There once was a day when the great eBay commanded respect and considerable power in the world of tech. Since then, the company has been relegated to a mere shadow of its former self that's barely hanging on to a shred of relevance. And the only reason for that is the company's lack of competition.
Let's face it -- eBay is nothing more than an outdated, bloated company that lost its way years ago. And with the news coming off the wire today that suggests eBay is restructuring its worldwide operations and cutting jobs, things don't look too good for this ill-fated firm.
Of course, the company doesn't see it the way I do. Instead, a company spokeswoman claims this news is a "globalization and centralization effort" to ensure it's more prepared to enter the Web 2.0 fray.
But I have some news for eBay -- unless some major changes are instituted, the end may be near.
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 | EPISODE 7 |
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In a report that has sent shock waves throughout the entire Apple community, the Financial Times is reporting that Steve Jobs and company may be trying to coax record labels into allowing the firm to sell an unlimited number of iTunes songs as long as consumers pay a premium on iPods and iPhones. And while that may sound great to some (myself included), it'll never happen.
Unfortunately, we are currently limping through an era where common sense is always a second thought and record labels will do anything they can to ensure consumers are kept under their thumbs.
Sure, the idea of unlimited iTunes music downloads sounds great and it would probably ensure that Amazon and other services would die a slow and agonizing death, but common sense must prevail in this discussion and as far as I can tell, there's no chance any such a deal can be struck between record labels and Apple.
And here's why.
... Read moreEven though Sony's PlayStation 3 was slow out of the gates, it has found its stride lately and performed extremely well over the past few months. And as the latest NPD numbers show, more good times are in store. But in the end, it's what's coming that matters and if you ask me, Sony has everything in place to have the best year of any console maker.
Now I know what you're thinking -- aren't I the same guy who said the chances of the PS3 winning the console war are slim? Yep. And I still believe that. But what I also said is the PS3 will probably end up in second place when this whole generation is said and done and the main reason why that's true is because of what might happen this year
Unlike the Wii and the Xbox 360, the PlayStation 3 is poised to grow at a rapid rate and finally become a major player in this generation. And although some would say that it's because of Blu-ray (and that may be part of it), the real reason is that Sony has finally woken up and realized that it needs to change its strategy, refocus its efforts and make an impact now before it's too late.
It has.
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A few weeks ago, I sat down with Super Smash Bros Brawl expecting more of the same. Instead of a compelling storyline and an interesting platform-esque experience, I expected a Melee redux. Instead of a slew of characters and fantastic combo moves, I expected another button masher. Instead of one of the best games released this year, I expected an average title that does little to push the series forward. I was wrong.
Let me get this out of the way -- Super Smash Bros Brawl is a fantastic game that you should buy as soon as you can come up with the $50 (and Wii) it takes to play this title.
Super Smash Bros Brawl is the result of years of time and effort put into a game that does all of the big things right and only fails on some of the smaller, less important facets of the title. And it's that dynamic that not only propels this title to instant greatness, but helps set a new tone in the industry.
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In the long and arduous battle between P2P file sharing services and ISPs, the former have done all they can to stay on top, while the latter have done all they can to eliminate them as quickly as possible. And just when I started losing hope, Verizon, for once, made me feel just a little bit better about ISPs. Will it last? I doubt it.
According to Verizon, it will do everything in its power to ensure that P2P downloading is brought into the new century and given the kind of treatment it has deserved for years. The company researched P2P file sharing and found that when an ISP cooperates with an P2P file sharer, they can speed downloads by a whopping 60 percent.
"This test signifies a turning point in the history of peer-to-peer technology and ISPs," said Robert Levitan, chief executive of file-sharing company Pando Networks Inc. "It will definitely show ISPs that the problem is not peer-to-peer technology, the problem is how you deploy it. It is possible to deploy P2P to their advantage."
But perhaps what's most important to this test is that Verizon is pledging availability of some of its infrastructure information to P2P file sharing services to increase the efficiency of both services.
... Read moreAfter today's announcement that AOL has acquired Bebo for $850 million in the hopes that it will be able to capitalize on the upswing in social networking, I had a thought. Knowing that AOL is trying to get a deal done with Yahoo and the company owns some solid properties, why doesn't Microsoft forget about Yahoo for a while and acquire AOL?
Sound crazy? If so, consider the fact that AOL has quickly become one of the largest competitors to Microsoft in its attempt to acquire Yahoo and at the same time, it's barely standing on the backs of sound editorial content from Weblogs, Inc. and now, social networking -- two areas Microsoft currently has no influence in.
In essence, the deal for AOL would be a good one for Microsoft and could actually help it in its negotiations for Yahoo. Here's why:
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| EPISODE 6 |
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Now that the Google-DoubleClick deal has been approved by European lawmakers, the online giant has finally taken control over one of the most important display advertising firms in the world. And while some are calling this a great day for Google, I'm not so quick to agree.
What, exactly, makes this such a great day for Google? Is it because it can solidify its position as the world's premier online ad firm? If so, I thought it already was: Google's total share of online advertising revenue before the DoubleClick deal was over 60 percent and no company was even close. If it wasn't that, was it because Google finally had a leg up in the display ad business where it has floundered for years? Possibly. But considering that DoubleClick only generated about $365 million in revenue last year, I just don't think this is a major step forward for the company.
I simply don't know how anyone can say the Google-DoubleClick deal was good for Sergey, Larry, and Eric. And if you look at the numbers and what Google is actually adding in this deal, it looks even worse.
If you ask me, Google made a mistake.
... Read moreDoesn't that headline state the obvious? Doesn't the entire world know that Linux simply doesn't offer the kind of mass-market appeal Windows and Mac OS X do? I guess not.
According to the company, Wal-Mart has pulled all Linux-equipped computers off its shelves because it "didn't attract as much customer attention as Windows machines."
"This really wasn't what our customers were looking for," said Wal-Mart Stores spokeswoman Melissa O'Brien.
Gee, really? To see if its customers wanted Linux, the company stocked the $199 Green gPC in about 600 stores to see if people really wanted to try out a new, far more advanced, operating system. And although the company won't announce sales figures, it looks like its decision to sell Linux-based machines was doomed from the start--in stores.
Ironically, the gPC has performed much better online and Wal-Mart will continue to sell it on its e-commerce page.
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