The tech world is always in transition. Older technologies depreciate over time, to the point where they become obsolete. Thinking ahead to the future of the video-game industry, this could be the last cycle for console systems, like Sony's PlayStation and the tangible software these systems require. And if it isn't the last cycle, it's certainly the next-to-last. As Internet technology, computer processing speed and storage capacity continue the onward march to ubiquitous connectivity, soon there will be no need for CDs, DVDs, video-game consoles, etc. However, advancement means intellectual property will become increasingly difficult to …

Remember CAN-SPAM? As many said at the time, an actual legal measure to fight unsolicited email messages would be merely symbolic, similar to the RIAA's lawsuits against users for stealing music. It would never eradicate the problem. We were right. The problem has only gotten worse. Spam cost an estimated $17 billion in the United States last year in lost productivity and expense of measures to fight it, according to Ferris Research, a San Francisco-based research firm. Worldwide, that number is closer to $50 billion. If you've noticed an uptick in the amount of spam you've received …

Businesses now rely on what their audience has to say. The I-am-somebody Web 2.0 phenomenon means readers are not only writers but also instructors and innovators. This, after all, is the mantra of the wiki movement. All this led Time (rightly or wrongly depending on your opinion), to name the collective "You" as the person of the year. And the demand for "You" is just getting started. Your contribution will be needed in 2007 and beyond: CNN needs your eyewitness videos, and Wikipedia needs additions to its enormous and growing catalog. Your expertise is also in demand: Yahoo …

Thanks to Google Checkout, Steve Grossberg, an online video game seller, is selling product apace. A new promotion from the Web media giant, designed to ramp up usage of its new payment service by merchants, allows Grossberg to shave $10 off any purchase over $30, which at an average cost of $50, covers just about game on any system. Sales have tripled, and best of all, Google isn't charging any processing fees until the New Year. Happy holidays, indeed--and a big ouch for eBay. The promotion means no merchant in his or her right mind wouldn't want to …

It's the same ho-hum story for the folks at eBay. The online auctioneer is struggling to move beyond its core business. Its eBay Express Web site has been "a tough sell," says newspaper. One eBay clothier reports being excited about the new site, which lists products for sale at fixed-prices, but last month, she didn't sell a single item on eBay Express. It "doesn't seem to be any help," she said. She's not alone, either. The Professional eBay Sellers Alliance, an independent group of the site's sellers who collectively sell more than $1 billion a year …

Microsoft is making a strategic shift to push Microsoft's Office Live to small and mid-sized businesses. Its new marketing campaign features a guy in a gorilla suit who is trying to start his own business and talk about the benefits of Microsoft's software. The online ads use floating video technology from Rovion's InPerson platform. The software giant decided to go with floating after traditional online ads didn't work. "We do a lot of marketing investments with keyword search and banners, and what you notice over time is unless you can put something very interactive and compelling, you're not …

The Times plays down the widespread speculation that AOL is being dressed up for a sale. The paper says naming Randy Falco as CEO isn't the kind of choice Time Warner would make if it wanted to sell the company right away. Falco, for one, says, "I'm very loyal...I'm not in here for a short ride." Indeed, he spent 31 years at NBC Universal. "I can't imagine that Time Warner will want to sell or get out of AOL," he adds. But an AOL sale wouldn't necessarily be his decision either, although he would have some say in …

Sony's bad year got worse earlier this week, as the public relations nightmare that was AllIWantforXmasisaPSP.com was officially taken down by the electronics giant, after several news outlets, including MediaPost, exposed the site as a flog, or a fake Web log. But buried beneath the negative stories about Sony's marketing problems, was what could turn out to be a landmark decision for the electronics giant's portable media player, the PlayStation Portable. Widely regarded as a video game-only device, Sony is now opening up its Web-enabled handheld to the download video market. The PSP is a powerful little device …

The New York Times gives "a big tip of the cap" to MediaPost's own Tom Siebert for coining the term "flog," which refers to a fake Web log created by marketers, in his annual column about the best and worst in advertising over the past year. Flogs were actually all over the place this year--from Sony's PSP debacle earlier this the week, which pretended to be the work of an aspiring hip-hop artist named Charlie, but was actually created by the ad agency Zipatoni, to a fake travel diary of a couple who was paid by PR firm …

Digg, the news aggregate site, may have unveiled a new look on Monday, but it has failed to address the No. 1 problem plaguing its business: phony "diggs." The news aggregator depends on the wisdom of crowds; its users "digg" the best stories they find, but power diggers stick together. In some cases, diggs come from PR or marketing firms looking to cast their clients in a better light. Another tactic they use is to digg phony stories or press releases. The company has done its best to do away with phony digging, which is illegal …