On the heels of my guide to buying a computer, a guide to buying a TV.

It's on. Read the prospectus, get a bidder ID, and watch a Meet the Management video.

Simplifying things dramatically, and playing with a little math, if sold at $135/share... Google will raise $3,325,948,965.00. Does that strike anyone else as quite a load of cash? What will they do with all that? Honestly. It could be very strange, or very exciting looking ahead for Google.

I'm no investment guru, but browsing through the prospectus, I see this claim about what they'll do with the $3 billion+

We intend to use the net proceeds from this offering for general corporate purposes, including working capital, and possible acquisitions of complementary businesses, technologies or other assets. We will not receive any of the proceeds from the sale of shares by the selling stockholders.

Here Google revenues from 1999 to 2003 present:
$220,000 1999
$19,108,000 2000
$86,426,000 2001
$439,508,000 2002
$1,351,835,000 2003

Pretty nice growth curve.

Anyway... fun to read the prospectus of a company you feel like you know a little about, and that you care about.

Microsoft acquired Creature House too, they have a very cool little vector graphics editing program. It's kinda like a cross between Illustrator and Flash. Easier to use than Illustrator. Free download here for both PC and Mac.

I don't suspect that will be free for long, so snag it.

(Not sure what vector based images are? Think of it as the opposite of pixel art. Instead of being pixel (or bitmap) based like everything on your computer, it's line (or vector) based. Widely used in the print world, the backbone of logo/branding creation, and illustrating using the computer. Here are some examples. Here's more information.)

Microsoft bought this great little tool for making Outlook search actually work... well, and fast.

Now they are giving it away for free. Grab it.

Interesting, and a spiffy use of Flash too.

Details on the biggest IPO in years emerge -- and one is a startling anticipated share price. At that level, the newly public company would be worth more than Ford or GM.

It's System Administrator Appreciation Day!

You have probably noticed the trend of progressive businesses and business people toward "getting real" or (buzzword) "transparent."

Make no mistake about it, this is shrewd marketing at work. And it's great. At it's heart, is a swing toward a sense of honesty about things. Real, legitimate, fair companies have nothing to hide. Lifting the veil on how things work, showing your imperfections as well as your strengths works to create trust with customers. Customers want to feel a personal, human connection with business. I've ranted at length here about how irritating and powerless you feel when "the system" at MegaCorp disallows a personal, human touch. Progressive companies, those that are defining the future, hide behind no such "system."

We could all do well to incorporate this kind of "realness" into our interactions with prospects, customers and the pubic in general. The best success a company can have is to build a base of customers, one at a time, by being fair, honest, real and exceptionally good. Mark my words -- the successful companies of tomorrow will follow this pattern. Those that don't will dwindle when the first opportunity for a customer to defect arises. And that opportunity will come. I don't care if you're a doctor, a bank, a phone company, or a software company... nothing is forever and failing to get real with your customers will spell your demise.

Here are examples of a few diverse companies that are getting real:

Southwest Airlines: The "Airline" series on A&E where cameras capture the good, the bad and the insane as SWA allows nearly unrestricted access for camera crews to capture every day life in the terminal.

Microsoft's Channel 9 as well as the free flowing MS related discussion that Scoble has on his blog. Unfiltered and real, it's great stuff with a strong following.

BzzAgent, a company that businesses can hire to help ignite word-of-mouth marketing through it's "agents" (I'm one) who are offered free product previews and asked to honestly share their opinions with the public. This business has a model that almost demands secrecy and that teeters on the brink of dishonesty, but they have opened their doors wide with their blog where they divulge freely and openly.

And this little gem I found today: Zach Braff, the main character on Scrubs who plays Dr. John 'J.D.' Dorian has a new movie out, which he wrote and directed. He also has a blog. Candid and real, interesting too. And the official site for his movie is loaded with DVD-extra esque "real" clips, interviews and blurbs that really create that personal touch. Nice work Zach (and/or whoever is advising your marketing).

Of course these ideas aren't that new. Ideas articulated by The Cluetrain Manifesto and a bunch of others since have set the stage. At this point it's just a matter of watching the number of converts. And it's happening. And it's very cool.

What can your company do to start getting real? Need some ideas? Let's talk.

And reports. Interesting stuff!

Director Peter Jackson has added 50 -- count 'em, 50 -- minutes to the DVD version of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, due out in December, New Line Entertainment has announced. The additional footage includes 300 new special effects, the studio said.

Studio Briefing