Big kahuna venture capitalists John Doerr and Vinod Khosla, Google co-founder Larry Page, Google CEO wife ("first lady"?) Wendy Schmidt, and eBay founder Jeff Skoll all donated money to promote Proposition 87 (which would add a tax to oil in California), embroiling them in an election-funding battle against oil companies and adding to a total $98 million combined war chest. [Mercury News]
How do you keep a stock price up when your flagship product comes two years late? Microsoft holds its shareholder meetings the same days it launches new products. Which means the Vista shareholder meeting will happen some time after the sun becomes a dead lump of coal. [Seattle PI]
"Microsoft exec quits to start global charity" — Bloomberg baits readers to an article that's not about Bill Gates. [Bloomberg]
Crazy rumors in the Real Media, part 1: The LA Times covers serious accusations by a disgruntled MySpace founder. [LA Times]
CRitRM, part 2: The NY Times confirms the rumor that Google is in talks to buy YouTube for $1.6MB (thanks Chris). "A deal would end an almost yearlong chess game among the nation's media and technology moguls to take over YouTube," says the Times. Dude, that's not a chess game. That's the opening gambit. [NY Times]
Real estate costs, says the Mercury News, keep old expensive workers out of the Valley and attract young go-getters. So it's not that HR is ageist... [Mercury News]
