US Regulators Clear Google-DoubleClick Deal
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Posted By Keith Ort on 12/20 at 10:31 AM |
Google’s three billion-dollar acquisition of DoubleClick was approved by the FTC this morning. They aren’t out of the woods yet as the deal will not be 100% finalized until approval is given by the European Commission which has a self-imposed deadline of April 2nd to complete its review. Should the deal receive full sanctioning, it will broaden Google’s reach for online advertising by giving them access to major advertisers such as Sports Illustrated, Friendster and MTV Networks whom DoubleClick has exclusive contracts with.
Google To Fight delicious
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Posted By Keith Ort on 09/20 at 01:49 PM |
Google will be joining in the social bookmarking arena with Google Shared Stuff in the near future. While the beta has yet to come, it does exist on their web servers completely incomplete or ready for any significant amount of use. As far as I am aware, it was first uncovered by Google Operating System. This could be the next product they launch now that their Powerpoint fighter, Google Presentation, has been integrated with Google Docs. Now if they’d only add some new features to Gmail and bring it out of beta.
Just how important is Google?
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Posted By Keith Ort on 04/11 at 01:57 PM |
Reuters is reporting that Google accounted for 64% of all searches in March according to Hitwise. Yahoo got about 22% and MSN had roughly 9%.
Next week Yahoo and Google will report their quarterly financial statements as well. When those are released, keep an eye out for the size of their increases. Yahoo has released their new search marketing system to more and more advertisers recently which is drawing a lot of attention. So we will see if there is any immediate impact from that and if people feel compelled to abandon adWords for it.
Simple System Maintenance
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Posted By Keith Ort on 09/07 at 04:52 PM |
A lot of computer novices don’t realize that their computers require maintenance, just like your car, truck or SUV. Windows tends to store many files unnecessarily and over time, those unused files pile up causing things to slow down. You’ll notice it takes longer for Web sites to load or programs to open up. Rather than doing extreme solution of reformatting the computer, a few easy to use freeware utilities can be used to optimize your system again.
- Ad-aware - One of the best anti-spyware programs for the money. A few clicks and spyware is gone. It is important to make sure you keep the program up to date which it tells you if you are or not. Depending on how much time you spend online, you should run this program either weekly or monthly.
- HijackThis - Not the prettiest program out there but HijackThis is great at removing unwanted toolbars and buttons from Internet Explorer. If you see something you don't know about, I recommend looking into what the program is through Google. Run this program as necessary.
- CCleaner - A very simple to use program that will eliminate many old files and clean up your systems registry. I recommend running this weekly or monthly depending on how much work you do on your computer.
After using these programs, defragmenting your hard drive is your next step. This is built into Windows, just go to Start -> All Programs -> Accessories -> System Tools and choose Disk Defragmenter. This should be done about once a month. Restart your computer and things should be running a little snappier just like your vehicle after its 30,000 mile maintenance.
Google dominates Yahoo and MSN for market share
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Posted By Keith Ort on 06/01 at 09:29 AM |
Google has done something that has to have Steve Balmer and Bill Gates of Microsoft along with David Filo and Jerry Yang of Yahoo very frustrated. As of April 2006, Google accounts for 1 of every 2 searches performed in the United States according to Nielsen/Netratings. I have Google set as my default search engine at home and here in the office. The other interesting nugget Nielsen/Netratings shows is how frequently people are searching for major department stores through searches as opposed to just typing in the name in the address bar of their browser. Hopefully with Home Depot receiving more searches than Wal-Mart, it means people in the Gulf States are getting ready for today’s official start of Hurricane season.
Big changes in the realm of search
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Posted By Keith Ort on 05/16 at 11:41 AM |
We’ve had a few large products go out the door recently so I’ve finally been able to catch up on many of the things going on in the world of search engines. The major search engines have all been trying to do what they can to get your advertising dollars. I'd like to highlight the biggest things for you.
Google
Google has unleashed a few new products that are really cool. 1st off would be Google Calendar which, when combined with GMail, competes head to head with Microsoft’s Outlook. The interface is very slick and it offers a lot of convenience. The latest entry into the battle is Google Notebook. Essentially it’s a way to categorize and organize your research and notes and make it accessible publicly if you wish. The last new tool is a utility called Google Trends. This is more of an extension of Google’s infamous Zeitgeist (which also got a nice makeover) that allows you to search and compare trends for searchers. It’s a great tool for web marketers and SEOs.
Yahoo
The biggest news for Yahoo has to be their long overdue redesign for their home page. It’s not 100% live yet however they are letting anyone view it. It’s a great, modern look with lots of integration of their various products and services. The new page fuses AJAX programming seamlessly and makes for a very enjoyable user experience. The other thing Yahoo has done is reawaken the beast known as AlltheWeb. They have brought some very slick AJAX coding to the search engine world which is a refreshing change. The AJAX functionality adds a new dimension to searching through Yahoo’s massive index by giving vertical search suggestions. Even if you prefer another search engine, it is definitely worth the time to take a look at.
MSN
Microsoft has been pretty quiet as of late. They are slowly rolling out their online advertising program called adCenter. This will be replacing their current model of using Yahoo’s sponsored listings and help give MSN its own identity. With Microsoft putting a lot of money into the Xbox360, I expect them to invest heavily into MSN in the near future. Amazon recently dumped Yahoo in favor of Windows Live search (which is another great AJAX based web site). Steve Balmer has stated he wants to compete more heavily against Google for the online advertising dollar.
Whats old is new again: Google Page Creator
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Posted By Keith Ort on 02/23 at 10:14 AM |
Google is reaching into the past to gain users. A new lab project called Google Page Creator has come out of hiding recently. It reminds me of how GeoCities and Tripod used to be in the mid to late 90's except Google has now thrown their best AJAX developers at it to give this an intuitive interface. This looks to be an excellent way for people to create a quick and simple Web page for pictures while on an extended vacation or planning that family reunion.
Connecting with the fans
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Posted By Keith Ort on 01/31 at 03:48 PM |
Last year I became addicted to The Ultimate Fighter and by association, Ultimate Fighting Championship. I cannot get enough of this competition. The UFC has really turned around from what I remember watching in the late 90’s with Ken Shamrock and Dan “The Beast” Severn. Recently I was trying to get the latest news on the 3rd season of “The Ultimate Fighter” and noticed that the UFC has created individual blogs for many fighters. This is amazing to see. How many NFL teams have created this feature? None that I am aware of. The UFC has always been a grassroots organization with a rabid fan-base and having blogs for fans and fanatics to get the latest news straight from their favorite fighter really brings everything together and creates more excitement.
Google goes Chinese
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Posted By Keith Ort on 01/25 at 09:21 AM |
In a strange coincidence, it has officially been announced today that Google is going to self-censor certain aspects of its index in China as it moves to officially enter the unstoppable force that is China’s economy. What makes it so eerie for me is as I was reading The Search, which discusses Google’s impact on the global economy, last night. I was on the section on how Google was internally conflicted with how to address the needs of Chinese searchers while accommodating the Chinese Government’s positions on human rights.
Daily Maintenance
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Posted By Keith Ort on 01/11 at 01:19 PM |
Matt Cutts is a senior engineer over at Google working on the core product from Google, search. I read his blog nearly every day as you just can't get much more direct with Google than this. His blog is an attempt by Google to open up and be more communicative with webmasters. On Friday Matt posted up requesting feedback on how Google could improve their search results and become a more useful tool. He is looking for feedback on spam, quality of results, producs and features, services, and communication. His request doesn't need to be limited to just webmasters and SEO's. If you as a user would like a product or feature enhanced, let him know.
Larry King can talk but not blog
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Posted By Keith Ort on 12/20 at 03:05 PM |
As I was channel surfing last night, I stopped off on Larry King when I saw the finalists from this past season’s Apprentice being interviewed. At one point Larry King asked “The Donald” if race had played a part in his decision. Larry cited his notes that some bloggers were accusing Trump of racism. Trump became very upset with the question. The part that came to be most interesting is how out of tune with technology Larry King portrayed himself. He said quote “I don't even know how to touch a blog. Do you know how to get a blog?” Even Trump didn’t have any interest in blogging when he said “Me? I have no interest.” Larry asked “Do you know how to reach a blogger?” to which Donald replied “I have no idea. Everybody that works for me knows.” It makes me wonder if Larry or Donald has even looked at blogs or if they have been quick to dismiss them. Maybe they should be since some people are making six figures off of it.
Don't SEO your blog, market it
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Posted By Keith Ort on 12/14 at 01:38 PM |
In my research to become a better SEO, I came across an article about the relationship between search engine optimization (SEO) and blogging. The article argues that SEO advice for a traditional Web site is useless. I agree. Search engines such as Google want quality, original content. A good blog will be updated regularly so the front page won’t maintain a post for long. After x amount of time, the post becomes archived. These archives are a lot more important. I regularly check server statistics to find out how visitors got to where they are, where visitors are going from there, and what they do on the Web site. What I’ve seen is that this blog’s archives are its primary source of traffic from searchers. For instance, an article I posted quite a couple of months back regarding old computers has received large amounts of traffic from 1 keyword in there. This was not my intent but it is a most welcome gift.
Blogs are not only for exposing frauds, updating friends on your vacation, or learning the latest about a band, they are for networking. Blogs are easy ways to gain new business without the drive to the local business breakfast (while the food is great). This moves blogs from falling into needing search engine optimization and into the world of search engine marketing (SEM).
Get paid by Bill Gates
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Posted By Keith Ort on 12/14 at 08:50 AM |
It seems Bill has an issue with other companies hording their income selfishly so he is proposing something to change that. In his campaign to prove MSN search as the superior search engine, Bill said Microsoft may kick start a new program where you, the user, is paid to use MSN Search. In the current business model, Bill argues, Google keeps a large chunk of its revenues from advertisements. To my knowledge, Google does not publish an exact figure of how much they distribute to publishers of adSense. So would either a check or free software entice you to change your homepage from Google.com or Yahoo.com to MSN.com or Search.MSN.com?
The true search king?
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Posted By Keith Ort on 12/06 at 10:05 AM |
John Battelle has indirectly opened up a discussion about who the true king of search is. eBay is claiming they process upwards of 2 billion (yes, that’s with 9 zeros) searches per month which they claim is “on par with Google” (slide 18). Now officially Google refuses to disclose how much traffic they process but some estimates have put it at much more substantial number than 2 billion a month. This leads me to ask, where did eBay get their figures?
The fun never stops: Google Base launches
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Posted By Keith Ort on 11/16 at 09:02 AM |
After letting the cat out of the bag last month, Google Base has finally gone public legitimately. Essentially Google wants you to post up whatever you want and they will make it searchable. Its not for blogging but for information, recipies, non-profit associations, and class descriptions are just some of what they are looking for. Should be interesting to see where this leads down the road.
2 fingers on the pulse of search
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Posted By Keith Ort on 11/15 at 10:57 AM |
Google has 2 different ways for those curious enough to wonder what people are searching for and how they search. Since July 2001, Google has had their Zeitgeist available. It shows what people are searching for in various areas of interest. The great thing about it is that they archive this information. So say you want to relive what was the big story 1 year ago in January, it is right there for you.
The fun doesn’t end there for stat freaks though. I just came across an area where Google posts marketing information in various business fields. If you are curious to know averages of what people are spending to get a ROI, the information is there for you. This is all very good information and time saving for marketers.
Google and Target Demographics
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Posted By Keith Ort on 11/07 at 10:11 AM |
Worried that only overrated teen dramas on networks with a frog mascot (yes, Rochelle, I’m talking about your shows on WB) are the only places featuring the convergence of the Internet and television? Still not sold that search traffic is worthy of investing in? For those who watched the live West Wing and followed it up with a classic Family Guy (like I do because I watch "quality" TV, Rochelle), then you were not slammed once but twice with direct plugs for Google. In one of Alan Alda’s character’s retorts to Jimmy Smits on The West Wing, he directly told the television America to go “Google it right now” to fact check him. Then during the Family Guy, yet another namedrop of the Google kind was heard. So if you have the top show for the educated and the top show for the young adults hearing Google not used as a pronoun but rather as a verb, its pretty obvious that as of right now, Google should be your priority.
Windows Live, Office Live, AJAX, Web 2.0: Its on now!
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Posted By Keith Ort on 11/02 at 10:55 AM |
For years Microsoft has been fighting various antitrust lawsuits not only in the US but also in Europe among others. With open source solutions growing in popularity among the tech-savvy underground, Microsoft has adopted a new model. Today Billy Gates announced that Microsoft is building online versions of Windows and Office. With Windows Live and Office Live, they are making an attempt to allow competition while not losing their dominating market share. Both Windows Live and Office Live will be created with software APIs (application programming interfaces for nonprogrammers) that are readily available for all to use. The hope is that the antitrust bloodhounds will keep at bay.
Another benefit of this operation is the use of AJAX that will be necessary. With people constantly catching on to the tech buzz word of the year, Microsoft wants to be at the forefront of AJAX technology. They will be launching a revamped Hotmail next year to compete with Yahoo and Google who have both received high praise for their AJAX based web mail services.
I think with Microsoft throwing its substantial weight into things, Web 2.0 is in full swing now.
30 minutes of filler
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Posted By Keith Ort on 10/28 at 03:36 PM |
Last night MTV (remember when that stood for Music Television?) aired a 30 minute townhouse meeting with Bill Gates. The initial concept for it was supposed to have Billy getting hard hitting questions from average kids from NYC. Instead it came off as a scripted and rehearsed sham. I was looking forward to it but instead it was just all abstracts and vagaries that really didn’t show anything interesting. Billy tried to paint a picture of a world by plagiarizing Asimov, Verne, and Gibson. This kind of has me worried. If the one of the men responsible for developing the future is running out of creative ingenuity, who will take the ball and run with it? I have a strong feeling that man is Apple CEO, Steve Jobs.
John 3:16
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Posted By Keith Ort on 10/20 at 11:42 AM |
We all can remember the first time we were watching football and saw the computer generated lines seemingly painted on the field indicating the line of scrimmage and the 1st down line. It made watching games at home so much more fun. We could finally ignore John Madden’s senseless mumbling and rambling and actually see if progress was made on a screen pass or if the linebacker caught the fullback for a loss. No more need to have Al Michaels over explain the drama of watching the 2 guys run on field with the chains. We could see it for ourselves, know the ball was placed with 3 inches to spare, and be vindicated (as opposed to being infuriated) by the referee's approval and forward tomahawk motion.
Yes, fall is here now. I finally get to enjoy my HDTV in its most enjoyable form, sports. The 1st BCS rankings of the season are out, the Lombardi trophy does not have its obvious suitor for this season, the Magic are prime to disappoint me yet again, UFC is getting lots of airplay, I can open the house and feel cool air instead of sweltering just by opening the door, and yet we still have the imposing danger of another hurricane. Yes, this is a guy's season of love.
Released from my shackles... almost
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Posted By Keith Ort on 10/12 at 10:13 AM |
Over the years we have been inundated with news stories talking about how Microsoft has a stranglehold on innovation and a total monopoly on the computer market with their Windows operating system. However the same people that clamor for options are ignoring the 400 pound gorilla named Linux. At home I use an older computer (I use my Xbox for gaming so I have no need to upgrade… yet) to do all my web browsing and personal finances. However I got inspired to do something silly so I acted on it. I researched that curious little ape. After trying a few of the 100+ flavors of Linux (most of which are completely and totally free of charge including getting support), I settled on Ubuntu.
Out of the box, it is great. After spending a few hours reading and learning, I noticed the quirks but I also longed for something out of my control. There are so many highly popular Web sites that embed movies into their pages. Normally this would not be an issue however when the embedded file type is that of Windows Media Player, the Web site becomes pretty useless to me until I spend about a day (still riding that learning curve) to get the work arounds running and figured out.
So this brings me to my point, with so many other people researching and trying out Linux, it's popularity growing (just check the shelves of the computer section next time you are in Borders), and the world opening up, why be closed off to a sect of potential customers and clients. Next time you are working on your project, do not ignore a group because it intimidates you. The open source community typically welcomes with open arms those who embrace them. Now its time for me to teach my new friend some tricks.
Darwin's Origins of Technologies
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Posted By Keith Ort on 10/11 at 04:47 PM |
There are a lot of us ubernerds that can remember details of every computer we've ever owned. The first one I had was a Headstart Explorer. I did a lot with that little (in those days) machine including playing Jeopardy, Wheel of Fortune, and Maniac Mansion. Now being only 24, I didn't have the opportunity to get in on the ground floor of the PC revolution but now I have an opportunity. For roughly the black market value of a kidney and maybe part of the liver, anyone can purchase a pretty complete collection of all the old school computers that helped shape where things are now. Now the only problem is figuring out how to deal with putting 6,000 pounds worth of old computer equipment in my small apartment.
Leaving The Flintstones for The Jetsons
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Posted By Keith Ort on 10/05 at 01:28 PM |
The recording industry is focusing on their own full fledged war against thieves and consumers are suffering. However they are a perfect candidate of what happens when a business model antiquates itself over time. In their campaign to "save the artists" and protect copyrights, they are suing people who may or may not be guilty of crimes, instituting protections into cds to prevent copying that affects its compatibility with some cd players, and publicly criticizing both Microsoft and Apple who want to help, all the while, not commenting about the correlation between their reduced output and decreased profits.
In my eyes, the retaliation to the RIAA's campaign shows the power of the Internet. The Internet is giving bands a more direct way to connect with fans and hear their music as showcased by Story of the Year, Weezer, and 1-hit wonders Harvey Danger.
I can only do so much but I must encourage businesses to investigate various technologies before essentially declaring it good or evil. More specifically for us in Web design, technologies such as Flash can be great for the additional pop and wow factor it gives a page. Yet too much Flash can cause long load times for users who tend to be impatient in this evolving world of instant gratification. Just like most things we love to consume such as chocolate and alcohol, use Flash (or any technologies) in moderation.
The Power of the People
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Posted By Keith Ort on 09/30 at 08:21 AM |
After completing another oh so special day here in the office earlier this week, I went home and cooked something totally unique to my taste buds. It was a variation of my girl Rachael Ray's Chicken Spanakopita Burgers. As I was eating this, my roommate decided he wanted to subjugate me to the horror that is Star Trek and William Shatner's unique speech pattern. It was The Undiscovered Country movie I think. Never-the-less, it got me postulating the visions of the future in the past. We aren’t driving space cars yet which is disappointing. However in the 30 agonizing minutes of Star Trek I endured, there was no mention of the Internet. Then I thought about a truly quality trilogy, Back To The Future, and how there was no mention of the Internet in there either. I couldn't even recall seeing a computer or even an Atari.
Now jump with me to the present. With the ever increasing usage of the Internet and the world wide web, people and ideas without millions of dollars of corporate backing can be found, heard, or used. If it wasn't for the internet, how many people would have heard The Beatles meet Jay-Z on The Grey Album, M.I.A.'s groundbreaking Piracy Funds Terrorism, or Frank Sinatra mixed with Notorious BIG. Rethink the world without eBay, Amazon, or even Google. Think back to the days before online banking, AOL Instant Messenger, MySpace and Xbox Live.
There is a large subsection of people always looking for the next big thing, the most influential type of advertising is word-of-mouth. Someone stumbles across something cool, quirky, and unique then emails it to everyone in their address book who then emails it to everyone in their address book and so on. No amount of search engine optimization or pay-per-click advertising can overpower a movement of the people by the people.
K.I.S.S. or die
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Posted By Keith Ort on 09/28 at 09:09 AM |
In an era of Super Wal-Mart, iDrive and 3 hour airport check-ins, customers want simplicity. I'm among those clamoring for a time of simplicity. Give me a bare bones car like the Lotus Elise, 30 minute meals from Rachael Ray and the news in an easy to read format. When we had a design review meeting yesterday, Jennifer brought up how some clients were asking for features that were flashy and cool but totally unnecessary. Clients should be thinking about their Web sites as if they were customers visiting their Web site for the first time. There should be no need for a tutorial, training sessions, or FAQ about how to use a Web site. A Web site can have its 37 pieces of flare and still be simple to use. Just look at the iPod.
It is free, why not use it?
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Posted By Keith Ort on 09/26 at 01:18 PM |
Google is definitely doing something different. Never before has there been such free access given to the people to a major company's resources. Google Maps has easily overtaken Rand McNally and MapQuest in my book in the coolness factor. However Google has taken it to a whole new stratosphere by offering APIs for some of their products including search, adSense and maps.
This has allowed people to make their own interactive Web sites using this technology. Google maps has some of the most productive and brilliant uses developed using this API. A few examples:
- Track Atlantic hurricanes from NHC data
- Find out how many sexual predators live in a given area
- Locate the cheapest gas
- Keep tabs on police activity in certain areas
With ingenuity being the only restriction on innovation, the power is in the hands of the people. For some reason, most businesses haven't embraced this power yet. Most of these ingenious applications have been developed by freelancers. While the technology is licensed for free and not allowed to be sold, it can easily be utilized by businesses to attract attention and drive traffic to their Web sites and brick-and-mortar stores.
Evolutions in Revolutions
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Posted By Keith Ort on 09/22 at 03:50 PM |
In the 90's, web searching was in its most primitive form. Yahoo and All-the-web dominated the arena. Web users were very green with how to use the technology. Many people got online only to check email and the news. Most Web sites had graphics that looked like they had been created in MSPaint that came packaged with their versions of Windows 9x. To navigate the nether regions of the Internet, many people used web directories or web rings.
When Backrub was introduced, it completely rethought how the Internet could be accessed. Complex networking and ways of processing and interpreting the web came out of Stanford. The majority of the Internet browsers know Backrub better as Google.
Yet even with how much of the Internet's history is known, not one person can say for a fact where it is going. Now that most people have moved from web directories and web rings and become savvy searchers things get increasingly competitive. Google, Yahoo and MSN are the top search engines respectively and each has a different vision of where the internet is going. They all agree the future does involve the integration of different forms of entertainment
Yahoo hired former ABC executive Lloyd Braun and established residences near Hollywood. Around that time they also went live with video searching. Google has a video searching service available as well. However Google plans on moving beyond the home and has been the focus of a firestorm of discussion when wifi.google.com started showing information about their offering free WiFi internet access in San Francisco and plans to go larger. This had been rumored after it was discovered that Google was purchasing large chunks of dark fiber. MSN however seems to be courting AOL. The general user would gain increased access to AOL's in-depth entertainment services with AOL having exclusive access to an arsenal of high profile concerts notably Live 8 and several of the recent benefit concerts for those affected by Hurricane Katrina.
Yet in the end, unless the people accept and adopt these advancements, they could go the way of OS/2 Warp.