Google Starts Selling Digital Books....

Our web business plan, Gatsby,  had to do with selling cheap books online. Now Google is starting to sell digital books....will they be cheap? We'll find out. 

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Google will begin selling digital books through an online bookstore in the middle of the year, according to a company spokesman.

The launch, which was first reported in The New Yorker last month, means Google will join a rapidly growing battle for the e-book market. Amazon.com's Kindle store jumped into an early lead, but Barnes & Noble poses a challenge with its online store for its Nook e-reader, and Apple recently launched the iBookstore for its wildly popular iPad. Google announced last month that it is partnering with Taiwan's HTC todevelop a new tablet computer to rival the iPad, and having its own digital bookstore could help goose Google's tablet sales.

But with its new service, which is to be called Google Editions, Google has its sights set beyond just its own tablet.

Unlike some of its rivals, Google plans to allow its digital books to be read on any device. Amazon.com forces publishers to package books in a special, only-for-Kindle format, so users need to have a Kindle or a Kindle app on a competitor's device to read from their Amazon library. Apple has embraced the so-called Epub industry standard, but its books are locked so they can only be read on Apple devices or through its custom software.

Google Editions, on the other hand, would not let users download books at all; rather, they would only be available exclusively on a Web browser. That could keep licensing fees low, although The New Yorkerstory reported that Google will let publishers set prices for their books.

Google currently offers many public domain books for free through its Google Books service, and the company announced plans last year to offer those in the Epub standard for e-readers.

The company is currently in the middle of a court battle that would allow Google to distribute millions of out-of-print books. Google reached a settlement with authors and publishers, but some groups oppose parts of the agreement. 

Nokia sues Apple over iPad

Another company sues Apple for infringing patents on the iPad....



(Mashable) -- Nokia is suing Apple over what it claims are infringing patents in the iPad and iPad 3G.
This is just the latest in a series of escalating lawsuits between the two companies regarding their respective mobile and consumer electronic devices.
This lawsuit -- which unlike the others was filed in the Federal District Court in the Western District of Wisconsin -- is about technologies related to enhanced speech and data transmission.
In a statement, Nokia described this technology as "positioning data in applications and innovations in antenna configurations that improve performance and save space, allowing smaller and more compact devices."
Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment on this story.
Nokia and Apple have been engaged in what we like to call "Patent Lawsuit Theater." If you haven't been keeping up with the saga, which began in October, here's a primer:
* Nokia filed a lawsuit against Apple in Delaware District Court, claiming that the iPhone infringed on many of its patents.
* Apple filed a countersuit against Nokia in December, claiming Nokia is trying to take advantage of Apple by making unwarranted claims in order to try to access Apple's intellectual property.
* Nokia then filed its motion with the International Trade Commission (ITC), claiming all of Apple's products violate its patents. This is what the ITC is currently investigating.
* Nokia then filed a second complaint in federal court, this time asking the court and the ITC to ban imports of iPhones, MacBooks and iPods.
* Apple decided it could play the "banninator" card too and filed its complaint with the ITC.
* The ITC started an investigation into Apple's alleged infringement at Nokia's request.
Keep in mind, that's just the Nokia-Apple dispute. That doesn't even address Kodak's lawsuit against Apple, Apple's countersuit against Kodak, or Apple's lawsuit against HTC.
Mashable anticipate that the next steps will go something like this:
* Apple will countersue Nokia in Wisconsin.
* Nokia will either amend its previous ITC filing or file a new claim requesting bans on U.S. imports of Apple iPad and iPad 3G units.
* Apple will respond with its own ITC filing or amend its previous complaint.
* A new product will get released or a new patent claim will be found and the entire process will start all over again.
What do you think of the latest act in this protracted melodrama between multibillion dollar companies?

Facebook Statuses Shows Happiness... all over the world

This article shows how happiness on Facebook goes up and down by relationship statuses, deaths, and more around the world. Pretty cool!

(Mashable) -- Facebook has extended its "Gross National Happiness" prototype app to 18 new countries. The app analyzes words in status updates like "awesome" or "tragic" to track changes in the collective emotional state of its users.
When Facebook applied the methods to its U.S. userbase last year, it found that happiness went way up on holidays and way down when celebrities like Michael Jackson or Heath Ledger passed away. While the results of the study weren't surprising, the idea of using status updates to measure national happiness was a novel one.
After Facebook's latest update, the list now includes the U.S., Canada, India, Great Britain, Belgium, the Netherlands, Puerto Rico, Singapore, Austria, Germany, New Zealand, Italy, Chile, Uruguay, Spain, Mexico, South Africa, Argentina, Australia, Ireland, Venezuela and Colombia. Status updates in the English, Dutch, German, Italian and Spanish languages are included in the data.
As you might have expected, residents of each country become happier on that country's holidays and during big events ? for example, Spain is happier on Saint Jordi's Day and U.S. residents are happier around the time of the Super Bowl. And speaking of sporting events, those can affect the results too; dips in happiness correspond with major sports defeats. Even bigger dips accompanied natural disasters like earthquakes, of course.
We noticed that in some cases small increases of negativity accompanied big leaps in positivity. Not everyone has a great Christmas thanks to travel stress or family drama, so it's no surprise that the negative comments go up a little bit at that time of the year too. Play with the app yourself at Facebook's website to see what insights you can conjure up.
If you find this data interesting, you'll also appreciate this: Facebook decided a couple of months ago to find out how relationship status affects happiness. Unsurprisingly, it found that folks in relationships tended to post happy updates more frequently. Singles were better off than users who didn't list their relationship status or were in open relationships, however.

COORS AND TEXTING CONTESTS

"Probably the most important medium for advertising in the 21st century is going to be the cell phone, not print media, not billboards. It's just a matter of time, there are just too many of them."  said Gerry Purdy, an analyst for Frost and Sullivan. 

Coors Light has been using mobile marketing to promote themselves for the last two years. Coors uses their strategy for a variety of "text based promotions". They send out chances to win prizes, free beer, and more promotional ads. In 2009, they launched a 2009 Mystery Mansion promotion, which offered the Coors Light customers a chance to win a vacation to the Coors Light Mystery Mansion. What they did was text a unique pin to a short SMS code, which sent out texts to the different phones. They had an interactive website and package advertising that supported this promotional sweepstakes. They also had a "Colder than..." text contest which "encouraged consumer interaction with the Coors Light brand by encouraging entrants to create and submit an advertising slogan starting with the words ‘Colder than...’ for a chance to win prizes". 


The target audience for this promotion would be college student, and people in their mid 20's, mostly male. All of these beer drinkers were targeted. Also, these people enjoyed vacationing and winning free things. It was perfect for a "party" person who loves to have fun.


Personally, I think it's a GREAT idea to have contests through texting, rather than just sending a mass text. By being able to have the customers reply and interact with Coors, it makes us feel important and wanted. And who doesn't love to compete?? Competing is human nature, especially to people our age. And it's always fun to win something. Winning a vacation, or even a t-shirt, Coors Light really was able to attract many new customers. It's inexpensive because they get sponsors, and they are able to keep up with the new technology. I would text Coors! 

12 things to know about the IPAD

(CNN) -- You've seen the television commercials and the product reviews.

But maybe, like many gadget lovers, you're still debating whether you really need this new touch-screen computer from Apple.

To help you make sense of the hype, here are answers to 12 common questions about the iPad, Apple's much-anticipated "slate" computer, which goes on sale Saturday.

Buying an iPad? What will you do with it?

Is there anything else you'd like to know? If so, please post in the comments section below and we'll do our best to answer your questions.

1. How is the iPad different from a laptop?

The word "laptop" is getting somewhat brushed aside for a truckload of new, confusing categories.

The Apple iPad falls into the slate (some people say tablet) category of portable personal computers, because, unlike a laptop, it doesn't have a hardware keyboard.

Another key difference: To type and to navigate through files and photos on the iPad, you touch its screen in the same way you operate an iPhone or iPod Touch. That's possible on some laptop models, but not many.

2. How is the iPad different from e-readers like the Kindle?

Reading digital books on "e-readers" like the Amazon Kindle is becoming increasingly popular. The iPad acts like an e-reader and like a personal computer, but there are some notable differences between the two.

For one, the iPad has a color display. The Kindle, by contrast, is only black-and-white. Some people think the iPad, partly for this reason, will be popular with students who read textbooks with colorful diagrams. Others say the Kindle's screen, which isn't backlit, will be easier on the eyes over long periods. There's an aesthetic difference, too: The iPad will display books horizontally, with two pages showing, or vertically, zooming in on a single page of text. The Kindle only works in vertical mode.

Perhaps more importantly, the devices access books from different online bookstores. iPad users buy books from Apple's new digital bookstore, called the iBookstore, which supports an open e-book format called ePub. Kindle users must buy their books from Amazon.com.

3. How much does the iPad cost?

Prices range from $499 to $829. The more expensive versions have more storage space, which means you can put more music and videos on the device.

iPads that connect to the Internet with Wi-Fi only are less expensive than those that can connect through Wi-Fi and through AT&T's mobile Internet network.

4. Do you have to sign-up for an AT&T contract when you buy the iPad?

You don't have to buy an AT&T mobile Internet contract to purchase the iPad.

If you buy a Wi-Fi-only version of the iPad and have a Wi-Fi connection at home, or you want to use the iPad primarily at coffee shops or public places that have wireless Internet connections, then you probably won't have to deal with AT&T at all.

Pricier versions of the iPad are able to connect to AT&T's mobile 3G network, allowing them to browse the Web from many more locations.

Surprisingly, you don't need a contract with AT&T to use this service, either.

Users can pay by the month and cancel at any time without penalty, Apple CEO Steve Jobs said at the iPad unveiling. The unlimited data plan with AT&T costs $29.99 per month.

The Wi-Fi-enabled iPads go on sale on Saturday. The AT&T-enabled iPads will ship in late April, according to the online Apple store.

5. If there's no keyboard, how do you type on the iPad?

Instead of being a piece of plastic with physical keys, the iPad's keyboard is a graphic that pops up on the device's touch-sensitive screen -- an interface that will be familiar to iPhone and iPod Touch users.

iPad users type by touching pictures of keys on the screen. The iPad keyboard is about the same size as the one on your desk, but you can't feel the keys.

When he unveiled the device in January, Jobs said the iPad is "a dream to type on." But some bloggers, including this writer, have complained that the iPad's touch-screen keyboard is difficult to use.

6. What does the iPad do best?

The iPad is designed for consuming various types of media -- reading books, browsing the Web and watching videos, in particular.

It's also marketed as a portable gaming device, and there are hundreds of games for sale in the iPad App Store.

The device doesn't have a DVD player, but you can download videos from Apple, or stream them from the Web.

The iPad is best suited for people who would, say, want to read their e-mail, but wouldn't have to compose lengthy responses.

It's better for a blog reader than a blog writer.

7. Can you create documents, spreadsheets and presentations with the iPad?

Apple created a new suite of "apps" specifically for the iPad. These iWork programs, which cost $9.99 each, let users create documents, edit spreadsheets and create business presentations from the iPad.

It's unclear how easy these programs will be to use. Some reviewers say it's easy enough to compose business documents on the iPad. Others say serious users will need another computer to be productive.

The iPad has a Wi-Fi connection, which, in theory, could be used for printing documents wirelessly through your printer. There is some debate online about what apps will perform this function.

8. Can you view any Web site on the iPad?

A certain format of online video, called Flash, does not play on the Apple iPad.

While there are some workarounds for this, many Web sites are redesigning themselves, using a type of code called HTML5, so they will work on the iPad.

That code allows video display on the device, but you may notice some sites will have holes because the iPad doesn't support Flash video.

9. Will the iPad replace my current computer? Or do you need both?

Some technology writers and critics say the iPad is an all-in-one machine. Others argue that it's more of a portable accessory, and that most computer users need a desktop or laptop computer in addition to an iPad.

What works for you really depends on what you use your computers for. If you spend a lot of time typing or creating things with your computer, it may be easier to use a laptop. If you just want to surf the Web, read books, play games, watch movies or send an occasional short e-mail, the iPad might work.

Apple and others sell keyboards that can be attached to the device in case you need to write a longer e-mail and don't want to fiddle with the touch-screen keyboard.

10. Is the iPad lighter and smaller than other laptops or e-readers?

The iPad will be about a half-inch thick and weigh about 1½ pounds.

Its screen is 9.7 inches across, when measured diagonally.

That's smaller and lighter than some laptops. A 10-inch netbook from Dell is similar in size but weighs about a pound more.

Amazon's Kindle DX is slimmer than the iPad, at only a third of an inch thick, and it weighs slightly less: 1.2 pounds, according to Amazon.

Its screen is the same size as the iPad's, but it doesn't display color.

11. Can you subscribe to newspapers and magazines on the iPad?

Some magazines and newspapers have said they hope the iPad will help save their struggling industries. A number of them have reformatted their publications for the iPad's screen and are offering new digital subscription plans.

The Wall Street Journal, for example, will charge $17.99 per month for an iPad subscription to its newspaper.

12. Are there iPad alternatives?

Apple is not the only computer maker offering a slate device. Some are on the market now and others will come out soon.

HP briefly showed off its slate computer before an audience at the Consumer Electronics Show in January. Dell has announced plans to make a personal computer in the slate category.

Viliv and Asus have tablets on the market, too.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/ptech/04/02/ipad.preview/index.html

Reebok Gets Sued by a Local Firm for "Finish Strong" Super Bowl Slogan

We are seeing more and more copyright infringement cases and many of them can be considered questionable as to whether they are actually are considered copyright infringement or not. Copyright infringement happens when copyrighted work is reproduced, distributed, performed or publicly displayed without the permission from the copyright owner. 

They say that Chicago has been trying to find a way to ruin the New Orleans Saints' from their Super Bowl victory by handing them this case on copyright infringement. Reebok manufactured a t-shirt at the end of the Super Bowl that used the "Finish Strong" saying, but the Saints quarterback Drew Brees had adopted that saying in 2009 during the season. There is a local firm based in Chicago, Illinois called "Finish Strong", that sells  inspirational merchandise and claims that they have the rights for the "Finish Strong" saying. So now, Reebok is being sued for trademark infringement by this local company, saying that they should not be using the saying "Finish Strong" on those Super Bowl t-shirts. 

The small Chicago firm claims that they use the sayings on their merchandise, and have had a registered trademark on the saying since 1998. They also claimed a direct link to Brees when filing this suit. Finish Strong wants Reebok to give them all profits from the shirt plus unspecified damages. The Reebok t-shirt said "We Finish Strong! We Are Saints.". 

This case is important because it shows how little a slogan or saying can be in order for a company to take action and sue the other company. There are different cases and copyrights, but this one is important because those two words are often said and used, but this one little company decided to try to sue Reebok for it. It is amazing how that can happen and even be heard in the courts. We talked about how copyright becomes the property of the owner as soon as the work is finished, and it can be anything from literary works to motion pictures.

http://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local-beat/Local-Firm-Sues-Over-Reebok-Super-Bowl-Slogan-86227882.html

Nike vs. Puma: Mass Customization

What is the new buzz these days? Mass customization. Companies are able to use manufacturing through computers in order to create a customized program where each person can pick exactly what he or she wants according to their needs. Not only is the company able to cater to the customers needs and wants, but the company itself becomes more profitable because the cost of this mass customization is a very good value. So, as for the exchange process, both the customer and the company become better off. 

The way that Nike has designed its website and customization process is really amazing. For the Nike customization, not only can you choose colors, graphics, materials, and a personal ID, but you can also get the Nike Iphone application. This shows how they not only care about the product itself, but the customer who is buying it. By making your own shoe, you can travel in the style that you want and also thank Nike for satisfying your needs. It's perfect. 

The Nike experience is a great experience no matter how well you know how to use computers. You do not have to search extensively to create the shoe, there's a link on the homepage and you click on it. Not only is there a very exciting picture awaiting you on the "NIKE ID" page, but you can get right to the point by choosing your color or picking out what shoe is hot. It's simple and anyone can do it. After the color is chosen a bunch of pictures come up with shoes in the same color. They have NikeiD studios, and you can even pick your own width size for the shoe.  After picking one of those, you can either buy it or customize it more. That's the simplest and most customized way of creating your own shoe. Now, other companies have different ways of customization but the idea is the same. You can even share your shoe on facebook and myspace, or make it your background.

It's not only just the shoe part that's fascinating, but the whole website. Compared to Puma, there are a lot more choices for Nike and a lot more appealing looks for shoes (at least for me). I would rather go to the Nike website because I feel as though it is more up to date, technologically advanced, and customized to what I want. 

I already liked the Nike webiste before, and I do think that Puma could do some updating on different aspects of the site. In order to customize a shoe, it's DEFINITELY not as easy as the Nike website. For Puma, on the main page some people could even have a hard time finding where to click on the customization part. Once you get there, you do go step by step in creating your shoe. I like how they show the different views of the shoe that you want, and how you can experiement with different colors. You can also do this with Nike, however. 

The next part about the Puma website design is the Puma Mongolian Shoe BBQ. I think this idea is very interesting and caught my eye the first time I arrived at the Puma website. But does it appeal to everyone? I like the idea of relating the shoe to food and picking ingredients, etc. but it could be confusing to some people. I do like the idea of people having different "tastes" and how these two can be connected in some way. But when you think of shoes, do you think of food? 

I like Pumas creative aspect on this idea, and it's definitely one to ponder on, but it could be a little intense for some of us. I think it is harder to create a shoe on the Puma website than on the Nike website, and it could take a little more simpler approach as for creating a shoe. 

Overall, I would say Nike is the best way to go to create a shoe. It's the easiest website to use and it's less timely than the Puma website. On the Puma website, it can be confusing and not as technologically advanced as Nike. Nike has thought of the I phone application, sharing procedures, and the easiest and fastest way of creating a shoe. People want to get in and out of there as fast as possible. Not only is the Nike product great, but the website is great too. The mass customization has really gone through the roof on this one.