Interesting article in Fortune discussing how Apple decision to allow users to run Windows operating system will change the PC industry going forward. I can't agree more with this. I've always been a Windows-based PC user but couple of months ago, I decided to buy an Imac for my home. Only reason that I bought an iMac was becaue I had the comfort of knowing that I could run Windows on my new iMac using Parallels. Parallels allows an seamless switching between Windows OS and Mac OS. This software is so simple to use.
I definitely see more people in Korea now using Apple computers. I believe its a combinations of afforadable pricing and the ability to simultaneously run both OSs. With Apple continuing to expand its ecoystem of hardware and software that work so well together, PC industry will definitely be an interesting space to watch in 2007.
Great article in Wired today about how Yahoo had a chance to acquire Google in 2002 and become the undoubted leader in the Internet industry but blew its chances.
[quote]
Terry Semel was pissed. The Yahoo CEO had offered to buy Google for roughly $3 billion, but the young Internet search firm wasn't interested. Once upon a time, Google's founders had come to Yahoo for an infusion of cash; now they were turning up their noses at what Semel believed was a perfectly reasonable offer. Worse, Semel's lieutenants were telling him that, in fact, Google was probably worth at least $5 billion.
This was way back in the summer of 2002, two years before Google went public. An age before Google's stock soared above $500 a share, giving the company a market value of $147 billion -- right behind Chevron and just ahead of Intel.
As Semel and his top staff sat around the table in a corporate conference room named after a Ben & Jerry's ice cream flavor (Phish Food), $5 billion sounded unacceptably high. Google's revenue stood at a measly $240 million a year. Yahoo's was about $837 million. And yet, with Yahoo's stock price still hovering at a bubble-busted $7 a share, a $5 billion purchase price would essentially mean that Yahoo would have to spend its entire market value to swing the deal. It would be a merger of equals, not a purchase.
Terry Semel -- a legendary Hollywood dealmaker, a guy who didn't even use email -- had not come to Silicon Valley to meekly merge with the geeky boys of Google. He had come to turn Yahoo into the next great media giant. Which might explain why the face of the famously serene CEO was slowly turning the color of Yahoo's purple logo, exclamation point included. "Five billion dollars, 7 billion, 10 billion. I don't know what they're really worth -- and you don't either," he told his staff. "There's no fucking way we're going to do this!"
[unquote]
LA Times has an interesting interview with David Eun, who is the vice president of content partnerships at Google. He talks about how he feels that media companies should not view Google as their enemy.
[quote]
Q: One of your jobs is to be the guy who says, "We're not the enemy" to media companies. What do you think when you hear people like Martin Sorrell call you a "frenemy"?
A: At the end of the day, I just point to actual data. [In the third quarter], we paid $780 million out to partners in our AdSense program. Clearly, we do best when our partners do well. Our whole business model is structured around partnering. As we think about our mission of connecting users with information — beyond Web pages, into what's printed on newspapers, magazines or a book, or what's on video — we think about it in a partner-centric way.
When people say we're to be feared, I never quite know what to make of that. You can always opt out: We never force you to work with us. We typically don't do exclusive deals, so you're never stuck working with us. And it's public that in most cases we still give the majority of every dollar we create from a partnership to the partners, so you still get the lion's share of the money. What about that sounds so unfriendly?
You have a company that's 8 years old, that's growing very quickly, that's created a new business approach. And meanwhile, you know, there are challenges to your current business. So there's a lot of questions, sometimes a lot of anxiety. Sometimes I think that it's displaced on us.
We represent the new way of doing things — the unknown. A lot of that is placed on us. We must have an agenda, we must be aspiring to be a media company, when in fact we have no such aspirations. We kind of like the way our business runs as it is. If anything, we have an incentive to make sure our media companies are as successful as possible so they continue to make great content because we don't do that, we don't know how to do it.
[unquote]
Another important fact from Steve Jobs' keynote today which may get overlooked. iTunes has sold more than 2 billion songs since its inception. There were some discussion recently about how the sales of music on iTunes was slowing down. This doesn't seem to be the case according to Steve Jobs:
[quote]
"There was an article recently stating that iTunes sales have slowed dramatically; I don't know what data they're looking at..." "We are selling over 5 million songs a day now. That's 58 songs every second... the last time we talked we were the fifth largest music retailer in the US. We have now passed Amazon; we sell more music than Amazon and we are now #4."
[unquote]
As you all have heard already, Steve Jobs made some key announcements today. I'm not going to say anything about iPhone yet since it will be a while before we get a chance to use it here in Korea. I'm more excited about Apple TV as this piece of hardware will enable me to make better use of my PDP at home. It's going to be great being able to take all my content - movies, phots, music - from my iMac and enjoy them on my PDP. I'll be purchasing this as soon as it comes out next month.
Samsung and Google has partnered to offer an integrated moile experience. Samsung will embed number of key Google mobile services such as Search, Gmail and Maps on its mobile phones. This is a great partnership for both companies and great news for mobile users.
[quote]
Samsung mobile phones equipped with GoogleTM applications will enable consumers to search information, find locations, and manage their email on the move. Samsung's mobile phones offer today's latest technologies with unique applications and mobile designs. Now, the combination of GoogleTM applications and Samsung's advanced mobile devices represents two companies' dedication to offering a hassle-free mobile Internet experience for consumers world-wide.
Beginning in early 2007, selected Samsung phones will be provided with a range of GoogleTM products and services aimed to create a more dynamic user experience, including:
* GoogleTM search: Samsung handsets will include a GoogleTM icon in the application menu, providing users with one-click access to GoogleTM search
* Google MapsTM for mobile: Also featured on Samsung handsets will be Google MapsTM for mobile, an application that enables users to view maps and satellite imagery, find local businesses, and get driving directions when they're on the go
* GmailTM: GmailTM for mobile devices, a new application that brings more speed, convenience, and functionality to the mobile GmailTM experience, will also be available on Samsung handsets
[unquote]
The competition between Google and Yahoo is heating up in the mobile space. Yahoo also announced that it will be extending its partnership with Nokia to offer Yahoo's mobile services on Nokia's mobile phones.
[quote]
Nokia (NYSE:NOK) and Yahoo! (Nasdaq:YHOO) today expanded their relationship to make Yahoo! Go for Mobile 2.0 available on Nokia's wide range of mobile phones operating on the Series 40 platform, the software user interface that powers Nokia's broadest range of mobile devices. Beginning today consumers worldwide can download and enjoy Yahoo! Go 2.0 on select Nokia devices including the Nokia 6103, Nokia 6131 and Nokia 5300 Xpress Music phones. In the first half of 2007, the companies will also make Yahoo! Go 2.0 available for a wider range of devices and pre-load it onto millions of new Series 40 devices.
Key features of Yahoo! Go 2.0 include:
-- Search reinvented for mobile consumers -- oneSearch recognizes the intent of a search term and presents relevant content -- not just a list of web links to PC sites -- on the results page. Results are grouped by subject making it easy to read through and drill down to get more details.
-- Be local, no matter where you are -- The Local & Maps widget gives consumers quick access to comprehensive local directory information for businesses across the US, enhanced with ratings and reviews from the millions-strong Yahoo! community. Interactive maps, driving directions and real time traffic updates help consumers find their way.
-- Rich, highly personalizable content from millions of sources to keep consumers connected -- Current headlines and a breaking news ticker in the News, Sports, Entertainment, Weather and Finance widgets keep consumers connected to the information that matters to them. Each widget also includes a "command center" where consumers can access more articles, use watchlists to track topics of interest -- from sports teams to stocks to celebrities -- or add new content from the millions of sources on the Web that publish in RSS.
-- Photo sharing keeps consumers connected to their community -- The Flickr widget integrates one of the Web's most innovative and prolific photo-sharing communities, making it easy for consumers to upload* and manage images from their camera phone. Consumers can also easily share photos, view their friends' pictures and browse or search the millions of images posted by the Flickr community.
-- Streamlined e-mail keeps consumers in sync -- The E-mail widget allows consumers to quickly respond to, delete or compose new messages or view attachments with a single click. Advanced search capabilities allow consumers to locate important e-mail easily by searching in the subject line, the message body or an attachment. Automatic synchronization allows consumers to access messages and contacts in their Yahoo! Mail account in real time.
[unquote]
Great post from Michael Gartenberg:
[quote]
There's a lot of action going on at CES and to sum up the big theme, it's not about convergence but rather integration. A few years ago, it was all about convergence, the merging of all functionality into a single device. This year, it's all about how to integrate the diversity of devices that consumers are using into a whole that allows for the information and content they want to flow seamlessly from device to device. Whether it's your iPod in your car, your Mac Mini to your TV or your PC to your TV.
This is the emergence of what we have called in the past contextual flow as we define it
Contextual flow is marked by the seamless transition from one digital context to another, regardless of location or type of device used or the nature of the content or information being accessed.
Which is not to say there aren't a few hurdles here. DRM restricts the flow of content seamlessly. Likewise, home networks are still a huge issue (but lots of stuff being shown at CES that can help potentially overcome some of this stuff). Good news is consumers is that even thought true integration isn't really here yet and won't likely be here in 2007, the devices are most certainly moving closer to each other and there's some real functionality that can be gained by mere mortals.
[unquote]
There is a very interesting article from Wired which talks about the various factors that nmight lead to non-DRMed digital music in the future. This would be great.
[quote]
1. The labels don't have a choice
When CD sales finally tank completely, record labels will be faced with a tough decision: distributing music nearly exclusively through Apple's iTunes store or rethinking their approach to digital-rights management, or DRM, from the ground up.
Already feeling hamstrung by Apple, there's no way they're going to let Steve Jobs completely monopolize the distribution of their music. Labels that survive the CD-sales nosedive to come could decide it's time to treat music fans like paying customers, rather than like high-level pirates. Instead of launching another PressPlay or MusicNet, partnering with multiple MP3 stores would make more sense.
EMusic is the number two digital music retailer behind Apple -- even without access to the massive and popular major label catalogs -- because it sells digital music rather than digital rights. The labels want Apple's dominance to end, and MP3 looks like the only way to make that happen.
[unquote]
