GOOD DAY FOR: Gimmicks, after Uruguay barbecued a record-setting 26,400 pounds of beef, in a nearly-mile-long grill that held six metric tons of charcoal. Beef is Uruguay’s top export, bringing in $817 million last year. The BBQ beat Mexico’s 2006 record by almost 9,000 pounds. “Uruguay is very small,” said event organizer Fernando Perez Abella, “so we have to use these kinds of gimmicks.” (Reuters)

BAD DAY FOR: Microsoft, after online business-software firm Salesforce-dot-com said it is integrating Google’s suite of online applications into its own services. Salesforce has already sold Google Apps to 41,000 business customers. Using Google Apps itself “will make it easier for us to convince more businesses to stop buying Microsoft Office,” said Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff. (AP in BusinessWeek.com)