Around the Web 10.15.08: Expensive computers and improvements in online karaoke

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-- Some analysts think the new Apple laptops aren’t cheap enough. Wired

-- More gloom and doom: A University of San Francisco study finds venture capitalists’ confidence at its lowest level since the survey began. WSJ

-- Airplane! the movie, Part IV? Computers are to blame for an Australian flight that climbed suddenly and then took a giant nosedive. Australian Broadcasting Corp.

-- Is Fidel Castro really a blogger? Maybe not. Web Scout

-- MySpace upgrades its karaoke page. It’s the largest karaoke venue on the planet. CNet

-- It’s about to get some competition from the Karaoke Channel, a cable on-demand service that’s launching an online presence. TechCrunch

-- Popular Mechanics reveals its picks for the top 10 tech innovations of the year. They include the Amazon Kindle and a pen that writes and records audio -- but no online karaoke machines. Popular Mechanics

-- Gartner says PC sales are up, but it’s sales of cheap computers that are rising. Bits

-- Even video game characters are being told to vote for Obama. Mercury News

-- The news these days may be grim; for some relief, check out the funniest things in print. Hat tip to Boing Boing. Criggo

-- Alana Semuels