News: 02-01-2008 – Search and Monopolize, China winter Syndrome, Antarctic Ice, Noah’s Ark of Seeds

I Guess We Have Time for a Quick Merge…

This was the big news of the day in the business world. Two giants in the tech industry talking about getting together and taking down Google. I post it here because my radio and TV and Internet told me that this was a big deal.

Here’s the thing I don’t really understand. Taken from the point of view of a random consumer, why do I care? I have my Yahoo! Mailbox and I search with Google. By now, it’s habit. I am trying to imagine a scenario where that habit is broken. I’m sure some will check it all out, but I’m too lazy. Seems like a lot of money, especially when you see the actual Yahoo! Market share. Combine the two entities and it still doesn’t touch Google.

This is becoming a humanitarian crisis

I alluded to the winter weather in China, but things just get worse. It looks like there are more storms on the way, too. I’ve seen a picture from China where the Palm Trees are covered in snow. Amazing stuff. Thankfully, I saw a news report today that said some trains started running. I can’t imagine how long it will take to get this situation handled, but at least there’s some hope.