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Netflix vs Blockbuster

I cancelled my Netflix subscription awhile ago, but it was not because I had any issues with the service. Netflix is a very cool product and I really think that they should be commended for what they have built and developed. If I were at Netflix, I am not sure that I would be overly concerned about Blockbuster’s efforts in this space.

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Is Desktop Search Really a Big Deal ?

There have been tons and tons of articles about the whole desktop search market. Microsoft recently announced their acquisition of Lookout Software, maker of the very slick (and useful) Lookout Toolbar for MS Outlook. Yahoo recently announced their intentions to compete in desktop search as well. And, there is the omnipresent Blinkx application that is garnering all kinds of press. At the end of the day, is desktop search a really big deal?

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MobiTV — Very Cool Application

A friend of mine is working with MobiTV (www.mobitv.com), a company that delivers real-time video to mobile phones. I saw a demo of the technology working on a Sprint PCS phone and was very impressed. Granted, the picture was a bit small and the frame rate was modest, but you could actually watch television in a reasonably pleasant fashion directly from a current handset.

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Open Source — Isn’t it Just Economics 201?

Lots of people are blogging about open source. I am a bit hesitant to add anything to the fray as I think most of the really important points have been made. One line of logic that hasn’t gotten as much press, in my opinion, is the theory of complements.

For those of you with a background in economics, you’ll remember that theory of complements talks about the relationship between complementary goods such as razors and razor blades, operating systems and desktop productivity applications, and bread and butter. General theory teaches us that when we are selling in a complementary goods situation, we want the price of our complement to be as low as possible (and they likewise want the price of our good to be as low as possible. How does this relate to software?

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If Everyone is a CIO…

I read a post on AlwaysOn that I thought was very well written and raised a number of interesting points. The interview was about how everyone is becoming a CIO with the myriad of network-enabled devices that we are seeing around the house. If we are all becoming CIOs, what does that mean about the kinds of products that will likely succeed?

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Yahoo Buying into Travel?

The rumor that Yahoo has acquired FareChase appears to be true. There is an article on Internet Week confirming that the transaction closed on July 2nd. While Yahoo! representatives were quick to point out that this does not in any way endanger their exclusive deal with Travelocity, I have a hard time reading this as anything except for Yahoo! expressing a long-term desire to participate in the travel market.

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Why all the Google Bashing?

I have finally climbed out of the hole that I have been stuck in for the past few months. I have also managed to erase the over 1,000 bogus spam comments posted to this blog — what a nightmare. Now on to interesting topics.

I am quite perplexed as to why it has become so fashionable (particularly in the Bay Area) to bash this Google IPO. Granted, Google is not a perfect company and their road to IPO has had its share of bumps and bruises. But I find it quite odd that people have been so raucous in denouncing the Google IPO. There are a few things that I find quite perplexing:

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