Tiny RFID Tags

As reported by the BBC, Hitachi has unveiled the world's smallest RFID tag. As always, an announcement like this will spur some debate about privacy and the advancement of technology.

Buffet says spend it quick

The Arizona Republic reports that Warren Buffet has expressed a hope that his money will be spent "quickly" after his death.

In his annual letter to shareholders of his holding company, Berkshire Hathaway Inc., Buffett said his will states that the proceeds from all shares he owns at death must be used for "philanthropic purposes within 10 years after my estate is closed."

"I want the money to be spent relatively promptly by people I know to be capable, vigorous and motivated," said Buffett, 76. "These managerial attributes sometimes wane as institutions, particularly those that are exempt from market forces, age."

I have always thought that the pinnacle of human achievement was not simply the acquisition of political power and wealth, but rather the ability to changes things for the better. I can think of no greater role model than Warren Buffet in that respect.

More Sirius-XM News

More Sirius-XM merger news from the NY Times.

This time it's an article describing the CEO of Sirius Radio, Mel Karmazin. The article provides a nice description of Mr. Karmazin and his enthusiasm for a successful merger.

Last week, Mr. Karmazin took his campaign to win over lawmakers and regulators to Washington with his pitch that a single satellite radio company would mean more choice and lower prices for consumers — rather than create a foreboding monopoly, as his former chums in the terrestrial radio business contend.

Speaking before an antitrust task force of the House Judiciary Committee, Mr. Karmazin said he was shocked by the very idea that anyone would see a monopoly as the logical result of merging the only two satellite radio broadcasters. “There is no monopoly or duopoly,” he told the hearing. “That’s the most bizarre thing I have ever heard.”

Sirius and XM on Capitol Hill

As mentioned below, Sirius and XM are starting to ramp up their efforts to get their merger blessed.

Earlier today I happened upon their hearings on C-SPAN and was not surprised by their arguments. They maintain, of course, that there are innumerable ways for competitors to compete with satellite radio. Here's a brief list:

• Large terrestrial radio companies could provide high-quality nation-wide radio
• Cell phone companies could use their networks to distribute content which could then be played over car or home stereos via blue-tooth (yes, seems quite convoluted)
  
• A collection of 802.11 networks could be used to transmit high quality radio

I didn't watch for long, or else my list would be a lot longer.

I'm not sure how I feel about a merger. On the one hand, it seems that satellite radio is a true paradigm shift and that for other companies to provide similar services they'd have to do it through the satellite radio network. On the other hand, satellite radio doesn't seem that great. If it can't be outdone then I'd be amazed. And, I think, if the merger leads to better solutions, then let it go ahead.

BBC and YouTube

As reported by the BBC, the BBC has entered into a deal with YouTube that would create three new channels showing BBC content. One channel will be dedicated to clips of news programs, while the other two will focus on entertainment content.

Although other major content owners have entered into similar deals with YouTube, the motivations of the BBC may be slightly different from those of other companies. Presently, the BBC is funded almost entirely by money provided by tax payers in the UK. Accordingly, it is difficult for the BBC to provide content to people who reside outside of the UK. If they did, people in the UK would be understandably upset. After all, it's the citizens who are paying for the content to be created. To reach an international audience, the BBC must find a way for advertising revenue to offset the tax revenue.

Enter YouTube. A convenient and simple way for the BBC to share content and, at the same time, collect advertising revenue and please the people!

Fighting Spam

The NY Times has an article providing some tips and tricks for avoiding spam. It basically boils down to using spam filters... Yay, great advice.

But... the article did remind me of a funny story I heard about Lawrence Lessig over at Standford Law School. Apparently, several years ago, he became so overwhelmed with the amount of spam that he was receiving that he simply declared 'email bankruptcy.' He sent an apology email to the people in his address book and then retired his email address... forever.

Although most people consider an email address to be at least semi-permanent, I think we may start seeing more email bankruptcy as the spam problem gets out of control.

IKEA Charging for Plastic Bags

The Arizona Republic reports that IKEA is going to start charging for plastic bags at all of its American locations. The goal, of course, is to force people to internalize the cost of their garbage. It's awfully difficult to do with pollution - how can we measure the pollution an individual creates - but it's easy for garbage. Simply charge people when they buy what will, inevitably, make its way to the garbage pile. The result is, hopefully, more re-use by those that don't want to pay for more bags, and less trash for the city.

It seems to be working:

The program, originated in Ikea's British stores last year, reduced consumption of bags at those locations by 95 percent, Liss said. Ikea will donate the first year's proceeds from U.S. sales of the five-cent bags to American Forests, a Washington-based conservation nonprofit.

This article brings to mind an interesting book called "Cradle to Cradle." It describes the entire life-cycle of our disposable goods - from purchase to trash heap - and makes apparent that many of us don't think of what happens to the stuff we throw in the trashcan. It just "disappears."