Monday, September 28, 2009

Amazon general merchandise revenues exceed books, movies and music

Web behemoth now officially a retail giant, with more growth on the way: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/20/business/20amazon.html?emc=eta1

Power use by electronic gadgets comes under scrutiny

Manadatory efficiency rules likely to be considered: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/20/business/energy-environment/20efficiency.html?emc=eta1

Apple-Google rift lifts lid on app approval process

Rivals split legal hairs over Google Voice application: http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/08/21/apple-lifts-the-curtain-on-app-store-approvals/?emc=eta1

Palm turnaround still a work in progress

Company reports loss and declining revenues, though not as bad as anticipated. Palm web OS products, including the Palm Pre, remain the hope: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/18/technology/companies/18device.html?emc=eta1

iPhone app puts medical device industry on alert

New software makes it relatively affordable to use iPhone for text-to-speech communication: http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/09/17/text-to-speech-technology-reaches-an-inflection-point/?emc=eta1

Thursday, September 17, 2009

Accenture dives into mobile learning

International consulting firm had been looking for a good fit for smartphone training. They found it in internal compliance, which is very effective at getting senior-level executives to take what’s pushed to them in a timely manner.

To get started, they suggest:

§ Build a strong business case
§ Keep the learning concise (for the small screen)
§ Be mindful of the types of interactions that work
§ Pilot and troubleshooting early on
§ Start with Blackberry and spread to Windows Mobile and the iPhone
§ Enable bookmarking in modules so learners can stop and go as needed
§ Emphasize downloading so connectivity is never an issue

Read about it at: http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nielsen/training0909/#/32

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Google acquisition upgrades character recognition capabilities

Purchase of ReCaptcha boosts controversial Google Book Search: http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/09/16/google-buys-service-that-uses-humans-to-digitize-books/?emc=eta1

High-definition audio offered by France Télécom

Mobile broadband's quality signal touted as the wave of the future: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/17/technology/17voicehd.html?emc=eta1

Uncle Sam adopts cloud computing, offers apps

GSA hoping to leverage the efficiencies of online software and reduced licensing fees: http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/09/15/now-even-the-government-has-an-app-store/?emc=eta1

Facebook initiates Twitter-like interactivity

Company spins new features as "common Internet mechanism": http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/14/technology/internet/14facebook.html?emc=eta1

Motorola's smartphone caters to social networks

Cliq vaults company into smartphone fray with niche features: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/11/technology/companies/11moto.html?emc=eta1

Apple cuts deal for on demand music with RealNetworks

RealNetworks' Rhapsody offers 8 million tunes on iPhones and iPod Touches for a monthly fee: http://license.icopyright.net/user/viewFreeUse.act?fuid=NDg0MTQ1MA==

Palm targets younger set

Pixi promises speedy web browsing on a slim touchscreen/keyboard combo: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/09/technology/companies/09palm.html?_r=1&emc=eta1

Thursday, September 3, 2009

Nokia's netbooks arrive, along with new phones

The cellphone leader announced the details of their newest line and a pair of phones designed for social networking and location services: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/03/technology/03nokia.html?emc=eta1

iPhones tax AT&T network capacity

AT&T is getting flack from customers who complain of dropped calls, slow load times, and delayed messages due to iPhone data crunch: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/03/technology/companies/03att.html?_r=1&emc=eta1