January 31, 2006

The New Digital Revolution

by Brian Turner

If you’re new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thank you for visiting!The IPTV Revolution
A New Digital Revolution has been taking place on the internet.
It’s a revolution that has been in the making for more than 5 years, and will finally come to fruition in 2006.
It’s a revolution with one […]



Google Operating System: Goobuntu

by Brian Turner

Google has reportedly developed a new Operating System of their own, based on the open-source Linux software.
If it saw general release, it would directly compete with Microsoft Windows.
Affectionately named Goobuntu, it’s based on the Ubuntu Linux fusion of Debian and Gnome graphical interfaces.
While there’s rife specualtion of Google releasing this - and that certainly remains […]



January 28, 2006

Government seeks VAT changes against fraud

by Brian Turner

The UK government has signalled its intent to overhaul tax rules - in order to help prevent VAT fraud.
A common fraud problem is when goods are imported VAT-free into the UK, and VAT is charged on the sale to UK customers - but then the company disappears, pocketing the VAT for themselves.
The scale of the […]



January 27, 2006

Microsoft code release may not prevent fines

by Brian Turner

In its long-running battle with the European Union, Microsoft has announced plans to open up sections of the Windows operating system code - but it may not be enough to stop EU fines from taking effect.
Microsoft is challenged with having a monopoly position that is being abused, through prevention of third-parties from developing key software […]



January 25, 2006

Google censors in China

by Brian Turner

Google has created a storm of criticism with the launch of its new Chinese Google search engine - because it automatically censors results for the Chinese authorities.
Censorship of information services is inevitable when doing business in China - Yahoo! and Microsoft have already launched search projects there that already do this.
However, Google’s motto of “Don’t […]



Disney buys Pixar

by Brian Turner

Disney has bought Pixar in a deal priced at over £4 billion.
The move brings Pixar back into the Disney fold, after failing to renew a distribution contract together - an act that helped accelerate the removal of Michael Eisner as Disney chairman.
The move puts Pixar’s major shareholder - Steve Jobs - on the Disney board […]



January 24, 2006

Mobiles push DVB-H

by Brian Turner

A group of major mobile telecoms and technology companies have announced the formation of the Mobile DTV Alliance.
The group includes Nokia, Intel, Motorola, and Texas Instruments, and have the specific remit of promoting Digital Video Broadcasting-Handheld (DVB-H) as the standard for IPTV on mobile devices.

As mobile video entertainment gains increased awareness and achieves greater availability, […]



January 23, 2006

Clickz warns on PPC strategy

by Brian Turner

Kevin Newcomb at Clickz warns that most advertisers are failing to utilise proper PPC strategies, resulting in higher than necessary PPC bills, without increasing sales conversions.
The warning comes as a number of studies show advertisers are simply burning cash on PPC spend, without getting the sales conversions they are spending for.
While many businesses attempt to […]



Slow housing growth predicted for 2006

by Brian Turner

A small early renewal in price rises - followed by a period of stagnation for the rest of the year - appears to be the sum prediction for the housing market in 2006.
The Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) has predicted an overall growth of 4.4% for the UK housing market, citing demand as […]



Internet sales boomed at Christmas

by Brian Turner

According to research by trade body IMRG, internet sales boomed by over 50% on previous years figures.
Total internet sales for the Christmas shopping season for 2005 were £4.98 billion - up from £3.3 billion at Christmas 2004.
Total sales for 2005 itself were valued at £19.2 billion, up 32% on 2004.

Consumers embraced internet shopping en masse […]



January 21, 2006

The Value of Customers

by Brian Turner

Valuing customers
Every good business knows that it needs to profit from its customers.
However, not every business uses the same method to calculate profit from customers.
Often companies value customers on a per sale basis.
This is especially common in the business-to-consumer industries, where companies often work on short-term targets only, and do not factor in […]



January 9, 2006

How to create a MySQL database in CPanel

by Brian Turner

Lots of online software needs to run from a database, and a PHP with MySQL combination is a common requirement.
However, setting up a database online can seem like a daunting prospect if you’ve never done one before.
Luckily, website control panels make this a relatively easy and painless process.
Cpanel is probably the most common […]



January 5, 2006

SEO is about sales

by Brian Turner

I get some curious sales approaches for Search Engine Optimization (SEO) services.
Some people think SEO is about increasing their PageRank; others think it’s simply about numbers of backlinks; others yet are worried about keyword density.
SEO is none of these things.
SEO is about generating targeted traffic, that converts into sales.