Google – A villian??

Now, I like Google as much as the next person. They’ve come out with some great stuff (like Google Earth), put out two new betas this week (Google Desktop & Google Talk), and generally being a darn good search engine.

You’d think that would make a lot of people happy (and, well… it does), but there are apparently quite a few people in Silicon Valley that
don’t particularly like the way people at Google have been acting lately.

According to the article, one of the reasons for that is that they’re hiring so many talented people, and it’s causing the salaries out there to go up. Another reason is that it’s harder to get funding for startups.

Some of this might just be kvetching by people that can’t get people to sign on to the companies they’ve started, and don’t want to pay the going rate for the folks out there. I guess only time will really tell.

Me? I’m still using the tools Google provides, because they’re working well for me. And that’s really the bottom line.

Nintendogs Unleashed

Nintendogs hits the stores today. This game is a HUGE hit in Japan, and has all the potential to make it big here in the states.

Nintendogs hits the stores today. This game is a HUGE hit in Japan, and has all the potential to make it big here in the states.

This game is kind of like those Tamagotchi key chain toys that were popular a few years ago in the states. It’s a virtual pet that you can interact with.

Now, as popular as Tamagotchi was, Nintendogs takes takes it to a whole new level. The virtual dogs run around, play with each other, come to you when you call to them, (remember, this is Nintendo DS we’re talking about here…. it has a built-in microphone). You can take the dogs for walks, throw frisbees to them, and feed them.

This game is wildly popular in Japan, where they sold about 700,000 of them. There’s a rumor going around that they might even have a special “Christmas” edition of the game out there.

Nintendo is releasing three versions, each with six different kinds of puppies, for a total of 18 dogs.


Nintendogs - Chihuahua


Nintendogs - Dachshund


Nintendogs - Labrador Retriever

This game is probably going to a best selling game this Christmas season.

Roomba

iRobot Roomba 4210 Discovery Floorvac Robotic Vacuum, White

The Roomba, the robot vacuum from iRobot will soon be getting a new version.

The Roomba Scheduler programmed to automatically turn on and vacuum while you’re away. The current version of Roomba must be started manually. The Roomba Scheduler will come with a remote control.

Already have a Roomba, and want to add “Scheduler” capability to your Discovery SE model? You’ll be able to upgrade for $59.

Roomba Scheduler is ……er, on schedule…. to arrive in August 2005.