Friday, December 30, 2005

Best (and Worst) Gadgets of 2005

Wired.com - 2005 has been a banner year for gearheads, with more hot gadget launches than you could shake a USB cable at. But there's a great chasm separating pre-launch buzz from real-world performance, and not all gizmos live up to the hype. Here's a look back at the most anticipated product launches of 2005. Some were hot, some were not, and we made the call.

Check em out...

Saturday, December 24, 2005

Johnlewis.com reports record sales

John Lewis has racked up online sales of £100m in the last 12 months, according to the latest figures from the UK department store.

John Lewis Direct - which includes johnlewis.com and its catalogue business - hit the milestone figure as it reported record sales this Christmas.

Read on...

Thursday, December 22, 2005

Why governments tremble over Google Earth

When Google introduced Google Earth, free software that marries satellite and aerial images with mapping capabilities, the company emphasized its usefulness as a teaching and navigation tool. But since its debut last summer, the software has received attention of an unexpected sort. Officials of several nations have expressed alarm over its detailed display of government buildings, military installations and other important sites within their borders.

Check the full article...

Tuesday, December 20, 2005

Reality TV Product Placement Deal - iPod a huge hit at "the Office"

Apple makes a brilliant product placement play with a hilarious holiday spot on recent episode of "the Office".

The annual Dunder Mifflein Holiday party found Michael disappointed with his secret Santa gift, an oven mitt, when he went way over the $20 gift limit and bought an iPod for Ryan. But when Michael suggested turning Secret Santa into Yankee Swap, everyone vied for the iPod in the December 6th episode of NBC's "The Office."

That's just one of the featured product placements of the past week brought to you by MediaDailyNews and branded entertainment researcher iTVX.

Read on...

Flash in the Can - 2006

The details are up for the 2006 FITC in Toronto. Lots of Familiar speakers.

- "Welcome! Now in its fifth year, FITC 2006 will be our biggest and best festival ever! With over a thousand attendee's anticipated from around the Globe, it promises to be an event unlike any other." Read on...

Search marketing helps David Level the Field against Goliath

Amazon, Walmart.com and other online retailing giants have always had upstarts nipping at their heels. But the little guys are starting to bite harder.

Just how sharp their teeth are, however, is a matter of some debate.

Of the $26 billion in sales that are projected for Internet retailers this holiday season, about 45 percent will go to small retailers, according to Forrester Research, up from 42 percent last year. Even so, with revenues starting to flatten at eBay, the site so many of them use to market their wares, some analysts doubt they will ever be able to break through the 50 percent mark.

But other analysts are not so sure. In the fast-changing world of Internet commerce, they say, smaller merchants have gained two important advantages: Google and consumers who are fussier than ever.

Check out the full story here...

Read on...

Viral Marketing Comes of Age

Over the past year, we have observed a powerful new trend in the way brands have activated more viral, experiential, and participatory ideas and campaigns. This trend has manifested itself in the emergence of highly sophisticated multi-platform viral marketing ideas which in many cases allow the consumer to shape the story.

In place of crass, one-off Internet stunts that have given viral techniques a bad name, marketers and agencies have begun to realize that many eager consumers truly want to get involved and participate in this narrative-based entertainment, and to place themselves in a position to interact with the story and the brands.

Get the full story here...

Read on...

Digital Signage is the New Frontier

As Marketers bemoan diminishing returns from TV and print efforts targeting 18- to 24-year-olds, many see out-of-home media as a savior. The University Network (TUN) has emerged as a new option, promising the exposure on major college campuses that many advertisers crave.

According to a survey of 1,100 students conducted on 10 TUN campuses by an independent provider, the audience is paying attention: 93 percent of those surveyed say they check the displays at least once per day, and 67 percent recalled the advertised products unaided.

Students want to be grabbed and we want to get information to them in a way they'll pay attention to, so this works all around.

For more on the new frontier...

Read on...

E-Paper's Killer App: Packaging

The cereal aisle at your local supermarket may soon resemble the Las Vegas strip. Electronics maker Siemens is readying a paper-thin electronic-display technology so cheap it could replace conventional labels on disposable packaging, from milk cartons to boxes of Cheerios.

In less than two years, Siemens says, the technology could transform consumer-goods packaging from the fixed, ink-printed images of today to a digital medium of flashing graphics and text that displays prices, special offers or alluring photos, all blinking on miniature flat screens.

Read the full article...

Monday, December 19, 2005

Back to the Future E-Mail

It's a time capsule of your thoughts, sent to yourself - a future self, that is. A couple of young web entrepreneurs create a website that lets people send e-mail to themselves, upto 30 years hence. Read on...

Make it so...

Sunday, December 18, 2005

Fuel Cells Powered by Creepy Crawlies?

Imagine if the bug zapper at the family barbeque was actually generating power for the house. Instead of the lights dimming every time a big one gets the zap, maybe there could be a power surge. A scientist and four of his students at Feati University in Manila claim to have created biological fuel cells that use household pests like cockroaches, mosquitoes, flies, and rats as their energy source. An enzyme found on bacteria such as E-coli, which is in turn found on common household pests, functions as the catalyst. Apparently cockroaches put out the most juice. Go figure.

Free Gmail

Google has opened up access to its free Gmail email service to people using browsers in mobile phones. The service is accessed from m.gmail.com and here's full list of compatible phones.

Saturday, December 17, 2005

New HTML 5.0 & Web Applications 1.0

The World Wide Web's markup language has always been HTML. HTML was primarily designed as a language for semantically describing scientific documents, although its general design and adaptations over the years has enabled it to be used to describe a number of other types of documents.

The main area that has not been adequately addressed by HTML is a vague subject referred to as Web Applications. This specification attempts to rectify this, while at the same time updating the HTML specifications to address issues raised in the past few years.

Read the full story...

Got the clap? Email a friend

LOL: STD e-postcard

It's a tricky one: you've just been diagnosed with a dose of the clap and now you've got to tell your partner/s to get themselves sharpish down to the STD clinic.

Trouble is, you quite justifiably fear that the news will not be received joyfully and may earn you a smack in the chops, if not a kick in the 'nads. Well, don't panic: the LA health authorities have thoughtfully provided an anonymous e-postcard service which allows you to tell your "boyfriends, partners, ex's, or hookups they may have been exposed to HIV or another STD".

Read on...

Wednesday, December 14, 2005

Adobe Apollo = Acrobat Reader + Flash Player

Adobe [Macromedia] is working on a new product codenamed Adobe Apollo that integrates the Macromedia Flash Player with the Adobe Acrobat PDF Reader. Adobe Apollo software will provide Macromedia Flash and HTML functionality and will run independent from the web browser.

Read complete article

Saturday, December 10, 2005

Adobe completes acquisition of Macromedia

Is this a good thing?

Adobe's mission is to revolutionize how the world engages with ideas and information. By acquiring Macromedia, we are strengthening this mission by making it easier for customers to create, manage, and deliver their ideas and engage with information of all types — in print, on the web, in video, and across mobile devices. We believe in enabling powerful, effective, and meaningful digital experiences across multiple operating systems in the broad span of diverse industries we serve.

Read on...

Friday, December 09, 2005

Frank's RSS

RSS is an acronym for Really Simple Syndication which basically allows you to keep on top off what's happening at the Frank Blogs. You can dicover more about the technicalities and issues with RSS at Wikipedia.