« September 2, 2007 | Main | September 5, 2007 »
Dvorak on Google and AP Content.
September 4, 2007
John Dvorak is so correct about how the syndicated news outlets and the newspapers who support them totally screwed up by virtually forcing Google to carry syndicated content on their site.Here are some of John’s Lucid comments which to be honest are just so compelling and accurate it is difficult to understand why he was first to mention it all.
Here is an excerpt:
Here is an excerpt:
It's almost as if the whole episode was an elaborate trap that the newspapers fell into out of sheer stupidity. You'll notice that the more commercially oriented news services, such as Reuters, aren't involved in this deal, although Google may take its feed, too, "out of the goodness of its heart."
Watching the U.S. newspaper industry implode because of its inability to keep up with the times, combined with a complete lack of understanding of the Internet and its mechanisms, is something to behold.As I witness this, I actually see it as a good thing that papers are failing. I say that because this exhibition of incompetence and stupidity tells me that, apparently, this group has no business informing me about anything. It's obvious that they can't get anything right in the first place. After all, computers and the Internet are nothing new.I have to conclude that their "news product" is suspect and misinforms rather than informs. I mean, there is a Keystone Kops air of bumbling that cannot be ignored anymore. And you can tell that the public at large senses this, too.
I just wonder why newspapers and others would force Google to become a bigger competitor than they already are. It is mind-boggling really. Thank you John for pointing this situation out. Every newspaper company relying on syndicated content for news should see their shares drop 10% as a result of Google's stronger competitive news position in the online world.
Link this |
Email this |
Leave comment
Trackback URL: Dvorak on Google and AP Content.
Technorati
Del.icio.us
BoingBoing
Slashdot
Digg
Spurl
Furl
Nortel on Microsoft/Cisco
September 4, 2007
The following comments are from Nortel’s Tony Rybczynski regarding the new relationship between Microsoft and Cisco. I found them interesting and worth passing along.
---
I was on holidays in Eastern Europe when the photo shoot took place. During my travels I learnt that the Austrio-Hungarian empire was largely created by making love (through arranged marriages) not war. I think there would have been a real story if it had been announced that JohnC’s son was to marry SteveB’s daughter;). However, the path to empire expansion will pit Microsoft and Cisco against each other on a growing number of fronts, with promises of ‘interoperability peace’ along the way. But I'm getting ahead of myself.
In his August 15th Enterpriser Technology blog, Phil Edholm, responsible for Nortel technology vision, strategy, and architecture across the enterprise product portfolio, discusses whether Microsoft/IBM are going to war with Cisco. He ended by posing the questions “Is the network the computer or is the network the network delivering connectivity and services in a computing environment? Do you believe that Microsoft and Cisco see each other as competitors today?”
We need not look any further than Microsoft and Cisco CEO’s for an answer. Steve Ballmer and John Chambers were very clear about their positions on August 20 in NYC:“In unified communications we know we're competing”. In referencing the Nortel relationship, Steve Ballmer further stated that "With Nortel, we are really working on the same thing, with Cisco we're working on things that compete".
So why did this event take place. Simple. Just listen to John Chambers: "If we didn't need to interoperate, we probably wouldn't; it's just that customers are demanding that we do." So it’s all about interoperability. Welcome to the open world of telecommunications.
Let me go one deeper in terms of the reality of the competition between these two companies. Microsoft's approach is software-centric while Cisco’s is network centric. In Gartner’s 2007 UC Magic Quadrant, Cisco has been moved out of the Leadership Quadrant into the Challenger (vs Leadership Quadrant) with the following caution: “Cisco's solutions are network-centric, rather than software-application-focused. This can create interdependencies between the network infrastructure and communication applications operating on the network, making it harder to integrate communications with business applications.” Nortel’s approach is more aligned with that of Microsoft, by investing in software application centric approaches and in vendor-agnostic SOA frameworks, as the foundation to communications-enable business processes.
Network-based intelligence in the right doses and in the right parts of the network, must dovetail the functionality resident in end points (clients and servers), while enhancing security and application performance particularly in heterogeneous environments (e.g. data centers). Cisco’s dominant position in routing supports their everything-in-the-network approach, often at the expense of price/performance and reliability (their fix is sell more routers). Working with Microsoft, IBM, EMC and many others (as Nortel does) is table stakes to meet customer needs.
I personally conclude (and maybe you agree) that the Microsoft-Cisco event was about alleviating concerns of customers about interoperability and about dancing around the true competitive nature of Microsoft and Cisco in the UC space.
Link this |
Email this |
Leave comment
Trackback URL: Nortel on Microsoft/Cisco
Technorati
Del.icio.us
BoingBoing
Slashdot
Digg
Spurl
Furl
MOBIVOX
September 4, 2007
I recently had the opportunity to ask Patricia Tessier, vice president of Product and Marketing at MOBIVOX, about deploying Skype, the IP communications space and more.
You may recall I mentioned the company in a post about about wireless companies at ITEXPO which by the way is less than a week away. Where has the summer gone?
MOBIVOX provides voice related applications for the cell phone, bridging the gap between mobile phones, VoIP and Voice over Instant Messaging (VoIM) while connecting mobile, PC, or home phone to any network.
RT: Please outline your new corporate initiatives.
PT: We are in the midst of extending the reach of our network to additional countries and improving the usability of our service.
RT: How is IP communications changing your company’s strategy?
PT: We built a global origination and termination network by leveraging IP communications.
RT: What is the biggest request coming from your customer base?
PT: Our customer feedback to this point is very encouraging. The demand is overwhelmingly for more local access numbers and the ability to import their various address books with MOBIVOX.
RT: How are you answering their demands?
PT: We are absorbing growth and improving on the basics: Voice quality and usability as well as extending our global reach.
RT: What do you think the future of the market is?
PT: The future of the market will see the emergence of new types of global carriers which also offer non-communications related services.
RT: How does the growth rate in the U.S. compare to the rest of the world?
PT: There is plenty to be done in the U.S. but a few emerging countries are manifesting stronger natural growth.
RT: What do you think of Google and Apple entering the telecom market?
PT: Hardware or mobile browser solutions will only appeal to a limited segment of the population for the foreseeable future.
RT: How about Microsoft?
PT: Not everyone has or wants a Smartphone.
RT: How will wireless technologies change our market?
PT: The wireless carriers will lose their grip on the experience and become more like an ISP. Most of the user intelligence will move in the cloud.
RT: How will communications evolve over the next five years?
PT: In the U.S., the average mobile phone will become a multi-purpose tool, while most of the growth comes from emerging countries and basic phones will rule there for the period.
RT: What sorts of things will we be hearing about during your presentation at ITEXPO?
PT: The crossroad between speech recognition and personal telephony services
RT: Why is your presentation a “Can’t Miss?”
PT: Weeks after its launch, MOBIVOX was used by consumers of all types and ages across the globe. The MOBIVOX approach is unique in the entire space. The MOBIVOX case study is particularly interesting for those looking to reach the consumer mass market (by contrast to solely reaching the very early adopters).
RT: What do you want the industry to know about your company?
PT: MOBIVOX is unique in that it enhances the mobile and fixed telephony experience for everyone and on a global basis. In other words, the service works regardless of the carrier used by the consumer, without using data layer, without requiring any download.
RT: Please make one surprising prediction we will see in 5 years.
PT: Speech will be a more ubiquitous interface.
Link this |
Email this |
Leave comment
Trackback URL: MOBIVOX
Technorati
Del.icio.us
BoingBoing
Slashdot
Digg
Spurl
Furl
