WYNK: What You Need to Know: News and politics

Sen. Hillary Clinton picks Bill Gates as running mate

Tue, 01 Apr 2008 22:56:23 GMT

Citing "strong and innovative financial and technical" qualities as key for her
Hillary-Bill-Bill combo

Today, New York senator and presidential hopeful Hillary Rodham Clinton has announced that Bill Gates will serve as her running mate for the 2008 presidential election.

"Very few people have achieved what Bill has. And I'm not talking about my Bill Clinton this time, I'm talking about Bill Gates. His tremendous achievement in the technological and computing industry sets him apart from everyone else I was considering, all while having such philanthropic activities that will push America into the next level of solving the future's challenges, including global warming, global health, and global poverty, or as I and Bill Gates like to call it, "America 2.0" [crowd laughs]. That is why I would like to take this opportunity to announce the Clinton-Gates ticket!" - Hillary Clinton

Hillary further stated that her only new challenge will be to devise a method for communicating efficiently with her two Bill's (Bill Clinton and Bill Gates). Bill Gates then chuckled and recommended a Windows Live Messenger-based communication method. Furthermore, the pair has already introduced legislation to make unconstitutional the use of Apple Mac's and iPod's in public areas, citing First Amendment rights by surrounding Zune users. Bill Gates later added:

"I am very excited about using my intellectual and financial resources to help make the Clinton-Gates ticket a success." - Bill Gates

- Albert

Happy April Fools! Yes, this post is all a joke, sadly. ;)

Vote For My Submission

Thu, 06 Mar 2008 04:33:23 GMT

Regardless of your preferred political party or candidate, be a friend and vote for this submission I have made for a scholarship competition over at Brickfish. I didn't know it was going to be selected based on public voting, and seeing that I'm a new member to whatever kind of social website that is, the popular kids seem to be reeking the benefit of "incumbent politicians." Click on the link and when you "vote" and "review" the sign I had to create for my favorite candidate it will ask you to sign in, but don't worry, select "sign in as guest" and you don't need to create an account. Thanks a lot my friends!

Check it Out!

- Albert

TIME's 100: Vote for Bill Gates

Wed, 25 Apr 2007 06:09:10 GMT

It is that time again for TIME to publish The TIME 100, and obviously, one of the runner-uppers is Bill Gates. Currently 6 out of 204, he stands at the 30th position based on votes (it was 33 a while ago...). Also, Gates doesn't seem to have much acknowledgement around the tech spectrum, but much rather on his philanthropic works, which is good. Although it is very sad to see Bill Gates leave Microsoft for his full-time job at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, I think that his good works will be a lot of news in the coming years. Let's go ahead and jump-start the recording of his new legacy by voting what you think is appropriate for his "influence."

- Albert

MSNBC Advertising Begins

Sun, 08 Apr 2007 20:17:07 GMT

MSNBC, "The Fastest Growing News Channel", is launching an advertising campaign to get more viewers. Already growing popular for its "Countdown" with Keith Olbermann, "Tucker" with Tucker Carlson, "Hardball with Chris Matthews" and "Scarborough Country" with Joe Scarborough, MSNBC is betting on its modern appeal to compete against rival and big Fox News and CNN. With the tagline "A Fuller Spectrum of News" and a new logo, it is preparing itself for an almost re-launching of itself. With NBC and Microsoft's MSN Network, MSNBC might just succeed at becoming popular again on the internet and cable TV as a modern news company.

The "Spectrum" site on MSNBC makes available a very cool screensaver and soon a game with a news-based theme. The ad which already is appearing on many networks including National Geographic, contains animations with a "spectrum" of colors that promotes a "fuller spectrum" of news. It seems like this is a very good move on MSNBC's part and I hope it is able to grow in viewers to better compete with the much more well-established FOX and CNN networks and "brands." I had been hoping for a move like this for a very long time, especially since Microsoft had shown much disapproval in the performance it had been showing. Although, MSNBC.com seems to be quite popular for its very organized layout, the MSNBC TV needs to grow in viewers to be considered somewhat more competitive. And as a big believer in marketing, I believe this is one giant step forward for both MSNBC.com and MSNBC TV. Here's the very cool and eye-catchy ad:

- Albert

Technorati tags: MSNBC, Microsoft, NBC

del.icio.us tags: MSNBC, Microsoft, NBC

Why MSBC is Great

Sat, 31 Mar 2007 01:14:08 GMT

I've been very busy recently so I decided to publish a random post to keep visitors current. I'll be able to catch-up this weekend and publish some interesting posts on a lot of the news we have had this past week. But for now, I decided to talk about how MSNBC beats other TV news stations with their much more creative and modern methods of communicating news.

March 23: Bill O'Reilly is "Countdown's" Worst Person in the World for Friday.

EU vs. Microsoft

Mon, 05 Mar 2007 03:03:22 GMT

This fight has continued to get very annoying, here are a couple of details and updates.

The EU continues to complain about every single action Microsoft takes, even if it's a good step.

Initially, the EU wanted to fine Microsoft a historic amount of money, $357 million daily! Microsoft has not yet complied to that ruling, obviously, so the EU continues to make other allegations about how Microsoft's pricing was very unfair in terms of innovation in some IP-related products.

The EU also initially claimed that Microsoft made it difficult for EU-based Microsoft competitors to build Windows-compatible products. Microsoft has denied all claims by (1) stating that the tools it provided the competitors were not limited (2) the pricing was not unfair because the method used to calculate the price is based on the level of innovation in the product, which Microsoft claims to have much of.

The EU responded to the 2nd claim by saying that nothing in the IP-related technologies Microsoft was providing had any innovation for Microsoft to claim, thus leading to "unfair pricing."

Microsoft responded to the innovation-less claim with the following: "Other government agencies in the U.S. and Europe have awarded 36 patents for these protocols and another 37 patents are pending," said Brad Smith, Microsoft's general counsel, during a press conference. "These agencies have concluded that that there is substantial innovation."

From what other news resources also keep publishing, the EU continues to look more like the technically-illiterate government we had during the US vs. Microsoft case during the late 90's. I think it's time for governments to start backing off technology company's way and let them be free to innovate, lead, and advance humanity. After all, the consumer is the one who picks, not a government.

- Albert

Bill Gates and Al Gore Join Forces

Fri, 16 Feb 2007 02:38:20 GMT

Today, Al Gore announced a huge campaign to save the earth: SOS. The campaign which will consist of "Live Earth", a set of a 24-hour long celebration on 7/7/07 in 7 continents with concerts around the world. So where exactly does Bill Gates come into this? Well, the head of this campaign's organizer, Kevin Wall, decided to call up MSN to have it as the "exclusive online partner" and so it happened. So now, MSN will host anything related to the event exclusively on its network. This I believe will serve as a huge boost to MSN's already great audience and place the MSN brand in an amazing position. Already, MSN has published a website, liveearth.msn.com, which it claims to just be at the beginning of what is yet to come. Here is a letter from the MSN chief responsible, Joanne Bradford:

"For Microsoft, it's an honor to participate in Live Earth and further its impact on individuals through the power and reach of the MSN network.

With services in 42 markets and 21 languages, MSN content and services reach millions of people who want to be informed and engaged. With its unprecedented global reach, MSN will help spread Vice President Al Gore and Kevin Wall's message to individuals around the world, explaining how they can take action and make a difference in working toward a more sustainable environment.

My colleagues at Microsoft and I have put a lot of thought into how MSN Internet services can serve communities around the world. Our vision is to use the best of MSN to deliver an innovative media experience for SOS that seamlessly integrates video, information, community, interactivity and much more. Whether a person is interested in fuel-efficient cars, eco-savvy traveling, energy-saving homes or simply about what's happening in the world, MSN strives to provide the content for which they're looking.

Today, we're launching our initial SOS site at liveearth.msn.com. It's a simple site for now but will evolve during the coming months. Tough global issues demand local solutions ... one person, one community, one decision at a time. We're committed to offering a deeply engaging, interactive experience to the audience of more than 465 million people around the world who visit MSN each month, as well as to the committed and interested citizens of the world who tune in and participate on July 7, 2007.

We intend to make July 7, 2007, the most popular day ever on our network. Anyone around the world with an Internet connection will be able to view not only the concert events but also an extensive collection of interactive media and content that entertains, educates, inspires and ultimately presents a vehicle for SOS's message of action and change. Thanks to Kevin, Al and the organizations and artists here today as we embark on this journey.

Joanne Bradford
Corporate Vice President and Chief Media Officer, MSN"

Links

News Video: Announcement
Press Release
Live Earth: Home Page

- Albert