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<title>Haaze.com / wilmaniarn / Published News</title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com</link>
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<pubDate>Fri, 08 Apr 2011 07:10:21 +0000</pubDate>
<language>en</language>
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<title><![CDATA[Microsoft reportedly at odds over retail store push]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=microsoft-reportedly-at-odds-over-retail-store-push</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=microsoft-reportedly-at-odds-over-retail-store-push</comments>
<pubDate>Fri, 08 Apr 2011 07:10:21 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>wilmaniarn</dc:creator>
<category>Mobile &amp; Electronics</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=microsoft-reportedly-at-odds-over-retail-store-push</guid>
<description><![CDATA[(Credit:Microsoft)Microsoft has reportedly been at odds internally over how aggressively it should expand its retail stores.Citing sources close to the company, Business Insider reported this week that CEO Steve Ballmer and Chief Operating Officer Kevin Turner have both been pushing for more Microsoft retail stores in a drive to match or even exceed the 300 Apple stores doing business around the world.But others in the company have apparently been crunching the numbers to argue against such a rapid expansion. To match the appeal of the Apple stores, Microsoft's stores have proven expensive to build. Plus, most of the stores have so far failed to turn a profit, according to Business Insider. One reason is that many of the products they sell are available at a variety of other retail chains.So far, Ballmer seems to have been persuaded to hold off on trying to catch up with Apple on the sheer number of stores. But that strategy isn't written in stone, according to Business Insider, as the retail push could ramp up if the stores start to earn their keep or if Microsoft wants retail space to sell a specific product.Responding to a question about the retail store strategy, a Microsoft spokesperson told CNET that the company is unable to share any specific information but said that &quot;since 2009, we have opened eight stores and seen over 3.4 million customers and are thrilled with what we're hearing from them thus far.&quot;Since launching its first Microsoft store in 2009, the company has been expanding its retail presence slowly with its eight current stores across the U.S., with a ninth slated to open in Atlanta this spring. The stores sell PCs and software as well as specific Microsoft gear such as theXbox 360 console. The PCs themselves are customized and optimized to remove any crapware installed by the vendors. The stores also offer an Answer Desk, similar to Apple's Genius Bar, along with training classes and other in-store services.Updated at 10:15 AM PT with statement from Microsoft.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Hands on with iOS 4.2 Gold Master]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=hands-on-with-ios-4-2-gold-master</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=hands-on-with-ios-4-2-gold-master</comments>
<pubDate>Thu, 18 Nov 2010 08:10:13 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>wilmaniarn</dc:creator>
<category>Mobile &amp; Electronics</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=hands-on-with-ios-4-2-gold-master</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Finally you will be able to use multitasking features on your iPad.(Credit:Screenshot by Jason Parker/CNET)Over the past two weeksiPhone andiPad users alike have been waiting for the promised iOS 4.2 update. After a false alarm last Friday, Apple pushed out Gold Master developer versions of the update today and Wednesday. So as we wait for the real deal--which could come as early as tomorrow--we downloaded the Gold Master to give the update a trial run.Apple won't release an official list of new features until iOS 4.2 becomes available to the general public, but we scanned through the additions that have been observed so far. Nothing will blow your mind, but we're never one to pass over new features, no matter how small they are. The iPhone 4 gets a few interface tweaks, more customization for message alerts, printing for photos andSafari pages, additional parental controls, and an option for jumping directly to a FaceTime call from a messaging thread. You also get the ability to search for text on a Safari page, which is most welcome. iOS 4.1, which came out in September, added high-dynamic range photos, support for TV show rentals on iTunes and brought back the Field test mode. iOS 4.2 for iPad has plenty of features to offer as well. Not only does it bring Apple's tablet device up to speed with the latest iPhone OS features like Multitasking, App folders, and GameCenter, but iPad users will also get some interesting additions of their own. Under iOS 4.2, the iPad now lets you search for local printers, search for instances of a word on Web pages, adjust brightness from the multitask screen, and much more. We'll continue to add new features as we find them. And once the update goes live, we'll follow up with more analysis. In the meantime, keep clicking that &quot;check for update&quot; button in iTunes.  A First Look at iOS 4.2 on the iPhone (screenshots) First Look: iOS 4.2 on iPad (screenshots)  <br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Google gives employees 10 percent raise, cash]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=google-gives-employees-10-percent-raise-cash</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=google-gives-employees-10-percent-raise-cash</comments>
<pubDate>Tue, 09 Nov 2010 08:10:37 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>wilmaniarn</dc:creator>
<category>Marketing and advertising</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=google-gives-employees-10-percent-raise-cash</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Google CEO Eric Schmidt told all Google employees they can expect a 10 percent raise in the new year.(Credit:Google)In an apparent move to stave off defections to competitors, Google announced it is giving all its employees a $1,000 cash bonus and a raise of 10 percent, according to a source familiar with the matter.The raises, which take affect January 1, 2011, apply to all 25,000 employees at the Internet giant, according to an e-mail to employees penned by Google CEO Eric Schmidt and first revealed by Business Insider. &quot;We want to make sure that you feel rewarded for your hard work,&quot; Schmidt wrote. &quot;We want to continue to attract the best people to Google.&quot; In addition to the raise and bonus, Google will move a portion of employees' bonuses into their base salaries, ensuring that they received the entire amount, Schmidt said in his e-mail:CONFIDENTIAL: INTERNAL ONLY GOOGLERS ONLY (FULL TIME AND PART TIME EMPLOYEES)I'm pleased to share some very, very good news with Googlers worldwide. But first let me say, on behalf of everyone on the management team, that we believe we have the best employees in the world. Period. The brightest, most capable group of this size ever assembled. It's why I'm excited to come to work every day--and I'm sure you feel the same way. We want to make sure that you feel rewarded for your hard work, and we want to continue to attract the best people to Google.So that is why we've decided...to give all of you a 10% raise, effective January 1st. This salary increase is global and across the board--everyone gets a raise, no matter their level, to recognize the contribution that each and every one of you makes to Google.There's more. We've heard from your feedback on Googlegeist and other surveys that salary is more important to you than any other component of pay (i.e., bonus and equity). To address that, we're moving a portion of your bonus into your base salary, so now it's income you can count on, every time you get your paycheck. That's also effective January 1st. You'll be receiving an email shortly with further details about these changes to your compensation. And one last thing...today we're announcing that everyone will get a holiday cash bonus, too.Googlers, you are what makes this company great, and our goal here is to recognize you for your contribution, in a way that's meaningful to you. Thank you for all that you do, and for making Google a place where magic happens.EricA Google spokesperson said retaining employees was key to the company but did not elaborate. &quot;While we don't typically comment on internal matters, we do believe that competitive compensation plans are important to the future of the company,&quot; the spokesperson said.The move comes as Google grapples with a wave of high-profile defections to Facebook. Last month, Lars Rasmussen, one of the lead engineers behind Google Maps and Google Wave, announced he had left the Internet search giant for Facebook. Rasmussen told the Sydney Morning Herald that Facebook's offer was &quot;much more compelling both financially and in terms of the work there.&quot;At his new employer, Rasmussen joins former Googlers Bret Taylor, Facebook's chief technology officer, who was part of the Google Maps team, and Carl Sjogreen, now a product manager at Facebook, who was also involved with Google Maps.        Steven Musil    Full Profile E-mail Steven Musil   E-mail Steven Musil If you have a question or comment for Steven Musil, you can submit it here. However, because our editors and writers receive hundreds of requests, we cannot tell you when you may receive a response.   Submit your question or comment here: 0 of 1500 characters       Steven Musil is the night news editor at CNET News. Before joining CNET News in 2000, Steven spent 10 years at various Bay Area newspapers. E-mail Steven.  <br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Tech banker Frank Quattrone foresees lots of cross-industry mergers]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=tech-banker-frank-quattrone-foresees-lots-of-cross-industry-mergers</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=tech-banker-frank-quattrone-foresees-lots-of-cross-industry-mergers</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 30 Nov -001 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>wilmaniarn</dc:creator>
<category>Latest News</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=tech-banker-frank-quattrone-foresees-lots-of-cross-industry-mergers</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Apple taught the tech world that going vertical &amp;8212' where a company owns many of the critical technology ingredients that it uses in its products &amp;8212' can result in big payoffs. Products like the iPhone and iPad are made with Apple software, chips, and hardware.Because Apple succeeded so well with that vertical business model, other companies are following suit. Add to the fact that big tech companies are sitting on a lot of cash and you&amp;'ll find that the result is a merger and acquisition boom, said Frank Quattrone (pictured, left), head of merger advice firm Qatalyst Partners.This is the phenomenon we wrote about on the triumph of vertical models over the horizontal model. In horizontal businesses, each company carves out a certain role. With the PC, Microsoft made the operating system. Intel made the chips. And IBM shipped the computer.Now, Apple designs chips that it uses in mobile phones that run its own operating system. Microsoft makes its Xbox 360 hardware and supervises the design of its chips. Intel has broadened beyond chips with its purchase of software firms Wind River Systems and McAfee. And Oracle is designing hardware and chips thanks to its purchase of Sun Microsystems. Acquisitions across industries within the tech sector are now far more likely than ever before.&amp;''In every category, you used to have one or two buyers,&amp;'' he said. &amp;''Now that companies are buying across industries, there are many more potential buyers.&amp;''That means the potential for merger mania is gathering steam. Quattrone talked about this trend in a conversation with venture capitalist Bill Gurley (pictured, right) of Benchmark Capital at the Web 2.0 Summit in San Francisco today.Quattrone is known for his past jobs at Morgan Stanley, Deutsche Bank, and Credit Suisse First Boston where he played a big role as a financier of Silicon Valley. He helped Cisco, Netscape and Amazon.com go public. But then he got caught in a scandal that took him out of the investment-banking business. He was prosecuted for interfering with a federal investigation into how shares were allocated for IPOs. That led to a long legal struggle.The case was eventually dropped. Quattrone&amp;'s name was cleared, but his reputation was tarnished.Quattrone said that, after his ordeal , that he did serious soul-searching. He thought about doing a private equity fund, shifting the green technology, or philanthropy. But he decided he had the most fun giving advice to tech companies considering merger and acquisition deals. That&amp;'s whats gives him a window into today&amp;'s M&amp;amp'A environment.Next Story: GM to raise whopping $20 billion in IPO, Chevy Volt riding high Previous Story: Twitter confirms analytics test, says there&amp;'s no release datePrintEmailTwitterFacebookGoogle BuzzLinkedIn      DiggStumbleUponRedditDeliciousGoogleMore&amp;8230'          Tags: Mergers and Acquisitions, vertical integrationCompanies: Apple, IBM, Intel, Microsoft, Oracle, Qatalyst Group, Sun MicrosysetmsPeople: Bill Gurley, Frank Quattrone          Tags: Mergers and Acquisitions, vertical integrationCompanies: Apple, IBM, Intel, Microsoft, Oracle, Qatalyst Group, Sun MicrosysetmsPeople: Bill Gurley, Frank QuattroneDean is lead writer for GamesBeat at VentureBeat. He covers video games, security, chips and a variety of other subjects. Dean previously worked at the San Jose Mercury News, the Wall Street Journal, the Red Herring, the Los Angeles Times, the Orange County Register and the Dallas Times Herald. He is the author of two books, Opening the Xbox and the Xbox 360 Uncloaked. Follow him on Twitter at @deantak, and follow VentureBeat on Twitter at @venturebeat.VentureBeat has new weekly email newsletters.  Stay on top of the news, and don't miss a beat.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[From GAP to the electric car: Teslaa4a4s George Blankenship]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=from-gap-to-the-electric-car-teslaâÂ€Â™s-george-blankenship</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=from-gap-to-the-electric-car-teslaâÂ€Â™s-george-blankenship</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 30 Nov -001 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>wilmaniarn</dc:creator>
<category>Latest News</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=from-gap-to-the-electric-car-teslaâÂ€Â™s-george-blankenship</guid>
<description><![CDATA[How do you go from selling clothes to electric cars George Blankenship, Teslaa4a4s vice president of design and store development knows.A 20-year veteran of global clothing store GAP and the man responsible for Applea4a4s successful retail stores, Blankenship jokes that these previous jobs were practice for his time atTesla.But jokes aside, what plans does Blankenship have to turn Tesla from a boutique $109,000 electric sports-carmanufacturer into a name synonymous with electric vehicles We caught some time with Blankenship last week and chatted about his new position at Tesla.Youa4a4re coming up on five months with Tesla &amp;8211' congratulations! How have the first five months beenGeorge Blankenship: Ita4a4s a wild ride. Ita4a4s everything I thought it would be, and then about ten times more. We have so much going on and therea4a4s so many exciting things happening almost every day that ita4a4s actually hard to describe.You sorta jump into this thinking of it as a startup. Then you start finding out a little more and getting involved a little more. It is just&amp;8230' every day therea4a4s something new and ita4a4s really exciting.So far, what has been the most exciting moment for you at TeslaGB: I think Ia4a4ve been able to bring a couple of other individuals into the company, and then secondly the opening in Tokyo last Friday which was an incredible event.It was interesting because Akio Toyoda likes fast cars andsports cars. He and Elon just get along famously. To see the two of them sit in one of our Roadsters and drive out of our showroom together in Tokyo and drive down the street is a little spine-tingling.Are there more stores opening this yearGB: This has been a really active six months. We opened in Zurich and Copenhagen and Paris and then off to the other end of the world in Tokyo.Coming up in December wea4a4ll be opening in Milan, so thata4a4s coming up very soon. And then we will open in Washington DC.In the spring wea4a4re going to open our new prototype design store, which is shifting to very high foot traffic locations. Wea4a4ll open a couple of those in the spring and roll some more out in the fall.Is that part of a move to create more Apple-like stores for Tesla in shopping malls Howa4a4s that going to workGB: What wea4a4re trying to do with that store is truly shift the customer experience when it comes to how they think about a car purchase and how they think about owning a car. Todaya4a4s model is very structured around the world with a few minor exceptions.What they do is, somebody decides what car you should have. And when you come there as a customer their number one job is to sell you a car that they have on their lot that they have already pre-chosen for you.We dona4a4t want to do that.We want the car-buying experience to become very special, individual. This isyourcar. Not one that someone has chosen for you. We want you to become engaged in buying the car.Wea4a4ve designed a store that is meant to be very inviting to come into. We have what is a fairly expensive car, and we want kids to open the doors. We want kids to enjoy the car. We want parents and people to sit in the car.Wea4a4ll have an entire section of the store devoted to understanding electric vehicles and understanding what ita4a4s like to own a Tesla. So we invite them in and then we want to be informative.We want to engage them and engage them in the buying experience.The new stores are designed to do that. They are designed to make you want to be there. To make you feel welcome and explain to you electric vehicles and the fun part of owning a Tesla.So your job is to effectively do what you did at GAP and Apple with TeslaGB: I guess I come from a background of vertically integrated companies. I mean, you think of GAP. When I joined we still sold a lot of Levi&amp;'s material and then we ended up going completely vertical so you could control the product: you could design it' you could make it: you can market it the way you want to. You can listen to the customers directly and take their comments and do what the customer wants because ita4a4s all youApplea4a4s the same way. We designed the hardware and the software. We put them together in front of the customers in a great environment, listened to the customers, took care of the customers at the genius bar. Understood about the product and how the customer interfaced with it and then went back to the beginning of the design.This is exactly what wea4a4re doing here. Completely vertically integrated. We control the entire process. We can make it as fun as engaging as we want and we can learn from the customers directly &amp;8211' and then we can affect the product and go through that virtuous cycle again.Is the ultimate goal for Tesla to have a store in every townGB: You dona4a4t need a store in every town. Herea4a4s the beauty of the new model wea4a4re going to.Ita4a4s not a great big dealership on the outside of town that costs a lot of money for the land, a lot of money for the building &amp;8211' a lot of money invested in the interior and the huge inventory of cars. That is not the model.The model is go into a place where people frequent on a day in and day out basis where you can be a part of their lives every time they go to a shopping center or high street.Be a part of their lives that they see on a regular basis.Then what you do is make it a fun and inviting environment so they want to stop in. So what ends up happening is you can be where they are already. You can be a part of their daily life.So what happens is that they stop in and say hello. They run into another owner. And they chat. And then you can show them owners in the Tesla area that wea4a4re talking about havingvideos of current owners who can share the story of what ita4a4s like.Why not go the franchized dealer model, like most other automakersGB: Once you take a portion of the experience out of your own hands youa4a4re relying on someone else to deliver your vision and our vision is to be the best place in the world to own a car.In order for us to deliver on that vision we feel that its important that we monitor and deliver all parts of the experience.As soon as you go away from that model you start to loose control and if you loose control of the part that touches the customer that arguably is the most important part. So we do not want to leave that to anyone else other than ourselves because we consider that to be one of the most important parts.Having our technology being 4 to 5 years ahead is important too, but when it comes to time to touch the customer I really dona4a4t want that in anyone elsea4a4s hands than ours.While Apple is considered a premium brand by many people, Tesla is much more expensive. How is Tesla going to penetrate the market with an $109,000 electric sports car GB: When I joined Apple ten years ago there was one thing that most people knew about Apple: They didna4a4t want one. It wasna4a4t for them. It was for a few crazy people and some creative people and they knew they didna4a4t want one.That was the point we were starting from. When I joined Apple what I looked at great technology and a pipeline of great products ahead of us. We were starting from he position of people not wanting us. They knew they didna4a4t want us.What did we do We went out and got in front of them in a place they were comfortable and a place they were looking for something new and exciting. A place they were looking to buy.We did it in a way that made them feel comfortable and confident. When we delivered a new product we had a team of knowledgable, courteous sales people who could explain that product.I mean, think back to the iPod. When it first came out &amp;8211' herea4a4s this white brick with a cord coming out of it that happens to be wired to a pair of headphones. Its 3 to 4 times more expensive than the other music players on the market. It has a white dial on the front. No-one knows what to do with it.So people start coming into Apple stores and we start explaining it to them and people say a4AWow, thata4a4s really coola4. What we did was we came up with a way of explaining it. 10,000 songs in your pocket.So youa4a4ve got this ability to explain it and what happens People start buying it. But ita4a4s still 3 or 4 times more expensive than everything else in the market. But some people bought it. Then what hap[pens is the next one comes out. The iPodmini. More people can buy it and more do. Then you bring out colors. People want more. Then you bring out the Nano and ita4a4ll fit it their shirt pocket. Then what happens is the iTunes music store comes out. Then iPhone. Then iPad.Therea4a4s a progression.How does that relate to what wea4a4re doingRight now wea4a4re selling a $100,000 sports car. Okay. People are enjoying and embracing it just like they did the iPod. What wea4a4re doing in a couple of years is our iPod Mini &amp;8211' theTesla S. Ita4a4s more in line with a wider demographic.People will know us from the Roadster. Theya4a4ll know us from being fun to drive, being electric, being fun to be around and then theya4a4ll go a4Awow. I understand a little bit more than I did before. I want one of thesea4What I try to get across to everyone is that ita4a4s not important at all that you have those products. Ita4a4s not. Whata4a4s important is why you brought those products You brought those products because you wanted to. You wanted that product. You wanted to have an iPad. You wanted to have an iPhone. You wanted to have an iPod.Thata4a4s where wea4a4re going with Tesla.We are going to have people who want to buy our car. Thata4a4s our goal. Our goal is to have people want to buy our cars because they want to &amp;8211' not because they have to buy a car. Thata4a4s where the dynamic shift happens.In the 1990s Apple allowed certain clones to run itsoperatingsystem. Is that what Tesla is doing working with Toyota and Daimler &amp;8211' Allowing these automakers to run a4ATeslaa4 clonesGB: I see it differently. Let me use a different analogy. What wea4a4re doing withToyota or Daimler is not cloning. I see it more like this: I was at Apple when we designed iTunes forWindows. We wanted to be able to have the iTunes music store which was the best place in the world to buy music to be available to a larger crowd.At one point we were a4AWe will never ever write software for the other sidea4. But if you go back and look at the marketing &amp;8211' whenever the marketing came out for iTunes for Windows the tagline was a4AHell Froze Overa4.We said a4Awe need to let others use our technology to see how great it isa4. The rest is history.How many people use the iTunes music store today How many billions of songs are sold.I dona4a4t consider any computers running iTunes for Windows as being a clone. I see them as using the most advanced technology on the planet.Thata4a4s what wea4a4re doing at Tesla. Wea4a4re taking the best drivetrain and putting it into some RAV4s and some Daimler products.GAP and Apple are well-known major retailers. Why the switch to TeslaGB: I was very fortunate at GAP. I worked there for 20 years. I left on my 20th year anniversary and I decided 5 years before I left that I was leaving on my 20th anniversary. I had this whole 5 year plan. I resigned from GAP in September of 1999 and told them I was leaving in June of 2000. I gave them 9 months of notice so they could get my replacement.I ended up on the phone in March 2000. Ia4a4m sitting in my office and the admin comes in and says a4AI have Micky Drexler and Steve Jobs on the line for youa4. I thoughta4AI know whata4a4s going on here &amp;8211' the guys from the Philadelphia office were calling for a practical jokea4As I reach for the phone to pick it up and say somethingsmart the admin comes running down the hall, goes into myoffice and screamsa4ANo no no no! George! It really IS Drexler and Jobs!a4So I pick up the phone and it is Drexler and Jobs. Jobs wants to talk about retail stores. Drexler drops off and Steve (Jobs) says a4AListen, can we have luncha4When Steve Jobs asks you to lunch you say a4ASure, why nota4So I met him down at hisoffice and we chatted for a while and he invited me to join the company.I then spent the next 3 weeks explaining why I wasna4a4t going to do that, but finally ended up going a4AOkay. Ia4a4ve been practicing for a while to do this job. Ia4a4ll do this for a year and go help them get started.a4 Six years later, I left.I retired from Apple in 2006 and then did some consulting. In the spring of 2010 I kept getting these emails from this lady named Mary Beth Brown. She kept sending me these emails over and over and over again.Elon Musk would like to meet with youElon Musk would like to talk to you. When youa4a4re in real estate you get emails like that ten times a day. People want to talk to you about every little shopping center they have everywhere in the world.I kept deleting the emails.One day, I read the email. It read: a4AElon Musk would like to speak to you about the things you did at Apple. Please give me a calla4.So I called Mary Beth Brown and I get on the phone. She thanks me for calling and says a4AElon would like to talk to you. Hold on...a4 And Elon gets on the phone.There I am, sitting on the phone in Florida talking to Elon Musk on the phone talking about his company.Then we talked for about an hour and he says a4ACan we get togethera4 I said a4ASure, leta4a4s get togethera4.Wea4a4re trying to figure out when. Musk says a4AIa4a4m sorry to be pushy, but can we do it this afternoona4. I said a4ASure, but Ia4a4m in Florida.a4So he says a4AOh&amp;8230'. okay...a4 wea4a4re looking at our calendars and he says a4AOh, youa4a4re in Florida. Can I see you tomorrow Listen, I have to meet at Cape Canaveral tomorrow with Obama at noon and wea4a4re doing a presentation. The airport is going to be closed until 5. I could get to you for 6 oa4a4clock tomorrow.a4I thought. Wow. Youa4a4re meeting with President Obama and then youa4a4re coming to see me.We met at Fort Lauderdale airport. The next day he said &amp;''You have to come to LA and meet some peoplea4.I did.Incredible people. Talented, committed, passionate, driven about the job they were doing.Then they gave me the keys to the car. I was in the car 60 seconds and I knew I had to join the company.As I thought about it. As I look at Tesla today and I think back 10 years ago. I look at Tesla today with the same opportunity and future as I saw through the glasses I was wearing 10 years ago when I started at Apple.What are the differences between Apple, Gap and Tesla, and what are the similaritiesGB: At GAP I learned that less is more. It was quality, value and style. With Steve and Apple you learn that therea4a4s nothing that cana4a4t be done.Written by Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield, this article originally appeared on AllCarsElectric.com, one of VentureBeat&amp;'s editorial partners.Previous Story: Verizon&amp;'s LTE 4G network lands Dec. 5, serving 110M users in 38 marketsPrintEmailTwitterFacebookGoogle BuzzLinkedIn      DiggStumbleUponRedditDeliciousGoogleMore&amp;8230'          Tags: Akio Toyoda, electric cars, electric vehicles, Model S, RoadsterCompanies: Apple, Gap, TeslaPeople: Barack Obama, Elon Musk, George Blankenship, Steve Jobs, Toyota          Tags: Akio Toyoda, electric cars, electric vehicles, Model S, RoadsterCompanies: Apple, Gap, TeslaPeople: Barack Obama, Elon Musk, George Blankenship, Steve Jobs, ToyotaVentureBeat has new weekly email newsletters.  Stay on top of the news, and don't miss a beat.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Online ad sales eclipse newspaper advertising in 2010]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=online-ad-sales-eclipse-newspaper-advertising-in-2010</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=online-ad-sales-eclipse-newspaper-advertising-in-2010</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 30 Nov -001 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>wilmaniarn</dc:creator>
<category>Latest News</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=online-ad-sales-eclipse-newspaper-advertising-in-2010</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Online ads are expected to eclipse newspaper advertising for the first time, according to estimates from market researcher eMarketer.U.S. spending on online ads will hit $25.8 billion in 2010, compared with $22.8 billion spent on print ads in newspapers, the Wall Street Journal reported. This change has been a long time coming, since consumers have moved to the internet in large numbers and newspaper readers have stopped subscriptions as the papers get thinner and thinner.It reminds me of 2008, when I left the newspaper business after nearly 20 years to join VentureBeat. Back then, there was a lot of hand-wringing about the fate of newspapers. Times were heady for tech blogs and other online news sites. Then the recession hit and made everyone in the media gloomy.Ad spending in the U.S. is expected to rise 3 percent to $168.5 billion, eMarketer said. But spending on print ads in newspapers will decline 8.2 percent in 2010 and the forecast is for another decline of 6 percent for newspapers in 2011. At least newspapers seem to have stabilized from the huge drops they saw from 2006 to 2009, as you can see from the chart.&amp;''It&amp;'s something we&amp;'ve seen coming for a long time, but this is a tipping point,&amp;'' says Geoff Ramsey, the chief executive of eMarketer, in an interview with the Journal.Online ads don&amp;'t command the same kind of rates that newspapers do. But they make it up in volume, as there are so many more online publications. Forrester Research also reports that consumers spend as much time online as they do watching TV. The extra time spent online is coming at the expense of reading newspapers, browsing magazines and listening to the radio.[photo credit: Gawker]Next Story: Call of Duty Black Ops map pack hits Xbox Live on Feb. 1 Previous Story: Free-shipping day was one of the busiest ever for online retail salesPrintEmailTwitterFacebookGoogle BuzzLinkedIn      DiggStumbleUponRedditDeliciousGoogleMore&amp;8230'          Tags: newspapers ads, online adsCompanies: Emarketer, Wall Street JournalPeople: Geoff Ramsey          Tags: newspapers ads, online adsCompanies: Emarketer, Wall Street JournalPeople: Geoff RamseyDean is lead writer for GamesBeat at VentureBeat. He covers video games, security, chips and a variety of other subjects. Dean previously worked at the San Jose Mercury News, the Wall Street Journal, the Red Herring, the Los Angeles Times, the Orange County Register and the Dallas Times Herald. He is the author of two books, Opening the Xbox and the Xbox 360 Uncloaked. Follow him on Twitter at @deantak, and follow VentureBeat on Twitter at @venturebeat.VentureBeat has new weekly email newsletters.  Stay on top of the news, and don't miss a beat.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[BioWare to reenergize multiplayer gaming with Star Wars: The Old Republic (video)]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=bioware-to-reenergize-multiplayer-gaming-with-star-wars-the-old-republic-video</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=bioware-to-reenergize-multiplayer-gaming-with-star-wars-the-old-republic-video</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 30 Nov -001 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>wilmaniarn</dc:creator>
<category>Latest News</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=bioware-to-reenergize-multiplayer-gaming-with-star-wars-the-old-republic-video</guid>
<description><![CDATA[With 12 million paying subscribers, World of WarCraft is the juggernaut of the massively multiplayer online game business. But Star Wars: The Old Republic is waiting in the wings to challenge WoW&amp;'s dominance of online gaming. After many years of development and rumors of an absurdly high budget, Star Wars The Old Republic is expected to launch later this year.If the Star Wars game succeeds, it could generate huge revenues for Electronic Arts and prove that the MMO market is a real, competitive market, not one dominated by a single company that can defeat all rivals. It also means there may be more opportunity in the MMO market for other companies, such as Trion Worlds, which is launching its Rift: Planes of Telara MMO in March.We talked to the founders of BioWare, the Electronic Arts division that is making The Old Republic, about the pressure they&amp;'re under to make this game a success. WoW has dominated MMOs for more than seven years and it just saw a huge revival with the launch of World of WarCraft: Cataclysm in December. With each expansion pack, WoW offers new innovations to its users, and Cataclysm sold 4.7 million units in its first month. That will help WoW retain its subscriber numbers and possibly even grow them.But Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk, co-founders of BioWare, say they can offer something new. They&amp;'ve got the license for the Star Wars content that everyone loves &amp;8212' something that Muzyka calls a &amp;''force multiplier&amp;'' for the game&amp;'s marketing efforts. They are also integrating a lot of quest-oriented missions and a deep storyline into the game, much like BioWare does with its other epic games.As for that crazy budget rumored to be above $100 million, there has been no corroboration of that. On the company&amp;'s last earnings call, Electronic Arts CEO John Riccitiello said that the company is aware of rumors about the budget and they aren&amp;'t necessarily true. He said the company could make money on as little as 500,000 subscribers and that getting more than 1 million subscribers would be a highly profitable hit.Even so, no one disputes that this is one of the most ambitious video games undertaken. BioWare is one of the few companies with the track record of success to pull it off.Check out our interview with the BioWare founders below.Next Story: Pandora looks beyond music to sports and talk shows Previous Story: Pandora expects to lose money until 2012PrintEmailTwitterFacebookGoogle BuzzLinkedIn      DiggStumbleUponRedditDeliciousGoogleMore&amp;8230'          Tags: Star Wars: The Old Republic, World of WarcraftCompanies: Bioware, Electronic ArtsPeople: Greg Zeschuk, Ray Muzyka          Tags: Star Wars: The Old Republic, World of WarcraftCompanies: Bioware, Electronic ArtsPeople: Greg Zeschuk, Ray MuzykaDean is lead writer for GamesBeat at VentureBeat. He covers video games, security, chips and a variety of other subjects. Dean previously worked at the San Jose Mercury News, the Wall Street Journal, the Red Herring, the Los Angeles Times, the Orange County Register and the Dallas Times Herald. He is the author of two books, Opening the Xbox and the Xbox 360 Uncloaked. Follow him on Twitter at @deantak, and follow VentureBeat on Twitter at @venturebeat. Have news to share Launching a startup Email: tips@venturebeat.comVentureBeat has new weekly email newsletters.  Stay on top of the news, and don't miss a beat.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Twitter cofounder Biz Stone to advise AOL]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=twitter-cofounder-biz-stone-to-advise-aol</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=twitter-cofounder-biz-stone-to-advise-aol</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 30 Nov -001 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>wilmaniarn</dc:creator>
<category>Latest News</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=twitter-cofounder-biz-stone-to-advise-aol</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Internet behemoth AOL announced today that it has hired Biz Stone, cofounder of white-hot microblogging service Twitter, as a &amp;''social impact advisor.&amp;'' The move, which comes a week after AOL closed its deal to acquire popular blog and news aggregator The Huffington Post for $315 million, is just one of many AOL has made to revamp its image.Stone (pictured) is currently creative director at Twitter, where he oversees new product development, vets and proposes fresh ideas for the five-year-old start-up, and just generally functions as &amp;''the voice of the company and brand.&amp;''He wrote today in a blog post that he would not allow his new appointment at AOL to interfere with his duties at Twitter but did not respond to requests for comment on how he plans to juggle the two. (It must surely help that Stone&amp;'s responsibilities are so loosely defined.)MediaMemo reported Stone would receive equity in AOL as part of his new hire, but Twitter representatives did not confirm that.Stone also currently advises Japanese business contexts companyDigital Garage andDonorsChoose, an education nonprofit.Stone formerly worked with the Blogger team, at Google, and before that helped launch social blogging networkXanga.Asking Stone for help in integrating its new property seems like a smart move for AOL, which has struggled to stay hip and relevant in a field crowded with rapid-fire startups and increasingly innovative ideas.The company made 11 new editorial hires Monday. Those included promoting Howard Fineman, an analyst for NBC and MSNBC, from political editor to editorial director of the group' and adding John Montorio, a former editor at the New York Times and the Los Angeles Times, as its new culture and entertainment editor.Arianna Huffington, cofounder of the Huffington Post, has taken charge of what is now called AOL&amp;'s Huffington Post Media Group as president and editor-in-chief.The new additions come scant days after AOL said it would cut 20 percent of its staff, or around 950 jobs, in a bid to slim down its business and get back into the social media game.Said Stone about his new role in a blog post today:[AOL] is a company undergoing a rebirth and it has an amazing opportunity to align itself with meaning. The concept of doing good is not proprietary. To the extent that I am able, I&amp;'d like to help more companies follow this template toward a higher definition of success and more meaningful corporate metrics. When Arianna and Tim first spoke to me about advising in this capacity, I got a strong sense that they were serious about cause based initiatives.My role at Twitter has not changed. I&amp;'m keeping my day job in addition to accepting a role asSocial Impact Advisor at [AOL]. There are a handful of organizations I&amp;'ve agreed to advise. Last year, two startups I advised were acquired, leaving room to consider helping others. When I take on any advisory role, I&amp;'m considerate of time and expectations. My new partnership with [AOL] promises to be very meaningful and I&amp;'m excited about its potential.Previous Story: Chip shortages and price spikes likely to occur in wake of Japan quakePrintEmailTwitterFacebookGoogle BuzzLinkedIn      DiggStumbleUponRedditDeliciousGoogleMore&amp;8230'          Tags: advisor, Mergers and Acquisitions, Social networks, TwitterCompanies: aol, Blogger, Digital Garage, donors choose, Google, Los Angeles Times, New York Times, Twitter, xangaPeople: Arianna Huffington, Biz Stone, joe montorio          Tags: advisor, Mergers and Acquisitions, Social networks, TwitterCompanies: aol, Blogger, Digital Garage, donors choose, Google, Los Angeles Times, New York Times, Twitter, xangaPeople: Arianna Huffington, Biz Stone, joe montorioRiley McDermid is a contributing reporter to VentureBeat. She was previously the online editor at institutional investing and trading forum Markets Media, which she joined in 2008 from Dow Jones/MarketWatch in New York. Her work has appeared in the The New York Times, the Associated Press, Portfolio Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, and Barrona4a4s. She has won awards from the American Society of Business Publishers and Editors, the Magazine Association of the Southeast, the Mississippi Press Association and the Atlanta Press Club, and was a finalist for the Pacemaker Prize for excellence in news reporting. Have news to share Launching a startup Email: tips@venturebeat.comVentureBeat has new weekly email newsletters.  Stay on top of the news, and don't miss a beat.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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