SAP Should Give Microsoft Crowdsourcing Ideas
Microsoft Windows 7 was made with customer inputs in mind, but didn't involve outsiders nearly enough compared to competitors in the market.
Technology
Finally -- Short Registration for This Site
In the roughly 15 or 16 months that I've been writing for BNET Technology, the site has been wrestling with how to do registration for leaving comments. And I'm happy to announce that the registration process for those who would like to let us know what they think has become a lot easier and faster....
How Strong Is Actual Demand for Atheros Communications' Wi-Fi Chipsets?
Atheros Communications, a leading designer of chipsets used in Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) devices, put up a 13 percent gain in sales for the quarter ended September 30, resulting in a nearly three-fold rise in quarterly profits to $38.6 million. Notwithstanding the challenging economic e...
Apple: Their Way, No Matter What It Costs Them. Or Investors
The news that Nokia was suing Apple for patent infringement of its wireless technology was, frankly, surprising. And then when it became clear that Nokia probably only wanted about $200 million total, or 1 to 2 percent royalties, it seemed completely insane, as that is almost petty cash to Apple. Bu...
Amazon Hits Strategic Tipping Point in North America
Amazon announced its relentlessly strong results today, with year-over-year Q3 sales up 28 percent, free cash flow doubling, and operating income up 62 percent. Get past the headline news and into the numbers, and you see an even more interesting story: Amazon quickly continues its march away from being a "media" company and to one with a far more diverse set of revenue streams and business interests.
MySpace, Facebook, Google, Music Labels Bow to Inevitable
It's difficult to look at what seems to be a big opportunity -- selling music over the web at the big social networking and search sites -- and see anything other than success. And big is what comes to mind when MySpace, Facebook, and Google all work with major music labels to let consumers purchase music where they're most accustomed to be online, and not having to go to a store (read that as Apple or Amazon) to get what they want. But these are not chances grasped with foresight. They are the worried grasping of companies that, for differing reasons, all have their backs against the wall.
Google Tries To Be the Gatekeeper to All Things Informational
The news of Google's deal to let people listen to and buy music from the search pages may come across to some as another battle in the search wars with Microsoft-Yahoo and an attempt to further shore up its lead. That may be true, but something far bigger is happening. The company's true motivation is its desire to get out of the trap of advertising as its one revenue source.
SharePoint Is Microsoft's Real Window Of Opportunity
Windows 7 is nothing compared to SharePoint 2010, which underpins Microsoft's migration of Office productivity tools to the Web.
Nvidia to Deliver Graphics Via Cloud -- Big New Thinking
It seems like about a third of the tech stories these days have to deal with cloud computing. There's been a sameness to them, the way I described e-book readers as being too similar and even boring. Put storage up there, or run CRM, or accounting, or business intelligence analytics, or essentially some other neatly defined category of software, and then use the resources via the web. Useful, but predictable. That's what makes Nvidia announcement of what is essentially a graphics rendering farm as a cloud surface as inherently interesting as the Spring Design e-book reader that I described yesterday. Even if you don't have any personal interest in what they're doing, this is an important concept because it starts to push out the barriers of the usual associations.
Microsoft Moves Fast and Smart: Twitter and Facebook
If there was any doubt that Microsoft would be creative about search and get beyond spooning Yahoo and spending money, then this tidbit is it. The company is going to announce deals with both Twitter and Facebook to put their realtime status feeds into Bing for searching. This is major and likely to wipe the smile off the face of Google's CEO Eric Schmidt, at least for an hour or two. Or a lot more.
Yahoo Improvement Nothing for Yodeling About
The general tenor for coverage of Yahoo's earnings announcement seems to be that the company topped analyst estimates. However, the numbers aren't as encouraging for the company as many seem to want to believe.
Sun Going Down for Third Time
Just a couple of weeks ago I noted that Sun was sinking under the weight of Oracle, with the acquisition looking more like punishment than salvation of the former. But now things are looking even grimmer. Sun is about to lay off another 3,000 employees. The longer it is before the deal with Oracle takes hold, the less Sun could actually bring to the table.
What's Up with Apple's Numbers?
Apple's numbers were very impressive, with significant hikes in net revenue, gross margin, and net profit measured year-over-year. Nothing to complain about there. Except, some things in the results just don't seem to add up.
New E-Books and Maybe New Directions
All eyes have been pointing toward New York and the Barnes & Noble announcement of its new e-reader, the Nook, which is supposed to be $259 with an e-ink screen and a small color touch-screen beneath the main display. But there is one quieter e-book announcement that ultimately may be more interesting, because it shows a different approach to what could become a dangerously stale category.
Opportunities in Shared Services for Tech Companies
Shared services -- the idea that a company can create single points of operational activity for all divisions and departments -- have been around for years. The Hackett Group, a strategic consulting firm, has just released one of its periodic studies, in this case of shared services. The results suggest some opportunities for high tech firms looking for market opportunities.
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