The Competitive Enterprise Institute Daily Update
Issues in the News
1. TECHNOLOGY
Google buys Internet video pioneer YouTube for $1.65 billion.
CEI Expert Available to Comment: Technology Analyst Peter Suderman on the future of online video:
“I have little doubt that this will be a success for a little while, […] but I still wonder if the massive investment will pay off in the long run. The pace of technological development is so fast right now that a service like YouTube, which provides minimal video quality in a smallish window and essentially serves as an ongoing, web version of America’s Funniest Home Videos, isn’t going to be the king of web video for long. Services that provide HD over broadband, offer fully downloadable material that can be stored on a hard drive—these are services that have yet to take off, but with upgrades in of broadband bandwidth, more people are going to become interested in them.”
2. SAFETY
A new report finds that counterfeit pharmaceuticals make up as much 10% of the world drug supply.
CEI Expert Available to Comment: Adjunct Analyst Dr. Henry I. Miller on the health threats posed by fake drugs:
“Just as counterfeiters have become adept at reproducing Gucci purses, Rolex watches and DVDs, they can duplicate the appearance of pills and capsules, and sometimes even the holograms and other security measures on the packaging. Without actually performing some sort of chemical analysis, the counterfeits may be virtually impossible to identify.”
3. ENERGY
Sun Microsystems co-founder and venture capitalist Vinod Khosla explains his recent investments in ethanol and other biofuels.
CEI Expert Available to Comment: Adjunct Analyst Dennis Avery on the costs associated with shifting to alternative fuel sources like ethanol:
“There are significant trade-offs involved in the massive expansion of the production of corn and other crops for fuel. Chief among these would be a shift of major amounts of the world’s food supply to fuel use when significant elements of the human population remains ill-fed.”
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