The guy who founded monster.com has had another idea — an online obituary site. He’s noticed that the baby-boomer generation is heading for what a Telegraph marketing consultant once described as “biological leakage”. Lots of ad opportunities too — for example for undertakers. I am reminded of the advice in that admirable book, Die Broke: the last cheque you write should be to the undertaker — and it should bounce!
Daily Archives: May 7, 2008
Samsung 500GB laptop drive spotted — in France
From Engadget.
We’ve been wondering where Samsung’s 9.5mm 500GB SpinPoint M6 laptop drive has been hiding, and it turns out that it’s just been vacationing in France. No word on when these might make it Stateside, but if you’re desperate (or French), your lappy can unbuckle that belt another notch or two for just €197 ($306).
Hmmm…I could use one of those in my MacBook Pro…
Bite-sized post
Rory Cellan-Jones’s dog ate his Financial Times. Good doggie, nice doggie.
Highway robb… er, Grand Theft
Wow! This from today’s New York Times
SAN FRANCISCO — Grand Theft Auto IV, the latest iteration of the hit video game franchise, racked up first-week sales of $500 million, Take-Two Interactive, the game’s publisher, plans to announce on Wednesday. The report exceeded the sales expectations of analysts.
The company is expected to report it sold six million copies of the graphically violent game, 3.6 million of them on the first day.
The sales exceed projections of industry analysts who were estimating that some five million consumers would purchase the game in the first two weeks….
Rather puts the movie business in perspective, don’t you think?
Three down, next one up
Bertie Ahern, the Irish Taoiseach (Prime Minister to you), tendered his resignation to the President at 6.10pm yesterday. Today Brian Cowen, his multi-chinned successor as leader of Fianna Fail, will be elected Taoiseach when the Dail (Parliament) meets.
Interesting Fact #1: Fianna Fail is the political wing of the Irish construction industry.
Interesting Fact #2: Cowen’s last three predecessors as Fianna Fail leader have had to resign because of, er, difficulties over money. Charlie Haughey went because evidence of his deep-seated corruption became too widespread to be ignored. His successor Albert Reynolds went because a public inquiry into subsidies to beef exporters had unearthed unsavoury details about his time as Minister of Commerce. And Bertie Ahearn walked because the evidence to the Moriarty Tribunal about his astonishing personal finances was making the normal business of government impossible.
It will be interesting to see if Mr Cowen can break this impressive mould.
On this day…
… in 1945, Germany signed an unconditional surrender at Allied headquarters in Reims to take effect the following day, ending the conflict in Europe.