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Om Malik, workaholic [Blogging For Dollars]January 9th, 2008 at 5:38 pmSource:Valleywag The SF New Tech Meetup is showing mercifully short 5-minute demos from startups. Just think of all the BlackBerry messages you can catch up on in five minutes! If that doesn’t sound like fun, join a discussion on viral Facebook apps in Palo Alto. Got something to add to the calendar? Send it to calendar@valleywag.com.
Is Europe a country? The question puzzled gameshow contestant Kellie Pickler. And now even the European Commission seems confused. Apple has appeased the pangovernmental body by offering Britons the same price for iTunes downloads as the Continentals. But the original complaint remains unaddressed: Why can’t Europeans shop at any national iTunes store, since the region is ostensibly one open market? Jonathan Todd, the commission’s antitrust spokesman, states:
So it’s the government’s fault after all. Glad we cleared that up! The European Commission is eager to make companies do its bidding, but getting fractious nation-states to update their laws appears to be beyond its ken. Some will view Apple’s statement that it “will reconsider its continuing relationship in the UK with any record label that does not lower its wholesale prices in the U.K. to the pan-European level within six months,” as bullying. But this is the reality: If anyone has the clout to force changes in the music industry and its regulatory regime, it’s not the European Commission. It’s Steve Jobs, savior of iPod users everywhere.
From his hospital bed, stricken GigaOm blogger Om Malik posts an update on his health after he suffered a heart attack last month. And he manages to work in a review of a new voicemail-transcription service into the blog entry. Any questions on how he landed in the hospital in the first place? The man never stops working.
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