New approach to China
Official Google Blog: A new approach to China – According to Google, IP theft from Google and Gmail being hacked prompted a new approach to China. That’s very reasonable on the face of it, especially given that the IP theft also affected several other companies as well. However Google is uniquely placed to take a new approach to China because it has lots of rewards and few downsides. Such as the fact that Google is under pressure in the US and not doing terribly well in the Chinese market due to credible local competition. Or as another outlet put it Google: Revenues From China Are ‘Immaterial’ | paidContent
Consumer behaviour
A Few Good Kids? | Mother Jones – interesting how marketing data is being used. It seems that more work needs to be done on the creative and the approach
If Your 9-Year-Old Doesn’t Have a Cell Phone, He’s Not Socializing Enough – Fast Company
What Do Baby Boomers Want From Technology? – Bits Blog – NYTimes.com – some interesting progmatic attitudes to tech
Media Cache – TV Still Has a Hold on Teenagers – NYTimes.com – Forrester survey of European teens. Conventional media still consumed
Design
Snow Peak Official Website – cool Japanese over-engineered camping stuff, love their Baja table out of solid aluminium and titanium cooking ware.
Hacking with Style: TrueType VT220 Font – I remember this font from my time at Corning Optical Fibres using the plant DEC VAX which provided my first email account
Economics
Superfusion: How China and America Became One Economy. – By Daniel Gross and Win Rosenfeld – Slate Magazine
Asia leading the way | Economist.com
FT.com / World / Comment – Washington adapts to eastwards power shift
FMCG
Taste the Rainbow: Cigarette Makers’ Colorful Answer to FDA Packaging Regs | Advertising, Branding, and Marketing | Fast Company – tobacco companies use visual cues to make up for not being able to bill cigarettes as light, mild or low tar.
How to
Sleep success: How to make ZZZs = memory – life – 26 November 2009 – New Scientist
Ideas
Edge In Frankfurt: THE AGE OF THE INFORMAVORE by Frank Schirrmacher
How reputation could save the Earth – opinion – 15 November 2009 – New Scientist – at first when I read this headline I thought someone in corporate communications had been going full belt at the magic mushrooms again. Instead the concept is a kind of green whuffie
FT.com | Warfighting: The US Marine Corps on agility – interesting take on dealing with chaotic times
Innovation
Apple Patent Application Could Presage Thinner Devices – Bits Blog – NYTimes.com
London
FT.com | Olympics likely to harm UK tourism
Luxury
Cartier drops prices to woo young | The Japan Times Online – interesting move. I remember Armani doing a similar kind of thing with Armani Xchange in the early 1990s, it will be interesting to see the effect that it may have on the Cartier brand
Media
FT.com / Media – Disney boss tells Hollywood to rewrite script – internationalise content rather than assume a global media culture, develop online delivery platforms, cut costs, consolidate media franchises
Online
FT.com / China – Beijing tightens internet controls – “The internet is developing quickly, there are many loopholes in social management and maintaining social stability faces unprecedented new challenges,” said Meng Jianzhu, public security minister. “We must establish a comprehensive prevention and control social security system that covers the internet and the real world.”
Retailing
Retail outlook: Discounters best poised to thrive – USATODAY.com – US is seeing discounters thrive as well
Security
FT.com / UK – Watchdog probes sale of mobile phone records – take T-mobile’s licence away and shut them down
Software
Microsoft’s Future, Beyond Windows 7 and the PC – NYTimes.com – I can’t believe that the New York Times published this piece on Microsoft. Waggener Edstrom and Frank Shaw must have hit the roof when it came out. The mantra for Microsoft as a client is no surprises, I would be surprised if anyone walked willingly into this piece which eviscerates the corporate reputation
Apocalypse Then: a two-part series on the lessons of Y2K. (1) – By Farhad Manjoo – Slate Magazine
FT.com / Technology – Chinese court rules against Microsoft – infringed Zhongyi Electronics property rights.
Technology
The BBC is encrypting its HD signal by the back door | Technology | guardian.co.uk
Cloud computing: Clash of the clouds | The Economist
E.U. Takes More Time to Review Oracle-Sun Deal – DealBook Blog – NYTimes.com – I hope that Sun Microsystems finds a safe harbour at Oracle
The Digital Economy Bill is legislatively flawed | Left Foot Forward – piece that I co-authored with my pod neighbour Nick
Web of no web
AR to Realize World of Science Fiction — Nikkei Electronics Asia — November 2009 – good overview of augmented reality
Wireless
Daring Fireball: Oh Joe You Didn’t – interesting take on is or isn’t Apple earning more money on handsets than Nokia story that been doing the rounds on Twitter over the weekend