February 18, 2005
10:32 am | 0 recommendations | 4 comments
It seems I may have spoken too soon earlier this week. It seems Qwest is looking to swoop in and claim MCI for its own. While MCI shareholders may see Verizon as the more suitable buyer, it would probably be in the consumer's best interest for Qwest to win out.
Such a merger would keep all the players in the telecommunications competition more balanced. And we like consumers having choices. But, all of this I stated before. What needs to be reiterated is that competition breeds innovation. Innovation brings industry-wide change. One need only look at the cell phone market with camera phones, instant-messaging, and now video streaming, to see that. I don't know about you, but I'm rooting for Qwest.
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February 16, 2005
10:36 am | 0 recommendations | 1 comment
Jennifer's comments below on Circuit City's CEO W. Allan McCollough are quite timely. Circuit city announced today they are closing 19 of their superstores.
Will it be enough to lessen their financial woes? Or is it the first nail in the coffin? I remember what happened to Nobody Beats the Wiz here in New York several years ago. There was wave after wave of store closings. And then there were none. Perhaps McCollough should contemplate a merger with another retailer struggling against the Best Buy behemoth.
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February 14, 2005
12:37 pm | 0 recommendations | 3 comments
So, Verizon is buying MCI. And this is just weeks after SBC Communications decided to buy AT&T. And many people are feeling the affect of Cingular (a joint venture of SBC Communications and BellSouth Corporation) buying AT&T Wireless.
Now, I personally benefited from Cingular's expansion; my cell phone has better reception and more features. And I'll probably benefit from Verizon buying MCI, some improvement in my home phone or my DSL. But, they are going to let 7,000 workers go. Other such telecommunication buyouts resulted in similar layoffs. (This isn't industry specific; David Lidsky commented on this aspect of the Procter & Gamble/Gillette merger.)
Whenever there are mergers or buyouts of such size the looming threat of "Omni Corp." comes to mind. It has become an urban legend of sorts, the great fear of libertarians everywhere. What will happen when there are only three large companies providing a service? Then two, or one? Yes, there are anti-monopoly laws, and it will probably never get that far. But, it is still viable to worry what the playing field will look like under three companies, though. Corporate collusion, whether direct or indirect through a stagnating market, gives me pause. How fair and even will it be for consumers?
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February 11, 2005
10:42 am | 0 recommendations | 2 comments
Yesterday, Pixar reported better earnings than what was expected. It is no surprise with the success of Finding Nemo and The Incredibles. What is a surprise is that Pixar is willing to wait for Disney to choose a new CEO before deciding to resume distribution with them.
After their upcoming Cars, Pixar's contract with Disney will be over. And Steve Jobs has already said that they will not cooperate with Disney in the creation of sequels to Finding Nemo and Monsters Inc. Yet, they are being accommodating by patiently waiting for a new Disney CEO? Does Pixar really need to wait for the gargantuan sales of The Incredibles DVD to prove their worth?
The Pixar Animation Studio needs to take their destiny into their own hands and announce new distribution partners. Most of the business community are frustrated with Disney and Michael Eisner. Now is not the time for silent condemnation. I look forward to a future where Pixar gets their due from the public, rather than Disney taking the credit, for their masterpieces.
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February 9, 2005
10:38 am | 0 recommendations | Be the first to comment
Yesterday, Intel announced it has produced a batch of their new processor featuring two processor cores on a single chip. This Pentium Extreme Edition will support four "threads" using Intel's Hyper-Threading. The chip is still not 64-bit, like AMD's Athlon 64 processor, nor were the Pentium processor's speeds mentioned. Who would need such extra processing power? Why Graphic artists and Gamers, of course. It is expected to be released some time during the second quarter.
In similar news, the trio of Sony, Toshiba and IBM released more details on their jointly-developed super chip the "Cell." The processor will feature 8 processor cores all on a single chip. This stamp-sized wonder will run at 4.6 Ghz. The only known application is the upcoming PlayStation 3. The trio of corporations continues to preach that the Cell will find its way into many other consumer products, like DVRs and cell phones, and even supercomputers.
Once again we see gaming as the driving force behind technological advancement. This has been the case for much of what has become standard in todays computers. The sound card was needed by game developers to provide a more immersive experience, and it came. The CD-ROM may have been an also ran, if it wasn't for the success of Myst. And would graphic cards be as ubiquitious as they are without Quake?
Luckily, it seems, that the latest round of advancements may move beyond the gaming arena. With any luck in the next few years we shall see a long line of products that make use of these processors for things beyond killing your buddies over the internet.
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February 7, 2005
11:53 am | 0 recommendations | 3 comments
The First crew of the starship Enterprise shall fly no more. Paramount has announced they are canceling the most recent iteration of the Star Trek franchise and will not bring the show back for a fifth season. This version featured a prototype Enterprise on a mission 100 years before Capt. Kirk and the original crew.
This development has cast further doubt on the future of an already floundering franchise. The last Star Trekfilm, 2002's Nemesis, fared poorly at the Box Office and has only moderate sales on DVD. In 2003, video game maker Activision, which made a five-year licensing deal to publish games featuring the science fiction franchise, sued Paramount's parent company Viacom for letting the property diminish into mediocrity. They claimed, "Activision cannot successfully develop and sell Star Trek video games without the product exploitation and support promised by Viacom."
Fans, who were of a mixed opinion on the prequel Star Trek: Enterprise, have considered the franchise as being at its lowest point. Paramount Network Television President David Stapf has said, "We all look forward to a new chapter of this enduring franchise in the future." Yet, it will be several years before a new television program and possibly longer for a new film.
This all leads me to question if it is proper for a company to sustain a long-running property, even if it is suffering creatively. The fans should be angry if a company has let a beloved franchise, whether it is television or film or other media, dwindle to nothing. The status quo should be defied during challenging times. Executives need to put fresh minds on any such brand and revitalize it for future products.
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February 4, 2005
12:15 pm | 0 recommendations | 1 comment
Sony announced yesterday that their new PlayStation Portable would launch March 24 at a retail price of $249. To offset the high price point, it will ship with a 32MB memory stick, headphones, AC adaptor and other accessories. The first million units will also include the film Spiderman 2. The film will be on Universal Media Disc, the proprietary format of the PSP. That's a lot of goodies. Or is it?
Sony's rival in the handheld gaming market is Nintendo, with its Nintendo DS (Dual Screen). The DS has sold about 1.5 million units since its debut in November. It has two screens, touch-screen capability, a built-in microphone and backwards compatibility -- which means it can play older as well as newer games. It also features games that provide new kinds of experiences. And at $149 it costs much less than the PSP.
Sony, at $249, has a product that is little more than a PDA that plays games. It seems Sony did not care to reinvent the wheel, and instead is letting it spin in place. Not even Spiderman 2 can sweeten that pot.
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February 1, 2005
11:08 am | 0 recommendations | Be the first to comment
With A&E buying the rights to HBO's critical hit The Sopranos, a new record has been set for a network buying rerun rights. At $2.5 million per episode, some may call it a steal. This could have a domino effect, not unlike the salary booms of professional athletes. While that may be fine for critical or popular darlings, what about less successful shows with several seasons under their belt? Or Reality TV? Could The Ashlee Simpson Show sell for millions per episode?
The other troubling detail about this deal is the fact that A&E might run 'clean' versions of the show for a 'broader basic-cable audience.' While creator David Chase has not remarked on this possibility, one cannot help but consider this as another case of creative vision being dwarfed by dollar signs. Enjoy the Bada Bing strip club while you can.
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