Another holdup has been aviation safety. The Federal Aviation Administration has barred the use of mobile phones on U.S. flights for years because of potential interference with a plane’s navigational signals. Those concerns might diminish once the foreign airlines’ test results come in. However, one study at Carnegie Mellon University found that passengers were surreptitiously making cellphone calls despite the ban, and suggested that there were around 25 incidents of interference with aircraft communications each year (although the evidence that this was caused by cellphones is circumstantial). Other experts note that no accidents have been directly tied to use of cellphones. FAA spokesman Les Dorr told PM that as long as the FCC is opposed, “it’s a moot point anyway.”

Airlines in the U.S. could, of course, push for cellphones if they thought their customers really wanted it. Instead, they’re competing to be the first to offer wireless Internet access. A few months ago JetBlue started its limited in-flight broadband Wi-Fi service on a few aircraft, in partnership with Yahoo and Research in Motion; Blackberry users can send and receive e-mail from any account, while laptop users are limited to Yahoo for their e-mailing and instant messaging. American Airlines and Virgin America are also working with U.S. provider AirCell to roll out Web browsing and e-mail capabilities, and just won FAA approval to start installing the hardware abroad American’s 767-200 fleet. Southwest and Alaska Airlines are also planning Wi-Fi experiments of their own.

Bullshit! It has nothing to do with this. Airphone was a massive success that was only curtailed because the costs were too high. The reason why this is being scuttled is because talking on the plane is a last mile paradigm, and until the airlines and the FCC figure out a way to make it a monopoly just like the land line, they're going to sit on it. The customer be damned. I don't buy that most people were opposed to in flight calls. Being trapped in a sardine tube for 4 hours while flying coast to coast is completely dead time. PLUS, what are they going to do when WiFi service goes up and I make a Skype call? Through my VPN to avoid service blocking?

Why U.S. Airlines Still Won't Join the Mobile Mile-High Club - Cell Phones on Planes - Popular Mechanics

The investments from cable companies are said to have roots in a desire to expand beyond wired data. In some cases, the cable networks are looking into co-developing handhelds that would tap into the content they already host as part of their TV deals, according to the report. Their investments are likely tied to stakes in Xohm that would allow them to buy bulk access to the WiMAX service for new, related services.

WRONG! They're investing in alternative last mile technologies because it's a fundamental pillar of their strategy to own the last mile. You cannot collude and lever everyone else out of business without controlling it. It has nothing to do with handheld devices and repurposing content. Sure, there might be a handheld device, but that's a red herring. The gold is in being the bridge troll.

Comcast, Google funding Sprint WiMAX network?

On the verge of a collapse that could have shaken the very foundations of the U.S. financial system, investment bank Bear Stearns Cos. was bailed out Friday by a rival and the federal government. The near-miss raised new alarm about the credit crisis — and whether other big firms might be in jeopardy.

The rescue came from JPMorgan Chase & Co. and, in an extraordinary step, the Federal Reserve, both rushing to pump new money into the venerable Wall Street firm after its financial state deteriorated so much in a 24-hour period that it threatened to fail.
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Bear Stearns stock lost nearly half its market value, about $5.7 billion, in a matter of minutes, and pulled the broader market down with it. The Dow Jones industrial average fell nearly 200 points.

I'd been saying since the beginning of the year when the Gubment initiated the stimulus package that the reason why they did was to prevent one of the big banks from going under due to liquidity problems. Jim Cramer echoed the same sentiment a few nights later after a buddy of mine and I opined on it, but to be honest, I thought it would be Citi. The fact that its Bear Stearns is kinda shocking, since they were touted as being in a position of strength. The good news is that we're closer to the bottom. The bad news is that it's going to be a long long road back up.

The sad thing thats being entirely ignored is that people should be going to jail for this. Not only did the securities industry engage in downright illegal handling (not just unethical or risky), then took $38B (yes, B) in bonuses in 2007 for their handywork, but even CEO Schwartz lied to the market when he said that Bear was liquid. Folks, people bought stock based upon that comment and now they took a 50%+ haircut inside of 15 days. That's bullshit. The people that bought that stock could be your retired grandmother or your own 401k. You should be mad as hell and not wanting to take it anymore.

Near collapse of Bear Stearns sounds new alarm on credit crisis

“The upward valuations pressure is the result of decisions being made by people wearing suits in cities like New York and Boston who would never ever meet with start-ups,” Mr. Andreessen said in an interview. “If that ever goes away, it will have consequences. But it doesn’t look like they will change their minds.”

Yer right marka... cuz that didn't happen last time. Idiot.

Silicon Valley Start-Ups Awash in Dollars, Again - New York Times

Have you ever wondered what a group of highly talented and motivated people could accomplish in a weekend? Could they start a company from concept to completion?

StartupWeekend answers that question and more. A unique three-day experience, StartupWeekend brings the best and brightest people together in a local office space to select the concept, break into teams, and develop the product, marketing and revenue model.

Occurring in cities across the world, StartupWeekend is the new way to allow your local entrepreneurial community to come together and incubate a company from concept to completion in just three days.

I'd actually like to get one of these going in Nashville too. I might check this one out to get a feel for it.

Startup Weekend Atlanta — November 9-11

In a statement Thursday, Jim Cicconi, AT&T’s senior executive vice president for external and legislative affairs, said Mr. Martin’s proposal was an “interesting and creative balance” that would not change the business models of AT&T and others. He said Google would now have to “put up or shut up.”

“If they are serious, they will be able to bid and test their model in the marketplace against the business models of companies already enjoying widespread consumer acceptance,” he said.

There's no question that part of Google's strategy is to be a last mile player. Whether this is by design or by threat is up for debate. I myself am marveling at this, since I spent a good 5 years trying to wrestle control of the network from the telcos. Unfortunately, the Telecom Reform Act of 1996, which spurred the largest infrastructure build out in US history, didn't have enough support at the FCC after Bush took office in 2000. This allowed the CLEC that sprang up after 1996 to flounder and die. Even the mighty AT&T fell. Now all we have is another oligopoly that replaced it and no real competition. Oh and higher prices. All of the CLEC's took the risk and created the roadways which are now generating an estimated $41B a quarter in revenue.

I like Google's chances of arresting this revenue stream from the oligopoly. They are not dependent on the oligopoly itself to generate their cash flow like the CLEC's were. There's much less ability to throttle their growth. But my advice to Google is that you will need all of those PhD's to make sure that you don't get outfoxed. Ma Bell is a mean and cunning adversary.

Google Set to Bid Billions for Airwaves

In a blog post Tuesday afternoon, Digg CEO Jay Adelson wrote that the company was pulling down a number of news stories pertaining to a cracked HD DVD encryption key that could circumvent the digital rights management (DRM) restrictions on the media discs.

The reason, he said, was a cease-and-desist letter on behalf of the Advanced Access Content System (AACS), the consortium with ownership rights to the key that had been cracked. The organization cited Section 1201 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, which concerns the spread of information pertaining to DRM breaking. By including stories that linked to the key, the letter argued, Digg was breaking the law.

This should be VERY interesting to watch. I wonder if they'll use journalism precedents to protect themselves as they are only reporting the truth.

Digg in tough spot with DMCA debacle: Memestreams beware

In the go-go late 1990s, Ford went to similar lengths to recruit new talent. Now, its survival hinges on cutting its work force to match dramatically reduced demand for its cars and trucks.

WOW! Talk about a hard job to do. This goes against every grain of your body as a business person.

How 38,000 were enticed to leave Ford

The Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice cleared the roughly $80 billion deal on Oct. 11, declaring that there were no competitive concerns and opting not to require the combined company to divest assets or make other concessions.

Of course this is the biggest sham of the entire process, since the entire reason why this merger is a bad idea IS the fact that it will reduce competition and consolidate power in the telecom monopolies. Prices will go up. Innovation will continue to be shackled. And if net neutrality gets the boot, then you'll also have this hegemony spreading into other industries.

It will be supremely interesting to see what the standout committee members actually get in the discussion. They seem to be pointing towards pricing and service concessions, which to me feels like a 'too little too late' compromise.

As usual, when it comes to politics, they are completely missing the point. Both of these organizations should be charged with manipulating the market, robbing the public, and committing shareholder fraud.

FCC splits on ATT-BellSouth terms; merger vote put off

The 20 smartest companies to start now. Or alternatively, what businesses VC's think they can find a 3 year exit strategy for.

Here ya go brain trust at Memestreams...