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09 Jun 2009 23:03

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Biz, Politics: Stupid idea: Charging $100 a year for an e-mail newsletter

  • Good idea Billboard Magazine has for years offered a daily, informative e-mail newsletter that told readers about their latest free and paid content, on top of telling you who was going to the top of the charts. If you’re a chart nerd like us, reading data about music is actually interesting. It was by no means junk mail: We looked forward to reading about the latest music-industry trends in our inbox every day.
  • Bad idea Today, after numerous changes to the format, Billboard informed its subscribers that it would charge them $100 a year ($2 a week!) for content that they used to give away for free – an e-mail that, throughout its history, essentially linked to a Web site. (Now it offers up a useless PDF. Which makes no sense. What, are we going to print it? Why discourage the positive Web traffic?)
  • Bad exampleWhy does this bother us so much? Well, it’s a poorly-done example of the trend towards pay walls for content, which newspapers are about to screw up. With all that niche content, they should set the example for everyone. Instead, they’re charging for what should be a promotional tool. Have you not heard of Twitter, guys? E-mail is the same way! Sigh. We digress. What do you think? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

09 Jun 2009 22:16

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Culture: Sad but true: Even Pixar is giving into sequelitis now.

  • Three upcoming films on their slate are sequels. Like “Monsters, Inc.”? How about “Toy Story”? Did you tolerate “Cars,” or at least have kids with a bunch of “Cars” toys? Well, guess what you’re going to get over the next few years from Pixar? That’s right. Retreads of films Pixar did a long time ago. While they aren’t giving up on fresh films (check out 2011’s anticipated “The Bear And The Bow”), it’s disheartening because they’re one of the few Hollywood studios that doesn’t have to lean so heavily on franchises. Say it ain’t so, guys. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 1 Comment • Permalink

09 Jun 2009 21:48

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Biz: The Chrysler/Fiat deal: Screwing over dealerships en masse

  • 789 Chrysler dealerships are losing their contracts source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

09 Jun 2009 21:37

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Biz, U.S.: SCOTUS uses super-tight language to allow the Chrysler sale

  • Our assessment of the stay factors here is based on the record and proceedings in this case alone.
  • Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg • In her four-paragraph decision in “Indiana State Police Pension Trust v. Chrysler LLC,” which was the main roadblock in the way of the Chrysler-Fiat sale. Why the wording? It’s likely they didn’t want to set a standard for any sort of GM sale. The decision, by the way, hinged on whether Chrysler was being discriminatory towards the pension program in its actions, which it wasn’t. Everyone’s getting screwed the same way. • source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

09 Jun 2009 21:07

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Culture: Zack Morris is responsible for Jimmy Fallon’s best moment so far

  • Ahhhh, we needed a Zack attack. There are many awesome things about this video, but the best part was that Mark-Paul Gosselaar came up with the freaking idea himself. Beautiful. We hope the “Saved by the Bell” reunion lives up to the hype. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

09 Jun 2009 20:48

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U.S.: The Virginia gubernatorial primary wasn’t even remotely close

  • 50% Vote percentage for Creigh Deeds, who came from behind to explode into the lead in a race largely filled with undecided voters
  • 26% Vote percentage for Terry McAuliffe, the Clinton pal who led early but barely did better than third-place Brian Moran, who got 24%. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

09 Jun 2009 20:33

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Sports: The Minnesota Vikings take a breather on Brett Favre

  • The guy who won’t retire did a no-show today. Quarterback Brett Favre – who retired from the team where he spent most of his career, then unretired with a new team, then retired again, and now seems ready unretire again and turn heel – is, at least for now, off the table for the Minnesota Vikings. Why? He missed some team functions he was required to be at. Depending on how his post-surgery shoulder feels, he could be back on the table later, though. He’s playing hokey-pokey pretty hardcore for a football player, eh? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

09 Jun 2009 17:10

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U.S.: A buncha offshore bank accounts used for online gambling frozen

  • $30 million in winnings were dealt a bad hand by the feds source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

09 Jun 2009 15:56

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Tech: June 13 promises to be a day of social-networking reckoning. AHHH!

  • facebook Mark Zuckerburg’s monster will be allowing people to pick their own names as URLs on a first-come, first-serve basis starting June 13.
  • twitter In case you buy into tweetable doomsday theories, here’s one you will love: Also on June 13, Twitter faces a Y2K-style meltdown.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 2 Comments • Permalink

09 Jun 2009 15:23

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U.S.: Yikes: Here’s what happens when people snap into Slim Jims too hard

  • 21 people were injured after an explosion at the factory that makes Slim Jims.
  • two people are still unaccounted for after the disaster. Fingers crossed for them & their families. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
 
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