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| compos mentis. Concision. Media. Clarity. Memes. Context. Melange. Confluence. Mishmash. Conflation. Mellifluous. Conviviality. Miscellany. Confelicity. Milieu. Cogent. Minty. Concoction. |
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Microsoft and Sun End Long Acrimony in Surprise Accord |
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| Topic: High Tech Developments |
11:44 am EST, Apr 3, 2004 |
This is not an April Fools joke. The sky above may be closer than it appears. Microsoft and Sun Microsystems announced a surprising armistice yesterday, ending years of public acrimony ... In a separate announcement yesterday, Sun said it would lay off 3,300 employees, or 9 percent of its work force. Both McNealy and Ballmer spoke of how much the balance of power in technology markets had shifted ... ... Sun will increasingly become a software company ... Nick Carr was right. IT doesn't matter, and Gates, Ballmer, and McNealy agree with him. Don't buy the line about competing with each other. Microsoft and Sun find themselves on the same side in a desperate struggle to remain relevant, and both are losing hard and fast. Here's a meme for you: IT is 1, and there is only 1 IT. You're either with IT or against IT. Resistance is futile; you will be assimilated. Coming in May: Carly Fiorina and Michael Dell join forces! Coming in July: General Electric buys IBM; market sighs. Don't Panic! Microsoft and Sun End Long Acrimony in Surprise Accord |
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Joss Stone - 'Fell In Love With A Boy' Video |
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| Topic: Music |
3:19 am EST, Apr 3, 2004 |
The White Stripes' 'Fell In Love with a Girl' gets a funky remake from Joss Stone. See the cool video. Joss Stone - 'Fell In Love With A Boy' Video |
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The Future Security Environment in the Middle East |
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| Topic: International Relations |
1:51 am EST, Apr 3, 2004 |
This report identifies several important trends that are shaping regional security. It examines traditional security concerns, such as energy security and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, as well as newer challenges posed by political reform, economic reform, civil-military relations, leadership change, and the information revolution. The report concludes by identifying the implications of these trends for US foreign policy. The Future Security Environment in the Middle East |
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Alistair Cooke, Elegant Interpreter of America, Dies at 95 |
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| Topic: Media |
9:09 am EST, Mar 31, 2004 |
Alistair Cooke, the urbane and erudite British-born journalist who became a peerless observer of the American scene for more than 70 years, died at his home in Manhattan, the BBC said yesterday. He was 95. Alistair Cooke, Elegant Interpreter of America, Dies at 95 |
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| Topic: Media |
12:45 am EST, Mar 31, 2004 |
Brilliant commentary on configure-your-friends/six-degree style social network sites. small world |
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| Topic: Movies |
12:31 am EST, Mar 31, 2004 |
A New Film by Jim Jarmusch ... In Theaters Soon. (Watch the trailer online.) Starring: Steve Buscemi; Iggy Pop; Tom Waits; Cate Blanchett; Gza; Rza; Bill Murray; Roberto Benigni; Jack White; Meg White; Isaach De Bankolé; Steven Wright; Steve Coogan; Cinqué Lee; Joie Lee; Taylor Mead; Alfred Molina; and William Rice. Coffee and Cigarettes is a comic series of short vignettes that build on one another to create a cumulative effect as the characters discuss things as diverse as caffeine popsicles, Paris in the twenties, and the use of nicotine as an insecticide, all the while sitting around sipping coffee and smoking cigarettes. As Jarmusch delves into the normal pace of our world from an extraordinary angle, he shows just how absorbing the obsessions, joys, and addictions of life can be. Filmed in black and white, Coffee and Cigarettes made its world premiere at the Venice International Film Festival, then screened to a sold-out crowd at the Toronto International Film Festival. This film will be shown on April 15 at the San Francisco International Film Festival. See http://www.sfiff.org/fest04/titleDetail.asp?title_id=58 for more details. Coffee and Cigarettes |
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China Moves Toward Another West: Central Asia |
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| Topic: Society |
12:23 pm EST, Mar 28, 2004 |
With its dozen blue-roofed villas, a brand-new sauna house, casino and three-star hotel constituting the heart of what this frigid outpost at the border of Central Asia fancies as downtown, Alashankou would seem an unlikely spot for the economic and political reordering of an entire region. A booming China looms as the economic locomotive, and even the model, for the entire region. That means China finds itself in a position to call the tune ... Increasingly, there are signs that Chinese influence is spreading. Meanwhile, China has been busily building new security relationships. "Central Asia is a fantastic lens, or model for what China is trying to do all over its periphery: reaching out and settling old scores, and trying to establish a benign kind of hegemony." "We are destined to become a very important region. Our neighbors love Chinese money, Chinese products, Chinese expertise and Chinese technology." China Moves Toward Another West: Central Asia |
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Can India Plug Its Brain Drain? |
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| Topic: Society |
12:14 pm EST, Mar 28, 2004 |
For years, it was talked about as India's "Brain Drain." Smart young students would take one of the most competitive entrance examinations in the world, get a bachelor's degree in engineering -- and promptly go West. Three years ago, IIT Bombay set up an IT incubator. While it is too early to draw conclusions, there are initial indications that the incubator has been successful. "We have to create opportunities in India and promote people who are young and ambitious." 20 years ago, the US was the place to be for technological entrepreneurs. But now, "this is where the action is. It would be foolish to miss this opportunity by being out of India." Can India Plug Its Brain Drain? |
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| Topic: Society |
12:07 pm EST, Mar 28, 2004 |
China is touted as the next economic and military superpower, but India may yet overtake it in the new global order. China's foreign investment inflow is running at $US53 billion a year, as against India's $US5 billion. India's average growth rate has been about 6 per cent, meaning its 1.1 billion people -- with half China's per capita income -- are falling behind their Chinese counterparts. Indian visitors to China are almost driven to despair ... India is plugged into Silicon Valley; China into the Wal-Mart. "It's the difference between hardware and software." Battle of the Giants |
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The Reader of Gentlemen's Mail |
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| Topic: Cryptography |
11:20 am EST, Mar 28, 2004 |
David Kahn has written a first-rate biography of Herbert O. Yardley, the celebrated (and notorious) codebreaker and poker player, the cryptographic whiz who was, in Kahn's judgment, "the most colorful and controversial figure in American intelligence." As one of the most distinguished scholars of military intelligence, he is ideally suited to tell the tale. Why didn't the United States have "an agency of its own to solve and read foreign messages"? "As I asked myself this question I knew that I had the answer to my eager young mind which was searching for a purpose in life. I would devote my life to cryptography." All in all Yardley was a pretty weird guy. The Reader of Gentlemen's Mail |
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