media swamp“Bill Gates: another crook in the White House; News at eleven.” It's hard not to be sarcastic in the face of Gates' visit this week with Bill Clinton, especially considering they've both had their day in court and had their images tarnished for good, with no real result. But hey, as long as the economy keeps going, right? Don't even laugh. They're just two more people on that list O.J. Simpson pulled out of his knife rack who can still keep the public eye, even though everyone has a pretty good idea what they've been up to when they thought no one was looking. And while the Gates MS debacle may not have any permanent icons, like the semen-stained Gap dress, there are still so many infractions against the public and other companies that it's hard to know where to begin. Which, of course, will work to Microsoft's advantage. Details bad. Sound bytes good. Well, here's one for ya: free time on the Web, specifically six months, as long as you sign up for another six months at $21.95 (the same amount the new Sega system is planning on charging for it's new un-free free platform). MS offered bounties to guarantee their own browser would be tricky to not install on variously branded PC desktops? Free Internet! MS extracted a deal from Apple that hurt Netscape's chances of even working right on OS? Free Internet! MS made consumers' lives harder by screwing Intel to hurt Java apps? Free Internet! OK, pop quiz. Which two words do you most remember from the last paragraph? Free Internet! I think we need a new word for shallow that somehow describes microscopic depth. But nothing is going to be any different here, even if Microsoft gets split into seventeen companies after going through the appeals court, which is where they want to fight this one anyway. Still. It does feel good that they lost this one. And, after all, what's more valuable than entertainment any more? Please don't say “Free Internet!” More Mr. King fallout Alibris, an Internet bookseller, picked up some funding ($30 million worth) led by the fund-all funders CMGI, and Random House purchased a minority stake in Xlibris (is this -libris naming thing a trend? say it isn't so!), maker of digital tools that help writers publish books on their own. Well, it's about time - these are the first among many such deals, I have no doubt. Welcome, publishing industry, to our little digital media party. Ironic, no? that you're the last media fiefdom to join the web-frenzy, considering that much of the Web is based on publishing? Wait a minute - publishing industry, medieval business practices, arcane writer-sacrificing rites - never mind. Elsewhere, erotic lit site nerve.com is going to print. Intelligent smut on glossy pages, oh it makes the heart grow fonder… One of a handful of companies to transition from Web to print, Nerve is attracting some negative feedback for the move from analysts, who are stomping their feet and whining that “you're only supposed to go from print to the Web!” Apparently, all of these analysts are happy taking their laptops with them to read in bed. |
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