Obama in 30 Seconds

Celebrity judges will decide the winner of a video contest sponsored by MoveOn.org and aimed at boosting Obama's chances at gaining the White House. The resulting featurette will be aired nationally.

Actors Matt Damon and Ben Affleck are among the deciders, as well as musicians John Legend and Eddie Vedder.

Change is in the air

Change beats experience and the two Democratc contenders beat the sole Republican Presidential candidate. This, according to an ABC News/Washington Post poll. It says Obama's lead over McCain is bigger than Clinton's, thus far. Even among independents, change wins over strength by a 9-point margin (47-to-38).

Wireless providers balk at backup power requirements

Sprint Nextel Corp and the cell phone industry as a whole is fighting FCC requirements to provide at least 8 hours backup power at all its cell sites, a move that would ensure reliable emergency communications when it's needed most -- which was not the case in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

Sprint Nextel Corp says the requirement would lead to "staggering and irreparable harm" and present a huge economic and bureaucratic burden for the company -- and that costs couldn't be recouped through legal action or passed on to consumers.

I did some math. An AP article states there are 210,000 cell sites in the country and upgrades would cost up to $15,000 per site. Assuming there are 100 million cell accounts, then the total upgrade cost would be $3.2 billion or $31.50 per customer. That amounts to only about $2.63 per month per account for the first year, and significantly less thereafter. Hardly "staggering and irreparable harm".