Archive for November 10th, 2008
The cable connecting Gore to Kerry to Obama
I’d like to make two points. First, the Democratic party learned grassroots organizing on W’s watch. There’s an exponential curve moving: from nothing in the 2000 Gore/Bush election, through substantial roots activity in the 2004 Bush/Kerry campaign, to overwhelming in the 2008 Obama/McCain victory. Second, the elements that made campaigning so lively, engaging, social and meaningful may show up in Obama’s governance. You may not know this about me but my gig befo...
iPlayer for Mac Coming This Month
If there were any lingering doubts about people’s desire to get television anywhere, anytime, and on any device, then the recent success of the BBC’s iPlayer service has put them to rest. As our team at NewTeeVee has repeatedly pointed out, in the British Isles, the iPlayer is a phenomenon. How big a phenom? Last week when I met with Richard Titus, who oversees user experience and design at the BBC, he told me that during the Olympics, the iPlayer accounted for nearly 20 percent of the tota...
Nortel Cuts: Layoffs Come to Telco Land
Updated with information about Nortel cuts: Big job cuts are not just for startups. The grim reaper has started to take its tool on the telecom ecosystem. We have already reported about the job cuts at Nokia (600) and Motorola (3,000) and Nortel is likely to cut about 10 percent of its work force. The malaise has started to spread to component makers. For instance, JDSU cut 400 jobs, shut down seven R&D centers and three plants. Anadigics, a Warren, N.J.-based broadband wireless and wirel...
Congratulations Mr. & Mrs. Toefel!
Kevin Toefel, co-editor of jkOnTheRun, which joined our little family when he and James merged their wonderful community with ours, married his long-time sweetheart, Barb, this past weekend. Of course, like any blogger worth his social network, the wedding festivities were shared on Facebook, Twitter and FriendFeed. And James Kendrick, the “j” in jkOnTheRun, jokes that like all true gadget nerds, Kevin registered at Circuit City. The newlyweds undoubtedly have a brighter future ah...
Want to join an emerging communications/tech dinner in San Francisco Wednesday night?
If you are in the San Francisco area (perhaps for VoiceCon?) and are interested in “emerging communications” or “emerging technology”, would you like to join a group of similar folks at a dinner Wednesday night (Nov 12, 2008)? Lee Dryburgh, the organizer of the eComm Emerging Communications conference, is hosting a private dinner in conjunction with Thomas Howe at the San Francisco Airport Marriott (Burlingame). There are currently some 50+ folks attending and some seats ...
iPhone Best-Selling Phone in the U.S. for Q3 2008
Apple’s 3G iPhone was the best-selling handset in the U.S. during the third quarter of 2008, according to data compiled by The NPD Group. Apple had previously reported that it sold about 6.89 million iPhones (3G) in the quarter. The research group identifies Apple’s new device “as the leading handset purchased by adult consumers in the U.S.” It beat out Motorola’s RZR V3 (all models), RIM’s Blackberry Curve, the LG Rumor and the LG enV2, the Port Washington, ...
Guest Post: Duncan Stewart
Nortel’s Q3 results are out, and they are just about as rough as I expected in terms of how the company did and what the immediate future looks like. On the other hand, the company was far more tentative than I expected in terms of strategy, divisions for sale, JVs, etc. Let’s start with the financials and operating results – and I will just hit the highlights (…or lowlights!) Operating Loss – Headlines aside, they didn’t REALLY lose US$6.85 a share. Most of that was goodwill and...
Sun Microsystems to Lay Off 350
Sun Microsystems plans to lay off about 350 employees at the start of next year, according to a letter filed under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act. The computer systems maker said in its letter that it would lay off 352 people across the U.S between Jan. 5 and Jan. 25, citing a “need to reduce overall spending” in fiscal 2009. Late last month, Sun reported a $1.7 billion loss for the first quarter of its fiscal 2009 year. Since May, Sun has laid off about 1,500...
Nortel cuts jobs and lowers forecast
Nortel plans a major restructuring and another round of job cuts. From Fortune: The Toronto networking equipment giant said Monday it would trim 1,300 jobs on top 1,200 cuts previously announced. Nortel had 32,550 employees at the end of 2007. The company also said four top executives, including its head of sales and its chief technology officer, would leave at year-end. The news comes as Nortel posted third quarter earnings that met lowered targets. The company warned, however, that 2008 s...
Wi-Fi Consolidation Continues with Boingo Buy
Boingo Networks, a Wi-Fi hotspot network, said today that it bought Opti-Fi Networks from Parsons Transportation Group and ARINC for an undisclosed amount. Opti-Fi builds and manages Wi-Fi networks for 25 North American airports. The deal means Boingo now operates 55 Wi-Fi networks in North American airports, and it follows last week’s $275 million buy of Wayport and its 10,000 Wi-Fi hotspots by AT&T. AT&T’s buy highlighted the importance of Wi-Fi on consumer phones and lap...
ISPCON this week
I’m at ISPCON in San Jose all week so the updates will be few and far between. Jack Brandt and I will be doing The Marketing Spotlight - Q&A from the audience on how to market your services. (Differentiate and Delivery). Then I am moderating a panel with Google, Optenet and IKANO about How to Build Successful Channel Partnerships.If you are in San Jose, let’s grab some coffee. Susan Bowen at DIDX is having a blogger’s breakfast tomorrow at 8 AM. See you there! ...
Telecom Peek
Cbeyond Reports $90.2 in Q3 Revenues, up 25 Percent Sprint Nextel $600 Million of Debt Coming Due Is Only One Worry - but they have $3B in cash??? Use it to buy a cool phone - T-Mobile, AT&T and VZW are killing Sprint because they have better phones. Handsets drive cellular. Period. EarthLink has a $54.7M profit last quarter! I forget that taxes play a huge part in mergers - that’s why Embarq & Windstream didn’t merge; it plays a part in XO’s life (NOL’s); and it...
JobVent
By accident, I ran across JobVent today. On first examination, it’s just one more Web 2.0 forum for employees to complain about their bosses. AT&T has 5 companies - 4 are rated as bad. Cbeyond and XO are on there. Verizon is on there with 6 listings - VZW gets good marks. How is your company doing? Tags: jobvent, web 2.0, web apps Related Entries Dvorak Likes Shrink Wrap - Jul 14, 2008 The IT Oil Effect - May 28, 2008 IP - no the other IP - Apr 07, 2008 Click to Give - Sep 11, ...
Where Does AT&T Get the Money?
Fresh off of buying Wayport for global wi-fi expansion, AT&T buys Centennial Wireless - $944M for 1.1 million cell subs. AT&T is either at the point that they have to keep buying to keep the growth going or they have Monopoly Madness. Tags: att, mergers Related Entries Telecom Peek - Nov 10, 2008 FCC Voted Today too - Nov 04, 2008 The Rotten Apple in the Channel - Nov 04, 2008 Logitech buys SightSpeed - Oct 29, 2008 Sprint is at risk of default - Oct 27, 2008 Every Where ...
Intel Hopes for Healthy Growth in Medical Devices
If mobile Internet devices don’t work out, Intel is also making inroads in the personal health market. The chipmaker today launched a patient monitoring device and online interface to connect doctors and their patients remotely. This is an industry Intel has targeted for years, but because of a host of reasons, a market where the company has never gained much traction. The Intel Health Guide product gained FDA approval in July, surmounting one of the obstacles technology faces as it ente...
The Social Media Jungle: Update #4 - Updated Schedule
On Thursday November 13th I will be hosting The Social Media Jungle: Leveraging Social Media for YOU (and your business) in Melville, New York. I am looking forward to hosting everyone visiting Melville from across the United States. Many of the people joining us on Thursday have attended one or more of my 2008 breakfast events in: Boston, Chicago, Miami, Philadelphia, New York City, Washington D.C. Social Media Jungle will focus on how social media will change the way we work and live and I...
Best VoIP Commercial Ever
Saw this commercial on TV yesterday for oovoo, which is a Skype replacement. Why did I like it? Because it demonstrated what it does while doing what Ma Bell used to do in the old days with its Reach Out and Touch Somebody ads. It makes a connection with the audience. The connection is an emotional bond. No talk of features or benefits. Perfect. Luca says that there isn’t room for any more players. To an extent that is true because the market is full and it will be a zero-sum game of take...
My Dealey Plaza Experience Who Shot JFK? Ask Ron
In my earlier post about coming to Dallas, I mentioned feeling an inspiring opportunity being in this city the day after the election and being so close by to Dealey Plaza. Everybody knows the history around this place, but how many of us have actually been there? I just had to do it. I won’t go into rant mode about how modern technology is great at connecting people virtually, but it’s rapidly destroying the importance of the physical world. Maybe that’s the germ for another b...
What About Senior Executive Compensation?
More details may follow on this morning’s conference call but something missing from Nortel’s cost-cutting strategy is a symbolic gesture by senior management regarding compensation. If Mike Zafirovski had decided to take a $1/year salary or decline any bonuses in 2009, it wouldn’t have meant much to the bottom line but certainly would have sent a strong signal to Nortel’s employees who are being asked to suck it up. In fiscal 2002, Cisco CEO John Chambers drew a $1/year ...
IBM’s New Foundry Service Takes on Intel
IBM today said it will offer a new foundry service that could enable a startup to compete on the same level as Intel. IBM says it will make 45-nanometer, silicon-on-insulator chips designed by other other semiconductor companies as a contract manufacturer. This means everyone from startups to Texas Instruments can now design high-performance chips that can consume less power — ushering in new designs for consumer electronics, cell phones and maybe even servers. As it becomes ever more ex...
Cyworld Packs Up From US, Retreats to Korea
Cyworld, the South Korean social network that launched in the US in 2006 with a splashy party has packed up its bags and left the US market. The South Korean social network that is backed by SK Telecom will layoff its entire staff in the US and will continue to operate the English-language site from South Korea. The service really didn’t get any traction. Its localization efforts were mediocre at best. I bet other smaller marginal social networks meet the same fate. ...
Trouble Returns to the Land of Telecom
The credit crunch and the slowing economy is beginning to impact everyone from mobile phone makers to phone companies. The economic woes are now spreading to other parts of the telecom food chain, taking down everyone from equipment makers to chip companies. And this is just the start… trouble has once again returned to the world of telecom. Earlier this month, Cisco Systems came out with an unusually downbeat forecast. The company, whose sales have traditionally seemed to defy gravity, a...
NetQoS Unified Communications Monitor 2.0 Launches
NetQoS today launched its first unified communications focused management tool called NetQoS Unified Communications (UC) Monitor. NetQoS is broadening the focus of its formerly named VoIP Monitor product to reflect the growing role and functionality of unified communications. NetQoS UC Monitor 2.0 supports voice and video quality metrics in a Microsoft Office Communications Server (OCS) environment as well as enhanced diagnostics and reporting for Cisco IP telephony environments. In my conversa...
Street Art in Tel Aviv:
(photo taken on Nov 1, 2008 with a Nikon D300 and a 28-200mm zoom) Tags: Tel Aviv, Jeff Pulver ...
The Death of System Access Fees?
In Canada’s wireless oligopoly, one of the most controversial issues is the system access fee. It’s a monthly charge of between $6.95 to $8.95/month, which generates about $800-million a year in revenue for wireless carriers. Many consumers believe the system access fee is something the wireless carriers have to charge to comply with federal rules involving spectrum licenses but that’s not the case all. In fact, it’s just another revenue source the carriers don’t in...
Tel Aviv Beach Umbrella:
(photo taken on Nov 1, 2008 with a Nikon D300 and a 28-200mm zoom) Tags: Tel Aviv, sunset, Jeff Pulver ...
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News, opinions and announcements about fast changing communication tools and technologies, from various blogs and ezine.