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| 30th March 2007 |
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Prompt Communications Newsletter
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Dear Reader,
Welcome to the latest edition of the Prompt Communications newsletter. A survey sponsored by the British government this week revealed that over 10% of the UK’s internet users have fallen victim to online fraud in the past year, and that most people believe responsibility for security lies with somebody else other than themselves. This attitude is most likely reflected globally, and you have to wonder whose responsibility online security really is. Perhaps the real question is, whose responsibility is it to educate the public about online security measures? Got any thoughts? Why not drop us a line and share them.
For any feedback on our newsletter, or to discuss how we can help you with your technology PR, marketing, 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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Technology Update
By Lance Concannon, Dave Wilby and Tim Warren
Online security not our problem, say Brits
According to the Register, twelve percent of British internet users were victims of fraud in the past twelve months. This figure came from a study carried out on behalf of the British government and online safety campaign "Get Safe Online". The study also revealed that the majority of internet users believe that online security is somebody else’s problem and are largely ignorant of the security precautions they should take when using online services. The issue here is clearly one of education. People generally learn about the importance of real-world personal security when they are young, but where do they learn the basics of online security? Perhaps it’s time for this kind of thing to be taught in schools.
Dell plumps for penguin
Desktop PC powerhouse Dell has begun shipping systems preinstalled with open source Linux operating systems in direct response to demand from IT managers and home users alike. The BBC reports that a Dell survey of 100,000 people conducted earlier this year revealed more than 70% of respondents would consider Linux. The company’s website now reads: "Dell has heard you."
This move reflects a growing tide of support for open source operating systems and applications from business and consumer sectors as PC users become both increasingly tech-savvy and conscious of the rocketing costs of commercial software. Microsoft’s Windows operating system is still found installed on nine out of every 10 personal computers, but the free availability of Linux code is beginning to turn the heads of some customers, and now a major manufacturer, towards open source.
Instant downloads
On Monday, IBM showed a prototype optical transceiver chipset that can transmit data at 160Gb per second. Very impressive, I’m sure, you might be thinking, but what does that actually mean? Nothing just yet, because it’s still a prototype. But in a few years time it could provide a range of benefits, including the ability to hurl unimaginably vast amounts of information around data-centre networks at ridiculously high speeds which could have a significant impact on the performance of grid-computing applications. Imagine if you could move data between separate computers at the same speed that it moves around inside a single machine – the possibilities are mind boggling.
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Consumer Technology Update
By Dave Wilby and Tim Warren
On the cards
Microsoft has recently announced that as of 8 May 2007 some of its Xbox 360 titles will be made available for Vista users. But potentially more interesting than that, for the first time some titles will be released on both platforms, allowing PC gamers and Xbox owners to play against each other online. The service will be called Games for Windows Live. So what games will be the first to make the most of this next generation, cutting-edge technology? Well, a rather spiffy looking first-person-shooter with RPG elements called Shadowrun. And, um... well, UNO, it says here. The card game? Well, yes. Apparently, it’s very popular on the Xbox.
Mobile phones to feature mini-projectors?
Cramming more and more multimedia features into mobile phones may seem a fun idea when you’re shopping for a new handset, but will you really watch a Hollywood blockbuster on that tiny screen? Texas Instruments doesn’t think so, and has developed a more elegant solution – why not watch those films on a nearby wall instead? News.com tracked down TI’s latest projector phone at this week’s CTIA Wireless 2007 exhibition, a massive trade show showcasing next-generation mobile gadgets.
You can see the latest images of the prototype with working projector in this gallery. The projector contains three lasers, a DLP chip and a power supply and measures about 1.5 inches in length. This lets the handset beam a DVD-quality video about the size of an average TV screen onto any suitable surface. TI has yet to confirm whether it will start selling projectors for phones, but will continue to gauge consumer reaction.
The emails of Shakespeare
Yahoo has announced that as of May 2007 all its Yahoo Mail users will be given unlimited storage. Users will still have to follow "normal email practices", whatever they may be, but theoretically Yahoo Mail users will never have to delete another email in their lives.
Clearly Yahoo is trying to stave off competition from the likes of Gmail and Live.com, but is there another motive behind this? An attempt to prove an old adage? An infinite amount of storage space, millions of users, millions of keyboards – how long before they have the complete works of Shakespeare on their infinite number of hard drives? (OK, so 250 million users is hardly an infinite number of monkeys but assuming the majority are more intelligent than monkeys, that should suffice).
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US Media Report
By Kay Wilson
There are plenty of media moves this week and a few resignations - Andres Martinez, an editor of the LA Times quits in protest after publisher David D. Hiller decided not to run Sunday’s opinion section with guest editor Brian Grazer. It seems that Martinez was dating someone who worked for the producer which apparently amounts to a conflict of interests. However journalistic ethics come into question with the news that Donald Rumsfeld, a close, personal friend of Hiller was asked to guest edit another section of the paper.
Writer Eileen McNamara is the first to leave The Boston Globe soon to be followed by at least six others over the next few months as the paper reduces the size of its newsroom.
It is rumoured that Eric Wahlgren, managing editor of Red Herring has also resigned.
There’s better news at The New York Times with two new faces at the Business Day section. Reporter Richard Perez-Pena makes the move from the Metro section and David Joachim becomes a weekend editor. Brian Caulfield joins Forbes.com from Red Herring, becoming senior technology writer and Jason Tanz moves from FSB: Fortune Small Business to Wired as a senior business editor.
And, finally, if you ever wanted to be on the front cover of a magazine, be careful what you wish for. The latest publication to grace the US news stands is "Jail" a weekly magazine full of nothing but mug- shots. The brain-child of ex-convict Devin James, who got the idea after his time behind bars, sells for $1 and James has a weekly turnover of around 8,000. Who said crime doesn’t pay?
UK Media Report
By Annie Kasmai
Leonard Doyle, foreign editor at The Independent, is moving to Washington to become US editor. Katherine Butler who is currently the associate editor of the comment section will be replacing Doyle as the foreign editor of the newspaper.
Samera Owusu Tutu has been appointed as assistant online editor for Real Business.
Prior to this role she worked on Straight No Chaser magazine and foundered Junxion, which is an online portal for all things which are progressing black culture on London’s creative scene.
Best of the 'Net
By Lance Concannon
Gimme20
As technology slowly but surely takes over every aspect of our lives, we spend an ever increasing amount of time sitting hunched over our keyboards, staring vacantly into the internet. Half of us are growing so enormous that we’ll never be able to get up out of our office chairs, and the other half are wasting away to skin and bone so that we’re in danger of being lost for ever down the gaps in our keyboard. It’s time technology gave something back, to help us lead healthier lives – and that something is gimme20.com. The site is an online fitness community where you can find out everything you need to know about getting into shape – no matter what level of fitness you’re currently at.
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Marketing Update
By Lisa Facinelli, Tim Warren and Sally Forge
Yes, really
In case anyone was wondering, Israel is 58 years old, single, female and a Taurus – who she’s up for dating it doesn’t say, but it doesn’t look like she’s ruling it out. Her musical tastes could best be described as eclectic. Oh, and she has 1140 friends at last count (her mobile bills must be horrendous). Perhaps I should explain – I’m not talking about a person. Yep, Israel now has its own Myspace page. An official one. The brainwave of a diplomat called David Saranga. In fact, Israel now has a blog too, isRealli; fairly readable, as it goes. Businesses have been dabbling with the idea of marketing themselves through social media platforms for a while now, but this is the first recorded instance of an entire nation state jumping on the bandwagon
A growing medium for advertisers
On Wednesday at the CTIA Wireless 2007 showcase, Viacom announced its MTV Networks deal with Intel and Pepsi-Cola North America. Cnet News reports that this agreement makes Intel and Pepsi the advertising sponsors of MTV’s and Comedy Central’s mobile channels. Advertisements during these cell phone programs will benefit both the sponsors and cell phone companies, since the advertisers acquire a new medium with which to target consumers and cell phone companies rake in extra cash. Aligning Intel and Pepsi with MTV will surely help increase brand awareness; but it may leave consumers feeling agitated as they are faced with yet more intrusive marketing messages.
Music products become music marketing vehicles
The music industry now has to face the fact that music marketing and distribution has changed. As the Tech Crunch blog says, suing potential customers is not going to make up for revenue lost from illegal downloads and other forms of content sharing. CD sales are down 20% on last year’s, so more direct forms of delivery – i.e. ticket sales – are more likely to be the revenue-earners for artists. Meanwhile postings to YouTube and other recorded music vehicles will provide the marketing support for live performance sales.
For those who have pre-registered to buy them, Glastonbury festival tickets go on sale at 9am this Sunday. There is bound to be an internet rush at the online ticket booth and the rumour is that logging-on from work, rather than home, may be more likely to lead to purchasing success; the reason being that corporate networks carry more ‘weight’ in the access hierarchy. Similarly, some artists could be paying internet providers to have their websites, and music downloads, load faster. Which would obviously be to the detriment of smaller, independent acts. This is why, CNN reports, artists such as R.E.M. joined the Rock the Net campaign to defend the principle of net neutrality.
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Web 2.0 Watch
By Tim Warren
Ever wondered how many people read a particular blog? Or how influential it might be? You’re not alone. In fact, quite a number of people seem to have been trying to answer those questions. Trouble is, no two sources seem to be able to agree on an answer, or even a way of finding out. Welcome to the confusing world of blog ranking.
When it comes to ‘old media’ – newspapers, magazines, TV, etc. – things are much more straightforward. There are independently produced circulation figures and viewing figures; not that there is complete consensus on the significance of them. Blogs, on the other hand, are somewhat more nebulous.
While it’s now widely accepted that blogs can be influential, what people want to know is: which ones? It’s certainly hard to tell at first glance. You might assume that a high number of comments indicates a large readership. Not always - some of the most widely read blogs receive very few comments.
So how do you tell whether a blog is influential? Technorati assumes that whichever blogs are most linked to are the most influential. Makes sense. Except that it doesn’t measure how many readers a blog has. Another service, Bloglines, ranks according to how many RSS subscribers (in other words, confirmed readers) a blog has. But that ignores anyone who has arrived at the blog via a search engine, or doesn’t use a feedreader.
Is quantity of readers important, though? Not, perhaps, if those readers have no real influence outside the blogosphere. The latest development seems to be the mapping of networks of influence, showing both how many people link to a blog, and who they are. But who are they in real-life? That’s the Holy Grail. Whoever can find a way of tracking that will make millions.
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Tech Toon
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