Behind Your Business

From paidContent.org, March 31, 2009:A couple of weeks ago, we ranked digital-media CEOs by the size of paychecks. But many of these titans derive most of their wealth not from salary, bonus or options, but from their holdings in the companies they run

Okay, not "positive," exactly, but certainly less negative than he's sounded over the past 18 months.  NYU professor Nouriel Roubini, you'll recall, is known as "Dr. Doom," the most famous of the handful of economists who actual

Sony Computer Entertainment America has made the cut. The consumer entertainment-device maker cut the price of the popular Sony PlayStation 2 gaming console by 25 percent on Tuesday.

Beginning April 1, the Sony PlayStation 2 will be priced at $99.99. Sony hopes to tap into a market of gamers who weren't born when PS2 was launched in 2000, according to John Koller, director of hardware marketing.

"In the gaming industry, the typical life cycle for a console is around five years, but because we build each of our platforms for a large and diverse consumer base, we design our platforms differently," Koller wrote in a PS2 blog post. "With the original PlayStation and now PlayStation 2, we've proven that consumers can rely on our platforms for their gaming and entertainment needs for at least a decade."

Just as PS2 has reached a decade of being on the shelves, Sony Entertainment President Jack Tretton believes PlayStation 3 will have the same success. "We believe PlayStation 3 offers the same promise by helping secure the Blu-ray format and delivering unprecedented value as the total home entertainment solution for the next decade," he said.

Mixed Reactions

Sony also made the cut to reach a group of users unable to afford the gaming console at its full price, and that led to some happy consumers, including someone with the screen name Monsignor.

"YES!!!! I've been waiting for this price to drop below $100 for over eight years," said the poster on Sony's blog. "Finally, I can now go out and buy it and see what all this fuss is about. Thanks, Sony."

While a minority of posters were happy with the price cut, a majority of comments from gamers indicated disappointment. Users had hoped for either a price cut for the PS3 or new firmware.

"The PS2 is a system...

Facebook is about to get Flash-ier as the result of a joint effort announced Tuesday by Adobe Systems and the popular social-networking site. The companies said the newly available Flash ActionScript 3.0 Client Library for the Facebook Platform, a free and open-source programming library, will support all Facebook application programming interfaces, including APIs for the growing network of sites that back Facebook Connect.

'Simpler Access to Facebook Data'

While developers have been creating Facebook applications with Adobe's popular Flash technology for video and interactive animation, the availability of an official client library expands the possibilities.

Asil Toksal, president of the New York City-based Flash shop Lapis Digital, said now "developers can more easily create all kinds of Flash applications, with simpler access to Facebook data."

The ActionScript 3.0 library, now available as a free download, includes support for 60 new APIs that can ease implementation. In addition to ActionScript, JavaScript and PHP are also officially supported libraries on the Facebook Platform. Previously, unofficial Flash libraries were assembled by Flash developers.

According to Adobe, Flash is installed on more than 98 percent of the world's Internet-connected computers. Flash is used widely on the Facebook Platform and in more than half of its top 20 applications.

On its Developer Connection Web site, Adobe said the two platforms will more easily allow developers to create applications for sharing, having fun, connecting with others, solving problems in a community, and reaching people. Some industry observers have noted that the main impact of the official library will be on smaller independent developers, since it will make development faster and easier.

'More Interesting Applications'

Jeffrey Hammond, an analyst with industry research firm Forrester, said he expects to see "more interesting applications" on Facebook. Up to this point, he added, "the Flash stuff on Facebook has been pretty basic, and many of...

From Clusterstock.com Outgoing GM Chief Rick Wagoner is set to walk into the sunset with a $20 million payout, according to Michelle Leder's analysis of GM's filings.Well that has to ease the sting of getting personally fired by The President of the