Microsoft announced today that they had approached rival corporation Macintosh with a bid of $10 billion dollars for 39% of the Macintosh Corporation. If Apple agrees to the terms this would place Microsoft as majority owners of Apple holding 51% of stocks.

Steven A. Ballmer is Chief Executive Officer of Microsoft Corporation stated, “I believe it is a good move Microsoft. Macintosh has been our leading competitor for a number of years now and they have those rather disturbing commercials making Microsoft look bad. I would also like to get some black silhouettes dancing to different music over here at Microsoft. Those guys are really cool.”

Numerous groups have already begun to speak out about Anti-Trust law infringements. The possible merger of Microsoft and Apple could be very problematic for the software, hardware, and computer programming industries as a whole.

John Mills, CEO of Tech Stars LLC stated, “Many geeks will not have a major platform to rebel against Microsoft with. Linux and Unix will still be around, it is difficult to kill the open source movement, but Linux and Unix are not really well funded and they don’t have those really witty commercials. Additionally, you can’t play World of Warcraft on a Linux machine. It will be very difficult for the average geek to handle this news.”

If you like the joke, you are welcome to link to this post and present it like real news. Feel free to add to the story, maybe Steven A. Ballmer really wants a Microsoft phone. If you don’t want to go to all the trouble you can just slashdot, digg, stumble, etc. it.

You Rock,

S.A.M.

Amazon announced its electronic book reader, Kindle. Kindle, Amazon’s new technology, is similar to an Ipod but made for downloading books, blogs, magazines, and newspapers. Kindle is designed to be used without the need to hook up to a computer. Kindle is tightly integrated with Amazon’s website and may prove to be a cash cow for Amazon. Amazon will sell new releases via Kindle for $9.99, a significant reduction in price. Kindle will also download newspapers, magazines, and blogs for a monthly subscription fee. Amazon is selling Kindle for $399 dollars.

Here is Amazon’s product overview:

• Revolutionary electronic-paper display provides a sharp, high-resolution screen that looks and reads like real paper.
• Simple to use: no computer, no cables, no syncing.
• Wireless connectivity enables you to shop the Kindle Store directly from your Kindle—whether you’re in the back of a taxi, at the airport, or in bed.
• Buy a book and it is auto-delivered wirelessly in less than one minute.
• More than 88,000 books available, including 100 of 112 current New York Times® Best Sellers.
• New York Times® Best Sellers and all New Releases $9.99, unless marked otherwise.
• Free book samples. Download and read first chapters for free before you decide to buy.
• Top U.S. newspapers including The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Washington Post; top magazines including TIME, Atlantic Monthly, and Forbes—all auto-delivered wirelessly.
• Top international newspapers from France, Germany, and Ireland; Le Monde, Frankfurter Allgemeine, and The Irish Times.
• More than 250 top blogs from the worlds of business, technology, sports, entertainment, and politics, including BoingBoing, Slashdot, TechCrunch, ESPN’s Bill Simmons, The Onion, Michelle Malkin, and The Huffington Post.
• Lighter and thinner than a typical paperback; weighs only 10.3 ounces.
• Holds over 200 titles.
• Long battery life. Leave wireless on and recharge approximately every other day. Turn wireless off and read for a week or more before recharging. Fully recharges in 2 hours.
• Unlike WiFi, Kindle utilizes the same high-speed data network (EVDO) as advanced cell phones—so you never have to locate a hotspot.
• No monthly wireless bills, service plans, or commitments—we take care of the wireless delivery so you can simply click, buy, and read.
• Includes free wireless access to the planet’s most exhaustive and up-to-date encyclopedia—Wikipedia.org.
• Email your Word documents and pictures (.JPG, .GIF, .BMP, .PNG) to Kindle for easy on-the-go viewing.

Please click here to see Kindle as displayed by Amazon.

Unfortunately for Amazon, the product is currently only receiving 2 and ½ stars out of 5 after one hundred and fifteen reviews.

S.A.M.’s suggestion for the day: “If you are going to introduce a new product that you’re going to charge a lot of money to purchase and use, then at least make it pretty.”

You Rock,

S.A.M.