The Decline Of Brands

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17 November 2004
1 min read
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In Design
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Interesting article on Wired about the demise of brands.

The world seems to be disappearing beneath a deluge of logos, corporations are branding like there’s no tomorrow and the brand value of companies like Coca-Cola and IBM are routinely calculated at tens of billions of dollars.

Brand were originally created to protect the consumer. So that when you bought a bottle of Coca Cola you were getting exactly what you purchased rather than a knock-off. Laws were based around a company fighting to protect the consumer from being hurt or misled by products falsely claiming to the real thing.

That changed when companies started attacking the consumer. Disney’s one of the worst, of course, going after day cares that paint Mickey on the walls — even though there’s not an instant’s danger that anyone will mistake a nonprofit daycare center for a Disney operation and be misled into patronising it.

This practice has backfired on corporations with consumers no longer having brand loyalty and actively avoiding some companies due to their aggressive behaviour.

Thin CRTs To Challenge LCDs In 2005

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17 November 2004
40 second read
In Technology
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First Samsung and now LG.Philips have worked out a way to create thin CRT displays. Thin CRTs offer the best of both worlds — superior picture quality with a slim size. Thin CRTs are expected to be more expensive than current CRTs, however they are also expected to drop in price rapidly. Both companies plan on releasing Thin CRTs in late 2005

Stargate SG-1 And Atlantis Renewed

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17 November 2004
40 second read
In Entertainment
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Both Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis have been renewed for another season, ninth and second respectively. All of the key cast members are coming back for Atlantis, where as SG-1 stars are in negotiations, with Amanda Tapping expecting a baby in March right as filming begins. Also Richard Dean Anderson might look for an even further reduced role in the show

Astro TV

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16 November 2004
24 second read
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In Design, Technology
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RCA has released its Astro TV, which is styled to look like a classic 1950s set, save that it is built around a modern CRT.

Nothing like having a telly kitted out in bakelite and chrome

Marine Murdered Wounded Prisoner

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16 November 2004
22 second read
In Rights, World
613 views

The US Marine Corps launched an investigation into possible war crimes after video footage taken inside a mosque in Fallujah showed a Marine shooting dead an unarmed Iraqi insurgent who had been taken prisoner

Tech Giants Bankrolling IP Hoarding Start-Up

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16 November 2004
54 second read
In Technology
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Microsoft alum Nathan Myhrvold so strongly believes intellectual property is the next software that he’s studying for the patent bar exam. His company, Intellectual Ventures, doesn’t actually make anything — only patent attorneys roam the hallways. Myhrvold isn’t the only true believer. Microsoft, Intel, Sony, Nokia, Apple, Google, and eBay have contributed to a $350M bankroll which the firm is using to buy up existing patents that can be rented to companies who want to produce real products — via Slashdot

Spinach Power For Batteries

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14 November 2004
41 second read
In Science
1006 views

Scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of Tennessee, the US Naval Research Laboratory and the Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency have found a way to harness the energy that plants use during photosynthesis to convert light to energy. They are using the process to extend the life of batteries in mobile phones, laptop computers and other portable electronic devices

Boeing Successfully Tests Anti-Missile Laser

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14 November 2004
35 second read
In Science, Technology
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A Boeing-led team has successfully fired for the first time a powerful laser meant to fly aboard a modified 747 as part of a US ballistic missile defence shield. The test called First Light has a budget of $474.3 million in the fiscal year 2005 and is part of a larger $10 billion dollar missile defence system

http://external-brain.redwolf.com.au/wp-admin/edit.php?s=microsoft&post_status=all&post_type=post&mode=list&m=0&cat=1&paged=1&ids=1750#inline-editIs Microsoft Crawling Google?

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13 November 2004
40 second read
In Technology
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Jason Dowdell over at WebProNews has written a piece questioning a tactic Microsoft might be using to beef up its new search engine. He thinks they might be dipping into Google’s results to supplement its own. Dowdell likens it to leaving your garbage on the curb — anyone could conceivably go through it and take whatever is there for their own

Microsoft Australia Smokes the Good Crack

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12 November 2004
1 min read
In Technology, World
668 views

At a security roundtable discussion in Sydney on Thursday, Ben English, Microsoft’s security and management product manager, told attendees that IE undergoes rigorous code reviews and is no less secure than any other browser. Because IE is ubiquitous, you hear a lot more about it, but I don’t think that Internet Explorer is any less secure than any other browser out there, English said. Steve Vamos, Microsoft Australia’s managing director, agreed, saying he does not believe IE’s market share is under attack following the recent high-profile debut of the Mozilla Foundation’s Firefox browser — via Darren Barefoot

Pioneer Ultraviolet Laser Promises 500GB Discs

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12 November 2004
33 second read
In Technology
681 views

Pioneer is developing an ultraviolet laser for data storage. Since the wavelength of ultraviolet lasers is shorter than the wavelength of blue lasers, the beams are finer and they can pack more data into per square inch. This gives a data rate 20 times more than the blue laser Blue-ray disk

Moving Brain Implants

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12 November 2004
57 second read
In Health, Science, Technology
658 views

A device that automatically pushes electrodes into the brain to seek out the strongest signals is taking the idea of neural implants to a new level. Scary as this sounds, its developers say such devices will be essential if brain implants are ever going to allow paralysed people to control artificial arms or work a computer. The problem with fixed implants is that the signal fades after just a few months. The researchers expect to fit a paralysed person with a moving implant within a year

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