Archive for October, 2006

Google Production Costs

Friday, October 20th, 2006

This tidbit from the google quarterly earnings somehow stuck with me.

Other Cost of Revenues - Other cost of revenues, which is comprised primarily of data center operational expenses, as well as credit card processing charges, increased to $223 million, or 8% of revenues, in the third quarter of 2006, compared to $204 million, or 8% of revenues, in the second quarter.

So their raw production costs (which includes the the worlds largest datacenter) is 8% of revenues.

Copyright is Even More Right in the Digital Age

Wednesday, October 4th, 2006

Well, even the title is hilarious, so check out this speech by Sumner Redstone [pdf], chairman and founder of Viacom at a conference about “Progress and Freedom”. Some noteable quotes…
- “Copyright is even more right in the digital age because copyright compels creativity. It furnishes the incentive to innovate. Therefore, limiting the protection of copyrights threatens innovation.”
- “Finally, at the risk of sounding naive, let me state the obvious: copyright is, well, right. It’s inherently right for both the creator and the consumer. It’s the right thing to do. If you slave over a song, invest years in bringing a film to fruition, you ought to reap the rewards of that labor.”
- “To those who champion the death of copyright as the only way to ensure a “free market in ideas,” I respond with these statements of utter certainty. Instead of wealth and jobs and great content, you will strike a lethal blow to America’s greatest industry and the heart of its economy. Instead of creating an outlet for free expression, you will generate a government bureaucracy to control it; a Department of Creative Repression, if you will.”

Arrested by mistake in Iraq

Tuesday, October 3rd, 2006

People across the world connecting via blogs. Iconic post/comment if it’s for real.