Stefania Spagnuolo

Wed
06
Dec
Dennis Faas's picture

Zune: a Misfit for Microsoft?

Microsoft eagerly entered the digital music player industry earlier this month by releasing the much anticipated Zune. However, the product's place in the company is not yet a perfect fit; in fact, Microsoft's whole strategy with the device seems a ... bit puzzling. The Microsoft Zune, similar to Apple's iPod, exists within an ecosystem that unites music player and music content into a closed system. Clearly, Microsoft's decision to create a closed system reflects the company's aim to mimic Apple's success. However, the move seems to be inconsistent with Microsoft's strategy of encouraging ... (view more)

Tue
05
Dec
Dennis Faas's picture

Google All Out of Answers

Google usually makes headlines for introducing new products and continually expanding the Google empire. Last week, however, brought different news: Google has actually announced the end of one of its services. The victim? Google Answers. Google ... Answers was launched back in 2002, and was the company's first project. The service allowed users to ask questions and set a price for how much the answer was worth to them. Other users could then answer the question and receive payment; Google also benefited from the 50 cent listing fee. (Source: betanews.com ) What Google Answers failed to capture, ... (view more)

Thu
30
Nov
Dennis Faas's picture

IBM Sues Amazon for Patent Infringment

Besides increased efficiency, widespread access to information, and improved communication, the advent of the Internet brought something else: confusion over legal rights. Recently, IBM joined the slew of snubbed patent owners and filed two lawsuits ... against Amazon.com, citing patent infringement. (Source: slashdot.org ) The lawsuits, which were filed in U.S District Court in Texas, allege that Amazon is using five IBM patents at the core of their operations. Ari Fishkind, Public Affairs Manager at IBM, stated that the patents "include technology that help present applications, store data, ... (view more)

Thu
30
Nov
Dennis Faas's picture

Microsoft Lawsuits Reel in Phishers

Phishers, beware. In the past eight months, Microsoft's anti-phishing initiative has resulted in the filing of 129 lawsuits across Europe and the Middle East, the company said last Wednesday. Phishing activities, in which individuals attempt to ... deceptively obtain sensitive information, such as bank account information by posing as a credible source, have ballooned in the past few years. A recent research report released by Symantec has revealed that the number of attempts to trick individuals into handing over their bank account details has doubled in the first half of 2006. (Source: reuters. ... (view more)

Fri
24
Nov
Dennis Faas's picture

Yahoo Planning for Makeover?

Yahoo's Senior Vice President Brad Garlinghouse caused a bit of a stir recently when he posted an internal memo calling for dramatic company change. The memo, entitled "The Peanut Butter Manifesto," outlined the company's numerous problems. When ... discussing Yahoo's lack of focus, Garlinghouse chose a very appropriate analogy: "I've heard our strategy described as spreading peanut butter across the myriad opportunities that continue to evolve in the online world. The result: a thin layer of investment spread across everything we do and thus we focus on nothing in particular. I hate peanut ... (view more)

Thu
23
Nov
Dennis Faas's picture

Google Checkout Offers Rebates for Holiday Shopping Season

If there's one thing that Google can do well (and let's be serious -- there's certainly more than one thing), it's creating extremely useful applications for average computer users. Google Checkout, a service that centralizes online shopping by ... eliminating the need to maintain separate user names and passwords for different shopping sites, was launched back in June. However, Google has recently developed a promotional offer just in time for the busy holiday shopping season. Shopping malls are always crammed with shoppers on the day after Thanksgiving, which has come to be known as "Black ... (view more)

Tue
21
Nov
Dennis Faas's picture

Apple Orders 12 Million iPhones

Recent reports suggest that Apple has ordered 12 million mobile phones from Hon Hai Precision (better known as Foxconn), a Taiwanese manufacturing company. (Source: dailytech.com ) While Apple has not yet commented on the order, many critics are not ... surprised about the news. Analysts have been predicting that Apple would release a mobile phone in early 2007. In a research note, UBS Analyst Benjamin Reitzes wrote that the order aligns with expectations that "a cell phone could be discussed in January at Macworld with limited sales by February and broader distribution in spring 2007." (Source: ... (view more)

Fri
17
Nov
Dennis Faas's picture

Hewlett-Packard Assigns New Services Chief

In a recent press release, Hewlett-Packard (HP) announced that John W. McCain will be the new chief of HP Services, the $15.5 billion dollar division of the technology giant. The announcement comes less than two weeks after the departure of former ... chief Steve Smith. Smith left the company in late October to join rival Dell. (Source: channelregister.co.uk ) McCain, 47, began his time at HP in December 2005 when he signed on as the Senior Vice President of HP Consulting and Integration. Before joining HP, McCain held the position of CEO of iEnergizer, a business outsourcing services company. ( ... (view more)

Fri
17
Nov
Dennis Faas's picture

Survey Reveals More About Businesses' Plans for Vista

With the Vista Business launch less than two weeks away, many are anticipating the arrival of the new operating system. A recent survey revealed further details about businesses' plans to adopt Vista, and the timelines they expect to follow. The ... survey, commissioned by direct-marketing reseller CDW, asked 761 IT managers from different sized business about their company's plan for Vista adoption. 86% of respondents plan to upgrade to Vista, and about 20% expect to start deployment within the next twelve months. While the figure may seem optimistic to some, it should be noted that "starting ... (view more)

Wed
15
Nov
Dennis Faas's picture

Google Adwords Spill Onto Airwaves

Remember the days when Google was synonymous with the phrase "search engine"? That time has long past -- a result of Google's endeavors into unending lines of new applications. Recently, the company has announced that it will also be expanding into ... offline media, as it ventures into radio ads. Google Spokesperson Michael Mayzel said that the company will begin a public test of Google Audio Ads by the end of this year. The service will use the same AdWords system that Google uses in web searches. For radio advertisers, this means a more customized target; ads will be tailored not only by the ... (view more)

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