I think that it is a very risky move from New York Times. It is planning to go behind a paywall from 2011. It is the most popular website in USA and it has a rich tradition that goes back to nearly 160 years. It is finding itself increasingly under pressure because of falling revenue from advertisements and subscription.
I think that the main problem is that those who are at the top at New York Times are unable to understand the new reality that has emerged after Internet became popular. Blogging perhaps changed the way we get news. For example, I am living in a country which is in opposite time zone of New York and it is now 3 AM in my city. I am writing about this topic because it is of some interest to me. In the past, I wanted to write something like this but I did not have any scope.
What New York Times and other major newspapers should try to do is to tap in to the market and attract people like me who have the passion for news.
Posted in News | Tagged Newspaper |
I just like to direct you to read the following two reports:
Apple seeks ban on U.S. Nokia imports
Kodak sues Apple and RIM over iPhone and Blackberry
From the headlines, it is perhaps clear that these are serious accusations. Well, the problem is that the boundary of tech companies is getting redefined. For example, traditionally Apple is not a mobile phone manufacturer or Kodak is not in the mobile phone sector either. However, with iPhone, Apple has emerged as a serious player in the mobile phone industry. On the other hand, now a days, mobile phone sets can take good pictures and thus, companies like Kodak has some interest in this sector.
The idea of convergence in technology is happening rapidly. We will see these kind of complains more in the coming years.
Google’s problem with Chinese government has perhaps an unlikely loser- Microsoft. This conflict between China and Google has now resulted in bringing more media attention towards the security vulnerability of Internet Explorer browser as it is now clear that the hacking against Gmail happened in IE. As a result, German government has issued a statement asking the citizens not to use Internet Explorer.
BBC reported:
The warning from the Federal Office for Information Security comes after Microsoft admitted IE was the weak link in recent attacks on Google’s systems.
Microsoft rejected the warning, saying that the risk to users was low and that the browsers’ increased security setting would prevent any serious risk.
However, German authorities say that even this would not make IE fully safe.
If some other governments in Europe follow the example of German government then the market share of IE may suffer to some extent.
Posted in News | Tagged Microsoft |
At this moment, Obama administration has got a dilemma in its own hand. It has proposed to put a new kind of tax on the banks because the banks got a lot of taxpayers’ money during the economic recession. But the bankers have opposed it and they have got the support of the Republican Party leaders. Opponents of Obama feel that it is politically motivated and it would not bring any benefit to the ordinary people.
It is the time of election in later this year and the democrats are looking to keep their majority intact in Congress. Many people in USA are very worried for their jobs as the unemployment figure is hovering around 10% consistently. So, they expect that their president would do something about it. There is a lot of resentment against the banking sector because many ordinary people think that the banking sector is the main culprit behind the economic recession.
The bank’s got a lot of bailout money from Obama administration and they have paid almost half of it. So, they are not happy with the new proposal because they feel that they’re unjustly and unfairly targeted. Their logic is that they have become successful in repaying the government the money that took an even they paid interest for it. The government instead should target those sectors like the auto industry who were not successful in paying back the taxpayers’ money.
Many of the Republican leaders have opposed this move by the Obama administration and they argue that in the end, the banks will take the money from the people and this way, it is only the ordinary people who will get all the harm instead of getting any benefit.
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CNN
Posted in News | Tagged Banking |
2009 might have been a bad year for most companies but Samsung has seen a good turn around in the 4th quarter. There is prediction that operating profit of up to $3.44 billion is going to come for the company in the last quarter of 2009. It should be mentioned here that Samsung suffered loss in the fourth quarter of 2008. Well, at that time, the world was entering in to a very kind of recession and now, the global economy slowly but steadily going out of the recession.
Good news for Samsung share holders. 2010 is also likely to be a strong year for the company.
Posted in News | Tagged Samsung |
The worst of economic recession is gone from US economy but on one front things are going from bas to worse indeed. There is no sign of new job creation that would help the people. If jobs are not created then naturally people would suffer and it will bring perhaps another recession because American economy is based on consumerism. If people do not have jobs then how they can buy products and services.
Is there a good way for this? Well, I don’t think that there is. US economy is in a mess. It is not good for anybody but I don’t see any good effort from anyone in this regard. Creating employment is not done by private companies as they have to think of their shareholders. US government injected a lot of money last year and it gave some good result. I guess that in 2010, US government will need to inject again a lot of money for job creation.
Posted in Economic Recession | Tagged Jobs |
President Obama would have perhaps a tougher year in 2010 because he will have to address the job loss issue. Now, many people in USA are unemployed and the figure is only increasing. In fact, many people have become totally frustrated and they are not even bothering to look for a job. This is a very sad picture in the richest country in the world. The job loss happened even in December and the sad part is that not enough jobs are being creates. Most companies still have conservative outlook towards the economy and they are not very keen on taking new workers.
Posted in News | Tagged Job Loss |
There is no doubt that 2009 was a bad year for most people in USA because of economic recession. The bad part of recession is that people get worried about their future and they tend to spend less money. Although I do not live in the US but I could realize the negative impact of this matter as I am a professional blogger.
The US government poured a lot of money in the economy it seems that many people responded during the holiday shopping season in November and December.
Reuters Reported:
U.S. online spending in November and December rose 4 percent from a year earlier to $29.1 billion, with sales showing particular vigor over the Black Friday weekend and the week leading up to Christmas, according to data released on Wednesday by comScore (SCOR.O).
If this trend continues then it will be good for the US economy.
Posted in News | Tagged Internet |
It is perhaps not the right time for this building because not only the global economy is still suffering from recession but also the economy of Dubai even looked shaky in the last few weeks. However, the construction of Burj Dubai was started on 2004 and at that time Dubai was only growing and flourishing. So, from this point of view, the project made a lot of sense.
Reuters reported:
With investor confidence in Dubai badly bruised by the emirate’s announcement in November that it would seek a debt standstill for one of its largest conglomerates, the Burj Dubai is seen as a positive start to the year after a bleak 2009.
The project has been scrutinized by human rights groups, who have objected to its treatment of laborers, as well as by environmentalists who said the tower would act as a power vacuum, increasing the city’s already massive carbon footprint.
But despite the criticism, many say the edifice, believed to have cost $1.5 billion to build, is an architectural marvel.
One interesting thing is that no one knows the accurate height of this skyscraper. So, the wait is almost over and it will be opened tomorrow and all the secrets surrounding it will come out. I wonder if it will become a popular tourist attraction or not. However, I guess it will be considered as the most important landmark of the city.
Posted in News | Tagged Dubai |
It was a tough time for many viewers because in our modern life, we are too much glued to our TV sets and channels. So, when Fox and Time Warner Cable had the problem and it seemed that they were finding it difficult to extend their contract, many viewers got worried about watching college bowl and National Football League games. Even some politicians got worried. In the end, the two sides could find a reasonable solution. The two companies agreed to renew their contracts. Thus, everyone is happy. Advertisement money is the main reason behind such a problem.
In future, we will see more of these problems. Perhaps, it is the right time that the politicians intervene and create some guidelines that would ensure that in future these kind of problems wont happen.
Posted in News | Tagged TV |
