I have installed Google SketchUp, with all the bonus packs. I wonder how long it will take to learn. I've gone through the first video tutorial.

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Knol

"The first page is the main page of a portal; the second page is where the search results are; the third page is what you click on when you decide where to go. Google already owns the first and second page, but since they don't own content, they have no control over the third page.

Microsofts Lobbyists against Google

Microsoft... is trying to stop Google from being able to acquire DoubleClick. In order to get support in blocking the deal, Microsoft apparently had a big PR firm try to put together one of these fake "coalitions" using the name "Initiative for Competitive Online Marketplaces"... which
appears to be designed solely to release reports critical of Google practices. The problem, though, is that the email the PR firm used to "recruit" members to join this group has leaked out and is getting press attention.
Again, there's nothing particularly new in all of this. There are countless such organizations, but it's rare to get the details on how one was brought together. In this case, the email being sent to potential participants urges them to complain about Google's practices to politicians, regulators and the media. Even though Microsoft put the group together, apparently the PR firm did not reveal that.

700Mhz: Devil In the Details

After the FCC released their 700Mhz broadband spectrum auction rules (pdf) a few weeks ago, there was ample applause that the Commission at least met Google's demands half-way. People assumed that while the FCC wasn't going to force true
open access, they'd at least force auction winners to offer unlocked devices and unimpeded access to content.

We assumed there were loopholes that would allow AT&T and Verizon lawyers to wiggle around the conditions should they win the spectrum, or else those operators
wouldn't have been quite so enthusiastic about the rules. Attorney, ICANN board member and law professor Susan Crawford has had some time to digest the rules and says that yes, the devil is in the details:
Related:

1. Martin Wants 'Open Access' 700Mhz
2. 700Mhz & 'The Highest of Theater'
3. FCC 700Mhz Vote Tomorrow
4. FCC Auction Rules As Expected
5. White Space Broadband: Back To The Drawing Board
6. The Google Phone Is Coming
7. Broadcasters Attack 'White Space' Broadband
8. Frontline Asks FCC to Ban Verizon from Spectrum Auction

Restoring competitive balance to the upcoming spectrum auction

Google's Public Policy Blog has one of the clearest explanations of the issues involved with the FCC's 700MHz auction.

In recent days, and especially following Eric Schmidt's July 20 letter to FCC Chairman Kevin Martin, many people have asked us a straightforward question: why don't you just attempt to win the spectrum bidding outright, and then implement an open wholesaling business model yourself? Or, as AT&T has put it, "put up or shut up."...

..."monopoly rents"...

...Third, and perhaps most important, the incumbents have every incentive to preserve and protect their existing business model. Given their investment in all the necessary business inputs, and the relatively high prices and low bandwidth characteristics of their existing service offerings, the incumbents must prevent the entry of potential competitors to the market. In a spectrum auction, this means paying whatever it takes to block new entry. Not surprisingly, economists call this a "blocking premium." ...

...Recent studies have confirmed that this is a pervasive aspect of the FCC auction environment. ...

...
Un-skewing the spectrum auction
When looking at the combined impact of the incumbent blocking premium and the incumbent dilution discount, it's easy to see how FCC auction results become skewed.
Ironically enough, it is Google that has been accused
of attempting to skew the auction structure, by our recommendation that the licenses be conditioned on certain "open platforms" requirements.
Of course, as we have explained it is the current auction system that skews the results away from potential new entrants and in favor of existing incumbents. ...
...While Google embraces the kinds of openness and innovation that are the hallmark of the Internet, the incumbents apparently prefer their existing business models. That of course is their prerogative. However, open platforms -- specifically, open applications, open devices, open wholesale services, and open network access
-- together make the spectrum more valuable to Google, or any other potential bidder seeking to create innovative, higher-speed, lower-priced offerings. ...