The King of Pop is dead . . .sort of. The real Michael Jackson disappeared long ago, retreating into a creepy, self-parodistic and drug-addled haze that finally ended last week. But "Michael Jackson", the persona that was created in the analog era of music, will now simply be retooled for the new kind of immortality -- on YouTube and MP3 -- only possible in the digital age. A Portrait of the Artist as a Shiny Mash-up Machine by Edgelings Editor-in-Chief Michael S. Malone.

Waxman-Markey is beloved both by Green Advocates and certain celebrated Silicon Valley venture capitalists. But are both operating from false principles? In the case of the Greens, do they really appreciate just how little of the electrical power in the United States comes from non-traditional sources? As for the Silicon Valley VCs, they seem to believe -- with very little evidence -- that alternative energy is destined to follow the same, Moore's Law, trajectory of semiconductor chips and computers. If both are wrong . . .and there's a very good chance they are . . . then we may be headed towards a very, very expensive economic debacle. Commentary by Forbes publisher and regular Edgelings contributor Rich Karlgaard.

Tom Siebel was once among the toughest -- and most successful -- entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley, and his company, Siebel Systems, was famous for its buttoned-down, take-no-prisoners style. But, in the years since he sold the company to his arch-nemesis Larry Ellison and Oracle (and became a billionaire in the process), Tom Siebel has largely disappeared from the public eye. But that doesn't mean he hasn't been busy . . . indeed, when the final accounting is made, what may be most remembered about Tom Siebel is not the company he built, but the many lives he has saved in his characteristically fierce battle against Montana's methamphetamine epidemic. A portrait of the entrepreneur as philanthropist, video and blog by NBC-KNTV tech reporter and regular Edgelings.com contributor, Scott Budman.

Edgelings Editor-in-Chief is taking his annual summer vacation in the southern Oregon coastal town of Bandon-by-the-Sea. Over the last quarter-century, he has seen Bandon go through good times and bad -- from the hard times of sawmills closing to the real estate boom just a few years ago. But never has he seen times in Bandon as foreboding as now. With fifteen percent unemployment, the State government preparing to raise taxes and far-off Washington seeming to have forgotten basic economics, these are scary times to be in Bandon . . .and nearly every place else in America.

Like most reporters, Scott Budman has written his share of apocalyptic Internet stories -- how the Web alienates us, rots our kids' brains, detaches us from the real world. But then, a Tweet from an old friend reminded him that the Internet is also a tool for saving lives, rescuing the lost . . .and sharing good news with old friends. Commentary by KNTV-NBC tech reporter and regular Edgelings contributor Scott Budman.

The new summer mega-flick "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" may seem like the ultimate Hollywood special effects production. But the real stars (and the superior actors) of the movie are the robots, created by computer special effects geniuses in . . .San Francisco. An interview with the lead animator on the film, Shawn Kelly of Industrial Light and Magic, by NBC-KNTV tech reporter and regular Edgelings contributor, Scott Budman.

The unexpected importance of the new Web 2.0 technologies -- Twitter, Facebook, YouTube -- in getting the news out about the election fraud protests in Iran, is yet one more reminder that not only has the Internet and cellular telephone technology transformed the world . . .but, once again, the real uses for these technologies will be far different than the ones predicted for them. Commentary by Edgelings editor-in-chief Michael S. Malone.

Aaron Greenspan could have been the most famous twenty-something billionaire entrepreneur on the planet. Instead, that title went to his old classmate and business partner Mark Zuckerberg. And therein lies a tale. . . Commentary and video by KNTV-NBC tech reporter and regular Edgelings contributor Scott Budman.

No American industry did more to elect President Barack Obama than high tech. Obama, after all, was supposed to be one of them -- smart, tech-savvy, entrepreneurial and, like a true Silicon Valley CEO, committed to making a change. They would get Obama into the White House, and he in turn would take care of the high tech industry. But it hasn't quite worked out that way -- and after just six months, high tech's biggest names now find themselves between a rock and hard place.

It was while watching a developer sitting next to him at the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference, doing seven things simultaneously on his iPhone -- none of them that involved making an actual phone call -- that Scott Budman had an epiphany. Why even call it an iPhone when nobody seems to use it for that purpose? Why not call it by a name that more accurately captures its extraordinary versatility? Send us your suggestions. Commentary by NBC-KNTV tech reporter and regular Edgelngs contributor Scott Budman.

Rick Smolan has given us some of the most successful -- and most innovative -- photography books of the last quarter-century -- including "One Digital Day" and the "America 24/7" series. Now, he has taken that innovation to the next step. The "Obama Time Capsule" is not just a memento of an historic presidential campaign and election; rather, it is a glimpse into the future the book itself. In fact, "The Obama Time Capsule" doesn't even exist in print -- at least not until you order it on Amazon.com. And even before it is printed, the reader is invited to insert his or her own photographs from those exciting days in with the work of some of the world's best photographers. In other words, the ultimate scrapbook. Commentary and video by NBC-KNTV tech reporter and regular Edgelings contributor Scott Budman. [Full disclosure: Edgelings editor-in-chief Michael S. Malone, who has worked with Smolan over the last fifteen years on five books -- including this one -- was not involved in the reporting of this story.]

Sure, the high tech world has given us a lot of cool stuff over the last decade -- the iPhone, Twitter, YouTube -- but has it had any FUN doing so? Compared to all of the Wild West craziness and bad blood of previous years, tech has been awful sedate and polite lately. Well, all of that is about to change. Get ready for duels to the death, vicious feuds, and a whole lot of bad behavior. Commentary by Edgelings editor-in-chief Michael S. Malone

Flight 447 is the worst kind of air disaster imaginable: one that leaves little trace and few clues. Thus, there is little that it can teach us to prepare for the next time this might happen. We may never know exactly what occured high over the Atlantic Ocean, but that won't keep us from speculating. Frequent Edgelings contributor Charlie Martin, who has spent years writing code for aircraft computers, has his own thoughts on what may have happened -- and offers a glimpse in the dark corners of computer-based aircraft control systems.

A major American industry finds itself growing old, slow and expensive -- and under assault from more nimble foreign competitors that enjoy lower labor costs, shorter product cycles and a reputation for higher quality. Sound familiar? Detroit, of course, but also Silicon Valley's semiconductor industry in the late 1970s. The difference is that this story has a happy ending: the Valley quickly turned itself around and went on to even greater success. The difference between Silicon Valley then and Detroit now? NBC-KNTV technology reporter and regular Edgelings contributor Scott Budman thinks he knows the answer.

The last few days the tech world has been buzzing about Microsoft's new 'Google-killer' search engine, Bing, Google in turn has been quietly working on its own own 'Microsoft-killer'. Called Wave, it is designed to challenge Microsoft's generation-long lock on the Internet browser (Explorer) and email (Outlook) markets. Here's a sneak peek by NBC-KNTV technology reporter and regular Edgelings.com contributor Scott Budman. No video this time, folks, because this project is still so hush-hush that Google wouldn't let Scott bring his cameraman.

A lousy economy, onerous regulations, California in near-bankrupcy, and an Administration and Congress that seem to spend their time coming up with new ways to impede a business revival . . .and yet, the companies of Silicon Valley and the rest of the high tech world STILL are finding ways to come back. So get ready, because this summer and fall we are going to see a whole bunch of exciting new electronics products in chips, smartphones and games. Will it be enough to turn around the U.S. economy? Probably not, but at least we'll be well-entertained in our poverty. . .

President Obama may be optimistic about the prospects for the recovery of the U.S. economy, but a closer look shows that even when the economy does come back it will be a weak recovery -- with the employment figures lagging far behind. Worse, the recovery is also likely to be wildly uneven, with some communities and regions emerging long before others. Welcome to the '70s Redux, folks . . .and that's if were lucky. Commentary by Forbes Publisher and regular Edgelings contributor, Rich Karlgaard.

Twitter is no longer just a tech phenomenon; these days it's a lifestyle, a culture and now . . .a convention! NBC-KNTV reporter and regular Edgelings.com contributor, our very own Scott Budman, decided to attend the new "140" Twitter conference in the heart of Silicon Valley as the sole representative of the Old Media. Here's his report (and video) from the front lines of digital hipness.

The history of high technology is one of young companies with hot new products growing rich by utterly dominating their market . . .until their success attracts new competitors who eventually pull that leader down. Even Microsoft, Intel and IBM, which dominated their markets like no other in tech history, eventually lost their edge. But what of Google? If anything, it seems more dominant now that ever -- and the occasional challengers never seem to gain any traction. What makes Google so special? Some thoughts by regular Edgelings contributor Charlie Martin.

As you may have heard, Edgelings.com editor-in-chief and veteran Silicon Valley journalist Michael S. Malone has a new book out designed to do for corporate organizations what The Virtual Corporation -- written by Malone and legendary venture capitalist Bill Davidow -- did for companies nearly two decades ago. Malone's new book, The Future Arrived Yesterday, describes a new kind of organization, a "protean" corporation that overcomes the structural weaknesses of its predecessors . . .and makes the companies that adopt this new model better suited for competition in the 21st century. As an added value, we have included, along with Malone's usual weekly essay a pair of shorter essays on the Protean Corporation that Malone prepared exclusively for the Amazon Kindle and that are only available on that device and this web site.

Veteran journalist David Weir returns with a story about a shocking admission by Google co-founder Larry Page that Twitter, the company that replaced Google as the current hottest-company-on-the-planet, is easily beating Google . . .at least in the speed of its news coverage. Once again, it's a reminder that the modern world is a lot like Alice's Wonderland: you've got to run faster and faster just to stay in the same place.

The hottest engineering class at Stanford these days is all about 'touch.' And no, this isn't a story about lusty teachers and wayward students. Rather, the class is for students pursuing another kind of desire: for riches. The 'touch' class is, in fact, a course on designing successful application programs for the Apple iPhone. Story and video by NBC-KNTV tech reporter and regular Edgelings contributor Scott Budman.

It may be a tough time for established car companies, but it's proving to be a golden age for independent new automobile makers. First there was the Tesla -- now, also from L.A. comes the Karma, created by designer Henrik Fisker. It's not quite an electric car; but it sure behaves like one for the first fifty miles of each trip. Is it worth the premium price? Well, it's certainly sexy -- in a Beemer sort of way -- but do people with that kind of money want this kind of car? Reporting and commentary by NBC-KNTV tech reporter and regular Edgelings contributor Scott Budman.

One of our most popular commentators, Charlie Martin, returns to Edgelings with a first look and review of the currently most hyped new tech product around: Stephen Wolfram's Alpha computational search engine. Claimed to be everything from a revolutionary software breakthrough to the long-awaited Google killer, Alpha has some pretty big expectations to fulfill. Does it? Yes and no, says Charlie. It depends upon what you ask it.

With the European Union levying the largest anti-trust fine ever, and the U.S. Justice Department apparently getting ready to follow suit, Silicon Valley chip giant Intel Corporation is in the news a lot these days. Everyone has heard of Intel -- once called "the world's most important company" -- but few people outside of the electronics industry fully understand the role that Intel plays in the larger world of high technology. Here's an appreciation of Intel, and its extraordinary run of CEOs over the last forty years, by Forbes publisher and regular Edgelings contributor, Rich Karlgaard.

Today's teenagers have never known a world without computers, cell phones and the Internet. So we adults naturally assume that they lack perspective and context about the role -- good and bad -- that technology has in their lives. But is that really the case? Edgelings.com editor-in-chief Michael S. Malone decided to find out -- so he asked a class of eigth graders at a school at the very heart of Silicon Valley. The surprisingly sophisticated answers he got will surprise -- and perhaps console -- you.

Not that the biggest Internet search company on the planet is nervous about new competitors, such as the Wolfram Alpha, but suddenly the Mountain View, California company is showing a new willingness to open up some of its deepest labs to the general public. In particular, Google just gave the media a tour of its once-secret "Searchology" operations, showing off some of the coolest new search apps it has in the works. Alpha must be even better than we thought . . . Video and commentary by NBC-KNTV tech reporter and regular Edgelings contributor, Scott Budman.

With the EU preparing to levy a $1.36 billion antitrust fine on Intel Corporation, the Santa Clara chipmaker couldn't have been too thrilled yesterday to hear a speech by Assistant Attorney General Christine Varney announcing a return to "vigorous antitrust enforcement action" by the U.S. Justice Department. Intel has long been on the edge of serious actions by the Justice Department . . .but has usually been able in the past to pull a mea culpa or make some other deal to escape serious punishment. But this is a new administration, with an increasingly antagonistic attitude toward Big Business . . .especially big businesses that utterly dominate their market the way Intel does. The EU fine, experts say, could act as an incentive for Justice to take on Intel early -- and provide both justification and evidence for a quick guilty verdict. This time around, Intel, instead of its usual position as the target of last resort for the Feds, may find itself in the uneviable role of the low-hanging fruit.

Being a technology journalist isn't all about talking with sober executives in panelled offices, or interviewing semiconductor fab workers in bunny suits . . .sometimes you get to tour the cutting edge of tech coolness. That's what KNTV-NBC technology reporter and regular Edgelings contributor Scott Budman got to do last week. While you were lining up to see the new Star Trek movie, Scott was touring the offices of the people who created the effects for the movie: the legendary Industrial Light & Magic. Commentary and -- much more important -- video.

Remember when American automobiles were the envy of the world and the glory of U.S. industry? Probably not. But there was such a time . . .and does anyone actually believe that the path back to glory for Chrysler (and General Motors) is to be run owned by a troika of the United Auto Workers, Fiat Motors and the United States Government? In fact, can anybody imagine a worse solution? Meanwhile, we taxpayers are about to discover the real cost of Detroit's failure . . .or, more accurately, the real cost of never being allowed to fail. Commentary by Edgelings' editor-in-chief Michael S. Malone.