Archive for October, 2009

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Twitter lists now open to all Twitter users

By
acoleman
– October 30, 2009Posted in: Internet Trends

Twitter LogoAlthough Lists were officially rolled out on Thursday, Twitter had to disable them due to technical issues. Yesterday the list feature was only available to about half of the Twitter community. Today however, all Twitter users are now enjoying the feature.

You are now able to build your own lists on the micro-blogging site, as well as see which lists you are being included in. One of the top trending topics for days, Twitter users were a bit discouraged when Lists were delayed. The feature is up now and ready, so you can stop writing your nasty letters to Twitter.

Now that the Lists feature is available what do you think of it? Like it, or hate it? Have you been included in a list? Have you started any of your own? Let us know what you think.


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Nintendo profits drop due to poor Wii sales

By
acoleman
– October 29, 2009Posted in: Gaming, Industry News

Nintendo LogoNintendo is reporting some sagging numbers today for their first-half earnings. Poor sales and a price cut on the Wii have been blamed for a 52 percent drop in earnings. Nintendo is also reporting that sales have dropped 34 percent.

During the first half of their fiscal year Nintendo sold 5.75 million Wii consoles, which is a huge decline from the same period last year when they sold 10 million units.

In September Nintendo slimmed down the price of the Wii console from $250 to $199.99; a decision that came amid competition from the PS3 Slim. Nintendo is facing competition from Microsoft as well, because of their recent price cuts for the Xbox 360.

A lack of popular video game titles has also been attributed to Nintendo’s poor numbers. Wii Sports Resort and Wii Fit Plus are the only real gems that they have released in the past few months. Nintendo hopes to rebound with this years holiday sales, and the release of the New Super Mario Bros. Wii.

CNET


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GameStop to hire 15,000 employees for Holiday boom

By
acoleman
– October 28, 2009Posted in: Gaming, Industry News

Gamestop storeToday GameStop announced that they will be hiring 15,000 seasonal employees for this holiday season. This is common for the video game retailer, as they hire part-time employees for the holiday rush every year.

GameStop hires a number of temporary employees from September through December each year. The number of applications for part-time seasonal help is expected to be much larger than in previous years, due to the downturn in the economy. The new hires for this year’s holiday season will increase their employee base to 46 percent.

GameStop is major retailer for gamers to purchase their favorite video games. In 2008 the company ranked third in video game sales. Wal-Mart and Best Buy were first and second. GameStop stock rose two percent today.

Associated Press


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Cisco to acquire cloud security company

By
acoleman
– October 27, 2009Posted in: Industry News, Internet Trends

Cisco SystemsCisco Systems announced today that they have plans to purchase security software company ScanSafe. The Web-based security company will be purchased by Cisco Systems in an all cash deal for $183 million. The deal is expected to close in Cisco’s second quarter, which ends in January 2010.

ScanSafe is a Cloud-based security service that allows customers to license their service on demand. Cisco intends to use their service to improve IronPort, which they purchased in 2007. They will also be using ScanSafe’s data centers to provide new cloud security services.

This is the third acquisition that Cisco has announced for this month, and CEO John Chambers has stated that the company is intending to make even more. So far they have purchased wireless equipment maker Starent Networks, and video conference equipment maker Tandberg.

CNET


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Google unveils Social Search

By
acoleman
– October 26, 2009Posted in: Industry News, Internet Trends

Some of you may remember that last we spoke about two search giants incorporating social media into their search results. One of those search giants was Google, and at the time details on how social media would work into their search results were somewhat vague. Today Google is officially announcing Social Search and is answering some of the questions we were asking about it.

In the video above Google demos how Social Search will work. As you can see your keyword searches will yield social updates in Social Search results. The way you are able to get social results for your queries is by being logged into your Google profile. If you are not logged in you will not get any social results, because Google pulls the relevant info via your profile.

The question that you may still be having is what social media sites will be included in your search results. As you know Twitter, and Friend Feed are included but where is Facebook? At this time Social Search is still in the labs. As far as we know Google has not indicated that Facebook will be included in Social Search but that may change in the future.

Google Blog


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Google and Bing both integrating social media into search

By
acoleman
– October 23, 2009Posted in: Industry News, Internet Trends

Magnifying glassIn an ever changing Internet landscape we see a major shift in the way people gather news. Rather than go to a search engine and type in a keyword, they are going to sites like Twitter and Facebook to get news.

So what is it that is pulling people form search engines to social media sites? It seems the main driving force is the desire for real time. Google and Microsoft know this, because they both have made announcements this week that they plan to integrate real time updates from social media sites into their search engines.

Microsoft has already integrating Twitter “tweets” into Bing search results at bing.com/twitter. Microsoft will also be integrating Facebook updates as well. Google has plans to bring Twitter to its search as well but have made no announcement for integrating Facebook updates.

Google and Bing both have focused on search a great deal and a heavy social integration is most likely the next step. Bing has already integrated “tweets” in their search results, Google has plans to include them soon.

CNET


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Skype shows impressive third quarter results

By
acoleman
– October 22, 2009Posted in: Industry News

Blue Skype LogoIt was in 2005 that eBay purchased Skype, and despite the fact that they are in the process of unloading the company, its revenue growth has helped boost its third quarter results. In eBay‘s third quarter earnings, Skype has shown impressive numbers.

Skype’s registered users grew by 41 percent which now puts its total users at 521 million. Revenues grew 29 percent, totaling $185 million. Free Skype-to-Skype minutes grew 74 percent to 27.7 billion minutes, and SkypeOut minutes grew 44 percent to 3.1 billion minutes. If the numbers continue as they are now Skype should be able to reach its goal of 1 billion annual revenue by 2011.

Along with Skype, PayPal showed impressive numbers as well. They garnered $688 million in revenue, which is up 15 percent. Overall, eBay posted a 6 percent increase in revenue for its third quarter.

TechCrunch


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PS3 top selling console of September

By
acoleman
– October 20, 2009Posted in: Industry News

Sony PS3 SlimAccording to the video game analysis group NPD, the video game industry has seen an improvement in sales for the month of September. NPD is reporting that sales are up 1 percent from $1.27 billion to $1.28 billion, and the top selling console was none other than the Sony PS3.

NPD is reporting that for the month of September the PS3 outsold all other consoles with 491,800 units sold. The Nintendo Wii came in second with 462,800 units sold, and the Xbox 360 came in third with 352,600.

The increase in sales for Sony has been attributed to the release of slimmer and cheaper version of the PS3, known as the PS3 Slim. Currently selling for a price of $299, it is the first time Sony has cut the price of the console, as well as the first time (since its birth) it has had a best selling month.

A price cut is the major motivation for buyers as they had been demanding one for the PS3 for some time now. With the increase in sales that Sony has seen since, some analysts believe this would indicate a strong holiday season for Sony.

CNET


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Acer overtakes Dell in PC shipments

By
acoleman
– October 15, 2009Posted in: Industry News, News

ACER LogoWhen Acer president Gianfranco Lanci stated that Acer would soon be surpassing dell in shipments, it was a statement that was perceived as more of a rumor than fact. We now know that the statement was correct, because the numbers were released Wednesday and they are clear! Acer has indeed surpassed Dell in number of PC’s shipped.

The numbers come to us via IDC PC tracker report, and they show that Acer has taken the number 2 slot for number of PC’s shipped. The number one spot is currently held by HP with 20.2 percent of PC’c shipped. Acer now is shipping 14 percent, and dell has dropped to 12.7 percent in PC shipments.

Acer was originally an obscure brand to consumers, until they purchased gateway and started selling netbooks, which eventually made them the third largest PC seller in the US. Loren Loverde, the program director of IDC’s PC Tracker stated “It’s a pretty amazing transition in market leadership by Acer.”


ZDNET


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Finland is first country to make broadband access a legal right

By
acoleman
– October 14, 2009Posted in: Internet Trends

Whether you think it is odd or not, it is true! Finland has made broadband access a legal right, and it is the first country in history to do so. According to local sources, the Ministry of Transport and Communication has passed a law that forces internet providers to offer high speed internet to all of Finland’s 5.3 million citizens.
Finland Helsinki Senate
Finland has one of the highest connection rates of any country, with 96 percent of its citizens on-line. The decision to make internet broadband connection a legal right was motivated by the desire to make internet access available to the countries in rural areas. Finland communications minister Suvi Linden stated that high speed access will improve the quality of life in some of the country’s most isolated areas.

Finland is now the only country on the planet that has made broadband access a legal right. Linden has also promised to significantly increase broadband for all of its citizens by 2015. This move is one of many that the country has made to upgrade its broadband infrastructure.


Guardian Tech


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