Microsoft and Yahoo Finally Strike Up A Search Deal

All the details have not been released but Microsoft’s on again off again love affair with Yahoo is now on again, but this time it looks for real.  A big stock swap does not appear to be in the works, it seems that the deal mostly involves sharing technology and profits from the search business.  Microsoft will provide the search engine for both Yahoo and their upstart search site Bing, and Yahoo will provide their ad driving system, and ad sales force for both the sites.  They hope to reduce overall costs by sharing their technology, and be able to increase their overall share of the search business against Google.  Between both Bing and Yahoo they only make up close to 30 percent of the search business.  The deal still has to pass the government’s OK, which they expect to happen by the fall.

My personal opinion is that it won’t really make a difference.  I use Google not because I think it’s really any better than any other site, but because it’s habit for me to just “google it”.  I don’t know if there is something they could provide that would make me switch, but I guess time will tell.

If you would like to read more details on the deal, click the link below:

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Pandora Radio Lives On

For those that use the online Pandora Radio, there is good news.  They have made a deal through 2015 with the record labels to keep them online.  Pandora was close to being shut down because the greedy record execs wanted a piece of the pie, and raised the royalty rates through the roof for online radio. The radio execs got away with it because the sites like Pandora had no lobbyists to stand up for them.  So to help fight them off, Pandora and others like them started a social movement and got their listeners to call their Congressmen, which got them a lifeline to keep going until an equitable deal could be reached.  Online web casters will still be charged more than regular radio stations (for some reason unknown to me), but hopefully this deal will allow sites like Pandora to keep going.  I found a decent article on TechCrunch that explains the deal.  Click the link below for more:

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FTC To Monitor Blogs For Failure To Disclose Conflicts of Interest

When I get ready to make a purchase of something that I haven’t bought before I usually scour the web for reviews of the product. I usually start with Amazon, but I also look for blogs that review the product to try and get a personal review.  What I didn’t know at first, and what many other people might not know is that some of the blogs out there will put positive reviews of a product on their blog in hopes of getting money from the vendor selling the product.  I realized this first hand when we were looking to buy an elliptical machine for our home last year.  There was a “home gym review blog” out there that gave glowing reviews of products that in actuality were crap, but since he made money on his reviews, and if someone bought the product through a link on his site he put a glowing report on his blog.  Well the FTC has decided that they have had enough and coming this summer the FTC will release new guidelines that will allow the FTC to go after bloggers that do not disclose that they are getting kickbacks from the vendor.  I think it’s a good idea since the reader will have a better idea if a blogger review is an honest review, or just a way to get a buck.

FYI-Since I don’t have money to buy things, and comanies don’t send me stuff to try out for free, I promise I do not have a conflict in any of my blog posts

House Passes “Cash For Clunkers” Bill

The House has pushed through what is called the Cash For Clunkers bill.  The bill will give you up to 4500 bucks to turn in your low mpg SUV, truck or car for a more fuel efficient car.  To be eligible for a 3,500 dollar voucher your car must get 18mpg combined or lower (that is city and highway miles averaged together), and your new car must get at least 22mpg.  If you new car gets at least 10mpg over your trade-in you can get a 4,500 dollar voucher.  The House bill will also apply to leased cars.  My biggest question in this whole thing which I cannot find an answer to, is this 4,500 bucks above what the car dealer gives you as a trade in, or is the 4,500 bucks the max you can get a trade-in time?  If 4,500 is the max, the population for which this applies drops significantly, and it makes no sense to include leases.  So until I get more information I cannot tell how helpful this deal will be.  

I understand how getting new fuel efficient cars on the street not only help the environment, but can also get the economy moving.  New car purchase means sales taxes for the state, dmv fees getting collected, plus getting the car companies selling cars again. We’ll have to wait and see what the Senate version is before anyone gets too excited.  It seems that the environmentalist lobbyists might have a few Senator’s ears and they might get more strict rules pushed through in their bill.  

If you would like to read more Click Here.

First In, First Out – Chrysler Preparing To Exit Bankruptcy as GM Head In

GM declared Chapter 11 yesterday, hoping to be considered bankrupt for 60-90 days.  At the same time the judge presiding over Chrysler’s Chapter 11 case gave approval of its sale of assets to Fiat, and also the approval to exit Chapter 11 as early as Friday.   The big question can either of these companies even survive with a new lease on life?  No one knows for sure. Chrysler had 30 billion is losses on their books which have been reduced to nearly 2 billion.  GM had a whopping 178 billion in losses on their books which they hope to have reduced down to about 20-30 billion.  I guess 30 billion is better than 178, but that still seems like a lot for a company that probably won’t break even until the economy improves hopefully next year.  

With Chrysler coming out of Chapter 11 this week you won’t see too many changes.  The biggest change will be the 800 dealers that no longer will be selling their cars.  Our local Jeep dealer will no longer be selling Jeeps come June 8th.  Changes to Chrysler’s lineup needed to happen last year, but you wont be seeing any major changes for at least 18 months as Fiat cars are cast in Chrysler DNA.  Can the company make it for 18 months in the current climate?  I do not know.

As for GM, there will be some broad changes taking place.  Hummer, Saab will be sold off.  Saturn will be sold or will disappear.  Pontiac, gone.  In Europe, Opel has been sold.  GM will be down to Chevy, Buick, Caddy, and GMC in the US.  The only reason Buick is sticking around is because they actually sell in China, where Buick is considered a lux brand.  Their dealer ranks will be shrunk considerably to the tune of 2000-4000 dealers across the US.  Will they make it?  Again no one knows.  If GM cannot stand the market, I have a feeling you’ll see its pieces survive, but if Chrysler fails I believe the only thing left will be its Jeep brand, and with higher CAFE standards coming, who knows if Jeep would survive.  

The next 12 months will be telling for the two car companies.  For the sake of US jobs and GDP, lets hope the two can recover.

Australia To Treat Broadband As a Utility

Australia has begun to detail their plans for a national roll out of broadband.  They plan on bringing fiber to all that want it with speeds starting at 100Mbps.  They plan on treating broadband the same as they treat electricity: a required utility.  

My question is: why can’t the US figure this out? The answer is too much politics, too many lobbyists, and as far as I am concerned too much capitalism (related to broadband).  Broadband in the U.S. is treated as a profit maker, not a necessity.  If the ROI doesn’t come back positive for a certain area, then the companies don’t feel the necessity to support that area.  So bigger cities get the newest technology…sometimes two steps past the newest technology, while the more rural areas are laid to waste.  My house has limited options for connections to the Internet, and speed that doesn’t come close to what is available. I have to deal with traffic caps that are as far as I am concerned unreasonable.  The reason my local cable company doesn’t need to fight for their customers?  Because there is no where else to go.  Local franchise agreements have caused a monopoly in towns such as mine.  I expect to be old and grey before I see fiber or its equivalent.  My hopes for having a national roll out of broadband when the new President came into power has been dashed seeing that the money in the stimulus package for supporting broadband kept shrinking, and is small in comparison to other projects.  Additionally, as more time goes on it appears that the big companies such as Verizion have the opportunity to get some of the stimulus money.  Why on earth does Verizon need that money?  The answer: The lobbyists worked it that way.  

Not until broadband is treated like a utility will we see progress in the rural areas.  The politicians even seem to get in the way of other politicians.  A town in North Carolina has decided to do just what I propose: Create a fiber network in town, with availability to everyone.  After getting wind of this, the state legislature has two proposed rules in place to force the “utility” to charge more because their prices were too low compared to the competition.  I thought the whole reason of competition was to bring more innovation, and lower prices?  It doesn’t appear that the U.S. will ever get this right…let’s hope I am wrong.

Build It And They Will Come? Not If A Single Ticket Costs $2,625

In what will come as no surprise except for a few people people in the Yankee’s organization, the Yankees high priced seats near the field have not been selling as they expected.  The seats going from the 1st base dugout over to the 3rd base dugout range from 500 dollars a seat all the way to $2,625 a game have yet to be even half full outside of Opening Day.  What are the reasons behind it?  Economic downturn, or stupidity thinking that someone would pay an ‘average joe’s’ monthly paycheck for one ticket to a baseball game?  Though the Yanks are at the extreme, other baseball teams that have tried making the tickets close to the field extremely expensive (the Washington Nationals are another example) and are seeing ticket sales languish for those seats.  What makes it even worse is that those are typically the seats seen on tv, which makes it appear that the fan bases of these teams have abandoned them…in the cast of the Nats this might be the truth.  I think some teams are going to find out the hard way that there is a limit to what a person will pay for a good time.  Yeah the uber-rich will pay for some of these tickets, but not everyone else.  

When teams such as the Yanks start losing bags of money due to people not paying outrageour ticket prices, maybe they will begin to rethink spending nearly 500 million on 3 players next time…

AT&T Looking To Extend iPhone Exclusive Agreement

It seems every time this comes up in the news that a different date has been thrown around.  Back when the iPhone was introduced, Steve Jobs stated that Apple made a 5 year agreement with AT&T to sell the iPhone.  So everyone figured that meant that AT&T would be the only one to have it until 2011/2012.  Well if Cnet’s article is correct, they are saying that the exclusivity agreement only went till the end of 2008, and later on they came to an agreement to extend it one more year through 2009.  That would lead me to believe the rumors that Apple and AT&T made the agreement back when development of the iPhone started in 2003.  Now it’s come out that AT&T wants to extend the agreement through 2011.  They are well aware of how many customers they have gained since they are the only one with the treasured Apple phone, and would be smart to stretch out the agreement as long as possible.  The question remains if Apple wants to play ball.  I am sure that AT&T would have to make some serious concessions to continue their agreement for it to be worth Apple’s while.  I am sure Apple is aware that if they were to create a CDMA version that they have over 100 million cell phone users at Verizon and Sprint that are chomping at the bit to get their hands on the phone.  Personally I would love to get my hands on the phone, but with AT&Ts service less than decent in my area, I have not made the switch from Verizon.  

So will June come with news of a longer agreement, or will be begin to hear whispers that AT&T’s reign with the phone will come to an end.  I hope it’s the latter, but after hearing so many rumors I am not getting my hopes up.  If you would like to read the full Cnet article, click the link below:

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iTunes Moves To Variable Pricing…The Others Only Hours Behind

So Apple finally made good on it’s promises. They took the DRM away, but allowed the record companies to set variable pricing on their songs.  Instead of the tried and true 99 cents, there are now three choices, 69 cents, 99 cents, 1.29.  It almost sounds like those old Taco Bell commercials when their whole menu consisted of food at those prices (69, 89, 99 cents respectively).  The record companies said that you would see more discounted songs than higher priced songs, but so far the proof is not in the pudding.  On the top 100 there are currently 61 songs priced 1.29, and the rest were 99 cents.  There is no easy way to see how many 69 cent songs there are, but most pundits are saying so far they are few and far between.  

In this instance I don’t really blame Apple.  The record companies were holding Apple down with DRM, and lower quality songs in comparison to Wal-Mart, and Amazon.  Apple needed to do something to keep people in the iTunes world, seeing they believed that if they lost the customer, they wouldn’t come back.  I guess the question is where is the threshold for a song is for customers.  If most will pay 1.29 then it’s a “moo” point, and they just made more money.  If not, then well hopefully the people that continue to purchase songs at 1.29 (aka 30 cents more profit), will outweigh the people they lose.

The biggest surprise in all of this?  That Apple’s competitors followed suit so quickly.  It took Amazon overnight to raise some of their prices to 1.29.  Just looking at the top 100, there are a few 1.29 songs, though it appears that there are many more 99 cent, even 79 cent songs (currently there are 8 $1.29 songs in the top 100).  Even Wal-Mart joined in the game with higher prices, pricing their highest songs at 1.24.  I thought they would take this opportunity to advertise their lower prices, and try to steal some customers, even if they held off for just a few weeks.  

My guess there are one of  two things at play here. Either the record companies forced their hand and made them raise their prices once iTunes did, or Amazon and Wal-Mart said, “why not us?” Only time will tell as the back office rumors begin to pour out, but it appears our days of getting a song under a buck is gone.

Even after all of this, though I really appreciate iTunes organization and GUI, I still recommend Amazon as your music source.  They not only have a larger number of cheaper songs, but they frequently have sales on newer albums (for as low as 4.99).  On top of that if you use iTunes to organize your music, once you download the song off Amazon, it automatically gets entered into your iTunes library.

BearingPoint Sold Off In Pieces

Most of you will not care, but my old stomping grounds were sold off to its competitors in little pieces this week.  BearingPoint declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy near the end of February with hopes of restructuring its debt load.  That didn’t happen, so the company was broken off into two parts; Public Service practice was sold to Deloitte, and the Commercial practice was sold to PriceWaterhouse.  The commercial practice was sold for a measly 25 million bucks.  Kinda makes me happy that I jumped ship when I did.  Anyone that is interested, click the link below:

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