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Monday, August 10, 2009

Cloudy With a Chance of Computing: BoomTown’s NPR Debate With Harvard Law Prof Zittrain

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This morning, BoomTown was on the very terrific National Public Radio talk show, “On Point,” along with Harvard law professor Jonathan Zittrain.

The program, moderated by Tom Ashbrook on Boston’s WBUR station, was titled “From Desktop to the Digital Cloud” and dealt with the increasing move of data of all kinds online and into the so-called “cloud.”

In other words, eventually, a completely virtual life for music, photos, records and more, and the end of packaged software.

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Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Amazon Buys Netflix? Microsoft Is a Much Better Guess as a Potential Acquirer.

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Yesterday, shares of Netflix got their semiregular rocket boost–with its stock up more than five percent to close at just over $42–from rumors that Amazon was interested in acquiring Netflix.

Oh, it’s a seemingly dreamy match–the top online retailer snapping up the upstart U.S. mail-order DVD movie and television show service.

But there are some serious issues in an Amazon-Netflix marriage, so those interested in seeing the independent company in the embrace of a larger one might want to consider a more suitable and very interested candidate: Microsoft.

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Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Viral Video: Next Week on “Entourage”…The Exact Same Plot, Over and Over

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Why can’t BoomTown stop watching the dopey machinations of the boys of “Entourage”?

Because, it’s always more of the same on the popular HBO show, which is oddly comforting–a revelation that College Humor mocks perfectly in a very funny online video called “Every Week on Entourage.”

“So many twists and turns, you’ll forget they’ve been using the same formula for five seasons,” explains the humor site.

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Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Sam-bad: Woz Gets a 10 Out of 30 on “DWTS”

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At least Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak can pun through the pain of his foot fracture and pulled hamstring.

“Hey, well, one thing I learned is that if you mix a little dancing with a little Smirnoff, you might end up in an ambulance,” he joked, riffing on the name of his partner, Karina Smirnoff.

What he can’t do, of course, is dance very well, which was why he got the low, low score of 10 out of 30 last night from the judges on his third week of “Dancing with the Stars.”

Oh, it was a bad samba. A very bad samba.

But who cares? Vote for your right to Sam-bad!

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Thursday, February 19, 2009

Viral Video: The Beast on Oscar Do’s and Don’ts

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The increasingly entertaining online content site, The Beast, edited by Tina Brown, is getting very good at putting together juicy collections.

Besides one on “Seven Great Talk-Show Trainwrecks” recently, it has cued up a nice group of videos of past Oscar speeches in anticipation of the 81st annual awards show this weekend, analyzing what works and what does not.

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Monday, November 24, 2008

Video Scenes From YouTube Live: Obama Girl, Chad Hurley and Free Hugs

Here’s a video I did while attending YouTube Live on Saturday–well, live–at the Herbst Pavilion at the Fort Mason Center, right on the San Francisco Bay.

The last time I had attended a big tech industry event here, it was the launch of Windows 97 from Microsoft–which was quite a different scene than this entertaining but freaky show, in which online celebrities jumped a little shakily into the analog word.

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Friday, October 24, 2008

Will Ferrell as Dubya (on the Hot Lady and the Tiger Woods Guy)

Here is the latest “Saturday Night Live” political video, with Will Ferrell reprising his excellent take on President George W. Bush, along with Tina Fey as Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, in a version of the endorsement of Sen. John McCain.

Once again, it is likely to be more popular online than on television, as it has been for all of the sketches, a striking trend for the long-running comedy show.

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Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Okay, Tina Fey’s Return as Sarah Palin Is Too Adorkable to Resist…

How did we miss this one from Saturday Night Live this past weekend?

If you are feeling bad about the tech stock meltdown yesterday, this spoof–the second hysterical one–video by Tina Fey as Alaska Governor and Republican Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin will make you feel much better.

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Tuesday, August 19, 2008

BoomTown’s Northern Exposure

BoomTown is Alaska-bound today, on a lovely vacation cruise with the family–up the coast leaving from Vancouver and sailing to Seward this week and part of next week.

So, even if Yahoo is finally sold to Microsoft, I will likely be too busy communing with a moose to blog. One can only hope.

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About Kara

Kara Swisher started covering digital issues for The Wall Street Journal's San Francisco bureau in 1997 and also wrote the BoomTown column about the sector. With Walt Mossberg, she co-produces and co-hosts D: All Things Digital, a major high-tech and media conference.

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Ethics Statement

Here is a statement of my ethics and coverage policies. It is more than most of you want to know, but, in the age of suspicion of the media, I am laying it all out.

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