The PajamasMedia concern is preparing to cut back services. Essentially deleting the blogger services that they were providing to sites like Protein Wisdom. It appears they are headed for a TV stream format. But the bigger question is, can you think of a more mealy mouthed way to send a pink slip –

Dear Jeff,

As you know, last September Pajamas Media began a new initiative in Internet television called Pajamas TV. When we started with our RNC coverage from Minneapolis, we noted that we would be in a Beta Phase through the first quarter of 2009. In the last few months we have strengthened the PJTV lineup with shows covering Media Bias, Education Bias, Middle East Update, Sharia and Jihad, Powerline Report, Ask Dr. Helen, Hugh News, Poliwood, Conservatism 2.0, Economy and Finance, National Security, and others.

As the end of the first quarter approaches and we near the production phase of Pajamas TV, we will continue to build our emphasis in this area. As a result we have decided to wind down the Pajamas Media Blogger and advertising network effective March 31, 2009. The PJM portal and the XPressBlogs will continue as is.

Since our ad relationship continues for the time being, you should note that in order to be paid for the 1st quarter of 2009, you must leave the current Pajamas ads up until 12:01AM April 1. We will be sending you information in mid-March on removing the ads. As of April 1, 2009, you will be free to arrange syndication or re-sale deals.

We thank you very much for participating during the formative years of Pajamas Media and we look forward to working with you in other ways. One of those is, of course, Pajamas TV. If you have any ideas in that regard, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Our best wishes in the new year and again our deepest gratitude for your participation in Pajamas Media.

Sincerely,

Roger L. Simon

CEO, Pajamas Media

For a medium that has championed the idea of transparency and forthright dealings this sure ain’t it. Fact this is about as cheap as it gets in the obtuse dept. Here would be my version –

Time are tough as we are both aware. In reviewing our outgo and revenue streams, analysis has indicated that the sites not garnering XXX,XXX page views a month are not returning sufficient revenue for the expense streams incurred.

Sadly your site is among those in that category. As a consequence PajamasMedia must terminate the relationship at this time. We will be assisting you and others in a transition effort to everyone’s benefit and the least disruption of the viewer base.

This is a decision we do not take lightly and regret we have to do it at all. If after the transition your site can meet the new criteria we would welcome the opportunity to discuss the matter with you.

Sincerely,

The Boss,
CEO

Granted not as flowery but it delivers the reason why, that you are terminated and we would review your situation if something materially changes. Yes its in your face. But hey that is business.

Just an opinion. By the way, if you can, support the Protein Wisdom site. Its good work and worth the read when you can.

Link at protein wisdom.

As part of the stimulus package, there are provisions for tax abatements for rural wireless broadband deploys. Now we have been saying here for years now that rural was ripe for wireless broadband. In fact so that they really don’t need the stimulus to make it. Anyhow here are some particulars –

The Senate Finance Committee later today is expected to make tax credits available to wireless carriers and others in the telecom industry that expand broadband networks to rural and low-income urban areas with little or no high-speed Internet access.

Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.), a senior member of the finance panel and chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, plans to offer an amendment this afternoon that provides a 10% tax credit to service providers that invest in current generation broadband (defined as at least 5 Mbps downlink and 1Mbps uplink) infrastructure in unserved and underserved portions of the country A 20% tax credit would be available to carriers that bring next-generation broadband (100 Mbps downlink and 20 Mbps uplink) networks to those areas. However, commercial mobile wireless carriers would be eligible for the 20% tax credit if they offer broadband service at speeds of at least 3 Mbps downlink and 768 Kbps unlink in unserved and underserved locales.

The irony for somebody like Verizon is that they have been selling off anything that even smells ‘rural’. So some WISPs might have a shot at this. Fact Clearwire ought to be one of the biggest beneficiaries of this largess.

More here.

If you are a one trick pony type device then what you do you have to do well. Not just better than the competition, but laps ahead of the competition. Roku, the TVoIP streaming box is in that genre of devices. And it does it with aplomb –

One of the best examples I’ve come across in the last year is the Netflix player from Roku. It’s a tiny little box that streams anything from Netflix’s on-demand library straight into your television, and that’s all it does.

It’s a wonderfully elegant little device. The user interface is clean, and the menus are super easy to navigate. It has outputs that range from RCA to composite video and HDMI, as well as digital audio. The remote has nine buttons on it - that’s fewer than I have on my cell phone - and they mimic the controls we’re all used to on a DVR or DVD player. It’s so small and simple to set up, my wife and I frequently move it between the two TVs we have in our house, and I’ve tossed it into my backpack and taken it with me to friends’ houses for movie nights.

Set up was incredibly simple, and it took less than ten minutes from the time I opened it until I was watching my first movie. Speaking as a life-long technology geek, the highest praise I can give it is this: I still haven’t opened the manual, and don’t think I’ll ever need to.

So I love it, but is it worth $99 to you? It depends on your movie-watching habits and your network speed. If your ISP throttles your bandwidth, or your download speed is slower than 3Mbps, you won’t get the best quality picture. I didn’t realize how much that really mattered to me, until I was forced to watch a bunch of movies that looked like they were VHS quality on my HDTV. I upgraded my service to a faster bitrate so I could get maximum resolution, though, and the next movie my son and I watched, Vanishing Point, was indistinguishable from DVD.

The Roku is one of those class of devices that ‘Just Works’. It lets the experience stand for itself. And no worries about the time showing ‘12:00′ all the time. There is no clock!

Linky

NEC the CES octopus has reported a net loss of $1.46Bn for the current qtr reporting (Oct-Dec). Their response? Layoff 20,000 people on a global basis. –

Electronics giant NEC Corp. said it will cut 20,000 workers worldwide to stanch mounting losses, joining a slew of other Japanese corporate heavyweights who are slashing jobs to survive the deepening global downturn.

NEC’s net loss for October-December swelled to 130 billion yen ($1.46 billion) from 5.2 billion yen a year earlier as the global slump hit semiconductors and other businesses, it said Friday. Tokyo-based NEC said it would sink into the red for the full year through March, as well.

The job cuts, which include nearly 7 percent of the company’s permanent work force, will be completed by March 2010 and are part of a broader plan to restore the company’s profitability. NEC also aims to cut 80 billion yen in overhead costs at struggling semiconductor subsidiary NEC Electronics over the next two fiscal years.

NEC is a company like Sony, Daewoo, and others that are horizontally integrated and make things from electronics to household appliances to Telco gear. I would expect however that since this current downturn is consumer driven that the consumer lines at NEC are prepared to take the brunt of this layoff.

Linky.

Well it looks like the House, not having been satisfied with whipping itself the first go around is coming back for a second round. We have already pontificated enough on the stupidity of this move. Check the archives if you are interested. You want to put your healtcare in the hands of these idiots? –

After failing to get the required two-third majority on Wednesday, the House is expected next week to pass legislation delaying the digital television transition to June 12, according to White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs. The Senate has already voted to extend the deadline, and President Obama has indicated he will sign the bill.

Just Do It Already!

Linky

Consumerist, a consumer advocacy blog that has more teeth than the BBB has struck again. This time by fostering the close of a contact center that has been exposed as shall we say less than stellar? –

Sprint is closing a call center we posted ex-employee accounts about that alleged on-the-scene drug use, sex, and theft of customer credit card numbers, among other infractions.

According to an inside source, these posts about the Teleperformance USA call center in Fishers, Indiana got sent up the company ladder. When they hit the Senior VP level, there was much teeth grinding. A Sprint vendor manager was hauled in on his ass to explain himself. Guess it wasn’t very convincing. Then again, it could just be the economy. Whichever the case, no matter, all roads lead to Rome.

The Telecom industry has enough problems with image on its own. It does not have to contract for more. Which of course leads me to my old saw — Anytime you relinquish control of your brand to another without sufficeint control, you lose control of the brand. These days a damaged brand is a very expensive thing to recover from.

Consumerist.

With Nortel’s ongoing financial woes it follows that they would start trimming nonyielding products/services. Sadly one of them has been their WiMax product line. –

Fallout from Nortel Network Corp.’s financial troubles has forced the Canadian giant to end its mobile WiMAX business and sever its ties with Alvarion Ltd.

Nortel officials said Thursday the decision allows the company to narrow its focus, manage investments and strengthen its long-term competitiveness in its carrier business by dropping out of the 4G technology that is being heavily backed by Alvarion.

This poses a problem for WiMax. Cisco from what I see in the industry seems to have a preference for LTE. Not that I am saying the would not sell WiMax. But their ties to the telcos fosters a follow the money attitude.

Linky.

As president Obama declares that recovery from the recession will take years, the Senate is ladling more lard on spending plans that will enrich some of its favorite benefactors.  Top of the list is Verizon, who will get huge tax credits for simply continuing business as usual.

As we just got done saying, the Senate’s version of the stimulus bill not only offers $9 billion in loans to companies who deliver broadband service to rural areas, but it also offers some very tasty tax credits — something pushed for by incumbent lobbyists. Some of these credits, as the New York Times explores, will be doled out for doing virtually nothing differently. Verizon is the biggest potential benefactor of the bill’s new language, standing to net $1.6 billion in tax cuts the next two years. (DSL Reports)

When the potential returns from private investment are so grossly disadvantaged by competitors who are given a clear advantage with public funding, investment capital  stays on the side lines. If that happens, the recovery will indeed take years. Be careful what you wish - or vote for. The change you get may not be exactly what you had hoped for.

We’ve been predicting that sooner or later A list entertainers would discover the direct to web channel. While YouTube has some critical mass from numbers and an early start, it is notably lacking in high production value content like that found on recent upstart Hulu. Even with the seemingly limitless Google resources, the site still suffers from mediocre video quality and a search engine that typically delivers chaotic results. It needs a little more something special to grow…and maybe that something special has been found.

YouTube has taken the first shot at directly recruiting some of Hollywood’s more recognizable names to produce content channels that are sure to bring loads of new viewers.

The video-sharing site is reportedly close to clinching a deal with the William Morris Agency, in which the talent agency’s clients would create videos for YouTube, according to a report Thursday in The New York Times.

The deal apparently would give William Morris Agency clients an ownership stake in videos they create for YouTube, and, in return, YouTube would receive professionally produced videos, according to the Times report.

For YouTube and its owner Google, the question is whether such efforts will eventually generate advertising revenue. (Cnet)

Continuing with our movie title theme here at ThirdPipe, it appears that FruitPhone has a problem with its last upgrade. In what appears to be random selection (dare we call it selective Jobsism of the dumbest), SMS just stops working on units. There is no fix in sight either —

Some users of Apple’s iPhone are still reporting problems sending SMS messages with no fix in sight, despite both Apple and O2 being aware of the issue for more than a month.

The problem comes with the upgrade to software version 2.2. Some users have reported it surfacing well after installing the upgrade, but once it manifests there seems no way to fix the error that pops up every time an SMS message is sent, despite reboots, resets and reconfigurations.

Given the lack of official support, sufferers have congregated on the Apple and O2 forums to swap ideas, with some reporting that a fix can be obtained by swapping SIMs, though not in every instance. Those contacting Apple are being told that a fix is in the works, while those speaking to O2 are just being told that this explains the problems they’ve been having with Visual Voicemail too.

So much for the vaunted Apple quality control. Were I a businessman depending on this service for day to day operations I would be ticked.

More here.