As a follow on from my previous post about search engines, InternetWorld365 has a story today that Jupiter Research has reported that search engine marketing (SEM) agencies now direct the majority of SEM spending in the United States. Just a few years ago, most SEM spending went directly to the search engines. InternetWorld365’s report says […]
Category: Web/Tech
iPod your Saab
Engadget: Word is out that Saab is going to be the next automaker to offer a factory-installed iPod adapter as an option on some of its models, including the 9-3 saloon. Engadget quotes a Mac Network News report that the setup will allow drivers to control their music using steering-wheel-mounted controls, similar to the system […]
Technorati: Over 5 million blogs
As I write this at a quarter to seven on Saturday evening, I see that Technorati is now tracking over 5 million blogs: Two months ago, that figure was 4.1 million, a 10 percent increase on the previous month. Things continue to move forward very fast indeed. Quite a milestone. Related NevOn post: Technorati: Blogosphere […]
Communication challenges for Oracle and PeopleSoft after acquisition
CNET News: PeopleSoft’s board of directors has approved a takeover deal with Oracle worth around $10.3 billion, ending a long-running and bitter battle and creating a major software maker. CNET News | Oracle buys PeopleSoft for $10 billion So while the acquisition endgame is in sight for investors and shareholders, a great deal of work […]
IBM enters the fray as Microsoft launches new search tools
CNET News: IBM is building software it hopes will make it the Google of corporate-search technology. Big Blue has been quietly working on data storage software designed to greatly improve the ability of companies to find business documents scattered across their networks, Janet Perna, the general manager of IBM’s information management group, told CNET News.com. […]
The FUD begins in Oracle and PeopleSoft deal
Creating fear, uncertainty and doubt (FUD) about your competitors in the minds of their customers is a tactic common in the enterprise software industry, especially when you see a significant event like an acquisition that will upset the fine balance of players in a mature and consolidating market. It’s all part of the friendly business […]
Search libraries with Google
The libraries of five of the world’s most important academic institutions are to be digitised by Google, BBC News reports. Scanned pages from books in the public domain will then be made available for search and reading online. The full libraries of Michigan and Stanford universities as well smaller collections at Harvard, Oxford and the […]
In-flight Wi-Fi really arrives and mobile phones look probable
InternetWeek reports that SAS Scandinavian Airlines on Tuesday introduced Boeing’s Connexion high-speed wireless access on selected flights out of Copenhagen, with plans to equip its entire long-haul fleet by February. Also on Tuesday, Deutsche Lufthansa AG – one of the most aggressive early adopters of in-flight connectivity – added Connexion to its Munich-Miami and Munich-San […]
Microsoft ramps up the FUD
Following the announcement of Oracle’s acquisition of PeopleSoft on 13 December, I wrote about the outbreak of fear, uncertainty and doubt (FUD) that began with comments by an SAP executive. Now comes news about moves by Microsoft seeking to lure PeopleSoft customers away. Microsoft-Watch reports that Microsoft didn’t waste any time in trying to win […]
Firefox is to Internet Explorer as IE was to Netscape
Following Thursday’s Firefox ad in the New York Times, the paper has a great news article today (dated tomorrow) on why Firefox has been so successful so far: In late 1995, at a time when Netscape Navigator was synonymous with the Web and Internet Explorer had yet to attract many adopters, Microsoft made a risky […]
Understanding RSS from the non-tech view
A friend in the UK asked me for some thoughts and info about RSS and how she could create and syndicate her company’s own RSS feeds for things like press releases and product information. She wanted a non-technical view, something she could easily understand herself so that she’d be able to have a sensible discussion […]
Google Print for searching and buying books
One thing you can say about Google is that they just keep on coming with new ideas and innovation. Earlier this week, there was news about Google’s plans to digitize the libraries of five of the world’s most important academic institutions. Now there’s Google Print: To use Google Print, just do an ordinary Google search. […]
Video search from Yahoo
PC World: Yahoo is pushing one of the frontiers for search engines, with its new test site for searching video content on the Web. The site, at video.search.yahoo.com, went up last Wednesday, and pits Yahoo against competitors such as Singingfish, which is owned by America Online. The Yahoo video search service lets users narrow their […]
No real alternatives to Microsoft Office
Reuters: Office, Microsoft Corp.’s collection of programs for business documents and tasks, is fast becoming a software platform unto itself. A growing number of software developers are creating programs that run on top of Office, in the same way that Office and thousands of other applications run on Microsoft Windows. […] It was the vast […]
Website usability lessons still to learn
Via Boing Boing, I came across an interesting report on how people react to advertising when visiting websites. No prizes for guessing the most hated advertising technique – pop-up ads. The report by Jakob Neilsen shows the 11 most hated advertising techniques. My current ‘favourite’ is in there – sites that automatically start playing voice […]
The final frontier of cellphone-free travel
Last week’s news that in-flight wi-fi is here and plans are in hand to let you make mobile phone calls while flying seems to have displeased lots of people in the US. Engadget reports that less than a week after word surfaced that the US Federal Communications Commision is considering dropping its ban on inflight […]
Interesting developments with Skype
I’m a big fan of the Skype internet phone service, as I’ve written about many times previously (here and here, for instance). I use it a great deal, both for business and personal use. The free service is obviously good from a cost point of view. But it’s the paid service (SkypeOut) that is most […]
Listen to your search results
BBC News: A Scottish firm is looking to attract web surfers with a search engine that reads out results. Called Speegle, it has the look and feel of a normal search engine, with the added feature of being able to read out the results. Scottish speech technology firm CEC Systems launched the site in November. […]
WebProNews re-publishes NevOn content
Through an informal agreement, tech news portal WebProNews has started re-publishing some of my posts on their news site. Here’s the first re-published post. I was more than pleased to make this agreement when WebProNews asked if they could re-publish some of my content. It is an informal arrangement – I am not receiving any […]
Podcasts for communicators to launch in January
Cross-posted from For Immediate Release, the new podcast weblog by Shel Holtz and I: Starting in January, Neville Hobson and Shel Holtz – two communicators who think they have something to say that you might find worth listening to – start their weekly podcasts. Shel’s in Concord, California, and Neville’s in Amsterdam in The Netherlands. […]