Here's the Pitch: Advertising Customers Get the Right MessageWashingtonpoost.com, October 18, 2004
Consumers are constantly pitched new products and services through direct mail, telemarketing calls, e-mail spam, and television and radio spots. But how effective are the ads? Which ones actually make people want to buy a new cell phone or sign up for digital cable? Are advertising campaigns targeting the right audiences? Upper Quadrant says it can help companies answer those questions more effectively.
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Blockbuster Cuts Online Price, Challenges NetflixReuters, October 15, 2004
Video chain Blockbuster Inc on Friday said it would lower the price of its online DVD rentals to undercut a similar move by Netflix Inc. that sparked a stock a sell-off of both companies' shares. The cuts caused talk on Wall Street of an impending price war in the still-growing business that Netflix pioneered but has been joined by Blockbuster, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and could soon see the entry of Amazon.com Inc.
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Will Google Say Hello to IM?Cnet, October 15, 2004
Google watchers abuzz about the search darling's new desktop tool are already betting on its next product: instant chat. Such speculation isn't new, but it's gained legs as some intriguing facts have come to light this week. First, although few people seem to realize it, Google already owns an instant-messaging (IM) client called Hello that it picked up this summer with its acquisition of photo-sharing service Picasa.
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MP3 Losing Steam?Cnet, October 15, 2004
After years as the unrivaled king of the digital-media world, the venerable MP3 music format is losing ground to rival technologies from Microsoft and Apple Computer.
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Dell Teams Up to Fight SpywareWired, October 16, 2004
A prominent internet safety organization and leading computer-maker Dell launched a campaign Friday to help consumers fend off spyware, software that can cause sluggish computer performance or popup ads and secretly monitor the activities of internet users. The non-profit Internet Education Foundation published video tutorials and tips for internet users to keep spyware off computers and detect any spyware already installed. It also directs visitors to dozens of free and commercial tools to easily remove spyware.
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Wi-Fi Successor Called High-Speed Hype, for NowReuters, October 17, 2004
At virtually every turn, Intel Corp. executives are heaping praise on an emerging long-range wireless technology known as WiMAX, which can blanket entire cities with high-speed Internet access.
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