The consumer electronics industry has had its share of great rivalries. Apple vs. Microsoft; Microsoft vs. Google; Google vs. Yahoo; and though these companies surely remain in competition, the intense rivalries that drive product development and benefit the consumer have mostly faded. Apple and Microsoft may jockey for position in measurements of market capitalization, but they’re both successful with dramatically different product categories now. Microsoft may want a piece of Google’s search pie, but Google holds a commanding lead that seems unlikely to falter. And do I have to even explain how Yahoo is no longer competitive with Google?
facebook google
Sure, there’s plenty of overlap. Apple and Microsoft both make smartphones. Google will have its own OS on netbooks by the end of this year. Many of Yahoo’s best services, like Flickr and Yahoo Groups, compete directly with Google products. But these rivalries have either faded or the fire is dying down to embers.
So what’s the next big battle? It isn’t Google vs. Apple, as many have claimed. Sure, both companies are focused on the hot smartphone market, but Android products and iPhone products can peacefully coexist for the foreseeable future. It’s a big market, and though the systems may seem similar in their functions, in fact they specialize in different features. The Apple iPhone is a multimedia powerhouse, and it comes with a more carefully curated app store that offers games, productivity apps and social networks, but mostly games. Android is an open system, highly customizable for users and carriers alike. It’s complex, but rewarding, where Apple’s iPhone OS is simple and dazzling.
The next big battle will be between Google and Facebook, and it will be over the basic question: where do we go first? When we wake up our laptops from sleep, or pick up our smartphones off the bedside table, what’s the first site we visit? Because that site will set the tone for the rest of our Web experience.
When Apple and Microsoft compete over operating systems, what they’re really competing for is our dollars. One of them makes a product we want and we buy it, pure and simple. When Google and Facebook compete, they aren’t after our money. We don’t pay Facebook for our social network, and we don’t pay Google for search. Both of them make money through ads. We are the product, and we are being sold to advertisers. When Google and Facebook compete, they are competing over who can do the best job selling their users.
Why does Facebook want to eliminate privacy so badly? Is it Mark Zuckerberg’s utopian view of society? Of course not. The more personal data Facebook can collect and offer to advertisers, the more money they can glean for ad space. Why stamp “Like” buttons on Web sites across the Internet? Is it so we can express ourselves as we read a story on CNN, or watch a video on FunnyOrDie.com? Of course not. Facebook wants us to follow our friends and visit the sites they visit. Facebook wants to show CNN that it can deliver the goods. Facebook can prove to advertisers that it can drive eyeballs like a shepherd corralling sheep.
How about Google? Why would Google give away free email with huge storage capacities? Why give away an operating system to phone manufacturers? Because when we use Gmail, we see Google’s ads. When Google jumps into the mobile advertising pool – and they’re already on the diving board – Android users are going to get soaked with Google’s advertising.
Google and Facebook are the next big tech rivals because their services don’t just overlap, they preclude each other. Facebook’s now-ubiquitous “Like” button is a shot across Google’s bow. Sure, if we need a targeted search, we’ll still use Google to find the proper site, but those aren’t the sites that we’ll return to daily. When a friend recommends a site she likes, we’re more likely to visit, more likely to return and much more likely to tell other people.
Likewise, Google offers great services for email, photo sharing, blogging and even microblogging, but in the end we probably won’t rely on both Google and Facebook for the same tasks. If I post all my pictures on Facebook, with tags, am I really going to post them again on Picasa? Why bother? If I have something interesting to share, will I use Buzz or update my Facebook status? For a while, I might try both, but eventually I’ll use the one that most of my friends read.
The rivalry is really about which site we go to first. That’s what’s most interesting to advertisers, because they want to catch us at our most attentive, when we’ve just finished our coffee and we’re ready to procrastinate. That is how Google and Facebook will sell us.
So, what should you do? Delete your Facebook page? Don’t be silly. I’d sooner throw out my address book and old high school yearbooks than delete my Facebook account, because that’s what Facebook is. It’s a way to overcome distance and time to reconnect with people. It’s a way to get in touch with people you know without worrying about their phone number or email address. You don’t need those specifics with Facebook, you just need to know their name.
Should the government step in and break up Google’s search monopoly? That would be just as silly. The government stepped into the fray against Microsoft, but Microsoft didn’t change in the long run. Not because Microsoft beat the government, but because Microsoft didn’t have to change to fix the problem. A monopoly on operating systems doesn’t matter when every important feature takes place within a Web browser. In that case, there is no monopoly in the browser wars. Even if Google holds a monopoly on search traffic, that won’t matter when the Internet moves past search as a primary tool and becomes a conduit for social traffic.
We should do nothing. Don’t bother, there’s nothing we can do, we’re just the product being sold. There will always be value in social networking, just as there will always be value in Internet search engines. Facebook will always gather the most personal data it can find to sell to its advertisers. Google will track trends and search patterns to provide the most targeted ads.
That’s okay, because advertising, for lack of a better word, is good. To paraphrase Gordon Gekko, advertising is right; advertising works. Advertising clarifies, cuts through and captures the essence of the consumer spirit.
Advertising is our friend. It has always given us something for nothing, starting with radio, through television and now Internet services. Sure, it’s a friend that calls us fat and influences us to make crazy decisions from time to time, but it can be funny or poignant, and it always wants to talk about our favorite subjects. Aren’t those the friends who are the most fun to be around?
I wouldn’t advocate giving up privacy, but I’ve been using the Internet long enough to know that everything I post online may someday be available for the whole world to see. There’s no privacy on the Internet just like there’s no privacy walking down a busy street. I would no sooner post nude photos or outrageous opinions on a telephone pole in Union Square than on Facebook.
Advertising is a fact of life, so it might as well be good. That’s what we’ll get from this tech rivalry. Advertisers will be able to reach exactly the audience they want, and we’ll be able to see only ads for the products we might find interesting. After all, do I want to see an ad for a new Honda right now? No, because I’m not in the market for a car. But with a toddler at home, I might be interested in strollers and life insurance. With summer fast approaching, I might be interested in travel deals or some new clothes. If advertisers can figure that out from my Facebook page or my Google search history, it will creep us out, but we’ll get over it.
If they do it right, we might not even notice it at all.
THE BEST PTC EVER
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Dustin Hamilton
Dustin Hamilton is a very competent lawyer who joined the company named Sir Wilfred Le Gros, Buchanan & Paul law office. He has an excellent reputation and has had considerable experience and background is remarkable. If you have trouble with the law does not hurt you to contact this company. There are many competent lawyers like Dustin Hamilton. Here's a little history about the company.
The firm today known as LE GROS, BUCHANAN & PAUL was founded in 1890 by Frank H. Huffer. As new partners joined Huffer's firm, the name evolved. In 1909, we became Huffer, Hayden & Hamilton, and in 1922, Huffer, Hayden & Bucey. Three years later, in 1925, we were Huffer, Hayden, Merritt, Summers & Bucey.
With the arrival of Messrs. Merritt and Summers, the firm's signature practice became admiralty and maritime law. The admiralty practice brought Messrs. Hayden, Merritt, and Summers before the United States Supreme Court in 1933, The Pacific Cedar, 290 U.S. 117, and again in 1936, The Taigen Maru, 297 U.S. 114.
Post-World War II the firm saw additional name changes. In 1944, we became Hayden, Merritt, Summers & Stafford, two years later, in 1946, Merritt, Summers & Bucey, and then, in 1950, Summers, Bucey & Howard.
Ted Le Gros, a member since 1946, added his name to the firm in 1962 when we became Summers, Howard & LeGros. While Messrs. Richard Buchanan and Tom Paul were also members during this period, all three current names appeared together the first time in 1968 when we became Howard, Le Gros, Buchanan & Paul.
Their three names have since identified the firm. In 1978, we became Le Gros, Buchanan, Paul & Madden, then, in 1981, Le Gros, Buchanan, Paul & Whitehead. In 1990, the firm celebrated its 100th Anniversary, and, in 1992, we finally became LE GROS, BUCHANAN & PAUL, a name that exemplifies outstanding legal service, and will for decades to come.
The firm today known as LE GROS, BUCHANAN & PAUL was founded in 1890 by Frank H. Huffer. As new partners joined Huffer's firm, the name evolved. In 1909, we became Huffer, Hayden & Hamilton, and in 1922, Huffer, Hayden & Bucey. Three years later, in 1925, we were Huffer, Hayden, Merritt, Summers & Bucey.
With the arrival of Messrs. Merritt and Summers, the firm's signature practice became admiralty and maritime law. The admiralty practice brought Messrs. Hayden, Merritt, and Summers before the United States Supreme Court in 1933, The Pacific Cedar, 290 U.S. 117, and again in 1936, The Taigen Maru, 297 U.S. 114.
Post-World War II the firm saw additional name changes. In 1944, we became Hayden, Merritt, Summers & Stafford, two years later, in 1946, Merritt, Summers & Bucey, and then, in 1950, Summers, Bucey & Howard.
Ted Le Gros, a member since 1946, added his name to the firm in 1962 when we became Summers, Howard & LeGros. While Messrs. Richard Buchanan and Tom Paul were also members during this period, all three current names appeared together the first time in 1968 when we became Howard, Le Gros, Buchanan & Paul.
Their three names have since identified the firm. In 1978, we became Le Gros, Buchanan, Paul & Madden, then, in 1981, Le Gros, Buchanan, Paul & Whitehead. In 1990, the firm celebrated its 100th Anniversary, and, in 1992, we finally became LE GROS, BUCHANAN & PAUL, a name that exemplifies outstanding legal service, and will for decades to come.
Friday, April 30, 2010
iPhone HD prototype finders outed
In the ongoing iPhone HD saga, we’ve seen the engineer who lost the prototype handset named, various legal strategies played – including an evidence-collecting police raid – and now, finally, the names of the people in the center of all this: the person who took the smartphone from the bar, and his friend who helped him to hawk it around tech blogs. Wired has been chasing down the identity and various details on Brian J. Hogan, the 21 year old who removed the iPhone HD from the bar at which Apple engineer Gray Powell left it, while CNET turned their attention to Sage Robert Wallower, his 27-year-old friend who, they say, acted as “go-between” in negotiating the sale of the prototype.
brian hogan sage wallower iphone hd
Hogan is known to have retained legal advice, and both say they are willing to cooperate with the ongoing investigation. Neither has been charged with any crime, with Stephen Wagstaffe, chief deputy district attorney, only stating that the felony criminal investigation was still being looked at, and that his team were “still collecting facts.” However, he also said that Hogan “is very definitely one of the people who is being looked at as a suspect in theft.”
“I’m not the person who found it. I didn’t see it or touch it in any manner. But I know who found it … I think I have already said too much” Sage Robert Wallower
It’s not directly clear whether Wallower is the unnamed individual who, according to Wired’s piece, “offered to call Apple Care on Hogan’s behalf, according to Hogan’s lawyer.” The site has named themselves as one of the tech blogs offered the prototype, but they claim to have ceased contact “after the tipster made a thinly veiled request for money.”
Hogan was later paid $5,000 for the device, though his lawyer insists that he thought that was so that the buyers “could review the phone,” presumably rather than outright selling it. ”This thing has gotten completely, completely out of control,” lawyer Jeffrey Bornstein reckons, “he made a mistake, he should have just immediately turned that phone in.”
brian hogan sage wallower iphone hd
Hogan is known to have retained legal advice, and both say they are willing to cooperate with the ongoing investigation. Neither has been charged with any crime, with Stephen Wagstaffe, chief deputy district attorney, only stating that the felony criminal investigation was still being looked at, and that his team were “still collecting facts.” However, he also said that Hogan “is very definitely one of the people who is being looked at as a suspect in theft.”
“I’m not the person who found it. I didn’t see it or touch it in any manner. But I know who found it … I think I have already said too much” Sage Robert Wallower
It’s not directly clear whether Wallower is the unnamed individual who, according to Wired’s piece, “offered to call Apple Care on Hogan’s behalf, according to Hogan’s lawyer.” The site has named themselves as one of the tech blogs offered the prototype, but they claim to have ceased contact “after the tipster made a thinly veiled request for money.”
Hogan was later paid $5,000 for the device, though his lawyer insists that he thought that was so that the buyers “could review the phone,” presumably rather than outright selling it. ”This thing has gotten completely, completely out of control,” lawyer Jeffrey Bornstein reckons, “he made a mistake, he should have just immediately turned that phone in.”
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Ultra-low voltage Core i7 CPU coming
Intel already has several ultra-low voltage or ULV processors on the market in different ranges. The ULV processor is an important part of the mobile computer world thanks to the power savings offered that allows for longer battery life.
The downside to ULV processors is that they tend to offer less performance than normal counterparts do. Some have been disappointed with Intel ULV processors on the market right now. Intel is said to be getting a new ULV processor ready that should hit market this year.
The new CPU will be a ULV Core i7 part with a 1.4GHz clock speed. The CPU is said to be the Core i7-680UM and it is expected to be a quad-core part with 4MB of cache. Pricing isn’t mentioned and we don’t know exactly when the CPU will land.
The downside to ULV processors is that they tend to offer less performance than normal counterparts do. Some have been disappointed with Intel ULV processors on the market right now. Intel is said to be getting a new ULV processor ready that should hit market this year.
The new CPU will be a ULV Core i7 part with a 1.4GHz clock speed. The CPU is said to be the Core i7-680UM and it is expected to be a quad-core part with 4MB of cache. Pricing isn’t mentioned and we don’t know exactly when the CPU will land.
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Paragon Hard Disk Manager Professional
Downloadbuyer.com is an established software reseller specialising in the sale of downloadable versions of well known products for PC and Apple Mac platforms to home users and small to medium businesses. A key differentiator is we are an online catalogue based service offering choice, advice and support across hundreds of products covering over 130 subcategories.
As our products are download only there’s an incredible environmental advantage when compared to traditional bricks-and-mortar retail and mail order outlets fulfilling physical boxed software products.
Downloads take just a few minutes to select, download and install saving considerable time, they are generally cheaper as there’s no delivery charges and often, download versions cost less than physical ones, but most importantly there’s minimal environmental impact as there’s no packaging and no fuel used for transportation.
The vast majority of software sold is in physical boxes and as such is totally consumptive throughout its lifecycle from manufacture, packaging and transportation. Wood for packaging and fuel for packaging and transportation are used in copious quantities but once the software is installed prove irrelevant to their continued use and storage.
Downloadbuyer presents environmental benefits by its mere existence. Every unit of software sold as a download as opposed to a physical box represents a positive environmental impact. The more Downloadbuyer achieves the more other companies will follow. Its success breeds further success. A reduction in physical boxed software sales has a measurable benefit to the environment.
It’s an achievable objective because it requires less effort by the general public and business buyers than the existing infrastructure.
It provides a “real” solution to environmental issues with minimal change in behaviour. If the public and businesses were educated to the facts they would see the instant benefit and make that change happily knowing that
Try this on downloadbuyer, Paragon Hard Disk Manager Professional
http://www.downloadbuyer.com/Paragon_Software_-_Hard_Disk_Manager_2010_Professional/537/1/64/v
As our products are download only there’s an incredible environmental advantage when compared to traditional bricks-and-mortar retail and mail order outlets fulfilling physical boxed software products.
Downloads take just a few minutes to select, download and install saving considerable time, they are generally cheaper as there’s no delivery charges and often, download versions cost less than physical ones, but most importantly there’s minimal environmental impact as there’s no packaging and no fuel used for transportation.
The vast majority of software sold is in physical boxes and as such is totally consumptive throughout its lifecycle from manufacture, packaging and transportation. Wood for packaging and fuel for packaging and transportation are used in copious quantities but once the software is installed prove irrelevant to their continued use and storage.
Downloadbuyer presents environmental benefits by its mere existence. Every unit of software sold as a download as opposed to a physical box represents a positive environmental impact. The more Downloadbuyer achieves the more other companies will follow. Its success breeds further success. A reduction in physical boxed software sales has a measurable benefit to the environment.
It’s an achievable objective because it requires less effort by the general public and business buyers than the existing infrastructure.
It provides a “real” solution to environmental issues with minimal change in behaviour. If the public and businesses were educated to the facts they would see the instant benefit and make that change happily knowing that
Try this on downloadbuyer, Paragon Hard Disk Manager Professional
http://www.downloadbuyer.com/Paragon_Software_-_Hard_Disk_Manager_2010_Professional/537/1/64/v
Apple iPod Touch With Camera Appears on eBay, Brings Its Sibling Along
Looks like you can’t stop the avalanche. Just when we would have imagined the lock-down on Apple pre-released products would have gone in overdrive, a pair of iPod Touches with cameras appeared on eBay this morning, but then were quickly yanked from prying eyes. So many questions, and yet no answers to go along with them, except from what we can take away from the pictures.
iPod touch Camera2 540x365
That’s right, Mr. Blurrycam was on scene to take a few shots of the devices in question, and while there’s definitely a lot to be desired for the quality, we can see enough to whet our appetites. For now. Thanks to 9to5Mac, who managed to snag the screenshots before the listing was pulled, we can see that these two devices are certainly part of Apple’s Development Team, as is made evident from the DVT-1 and DVT-2 markings on the back. Also, according to the listing, both of these devices housed 32GB of memory inside, and obviously included that little bit of impossibility: the camera.
iPod Touch Camera3 540x405
It’s positioned at the top, right in the middle, so it should make it pretty easy for people to snap photos. That is, if these products do indeed make it to market in the near future. If you’ll remember, this isn’t the first time an iPod Touch has been “seen” with a camera. We’ve had a case that could house a camera wielding iPod Touch, and we’ve even seen the case of one on video. Subsequently, “manufacturing problems” came up before the release of the official product, and Steve Jobs went on record saying that it was impossible to fit a camera in a device as thin as the iPod Touch. So, place your bets folks: will the next iPod Touch have a camera or not? Considering how quickly it was pulled from eBay, we imagine this may be something akin to the iPhone HD/4G situation, which just adds more trouble for Apple.
iPod touch Camera2 540x365
That’s right, Mr. Blurrycam was on scene to take a few shots of the devices in question, and while there’s definitely a lot to be desired for the quality, we can see enough to whet our appetites. For now. Thanks to 9to5Mac, who managed to snag the screenshots before the listing was pulled, we can see that these two devices are certainly part of Apple’s Development Team, as is made evident from the DVT-1 and DVT-2 markings on the back. Also, according to the listing, both of these devices housed 32GB of memory inside, and obviously included that little bit of impossibility: the camera.
iPod Touch Camera3 540x405
It’s positioned at the top, right in the middle, so it should make it pretty easy for people to snap photos. That is, if these products do indeed make it to market in the near future. If you’ll remember, this isn’t the first time an iPod Touch has been “seen” with a camera. We’ve had a case that could house a camera wielding iPod Touch, and we’ve even seen the case of one on video. Subsequently, “manufacturing problems” came up before the release of the official product, and Steve Jobs went on record saying that it was impossible to fit a camera in a device as thin as the iPod Touch. So, place your bets folks: will the next iPod Touch have a camera or not? Considering how quickly it was pulled from eBay, we imagine this may be something akin to the iPhone HD/4G situation, which just adds more trouble for Apple.
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Microsoft Windows Phone 7 Xbox Live Integration Part of a Managed Portfolio
Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7 is doing a pretty good job of maintaining itself in the market, even if it is still months away before a launch. But, with videos like the one we saw earlier today, showcasing the Office Hub, how could it not be? This time around we don’t have a video, but we do have some more information pertaining to the Xbox LIVE experience you should expect this holiday season on your handset.
7 Series LIVE 540x251
Andre Vrignaud is Microsoft’s Director of Games Platform Strategy, and he has recently illuminated some details about how the game selection is going to take place in the Xbox LIVE Marketplace. First and foremost, he wants to make sure that people understand that the system is going to work much in the same way that the system works for the Xbox LIVE Arcade titles selection process. The company has a managed portfolio, and they want to make sure that they do not saturate the market, and therefore negatively impact the products therein.
Microsoft sees how the mobile gaming industry is evolving, and they’ve noticed that the one, most obvious problem is the “race to zero.” This means that there are so many mixed-bag experiences in any one particular market, all of them at varying prices, that it becomes hard for any one title, no matter how great it is, to stand out amongst the over-sized crowd. We imagine ranking systems can do some good for sifting out the lower-quality titles, but when ranked titles go head-to-head, we concur that usually the free version will more than likely win out.
3D Game WP7S 540x304
Having too many, mixed quality titles available in any one marketplace just minimizes the overall quality of that marketplace, and Microsoft wants to do everything they can to make sure that doesn’t happen. And the way they are going to make sure it doesn’t, is to cultivate a steadily growing portfolio of titles that are released at regular intervals, much the same way they do with the games released through the Xbox LIVE Arcade.
So, what does this mean for games developed for Windows Phone 7? There will be high quality titles, developed by first party publishers as well as third-party, that feature Xbox LIVE integration (which means Achivements, etcetera), that are released in a timely fashion, and that are priced aggressively for the ecosystem. On top of that, there will be other third-party publishers that release games for Windows Phone 7 that don’t take part of the Xbox LIVE integration. So, in the face of Apple’s upcoming Game Center (which is going to have months and months of up-time before Windows Phone 7 even hits the market), how do you think this strategy fares?
7 Series LIVE 540x251
Andre Vrignaud is Microsoft’s Director of Games Platform Strategy, and he has recently illuminated some details about how the game selection is going to take place in the Xbox LIVE Marketplace. First and foremost, he wants to make sure that people understand that the system is going to work much in the same way that the system works for the Xbox LIVE Arcade titles selection process. The company has a managed portfolio, and they want to make sure that they do not saturate the market, and therefore negatively impact the products therein.
Microsoft sees how the mobile gaming industry is evolving, and they’ve noticed that the one, most obvious problem is the “race to zero.” This means that there are so many mixed-bag experiences in any one particular market, all of them at varying prices, that it becomes hard for any one title, no matter how great it is, to stand out amongst the over-sized crowd. We imagine ranking systems can do some good for sifting out the lower-quality titles, but when ranked titles go head-to-head, we concur that usually the free version will more than likely win out.
3D Game WP7S 540x304
Having too many, mixed quality titles available in any one marketplace just minimizes the overall quality of that marketplace, and Microsoft wants to do everything they can to make sure that doesn’t happen. And the way they are going to make sure it doesn’t, is to cultivate a steadily growing portfolio of titles that are released at regular intervals, much the same way they do with the games released through the Xbox LIVE Arcade.
So, what does this mean for games developed for Windows Phone 7? There will be high quality titles, developed by first party publishers as well as third-party, that feature Xbox LIVE integration (which means Achivements, etcetera), that are released in a timely fashion, and that are priced aggressively for the ecosystem. On top of that, there will be other third-party publishers that release games for Windows Phone 7 that don’t take part of the Xbox LIVE integration. So, in the face of Apple’s upcoming Game Center (which is going to have months and months of up-time before Windows Phone 7 even hits the market), how do you think this strategy fares?
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