Another one for the "there is no spoon" file. Case in point, is the economy really sucking right now? Unless you're in telecom, IT, or some related industry, probably not.

This is the second article in the last 2 weeks that makes me want to plunk down the $300 needed for a McKinsey subscription.

McKinsey Quarterly: Anatomy of a bear market

Steve Albini writes an essay for the Negativland site about how screwed the music industry really is, particularly if you're a young indie band looking for a "Big Break."

Never mind any "artists rights" noise you might hear - examine the hypothetical numbers he includes toward the end of the article and you'll see exactly why the music industry hates MP3s.

The Problem With Music

This is relevant to several other memes I've been partaking in lately, in that it represents that technical quality is ultimately not the only (or even prominent) factor in success.

Why VHS was better than Betamax

Some good news to go along with the bad news in the Verizon suit.

RIAA chief to step down

A brief article about your friend, and mine, the DMCA, and how it's perhaps the most anti-consumer legislation in the modern era.

DMCA: Ma Bell Would Be Proud

A great article from Harvard Business School (online reg required I believe) that talks about why expensing options is not a solution to the current exploits of America's Most Wanted Corporate Criminals. In fact, it points the blame squarely at the investment analysis community.

Why Expensing Options Doesn't Solve the Problem

Problem: Microsoft abused it's monopoly status to overcharge customers for its products.

Solution: Increase Microsoft's monopoly status by giving customers more Microsoft products.

dumb.

Microsoft resolves class-action suit - or - Stupidity at its finest

This is an interesting article that accomplishes two things that I thought were impossible: it gives the straight dope on how the Baby Bells are manipulating the field of competition and it praises Michael Powell as a pro-consumer FCC chairman. Amazing.

I'm now wondering if this article isn't flak from the FCC itself.

The Baby Bells cry foul as the competition intensifies.

[[The Bush administration, under fire for its handling of the economy, has quietly killed off a Labor Department program that tracked mass layoffs by U.S. companies.]]

My theory is still that 'there is no spoon.' Meaning that I don't believe there is a recession (despite being unemployed for nearly 2 years) because the growth rates that we're being compared to are completely out of whack for the last 5 years. But this is an interesting data point.

Shooting the messenger: Report on layoffs killed

This summer, millions of businesspeople will be upgraded against their will. And no, we don't mean their flight plans.

Microsoft (nasdaq: MSFT)will officially end technical support for Windows 98 and Windows NT 4 on June 30. The financial implications for Microsoft and others could be significant, even in the short term.

Better than any economic stimulus plan Bush has put forth