Archive for May 30th, 2007
On Wednesday, Apple launched two new elements within its iTunes Music Store: iTunes Plus and iTunes U. Analysts described the new features as an evolutionary move designed to broaden the iTunes user base.The new iTunes Plus offers DRM-free music tracks encoded in AAC at 256 Kbps for $1.29 per song. Plus launches with EMI’s digital catalog, including singles and albums from Coldplay, The Rolling Stones, Norah Jones, Frank Sinatra, Joss Stone, Pink Floyd, John Coltrane, and more than a dozen of Paul McCartney’s classic albums.
“Our customers are very excited about the freedom and amazing sound quality of iTunes Plus,” Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO, said in a statement. “We expect more than half of the songs on iTunes will be offered in iTunes Plus versions by the end of this year.”
Click here to read the rest of this story on NewsFactor.
May 30th, 2007
Details of the Microsoft 
-Novell Linux deal inked last November became public this week as the Linux vendor filed its annual report and SEC 10K documents. The filings offer access to the agreement Novell signed with Microsoft to distribute SuSE Linux without any risk of Microsoft patent claims.The regulatory filings also suggest that changes to the General Public License (GPL) could put the kibosh on the distribution deal between the two technology titans. Specifically, Novell’s filing said that proposed revisions to version 3 of the GPL could force it to modify its relationship with Microsoft or “explore alternatives” to the deal.
Here’s the rub: The current draft version of the GPL’s third version clearly states that Linux distributors cannot “convey a covered work if [they] are a party to an arrangement with a third party that is in the business of distributing software” if the arrangement offers patent protection in exchange for cash. That caveat seems to describe the Novell-Microsoft deal perfectly.
Click here to read the rest of this story on CIOToday.
May 30th, 2007
When you think about heatmaps and virtual cities, you probably associate them more with spy games and online ‘worlds’, as opposed to business intelligence and Web analytics. But these days, some innovative developers are putting heatmaps and virtual cities to use to help companies analyze their Web site traffic and increase sales through e-commerce.A growing number of hosted application providers are translating complex concepts into easy-to-understand visual representations — ideal for those number-phobes whose eyes glaze over when confronted with pages of statistics, graphs and charts.
But do these visual applications for Web analytics offer the stats you need to succeed? Or do the charts and graphs leave out critical information that could cause you to miss the point altogether?
“Programs like VisitorVille and Crazy Egg offer eye candy that helps catch people’s attention,” said Bill Gassman, a principal analyst at Gartner. “There is a real demand for Web analytics at the small- to mid-sized business level where solutions offered by WebTrends and Omniture might be too complex — and too expensive.”
Click here to read the rest of this story on NewsFactor.
May 30th, 2007
