From paidContent.org, January 5, 2009:

Apple is expected to ship its well-fabled multimedia tablet in March, after unveiling the device later this month at an event in San Francisco. The latest information was reported by the WSJ, which quotes people who were briefed by Apple. Earlier today, AllThingsD reported that Apple was expected to host an event on Jan. 27 in San Francisco.

The tablet has been a subject of much debate. While it has been well written about by a wide variety of media, it has not yet been confirmed by Apple, which has even stated its disdain for the growing mini-laptop category.

Still, the level of tablet noise is reaching all-new highs. in addition to the timing, the WSJ also dug up a few more new details about the actual device. Based on its sources, which say anything could change at any time, the new tablet device could have a 10- to 11-inch touchscreen and will potentially be made out of two material finishes. Apple is also saying it could redefine the way consumers interact with a content, ranging from textbooks to newspapers. It has also been speculated that a tablet could be at the heart of a new TV subscription service that Apple is working on with major TV stations.

Analysts are guessing that the tablet may cost as much as $1,000, which could include a subscription to a nationwide Wi-Fi wireless service. That would be a bit of a disappointment as consumers have started to rely on always-on wireless internet access from devices, like their iPhone. The Tablet would then remind people more of the iPod Touch, than a truly mobile device, like the iPhone, or even Amazon’s Kindle, which connects without the knowledge of most users.

More coverage from paidContent.org:

Is a tablet at the heart of Apple's upcoming TV subscription?

From paidContent.org, Jan. 4, 2009:

The rumored Apple tablet will cost under $1,000, according to a second hand account given to ex-Google China President and former Apple exec Kaifu Lee. He also hears that Apple will ship 10 million units of the tablet in 2010 and that the device features a 10.1-inch multi-touch screen, 3D technology, a virtual keyboard and video conferencing capabilities.

Click here for the full post.

More coverage from paidContent.org:

• News Corp, Time Warner Cable reach deal without blackouts

From The Business Insider, Dec. 17, 2009:

iPhoneWho?

BlackBerry maker Research In Motion just crushed Street expectations for Q3 -- the quarter ending in November -- and issued strong guidance for Q4. Shares are up 9% after hours.

RIM shipped its 75 millionth BlackBerry during the quarter.

The real test will be December, where RIM will have to increasingly compete with Google Android devices at Verizon. But in general, it looks like RIM is surviving despite increased competition in the smartphone industry.

Key stats:

• Revenue: $3.92 billion vs. $3.78 billion consensus.
• EPS: $1.10 vs. $1.04 consensus.
• Subscriber additions: 4.4 million, vs. 4.1 million RBC est.
• Devices: 10.1 million shipped, including 75 millionth BlackBerry

Guidance:

• Revenue: $4.3 billion midpoint vs. $4.11 billion consensus
• EPS: $1.27 vs. $1.12 consensus
• Subscriber additions: 4.55 million midpoint vs. 4.45 million midpoint RBC est.

 More coverage from The Business Insider:

• RIM Should Sell Now Before It's Too Late
• Motorola Blows CLIQ Pricing, Lets Apple and RIM Win Again

From The Business Insider, Dec. 15, 2009: 

Think the economy is being inflated by economic stimulus right now?

Well if that's the case, then get ready for a ride over the next two years.

The majority of Obama's stimulus hasn't even been spent yet. Thus the support won't disappear any time soon, and actually could accelerate. There's still another 70% to go.

Slate: Since it was passed in February 2009, only $237.6 billion (30 percent) of the $787 billion package has entered the economy. The tax cuts and infrastructure spending in the pipeline for 2010 and 2011 will support job creation. On Dec. 9, New Jersey Transit approved a $583 million contract for two construction firms to get cracking on a new commuter rail tunnel connecting New York and New Jersey under the Hudson River.

More from The Business Insider:

• • Get Ready for Epic Stimulus Spending Out of China in the Final Couple Weeks of December
• • Shocker: Washington DC Got More Stimulus Money Per Capita Than Any State in the Union

From The Business Insider, Dec. 1, 2009:

When Dubai wobbled last week, everyone rushed to the Internet to await confirmation of the imminent bailout. 

And they saw what they wanted to see!

The airwaves (and pipes) were clogged by a steady stream of pundits declaring that there was no way Abu Dhabi would let Dubai go bust.

Why not?

Because if Dubai went bust, then...   well... then the stock market might go down for a while!  Then the idiots who loaned Dubai World money to build huge islands and buildings in the desert would have to pay for their stupidity!  Then the buildings' ownership would change in a debt restructuring--the kind that happens every day in a normally functioning capitalist economy! 

INCONCEIVABLE!!!

Remarkably, against this tidal wave of panic and entitlement, Abu Dhabi stood its ground, refusing to reward idiocy by throwing more good money after bad.

And lo and behold... the world's stock markets have stabilized and Dubai is having civilized conversations with its lenders, the same way folks who have had to restructure their debts have had since the dawn of time.

In the United States, meanwhile, Messrs. Bernanke and Geithner no longer have to assure us that they will never let a big bank fail--because we understand that this guarantee has basically been written into the United States constitution.  The LESSON OF LEHMAN BROTHERS has been learned, and the lesson is this:

We have become a nation of mamma's boys.

Specifically, after 25 years of debt-fueled consumerism, we have become accustomed to instant gratification and instant fixes, led by politicians and regulators terrified of having to tell us the harsh truth:

We lost our discipline. Getting it back will make life tougher for a while.  But it will make us stronger in the end.

It wasn't always this way.  In fact, the era of prosperity that we've just enjoyed was made possible by a leader with a huge spine--one who, unlike our current financial and economic leaders, wasn't afraid to risk his job (and enormous public pressure and disapproval) to do the right thing.

Who was that leader?...

More coverage from The Business Insider:

• 10 Amazingly Wasteful Stimulus Projects
• Paul Krugman's Emergency Jobs Program Will Never Work

Click "more" to view the rest of the post.

After two days of silence and refusals to talk to the police, Tiger Woods finally published a statement yesterday.

In it, he took responsibility for ramming his car into a tree, but he didn't address several key questions about what happened.

Specifically, he did not put to rest speculation that his wife Elin may have contributed to the crash by smashing the car with a golf club while he was driving away--a story that would appear to contradict some of what Elin told the police.

For understandable reasons, Tiger wants to keep the details of what happened a "private matter."

But this is no longer a private matter. Now that the police are involved, it's a public matter. And charges are reportedly pending.

Until the questions about the crash are answered, Tiger will remain in the headlines. This will continue to hurt his reputation and make his sponsors more nervous than they already are.

No matter how embarrassing the details are, Tiger and his wife would be better off revealing them themselves--now, once and for all.

From The Business Insider, Nov. 23, 2009:

Microsoft (MSFT) wants to pay News Corp (NWS) and other large publishers to de-list their Web sites from Google's (GOOG) search index, the Financial Times reports.

The idea is to force Google (GOOG) to pay for content, thinning its currently fat margins.

Problem is, we can't imagine Google going for it.

For one, the FT reports that Google’s UK director Matt Brittin told a conference last week that Google did not need news content to survive.

“Economically it’s not a big part of how we generate revenue,” he said

For another, we can't imagine links to worthwhile stories originating from News Corp not finding their way onto sites that will happily remain indexed in Google's search engine free of charge.

Still, if News Corp were to "de-list" from Google, we'd expect to see all kinds of ads touting Bing as the only place to find the Wall Street Journal and MySpace pages online. Maybe that'd swing search engine share some, but we doubt it.

More coverage from The Business Insider:

• Droid price drops to $120
• AOL unveils new brand, new logos

From The Business Insider, Nov. 12, 2009:

It's apparently significantly easier to get admitted to Harvard University than it is to get a job at the Apple Store. At least for Apple's newest store in New York.

At a press event today, Apple said that 10,000 people submitted applications to work at the new store on Manhattan's Upper West Side, according to Gizmodo's Matt Buchanan.

Of those, just over 200 got jobs, for a 2% acceptance rate.

Meanwhile, Harvard's acceptance rate was 7% this past year, according to a March report in the Boston Globe. That's 29,000 applications for about 2,000 admissions.

Obviously, the requirements and admission processes for college and a retail job are much different -- these aren't direct comparisons. But it's amazing how selective Apple can be with its retail employees. And it's amusing that, at least statistically, the odds of getting into Harvard are better than getting a job selling iPods.

This may put new meaning into the term "Genius Bar."

Click here for a few first-look photos of the new store, gathered from Twitter

From The Business Insider, Nov. 12, 2009:

In the end, bubbles are bubbles no matter where they're blown.

China Daily: Thirty-year-old Luo Yan and her husband raced to complete the purchase of a three-bedroom apartment in Shanghai with the help of an 800,000 yuan ($117,000) mortgage. The amount they borrowed was the maximum they qualified for.

"I am afraid that if we don't do something now, we will certainly miss the boat," Luo said.

More coverage from The Business Insider:

• China Pushes Massive $12 Billion Bond Issue to Cool Asset Bubbles
• China Will Do What Western Do-Gooders Failed to Do: Save Africa

Microsoft still has dreams to the contrary, but Google has won the search game. With an estimated 70 percent market share worldwide and nearly $25 billion of revenue, the company has left the rest of the industry in the dust.

But what's next? Search growth is slowing, and there's not much more market share to gain. So unless Google wants to have all the sexiness of a utility, it needs to find another growth engine.

There are three possibilities, says Ken Auletta, author of the new book Googled: The End Of The World As We Know It:

• YouTube
• Mobile
• Internet-based applications (like email)

None of these businesses is as profitable as search, and Google has been trying to build all three for years.

But YouTube's new emphasis on professionally produced content has radically improved the unit's financial performance.

And as evidenced by the advertising blitz accompanying Motorola's new "Droid" phones, the mobile business is finally gaining traction.

Again, neither if these businesses currently have economics that look anything like those of the search business. But people didn't think much of search economics in the early days, either.