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USA: The New York Times > Technology > Knowing Their Politics by the Software They Use: “The Web sites of Senator John Kerry and the Democratic National Committee run mainly on the technology of the computing counterculture: open-source software that is distributed free, and improved and debugged by far-flung networks of programmers.
In the other corner, the Web sites of President Bush and the Republican National Committee run on software supplied by the corporate embodiment of big business - Microsoft.”

Tech: Walkman vs. iPod / Sony takes aim at Apple with new music players: “The first Sony Walkman went on sale in Japan on July 1, 1979, introducing both a new concept in music and a device that would become an icon of modern pop culture — a personal, portable stereo. Twenty-five years later, Sony Corp. finds itself in the unaccustomed position of playing catch-up against the hottest thing in portable music and digital pop culture — the iPod from Cupertino’s Apple Computer Inc.”

Tech: Walkman vs. iPod / Sony takes aim at Apple with new music players: “The first Sony Walkman went on sale in Japan on July 1, 1979, introducing both a new concept in music and a device that would become an icon of modern pop culture — a personal, portable stereo. Twenty-five years later, Sony Corp. finds itself in the unaccustomed position of playing catch-up against the hottest thing in portable music and digital pop culture — the iPod from Cupertino’s Apple Computer Inc. ”

Comics: Comic Book Resources: Hello, I am Spider-Man, er, Pavitr, uh, Peter. May I have your service tag? “Though we will remain true to the underlining mythos of Spider-Man, which is epitomized in the phrase ‘With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility,’ the character will be reinvented so his powers, problems and costume are more integrated with Indian culture. Unlike the US origin, which is deeply rooted in science, the Indian version is more rooted in magic and mythology. This version of Spider-Man will gain his powers from ancient mystic in order to combat the evil threat of the Green Goblin, who will also be reinvented as a modern day Indian demon from myth.”

Tech: The New York Times > Business > Your Money > Digital Domain: What’s Google’s Secret Weapon? An Army of Ph.D.’s: “Mostly, Google has concentrated on recruiting those with a background in what you would expect: computer science. Founded by two near-Ph.D.’s who have purposely placed Ph.D.’s throughout the company, Google encourages all employees to act as researchers, by spending 20 percent of their time on new projects of their own choosing.
As we take our seats in the Coliseum to watch the latest challenger go up against mighty Microsoft, handicappers will see that Google has two advantages, one of which it has disclosed to the Securities and Exchange Commission: washing machines are provided at the company for employee use. The other, it has not: with a Ph.D.-centered culture, Google’s co-founders, Sergey Brin and Larry Page, have assembled the industry’s most unorthodox portfolio of human capital since Microsoft began intense recruiting of computer science majors at top undergraduate schools in the 1980’s.
Microsoft has 56,000 employees, but its research group, with 700, is separate. Google has 1,900 employees, and no separate research group, so all 1,900, effectively, are charged to ‘boldly go where no one has gone before’ (its words). You have to like Google’s chances.” And mine. I always thought that degree might come in handy.