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Google Pulling Out of China? Don't Bet On It.
China has the world's largest Internet market, and just claimed the title of top export nation. But a cyber attack and censorship laws -- on top of limited success in China -- could lead Google to withdraw. Transcript of radio broadcast: 01/14/2010 Google on Tuesday 01/19/2010, took a very bold stand by saying it would no longer censor search results on its Chinese site, and may even consider closing operations in that country. The search giant made this decision after the company revealed it, as well as 20 other large companies, were the targets of cyberattacks that Google says can be traced back to China, much like the attacks of 2001. Google said the primary goal of the attacks directed at the search giant appeared to be an attempt to access the Gmail accounts of Chinese human rights activists. Responding to the attacks, David Drummond Google's senior vice president for Corporate Development and Chief Legal Officer wrote in a blog post on Tuesday that, "We [Google] have decided we are no longer willing to continue censoring our results on Google.cn... We recognize that this may well mean having to shut down Google.cn, and potentially our offices in China." That's a courageous statement for Google to make, and leaves very little maneuvering room for the search giant to find a compromise with the Chinese government. But is it likely that Google would stop doing business in the largest emerging economy in the world? I don't think so. Is Wal-Mart is next? Email Breakdown on Blackbery The Second Time in Two Weeks
Spokesperson for the brand said, "Some Blackberry customers in the Americas are currently experiencing delays in message delivery, Our technical teams are actively working to resolve this issue for those impacted. We apologize for any inconvenience,". The problem appeared early Wednesday, and later in the day it was down altogether. The disruption comes about a week after it was hit with a massive outage that curtailed Blackberry service throughout much of North America. That outage hit Blackberry services offered by numerous carriers, including Sprint Nextel, AT&T, Verizon Wireless, and Canada's Rogers. The trouble appeared to be limited to consumer-oriented Internet service, and did not affect corporate users who send messages through a BlackBerry Enterprise Server. American Online is On Its Own Now Time Warner Breaks Away From The 2001 Merger
AOL Inc. will no longer have the luxury of big media giant Time Warner to rest its heels. A more focused company, that would likely not be ready to take on Google Inc., Yahoo Inc. or any top Internet company for the $29 billion online advertising. Tim Armstrong AOL CEO is trying new strategies to streamline and help sell digital ads.Speaking to reporters in New York, Mr Armstrong said, "We have the right talent now to make a run at it," Mr. Armstrong's task is huge, AOL's prospects are uncertain. AOL is trying to move from its roots as a subscription-based service for logging on to the Internet to an advertising-supported digital media company. AOL wants people to visit its AOL.com homepage and use its services, such as email, though, AOL faces double-digit declines in subscription and advertising revenues, most of its money last year came from businesses. The company is looking to cut $300 million in annual costs of business. AOL is asking 2,500 employees to take buyout packages through a voluntary layoff program that ends Friday. Still A Good Time To Sell That Gold Prices Fall Days in a Roll
Even with the decline over the past few days, gold prices are still up 29.3 percent for the year. The glory days may be over. Gold has benefited from the US dollar decline, and it may be time to look somewhere else. Commodities may rally from high demand around the world, but the rise of gold may have been fueled by other reason, which makes this a good time to find other places to park those wealth. MAC Now Gets About 50 Percent of PC Sales Revenue Apple's Selling Price Ranges Above $1,000
One factor helping Apple is average selling price. The Mac maker has largely chosen not to compete with Windows PC manufacturers below $1,000. While price wars continue at the low end among Windows PC manufacturers, Apple's entry-level iMac starts at $1,199. True, Apple offers the Mac mini for $599 or $799, but the ASP is considerably higher than comparably priced Windows PCs. Low-cost Windows PCs typically come with monitor, keyboard and mouse, which are all extra-cost items for Mac mini unless the buyer uses existing gear. Can Apple sustain this trend, or with Windows push back. based on Apple's ability to defy the recession's downward pull on computer sales and just how consistently busy are the company's retail stores, I'll predict that Mac overall US retail revenue share will stay well above one-third and more than 40 percent for desktops. Apple Computers To Dishonor Warranties for Smoking Clients Smoking Destroys Mac Computers
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) mentions a number of other hazardous substances including calcium carbonate, sucrose, and talcum powder. One Mac user had an extended Applecare warranty in place and was told that his broken computer couldn't be fixed because it was contaminated. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that 43.4 million US adults smoked in 2007 - the most recent figures available. That's nearly 20 percent of all adults. Sony Aims For 20% Shares in LCD Television Sales Starting Spring 2012
The electronics giant has been moving ahead with plans to cut costs and boost earnings as it seeks to weather the economic downturn. Last month, Sony reported its fourth consecutive quarterly loss. Global LCD TV shipments jumped 38% to a record 37.5 million units in July-September, industry research has shown, driven by government stimulus measures boosting consumer spending in China and Japan. Sony also said it aimed to make its game operations profitable next year by cutting costs and expanding both hardware and software sales. Microsoft Lay Off 800 Workers Part of Larger Program of Economic Restructuring
"I can confirm we're eliminating 800 jobs today," spokesman Lou Gellos said. "That's part of the larger program we announced in January." The positions being eliminated from Wednesday will affect staff internationally and in a range of business units, he said, without providing further detail. In total, around 6.3% of the company's approximately 91,000 head count will have been eliminated after the program is completed, up from the 5.5% previously expected. Microsoft, the world's largest software maker, announced its first fiscal year of declining sales as a public company this year amid weaker demand for the PCs that drive sales of its flagship Windows software program. Microsoft Windows 7 Are You Willing To Pay For the Upgrade New Windows 7 by Microsoft
So are ready to use Win 7 now. It should be a little little faster and a little prettier than Vista. (Check out PC World's Windows 7 review for the specifics.) But as I explore Microsoft's latest operating system, I find myself wondering why Windows 7 Home Premium Upgrade, the main version for consumers, costs $120.Will home users pay that price? I'm betting they won't. True, some Microsoft diehards will line up on October 22 to grab the first copies of Win 7, but most consumers will spot the price tag and walk away. As much as I like what Microsoft's done with Windows 7, the improvements don't warrant such a steep fee, particularly for home users upgrading from the much-maligned Vista. And XP users? Well, migrating to Win 7 is a complex chore that requires a clean install. You may have to upgrade your hardware too. Add up the cost of Windows 7, plus more RAM and maybe a new graphics card, and a new PC starts to seem a lot more affordable. MySpace gets ready for makeover MySpace is preparing a major redesign next week as it tries to attract more casual users and increase the amount of time its members spend online.
Managing director of MySpace UK, Antony Lukom, said designers have been working on the project for more than a year."We wanted to make it easier and more intuitive to use," he said."I remember when early mobile phones came out and gradually became simpler and easier to use."Social networks are part of our lives now and we're going through the same process. Lots of users don't know how to cut and paste code so we want to make that easier." Fierce competition The move comes as MySpace is facing increased competition in the UK from direct rivals Facebook and Bebo as well as up-and-coming sites like Twitter.4.7 million users visited MySpace in April, down more than 30% on last year, according to data from Nielsen Online.Its rivals experienced a big increase in numbers over that period with Facebook now dominating the market with 10.2 million users. Facebook is also planning a major redesign of its site over the summer. Designers there are planning some widespread changes to the way core profile pages are organised, aimed at making the site "simpler, cleaner and more relevant". Cutting the clutter The MySpace redesign is the first complete overhaul of the site since it launched in January 2004. Sections from the home - or "splash" - page down will be stripped of some of its more complicated features. Those 15 navigation links at the top of the screen will be cut to five tabs. The US home page will be sponsored by one, as-yet unnamed advertiser.Anthony Lukom has no plans for the same kind of thing in the UK but does expect advertisers to support the changes.He said: "This is really about the user experience. But if the users are happy, advertisers are normally happy too."The site recently let users split their online friends into different categories for the first time.In the future users will be able to let certain groups of friends access different pieces of user generated content like videos and photos. Search is being simplified with results split into categories like people, music, video and the general web. Members should also find it easier to play around with the look of their profile pages. A new editor has launched this week with a point-and-click theme library offering colours, borders and images to choose from. MySpace claims users with more advanced skills will still be able to get their hands dirty with HTML code if they want to. Multimedia options The site's MySpaceTV video player is getting a facelift with support for high definition formats, an improved full-screen mode and simpler controls. Developers reckon it will be easier for members to embed video in their pages and share it with friends."We're now the second biggest video site globally after YouTube," said Anthony Lukom. "So we've just got a responsibility to update our player with the latest technology and that's what we are doing." |
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