For you media geeks, a reminder of why Lucille Ball was insanely important. From helping found the company that gave us Star Trek, to breaking racial boundaries, she did a lot. This article is a bit fluffy, but has some great reminders. For me, it's also a reminder of a good career – from pin-up girl to elder stateswoman of comedy.
Economics/Geekonomics:
A rather dismal look at the effects a second recession may have on the US. Does note that companies do have a lot of padding. I do disagree on stimulus issues – namely we'd have to see a mix of tax hikes and tax cuts to raise revenue but ease impacts, and then serious stimulus.
The U.S. Stock Market fell 635 points today. And at least as of this writing, people are investing in treasuries, which tells me some folks don't trust the S&P (which may be some of the more interesting fallout from this mess).
Oh, and continue the Bank of America Death Watch. Remember if it goes, that's going to have severe economic impact from sheer panic alone – and their stock price isn't encouraging.
College is expensive, but still worth it by the statistics.
Note here: I'm pretty sure we've got a double-dip unless it's actively headed off.
Comics:
Disney has two Marvel films and a pixar movie coming out in 2014. Some speculation follows. Me, I want to see what happens with Ant-Man (no, seriously), because that is a real test of the company's ability to adapt oddball properties to film – and it could open the door to more odd adaptions if done right – which is something to look for if you're in film, comics, etc.
Hacking:
AntiSec hackers dump some police data in what appears to be a bit of a show/strike/reminder of their power – and because of recent arrests of supposed Anonymous members.
Anonymous takes on Syria with a hack that's almost poetic in its writing. I guess that shutdown of the internet didn't work so well for the Syrian government. Anonymous continues to be public and involved in political areas.
Music:
SiriusXM is becoming a lot more like Pandora, which a heavy emphasis on discovery. As we've been noting, music services, ironically, are an area of increasing growth and apparently opportunity – despite there being so many.
Technology:
Two companies in interesting areas (business intelligence and databases), picked on some venture capital: PivotLink and ParAccel. Ready those resumes folks, someone's gotta spend that cash.
Speaking of hiring, Gamification company BigDoor is moving and is hiring so go get that resume in!
Non-Apple tablet shipments expected to grow in 2012. This isn't surprising really, so I include it for lack of surprise. Engineers, everyone, really needs to prepare for the Tablet Future – which reminds me to get my books on Nook . . .
A look at how Wal-Mart is using technology. I still think they have an ecosystem in mind since their low-end market is paralyzed to declining.
Apple has a new, cheaper, educational computer. I include this as noteworthy as Apple trying to target any market is noteworthy (mmm, and Amazon targeted rental textbooks recently . . .).
QUESTION OF THE DAY: So what other inroads to education would – or should – Apple make?
(Ha! And you thought I'd ask about the economy!)
– Steven Savage