Hello all... short one today because I'm swamped with other stuff...

Anyhow, just a few headlines...

Duh...
Seems there was a time when the question was "Will they build it? Won't they build it?" Now the question is "Why won't the first convertible PT Cruiser be available before 2004?" I saw a "Woody" edition today. Fun stuff.
http://www.msnbc.com/news/718803.asp

HELLO CUSTOMER? YOU ARE WRONG
To hear the entertainment industry tell it, we're all wrong. we will accept what we are force fed and we won't view or listen to it again without paying again... and again... and again... if the entertainment industry has their way, there won't be any more good content and your money will go towards keeping your existing TV's and VCR's working.
http://www.msnbc.com/news/718454.asp

Sodomizing Cops go free
I don't know which is more disgusting. What they did to that poor guy, or the fact that three of the four will go free. And I don't understand why the Taliban hate us.
http://www.msnbc.com/news/717550.asp

Buh-bye
The big-five consulting firms are on their way to becoming the big-four. The way they see it, Andersen's just as bad as Enron and they're seeking to distance themselves.
http://www.msnbc.com/news/718982.asp

A great day at F*CKED COMPANY, no doubt...
F*cked Company's arch-nemesis, Pasadena's own IdeaLabs is being sued. By lots of people and companies. Will these people never learned? I mean, it's one thing to play the bank in Monopoly and give yourself forgivable interest-free loans, but do you want to do anything that could cause you to be accused of it in real life? Or do people just think that everyone else is stupid?
http://www.msnbc.com/news/718826.asp

Have some free ad time... in fact, have some free cash...
ABC and Fox are having to do quite a bit of "make goods" to advertisers who were promised a level of viewership that the networks then were unable to deliver. Rumors are that ABC's even passing out cash because they're all booked between the paids and the make goods that they can't even do all the makegoods.
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/yhoo/story.asp?guid=%7B7E0E2A30%2DA802%2D4213%2DA8F9%2DEB15A8A68525%7D

Ladies and Gentlemen, the ABC Mail Truck...
ABC's decided it's their turn to have a piece of Letterman. They're apparently trying to woo him, but someone forgot to tell the Nightline staff. Oops.
http://apnews.excite.com/article/20020301/D7HVS04O0.html

Amazing view
I forgot to mention that the Meercats in the picture the other day were huddling together for warmth and the one with his mouth open was yawning. Today's picture is guys being airlifted off the deck of an aircraft carrier.
http://www.msnbc.com/c/0/65/210/10x7/twip_2002_0228_06.jpg

Drink up, me hearties yo ho
(Ok, that sound better sung than it looks written.) NBC's trying to get Jack Daniels as a sponsor. And is Smirnoff still a sponsor? No ads in over a month and no new ad time purchased, but no denial, either.
http://www.mediapost.com/dtls_dsp_news.cfm?newsId=109415

It wasn't bad enough before?
Pop-unders, those lame ads that open and then immediately hide behind your other windows until you close all the ones in front of it, are about to get much worse... an advertising company has come up with a new kind... it pops-under and then waits... as soon as you close all the other windows, full motion video and audio starts playing. That's gonna suck!
http://www.mediapost.com/dtls_dsp_news.cfm?newsID=109403

No more Windows?
It's highly unlikely that Microsoft will stop selling Windows, but they're threatening to, saying that the demands by the remaining nine loser states would make it not in their stockholder's best interests to continue selling Windows. I say they just stop selling Windows in those nine states.
http://www.newsfactor.com/perl/story/16617.html

Patently False Rumor - Help Me Spread It REDMOND, Wash. - Microsoft announced today that it would stop selling Microsoft Windows in nine states, including Massachussets, Connecticut and California. The unusual move was made after the states made what CEO Steve Ballmer described as "unreasonable demands." Microsoft (MSFT, Quotes, News, up 0.03 at $63.11) recently settled a lawsuit filed by the Federal Government, accusing Microsoft of using predatory practices against its competition. While not admitting that it was a monopoly, Microsoft settled with the court and will make modifications to its flagship Windows program and agreed to alter some of its business practices. However, nine states felt that the settlement was not strict enough and have refused to accept the settlement, making additional demands. Among those were requirements that Microsoft provide third-party solutions for voice recognition, hand-held syncronization, photo imaging and directory programs. "We have spent considerable time and effort to develop a all-inclusive and robust operating system. And we think we have that in Windows XP," said Ballmer. "To disect the program and remove some of its organs would surely cause the operating system to break or stop working as well as it currently does." Analyst Jeff Johnson, who watches Microsoft for Merril-Lynch agreed. "Consumers are not locked into Microsoft. Just because Windows XP comes with the software for syncing to devices running Microsoft's Pocket PC operating system doesn't mean that it won't work for handhelds using the Palm operating system. To remove these components from Windows XP and offer them separately would only create confusion and added costs to the consumer." Bill Lockyer, Attorney General for California disagreed. "I have constituents to look out for. 3Com [makers of the Palm operating system] is a California company. Microsoft is not." "This is just a disaster," said Kirk Michaels of nationwide consumer electronics chain Circuit City. "We might as well stop selling computers in these nine states. Our average customer will want to buy a PC without Microsoft Windows installed. This will severly hurt our bottom line." Circuit City's stock was down 8% on the news. "This is bad news for us," said HP spokesman Erin McKenzie. "We are considering relocating to a Microsoft-friendly state. Especially after this merger with Compaq, sales of personal computers with the Windows operating system on it will be important to our survival." HP stock was down 2% on the news. By Monday, all copies of Microsoft Windows will be removed from store shelves in those nine states. Users with Microsoft Windows will be able to get support from Microsoft for 90-days. After that point, official Microsoft support for Windows will not be available to users in those nine states.