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IBM is taking a different route. Its PowerPC 405LP uses only 10% as much juice as other PowerPC chips. The chip can be used for anything from cell phones and game machines to electronic gizmos.

But Transmeta is far from giving up. It has a new chip that doesn't just save on power, it also saves on space. It is about a third smaller than previous Transmeta chips.

Slash and Burn

When Computer Associates was fighting a proxy battle with Sam Wiley, employees stuck by their company. The headquarters were decorated with banners and crazy flying objects in support of the company's leaders. Now 900 of those employees are wondering if they backed the right team -- they got pink slipped last week. I wonder how many Wiley would have laid off.

Nobody Deserves This

Today's terrorists are a strange breed -- they are incredibly stupid, yet remarkably clever. The stupidity is obvious: Only a buffoon would think that religion supports the wanton killing of innocents. And yet these terrorists persevere, finding more targets and unusual ways to cause harm.

Microsoft learned that lesson last week. The producer of one of the world's most well-known brand-name products, and with one of the most famous executives at the helm, received a letter that may have been laced with anthrax at its Reno office. It's a disgrace that one of America's intellectual leaders and influencers could be under attack. I was appalled when Bill Gates was hit with a pie, and I'm even more appalled now.

Worth Whining About?

Shortly after the World Trade Center disaster I heard from one of Network Computing's authors, who claimed that the U.S. government was restricting what companies could say about their products to protect national security.

The Society of Professional Journalists (some of us do get paid for writing this junk) is apparently seeing similar restrictions on health care and environmental reporting. Meanwhile, the Associated Press Managing Editors conference went so far as to warn that such restrictions threaten democracy. Kinda ironic. In a normal war where the enemy may be across the ocean, I may agree. But the enemy in this war is right here, living in our towns and cities, looking for any opportunity to wreak destruction. Information that may seem innocent could be used against us.

I'm a journalist who believes in freedom of the press. But I also believe in protecting lives. If George W's crew wants me to hold a story, I'm happy to oblige.

The End Is Near. Hooray!!