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Robot bears are coming for your grandparents
Not content to simply blame millennials for killing practically everything, baby boomers are now expecting the younger generations to care for them in their agedness. The nerve. Indeed, some 13 percent of the American population is now 65 or older, though a recent report from the Pew Research Center suggests that figure will nearly double by midcentury. Given that the current annual median price of a nursing-home room is around $92,000 (and rising), and because we can't just up and dump a quarter of America at the Springfield Retirement Castle, robots will have to start lending elderly folks a hand. Because if there's anybody who inherently trusts new and confusing technologies, it's the olds.
Google forced to 'forget' history of Merrill Lynch CEO's incompetence (update)
Welcome to the happy Google search page. Where links to historical articles can be deleted at the request of cowards people with fragile reputations. Where the former boss of Merrill Lynch, Stan O'Neal, is a fresh, dynamic and highly employable banker, rather than a disgraced executive who contributed to the sub-prime lending crisis of 2007. Where truth-telling journalists like Robert Peston wake up to find that their articles have been cast into oblivion within the EU, thanks to a blanket ruling by a bunch of clueless lawyers the European Court of Justice. Where facts and opinions no longer count for anything if someone, somewhere doesn't like them. (A list of other Google search terms that have so far been affected by the new "right to be forgotten" can be found here -- although in none of the cases do we have any information about who objected to them, or why.) Update: Reuters and The Guardian are reporting that some links have been restored (not the one to the story about Stan O'Neal), although, as Danny Sullivan points out on Twitter, they may not have been pulled at all. The European Commission has also distanced itself from Google's takedown action, saying that the EU's ruling shouldn't allow people to "photoshop their lives."
Boston Acoustics gets efficient, cuts 30 employees
Amidst recent news about D&M Holdings being sold off, principal shareholder RHJ International has stated that 30 layoffs at Boston Acoustics are an unrelated happenstance. It's unfortunate timing, to be sure, but RHJI spokesman Gail Petersen has stated that acquisition preparation was "absolutely not a factor," and cited a decrease in new Boston Acoustics product development this year and increases in efficiency amongst companies folded into D&M holdings as reasons for trimming rolls. Whether it's coincidence or causality (if it's coincidence, it's an awfully common one), it should all get wrapped up soon -- word is that bidding between Merrill Lynch, Best Buy, Advantage Partners, and Kenwood/Bain Capital should end soon.Read - Boston Acoustics Cuts 30 EmployeesRead - Interview with RJHI's Gail Petersen
Merrill Lynch still thinks Sony will sink...
This is sad, all things considered. I mean, my Visa is a Merrill-Lynch version/sponsored/bonus point crap card. They'll probably refuse to give me my 6,000 or so points when I use the card to buy a PS3. Credit cards are awesome. Anyway... what was I doing? Oh yeah. Blogging stuff. Merrill Lynch has released an updated financial forecast and estimates a multi-billion dollar loss for Sony, related to the PS3. For the stock market inclined out there, here's a fun visual: Target share price revision: ¥4,700 --> ¥4,000 ($40.05 --> $34.09 at ¥117.35/US$1) Total PS3 operating loss expected over 5 years: ¥738.9 billion ($6.3 billion at ¥117.35/US$1) Ouch, Merrill-Lynch! Or should we say, Merry Lunch? ...Mob Lynch? Someone out there can surely think up a better insult than me. I'm just too nice. If you hadn't heard, the PS3 sold out in hours throughout Japan -- not unexpected, really. A similar result will probably occur in the US and Canada -- also not unexpected. The second shipment will better illustrate the reliability of this forecast. Anyone got any stock in Sony? Are you nervous?
Wii will cost $200 say spectators
Nintendo Wii will launch at $200 in an attempt to undercut the competition, says an analyst at Merrill Lynch. An executive from SEGA goes further, suggesting that Wii will launch for under $200. This latest estimate sits in the middle of previous ones, but taken in the context of past console releases a $200 launch price wouldn't be out of character for Nintendo. The NES, SNES, Nintendo 64 and GameCube all launched at a price point of $200, so we wouldn't be surprised if Nintendo throws up their hands and says "why mess with tradition?"With the PS3's price confirmed, Nintendo's console is the last of the next-generation consoles to get a solid release price so it's natural that fans and analysts alike will continue the guessing game. As for the other type of price guessing game -- how much the Wii (PS3, Xbox 360) costs to make -- no-one has stepped up to the task just yet.[Via /.]
