New ‘Digital Divide’ Seen in Wasting Time Online - NYTimes.com

This is a big problem for everyone as best I can tell.

Merkel's Stubborn March of Folly - NYTimes.com

Well said.

Armageddon

Stories today point toward a difficult next few financial weeks, winding up on about 17 June. Russia and the UK are in recession, China and India are having big problems related to growth and output, the Euro Zone risks catastrophic failure, I am not sure about Brazil, but only Africa seems to have some good news. And, then, on that weekend in mid-June, both Egyptians and Greeks will go to the polls to make decisive choices on national leadership.
My prediction, such as it is, is that 18 June will prove to be a momentous day in the history of the world's economy and more.

The Euro Crisis This Time - NYTimes.com

I continue to find little guidance from any leader here or there about what individuals should have as their goals in these challenging times. Spend? Save? Where? How? There has to be a better answer than "talk with your financial advisor"!

Pizza Delicious Bought An Ad On Facebook. How'd They Do? : Planet Money : NPR

It is so easy to assume too much about trendy developments. GM's decision, noted in this piece, plus this confirms a lot of suspicions about the effectiveness of a lot of the advertising we find in the digital and non-digital world. I wonder if the medium is the message we are getting or if the nature of the message and how advertiser relates to customer is not really so much more important. New techology is allowing us to fine tune that relationship and it seems to me that this is where everyone's attention ought to be focused and let the Facebooks and Groupons, etc. fall where they may in support of that.

Persian Carpets, Durham - 15-501

I got some advice from them about care for a rug which proved to be wrong. Ok, we all make mistakes, and they will fix it. What is disappointing is that when I returned to get this done, I heard not a word of apology, and no acknowledgement that they had made a mistake in not advising me fully. It costs them the good will they otherwise would have generated by fixing the problem AND apologizing first!

Dear Photograph: New-Age Nostalgia : The Picture Show : NPR

I look forward to learning more about this site.

HP "print"

On HP.com, there are tow big problems. One is that there is no "print" button of any kind that I could find. The second problems is that when one goes to print what appears to be a short page, out comes 19 unformatted pages, largely illegible. What is the subject matter of those pages? Printers. Hmmmmm.

On the same general subject, I wonder if HP or someone else produces estimated operating costs in terms of ink for each printer - i.e., over 3 years, what is the expected cost/page of printing expected to be and, most important, how do all of the printers compare?

Solar Installers Offer Homeowners Deals, Gaining Converts - NYTimes.com

Why haven't solar panels been transformed into a new roof so that no one notices? Why do they remain so needlessly ugly?

Superbugs: India and the Rise of Drug-Resistant Germs | PRI's The World

This is surely one of the more alarming stories I have heard recently.

La cybercriminalité coûte plus cher que les trafics de cocaïne, héroïne et marijuana#xtor=RSS-3208#xtor=RSS-3208#xtor=RSS-3208

Newspapers need to give this issue a lot more attention.

Philips

I must say that in several purchases of Philips products, the ability to use their website to learn more or obtain product advice has been less than minimal. Very frustrating and very unexpected. They clearly have a chronic problem.

TODAY.com: Matt Lauer, Ann Curry, Al Roker, Natalie Morales - TODAY show video, news, recipes, health, pets

Very smart to give a timeline of the day's show in order to return to something via the web.

At Angie’s List, the Reviews Are Real (So Is Angie) - NYTimes.com

Why would I trust a review from someone whose real name is not attached to what they say?

Facebook Urges Members to Add Organ Donor Status - NYTimes.com

I think there are huge opportunities to add all sorts of features to existing websites that help a lot of people, including the owners the websites. In fact, I don't think we have begun to explore what all those opporutnities might be.