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04 May 2009 11:34

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Biz, Tech: Vista may leave store shelves as soon as Windows 7 arrives

  • It’s been a long time since we’ve had a version of Windows that will actually run better (than the previous version) on the hardware that most customers have.
  • Mike Nash • Microsoft’s vice president of the Windows product management group. MS appears to be ready to give up on the unpopular OS. Vista may stop shipping with new computers as soon as Windows 7 shows up, according to a company-wide memo. But … but … what would Lauren say? • source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 1 Comment • Permalink

04 May 2009 11:17

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Culture: “Word Worms”: Another example of turning copyright on its ear

  • Public domain toons are a sadly-wasted resource – one Alex Gorosh uses in clever ways, creating family-friendly raps to go with the old-school toons.source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

04 May 2009 10:11

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Offbeat, Tech: Oh, and related to URL-shortening, fun fact of the day

  • Did you know that TinyURL‘s founder is a unicyclist? His name’s Kevin Gilbertson and he started the service in 2002. He wanted to link the unicycling newsgroups easily. He had a problem, solved it via code and created a new business model. Genius. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

04 May 2009 10:04

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Tech: URL shorteners are becoming ultra-popular right now

  • 50 million bit.ly links are clicked each week (a number that’s rising) source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

04 May 2009 09:53

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Offbeat, U.S.: Obama’s “Oh-mama”-in-law is adapting to D.C. life pretty well

  • Marian Robinson, Michelle Obama’s mom, had never lived outside of Chicago before she moved into the White House, and left for the District “kicking and screaming.” She did yoga! But she wanted to help her grandkids get settled, so she moved. source
  • Now, three months in, Robinson is savoring her life as a D.C. socialite – she’s out and about nearly as much as her kid, “so much so that sometimes we have to plan our schedule around her schedule,” Michelle joked. No word on if she’s still doing yoga. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

04 May 2009 09:26

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World: Wanting to save an “infant democracy,” Nepal’s PM resigns

  • Prachanda fought against Nepal’s monarchy for a decade. The prime minister, also known as Pushpa Kamal Daha, resigned in the wake of heavy protests against the sacking of the country’s army chief, Gen. Rookmangud Katawal. The Maoist government sacked him, but the country’s president, Ram Baran Yadav, reinstated him. The “unconstitutional” measure, according to Prachanda, causes a base conflict in the government, so he’s stepping aside to help protect the democracy. Prachanda led a decade-long Maoist insurgency before they laid down their arms last year in democratic elections. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

04 May 2009 08:21

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Politics, Tech: Dear newspapers: A widescreen Kindle sounds smart, but …

  • I implore newspapers not to put too much stock in these big screen Kindles. I know the options are awfully thin as to what can save you, and the Kindle is a potentially sexy savior; but it is not the answer.
  • MG Siegler • Techcrunch blogger, on the possibility of Amazon throwing a hail-mary pass to newspapers in the form of a wide-screen Kindle this week. It won’t work, he says, mainly because newspapers are a different kind of beast from books. He notes that it might cost a lot more and that the place a type of product like this could really help consumers is textbooks. We’re prone to agree. By the way, Hearst is working on something like this. By the way, super-smart newspaper consultant Steve Yelvington agrees. • source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

04 May 2009 03:00

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Music: Conor Oberst ain’t feeling the critics’ love from Pitchfork

  • 4.9 their rating of the Bright Eyes dude’s latest, “Outer South” source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

04 May 2009 02:34

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Biz, U.S.: The Boston Globe’s currently facing some trying hours

  • Unions and management are butting heads. At stake? The paper itself. The management of The Boston Globe, owned by The New York Times Company, is prepared to file a shutdown notice if it cannot convince its unions to cut costs significantly. The iconic newspaper and the union have for the moment stopped talking, but could start up again tonight. The two sides were fighting against a deadline which conveniently passed at midnight. See that? That’s sweat going down furrowed brows. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

03 May 2009 22:06

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Offbeat: Your business card isn’t as cool as this guy’s.

  • “It doesn’t fit in a rolodex because it doesn’t belong in a rolodex.” This may perhaps be our all-time favorite video on YouTube, because we like rewarding idiots for their idiocy.source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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