Microsoft Plays The CryBaby While Google And Yahoo Japan Zip A Deal

July 30, 2010

Remember how Microsoft rejoiced having a deal with Yahoo USA last year after all the brouhaha? Its desperate attempt to become a minor number two in the search market competing with Google. Almost everyone was after Google like a pack of wolves to ensure the search giant wouldn’t sniff a deal with Yahoo and it continues to date. At least with Microsoft.

Google has struck an advertising deal with Yahoo Japan and that is hurting Microsoft. Why? I think don’t need to elaborate and my post yesterday on Google’s absolute dominance of the Search Market. With Google signing this deal, it would further solidify its position [though it really doesn’t need this]. However it would greatly benefit Yahoo, given that it will be leveraging Google’s dominance in both search and the ad market and it will most definitely not harm the Microsoft – Yahoo partnership but the Redmond, Washington based software provider has all the issues and things to worry about. A couple of those are:

It will severely damage a healthy competition for search

Google would become the dominant supplier of Ads in Japan for an indefinite period

These can be legitimate concerns but we have seen that Japan’s Fair Trade Commission has given a green signal to this deal. This is unlike the troubles Google faced when the Justice Department called the Yahoo – Google partnership in the US to be anti-competitive. That is just a tale Microsoft would continue to cry over given it has failed itself at search and what ever little respect it could have mustered by cementing a more global partnership with Yahoo. Yahoo Japan on the other hand is steering clear of the fight between number 1 and number 3 in search business stating that Yahoo will use Google’s search technology but would keep its advertising business separate.

I feel a bit sorry for Microsoft though, the heads must be cursing a missed opportunity and being outmaneuvered by Google. Can’t Google give in a small percentage of search share to Microsoft, as charity?

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Posted by TechPulse 360

First Solar’s Cautious Sales Outlook, Cost Improvement

July 29, 2010

First Solar offered a cautious outlook on sales this year, but said Thursday it cut manufacturing costs and promised a rapid expansion in utility-scale projects.

The thin-film giant reported second-quarter financial results with a 12 percent increase in sales. However, earnings were down primarily due to lower module selling prices.

The world’s largest solar maker acknowledged replacing some modules made from June 2008 to June 2009 because of declines in power output. It said replacement costs would add up to slightly more than $23 million for an anticipated 30 megawatts of modules.

Perhaps most significantly, the company cut its 2010 sales expectation to $2.5 billion to $2.6 billion from the $2.6 billion to $2.7 billion it forecast in April.

On a conference call, it said:

*Module manufacturing costs fell to 76 cents a watt, down 5 cents from the first quarter. Annual throughput per line was up 6 percent to 59 megawatts and material costs were lower. The company’s target is to reach 52 cents to 63 cents a watt in 2014.

*Utility-scale projects are expected to increase. First Solar said it anticipates building 500 to 700 megawatts of projects in North America during 2011, up from 175 megawatts this year.

*Demand is expected to exceed supply in 2010. First Solar expects production capacity to be 2.2 gigawatts by 2012, up from 1.4 gigawatts this year. Module conversion efficiency was 11.2 percent in the second quarter compared with 11.1 percent in the first quarter.

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Posted by Mark Boslet

Opinion: Amazon To Drop Kindle 3 Price At $99 By Holidays

July 29, 2010

The new Kindle will reach mass market status at the magical $99 price point

As Amazon plans to release a cheaper Kindle next month, the smaller, lighter, faster, brighter e-reader will actually reach “mass market” status when its price drops below $100, instead of $139 today (Wi-Fi only).

“That’s the magic price point for consumers,” confirms Netgear CEO Patrick Lo. “Our retail experience shows that consumers are more willing to buy 2 products at $99 than one at $199.”

So my advice to you is that, if you’re not in a hurry to jump in the e-reader bandwagon of course, to simply wait until mid-December, to buy the Kindle 3 at a $40 discount.

That will also give you the time to evaluate other options, such as smartphones and more complete Tablet PCs – like the Apple iPad – that will lets you read e-books, browse the Web, check e-mails and much more.

But at $99, there’s hardly any reason not to treat yourself with one for Christmas!

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[Video] Stanford: How the Mob is Killing Innovation in Russia

July 29, 2010

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[Video] China is Next Silicon Valley, Stanford Professor believes

July 29, 2010

Is China really the next frontier?

Is China really the next Silicon Valley? As much as I respect Steve Blank opinions, I don’t think so.

As Blank pointed it out in his magistral lecture yesterday about “The Past, Present, and Future of Silicon Valley” at the AlwaysOn Summit at Stanford, the problem for all the other Silicon Valley wannabes is first and foremost, the lack of a risk taking culture. “Silicon Valley was done by cowboys, not accountants. And even the investors were cowboys,” Blank adds.

But, in fairness, the lack of risk-taking doesn’t really apply to China, where “capitalism has gone wild.”

But there’s more than just a strong – but controlled – capitalism spirit, an “obscene pile of money,” a successful “manufacturing engine,” and the ability to educate the masses to spur innovation, Silicon Valley-style.

The missing ingredient? I believe Freedom – political, spiritual… – is as important to create this sense of purpose, compassion and community which could nicely be summarized by this Silicon Valley belief that “the sky is the limit.” Not the case in China today.

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Google Dominates Search Market Where Competitors Are Too Tiny To Be David!

July 29, 2010

When you talk about dominance, numbers speak louder than pages of reports written. Google, the name itself defines a Goliath in the search market and latest numbers seal its reputation. The search giant shares a gargantuan 90.5% of the market share and an even mind boggling 98.29% mobile search market share.

The numbers leave very less for the competitors in the arena, which includes Yahoo, Bing and others less notable search providers. the numbers are as follows for others:

Yahoo: 3.91% Search Market Share – and 0.8% Mobile search market share.

Microsoft Bing: 3.74% Search Market- and 0.46% Mobile search Share

The graph explains a whole lot more than I can ever express: an absolute dominance of Google over everyone else. The data compiled by Pingdom takes both the non-mobile search and the mobile search shares and the red bar isn’t the summed up data of both.

What is to learn for others here? First and foremost: you can’t beat Google, not now and not in the future. The reason for this superiority? Early adoption and emphasis on one category: search, you won’t find Google trying interactive pages, awesome background pictures, integrating all sorts of useless stuff on the main search page and making Google.com a destination/portal. That is exactly what people have loved about it, when they visit Google they are sure of doing what they are on the site for: Search unlike Yahoo for once. I can’t recall when was the last time I visited Yahoo.com for anything? It is flooded with all sorts of crap and search is just one aspect of it.

All in all, Google and search are synonymous to each other and despite all sorts of [legal] troubles Google has been into, it has been the best with what it started off with; plain old search.

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Lithium Ion Battery Prices On Slow Decline

July 28, 2010

Nissan Motors will offer an 8-year, 100,000-mile warranty for the lithium-ion battery in its electric Leaf hatchback.

General Motors has a similarly generous 8-year, 100,000-mile guarantee for its Volt hybrid, which it announced just days before Nissan unveiled its warranty on Tuesday.

Carmakers are becoming increasingly comfortable with the capabilities of batteries they once considered risky and unproven.

But they say it will still be years before price declines permit electric cars to compete effectively with gasoline-powered models without subsidies. Several said at the Plug-In 2010 conference prices could fall 50 percent to 75 percent – but only over the next five to 10 years.

Lithium-ion batteries prices today are generally said to be between $500 and $1,000 a kilowatt-hour. Consider then an average price of $750.

Observations from the conference suggest:

*Prices could drop to between $350 and $400 a kilowatt hour in five years – a projection from Ron Iacobelli, chief technology officer at Azure Dynamics, a supplier of drive technology for commercial electric and hybrid vehicles.

*Forecasts looking further see price declines to $250 by 2020 (even as energy density improves 30 percent to 50 percent). Asked if the target is conceivable, Ford’s Director of Global Electrification Nancy Gioia says: “That’s what everyone is shooting for.”

*At prices below $300 a kilowatt-hour, carmakers see an electric car competing effectively with gasoline vehicles without subsidies.

Perhaps most surprising is that the Chinese cost advantage seems to be disappearing as lithium-ion battery production expands in the United States and elsewhere.

Eighteen months ago, Chinese manufacturers touted costs that were lower, even if their prices didn’t include delivery. Since, they have risen slightly and are comparable – or between $500 and $1,000 a kilowatt-hour, says Haresh Kamath, a project manager at the Electric Power Research Institute.

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Posted by Mark Boslet

Is Apple Making iPhone 3G Totally Unusable To Force Upgrade?

July 28, 2010

The best thing an iPhone 3G user can do is to "downgrade" their not-so-smart phone !

Such customer disdain from Apple comes as no surprise.

It’s been a month since Apple released iOS 4 for iPhone 3G and 3GS and that consumers have been complaining – even on Apple’s discussion forums – of all sorts of problems directly related to the upgrade: unbearably slow, rapid battery drain or excessive heat!

And by the way, the upgrade to 4.0.1 doesn’t help either.

But the worse is Apple’s attitude. Just like with “Antennagate” Apple pooh-poohed criticisms, that is, until today. FINALLY! Steve, where are you? Still in Hawaii?

Apple is investigating reports that the latest iPhone operating system causes problems for users of the iPhone 3G, after a series of complaints on Apple support forums and technology blogs,” writes the Wall Street Journal online.

Here are examples of customer complaints.

But the iphone is very slow with IOS4. It doesn’t work as smooth as it used to be. Also new applications such as the iBook application are very slow, doesn’t respond smooth on screentaps etc.

This is absolutely ridiculous, the additions to the 3G handset are consolidation of email, a zoom to the camera and folders on the homepage….so why the **** has the handset slowed to snails pace??!

5 seconds to open the text window. Another 3 seconds to get a popup text input keyboard. 3 seconds to open the email window

This is such an outrageous situation that even the most loyal Apple fans are feeling that the Cupertino, Calif. is forcing them to upgrade to the iPhone 4 by making their iPhone 3G totally unusable!

“This phone has gone from being a dream to constantly annoying me. Not a way to make friends. I would upgrade to an iPhone 4, but I’m feeling pretty angry that Apple has forced my hand by making my 3G unusable,” wrote a user on the Apple support discussion forum.

So, Apple here’s YOUR roadmap for the next few weeks:

  1. Fix the iOS4 operating system or at least give your most loyal customers an option to downgrade to the older operating system!
  2. Fix the iPhone 4 antenna. Recall the whole damn thing and finally sell a flawless device that actually works the way it should;
  3. Fix the white iPhone 4  manufacturing and please stop lying about shipping dates
  4. Oh, and I forgot… and this one is for the boss… APOLOGIZE for all the trouble your lies caused to faithful fans and aggrieved customers!

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[Video] SecondMarket: An Alternative to Raising Venture Capital Money, Going IPO

July 28, 2010

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[Video] SecondMarket To Launch IPO Lock-Up Shares Marketplace

July 27, 2010

SecondMarket CEO Barry Silbert wants to completely disrupt the financial industry.

Wall Street should be wary of this financial startup that is trying to bring the financial industry upside-down.

New York City-based SecondMarket’s 14,000 participants manage over $1 trillion in investable assets and include global financial institutions, hedge funds, private equity firms, corporations (Facebook, LinkedIn, Zynga…) and high net worth individuals.

At the AlwaysOn Summit at Stanford today, SecondMarket CEO and Founder Barry Silbert unveiled his company’s plan to launch a marketplace to buy and sell IPO Lock-Up Shares.

“When a company goes public you have 6 months of a lock up [when you can't sell your shares],” Silbert said. Adding that banks hated his idea because they control those shareholders for 6 months and “they extract every last penny out of these transactions.”

Silbert also told the audience of entrepreneurs and investors how he finds new market ideas.

“If they [the banks] puke all over the table, we know that is the market that we want to get into because they’re making so much money off of the spread and the opacity that we know we can completely disintermediate that market.”

It’s getting personal!

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