Best technological-philosophical query heard recently from Wall Street comes from Bernstein Research, whose Jeffrey Lindsay posed the question: "Would Socrates have bought Amazon's new e-reader product, the Kindle?"     

The answer, according to Lindsay, using the best Socratic analysis, is yes and no.     

While Socrates, originally a stone mason who was unpaid for his philosophical teachings, may have balked at the $400 price, and gone for Sony's cheaper competing device, given that the great man went about on foot, he may have appreciated the Kindle's light weight.     

 Furthermore, since Socrates did not write down his teachings for posterity, Lindsay hypothesizes that he would not care about the upload charges to send documents to Amazon to be converted and uploaded to the Kindle. But who knows for sure, seeing as that service is mostly free from Sony already.     

And to the hypothesis whether Amazon has "shot themselves in the metaphorical foot" by making Kindle a closed system, selling it for $399 and charging for newspaper and blogs that are free on the web, Bernstein wrote that Amazon customers have already given the device a modest 2.5 stars, which he said is normally reserved for poorly performing products.     

 On the other hand, "Kindle is an innovative product with game changing potential," that could be a winner at $200 once refined and improved.

Philosophize on that.   

(Photo from Amazon.com)

Seeking to shake up online buying excitement in advance of the full onslaught of holiday shopping, Amazon.com is launching a get-out-the-vote campaign on its Web site.
The online retailer is giving consumers a chance to vote on which popular, heavily discounted item it should offer during a series of deals over the next four weeks.
Potential bargains announced on Thursday include a Microsoft XBox 360 Core System for $100 instead of $299.99 and Mattel’s 12 Dancing Princesses dolls for $10 each instead of $49.84.
Customers can vote once per week and after the voting period when the winning deal is announced, shoppers can click to purchase the item. But Amazon is limiting how many items are sold — 1,000 XBox 360s and 2,000 princesses, for example.
Jupiter Research analyst Patti Freeman Evans said the “doorbuster” tactic — in which retailers offer big deals, spurring shoppers to break down shop doors — was new for Amazon.
Besides the hope of spurring sales, Amazon will gain valuable input about consumer preferences and the level of interest in certain items can help plan future promotions, she said.
In one spirited online forum discussion, online poster Joseph King wondered if the contest simply came down to greed versus generosity.
“Do I want that XBox 360 for myself at a great price, or do I want to get Christmas gifts for five kids?” he pondered.
Based on responses, it looks like greed was winning.