A Big Name in Tech Tries a Common Touch
As the company that makes the plumbing of the Internet, Cisco Systems rakes in the cash, but it is hardly a top technology brand among consumers, in the way of Apple or Microsoft.
While it specializes in corporate equipment, Cisco does, in fact, sell some consumer gear. The problem is that Cisco's efforts to hawk such products have been lackluster. (Ever heard of Cisco's home stereos? Exactly.)
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Microsoft, Google Take Maps in New Direction
The battle between Microsoft Corp. and Google Inc. has shifted into new territory: a race to see who can make online maps that make people feel like they're really there.
After lagging behind Google Maps, Microsoft this week unveiled an overhaul of its Bing Maps Web site that supplements the traditional bird's eye view of cities and other locations with rich photographs on the ground. In addition to the street-level images pioneered by Google Maps that let people "move" along the roads pictured, Microsoft's technology stitches together images uploaded by users into three-dimensional photo collages.
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Send E-mails Directly From Print Magazine Pages?
Smartpen Technology Suggests New Print/Digital Interfaces
Can you imagine a business card or a print magazine page that can actually send an e-mail or facilitate the transaction of an online sale? Those are concepts that Livescribe CEO Jim Marggraff is working on. The company's Pulse Smartpen -- which is a real pen containing a full-powered, internet-accessing computer -- is a tool that makes such actions conveniently possible. And the growing popularity of the under-$200 device among college students is creating a significant national audience for new sorts of print-based digital experiences.
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Britain's ad industry is to begin monitoring the number of people from ethnic minorities appearing in TV commercials.
The initiative is part of a commitment to ensure that the portrayal of those from Afro-Caribbean, Asian and other racial minorities reflects their importance.
The move is the result of an agreement between the IPA and Clearcast, which clears commercials for broadcast.
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Could Comcast deal change TV as we know it?
Comcast's deal to buy a controlling stake in NBC Universal has kicked off a vigorous debate: Will it change news and entertainment for the better?
Comcast CEO Brian Roberts says his company will "enhance consumer choice and accelerate the development of new digital products."
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Mediaweek: Hearst to Launch Skiff Digital Reader Service
Marking the latest effort by print media to get ready for e-readers, Hearst Corp. plans in 2010 to launch a service and online store that will deliver newspapers and magazines on a variety of digital devices.
Hearst, publisher of newspapers and magazines including the San Francisco Chronicle and Cosmopolitan, said the service called Skiff, formerly known as FirstPaper, would provide a way for publishers to distribute their content via a growing number of digital reading devices while maintaining control of their relationship with advertisers and subscribers.
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The BRIEF Bonus
Life is like a game of cards. The hand that is dealt you represents determinism; the way you play it is free will.
--Jawaharal Nehru
Some of the most striking images from around the world
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