If you are having trouble viewing our video player, check out MediaBytes on YouTube.
As expected, Amazon unveiled the next version of its e-book reader Kindle yesterday. Kindle 2.0 is both faster and thinner than its predecessor, however, it will still cost $359. The new Kindle will begin shipping February 24th. According to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezo’s, “Our vision is every book ever printed in any language all available in 60 seconds.” Watch Shelly’s commentary on the new Kindle and how it ushers in a new way of receiving and absorbing content.
President Obama’s economic stimulus package includes $7 billion set aside for expanding broadband access. On the heels of the bill, IBM noted that it produced a report which suggests spending $30 billion on smart grid technology, broadband expansion and digitizing medical records could create as many as 949,000 new jobs.
Google is entering the smart grid business. One of its outlets is PowerMeter, a new free web service, which lets users monitor power usage at home and at work. The economic stimulus has alloted $4.4 billion for smart grid technologies.
IBM is making a move into the cloud computing world. Stressing the importance of the cloud computing, the head of the new division will report directly to chairman and CEO Sam Palmisano. Palmisano is ready to let some businesses run their computing services “off the cloud”, creating an “overflow cloud” for company’s whose resources are limited.
Former eBay CEO Meg Whitman may be preparing to run for Governor of California. Yesterday, Whitman announced that she had formed an exploratory committee seeking the Republican nomination in 2010. Whitman is quoted as saying “California faces challenges unlike any other time in its history — a weak and faltering economy, massive job losses, and an exploding state budget deficit. California is better than this, and I refuse to stand by and watch it fail.”