Interesting look at the politics and lobbying behind efforts to stop the spread of municipally owned broadband networks. Glenn Fleishman.
A Conversation with Warren Buffet
Darren Johnson shares a rather interesting chat with Warren Buffett.
Google: Doing Evil to its users
Google, a company with a philosophy that includes: #6: “You can make money without doing evil”. is now, doing just that with:
- AutoLink: Google modifies publisher content via their toolbar in Windows Internet Explorer (simple answer – don’t), making it look like original links. Dave Winer dives in and explains the issues. John Robb points out googles strategic error.
- The Google toolbar phones home with every page you land on, and tattles to Google what you’re looking at, while offering up your globally-unique Google cookie ID that expires in 2038.
Security – By HST
Hunter S. Thompson on Security (1955) – via Bruce Schneier. Well worth reading.
Baldwin on Private Social Security Accounts
Tammy Baldwin discussed President Bush’s much discussed social security changes recently. Eric Kleefeld has more. I think one of the ideas thrown around – removing the cap on social security payroll taxes makes sense. I find the regressive nature of the current system plain wrong.
Portugal VR Scenes
Santiago Ribas posted some wonderful Quicktime VR Scenes from Portugal here.
Detroit Auto Show VR Scenes
Mark Houston has posted some very, very nice Quicktime VR scenes from the North American International Auto Show. If you like cars, you’ll like these scenes.
Backcountry Ski Risks
Back Country Skiing has huge risks, as Carrie Sturrock explains.
Classic Product Line Extensions: Diet Coke & Tide
Bruce Mohl on the ongoing effort to trade on well known brand names:
Two huge consumer brands have been busy cloning themselves.
Procter & Gamble Co. rolled out a cold-water version of its blockbuster Tide laundry detergent earlier this month. Coca-Cola Co., meanwhile, unveiled plans to start selling a seventh version of Diet Coke, this time sweetened with Splenda instead of aspartame
Federal Income Taxes: The Vanishing State & Local Tax Deducation
The culprit is a once-obscure federal tax provision known as the alternative minimum tax, which was created in 1969 to ensure that a relatively small number of wealthy people did not use loopholes to avoid paying taxes.
But it is increasingly being applied to families with incomes of $75,000 to $250,000 a year who claim relatively high deductions – like the ones for property taxes, state and local income taxes – and the exemption for children. When it does apply, it cancels some of those deductions..
The impact is about to mushroom. Barring a change in the law, almost 19 million taxpayers will be subject next year to the alternative minimum tax, or A.M.T., up from roughly 3.4 million this year and 1.3 million in 2000, according to the Tax Policy Center, a Washington research group whose calculations on this issue are widely accepted.
The non-indexing of the Alternative Minimum Tax will cause more problems over the next few years for Wisconsin residents.