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| 3rd August 2007 |
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Prompt Communications Newsletter
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Dear Reader,
Welcome to another edition of the Prompt Communications newsletter. Could the mainframe be making a comeback? With green issues edging further up the political agenda, tech companies are keen to improve their environmental credentials, and a small room full of mainframes is much more energy efficient than a forest of servers, according to IBM, which may or may not have a vested interest in the mainframe market...
For any feedback on our newsletter, or to discuss how we can help you with your technology PR, marketing, social media and blogging consultancy, copywriting or surveys, please email me at hbutters@prompt-communications.com. We are always delighted to hear from you.
Best regards,
Hazel Butters
Prompt Communications
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Enterprise Technology Update
By Lance Concannon and Sean McManus
Vista performance enhancements leaked
Techworld reports that a selection of patches for Windows Vista has been leaked onto the internet this week, after they were distributed to Windows Server 2008 beta testers. The patches were released in two packs called "Vista Performance and Reliability Pack" and "Vista Compatibility and Reliability Pack" prompting speculation that they make up a significant component of Vista's not yet released Service Pack 1.
The patches fix a wide range of reported bugs, and improve the operating system's performance in a number of areas. Microsoft traditionally releases a number of service packs throughout the lifecycle of its operating systems, which usually feature significant fixes and improvements over the original software release.
Green Mainframes are the new black
According to the Register, IBM has announced plans to replace 3,900 x86 based Unix servers in one of its datacenters with 30 mainframes. IBM claims the move is environmentally motivated and will save enough electricity to power a small town, although the company has yet to announce which town it intends to power with its newfound energy surplus. The company says the move will also enable it to reduce per-server software costs, and free up datacenter staff for other roles.
Not a bad little publicity stunt all in all, who can blame Big Blue for hitching a ride on the eco-bandwagon to give its dusty old Big Iron business some sexy new environmental credentials?
Murdoch buys Dow Jones and Amstrad
Rupert Murdoch's been on a spending spree, this week adding Dow Jones and Amstrad to his empire. The Dow Jones deal adds the Wall Street Journal to News Corporation's portfolio of 100 newspapers, including the New York Post and UK papers The Times, The Sun and the News of the World. In a separate deal, Murdoch's broadcasting arm Sky acquired Amstrad, which makes 75% of its money selling set-top boxes to Sky.
Amstrad's set-top boxes represent 30% of all those Sky uses. Among the assets Murdoch has acquired with Amstrad, is the copyright to the Sinclair Spectrum and Amstrad CPC home computers, popular in the 80s. Amstrad's failed e-mailer incorporated pay-per-play Spectrum games, and so-called retrogames are enjoying a revival. Will Murdoch incorporate the Spectrum into Sky boxes so that we can all play Jet Set Willy during the endless adverts? The campaign starts here...
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Marketing Update
By Elissa Fry and Lisa Facinelli
MTV launches new multi media site in Japan
A new mobile social networking site that allows users to watch video clips as they view profiles, has been launched in Japan. New Media Age online reports that MyMTV is an application that can be downloaded when users subscribe to one of Japan's three mobile operators. Subscribers can create and design their own pages, as well as uploading and sharing videos taken with their own mobile phones.
Food for thought... or just for the internet?
With recent guidelines from Ofcom and the ASA tightening control on what food and drink advertisers can and can't promote on children's television in the UK, marketers are looking to the internet to reach a youth audience.
According to Media Guardian online, with tighter broadcasting controls in place advertisers are becoming more creative with the law and seeking out youngsters via the internet and through mobile phones, where the same restrictions do not apply.
Marketing to the electronics consumer
According to Advertising Age, the average American will spend 20 minutes trying to assemble an electronic device before giving up. In light of this, marketers are seeking out user friendly designs to promote to buyers.
Overall design has been pushed to the top of the list, reports CNET News, with consideration being given to ease of use and physical appearance during the product development stages. This can already be seen happening with gadgets becoming more mobile and multifunctional; like the new iPhone with its sleek multitouch interface.
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US Media Report
By Tarryn Morley
Rupert Murdoch's offer for Dow Jones has finally been accepted by the Bancroft family after they were advised that they could not get the share price up to the $60 offered by Murdoch. The $5.6 billion deal has already been approved by the Dow Jones board of directors and is expected to be widely supported by public shareholders who control the remaining votes.
Chris Baker has been promoted to a senior editor at Wired. He joined the publication in 2002 and most recently served as a senior associate editor.
Sam Diaz has been appointed as technology reporter for The Washington Post. Until recently, he was the assistant technology editor. In his new role, Diaz covers consumer technology and venture capital. He will be seeking out new, innovative companies and their emerging technology, products and services. Diaz will continue to lead the weekly podcast and contribute to the blog, Post I.T.
Scott Kirsner is the author of a new column called Innovation Economy in the Boston Globe. The column focuses on entrepreneurship, technology and venture capital in New England. Kirsner is also a contributing writer for Variety, Daily Variety and Fast Company.
UK Media Report
By Tarryn Morley
Emap, the second largest consumer magazine publisher in the UK, is reported to be on the verge of breaking up after it announced it is reviewing its business in response to recent unsolicited proposals. One such proposal includes the informal approach made by Apax Partners, a private equity group, on Emap's star business-to-business division.
Global business magazine The Business has appointed Mark Leftly as a business correspondent. Leftly was previously the assistant editor of Building magazine. He starts his new role early this month.
Danielle Long has joined New Media Age as associate news editor. She was previously deputy media editor at Campaign. New Media Age is published weekly and covers electronic publishing, digital TV, CD-Rom and internet/intranet issues.
The Teesside Gazette has started publishing six free ad-supported local newspapers that contain citizen journalism and editorial content from the Gazette. The Gazette's experiment with citizen journalism began last December when it established a series of local citizen journalism websites in North East England. The success of these sites lead to further launches and the publication of the six print newspapers.
Best of the 'Net
By Sean McManus
The Simpsons Movie
This Flash site is a good tribute to, and advert for, the Simpsons Movie, another product of Rupert Murdoch's empire. It hosts several Flash games, the best of which are Moe's three-card trick and Bart's naked skateboarding dash. There's wallpaper and icons galore and even the chance to make your own Simpsons-style avatar. Although you are nagged a fair bit to register, it's all free and you don't need to register to fully explore the site.
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Consumer Technology Update
By Dave Wilby
Broadband speed claims misleading consumers, report claims
New research from Which? Online claims a significant disparity exists between the broadband speeds advertised by service providers and actual achievable connections. Tests of more than 300 consumers subscribing to packages advertised as 'up to 8Mbps' found that customers actually achieved 2.7Mbps on average, with the lowest speed achieved just 0.09Mbps.
The Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) says that using the words 'up to' is acceptable if most people can get close to those speeds. Which? Online is now calling on Ofcom and Trading Standards to investigate providers' claims. Editor Malcolm Coles said: "It's shocking that internet service providers can advertise ever-increasing speeds that seem to bear little resemblance to what most people can achieve in reality. If it's unlikely you'll reach the advertised speed it should be made clear up front."
Teething trouble for BBC iPlayer
The BBC's iPlayer online video service was launched this week, receiving a lukewarm reception from its first wave of users. The BBC itself reported early adopters complaining on chat forums about technical problems despite some promising content and impressive claimed download speeds.
The BBC began a limited sign-up period for the service on 27th July for its iPlayer, which makes BBC programmes broadcast in the previous week available for users for the next 30-days. Early technical problems were related to confusing error messages and some lengthy delays in video feeds, although other users experienced no problems at all. Other user grudges related to a lack of current plans for iPlayer to support non-Windows platforms such as OS X or Linux.
Is your printer as bad for you as smoking?
Laser printer emissions in the home or office are as dangerous to human health as inhaling cigarette smoke, according to a new study by Queensland University of Technology. The study, conducted by Professor Lidia Morawska from QUT's International Laboratory for Air Quality and Health, found that out of 62 laser printers tested in a standard open plan office, 17 were "high particle emitters".
QUT scientists have now called on ministers to regulate these emissions, claiming some printers should even come with a health warning. In the meantime, good ventilation around any printing or copying equipment remains a very good idea, as ever.
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Web 2.0 Watch
By Fiona Blamey
Every blog has its day
There's been a lot of online discussion recently about whether blogging has had its day.
There's certainly evidence of a 'cooling-off' in the medium. In April, Business Week reported that while Technorati publicly states there are 70 million blogs worldwide, the real figures show that the number of 'active' blogs levelled off last October at around 15 million.
More recently, popular bloggers like Shel Israel have reported a drop in readership figures, prompting an outbreak of navel-gazing of the kind bloggers specialise in.
One view is that the decline is due to shortening attention spans and the rising popularity of social networks like Facebook, Twitter, Pownce, Tumblr and Jaiku. People can no longer be bothered with long, ponderous blog posts, goes the argument, when there are new services available that let people post short statements, questions and links.
There's a lot of truth to this. Posts on Twitter and other networks are communicated instantly to 'followers' by email, SMS and/or RSS, increasing the sense of interaction and conversation that is characteristic of communications in the Web 2.0 world. For the networked generation, it's an ideal way to stay in touch.
But to think that blogging is 'over' is to misunderstand the differences between blogs and social networks. Blogs provide an outlet for more considered writing, while Twitter and its ilk are really only good for dashing off statements of one or two sentences. It's a nuance that is well understood by Steve Rubel, author of the popular Micro Persuasion blog. Rubel says that from now on he will only post more thoughtful pieces on his blog, using Twitter to keep in continuous contact with his online social network.
Over time, the rise of Twitter, Facebook et al should lead to an overall rise in the quality of blogs, even as the number of active blogs declines. Why? Because people who are not writers by nature will gravitate to alternative social networks, while the domain of blogging will increasingly be left to people who are prepared to put more care and thought into their posts. It's good news for marketers, I think - a less crowded blogosphere will mean less competition for attention, leaving marketers who excel at written communications a clearer field for interacting with audiences.
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Tech Toon
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