This is very important

"Google to Bid for Wireless Spectrum

By MICHAEL LIEDTKE – 6 hours ago

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Google Inc. confirmed its plans to bid for a prized piece of the airwaves in an upcoming government auction, further underscoring the Internet search leader's determination to shake up the wireless market and plumb more profits from mobile phones.

Friday's announcement wasn't a bombshell because the Mountain View-based company previously signaled it might participate in the Federal Communications Commission auction scheduled to begin Jan. 24.

In a mild surprise, Google will enter the competition without a partner more experienced in the wireless industry.

Going it alone will be expensive and potentially risky, even for a company as rich and technologically adept as Google, which ended September with about $13 billion in cash.

The bidding for the swath of 700 megahertz spectrum that Google wants will start at $4.6 billion, with analysts predicting the final price will be substantially higher. Building out the network for national coverage might cost an additional $5 billion to $7.5 billion, based on estimates from Citigroup Global markets analyst Michael Rollins.

Lingering questions about how the possible wireless expansion might affect Google's finances and focus on its core Internet business threaten to weigh on its stock in the months ahead.

The uncertainty could last awhile since the winner of the airwaves auction might not be identified until March.

Google shares fell $4 to close at $693 in Friday trading.

The airwaves up for grabs are widely coveted because the frequencies travel long distances and easily penetrate walls — advantages that will require fewer radio towers while still promising better connections than other wireless networks. The spectrum is being freed up as part of the switch to digital television in February 2009.

Whoever wins the rights to the spectrum being eyed by Google must accommodate all types of phones and mobile software. Google lobbied the FCC to adopt the "open access" condition, arguing consumers shouldn't be restrained by current market restrictions that limit the kinds of handsets that work on wireless networks.

"We believe it's important to put our money where our principles are," Google Chairman Eric Schmidt said. "Consumers deserve more competition and innovation than they have in today's wireless world."

Google jolted the status quo earlier this month by unveiling plans for a new mobile software system called Android, which is designed to work on "smart" phones. The first devices with the software are expected to hit the market during the second half of next year.

Verizon Wireless, the second largest U.S. wireless carrier, countered Google's move by announcing plans earlier this week to open up its own network to other devices.

Google's decision to throw its hat into the ring for the wireless auction may be part of a strategy to turn the heat up even higher on Verizon and other major carriers such as AT&T Inc., said Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Derek Brown.

"Google is taking an aggressive stance that shows it's a legitimate threat to the entrenched players," Brown said. "They are clearly trying to stir the pot and are doing a pretty good job of it so far."

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http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5glb-rGZ7YiaB1QeLt8bUOy6Tbo2gD8T88N604

theres wind in them there trees...silently the TV pulsates at me under duress, injecting radiowaves into my perforated skullbone
Jeremiah speaks to the fishes today, boils on the nose of Nostradamus
stay where you are, there isn't any transcendence in a computer game
a game you play at night with the pixel elves and the rotten gums, you rememember your mum, she gave you birth, your milk udder skid row demagogue speak&spell
Sarah under stars, the blood red angel of destruction is purple, made of hunks of beef
it's no better the drinking, whats better then drunking yourself to death

staring into a nostalgic ruin of anxious nihilism, one hope to crawl
back to the covers, under protection

more complete work area

So here is the workbench a little more complete. Let me tell you, secure your shit to your car. On the way home with the pegboard on Old Red the Stationwagon, half the board ripped off and careened into the road, barely missing smashing into the car behind me. So now I have a board that is ripped in half. Such is life.

I can't wait for turkey and mashed potatoes. You have to love life.

wandering wacko

My mind wanders. Over the last few weeks I have built a workbench, two small robots that don't work that well, I have contemplated starting a lamp repair business, I tried to build a small japanese style lamp, worked on repairing some broken chairs, made some shelves for our small apartment kitchen, cleaned, thought about growing mushrooms, almost built a grow light apparatus, worked on some music, and now I'm going to make some small alcohol stoves for backpacking.

My mind never quits. It drives me crazy sometimes, and today I realized that I am happy that I found permaculture because otherwise I would be all over the place. Luckily, the permaculture principles and ideas ground my higher flights of fancy and give me a focus for my creativity and work.

Today I waited in a car jam for about an hour at the Mall of America to recycle an old TV for free.

groceries

Send the missus out for groceries and she comes back with vegetables, send me out and I come back with organic oreos, free range ground beef, kombucha, thai kettle chips, a bag of onions, organic french fries, and monterey jack cheese.

dream deep

I dreamt of Sunshine last night.

She was happy and healthy, and we hung around the old town and talked and enjoyed each others company. It was a sad and cathartic dream. It was good to be able to hang out with her again, but I wish it was in real life. It is hard to let her go, she was one of the only ones who could understand certain things.

The weather has changed and the dark winter comes. Dreams become more vivid after All Hallows Eve.

When someone dies it's like a giant mistake, but like every mistake it brings new solutions to old problems. All our old preconceptions must die before we can wake from ignorance. But sometimes it doesn't make any sense to wake up.

barebones

We checked out the Barebones puppetry extravaganza again this year and I felt like it was one of the best yet. It is in the vein of the Mayday festival put on by Heart of the Beast, yet completely different.

"As Muck Would Have It

Click here for a larger image.


Oct 27, 2007 - Oct 31, 2007
Barebones Productions presents the 14th Annual Outdoor Puppet Extravaganza ....the HALLOWEEN SHOW you've come to know and love.

This year's show begins with on the banks of the river where revelers and charlatans mistakenly conjure the spirits of the Mississippi River. Audiences are guided down a ghostly trail to an old river town. The arrival of Huck and Jim (from Mark Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn) causes a town controversy from which the two have to flee. From there we follow their adventures down the river encountering wildlife, spirits, tourists and river history."

I enjoy the themes of these giant puppet shows, they always seem to resonate with a deep mythopetical vein of nonconsumer reality that lies deep within. Maybe I will help nect year, but more likely I will volunteer at HOBT for MAyday. I love puppets.