Bizzare news!!!

Click the image to read this post

It sounds so funny! According to this post on cNet.com,  Mac maker’s lawyers reportedly called a senior Microsoft executive and demanded the ads be removed. I highly recommend this post!!! If this is true, I feel really sorry for the person who actually decided to make a call to Microsoft

I understand that Microsoft’s value perception had increased since the ‘Laptop Hunters’  campaign (According to a report in AdAge). But I certainly feel that Apple would not commit this kind of blunder.

Apple’s ballastic response to Microsoft’s ‘Price Hunter’ ads

Since few weeks we’ve been witnessing the new face of  war between PC and Mac. Microsoft has been bombarding ‘Mac‘ with the missiles loaded with the dangerous chemical of “Price Value”. Recently Microsoft even stepped up the value attack by introducing a new campaign for its Zune portable media player (More on new Zune campaign).

The onslaught by PC made me feel that, it’s time for Mac to retreat. But, my beloved Apple comes up with an awesome response to the Microsoft’s value attack! It gives me immense pleasure in sharing this short & sweet missle that was recently released by Apple. I believe this action will completely devastate the already low morales in the Microsoft camp!

This is Apple’s first reply after the Micrsoft’s Price Hunter campaign. According to this commercial,there aren’t any PCs with fast processors and big screens that work without viruses, crashes or headaches. I have been using mac since past two years and going by my experience, the claim in the commercial sure does seem very real. Well, it’s just my opinion… I will leave it for you to decide.

Microsoft Thumbtack is here! Google Notebook beware….?

I am an avid Google Notebook user, but Thumbtack looks impressive! (but will still stick to Google Notebook)

download Thumbtack

my first Thumbtack.

Full length TV shows & movies on TV….. a territory more exciting than you ever thought!!!onli

While writing this post (Apple-Netflix Smackdown…)   I realized this is not all… This territory is more exciting than I ever thought! Few months back a new player has announced its entry into the war zone. This player is none other than Amazon!

_

Amazon: on July 17, Amazon announced this morning that it will launch yet another video service, this time offering streaming TV and movie content. The service will be called Amazon Video on Demand and will offer some 40,000 streaming video options for customers to choose from. (more on Amazon VOD)

YouTube: On Nov 9, YouTube  announced an agreement with MGM (an 84 year old film studio) to show full-length television shows and movies. This is great news, especially after a the trouble YouTube has got into in order to find media agreements for premium content. (Viacom ended up suing them). (more on You Tube’s entry)

Hulu: With 8-10 million online visitors, no one can ignore this new bad boy in the War Zone, Hulu is an online video service that has all your favorite TV shows, video clips and movies all in one place.  The best part is that everything is FREE! They even have a HD gallery! Hulu gets videos from over 90 different sources like NBC, MGM, Warner Bros., and Fox to name a few. This includes hundreds prime-time TV shows for viewing at your leisure.

Biggest benefit over competition - Hulu player is based on Adobe’s Flash technology, meaning that it runs on multiple platforms, including Linux and Mac OS X, unlike competing services such as Netflix’s WatchNow, which only runs on Windows.

So another question…. is Netflix gonna be left behind because of this limitation? The Answer is no!

Ever aggressive Netflix: Early this November, Netflix announced recently that it was starting to move its streaming movie service to Microsoft’s Silverlight platform. The good news for Mac users is that, once finished, Netflix’s streaming service will finally be Mac compatible. After starting a “limited test” just a week ago, however, the company has already moved testing to a public beta phase.

This will be total injustice if I miss out to mention about the great old warrior – Blockbuster. After taking a hit from Netflix, Blockbuster’s war against Online and mail DVD giant Netflix continues. Blockbuster introduced a new set top box. The service will supply movies to your TV on demand. And the great news is that it;s free!

Well, there is a small catch, you have to agree to rent 25 movies for $99 and in return will get a brand spanking new set top box which shows movies straight from the Internet in DVD quality instantly. (more on Blockbuster’s free set-top box)

Anyways whatever the catch is… its good to hear from Blockbuster after a long time! I hope we get to hear more frequently.

(my final thoughts)

For consumers: When it comes to entertainment…. its always MORE THE MERRIER!

For companies: Its all about MONEY (online ad $ & subscribers in this case) , honey!

Microsoft to censor (undesired words) on Xbox.

What da ##@#….. %^@@@^%$$$ S**T…. looks like Xbox gamers will not be able to hear any of these s#*t anymore. Because, Microsoft has been granted a patent (filed in 2004) to filter and censor undesired words in real-time. The automatic system would process everything being said and alter the unwanted words so that they are, according to the patent, “either unintelligible or inaudible.”

I’ve marked ‘inaudible’ as the company is opting to either lower the volume below audibility, replacing the word with an acceptable word or phrase, or taking out the word completely.Thats good! because  hearing “bleep” can be annoying if each & every obscene word is “bleeped” I am glad Microsoft understands this. Unlike TV networks (where delayed feeds allows some one to censor or ‘bleep out’ any offensive language), Microsoft’s proposed technology would make everything work in real-time – a practical solution when it comes to the many simultaneous conversations that take place in online multiplayer games.

I will wait to hear from the experts, how the parameters will be set. It will be interesting to learn how Microsoft will censor words that can be very creatively & obscenely used by some members of the community.

Though censoring is good, Microsoft will be on tight rope & maintain  absolute balance between degree of censorship & potential pain for the gamers (company does’nt want to fend off gamers due to over control).

Can mobile marketing get bigger?

Mobile is no more limited to a 3.5 inch touch screen phone with mp3 capabilities & what not. Its no more a mobile phone,but it is a 3.5 inch wizard loaded with unimaginable capabilities. From online streaming of videos to Social networking, from high quality gaming to making presentations you can do it all! Phones are your new navigators, personal assistants, gaming tools! Day is not far when Xbox, PS or Wii may come up with mobile phone loaded with gaming capabilities!

Smartphone unit sales almost tripled from 2004 to 2005, and increased by 50% in the first half of 2006 over 2005 , reports In-Stat. In another research suggests that Smart phones will comprise 9.3 percent of mobile phones sold in 2009! It is the closest way a marketer can get to a consumer. No other medium is as personally engaging. Hurray!!!! again a whole new toy for the marketers to play with.

One area that has caught marketer’s attention is Mobile Search Marketing, though it is still at a very nascent stage, its evolving rapidly as more 3G cellphones erode the market. Industry analysts have forecasted humongous growth in MSM. For 2007, mobile industry-watchers predicts $1.7 billion in revenues & have estimated $11 billion by 2011, making it a promising frontier to look out for!

The search engines are naturally interested in extending their ad platforms to the cell phone. In early September, Google began allowing its Adwords marketers to create mobile ads to run on the networks of cellular carriers in Germany , UK and the United States. Microsoft & Yahoo are also exploring opportunities into this frontier.

Wow! isn’t it too much for a small device called mobile phone. I sometimes wonder how microscopic can we go in pursuit to enhance brand experience & gain consumer’s attention. I am sure, at this point of time earth is the best place to be in.