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News is starting to trickle out that several tech heavyweights, including Amazon, made takeover bids for RIMM sometime in the last 6 months, only to be turned down by RIMM’s top brass - choosing instead to fix the company’s problems internally. The news came from a Chicago Tribune article claiming:

RIM’s board wants co-chief executives Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie to focus on trying to turn around the business through the launch of new phones, better use of assets such as BlackBerry Messaging and restructuring, two sources said. They did not want to be identified as the discussions are private. RIM and Amazon declined to comment.

With the continuing collapse of RIMM’s stock, shareholders will not be happy with corporate’s decision to not sell – placing the company into further chaos.

Source: Chicago Tribune

I believe that the once amusing and somewhat wonderful day of Black Friday, where one could do all his/her Christmas shopping in one day and save big, has turned into a rabid animal. It seems that the previous 5 years or so have seen an increase in violent and disturbing acts being committed, all in the name of big savings. Walmarts and BestBuys turn into battle grounds, where elbows are thrown, hair is pulled, babies cry, faces are punched and then….someone gets shot.

Is it the down economy? Is it people trying to spend less and get more? Is it mob mentality? Whatever the reason or reasons, what is the solution to this growing problem of gluttony/violence? Has an amazing deal at Walmart turned into the equivalent to shouting fire in a movie theater? For me, the solution is to shop online and last year was the first year that I did all my shopping online – Amazon Prime is a great thing. Yet, not all things can be bought online, especially articles of clothing, which need to be tried and fitted. Additionally, there are many people that like to shop locally, even if it’s to large box stores – so what is the solution for them?

Is the solution more Black Fridays, so the mob is spread out – more thin? Would having a Black Friday type fire sale at the end of every season (Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter) be more helpful?  This might help but it wouldn’t be addressing the larger issue, which is this ravenous appetite Americans have for these types of events. If you take them away, millions of people would stand up and shout, “You’re stepping on my liberties!” If you place limits on companies, as to how they should conduct their Black Friday sales, they’ll respond by saying, “You’re stifling our profits and hurting the economy!” How did we get to this point, where Tickle Me Elmo is so lusted after, you need to punch the middle aged soccer mom next to you? The video below is from this years Black Friday Sales – very disturbing.

Yesterday, Google held its music even in Los Angeles and unveiled Google Music – a music store to take on Apple’s iTunes but in a slightly different way. Sure, you get the much expected music store, where one can download song (99¢-$1.29 each)  - Google has managed to sign 3 of the 4 major music labels, leaving only Warner on the sidelines, plus hundreds or thousands of independent labels. So, what does that give us? Millions of songs and a very strong competition to both Amazon’s music store and Apple’s iTunes.

Very interesting clip from the overall interview and even more interesting is how Mark has evolved into a much better speaker/voice for Facebook. Additionally, the Facebook “spin” is heavy, especially when both Mark and Sheryl try to convince Charlie rose that Facebook is only in the Social business. The whole, “We do one thing…” argument is getting old, especially since Facebook is getting into the video/movies + music business. While Mark states that he is not in direct competition with Amazon and Apple, since Facebook is a service on the devices they build – it is very clear that Facebook is and will continue to move aggressively into the services that both Apple and Amazon provide.

Source: Charlie Rose

All the talk has been on Google & Apple as of late, in terms of cloud based audio/video/storage but no one told Amazon that. Today, Amazon unveiled their “Cloud Drive” and “Cloud Player”:

“…Amazon Cloud Drive is your hard drive in the cloud. Store your music, videos, photos, and documents on Amazon’s secure servers. All you need is a web browser to upload, download, and access your files from any computer…”

Details: You open a “Cloud” account with Amazon (Free) and get 5GB for storage to start with, that’s about 1000 songs worth of storage. From there, you can put music, movies, docs or anything else your little heart desires and access it from any computer with web access or you can use Amazon’s Cloud Player (Android) for streaming music to your smart phone. (No mention of video streaming)

Do you buy your music from Amazon? Even better, as Amazon will give you 20GB for free when you buy a full album from their music store! Any music bought through Amazon’s Music Store will be stored automatically in your Cloud Drive, for a secure backup. Did you hear that Apple and Google? You guys better be cooking something good!

Conclusion: Amazon allows anyone to store multiple media types (music/movies/docs/etc) in a private/secure cloud locker for free (5GB limit) and then you can access that data from any web connected computer or stream music from your locker with Amazon’s Android based music app. Want extra storage space – drop some cash and you’re in business. Amazon for the win! Google and Apple, you’ve been put on notice…

Source: Amazon.com