I’m sure this has happened to you: Running out of summer, I just
had to listen to “Summertime Blues,” by The Who. I
couldn’t find it in two record stores even at $16.96, so I went
online. Buymusic.com wouldn’t let me download to my iPod, and
Apple iTunes required a $2,000 Mac. So I, er, lifted it, via KaZaA, and
was playing air guitar within 28 seconds.
Oops, NBC was supposed to be long gone from
the General Electric portfolio. Broadcast TV is no longer a cakewalk:
GE must now do a deal with Vivendi for Universal Studios to find a safe
harbor for the Peacock network. On Aug. 1, NBC
Chairman Robert Wright called 2003 “the best year we’ve
ever had.” But if you look behind the feathers, you’ll find
a troubled NBC that has no choice but to do this deal.
Software is a bizarre business and so are the people in it. Bill Gates
may be King of the Geeks, but Larry Ellison, founder, chairman and CEO of Oracle Corporation, is King Arthur searching for the Holy Grailthe Monty Python version.
