| Peter Fader on the New iPhone and Matching Technology to Consumer ...
Announcements at the Consumer Electronics Show and Apple's MacWorld conference heralded the arrival of a number of products at the center of technology convergence trends. Among the most eagerly awaited are Apple's iPhone and Apple TV. But are computer companies like Apple hitting the right notes? Wharton marketing professor Peter Fader spoke with Knowledge@Wharton about whether iPhone, Apple TV, and other products are delivering features that consumers really want, or if this is simply technology in search of a market. .
Paramount launches DVD premiere unit
FEB. 28 | Paramount Pictures named former Universal Studios exec Louis Feola president of a new production division that will create direct-to-video product based on Paramount's library films, the company said today. Feola held a similar role at Universal, where he worked for 26 years before leaving in 2004. In his most recent role at Universal, Feola headed Universal Home Entertainment Productions, where he led the unit to create successful video spin-offs of The Land Before Time, Bring It On and American Pie. He also oversaw the studio's other video and TV production divisions: Universal Pictures Visual Programming and Universal Cartoon Studios. Paramount's yet-to-be named division will develop and produce sequels, prequels and remakes based on library films from Paramount Pictures, Paramount Vantage, DreamWorks, MTV Films and Nickelodeon Movies.
Can this fading TV show be saved?
LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- Sometimes a TV series needs a tune-up. Tweak the plots, juice the promotion and it may end up a challenger in the ratings race. Sophomore CBS sitcom "How I Met Your Mother" is nudging respectable but not stellar Nielsen numbers upward with such changes, keeping its central courtship saga alive for loyalists but mixing in more stand-alone laughs for newcomers. An episode in which an embarrassing music video surfaces for character Robin (Cobie Smulders) made an Internet splash and is credited with a 10 percent-plus jump in the following week's audience, to 9.8 million, said executive producers Craig Thomas and Greg Malins. "We're not '24,' where people have that feeling of, 'Oh, my God, I can't miss tonight,' " Malins said.
Predictable duel rich in promise
Frankly, the answer to that is most anyone who follows the Philips Championship with anything more than a passing interest. Rarely have two clubs been so far out and ahead of the pack as the regular season champion Bullets and the reigning champion Tigers. Game One in their best-of-five grand final series tonight at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre is a tribute to talent, coaching and salary cap manipulation. But truthfully, who cares? Certainly not the NBL and certainly not any fan sitting waiting expectantly for what has all the earmarks to be the greatest grand final series in league history. To pursue the cap line is to be churlish in the extreme at a point in the year where all that remains is the ultimate test, not the ultimate stage to be testy.
'Astronaut Farmer' family-friendly blast for everyone
Billy Bob Thornton hits the jackpot in a likeable title role. He plays a frustrated, small-town Texas cattle rancher who dreams of flying in space and orbiting the Earth.He is blessed with the perfect close-knit family. His supporting wife (Virginia Madsen) is the vision of loveliness. His young daughters are two of the cutest little girls on the planet. His competent teenage son is named Shepard as a tribute to the first American to blast off in NASA's Mercury program.This corny and predictable story captures the essence of why we love movies so much. It has all the right stuff thanks to the joint screenwriting efforts of talented brothers Michael (who also directed) and Mark Polish.This is original storytelling at its pure and finest form. This movie will get your attention immediately with its opening scene of Thornton on horseback wearing a space suit set against a brilliant Southwestern sunset.
New radio station targets DFW’s gay and lesbian community
“We want to be the source for the local happenings in the Dallas/Ft. Worth GLBT community," said Steve Lee, director of online content and marketing for Clear Channel Dallas. “We will feature local news headlines, events, entertainment, charity functions and more, both on-air and on-line." Source: Clear Channel Radio .
Pinnacle says it won't rush new Atlantic City casino
ATLANTIC CITY — Pinnacle Entertainment Inc. will take its time building a $1.5 billion megaresort in Atlantic City to avoid the construction mistakes and cost overruns plaguing its new casino in St. Louis, its chief executive says. Daniel R. Lee, Pinnacle's chairman and chief executive officer, estimated it will be four or five years before the new casino opens at the site of the old Sands Casino Hotel. Previously, the Las Vegas-based company said it would shoot for a 2011 grand opening, but also left open the possibility of 2012. “We are not going to fast track Atlantic City," Lee told gaming analysts during a conference call Thursday on Pinnacle's fourth quarter earnings. “While we are moving quickly, you'll notice that we're still saying we're not going to open for four to five years." By moving at a deliberate pace, Pinnacle hopes to tightly control its construction costs in Atlantic City so it can avoid the types of problems it has had at its new casino in downtown St.
Hettich Quadro remains permanent fixture in hardware industry
The Quadro drawer slide, developed by Hettich in the 1980s, is used worldwide in applications, from appliances to furniture drawers.
[USPRwire, Wed Feb 28 2007] The Quadro drawer slide, which was developed in the 1980s by Hettich, has been used in millions of applications world-wide since its market introduction. From kitchen cabinetry to dishwasher pull-out shelves and office furniture, Quadros versatility, durability and popularity make it a technical standard for kitchen, living room, office furniture, household appliances and commercial applications.
In the office, Quadro moves everything from the slides for pull-out shelves to heavy file cabinets with ease, allowing drawers to effortlessly glide, regardless of the weight of the contents. The Quadro is even advanced enough to handle home entertainment systems with care, as well as living room and bedroom furniture.
Bringing Internet Content to the TV: The Race Heats Up
Only a few months ago, we reported on a group of companies that were trying to bring Internet content to consumers televisions. The potential market is enormous: According to research firm The Diffusion Group, the number of broadband-enabled televisions will reach 162 million by 2011. So it isn't surprising that this year's Consumer Electronics Show, held in Las Vegas in January, featured a new crop of entrants to this race, as well as new announcements from companies that had previously staked out claims.
Sony Electronics made a splash with its Bravia Internet Video Link, which it announced at CES. Its Internet video-ready televisions can receive streaming broadband video, including high-definition content, via a small optional module easily attached and concealed behind the TV.
This feature will allow most of its new televisions to access free Internet video content from providers such as AOL, Yahoo!, and Grouper, as well as from related companies Sony Pictures Entertainment and Sony BMG Music.
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