This makes sense. True, 2 way broadband should be a public good, like roads and local utilities. Danish IT executive Finn Helmer has urged his government to bring fiber to every home. David Isenberg has more.
Giambi & Steroids
Mark Fainaru-Wada, Lance Williams break the steriod testimony of ex Athletics and current NY Yankee slugger Jason Giambi’s grand jury testimony that he injected himself with human growth hormone in 2003 and had earlier started using steroids.
Broadband Shackles, or the power of telco lobbying
David Isenberg references a broadband report that tells us that Japan, with half the population has about 10 times as many fiber to the home installations as the US.
At the same time, naturally, entrenched telcos are successfully lobbying to kill local givernment’s ability to deploy municipal broadband services. This is bad news all around. SBC certainly has not been rushing to bring Wisconsin broadband services up to 21st century standards. Nope, we’re stuck in the 1990’s here. Jonathan Kim takes a look at the telco lobbying… Xeni has many links on Philadelphia’s plans to offer free or low cost wifi access and the deal that Verizon cut with Ed Rendell, Pennsylvania’s Democratic governor to give them the right to veto any other municipal broadband plans.
Wisconsin Banks & Tax Shelters
The Wisconsin Department of Revenue continues to pursue local banks that have setup subsidiaries in Nevada to avoid Wisconsin’s 7.9% state corporate tax rate. More power to the DOR, but the $26M in settlements seems rather small. I wonder if this is done for effect? Paul Gores has more.
Beautiful Sunset VR Scene from the Eiffel Tower: Paris
Eric Rougier has posted a gorgeous full screen Quicktime VR scene from the 2nd floor of the Eiffel Tower in Paris. Enjoy.Quicktime.
Fred Alger: A Call for Energy Independence
This New York Investment Firm sent this letter to President Bush, advocating a change in US energy policy and taxes. Alger’s proposal makes sense:
“Beginning in 2008, any car or SUV that cannot meet a fuel efficiency standard of 30 miles per gallon will have to pay a tax of $1,000 per year.” And the tax could generate “as much as $200 billion in revenue” in its first year, and “may increase in subsequent years,” the letter says. The money management firm says that one of the biggest issues for Americans is the soaring price of gasoline and that the prospects for lower gas prices are not likely due to increasing demand from U.S. consumers, as well as soaring demand from nations such as China and soon from India. Alger asked President Bush to set a national goal of cutting gasoline consumption in half over the next 10 years. This, they say, needs to be adopted quickly in order to reduce America’s dependency on Middle Eastern oil, which “allows U.S. motives to be questioned, fairly or not. Reducing gasoline consumption and increasing our energy independence will enhance not only our economic and military security but also ensure that the legitimacy of our foreign policy is not undermined by our energy needs.”
Read the enter document [278K PDF]
Virginia Postrel on Life in a Declining Industry
This long American Journalism Review article on troubles at the LA Times made me think about the question media critics consistently dodge: What strategies are realistically available when you’re caught in a declining industry, which the metropolitan daily newspaper most assuredly is? How do you sell localism–local news, local advertising, locally produced articles on national subjects–in a market saturated with cheap substitutes whose quality has been tested in national competition? What niche can you fill?
Frank Ahrens has more on the recent circulation scandals.
Entrepreneur: What not to do
Mark Henricks interviews John Osher who discusses the 17 most common mistakes startups make, along with 5 must dos to win:
Mistake 1: Failing to spend enough time researching the business idea to see if it’s viable. “This is really the most important mistake of all. They say 9 [out] of 10 entrepreneurs fail because they’re undercapitalized or have the wrong people. I say 9 [out] of 10 people fail because their original concept is not viable. They want to be in business so much that they often don’t do the work they need to do ahead of time, so everything they do is doomed. They can be very talented, do everything else right, and fail because they have ideas that are flawed.”
FCC Chairman Michael Powell on Broadband Politics
Larry Lessig interviews FCC Chairman Michael Powell on our nation’s poor broadband penetration:
Lessig: The latest statistics say that we?re number thirteen. So what?s happened in the last four years that this place where the internet really started and took off seems to be falling behind so quickly?
Powell: I think this situation should be unacceptable to us. Fortunately, I think we?re beginning to have some success in making our national leadership understand that this is something they should care about. This is something that will impact and control the economic prosperity of our society in the Information Age. It should be debated in the halls of Congress. It’s that critical.
Wal Mart Blog
Interesting look at Wal-Mart from www.alwayslowprices.net. Glenn Reynolds notes that he’s never really liked shopping there. I have to agree. they do have great prices on some products, but you must be willing to put up with shopping their way (crowds and little in the way of aesthetics (which target has taken advantage of).