
C-Murder Banned From Having Pens (AP)03/26/2005 07:42 PM AP - The lawyer for rapper C-Murder, who angered authorities by
recording parts of his upcoming music video and compact disc behind
bars, has agreed to take only a pencil into jailhouse meetings.
Google Dark Fibre Story Fuels Rampant Rumors
Google Dark Fibre Story Fuels Rampant Rumors02/01/2005 09:15 PM The latest has Google starting a VOIP service. "Google has refused to
confirm or deny reports that it is planning to launch a voice over IP
(VoIP) telephony service."
Dave Barry Pens Final Column ... Maybe (AP)01/02/2005 08:56 PM AP - Popular humorist Dave Barry said Sunday's column for The Miami
Herald was his last — maybe. Barry, who has written humor columns
for three decades, including 22 years at the Herald, says he's holding
out the possibility of a return.
Welcome to America, please sheath your pens and close your notebooks
Illustrator
Danny Gregory has reviewed a bunch of pens, accompanied by his
drawings of the pens.