Please, for the Love of God, Upgrade Your Browser

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Description:  Internet Explorer 9, Chrome, and Firefox are great, but outdated software is still holding back the Web. Source: Slate.com   Date: 09/16/2010 Link: http://www.slate.com/id/2267673/ Questions for discussion: What does this article have to say about consumer adoption of new technologies? Why is it difficult to persuade consumers to upgrade their software, even when it… Read more »

Brin: Google search just got smarter

Posted by & filed under Part 2 Starting and Growing Your Business, Part 4: Marketing Management.

Description: Google’s co-founder Sergey Brin says that the new ‘Instant’ search will help people save time and accomplish more. Source: CNNMoney.com  – video report Date: 09/08/2010 Link: http://money.cnn.com/video/technology/2010/09/08/f_bt_google_instant.fortune/ Questions for discussion:  How has “Google search” changed over the years? Do you  think there is a “limit” to the types of search that Google can offer… Read more »

Rex on Techs: Overnight Viral Success

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Description:  Internet phenomenons like “Bed Intruder Song” are textbook cases for how online videos turn the most mundane of events into sensations, where random people just being themselves become quasi-celebrities. Rex Crum reports. Source:  Marketwatch.com – video report Date: 08/27/2010 Link: http://www.marketwatch.com/video/asset/rex-on-techs-overnight-viral-success/779C5034-618C-4007-8946-B084683E2528 Questions for discussion:  How do you explain this example of viral communication success?… Read more »

What went wrong at Burger King

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Description:  It’s not yet clear what Burger King’s new owner, the Brazilian-backed private equity firm 3G Capital, has in mind for the troubled No. 2 fast-food chain. But a total strategic revamp is in order. Source:  CNNMoney.com   Date: 09/03/2010 Link: http://money.cnn.com/2010/09/03/news/companies/burger_king_buyout.fortune/index.htm Questions for discussion:  Summarize the reasons given for Burger King’s failure? What would… Read more »

Apple TV swings hard but misses

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Description:  The previous version of Apple TV was dubbed “take two.” Will the new model be known as “strike three”? Source: CNNMoney.com   Date: 09/02/2010 Link: http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2010/09/02/apple-tv-swings-hard-but-misses/ Questions for discussion: Do you think the Apple TV will prove to be another flop? Ideally, what do you think TV viewers want from Apple? How can changing… Read more »

A Greener Champagne Bottle

Posted by & filed under Part 1 Business in a Global Environment, Part 4: Marketing Management.

Description:  Deep below a lush landscape of ripening Champagne grapes, Thierry Gasco, the master vintner for Pommery, ran his finger over the shoulders of a dark green bottle that looked just like the thousands of others reposing in his chilly subterranean cellars. But to the practiced hand and eye, there is a subtle, if potentially… Read more »

digits: Pay TV Loses Subscribers

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Description:  The subscription television industry suffered a drop in total subscribers in the second quarter. Meanwhile, more online TV viewing options abound. Dow Jones Newswires’ Nat Worden joins Simon Constable and Spencer Ante on Digits to discuss. Source:  Marketwatch.com – video report Date: 08/24/2010 Link: http://www.marketwatch.com/video/asset/digits-pay-tv-loses-subscribers/3B9C3648-A3D8-4A53-937A-CDF2F564C568 Questions for discussion:  Do you think the trend away… Read more »

USA Today to Remake Itself to Stress Digital Operations

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Description:  The history of USA Today is full of firsts for the newspaper business: the first general-interest national paper of its kind, the first to use color widely in charts and photographs and once first in the number of copies printed each day. Source: NYTimes.com   Date: 08/27/2010 Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/28/business/media/28paper.html?ref=business Questions for discussion: Do you… Read more »

Lenovo doesn’t have IBM’s cache

Posted by & filed under Part 1 Business in a Global Environment, Part 4: Marketing Management.

Description:  Five years after buying IBM’s PC unit, Lenovo’s a hit in China but still struggles for international success. Source: CNNMoney.com – video report   Date: 08/19/2010 Link: http://money.cnn.com/video/news/2010/08/19/n_lenovo.cnnmoney/ Questions for discussion:  Why do you think Lenovo has had so much trouble establishing its brand in the U.S. market? What does the success in China… Read more »

digits: Oracle Takes Sweeping Shot at Google

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 Description:  Oracle Corp. has sued Google Inc. for patent and copyright infringement, on grounds that Google’s Android OS violates Java copyrights. The suit has sent shockwaves throughout Silicon Valley. WSJ’s Don Clark explains the possible implications of the suit to Simon Constable and Jennifer Valentino-DeVries. Also: are more TV shows and movies coming to the… Read more »