In March, Mariane Pearl, the widow of the murdered Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl, received a phone call from Alberto Gonzales, the Attorney General. At the time, Gonzales’s role in the controversial dismissal of eight United States Attorneys had just been exposed, and the story was becoming a scandal in Washington. Full article

Microsoft Corp. is beset with competition from all sides, unlike any it has seen in decades, and Bill Gates, who co-founded the company 32 years ago, still intends to step away next year as planned.

But so far, Gates, Microsoft’s 51-year-old chairman, shows no sign of fading away. One year into a planned two-year transition, there are few visible cues that he is ready to leave the world’s technology stage to devote his energies principally to the $ 33 billion foundation he established seven years ago with his wife. Full article

Microsoft’s announcement that it will spend $1 billion to fix problematic Xbox 360s seemed like a step that would assuage disenchanted customers. Nearly a month later, however, some console owners are still less than pleased. Full article

Remember when Nokia used to be just a cellphone maker? How about just a few years ago when all Google was solely an Internet company. It seems now Nokia wants to be an Internet company and Google, according to non-stop speculation among bloggers and technology analysts, may be about to enter the crowded and cut throat, mobile phone fray. Full article

The days of playing 18 holes at a local golf course and puttering around in a broken down golf cart are over.  Today’s baby boomers are as active as ever. They’re heading to the gyms in record numbers and incorporating both health and fitness into their lifestyles.  The results are they’re more active, living longer and healthier. Full article

As the world’s rich and famous crave luxury boats, South Africa is working hard and determined to be a major boat-building player. Averaging only about 1 boat per builder in the mid ’90’s, they’re now averaging about 4 and launched close to 300 new boats in 2006. Full Article

Steven A. Ballmer had an epic morale problem on his hands. Microsoft Corp.’s stock had been drifting sideways for years, and Google envy was rampant on the Redmond (Wash.) campus. The chronically delayed Windows Vista was irking the Microserfs and blackening their outlook. So was the perception that their company was flabby, middle-aged, and unhip. Full article

So why does something as superficial as hair seem so important to so many men? I understand that loss of self-confidence; low self-esteem and heightened self-consciousness seem to come along with hair loss. Full article

Whisky sales have been on a meteoric rise over the last several years, especially Single-Malt Scotches.  The entire industry is re-inventing itself. Here’s how to tell your cask strength from your port-wood-aged. Full article

Artist Alice Neel, worked in relative obscurity most of her adult life. As a resident of Spanish Harlem, she often painted her friends and neighbors. Originally created in the 1940’s, it recently sold for $445,000 at a Christie’s art auction.

But the record-breaking price for the portrait “Roberta Johnson Roensch” does not change the entire market for her work. Full article

In increasing numbers, men are embracing spas as places to relax, rejuvenate, and sometimes take in the game. Fingers drum, rub, and knead all over my body. Hands play a symphony from toes to cranium. Full article