Rexblog vs. AP: Okay, if the AP “breaking” story that Martha Stewart Living is ending its online and catalog sales operations sounds a little familiar, it’s because you read it a couple of weeks ago (1/6) on the rexblog.

HD Cubanvision: While I disagree with him on occasion, I’m addicted to Mark Cuban’s weblog. Where else are you going to read something like this about HD Net, the all high definition TV network he owns:

“Since it’s my network, and this is something I think is amazing and compelling, we are going to broadcast the feed continuously on HDNet during daylight and twilight hours in Baghdad. No talking heads. No interruptions for commentary. Just the sights and sounds of Baghdad, uninterrupted and unedited. What you see, and in High Definition you see and hear a lot, is what you get.”

HD C-Span of the Iraqi skyline may not not sound to me the most compelling TV, but Mark Cuban’s passion makes him the best billionaire blogger we have, and will have, unless, that is, Warren Buffett decides to crank one up.

Top Ten EU rejected names of Windows-Lite: The WSJ is reporting that the European Commission’s antiturst authority “has expressed concern” about Microsoft’s version of windows that complies with the regulator’s order to provide a version of Windows without Windows Media Player. The EU, it appears, doesn’t like the name MS has chosen, “Windows XP Reduced Media Edition” as they fear such an unappealing name could turn away consumers.

What? Microsoft using an unappealing name to turn away customers? An interesting marketing challenge: Name a product so no one will want to purchase it. Reminds me of the movie/play, The Producers. With that in mind, here are my suggestions for the top ten unappealing names Microsoft can now run by the EU:

10. Windows Weakling
9. Windows Yugo
8. Windows Mute
7. Windows Crash
6. Windows Without
5. Windows Osama
4. Windows Short Horn
3. Windows Slow Edition
2. Windows FU-EU
and the number one least appealing name…
1. Windows Mini

Drawing on experience: Mississippi State assistant professor of graphic design, Kate Bingaman, 27, documented over two years of her consumer purchases on her website, Obsessive Consumption. Now she’s documenting her climb out of debt. Her inspired way to increase her (and our) awareness of credit card debt is to literally draw each credit card statement each month until it’s paid off.

(via: del.icio.us/merlinmann)

Now, I’m even more impressed: Previously, I have praised the folks behind JPG Magazine for demonstrating how to translate participatory journalism, blogging, and, in their case, photoblogging into print. Now, I’ve discovered they are using on-demand printing to produce and distribute the publication.

As I often get Google-search visitors here who are looking for information about how to start a magazine (and who are disappointed that I have none), I’d like to give the JPG Mag folks even more kudos for demonstrating a means to scratch the itch of magazine creation and entrepreneurship in a way that does not require one to max out credit cards and take out second mortgages on ones home. If you think the world can’t live without your idea for a magazine or that it’s “the first ever” magazine of its kind, here’s a way to test that theory. If you think that all that stuff you’re blogging would make a good magazine, here’s a way to test that theory.

Impressive.

Tagsology: Great WSJ column on “tags” by Jeremy Wagstaff, who, I’ve discovered, also has a wonderful weblog that provides helpful links related to his column. If this topic interests you, on del.icio.us/rexblog, where I link to lots of magazine stories, I use the tags “magazines” and “vaporzine” primariliy.

(via: Steve Rubel)