Here is a article from Wired about how terrrorism could be potentially modeled and studied through World of Warcraft. Although, I think that this is neat in theory, I have to agree with the author’s summation that WOW could never help analysts understand the social underpinnings of terrorism.
Monthly Archives: April 2008
Forum Nokia
Here’s an interesting look into the current mind of Nokia as they try to become more than just a handset maker by moving to the web.
March 21, 2008 4:16 PM PDT
Dell Moving into Niche Markets
Here’s an article from the CNET News blog. I didn’t know that Dell had fallen to #3 in laptops behind Acer. Ouch … To be honest, this doesn’t sit well with me. Animals are most dangerous when they feel cornered, so I imagine that the folks at Dell are working hard to come out with some killer stuff and will be trying hard to gain market share with pricing. At the same time, though, they are very vulnerable, so if we and Acer continue to out do them in design (Acer has some fashionable gear too for reasonable prices), I think Dell can be held at bay, especially if their plan for laptops this summer is to simply offer colored lids …
March 21, 2008 3:46 PM PDT
Acer Introduces 6-Speaker Home Theatre Laptop
The current Acer sounds like it’s a wise reconstitution of E-Machines, Gateway, and Acer. At CES I saw a lot of work on design and making their laptops look like they fit into a lifestyle from Acer. Acer is also known for having low prices. I would hate to be blind-sided by these guys while we focus on struggling Dell … Hmm
As for the laptop itself … well, without more details on the specs, I can’t say much. I know that it takes quite a bit of horsepower to smoothly generate true 1080-line video. I’m also skeptical of the sound quality out of something as small as a laptop. Is six speakers over two or three ( 2 + mini “subwoofer”) going to make a difference that customers can hear or this this merely to have the 5.1 speaker box spec. There’s also the matter of battery life and heat generation. There is a teaser of an image of some sort of specialized contol on the side of the machine in the picture below. I’m curious about that. I wonder if they have some Acer movie specific software to enhance the movie watching experience. Hmmmmmm … let’s noodle on that a bit.
Here’s a link to the article.
The Subliminal Effects of a Brand Logo
This is interesting and scary at the same time if this study is, indeed, a proper study. The latest I’ve heard about subliminal advertising was that it is an urban myth. However, this to me doesn’t sound like the advertising was done subliminally, rather as the article suggests our perception of a brand is like that of a person. And just like people we know, we approach a brand with deep level of connection crafted from years of interaction.
More Rambling 