“Borrowing” innovations: This video of Bill Gates “introducing” the new Vista operating system that will ship sometime during the next year (or so) is floating around the macosphere. If you’re a Mac OS X user, you’ll get it. If you’re not, well, it’s only mildly amusing, anyway. (If you can’t view it, it’s simply Bill Gates describing “cool features” of Vista while the video shows corresponding existing features running on OS X). I’m sure the folks at konfabulator (now Yahoo Widget engine) are thinking this is a “joke” (but not a ha-ha joke) on a whole different level. Of course, the whole what is “infringing” debate is the stuff that makes lawyers rich and the leaves the rest of us scratching our heads.

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Free thinking: Introducing (for Windows XP users) Google Pack, “a free collection of essential software”. That does, of course, depend on what your meaning of free is.

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Ironic book publishing news of the weird: The “runaway bride’s pastor” has written a book about foolish decisions. I wonder if it has a chapter about how foolish a decision it is for a clergy member to attempt to cash-in on the mental illness and/or bizarre behavior of a parishioner. Here’s my recommendation for anyone who may consider buying this book: It will be a foolish decision.

Technorati Tags: publishing, pop culture, weird

Work at home: This press release marks the first time I’ve heard the buzzword, “homesourcing.” (Despite my desire, I’m sure it won’t be the last time.)

Quote:

“Today, there are an estimated 112,000 home-based phone representatives in the United States. By 2010, IDC predicts that number could reach over 300,000 as companies increasingly develop and invest in home-based agents, either with their own employees or by hiring outsourcers.”

(via: Anita Campbell)

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Chasing ones longtail: Earlier this morning I pointed to a Steve Rubel post about mainstream media vs. blogosphere coverage. However, I’m getting confused about this whole “osphere” thing when I read in a New York Times story a quote from Steve Baker, a Business Week writer/blogger about a wiki maintained by a blogger/soon-to-be-best-selling-author/and editor-in-chief of a magazine owned by Conde Nast that is tracking blogs related to companies large enough to be on a list compiled by a magazine owned by Time Inc. (By the way, access to that list is now free).

(Thanks to Milt Capps)

Technorati Tags: blogging, media, longtail

More deep thoughts: Before it roles behind a cost wall, check out Jack Handey’s profundity in the current New Yorker. It’s weekend reading, okay.

(thanks to a 15-year-old who isn’t typically a New Yorker reader)

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Missing stories: Steve Rubel says “the mainstream media” missed the story that Dell is now shipping computers with this personalized Google page set as the browser default homepage. “While the mainstream media (was) sleeping,” says Steve, the blogosphere scooped the story. However, Doc Searls says that bloggers have been yawning over a huge story to come from CES, something to do with Intel and a new acronym we’ve got to learn, Viiv. Doc predicts the same announcement, when made by Steve Jobs in a couple of days, will have people lining up to purchase a viivy new plasma display with the Apple logo outside and intel viiv stuff inside. Doc also points out that while the blogosphere is yawning and sleeping, it’s the sandwich guy at the local Wawa who is breaking the big stories.

Technorati Tags: apple, blogging, ces, puppy