Seth Gilbert, 05-7-2008
There have been a lot of evolutionary changes in how people use the Internet and computing technology but when it comes to direct forms of human interaction, things have moved slowly. Despite advances in touch screens and voice automation we still rely principally on the decades old technology of keyboards and mice. We still do most of our web interaction through browsers. Despite the vast increases in processing power when it comes to machine interaction, we’ve only moved in small steps.
The lack of innovation isn’t because existing technologies were perfect, or without need of improvement. It’s just that technology changes faster than peoples habits. When it comes to communication, we move slowly. The QWERTY keyboard, after all, was invented by Christopher Sholes in 1874. Click to Read More
Seth Gilbert, 05-6-2008
Mogul David Geffen probably isn’t readying himself for a foray into the gaming world, nor is he likely to lend his name to something video game related. That makes him the odd man out among the elite three who lent their initials to form Dreamworks SKG when they founded it. Geffen’s peers, Jeffrey Katzenberg and Steven Spielberg both have ties to gaming. In fact, both each had gaming related news Tuesday.
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Seth Gilbert,
When you talk about, even think about, digital content stores, Apple’s iTunes is the natural selection. It’s the dominant, mainstream store in the market. Amazon’s MP3 and video store pops up as second mention. Amazon being synonymous with retail. Microsoft is hoping to change that, or at least join the party.
The “Xbox Live” environment for gamers has been growing steadily. Microsoft has put money into original content and licensing. Still, that’s a niche market. In October, they went more mainstream and begin selling videos in their Zune Marketplace. The offerings at the time, however, were limited. Now, the Zune Marketplace is expanding a little more.
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Seth Gilbert, 05-5-2008
The Superhero business is booming. Marvel Entertainments first self produced movie, Iron Man, dominated the weekend box office earning an estimated $201m in global receipts in its debut. At the same time, on Wall Street, the company didn’t fare badly either. Marvel posted better a better than expected quarter and raised 2008 guidance. These numbers are only a small part of a bigger story.
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Seth Gilbert, 05-4-2008
Steve Ballmer said the deal would happen if the circumstances were right, that it wouldn’t if they were wrong. He said walking away was an option. He wasn’t kidding.
Shocking many analysts who predicted a deal was likely or, at the least, a hostile takeover was the next step if no agreement was reached, Microsoft pulled the plug on their efforts to acquire Yahoo.
The reversal followed a face to face meeting in Seattle between Steve Ballmer and Jerry Yang, Saturday morning. People familiar with the negotiations said Microsoft had increased its offer to $33, a share ($47.5 billion) but that Yahoo was unwilling to accept anything less than $37.
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Seth Gilbert,
Saturday, Microsoft withdrew their bid to acquire Yahoo. What follows is a reprint of CEO Steve Ballmer letter to Jerry Yang and then Yahoo’s reply.
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Seth Gilbert, 05-2-2008
Choosing a hotel used to be relatively simple; price, location and a quality ranking factored into a simple calculus. Then along came boutique hotels with luxury features and carefully chosen amenities which made things more complex. Now things like the quality of the bed, the size and sophistication of the fitness center, spa services, in-room WiFi and broadband all become criteria in an ever growing decision tree.
The Westin brand of Starwood Hotels is betting a new component will set them apart: Nintendo Wii’s. Thursday, the hotel chain and Nintendo jointly announced that they will feature the Wii game console in at least ten U.S. Westin Hotels.
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