The Insider: Makin' money on Microsoft disputes

Earlier this year, after resolving a widely publicized dispute with the company over the Internet domain name mikerowesoft.com, a Canadian teenager named Mike Rowe sold the threatening legal documents for more than $1,000 on eBay.

Now, someone else is auctioning the big white letters that once formed the "Lindows" sign at the San Diego headquarters of the company that agreed to abandon that name this summer, when it settled a dispute with Microsoft over the Windows trademark.

The eBay listing for the Lindows letters contains multiple references to the Microsoft dispute. Reads one: "WARNING! Improper placement of W may result in lawsuits. Use at your own risk!" And another: "Void where prohibited by law. Sorry Washington."

The high bid for the collection of seven letters was $630 as of Friday afternoon.

HOW DO YOU FIX A PROBLEM YOU CAN'T DEFINE? Everyone seems to be weighing in on the "offshoring" trend, although people don't appear to agree on what the word even means.

"No commonly accepted definition of 'offshoring' exists," the federal General Accountability Office wrote in a report on the issue last week.

The lack of clarity hasn't stifled debate, as politicians, researchers and journalists have rushed to illuminate the trend often generally defined as U.S. firms sending work to nations with cheaper labor and overhead.

The number of terms used in the dialogue further clouds the meaning. Outsourcing has emerged as perhaps the most popular term, but others have tossed out offshoring, offloading, contracting out and other words. One of the problems is a lack of data on the high-profile trend, a problem the GAO report highlighted.

"U.S. government data provide some insight into the extent of services offshoring by the private sector, but they do not provide a complete picture of the business transactions that the term offshoring can encompass," the report stated.

A NAME A PROTESTER COULD LOVE: On the subject of offshore outsourcing -- however you define it -- members of tech labor union WashTech picketed last week to raise awareness of the issue outside the WSA tech trade group's 20th-anniversary celebration at the Experience Music Project.

The pickets stood across the entryway from EMP and held signs that read "Export software, not jobs." They also tried out several chants, including "Blow the whistle on corporate greed," with an accompanying whistle. But none of the chants was as popular as "Out-source Ball-mer" -- a rhythmic cadence referring to Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer, who was the featured speaker inside the WSA event.

"He's got a great name for it," explained Marcus Courtney, the WashTech president. "You could do kind of a one-two punch on that one."

A NEW WAY TO WASH: Don't look for it in stores -- at least not yet. But a four-person Seattle startup says it has invented a new hand-held kitchen sprayer that could revolutionize the way you wash pots, pans, dishes and glassware. Unlike traditional pot scrubbers, H2O Innovations' sprayer dispenses soap and is powered by a patent-protected motor that is environmentally friendly.

H2O Innovations President Ed Uhl said the ProClean is "easier than hand washing and more efficient than a dishwasher." The idea sprung from the brain of Brian Moriarty, who came up with the concept when scrubbing his car rims with a toothbrush.

Founded three years ago, H2O Innovations is starting to receive some recognition. The ProClean product is one of 20 semifinalists in Hammacher Schlemmer's 10th annual Search for Innovation contest, an inventor's showcase that has received national media coverage in the past.

Winners -- who will receive total prizes valued at $12,000 -- will be chosen Oct. 5. To view the semifinalists -- including a rod mounted fishing tackle box and a chameleon guitar -- visit www.hammacher.com/ sfi/sfimain.asp.

The ProClean, which would probably sell for $55 at retail, was one of 350 entries.

P-I reporters Paul Nyhan, Todd Bishop and John Cook contributed to this edition of The Insider, the P-I business staff's weekly compendium of quips, quotes, observations, asides, tidbits, weird facts and gossip.

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