Pew Search Stats Don't Tell Companies What They Need to Know

The Pew Internet & American Life Project has come out with yet more Internet search statistics -- in this case that only half of all people online use search during n average day. That's useful information, but I've also been noticing that much of what we think we know about search is about what people do, but not necessarily why they do it. When companies focus too much on the what, without answering the why, they run a great risk of making enormous mistakes when planning for the future.

• Aug 8, 2008

Google Isn't Infallible, So Why Are Competitors So Scared?

There always seems to be a tech company that others consider unbeatable. Everyone in the industry draws back and talks in hushed tones. And every time this happens, people spook themselves unnecessarily. Today Google is the deus ex machina, the deified competitor rising from some computer's innards. Look at what is actually happening with the company and realize that it is far from infallibility. Outside a narrow range of activity, Google screws up regularly, and running away from markets because Google has taken an interest is self-defeating. So why are so many companies scared of them?

• Aug 8, 2008

Apple Firm Grip Causes Business Slip

I'm no fan of Apple's control freak persona because it is always a disappointment. Just when the company looks poised on the verge of commercial greatness, it stumbles and settles for merely good. And recently developments suggest that Apple might not even make that level, if it continues on its current path.

• Aug 7, 2008

Here Comes the Contract-Manufacturing Crunch

Any time contract manufacturing (CM) in electronics feels pressure, it's only a matter of time before the effect hits the rest of the industry. According to an iSuppli study, there's been a sharp contraction in CM growth that will result in major consolidation -- and it is only time before the impact transmits through to everyone from a Microsoft, Apple, Cisco, or HP to electronic start-ups.

• Aug 7, 2008

The Power of Legacy

When California state controller John Chiang said that he couldn't lower the pay of 170,000 state employees as Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger ordered, his statement was less about intransigence than the power of legacy systems -- a power that the glamour-addicted high tech industry might profit from recognizing more often.

• Aug 6, 2008

Private Company Stock Smarts

A couple of privately-held social networking companies are taking the unusual but interesting and, I'd argue, smart step of letting their employees sell some stock now, rather than later. The move should go a long way to avoid the problem of key worker attrition while boosting loyalty.

• Aug 6, 2008

New Intel Chip Not GPU

Many reports describe Intel's new multi-core chip design, code-named Larrabee, as a GPU. But that may be missing the big picture. The company seems to be working on a new approach to chip design that maximizes processing flexibility. I'm wondering if Intel is trying to produce a chip that could effectively morph itself into whatever computationally-intensive thing it needs to be, giving the company the biggest competitive hammer it has had in a long time.

• Aug 5, 2008

Questions About Yahoo Shareholder Vote (UPDATED)

I thought we all had finally hit Yahoo saturation, at least so far as the shareholder meeting and proxy vote went. But no, there is apparently more squabbling on the horizon, with questions raised about the accuracy of the vote counting.

• Aug 5, 2008

Motorola Bets on Handset CEO

When Motorola announced that it was hiring Dr. Sanjay Jha, former COO of Qualcomm, to be co-chief executive and head of the mobile phone business, shares jumped 11 percent. You might call it one of the largest collective sighs of relief that the industry has seen in years. But does that represent realistic expectations, or some wishful thinking?

• Aug 5, 2008

E-Conglomerates: Smart Strategy or Future Problem?

If you wait long enough, not only does history repeat itself in broad brushes and themes, but even through specific crazes. Lately I've been noticing one business fashion, conglomeration, that seems to be returning in a new form: the e-conglomerate.

• Aug 5, 2008

Media Mash Microsoft "Mojave"

There are times that you have to get used to being unpopular, like when you have a poorly conceived or executed product. In such cases, you dust off and get back to work. But when you're Microsoft, and the product is the latest version of Windows, otherwise known as a major cash cow, the temptation may be to wage a public relations campaign. Giving in to that temptation can be the biggest mistake you can make, particularly if you think push-down media still rules.

• Aug 4, 2008

Competing on Good Design

A critique of free software usability may offer insights into how volunteer software projects could improve, but it also gives some good tips to the profit seekers of how to compete.

• Aug 4, 2008

Yahoo Spinning Tales in Shareholder Meeting

It took all of 15 seconds in reading Laurie Flynn's blogging coverage from Yahoo's annual shareholder meeting for my spin detector to start flashing.

• Aug 4, 2008

Eradicate Rebates

I've long had a hunch that companies can do themselves more harm than good in the long run by using rebate programs to stimulate purchasing. So the story of Vastech, which is paying a $10,000 settlement with the Santa Clara County DA, for not paying hundreds of rebates on products sold through Fry's Electronics, was simply confirmation.

• Aug 4, 2008

Cleantech's Messy IP Protection: Q&A with Wolf Greenfield's Joseph Teja

Pursuing clean energy and technology in the name of profits is becoming popular for businesses and venture capital alike. But trying to protect the intellectual property, whether patent or trademark, turns out to be an untidy business. Because much of high tech is looking at cleantech, I spoke with Joseph Teja, co-chair of IP law firm Wolf Greenfield's cleantech practice, who has been thinking about some of the issues.

• Aug 4, 2008

Show More