Herding Cats: Facebook Google PR Backfire, Illegal Downloading and Costly Weddings

This week we cover news on illegal downloading, Facebook going after Google, how to buy used merchandise, how to see free movies, a good teen Samaritan, and overpriced (?) weddings.

Wired: Biggest BitTorrent Downloading Case in U.S. History Targets 23,000 Defendants - Big news this week on the illegal downloading front.  The bittorrent case sets a pretty serious precedent.  Formerly, bittorrent downloaders and sites were protected because they were not downloading from a single source.  With bittorrent, users download pieces of a file (or "seeds") from several different sources.  This seems like a technicality, given that you're still downloading something illegally, even if the process is slightly different.  Meanwhile, LimeWire Agrees to Pay $105 Million to Record Labels.  Will all this stop illegal downloading and streaming?  Not likely, but it might stem the tide a bit.

Huffington Post: Google Smear Campaign Leaves Facebook Looking Desperate - In other tech news, strange story about Facebook hiring a PR firm to badmouth Google in the press regarding privacy concerns with Google's entry into social networking.  What's strange about this to me is that this is bad PR for Facebook--not just revealing the PR hire, but spreading info about privacy concerns and social networking, which is already a problem for Facebook. So bad move all around, and somebody's probably getting fired.

MSN Money: 10 things you should never buy used - Helpful article about buying used items. Sometimes saving money is not worth it if the item breaks in two months.  I have to disagree with laptops. however.  Actually, it's hit or miss with computers--I've had some good experiences and bad experiences.  I once bought a used Macbook that worked all right, except exploring the hard drive I found a collection of superhero fetish pictures of the former owner and his "friends."  True story.  As the author notes, getting a refurbished unit with a warranty can protect you (though not against superhero fetish pictures).

Wisebread: How to Watch Movies in the Theater for Free - It's true, it's possible to see movies for free.  If you're in Los Angeles (where I am) this is a bit easier, because there are people with clipboards standing outside movie theaters basically begging you to see a free movie. But other parts of the country can use free screening sites like GoFobo and Film Metro.  This is a big-city thing, mostly, but it's not a fantasy by any means. Think of it as volunteering to be a Nielsen ratings family, but for movies.

The Daily What: Good Samaritan of the Day - Nice story.  Teenager who lives in a cramped apartment returns $2,000 in found money. "This could be someone else's life, this could be someone's home," she said.  For her good deed, she received a $4,000 check from an anonymous donor, plus $1,000 deposited into a savings account by Chase bank.  So, honesty is the best policy, people.  But be honest--would you do this?

Money Ning: My Friends are Spending $30K on Their Wedding - And I'm Keeping My Mouth Shut -  Wedding season is here, so this post is apropos.  Especially interesting discussion with people ranging from "It's fine if they spend a lot if they can afford it" to "Even if they can afford it, tens of thousands of dollars is totally decadent."  Personally, I lean towards the latter.  The emphasis should be on love, not the decorations. 

What do you think? In this economy, is spending lavishly on a wedding decadent or worth it?