Thursday's Sabotage

Good morning news hounds. Don't forget to join Becky Worley, Megan Morrone, and me at the Barnes and Noble in Emeryville, California this evening at 7:30! I want a robot copter I can call my own. Beats turkey flavored soda. Happy birthday Benoit Mandelbrot, father of fractals, born on this day in 1924. The crank pedal bicycle was patented on this day in 1866. It's World Rights of the Child Day, commemorating the 1959 UN Declaration of Children's Rights. Not in my house.

1. A federal judge has denied Wells Fargo's request to block pop-up advertising for a rival bank, saying that the pop-up ads are unlikely to confuse users. This is the second court victory for WhenU, a pop-up purveyor. They beat U-Haul in a similar case in September.
2. High demand for LCD screens is pushing prices up. Experts say prices will stay high well into next year thanks to sales of LCD TVs. LCD TV shipments are expected to double next year. If history is any indicator, the increase in prices will trigger increased production that will ultimately reduce prices considerably.
3. Projecting increased demand for its chips, AMD is breaking ground for a new $2.5 billion chip fab in Dresden. The plant goes online in 2006.
4. NASA's new supercomputer is running Linux. It'll be used to study the oceans.
5. Support the Free Software Foundation. California residents who purchased Microsoft software between 1995 and 2001 are receiving vouchers as part of the state's settlement with Microsoft. The FSF is asking Californians to donate those vouchers to support their efforts to promote free software.