A New Silicon Valley Villain?

I think that there's a general consensus that Microsoft has been the bad guy in the Valley for quite a long time. That image just developed over a time with the high profile nature of software glitches and cutthroat business tactics. Google has been hailed as the dream boat of nerds everywhere to sink the M$ ship in favor for world peace and other such things. But could they be becoming the bad guys now? When you think about it, they follow a similar story to how Bill Gates got his start. He just had a lot of ideas and didn't believe that any boundaries surrounded him. The founders of Google built their company on the same philosophy, but they have also starting questionable practices. They suck up all the best talent in the industry and their reach extends to any service that may pique their interest (whether or not it's search-related). Beforehand though they bore a very similar tale to Netscape as well being the favored underdog and going public. So which route will they take then? The evil villain? The failed competitor? Or can one be optimistic enough to think that they'll stay mostly innovative and fair? I'm excited to learn whether or not history will repeat itself.

I'm going to start out the techie news with a story close to home. Most of you at UT know that the Flawn Academic Center (the UGL) will no longer be the library it used to be but rather will be a technology center when we return for the fall. I believe it will also have a larger lobby area than it had before, which is good because around finals time that place was always way too packed and stuffy. Going back to the Silicon Valley stuff, there's some minor buzz that Google may end up buying Skype to supplement Google Talk and provide a decent VoIP service. I'm sure they'd want to do more than that with it, but it's all just hearsay for now. While they start a new service though today is actually the 10th anniversary of the debut of Windows 95. If you forgot all the hype of the OS then click here for a blast from the past. India may no longer be the go-to country for outsourcing as rages start to rise there and sink in other places. I don't know whether that's good or bad news, but it's progress I suppose. Lastly, all you PSP owners will want to get the new firmware update full of important features like a mobile web browser and photo sharing.

I'm going to start out the movie news with some really good news: Old School 2 is a go! Originally, there was no hopes for a sequel because of a dispute between the directors and DreamWorks's piss poor marketing of Eurotrip, but apparently they've been forgiven and now they just have to get the old cast back. If you want some more good news you should read this review of Nicholas Cage's next film, Lord of War, where he plays an international arms dealer. I liked the trailer for this movie and now it may be too good for the mainstream, but it does sound like it is good at least. Speaking of trailers though, there's a theatrical trailer for Doom over at Yahoo! showcasing an FPS-style technique of cinematography in the movie. That could either turn out to be kinda neat or very annoying and cheesy depending on how they use it (it'll likely be the latter I'm sure). MTV snagged a great interview with Korean vengeance film creator Park Chan-wook about his inspiration for Oldboy as well as his future plans. He sounds like a real cool guy and I look forward to his upcoming feature films. Lastly, there are some new Chronicle of Narnia pics floating around including in this awesome gallery.



I think BDI is having some issues so I'm going to try Cheddar X this week:

This X is all about the idiot box.

1. What do you watch most? Either Seinfeld or Family Guy (it may be a tie).
2. What would you be embarassed to be caught watching even though you do watch it? Date My Mom. I don't make it a point to watch it, but I will if it's on.
3. Write yourself into a tv show. I could be another son of Joe's on Family Guy.
4. Replace someone in a tv show. It would be interesting to be Clark Kent on Smallville.
5. Who would you like to see out of tvland forever? Britney Spears and whoever her husband is, Kevin something.
6. Who would you like to see back? Jerry Seinfeld! I know it won't happen (unless it's a stand-up comedy show), but I can still dream.
7. Entertainment or information? Entertainment. As you can see I read online for information.
8. What makes for a good viewing experience for you? Forgetting all the other worries and stresses I have to deal with.
9. Have you ever had a great idea for a special niche cable channel (like the Golf Channel or Home and Garden TV)? A video game channel would be neat, but I guess that's G4? I don't have satellite so I've never watched it.
10. What was your favorite show when you were a kid? Probably The Simpsons.
11. Most memorable moment of television? That's way too hard. I don't really know.
12. Most memorable moment you'd just as soon forget? Those commercials for Wild N Out! Any of them! They have funny parts from the show, but then it makes them less funny to keep seeing it.
13. What would you like to see again? Isn't this question 6 again?