The latest development in the Viacom case against Google’s YouTube means that the Viacom legal team will know how many times you viewed that darn drama prairie dog (or gopher, whatever) video. A U.S. court has ordered that Google must disclose the viewing habits of each and every user who has ever plopped down in front of their computer and watched a YouTube video. The ruling means Viacom will have over 12 terabytes of data to prove their claim that allegedly infringing videos hold more appeal than non-infringing flicks.

Back in February it was truemored that Starbucks was pouring out pink slips to over 200 employees and eliminated nearly 400 vacant position. Now, the company has announced the closure of 600 under-performing stores across the United States. Is your favorite java spot underperforming?

Post-punk new wavers Devo have filed a lawsuit against McDonald’s over a Happy Meal toy sporting the group’s distinctive red flower pot hat. The fast food chain released “New Wave Nigel” as part of an American Idol promotion in April, but Devo bassist Gerald Casale alleges the quirky hat is copyrighted and trademarked. Casale commented, “We don’t like McDonald’s, and we don’t like American Idol, so we’re doubly offended.”

Amazon head honcho Jeff Bezos has thrown some money at microblogging service Twitter, confirming a long-running rumor. Bezos made the investment through his Bezos Expeditions company along with fellow new investor, Spark Capital. Twitter co-founder Biz Stone did not divulge financial details in the announcement made via his blog, but the blogosphere buzz puts the investment at $15 million, giving the company a valuation of around $100 mil. Could this prove a silly investment now that Facebook has announced a feature allowing users to comment directly on statuses?

An Australian man has decided to auction himself, his house, car, motorbike, literally everything he has and even his friends, after his wife left him. He plans to retain only his passport, wallet and the clothes he’s wearing. Apparently, he wants to start a new life. Last I heard was a bid of $650,000. Isn’t it possible to start a new life without auctioning anything?
(Photo Credit: Svetlana Larina /iStockphoto)

Today, Friday, June 20, isn’t just the second longest day of the year. It’s also Take Your Dog to Work Day, a business holiday celebrated since 1999. If you plan to celebrate, bring a friendly dog, tire him out before work, and make sure to take plenty of bathroom breaks during the day.

If you thought the worst is already here, financial experts in Europe are predicting that we are going to see a severe downturn in global stock and credit markets. Is this true? Nobody likes bad news but are we prepared to handle the truth?
(Photo Credit: Felix M?ckel /iStockphoto)

Prepare to despise air travel a tiny bit more today as United Airlines has announced a $15 charge for a first checked bag. The Chicago-based carrier also raised fees for checking three or more bags and overweight bags and joins American Airlines in charging customers for checking any luggage. Higher fuel prices have struggling airlines passing the costs onto passengers. As of July 1, low-cost carrier Southwest Airlines will have the distinction of being the only U.S. airline permitting two checked bags at no cost.

Just about everyone Mac fan I talked to yesterday after the developer conference keynote thought that Steve Jobs looked very thin. Now the Wall Street Journal has asked Apple for comment and learned that The Steve had a bit of bug in recent weeks and is using antibiotics to get well. Let’s hope for a speedy recovery!

Apple CEO Steve Jobs unveiled the upgraded iPhone Monday at the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco, revealing the gadget’s faster Internet connection over 3G wireless networks and satellite navigation capabilities. Apple also slashed prices, announcing that an 8 gigabyte model will sell for $199 and a 16 gigabyte model will sell for $299. The multimedia device will initially debut in 22 countries with plans in place to expand to 70 countries.

Did you know that the type of biscuit you serve to clients at meetings could determine which way the cookie crumbles? That’s according to almost four out of five UK businesses, who said that chocolate digestives make the best impression, whilst serving the humble normal crumbly digestive was a big no-no. And, whatever you do, don’t dunk biscuits in tea or coffee, as this practice was frowned upon by more 50% of respondents. There’s been plenty of research discussing optimising business strategy, but this study really takes the biscuit.

In case you are in the market for property, you might be interested in a brick and stone jail which is up for sale for just $200,000. The 14,000 square foot facility was built in 1897 and comes with complete security. You could probably turn it into a restaurant.
(Photo Credit: Diane Diederich /iStockphoto)

These days people will do anything to make a quick buck. It appears that in Germany, a couple put up their seven-month-old baby boy for sale on eBay, for a Euro. Of course no offers were placed and the listing was taken off after a few people reported the matter to the police.
(Photo Credit: M. Eric Honeycutt /iStockphoto)

The CEO of LifeLock, you know, the guy who smiled ear to ear as a truck featuring his Social Security number drove by, has a handful of lawsuits to deal with after customers claim the ID protection services failed. The lawsuit also claims LifeLock exec Todd Davis knew the company wouldn’t provide full-proof protection because the service didn’t even work for him. Attorneys for the miffed customers claim to have records of at least 20 people who applied for or received driver’s licenses using Davis’ Social Security number. Lesson du jour: don’t plaster your Social Security number all over billboards, coffee mugs and annoying commercials.

Good news for health nuts with a craving for Mikey D’s: the fast food chain has announced that the french fries in all United States and Canada are now free of trans-fats. Many other fast food chains had already nixed trans-fat, but McDonald’s held off on ditching the artery-clogging cooking oil citing taste concerns. Mmm, fry it up!

The British Medical Journal Group’s mission to improve access to evidence based medicine for doctors around the world comes a step closer as a result of new agreements in Germany and New Zealand. The BMJ Group has inked a three year nationwide licensing agreement with the Bavarian State Library that will provide BMJ Journals’ content to universities and other publicly financed research institutions all around Germany.

A new report released by the congressional Joint Economic Committee claims that flight delays cost the U.S. $41 billion in 2007. Airlines coughed up $19 billion in added operating costs, while flight delays sent passengers back $12 billion. Indirect costs that affect the food and lodging industries relying on air travel traffic added up to an additional $10 billion. Hmm, who’s not suffering? Maybe all those airport food vendors because nothing soothes flight frustration quite like a soft pretzel or bag of trail mix.
(Photo Credit: Joan Coll/iStockphoto)

If everything goes according to plan, by next year 50 Cent will be one of the richest and most powerful men in all of entertainment. In an exclusive report, MediaTakeOut.com has learned that 50 Cent is in the midst of putting together one of the most comprehensive entertainment deals ever signed. The 10 year deal will give News Corp far reaching control over the 50 Cent brand and will cost them a reported $300M in cash and stock.

Truemor has it that the folks behind Twitter have raised almost $20 million from VC funding. We can all only hope that it will be used to create a more stable service.

Joe Schmoe SUV driver isn’t the only one fretting rising gas prices–small gas stations with old-style mechanical pumps worry that $4.00 a galloon gasoline could put them out of business because the pumps don’t go over $3.99. The scrolling dials cannot hit $4 because of lacking gears and small business owners like Cathy Osborne of Virginia don’t have $30,000 to invest in new pumps. Osborne operates a store that opened in 1892 and fears her rural bakery and gas station won’t be able to compete in a market selling gas over $4.

Guy and Bill Gates both spoke in Kuala Lumpur (”KL” to natives) yesterday. Guy spoke to 400 entrepreneurs in two sessions over four hours. Bill spoke to 2,000 people in one session for four minutes via a pre-recorded hologram. There’s a lesson in there somewhere.

In the midst of resuming contract talks, leaders of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) are demanding that in the future actors must provide consent prior to posting video clips online. Actors do receive compensation, however are arguing that in the past consent was required for traditional media. A truemor sign that times are changing.

According to video blogger Robert Scoble, truemor has it that Microsoft’s billion dollar plan to buy the search portion of Yahoo is just one step in owning the entire world wide web. The final — buying complete control of Facebook for more billions.

Sigurdur Hjartarson received his first penis in 1974. He started actually collecting them 24 years ago. Now his hobby has turned profitable. Over 6,000 visitors — 60% of them women — toured his Icelandic Phallological Museum last summer. The museum features 261 penises from 90 species, from 1.7 meters long down to an embarrassing 2mm.

Bike manufacturers have enjoyed a surge in business, as more and more people opt for transportation that doesn’t require pouting at the pump. Environmental awareness and an popularity spike for biking as a recreational activity combined with rising petrol prices has given the world’s biggest bike-makers something to smile about as profits rise. Tapai-based Giant has seen sales up 10 percent with $1 billion in sales. Despite an increase in sales, bicycle makers have to deal with rising metal prices by selling high-end carbon frame bikes with greater margins per unit.