Sony: PS3 Slump Did Not Spur Layoffs

Some workers at Sony's facilities in Foster City, Calif., may soon be looking for new work. On Thursday, the company announced a round of layoffs from its U.S.-based game unit. The company wouldn't say how many are leaving and did not shoulder the blame on the PlayStation 3's relatively weak market performance, which has trailed that of Nintendo's Wii and Microsoft's Xbox 360.

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E-Commerce Times | 06/07/07


Sony (NYSE: SNE) Latest News about Sony, maker of the embattled PlayStation 3 Latest News about PlayStation 3 (PS3) video game console, said Thursday it plans to lay off employees of its U.S.-based game unit. The job cuts, according to Sony, are part of a corporation-wide restructuring effort.

In April, Sony announced that it would cut up to 160 jobs from its European facilities. The layoffs Latest News about layoffs, which represented an 8.4 percent reduction in its European workforce, were also said to be part of an effort to streamline operations. The company said at the time that it was also considering restructuring its U.S. and Japanese arms.

Pink Slips All Around

Sony did not disclose the positions or number of employees its Foster City, Calif., facilities will lose. Reports vary, with numbers ranging from fewer than 50 workers to up to 100.

The layoffs, however, are neither in response to lackluster sales Free White Paper - What Retailers Should Know about M-Commerce of the company's latest gaming console, the PS3, or the $1.91 billion operating loss Sony reported for the fiscal year ending March 31, according to Dave Karraker, spokesperson for Sony Computer Entertainment America. The red ink was largely attributed to the high cost of launching the PS3.

"This move is not wholly related to any one product in our portfolio," he stated. "More accurately, it is reflective of shifts in the marketplace and in consumers' wants and needs, such as the rise of digital content delivery and networked services. In order to maintain our market leadership, the management of SCEA has found it necessary to analyze the business and restructure the company as necessary."

How the Mighty Fall

With some 140 million PlayStation 2 Latest News about PlayStation 2 (PS2) consoles in households around the world, it seemed a certainty that the much-anticipated release of the PS3 would continue the company's decade-long run as the market leader in the $30 billion gaming console industry.

However, a one-year delay combined with the system's Manage remotely with one interface -- the HP ProLiant DL360 G5 server. hefty $600 price tag and a dearth of must-have games have left Sony's PS3 trailing Nintendo's Wii Latest News about Wii and Microsoft's Xbox 360 Latest News about Xbox 360 by a considerable margin.

In the U.S., sales records showed that the Wii sold some 360,000 units in April, making it the No. 1 seller for the fourth month in a row, research firm NPD Group said. The Xbox 360 came in second with 174,000 units purchased and the PS3 trailed by more than four to one with only 82,000 consoles bought by consumers.

The depression in PS3 sales could be the culprit behind the U.S. layoffs, according to Forrester Research analyst Paul Jackson. Adding to Sony's troubles are slower sales for the PlayStation Portable as well.

"It is difficult to say if this would be happening if the PS3 were selling more units and was much more profitable," he told the E-Commerce Times.

The excised positions are more than likely extraneous personnel taken on while Sony was ramping up toward the release of the PS3, as was the case with the European unit, Jackson explained.

However, Sony's workforce in Foster City was already supposedly streamlined, according to Mike Goodman, an analyst at Yankee Group.

"They are make cuts to something that was at least internally at SCEA thought of as already a fairly lean organization," he told the E-Commerce Times.

"Streamlined," he said, was just a euphemism for "We're really hurting."

"In this case it is. Look at all the red ink in the games division. I think it is arguably a response to that [$2 billion dollar loss]. And they are not Microsoft," he pointed out.

Nowhere to Go but Up

As with its resurgent performance with the Bravia television, Jackson said Sony still has time to reverse the company's fortunes with the PS3.

"Just because they're late to realize they have made an error doesn't necessarily count them out. They can still apply their excellent development resources and their excellent engineering to turn this around. And unfortunately some of that might involve major structural changes and redundancies in the meantime," he explained.

What Sony will have to do, said Jackson, Goodman and Brian O'Rourke, an analyst at Instat, is drop the price of the PS3 and put out some exclusive titles that will move the consoles of the shelf such as a new "Final Fantasy" or "Metal Gear Solid."

"Historically, those are titles that have been exclusive to the PlayStation and they have been titles that have driven console sales. So far the PS3 is lacking titles that will drive unit sales," Goodman noted.

Sony may drop the PS3's price in time for the holiday season by as much as $150 to $200, the analysts said. Anything less -- for instance a $50 or $100 reduction -- will not be sufficient, Goodman asserted. However, more drastic cuts would mean make Sony lose somewhere around $300 on each console sold.

"The only real out [for Sony] is to produce the PS3 more cheaply, cut prices and get it into more homes. That's what they have to do," O'Rourke explained.

"The game business is often referred to as a razor and razor blades business," he continued. "You don't have to make money selling the razor. You want people to come back and keep buying razor blades. It's just like that in the game business. You can lose some money on the console, but if you can get them to buy five, 10, 15 games over a couple-year period you can offset losses on the console."

Wii Hurts, Says Doc

"I don't think it's a problem of the Wii. The machine delivers active sports games -- if you're not careful to control yourself, you might get injured," said Michael Cai, director of broadband and gaming for Parks Associates. "On the other hand, if you just sit there, you might get fat," he added.

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TechNewsWorld | 06/07/07


Forget Nintendinitis -- the new affliction for those who enjoy gaming just a little too much may be "Acute Wiiitis," which was first reported Thursday in a brief posted to the New England Journal of Medicine's Web site.

"A healthy 29-year-old medical resident awoke one Sunday morning with intense pain in the right shoulder," wrote Dr. Julio Bonis of the Research Group in Biomedical Informatics in Barcelona, Spain.

Gamers' Affliction

"He did not recall any recent injuries or trauma and had not participated in any sports or physical exercise recently. He consulted a rheumatology colleague. The Patte's test was positive, consistent with acute tendonitis isolated to the right infraspinatus.

"After further review of his activities during the previous 24 hours, the patient recalled that he had bought a new Nintendo Wii Latest News about Wii [Sport Tennis] video game system and had spent several hours playing the tennis video game," Bonis went on.

The diagnosis? Acute Wiiitis.

The prescription: Ibuprofen for a week, and "complete abstinence" from Wii.

The results: Complete recovery.

Risky Entertainment

Wiiitis appears to be the latest ailment to afflict gamers and the second official instance of a complaint specific to Nintendo.

Nintendinitis, which dates back to the early 90s, has become an umbrella term to describe multiple repetitive strain injuries arising from heavy use of video games. Symptoms of Nintendinitis include cramps in the hand; bruises, blisters and lesions in the thumbs, fingers or palms; and "sharp stinging pain in either the fingers or the hand from prolonged exposure to video game controllers," according to GamersER.

Prevention entails "abstinence from prolonged and excessive game playing," the site said.

Meanwhile, baseball player Joel Zumaya of the Detroit Tigers exemplified the dangers of other game play last year when he was sidelined in the American League Championship Series because of injuries he sustained playing the "Guitar Hero" game.

Too Much of a Good Thing

"This is nothing new," Michael Cai, director of broadband and gaming for Parks Associates Latest News about Parks Associates, told TechNewsWorld.

"Doing anything excessively might get you injured," Cai said. "I don't think it's a problem of the Wii. The machine delivers active sports games -- if you're not careful to control yourself, you might get injured.

"On the other hand, if you just sit there, you might get fat," Cai added.

Indeed, "any time humans move, they have the potential to injure themselves," agreed Ted Pollak, senior analyst for the gaming industry at Jon Peddie Research. "I bet there are people out there with Twister injuries."

A Dangerous World

Many Wii players get "overzealous" with the controller, Pollak told TechNewsWorld. "You don't need to throw these Wii controllers around as hard as people do," he noted.

Neither Cai nor Pollak expected the injury report to affect Wii sales Free White Paper - What Retailers Should Know about M-Commerce in any way.

The bottom line, Pollak said, is that "life is dangerous, and too much of anything is not good."

See the video

Embryonic Stem Cells Without the Egg?

Scientists believe a recent experiment on mice could lead to a breakthrough in stem cell therapy development. Researchers were able to produce replicas of stem cells by inserting genes into mice skin cells, bypassing the ethical questions raised when harvesting stem cells directly. Next, scientists want to do the same procedure with human cells.

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AP | 06/07/07


In a leap forward for stem cell research, three independent teams of scientists reported Wednesday that they have produced the equivalent of embryonic stem cells in mice using skin cells without the controversial destruction of embryos.

If the same could be done with human skin cells -- a big if -- the procedure could lead to breakthrough medical treatments without the contentious ethical and political debates surrounding the use of embryos.

Experts were impressed by the achievement.

"I think it's one of the most exciting things that has come out about embryonic stem cells, period," said researcher Dr. Asa Abeliovich of Columbia University in New York, who didn't participate in the work. "It's very convincing that it's real."

Long Way to Go

He and others cautioned that it will take further study to see whether this scientific advance can be harnessed for creating new human therapies. For one thing, the procedure used to get the mouse skin cells to mimic embryonic stem cells wouldn't be suitable. It's simply not known whether the mouse results can be reproduced with human cells.

"We have a long way to go," said John Gearhart of Johns Hopkins University, a stem cell researcher who also wasn't involved in the new work.

In any case, scientists said, the advance does not mean that research that involves getting stem cells from human embryos should now be abandoned. "We simply don't know which approach ... will work the best," said researcher Konrad Hochedlinger of the Harvard Stem Cell Institute, who led one of the three teams.

Ethical Balance Beam

Embryonic stem cells are prized because they can develop into all types of tissue. So experts believe they might be used for transplant therapies in people who are paralyzed or have illnesses ranging from diabetes to Parkinson's disease.

To harvest human embryonic stem cells, embryos must be destroyed, an action many people oppose.

Scientists have long hoped to find a way to reprogram ordinary body cells to act like stem cells, avoiding the use of embryos altogether. The new mouse studies seem to have accomplished that. Past experiments seeking alternative routes to getting stem cells have generally involved tampering with an embryo or egg.

At a press conference Wednesday, Hochedlinger and a member of a second team said their work was not an attempt to evade the ethical objections to embryo destruction. Instead, they said, the goal was to learn how cell reprogramming works.

However, in a telephone interview, a prominent critic of embryonic stem cell research welcomed the new work on ethical terms.

"This is what we were looking for people to explore because it may provide all the advantages of embryonic stem cells without the moral problem," said Richard Doerflinger, deputy director of pro-life activities for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. "So I'm very encouraged."

Doing the Research

Hochedlinger and colleagues present their work in the inaugural issue of the journal Cell Stem Cell. (The first word in the journal's name refers to its publisher, Cell Press).

The other two teams reported their results Wednesday on the Web site of the journal Nature. Rudolf Jaenisch of the Whitehead Institute in Cambridge, Mass., is the senior author of one paper, and the work behind the other paper was led by Shinya Yamanaka of Kyoto University in Japan.

Inserting Genes

The new work builds on a landmark paper Yamanaka published last August. He found that by slipping four genes into mouse skin cells called fibroblasts, he could make the altered cells behave much like embryonic stem cells in lab tests.

These so-called "iPS" cells still showed significant differences from embryonic stem cells. The three new papers report on creating iPS cells that proved virtually identical to stem cells in a variety of lab tests.

The technique used in the mouse studies could promote cancer in any patients getting therapy based on iPS cells, so researchers emphasized that a new approach that avoids that hazard would have to be developed.

Gearhart called that a major issue to be resolved. In addition, he said, scientists still must show that these cells can give rise to many cell types in the lab, as embryonic stem cells can.

All this must be accomplished in human cells -- a difficult task, he said, because introducing genes into human cells is a major challenge.

If the technique can be harnessed for people, the iPS cells and the tissue they develop into would provide a genetic match to the person who donated the skin cells. That would make them suitable for transplant to that person, theoretically without fear of rejection.

LG Joins Microsoft's Open Source Protection Club

LG Electronics is the latest company to join Microsoft's open source protection plan. The consumer electronics manufacturer agreed to give the software giant access to its intellectual property in exchange for the chance to use embedded open source technology - which may technically violate Microsoft patents - in its products without the threat of litigation.

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LinuxInsider | 06/07/07


Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) Latest News about Microsoft and South Korea's LG Electronics Latest News about LG Electronics (LGE) have announced a patent cross-licensing deal, similar to one Microsoft recently signed with Novell (Nasdaq: NOVL) Latest News about Novell, that allows LG to use Microsoft technology in its products while giving Microsoft access to LG's intellectual property.

The deal means LG can use Linux Linux hosting solutions with 24x7x365 support – Visit HostMySite.com in its products without fearing litigation from Microsoft, which recently voiced claims that some of the code used to create the popular open source Latest News about open source operating system Manage remotely with one interface -- the HP ProLiant DL360 G5 server. was first patented by Microsoft. Additionally, LG is said to have patented technology, now owned by business solutions provider MicroConnect, that Microsoft can use in its Xbox line of gaming consoles.

Novell and Microsoft recently penned a similar deal in which the companies agreed to not sue each other's customers over intellectual property claims. Over the past year, Microsoft announced similar agreements with companies including Fuji Xerox, NEC (Nasdaq: NIPNY) Latest News about NEC, Nortel Networks (NYSE: NT) Latest News about Nortel Networks, Samsung Latest News about Samsung and Seiko Epson. It said it did this "to help build bridges between the world's leading computer hardware, software and telecommunications solutions providers."

Everybody Gets Paid

Financial terms of the arrangement were not disclosed, but the companies said Microsoft will make a payment to LG and MicroConnect for some patents, including those related to operating systems, while LG will provide Microsoft with ongoing payments to compensate for its use of Linux.

In announcing the deal with LG, Microsoft said it "has focused on patent agreements in the recent past to develop a best-practices model for protecting intellectual property (IP) and respecting the IP rights of others, as well as building bridges with an array of industry leaders, including consumer electronics, telecommunications and computer hardware providers."

The agreement and LG's "good relationship with Microsoft enable LGE to provide improved telecommunications solutions to our customers," said Jeong Hwan Lee, executive vice president of the Intellectual Property Center at LG.

The agreement, he added, appropriately recognizes the value of his company's computer system-related patents, "which includes patents directed to computer architecture utilized in game consoles and other products."

For its part, MicroConnect is "pleased to be able to make a contribution to the strengthened IP relationship between LG and Microsoft," said Alan Loudermilk, the company's founding partner.

A Win-Win

The deal looks like a winner for both sides but especially for LG, said Strategy Analytics wireless Get the facts on wireless solutions suited to your industry. analyst Chris Ambrosio.

"I see two significant positives for LG," he told LinuxInsider. "One is the potential for significant licensing revenues from Microsoft's efforts to sell products in its networked home division and also in its embedded devices group with the Xbox and some of the things that it's doing in the mobile area.

"The second positive is that LG potentially gets to use some Microsoft intellectual property."

Cross-licensing, Ambrosio noted, is increasingly common in the wireless device world. "Usually both vendors benefit greatly from reduced costs by having access to each other's technology," he said. "So LG potentially has the benefit of using some kind of Microsoft entertainment or gaming component in its wireless device portfolio. That can only help LG as it starts to evolve these converged media devices to compete with the iPhone and other products."

Winks and Handshakes

Endpoint Technologies President Roger Kay questioned whether Microsoft "actually managed to validate its claims" about Linux being based at least partially on Microsoft IP. Even if it hasn't, the back-room deals keep coming.

"This is part of a recent trend that Microsoft has been engaged in to cross-license IP with companies that are engaged in some open source activity," he told LinuxInsider. "The benefits accrue to both parties in that Microsoft gets to use some of the technologies that these companies own but, maybe even more importantly, it puts Microsoft on a solid legal footing with licensing its intellectual property and allows Microsoft to participate in the open source movement without compromising its proprietary assets."

Open Source Community to Microsoft: Bring It On

Microsoft's business strategy is the equivalent of "don't buy his products or something bad will happen -- but we won't tell you what." In other words, it shows less sophistication than the average playground ruse. Nevertheless, it was enough for Novell -- responsible for the popular Suse distribution of Linux -- to enter last year into a mutual covenant not to sue over patent infringements.

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New Statesman | 06/07/07


This spring, at a packed bar in east London, Mark Shuttleworth, chief executive and founder of Canonical Software, launched the next generation of his Ubuntu distribution of the Linux operating system. One of the first questions from the audience was: "Aren't you worried that Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) Latest News about Microsoft is going to sue you for patent infringement?"

The self-styled "first African in space" was quick on the draw. He would, he said, welcome the day Microsoft made good on its threat to sue Linux Linux hosting solutions with 24x7x365 support – Visit HostMySite.com users for patent infringements. That way, those who work with free and open source Latest News about open source software would know what these alleged patents were, and could start to build around them.

Confused? Well here's the background. Software patents are not technically allowed in Europe, the European Union having sensibly (and after a lot of noise from free software advocates, small businesses and Poland) decided that patenting mathematical algorithms was a little warped. However, in the U.S., software patents are big business -- for lawyers.

Which Ones?

For years, Microsoft has been spreading a rumor that the main competitor to its Windows operating system Manage remotely with one interface -- the HP ProLiant DL360 G5 server. in the server environment, the free and open source Linux, infringes some of the software patents it holds at its offices in Redmond, Wash. Only, strangely enough, it won't say which ones.

Microsoft's business strategy Barracuda Spam Firewall Free Eval Unit - Click Here is the equivalent of "don't buy his products or something bad will happen (but we won't tell you what)." In other words, it shows less sophistication than the average playground ruse. Nevertheless, it was enough for Novell (Nasdaq: NOVL) Latest News about Novell -- responsible for the popular Suse distribution of Linux -- to enter last year into a mutual covenant not to sue over patent infringements.

Until then, the received wisdom had it that the major distributors of Linux -- Novell, Red Hat (NYSE: RHT) Latest News about Red Hat -- as well as some of its major stakeholders, such as IBM (NYSE: IBM) Latest News about IBM, held enough patents of their own to keep Redmond at bay. The patent wars that could ensue, the thinking went, were too awful to contemplate.

Don't Be Scared

In a recent interview with Fortune magazine, Brad Smith, general counsel to Microsoft, took the brinkmanship a step closer to the edge. He announced how many patents Microsoft thinks Linux infringes. If you're interested, that number is 235. So, should we be 235 times more scared than we were before this announcement was made?

The answer, to several hundred Linux users, is "no." In fact, people are now queuing up to be sued by Microsoft, and are calling Redmond's bluff on a Web site called, simply, "Sue Me First, Microsoft."

At the time of going to press, nearly 500 people had left their contact details for Brad Smith to get in touch, should he feel the need to make good his threats. Less than 24 hours after the tech news site Slashdot drew attention to the petition, Microsoft had issued an official statement confirming it wasn't going to be suing anybody.

At least, not yet.

Early Adopters, Laggards, the iPhone and the Next Big Thing

If you believe Apple's well-oiled hype machine, everyone on the planet should be having seizures waiting to get an iPhone. According to one time-tested theory, however, innovators and early adopters -- the ones who jump quickly at taking up a new technology -- make up just 16 percent of consumers. Really, there are still people who wander into an Apple store wondering what this iPod thingy is.

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Times Union | 06/07/07


The Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) Latest News about Apple iPhone -- your basic phone/iPod/Internet device with an entirely new interface Manage remotely with one interface -- the HP ProLiant DL360 G5 server. that, rumor has it, makes a mean veal piccata -- goes on sale this month. Expect people to line up.

Well, some people. Most of us will wait.

According to a consumer model developed nearly a half-century ago but still in use, roughly one out of 40 who will get an iPhone will rush out to buy one as soon as possible. Another 13.5 percent will buy one in the relatively near future.

Then there are the laggards. These are the people who are just catching up to the wonders of, say, the DVD. An iPhone may be on their list ... for 2013.

Internet, Eh?

There are still people who wander into an Apple store wondering what this iPod thingy is. Not everyone has a high-definition TV, or a cellphone with video capability. Some don't even have a cell phone.

How fast you adopt new technology, products or even ideas can tell a lot about you. In some ways it determines whether you're venturesome or skeptical or merely deliberate.

Sometimes you are so behind the curve you can't see the bend in the road.

It was only several years ago that my older brother still had me faxing him downloaded box scores of St. Bonaventure basketball games. Enough, I said, get a bleeping computer. He finally caved.

"You know," he said not much later, "I think this Internet thing will stick."

Ya think? The man is a judge, people. Be afraid.

Diffusion of Innovations

However, here's the catch: We don't always adopt all technologies and advancements at the same rates. For example, I was an early owner of a hybrid vehicle and a DVR, but still don't own a high-definition television.

A better example, from a Wired magazine blog: Among the big early adopters of solar energy technology are ... the Amish? I guess the reason you're hearing that for the first time is they didn't post the news on their MySpace Latest News about MySpace page.

However, generally speaking, there's a formula -- a theory, actually -- for when people will invest in a major technological shift, whether it be purchasing cable, a microwave or the next generation of video games. The term: Diffusion of Innovations, a theory codified by Everett Rogers in a 1962 book by the same name. His theory, whose roots date back to the 1950s, still hold sway.

In Rogers' theory, those who adopt any new innovation, idea or technology can be categorized in one of five groups. See if you can spot yourself (percentage of all adopters in parentheses). Warning: Categorizations after the parentheses are mine; using statistical analysis, these insights have a margin of error of plus or minus 100 percent:

- Innovators: These people are risk-takers, financially secure and have a strong desire to be first (2.5 percent).

There are a lot of ways to differentiate and divide humanity, but in my experience there are only two types of people: Those who brag about how much they spent for something, and those who brag about how little they spent.

Innovators are proud to have shelled out US$10,000 on a high-def TV that now goes for $1,500. They're also likely to have a Beta VCR and a microwave oven the size of a Buick in their attic. The risk is part of the fun.

- Early adopters: These people are social, educated and often leaders (13.5 percent).

They want to be cool, but not ahead of the wave where they're stuck with a technology that proves useless in six months. While innovators are ahead of everybody, early adopters are essential for developing a critical mass that takes an idea or product mainstream.

My hybrid SUV was an oddity on my block in 2005. Now it's just another way to get the kids around town.

- Early majority: Deliberate, with many social contacts, they wait until the innovation has started to enter mainstream before jumping on board (34 percent).

These are the people who are now getting DVRs, and who are incorporating environmental considerations into their purchases. They are being practical, with little concern for trend-setting.

- Late majority: More traditional, these people tend to be more skeptical of new ideas (34 percent).

Yes, they have a computer. They probably even have a cell phone. However, they grouse about all the things now considered necessities.

- Laggards: They rely on friends and neighbors to clue them in on the next new thing, which often isn't that new by the time they buy it (16 percent).

This just in: VCRs are really on the way out, and good luck finding a pay phone on the street if you gotta make a call from the road.

Will I be getting an iPhone? No. Well, yes. Maybe. Just not yet.

I still have to get an HDTV -- and find a way to pay for it.

Anybody want to buy some vinyl records?

Online Ad Spending Nears $5B, Sets New Record

Online ad spending for the first quarter achieved a record level of $4.9 billion, representing a 26 percent increase when compared to the $3.8 billion spent in the first quarter of 2006. Although the report - by the Interactive Advertising Bureau and PricewaterhouseCoopers - does not offer a category breakdown of where the money was spent, search advertising spending is clearly driving the increases.

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E-Commerce Times | 06/07/07


Online advertising continues to grow at a steady pace, with first quarter spending on Web-based advertising reaching a record level of US$4.9 billion.

That represents a 26 percent increase when compared with the first quarter of last year, when $3.8 billion was spent, the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) said in a report prepared by that trade group and consulting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers.

The sequential growth rate was more modest, with ad spending in the first three months of 2007 climbing 2 percent when compared with the $4.8 billion in the fourth quarter of 2006. However, the last three months of the year are typically strong due to the inclusion of the holiday season and the first quarter is usually far more subdued, the IAB noted.

A Continued Climb Expected

Ad spending is likely to continue on its upward trajectory, said IAB President and CEO Randall Rothenberg.

"The ever-changing landscape of new platforms and technologies that enrich interactive advertising guarantees that this growth trend will continue," he said, adding that marketers are showing "increased comfort" with online advertising.

The continued double-digit year-over-year growth rates are "particularly impressive" because the online ad industry has grown so large, said Peter Petrusky, a director with PricewaterhouseCoopers. Looking forward, he said, continued growth in broadband Internet usage "could translate into more users spending more time online, and offers a platform for rich media and video ads that dial-up connections can't render."

The Google Engine

The report, which is based largely on spending by the top 15 online advertisers as well as other data sources, does not offer a category breakdown of where the nearly $5 billion was spent.

Already, though, it's clear that search advertising spending and in particular spending on Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) Latest News about Google ads remain the engine driving online advertising higher.

Paid search is "currently the key driver of U.S. online advertising as a whole," and in turn Google dominates that sector because it attracts more users and monetizes each user's clicks better than its rivals, eMarketer Senior Analyst David Hallerman told the E-Commerce Times. eMarketer recently estimated that more than 40 percent of total Internet ad spending is tied to search marketing Email Marketing Software - Free Demo.

Others sectors are expanding, however, and not surprisingly Google has a hand in them.

For instance, display ads are expected to expand 20 percent to nearly $4 billion this year, and Google recently increased its exposure to that market through its pending $3.1 billion purchase of the interactive ad agency DoubleClick (Nasdaq: DCLK) Latest News about DoubleClick.

Multimedia advertising, especially video ads, are also expected to grow exponentially in coming years, as is spending on advertising that leverages social networking sites and other Web 2.0-style online communities.

Higher Highs

Still, at least for now, search-based advertising will continue to be the area where most of the money will be aimed, Sterling Market Intelligence Principal Analyst Greg Sterling told the E-Commerce Times.

For instance, in 2006, search marketing's share of the total ad spending was down 1 percent from the year before, with the share of the spending going to display advertising rising.

"Keyword search and contextual ads are what marketers are comfortable with -- they can measure it and know that it works," Sterling noted. "The growth is already starting to pick up across the other categories."

After soaring and then crashing along with the dot-coms, online ad spending has experienced almost uninterrupted increases since late 2002, IAB data show. Growth has accelerated in the past three years, even as the market has gotten larger.

The first quarter spending level of $4.9 billion outpaces the total online ad spending from 1999, at $4.6 billion. As recently as 1997, total Web advertising spending was less than $1 billion for the full year.

Shuttle Engineers Rule Out Tank Leak

NASA technicians preparing for Friday's Atlantis launch feared the shuttle's external fuel tank could spring a leak. The tank's measurements were off -- but when engineers performed leak tests, no glitches were found. Now, NASA officials are hoping the weather cooperates and a possible labor strike doesn't interfere with the launch.

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AP | 06/07/07


NASA Latest News about NASA resolved lingering concerns about lines connecting the external fuel tank to Atlantis on Wednesday and moved ahead with preparations for the first space shuttle launch of the year.

Forecasters predicted a 70 percent chance the weather would be favorable for launching Atlantis at 7:38 p.m. EDT on Friday.

Engineers were concerned that measurements of two lines that connect Atlantis to its external fuel tank may not be the same as they had been at the manufacturer, which could cause a hydrogen fuel leak. The problem was found on the tank for space shuttle Endeavour, which is having those lines replaced for a launch in August.

Tests Showed No Leaks

Engineers concluded the problem was unique to Endeavour's tank, which previously was attached to Atlantis in 2003 and then was disconnected after the Columbia disaster kept the shuttle fleet grounded for two and half years.

Leak tests on Atlantis also have shown no glitches.

"We don't have a reason to believe we have similar circumstances," said LeRoy Cain, shuttle launch integration manager.

Technicians planned to start fueling the shuttle's power cells, and the vehicle's payload doors were shut Tuesday.

"Everything is in excellent shape," said Robbie Ashley, the mission's payload manager.

Storms and Looming Labor Strike

Another distraction for the launch is the prospect of 569 workers at the Kennedy Space Center going on strike as early as this weekend. The workers rejected a contract offer last weekend from United Space Alliance, the space agency's primary contractor for preparing space shuttles for launch.

Few of the workers who might strike have any direct role in the final preparations for space shuttle launches, and NASA officials have said there are other employees who could fill the roles of striking workers if necessary.

"We will not be compromised as it relates to the launch, post-launch or any of the work that we do," Cain said.

The launch originally was set for mid-March but was postponed after a freak hail storm caused thousands of dings in the insulating foam on Atlantis' external tank. Technicians spent more than two months making painstaking repairs to the tank.

Hail and strong winds threatened the launch pad Wednesday afternoon as thunderstorms blew through the Kennedy Space Center.

"We would have to be so unlucky to get more hail on this tank," said launch director Mike Leinbach.

During the 11-day mission, Atlantis and its seven astronauts will deliver a new segment and a pair of energy-producing solar panels to the international space station and rotate out a crew member at the orbiting outpost.

EU Cell Phone Roaming Fees Could Be Capped by August

Making a cell phone call in Europe can be very expensive if the caller is roaming outside his or her home country. That will likely change soon. EU officials made another step toward putting strict limits on cell phone roaming fees Thursday, and caps could be in place this summer. European telecoms say such government regulation sets a bad precedent.

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AP | 06/07/07


EU governments agreed to cut the cost of using mobile phones abroad Thursday, paving the way for a cap on roaming fees later this summer.

The price of a mobile phone call from abroad may drop by as much as 70 percent, according to the EU's executive Commission. Europeans will have better information on hidden charges they face when they make calls from a country other than their own within the 27-nation bloc after the law takes effect at the end of June.

'Get the Job Done'

Telecom companies will have one month after that to offer customers a new pricing structure with considerably cheaper roaming fees.

Mobile phone users will have another two months to choose whether they want to stick with their existing contracts.

After that, they will be put on the new contract automatically. The timetable should allow proactive customers to benefit from cheaper prices this summer, the Commission has said.

The exact timing depends on the law going into effect as scheduled on June 30.

EU Telecom Commissioner Viviane Reding called on EU governments to stick the deadline.

"Millions of citizens are waiting," she said. "Let's get the job done."

Telecoms Lament

The telecom industry reacted with dismay, saying retail price regulation had no place in the free market.

"We're talking about a precedent. Regulating retail prices in this way is not what free market is about," said David Pringle, spokesperson for the GSM Association of Europe's mobile phone operators.

"It created uncertainty for investors because they don't know where the Commission will strike next. This is going to have a big, long-term impact," he said.

The Commission and national regulators said would monitor the changes closely.

"I know that some in the industry have been saying that domestic prices may rise now to compensate operators. I find this very hard to believe because competition between mobile operators is fierce," Reding said. "Raising domestic prices means kicking yourself out of the market."

She also warned that the Commission would also keep an eye on roaming prices for data -- such as text messages or Internet services like BlackBerries.

Costly Calls

Before the reform, a four-minute call from France across the border to Germany would cost a traveler 4 euros (US$5.38) even though a similar call made within France over a much larger distance could cost just a few cents. A Maltese calling home from Latvia can end up paying as much as 11.21 euros ($15.19) for a four-minute conversation.

Under the new rules, the retail roaming cap will be set at 49 euro cents ($0.66) per minute for making a call when abroad and 24 euro cents ($0.33) per minute for receiving one, plus value-added tax.

The ceilings would drop further, to 43 euro cents ($0.58) for making calls abroad and 19 euro cents ($0.26) for receiving them, by 2009.

Some 150 million mobile phone customers in the EU use roaming to make calls outside their home nation every year. Mobile operators draw between 10 percent and 18 percent of their revenues from international roaming charges, according to a 2006 study by research firm Evalueserve.

The European Commission has long argued that operators are reaping massive, unjustified profits from high roaming charges.