Up front: Telecoms can keep their wiretap immunity...for now
Retail sales data
June 4, 2009 > While unemployment figures are expected to continue rising, there's a belief among stock traders that retail sales data may be unaffected this month with what's hoped to be an uptick in consumer sentiment. We should be getting our first look at major sales data for the month of May today, which could also give us our first indications of at least the likely scale of potential success around this next little item...
Pre tell
June 6, 2009 > As we get closer to Saturday, the official premiere date of the Palm Pre, there will be the requisite nationwide celebrations. Our Nate Mook will be at one of the big hoe-downs in Washington, and this will be interesting because Nate's been somewhat of a naysayer with respect to the Pre up to now. He believes the buzz may have already died, that Palm announced too early, and that already folks have put off or set aside plans to buy one.
The wireless battery charger remains a hit among reviewers, perhaps too much of one. Over the next few days, we may hear more about how often the Pre needs to be placed near one of these things. Here's my thought: If you placed the Pre's inductive charger in your automobile connected to an adapter, as some folks most likely will, will it charge your Pre through your clothes? And just how good will that be for the environment, I wonder, not to mention your clothes...and your hair?
Yesterday, after more than five months' consideration, The Wall Street Journal's Walt Mossberg proclaimed the Pre "potentially the strongest rival to the iPhone to date." File that one under in your "No Kidding?" file.
More on cybersecurity from Congress
June 10, 2009 > The House Committee on Science and Technology has scheduled hearings for next Wednesday, on the subject of research and development into cybersecurity. We don't know who's on the witness list yet.
The long goodbye to analog
June 12, 2009 > The way transmitter construction orders were hastily rewritten after the DTV transition date was postponed, it appeared as though stations had to absolutely cease analog TV transmission at the stroke of midnight one week from Friday. Well, thanks to a clarification issued by the FCC yesterday, stations won't have to make these awkward "flash cuts" 25 minutes into Letterman or O'Brien. They can actually take all day if they want to make the cut, meaning that the DTV transition for some stations may be officially postponed again...if just for a few hours.