Author Archive | Ed Oswald

Swoopo Seems Safe From Legal Action in EU

Posted by Ed Oswald on October 17, 2008 at 8:39 pm

When we began researching more into Swoopo following our initial post on the unusual auction site, we also looked into whether the business model could possibly be challenged under EU laws, where the company has its primary base of operations.

Technologizer got in contact with the European Commission, the regulatory body of the EU. The EC then took a closer look at Swoopo apparently, and has gotten back to us saying the site appears to be following all laws.

Even though complains in Europe have already appeared online, the EC itself has as of yet not received any complaints from residents. Moreover, the site appears to be following the rules governing online auctions. Spokesperson Carol Franklin had this to say:

“The Unfair Commercial Practices Directive (2005/29/EC) applies to commercial practices of this kind. Under this Directive, the consumer must receive the material information he needs in order to decide whether to purchase an item or place a bid on an auction site. Complete information about the price and the costs involved must be provided. In the case of auction sites, consumers must therefore be clearly informed whether they will be charged for bids that will not lead to an eventual purchase. Omitting to provide such information would constitute a misleading practice which is banned under the Directive.”

Franklin added that if users did indeed have a problem with Swoopo, they would need to contact their local consumer authority who would then decide if the site is acting against the directive, which is incorporated into local law.

So all that grumbling out there seems to be a whole lotta nothing, or at least nobody’s gotten upset enough over losing an auction to get the authorities involved just yet.

4 comments

Apple US Market Share Passes 9%

Posted by Ed Oswald on October 16, 2008 at 10:23 am

The folks in Cupertino must be doing a happy dance today. Data from both IDC and Gartner indicate that the company is making significant inroads in the US market, an indication that its agressive marketing campaign and goodwill among consumers is doing it a heckuva lot of good.

In the IDC survey, Apple’s share increased 32 percent year over year in the third quarter. It’s share stood at 9.1 percent, up from 7.3 percent in 2007. It still remained in third place in US shipments, and is still so far unable to crack into the top five manufacturers worldwide.

Gartner measured Apple’s US share at a slightly higher 9.5 percent, up 29.4 percent from the previous year. There too, Apple’s gains were not enough to break into the top five worldwide. Both firms said the Cupertino company was building its share on top of continued strength in notebooks.

I did get a bit of flak from readers about my comment in the Macbook post regarding how I thought it was unfortunate that Apple did not provide a budget notebook during its Tuesday presentation.

I’m sticking to that comment, and this quarter is going to show it. As consumers pocketbooks continue to thin, people will become more budget-minded. All the consumer goodwill in the world will do nothing if they can’t afford it.

Here’s hoping that Apple sees this coming, and takes a hit on its margins to keep its sales afloat. Selling at less of a profit is much better than not selling it at all, don’t you think?

No comments

FCC Chair Backs White Space Usage Plans

Posted by Ed Oswald on October 16, 2008 at 9:55 am

Those who have been looking to use so-called “white space” for national broadband wireless Internet got a huge boost Wednesday. FCC Chairman Kevin Martin has thrown his support behind those plans in a report issued by the commission. Better yet, he plans to bring the issue up for vote at the next meeting on November 4.

For those who need a quick primer on what white space is, here goes. The term refers to unused portions of spectrum between assigned blocks, in this case referring to the frequencies between television channels. A group calling itself the White Spaces Coalition — made up of companies including Microsoft, Google and others — has been lobbying the FCC to open it up for use for a high speed wireless Internet network.

These frequencies would be open to anyone, thus allowing companies to freely develop products to send data over long distances: the companies say these frequencies are perfect for that.

Naturally, the telecom industry says this is a threat. Lobbyists there argue that the technology would cause TV interference. It seems as if the FCC disagrees. While its tests did seem to indicate there would be some interference issues, apparently it was not enough to cause it to block the White Space Coalition’s efforts.

Further tests are apparently underway to ensure interference is minimized.

No comments

Adobe Releases Flash Player 10

Posted by Ed Oswald on October 14, 2008 at 11:31 pm

Adobe on Wednesday shipped its latest update to what has now become nearly the de-facto standard for multimedia on the web, Flash Player 10. One of the most noticeable enhancements here would be 3D support, which would add a whole new layer of interactivity to Flash-enabled applications.

Using 3D would be easy, Adobe says — it would allow for easy manipulation of 2D images within a 3D space. Another enhancement is custom filters and effects, which would bring in transitions and the like into flash animations.

Enhancements to text layout would give designers more freedom and control over how fonts are displayed. Designers would also have more control over sound generation and drawing of objects through more complex APIs.

In a hat tip to the dramatic uptick in use of Flash to stream multimedia, Adobe has included with Flash 10 a system where the stream will automatically adapt to bandwidth conditions. This would allow for smoother video and audio playback.

Adobe has included some demonstrations of the new features on its website, which you can check out by clicking here.

We should see these features in use fairly quickly. As Adobe’s John Dowdell notes, Flash Player 9 saw 80 percent adoption within a single year. With the leap forward the company has taken with Flash 10, and the public’s willingness to upgrade their players, it shouldn’t be long before we see these new features in use.

You can download the new player on Adobe’s website.

One problem so far: WordPress’ flash-based file uploader seems to be incompatible with Flash 10. One good thing: I was getting a lot of choppy video playback in Flash on my MacBook Pro, that seems to be doing better with this version, although its not completely gone.

Are you experiencing any hiccups? Let us know.

One comment

First Take: MacBook

Posted by Ed Oswald on October 14, 2008 at 1:40 pm

Let me let you down softly before we even start: no, there is no $899 MacBook. A shame, because I think this is what Apple needs in order to really start chipping marketshare away from Microsoft. The biggest change here is the new manufacturing process.

There are some other noteable changes however. Apple has stepped up its game and made its entry-level notebook more attractive. Gone is the plastic enclosure – it now shares the same design as the MacBook Pro. It will also get a graphical boost with the NVidia GeForce 9400M, and LED-backlit display.

The glass trackpad from the MBP is also making it to the MacBook line, which is another nice touch.

I think this is super smart. The previous MacBooks when compared side by side with the Pro line looked (for lack of a better word) cheap. The new model is much more classier looking, and includes a better feature set than its predecessor.

Again, a Mini DisplayPort and larger hard drive capacity also round out the feature set here. Altogether a nice system for the price.

Oh, by the way, the old style MacBook would still be available as an entry-level model, and that would retail for $999, that would include a 2.1GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 1GB RAM, 120GB HDD and 8x SuperDrive

Feature set and price listing below the fold.

Continue Reading →

4 comments

First Take: MacBook Air

Posted by Ed Oswald on October 14, 2008 at 10:43 am

Those wanting something shiny and new as far as the MacBook Air goes will be somewhat disappointed. Not too much changed with Apple’s thinnest notebook, but the enhancements should please those who may have been waiting on the sidelines.

Like the MacBook Pro, the updated Air gets the NVidia treatment, although it would only include the 9400M integrated graphics chip. A hard drive that is twice the size of the previous model (120GB) is included, and users would be able to now ask for an 128GB SSD drive.

Mini DisplayPort capability is also now included.

The design of the Air would not change either, keeping the same construction. I’m not sure why the new Air is not using the new manufacturing process: Apple to my knowledge did not explain why — maybe Harry may have found out more, or could give some more details.

I think the biggest thing here is the 128GB SSD. This finally makes the HDD-less version useful, and by keeping it at the same price as the 64GB option, it has become that much of a better deal.

Specs below the fold that we haven’t already discussed.

Continue Reading →

2 comments

First Take: MacBook Pro

Posted by Ed Oswald on October 14, 2008 at 10:39 am

Those spy shots we’ve been seeing were real — as promised the new MacBook Pro came with a new unibody aluminum enclosure, switching out the old silver buttoned keyboard for one closer to that of the current MacBooks. Gone is the trackpad button as well, meaning Apple is ready to bring the finger gestures that has become part of iPhone navigation to the world of Apple notebooks.

Yes, the rumors of Apple creating these machines out of a single block of aluminum are true too, by the way. The trackpad is made of glass, which Apple says will allow users to employ 40 percent more tracking area, and virtual buttons can be used in order to use right clicking from the mouse pad (Yaay! no more control-click!).

The new MBP will swap out the Intel integrated chip for NVidia’s chips, including BOTH the GeForce 9400M and 9600 GT, allowing for better graphics capability when the user needs it. They can be switched on the fly, which is pretty cool if you ask me.

Apple has also opted to use the Mini Display Port, which is best explained by AppleInsider:

“DisplayPort is a new license-free, royalty-free, digital audio/video interconnect, intended to be used primarily between a computer and its display monitor, or a computer and a home-theater system.”

That would allow the MBP to connect to the new Apple Display, also introduced today for $899.

What the enthusiast sites apparently missed in their guesses was the SSD option, which brings one of the Air’s signature features to the MBP line. This along with the new manufacturing process would also allow Apple to shrink its laptops even further — the new model measures in at .95″ thick.

Continue Reading →

One comment

Is the YouTube-CBS Deal a Sign of Reconciliation?

Posted by Ed Oswald on October 10, 2008 at 2:38 pm

YouTube said late Friday that it would begin to offer full-length television shows through the site, initially partnering with CBS. Among the shows now available are select episodes of Star Trek, The Young & The Restless, Beverly Hills 90210, and Californication, among others.

The TV shows would be provided at no charge and would include advertisements that would play before, during, and after the videos. CBS will sell the advertising for the show, and YouTube would get a cut of the revenues.

Here’s hoping that this deal is a sign of improving relations between the video site and the entertainment industry. As you may remember, CBS was formerly a part of Viacom, the company who sued YouTube for $1 billion in March of last year.

While Viacom no longer has anything to do with the production arm of CBS any longer (it only retains rights to MTV Networks, BET Networks, Paramount, and Paramount Pictures’ home entertainment operations), the ties are still there. This move could wrm Viacom’s heart ever so slightly, and may give YouTube a slight edge in any negotiations.

It also seems to be a bit of a concession on the part of the entertainment industry that it needs the leading online video site. While industry-backed sites like Hulu are doing okay, they aren’t even close to touching YouTube.

Maybe its time for the two sides to bury the hatchet, as it would be financially beneficial for all. As the old adage goes, “if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em.”

One comment

Microsoft’s Next Acquisition Target May Be RIM

Posted by Ed Oswald on October 10, 2008 at 11:50 am

Research In Motion’s stock price has taken a nosedive in recent weeks. While some of it has to do with the overall market meltdown that is occuring on Wall Street, it is also experiencing pressure related to the costs of launching new devices such as the BlackBerry Storm and Bold, which Harry just spoke of.

The stock is now down to about $53, a stunning 65 percent fall from its June high of $148. It’s precipitous drop has stirred talk on the Street of a possible buyout, with one analyst saying Microsoft could be that company.

“RIM is a massive strategic fit” for Microsoft, Canaccord Adams analyst Peter Misek told Reuters. “I’m fairly certain they have a standing offer to buy them at $50 (a share).”

If Microsoft were able to make this happen, it would be a huge win for them. Windows Mobile (while doing okay) really hasn’t made much of a real dent in the smart phone market. By snagging RIM, Redmond would gain a good deal of footing against Apple and Symbian, as well as new entrant Google.

There is some thing that still need to happen, namely at least another $10 or so drop in RIM’s stock price if this were to happen. RIM right now has a value of about $31 billion or so, a little to much for Microsoft to handle without tapping the credit markets.

With credit all but frozen right now, that’s not going to happen. However, if it is able to make a $50 per share offer, the value of the company would be placed at about $28 billion, much more affordable.

Reuters estimates that Microsoft has about $24 billion or so in cash and short-term investments that could be used to finance most of the deal. I guess the question then becomes, is it worth it depleting your cash reserves in an economic climate such as this?

I’d think you’d be able to find a lot of analysts who would argue that wouldn’t be such a smart idea.

One comment

Swoopo Looks to Set the Record Straight

Posted by Ed Oswald on October 9, 2008 at 2:56 pm

Our original post on Swoopo generated a lot of interest, and a good deal of it was negative. In the interest of fairness, we invited Swoopo to give its side of the story on our pages, as well as explain parts of its business that may have caused some initial criticism.

Chris Bauman is the company’s business development manager here in the US, whose job seems now to include educating the public on the company’s auction practices. He argues that our view of online auctions has been shaped by the rise of eBay.

“It’s the biggest problem we have found,” he told Technologizer. “In a real auction, the auctioneer calls out the price, not the bidder automatically bidding the maximum amount he or she wants to pay.”

Continue Reading →

146 comments