] A high school senior's choice for a work-study job was a
] little too racy in the eyes of her superintendent.

The Happy Place

] "I'm glad I live in this luxurious burrow on the Knob
] and not in a dirty, smelly spider hole like a slob.
] When I come out I don't want to negotiate;
] But to just do my job and prognosticate.
]
] Today because my shadow I see,
] six more weeks of winter there will be."

Phil Says Expect 6 More Weeks of Winter!

] Since the system went into place last September at the
] new elementary school here in Cambodia's remote northeast
] corner, solar panels have been powering three computers.
] Once a day, an Internet "Motoman" rides a cherry red
] Honda motorcycle slowly past the school. On the passenger
] seat is a gray metal box with a short fat antenna. The
] box holds a wireless Wi-Fi chip set that allows the
] exchange of e-mail between the box and computers.
] Briefly, this schoolyard of tree stumps and a
] hand-cranked water well becomes an Internet hot spot.
]
] It is a digital pony express: five Motomen ride their
] routes five days a week, downloading and uploading
] e-mail. The system, developed by a Boston company, First
] Mile Solutions, uses a receiver box powered by the
] motorcycle's battery. The driver need only roll slowly
] past the school to download all the village's outgoing
] e-mail and deliver incoming e-mail. The school's computer
] system and antenna are powered by solar panels. Newly
] collected data is stored for the day in a computer
] strapped to the back of the motorcycle. At dusk, the
] motorcycles converge on the provincial capital, Ban Lung,
] where an advanced school is equipped with a satellite
] dish, allowing a bulk e-mail exchange with the outside
] world.

Rural Cambodia, Though Far Off the Grid, Is Finding Its Way Online

Cupertino, California-based Apple said it will repair these components for free and offer a full refund for customers who have already paid for the repair. Apple will pay for shipping costs, the company said.

Apple Launches Repair Program for Some iBooks

Someone got an early copy. It has a little fun at the RIAA's expense.

Pepsi / iTunes Superbowl Ad

] Artists get a full 50% of the purchase price. And unlike most record labels,
] our artists keep the rights to their music.
]
] Founded by musicians, for musicians.
]
] No major label connections.
]
] We are not evil.

Awesome!!

Magnatune: try before you buy MP3 music.

] But while the U.S. economy ekes forward, then slips back,
] the Korean and Chinese economies are growing some twice
] as fast. While the U.S. pretends to have a stock market
] resurgence--the figment of a commendably reflated
] dollar--Korea and China are undergoing real equity
] expansions

Check out South Korea Index:
http://finance.yahoo.com/q/bc?s=EWY&t=5y&l=on&z=m&q=l&c=

Forbes.com: Korean Broadband Explosion

] In a surprise move, Gateway today
] says it will acquire privately held eMachines for $235
] million in stock and cash. The deal comes one day after
] Gateway reported a $114-million net loss, or 35 cents per
] share, on sales of $875 million for the quarter ended
] Dec. 31, 2003.
] EMachines is clearly doing something right. With 130 employees, the company
] is generating $8.4 million in sales per employee. Gateway, on the other
] hand, with a headcount of 7,500, is generating about $453,000 per head.
] That may indicate cuts ahead at Gateway once Inouye takes over.

I hope each and every employee at Emachine is a millionaire.

Forbes.com: Gateway's EMachines Buy May Help It Survive

] Dave had some surprises up his sleeve as well. You'll
] remember that I said he was using a ThinkPad (running
] Windows!). I asked him about that, and he told us that
] many of the computer security folks back at FBI HQ use
] Macs running OS X, since those machines can do just about
] anything: run software for Mac, Unix, or Windows, using
] either a GUI or the command line. And they're secure out
] of the box. In the field, however, they don't have as
] much money to spend, so they have to stretch their
] dollars by buying WinTel-based hardware. Are you
] listening, Apple? The FBI wants to buy your stuff. Talk
] to them!
]
]
] Dave also had a great quotation for us: "If you're a bad
] guy and you want to frustrate law enforcement, use a
] Mac." Basically, police and government agencies know what
] to do with seized Windows machines. They can recover
] whatever information they want, with tools that they've
] used countless times. The same holds true, but to a
] lesser degree, for Unix-based machines. But Macs
] evidently stymie most law enforcement personnel. They
] just don't know how to recover data on them. So what do
] they do? By and large, law enforcement personnel in
] American end up sending impounded Macs needing data
] recovery to the acknowledged North American Mac experts:
] the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Evidently the Mounties
] have built up a know

The FBI HQ runs Macs, so does the Royal Canadian Mounted Police

] Believe it or not, the following projections are made by
] an advisory service whose 2004 target for the Dow Jones
] Industrials Average is 9,400 -- some 1,200 points below
] where it closed on Tuesday.

Value Line's forecast for the Dow in 2004