According to PC World in Microsoft Launches MSN Research Labs, the software giant is stepping up its efforts against Google and Yahoo. Continue reading »
Jan 272006
Jan 272006
This must be the month for bizarre court decisions. First we had the German judge who shut down that country’s Wikipedia, and now a Nevada judge has declared Google’s practice of caching the content of other sites to be legal and free of copyright infringement. The Electonic Freedom Foundation posted this summary of the ruling: Continue reading »
Jan 262006
Yesterday, Disney announced it’s biggest movie blockbuster: the acquisiton of Pixar, the electronic animation firm responsible for giant hits like Toy Story and Finding Nemo. A nice summary of some of the commentary and background on this deal is posted on the Disney Blog. The acquisition of Pixar is potentially good for both firms. Pixar has been Disney’s partner and, of late, has been more successful than Disney’s own animation effort. Bringing Pixar into Disney both insures against the loss of Pixar to a rival and invigorates the animation environment at Disney. For Pixar staff, beyond the financial benefits for those with shares or options, the move to Disney should open up new creative opportunities in Disney’s larger and more diverse operation.
Jan 252006
Google has a corporate motto, “Do No Evil”, but what exactly does that mean? The last week has produced some interesting insights. The latest is described in Google to censor itself in China – Google is rolling out a Chinese version of its search engine with some results self-censored to remove content objected to by the Chinese government. While many will rail against this move as an anti-freedom move, it’s likely that Google had little choice if it wished to operate in China. To Americans, it IS disturbing that a govenment would try to control information in such a heavy-handed manner, but would they really suggest that it would be in Google’s best interest, or even the best interest of the U.S., to not participate in the Chinese market?
Jan 242006
Major retailers are either closing stores or scaling back openings, according to CNNMoney.com in Why big retailers are shuttering stores. Office Max, for example, plans to close 110 of its 900+ stores. Zales is closing 30 of its high-end Bailey Banks & Biddle jewelry stores. Home Depot hasn’t announced any closing, but says they will focus on growing sales in current locations rather than opening new stores. One of the major reasons for these closings is online sales, according to the article: Continue reading »
Jan 242006
About three million Blackberry owners in the US are still in limbo. As reported in Supreme Court Won’t Hear BlackBerry Case, the battle over Blackberry patents shifts back to a Virginia court. Research in Motion, the developer of the Blackberry, has been unable to reach a settlement with NTP Inc., who apparently owns a patent on technology used in the Blackberry.
Jan 232006
No, we’re not talking about the “white text on a white page” kind of hidden content – that’s more commonly called hidden text, and isn’t a particularly useful strategy these days. We’re talking about finding web content in companies where such material is scarce. Why go on a content hunt? Search engine marketers often repeat the old movie industry saw, “Content is king”. (While in the movie biz distribution is queen, in the world of SEO inbound links are the main pretender to the throne.) Without content, a website is boring and frustrating for its human visitors and is simply not there for search engines.
Jan 202006
A new study shows that visitors form a long-lasting impression of a website within a fraction of a second of their first visit. Continue reading »
Jan 192006
Read human factors guru Don Norman’s latest book, Emotional Design, and it’s evident that Norman and his partner, web usability consultant Jakob Nielsen, must be turning into The Odd Couple.
Jan 192006
A German court has ordered Germany’s Wikipedia, wikipedia.de, shut down, apparently as a result of a privacy lawsuit. German-language notice here: wikipedia.de, and discussion at WebmasterWorld.