It must be great to be a company that's about to be acquired subject to a long regulatory approval process. You can assume you will be bought out, but you have lots of time to waste someone else's money. That's what seems to be happening at AT&T Wireless.

With the Cingular deal apparently now imminent, AT&T Wireless has managed to kick off not one, but two major new product offerings requiring extensive marketing, advertising, and support. Last week, the company introduced "Ogo," a mobile messaging device geared towards teens. Today, AT&T Wireless announced it was launching a music service.

Should we feel bad for Cingular? No. Nobody forced them to pay $41 billion for a company with a long track record of waste and incompetence. Instead, the headaches ahead in this merger integration are all too appropriate.