It's something that any hard-nosed entrepreneur likely deals with when their invention / startup is on the edge of fail: should they simply throw in the towel, or forge ahead like no one's looking? The father of the Segway, Dean Kamen, is also wrestling with that question. In a recent interview, he stated: "You end up lying there saying, 'I'm not stopping. It would be an act of shallow cowardice. Or you decide to quit and you say, 'This is one of those ideas that just isn't going to work.' " He also noted that "it's not nearly as glamorous as people think to keep working on something and to keep hitting roadblocks and to keep going." On one hand, we could definitely see the rug being pulled from the two-wheeled transporter that never revolutionized public movement, but considering all the days in which it has lifted our spirits, do we really want it to?

[Image courtesy of SimplyMoving]

Although Netscape was once a mighty pioneer in the world of internet browsers, it didn't take long for Microsoft's Internet Explorer to overtake it and squash its dreams of market dominance. Granted, we highly (and we stress "highly") doubt any viewers reading this now are relying on Netscape Navigator as their primary browser, but seeing it finally bow out is a bit surreal. According to a post on the Netscape Blog, support (and subsequent updates) for it will no longer be provided by AOL (disclosure: AOL is our parent company's parent) after February 1, 2008. Sure, old versions will still be available for those who just hate to move on, but the team is suggesting that any remaining Netscape users (a show of hands, anyone?) make the leap to Firefox, and they even point you in the direction of a Netscape theme should you find yourself uncomfortable with change. Rest in peace, dear Netscape -- it's about time that last heap of dirt was finally flung.

[Via BlogRunner]

According to an article recently put out by The Wall Street Journal, Advanced Micro Devices' chief sales and marketing officer Henri Richard is stepping down. Reportedly, AMD's top sales exec "decided to leave AMD because of another job opportunity," although we aren't told where exactly he'll be heading. The firm is supposedly planning to "formally announce Mr. Richard's resignation" soon, but attempts to contact the chip maker for comment were apparently in vain.

[Via Hexus, thanks Arneh]

While we're sure quite a few of you are taking the day off to enjoy the first few days of March Madness in HD on your beautiful Philips plasma display, we certainly hope you weren't planning on eventually replacing it with yet another Philips. Turns out that Rudy Provoost, CEO of Philips Consumer Electronics, has reportedly announced that the outfit will "phase out of the PDP market and focus on LCD TVs in the future." Interestingly, it sounds like the presumably lucrative (or not) North American / Australian markets will still have the opportunity to purchase its plasmas for an undisclosed amount of time to come, while the rest of the world (including China later this year) will be forced to look elsewhere to satisfy their PDP needs. Of course, this isn't the first time a major player has dropped out of the plasma game entirely, but ranking fourth worldwide with just a ten-percent market share apparently wasn't enough for Philips to hang on any longer. So, Sony, you still looking to scratch the re-entry itch?

[Thanks, Jason M.]

Update: Philips wanted to let us know that Plasma is still on their plate for 2007: "Incorrectly reported comments on a Russian news website have suggested that Philips is pulling out of the PDP (Plasma Display Panel) FlatTV market. For the foreseeable future, Philips will continue to include gas plasma-based sets in its overall product mix of FlatTVs sold around the world. Since Philips introduced the world's first plasma-based FlatTV over 10 years ago, it has consistently applied the best display technologies available to meet consumer needs, using both plasma and LCD panels to manage the product mix in the most optimum way. However, it is widely acknowledged that over time LCD will become the dominant flat panel TV technology, serving all screen sizes currently addressed by both LCD and PDP solutions, and this will inevitably shape Philips' product strategy in this market segment."