Sony Pictures loots Home virtual world
One of those Sony synergy moments, which Sir Howard Stringer has been endlessly encouraging, happened today in its Home virtual world on the PlayStation 3.
The chief executive expects joined-up thinking between different divisions, and Sony Pictures Entertainment – the movie studio – and Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA) – the PlayStation people – have delivered.
Sony Pictures announced the launch of a Loot team, a name that conjures up piratical skunkworks. Read more
The FT’s Lex column examines why the Kindle is no panacea for newspapers.
Newspaper executives increasingly believe gadgets such as the Kindle, Amazon’s sleek e-book reader, might fix their industry’s malfunctioning business model. This week, the New York Times, Boston Globe and Washington Post announced plans to subsidise the cost of new Kindles to win electronic subscribers in certain markets. Even Rupert Murdoch, chief executive of News Corp, is making noises about handheld gadgets. If enough people bought them, the NYT, for example, could theoretically save up to 35 per cent of its flagship paper’s operating costs if it sold only paperless subscriptions. Read more
Gadget Guru Paul Taylor reviews the best automated back-up products:
Simplicity. Leonardo da Vinci described it as “the ultimate sophistication”, while Albert Einstein said “everything should be made as simple as possible, but no simpler”. More recently, we have been urged to adopt the “kiss” principle – “keep it simple, stupid”. Read more
The FT’s Lex column examines the plight of one of China’s internet market leaders:
Investors generally know better than to expect a coherent long-term strategy from executives in the internet business. But when a $7bn company tears up its entire business model within a year of going public, it can be accused of pushing its luck. Read more
Gadget Guru Paul Taylor has been covering the launch of Amazon.com’s new Kindle DX. Today he takes a historical view of the product, arguing that Amazon is in fact a latecomer to the e-book game.
Based on the buzz around Amazon’s latest Kindle wireless electronic book reader – the big screen Kindle DX, which will cost $489 – it would be easy to think that the US online book and electronics retailer invented the e-book reader category. Read more
Uneasy alliance for online ethics group
Womma, the Word of Mouth Marketing Association, has made its name trying to provide an ethical framework for the viral and buzz marketing industry.
It’s not an easy task, as viral and buzz practices can often appear deceptive, leading readers to believe that crafted conversations are in fact organic. Yet Womma has done a laudable job over the years, developing and revising a clear code of ethics that many companies now subscribe to.
So I was surprised to learn that Womm-U, the organisation’s upcoming summit in Miami, is being sponsored by Izea, a company notorious for its dubious ethical standards. This is a bit like if McDonald’s were to sponsor a PETA convention. Read more
A recession quandary: to launch or not to launch?
Technological change doesn’t slow for a recession, but customers do stop buying.
That’s a real headache for any tech company which has the misfortune to be on the verge of a major new product cycle in the depths of this downturn.
A case in point is Xerox, whose “solid ink” technology is one of those long-term projects that has been years in development, and which is now ready to yield a significant product breakthrough. Read more
| About this blog | Blog guide |
Richard Waters has headed the FT's San Francisco bureau since 2002 and covers Google and Microsoft, among other things. A former New York bureau chief for the FT, he is intrigued by Silicon Valley's unique financial and business culture, and is looking forward to covering his second Tech Bust.
Chris Nuttall has been online and messing around with computers for more than 20 years and since 2004 has reported from the FT's San Francisco bureau on semiconductors, video games, consumer electronics and all things interwebby.
Maija Palmer has been writing about technology for the FT since 1999 and is fascinated by cybercrime, privacy and all the other issues of the information society. Based in London, she covers European tech companies and hopes that they won't all get acquired by American rivals.
Robin Kwong is the FT's technology, media and telecoms page editor in London. Formerly he was the Taipei correspondent and wrote about the companies that manufacture the vast majority of the world's computers and gadgets. He is interested in the intricacies of the technology supply chain and how China is increasingly changing the tech landscape.
Tim Bradshaw is the FT's digital media correspondent, and has just moved from London to join our team in San Francisco. He has covered start-ups such as Twitter and Spotify, as well as the online ambitions of more established media companies, such as the BBC iPlayer. He also covers the advertising, marketing and video-game industries. Tim has been writing about technology, business and finance since 2003.
