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01 Jul 2011 22:37

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Tech: Domain registar GoDaddy sells itself for a freaking lot of money

  • $2.25 billion to a private equity firm; whoa daddy source
  • » Big business in cheap domains: Why so much? Well, GoDaddy’s role as the most popular registar online means the company drives huge revenues — they’re expected to top $1.1 billion this year.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

01 Jul 2011 17:25

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Tech: Google’s eyeing Hulu, or reasons they might be getting too big

  • then Back in 2006, Google purchased then-fledgling YouTube for $1.65 billion — its biggest purchase ever at the time. The service has grown massive over the years but has struggled bringing major content creators like Viacom on board — a huge bummer for fans of “The Daily Show” in particular. In fact, Viacom sued YouTube to get them to remove the clips.
  • now Hulu, a service started in part as a major studio reaction to YouTube’s viral growth, is now in talks with Google, who may buy the company out — and in the process, get the lucrative content deals that have eluded YouTube over the years. (Microsoft and Yahoo are also eyeing the service, by the way.) Will we finally see “The Daily Show” on YouTube again? source
  • » We don’t know how to feel about this: While we appreciate the fact that Google might make “The Daily Show” happen on YouTube with a buyout like this (though Viacom has pulled their shows from Hulu in the past), if it actually happens, it runs directly into a wall of regulatory scrutiny — as Google’s been feeling the heat lately. While YouTube and Hulu aren’t the only games in town (hi Netflix and Vimeo), together they’re big enough that it would deserve some regulatory scrutiny if it actually happens.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

01 Jul 2011 16:08

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U.S.: Remember: The Dominique Strauss-Kahn case still isn’t closed

  • Our concern is that the Manhattan district attorney is too afraid to try this case. We believe he’s afraid he’s going to lose this high-profile case.
  • Lawyer Kenneth Thompson, who represents Dominique Strauss-Kahn’s accuser • Describing the issues currently clouding the Dominique Strauss-Kahn rape trial. If you read the document, it notes a few things which could damage the victim’s credibility in a court of law — meaning that, even if the French politician actually did assault her (Thompson claims that the physical evidence still supports her case), there are inconsistencies which could damage her case in the eyes of a jury. These inconsistencies show up both in her backstory and her story of the moments before and after the alleged assault, and have been documented in this letter the New York Times posted earlier. All of this is to say that this may be an issue of perception — an assault may still have taken place. But purely circumstantial reasons could hurt the prosecutor’s ability to get a conviction. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

01 Jul 2011 14:29

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Tech: What combines alligator skin, titanium and Android innards?

  • If you said this ungodly-expensive phone, you’re right! Watch-maker Tag Heuer, known for its high-style time-telling machines a little more than its ability to make a phone you’d actually use, decided to make a phone that only Gordon Gecko would use. This $6,750 monstrosity of Swiss engineering, called the Tag Heuer Link, doesn’t even have decent specs for a smartphone — an outdated version of Android, just 256 megabytes of internal storage (most smartphones start at 16 gigs), an average camera and a fairly-standard screen. But hey, it’s expensive and stylish! And there’s not an similar iPhone 4 case available for purchase online! If we were Bud Fox, though, we’d probably just stick with a white iPhone 4. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

01 Jul 2011 14:01

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World: Hugo Chavez’s cancer surgery puts Venezuela in tough situation

  • Well, that’s no laughing matter. The Venezuelan leader — adored in some corners, criticized in others — finally made a statement on his bizarre leave of absence in the country he leads. He hasn’t just been hanging with Fidel Castro for kicks, guys. There was some real stuff going on. Cancerous cells, surgery, the whole bit. His vice president, Elías Jaua, says that he could stay out of the country for as long as six months, but he won’t take over his job in the meantime. So what does that mean for the country he leads? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

01 Jul 2011 13:23

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Politics: Who’s to blame for the Minnesota government shutdown?

  • T-Paw Multiple liberal groups, including the Democratic National Committee, took shots at Tim Pawlenty’s record as Minnesota governor after the shutdown happened. “Tim Pawlenty failed Minnesota as Governor and now his failures are coming home to roost with a shutdown his policies are responsible for,” the DNC’s note said this morning.
  • not T-Paw However, if you asked Pawlenty himself, the 2012 presidential candidate has a completely different description of events. He blamed Democrats, particularly Gov. Mark Dayton, but noted his fiscal policies will help the state in the long run. “There’s going to be a variety of near-term impacts,” he said, “but the longer-term goal is what is most important here.” source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

01 Jul 2011 10:21

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World: Now isn’t the the time to discuss Strauss-Kahn’s rebound

  • It is clear that if he wants to, Dominique must come to France and play a major political role. Whatever his status, his presence with us would be decisive for our success in [next year’s] presidential election.
  • Former French Culture Minister Jack Lang • Expressing excitement over the possibility that Dominique Strauss-Kahn might walk. Now, we’ve read a couple of articles like this Financial Times one this morning, and the celebratory tone of the whole thing weirds us out a ton. Even if it was adultery, instead of rape, that’d be enough to sink the hopes of a campaign in the U.S. But even by that token, we don’t know the full story yet, from Kahn’s angle or the victim’s. Now is not the time to discuss his presidential aspirations. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
 
 
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