The IT department knows all

PC Pro
A new survey finds that one-third of information technology staffers ‘‘take advantage of their position to look through private files, wage data, personal e-mails, and HR details.’’ They claim it’s simply human nature. They ask: ‘‘Why does it surprise you that so many of us snoop around your files; wouldn’t you if you had secret access to anything you can get your hands on?’’

BusinessWeek
Hype, but no bubble

Sarah Lacy says Web 2.0 hype may remind us of the dot-com frenzy, but it's different this time. Then, 40 percent of adults were online. Now? It's up to 70 percent, half at high speed. Today, the cost of doing business is far cheaper, and though VCs are investing heavily, the median deal is only $5 million. Not one Web 2.0 company has gone public, limiting any potential loss to just the investors. Acquisitions are happening, but "the vast majority have been under $100 million," which Lacy describes as "efficient outsourced innovation" for companies like Google and Microsoft. As for the hype? It simply goes with the territory.

This Web Day
Chinese SMS revolt

The Chinese city of Xiamen, a center for Taiwanese and Hong Kong investment, halted construction of a chemical plant after residents sent more than 1 million mobile phone text messages protesting possible pollution dangers. "The communist government, long indifferent to the environmental cost of China's economic boom, has become more sensitive to pollution complaints after accidents that polluted rivers, disrupting water supplies to major cities."

Business 2.0
The 2015 deadline

At last! A deadline. Experts warn that we have until 2015 to reverse global warming. So which businesses will help us meet the deadline? Wind and solar power, plus biofuels, are now a $16 billion to $21 billion business. But by 2015, "biofuels alone could be an $80 billion industry." Electric-car companies like Tesla Motors are likely winners. Tesla "has already sold out its first run of the $100,000 Tesla Roadster." And Tesla's new side electric car battery unit "instantly received a $43 million order." Also, go long on something called "carbon capture and storage," or CCS.

Financial Times
Google v. Microsoft

Last week, Google officially challenged Microsoft's dominance of your desktop by launching Google Gears. What is Google Gears? It makes it so you can use Google's word processor and spreadsheet both online and offline. So Google has nicely sidestepped the browser and, using a bit of Javascript, has gained access to the Microsoft stronghold. Since it will now allow me to work on documents even when I'm offline, such as when I'm on a plane, I'm going to try it.

I, Cringely
Google's final days?

Bob Cringely says that if Google gets beaten by another company, it's likely the founders will come from Google itself. Why? They've hired thousands of geniuses from universities, start-ups, and other companies, all of whom are paid to work 20 percent of the time on developing new ideas, most of which Google can't implement. And then there's the fact that members of Google's "entrepreneurial petri dish" will soon begin vesting their stock options. It's likely that those who have planned "their future companies over free sushi and Diet Coke late at night in Google cafeterias" will soon start to visit Sand Hill Road on their own.

Time
Taking on Ticketmaster

Ticketmaster has long had a lock on ticket sales, but the Web is changing the game. More concert promoters, pro sports leagues, and smaller venues are selling their own tickets to build a deeper bond with fans. But Ticketmaster's biggest lost opportunity was being slow to address the secondary market, or "what used to be called scalping." Sites like StubHub effectively set the market price for concert tickets, with fans paying an average of 45 percent above face value.