Child Sex Crackdown Causes Problems For LiveJournal
The venerable online community LiveJournal stirred up a storm of controversy when it attempted to delete sex-themed discussion groups in the name of protecting children, and accidentally deleted legitimate literary sites and at least one psychological support journal.
Microsoft Drops A Few Data Center Strategy Hints
Ever wanted to know how Microsoft makes decisions about how to build its data centers, where they are and how big they are, and what the company intends to do with them all? A video interview the company has posted today with Michael Manos, the Microsoft's senior director of Data Center Services, gives a few hints.
Why Novell Might Need 'Plan B' For Linux Distribution
Novell says its alliance with Microsoft is a key part of its Linux sales strategy. It may need to rethink that. On Thursday, the Free Software Foundation took aim at the partnership with a deal-busting final draft of the new open source license.
The Razor-Blade Strategy
Have you heard about the razor-blade strategy (also called, according to Wikipedia, the "bait and hook model")? The idea is that a company sells you a razor for next to nothing -- or gives it away for free. Great deal, right? You get the razor, and the manufacturer gets to sell you high-cost razor blades for the next few years (or, at least, for as long as you use the razor), making a lot more than was inv
Doing the iPhone Shuffle
We're headed into the home stretch on the iPhone frenzy. Apple is still saying "end of June" but Web sites like The Boy Genius Report are saying June 15, just about two weeks away. Alpha early adopters will be flaunting them in every martini bar and boardroom in America and the rest of us will be doing the iPhone Shuffle, waiting in line at the Cingular store. Already there are leaks and spe
You Can See Steve Jobs' House On Google Maps
There has been a lot of fanfare this week for the new Street View feature on Google Maps, a function that gives users a 360-degree view from the streets of select cities. Now users are reporting seeing all kinds of things, including Steve Jobs' house.
Are Carriers Delaying The S60 Mobile Version Of Skype?
Darla Mack asks a great question: Where is the Symbian version of Skype? While Symbian smartphone users wait the Gizmo Project is already available for the N800, N95, N80ie and E61i. Will Gizmo become the Skype of the S60 smartphone world?
Americans Buy Low-Tech Phones And Keep Them Forever
According to J.D. Power and Associates, Americans are keeping their phones an average of 17.5 months, up from 16.6 months since last fall. That means more and more people are opting for 2-year contracts...and opting against the latest technology. Do people care about high tech?
Google Analytics Suffers Outage
Last week Google Analytics customers reported service outages that affected some for more than 24 hours. Worse, Google issued no official comment until Tuesday. As "Web Analytics Report" readers know, Google's official support partners fare no better than users, and in this case received no communications on the outage. As a free service, perhaps the offering is not supposed to be enterprise-class, but let's compare marketing hype to real functionality.
How Customers Should Prepare for Vendor Demos
Tony Byrne has provided some advice to vendors regarding product demos. Those ten points make essential reading for vendors and customers alike, but there is another perspective. Since I have personally sat in on those demos both as a buyers' advisor and as a vendor (system integrator), I need to add three points that customers should keep in mind when asking vendors to demonstrate their products:
Businesses To Spend $9 Billion On Mobile Applications By 2011
It's time to dust off the hockey stick because we've got another mobile enterprise market study. According to the latest findings from Compass Intelligence, U.S. businesses will spend $9 billion on mobile CRM and other mobile applications by 2011.
Apple's Jobs: Mobile Internet Is Terrible. iPhone Delivers the Real Internet
Speaking to Walt Mossberg at yesterday's D: All Things Digital conference, Apple CEO Steve Jobs gave us some interesting tidbits of info regarding the iPhone. The OS is the full Mac OS X with a different user interface. Third-party apps? Maybe. QWERTY keyboards? A waste of valuable space. FMC? Sort of. 3G? Well, Wi-Fi is faster. Oh, and current music phones stink.
Fax Mistaken For Bomb; Director Detained For 'Shooting A Pilot'
Yelling fire in a crowded theater ain't what it used to be. Consider the latest case of a perceived threat gone wild, which took the form of an ad faxed by a bank. One recipient in the Boston area took it to be a bomb threat, resulting in the evacuation of local stores the other day.
Motorola To Cut 4,000 More Jobs
Besides reducing the workforce, Motorola said it plans to cut costs through a "prioritization of investments," among other items.
HP Unveils In-Store Customer Kiosk
The experimental Retail Store Assistant is billed as a more effective marketing tool than mailings and other types of traditional promotions.
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