Brian Gongol
The del.icio.us social-bookmarking site isn't shutting down
But it is leaving the Yahoo ecosystem. Where it will end up, and what the new owners will choose to do with it, are of course beyond anyone's public knowledge. But it's an example of the kind of thing that happens way more often than we really acknowledge online -- a service takes off, gets popular, gets acquired, then fades a little bit and starts bouncing around until nobody feels like it's safe to keep using anymore. "Social bookmarking" is nice in concept -- but using third-party services to make it happen is a dangerous proposition. One can almost as easily just use an e-mail account and a simple website (programmable entirely in basic HTML) to "bookmark" as much as much, and have zero fear that the site will ever change hands, be taken down, or disappear without warning. Online, it's always smart to trust yourself alone, and nobody more than you have to.
Half of the jobs at MySpace are about to become history
Speaking of one-time high-flying sites that have seen better days, it's hard not to look at MySpace and think "death spiral"
Farewell to the incandescent light bulb
Starting in 12 months, 100-watt light bulbs in the US are going to have to meet new efficiency standards that incandescents pretty much just can't meet. By 2013, 75-watters will have to do the same, and by 2014, so will 60-watt bulbs. Electricity costs will fall, but up-front costs for the bulbs themselves will be much higher.
Commodity prices start rising...fast
Corn and soybeans both take a jump after the USDA reports that last year was a really bad one for corn, at least compared to recent history. Blame the floods.
The Beatles on ukulele
Funny concept -- but the moving force behind the project comes across as a total nutter
