Wow. There’s plenty of buzz surrounding Blockbuster’s offer to buy Circuit City. Blockbuster’s reasoning is full of the usual business jargon: cutting costs, benefiting from complementary products, exploiting the growing convergence of media content and electronic devices, etc. All this will result in a “game-changing retail concept with a sustainable competitive advantage.”
Category: Tech News
Digg is Yahoo Buzz in Disguise: Size Is the New Gatekeeper
TechConsumer has had its fair share of Digg coverage lately. But for those of us who remember what Digg was back in the glory days, we can’t help but draw attention to its flaws in the here and now.
First, we had our April 1st interview with Digg’s founders discussing priorities and progress and how Digg is just a game. Second, we discussed the Digg paradox and how getting rid of the editor/gatekeeper just creates new gatekeepers.
But today’s topic, for me at least, feels like the most interesting twist on the story of where Digg started as compared to what Digg has become:
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Amazon Giving $50 Credit to Its HD DVD Buyers
I purchased my HD DVD player with 10 movies for $174 way back in November. Today, to my surprise, I received the email below. This is much better than the company’s first attempt at treating me as a “valued HD DVD customer” and comes after Best Buy made a similar move. In related news, Amazon also has a Buy 2 Get 1 Free Blu-ray movie promotion happening right now.
New Study on Digital Music is Outdated Before Released
Ars Technica has the scoop on a “new” study which shows how Apple’s iTunes is “widening its lead in the digital music market at the expense of other top brands.” The name of the article, in fact, is Competition unable to take a big bite out of Apple’s iTunes. The article could be interesting, what with its data, charts, and supposed analysis. But it has one major problem that invalidates most everything said:
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Sony Thinks Blu-ray Will Sell Like DVD by End of 2008
Sony CEO Ryoji Chubachi knows something we don’t. At a press conference a few days ago, he pointed out Sony’s plan to increase Blu-ray market share to 50% by the end of the year. How is this possible you might ask? Well, apparently new Blu-ray devices to be offered by Sony will include a model integrated into an HD LCD TV with Blu-ray recording functionality.
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Newsflash: Digg Admits It’s Rigged and Just a Game
Digg has had its fair share of criticism. But the idea that it’s slow, bloated, outdated, gamed, and policed has all been hearsay. But now, in an exclusive interview with TechConsumer, Digg founder Kevin Rose and CEO Jay Adelson share openly what’s been going on behind the scenes. Here’s a transcript of the interview:
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Sony Charges $50 Extra to Sell You Laptop with No Crapware
Sony and crapware have a special relationship, so much so that it takes over two minutes for its laptops to boot into Windows (compare that with 30 seconds for a MacBook). The company has even issued press statements explaining its reasoning: “The programs are carefully selected and provide benefits to many consumers, up to 30% of whom act on the offers.”
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Best Buy Giving $10 Million in Gift Cards to HD DVD Buyers
Best Buy is giving $50 to anyone who bought an HD DVD player from Best Buy before February 23. The company said that customers “won’t have to do anything to receive their gift card.”
The gift cards will be mailed out automatically to all customers Best Buy can identify as having purchased an HD DVD player (like online customers or members of its rewards program). Any other customers can get their gift card with proof via a receipt or credit card. See below for full press release.
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