The CEO Game

Whether you have been to Los-Angeles or not, you are surely familiar with the city of angels’ famous landmark- the Hollywood sign. The sign has been standing for over 87 years since its debut as an advertisement in 1923. Unfortunately, the future of the sign, is not so clear and now the Hollywood sign is in danger. All the surrounding lands are up for grabs and luxurious houses may take the Hollywood hills over soon. The Hollywood Sign Trust, a non-profit organization is putting in effort to try and stop this but some other entrepreneurs have a different idea in mind: turn the sign into a hotel.

The Hollywood Sign is located in the Hollywood Hills are of Mount Lee in L.A, California. The sign spells out the name of the area in 50 feet tall white letters stretching over 200 feet across. Although the sign is well known and recognized all over the world and has attracted its share of tourists over the years, some claim that the sign is not- “all that” and it is just plain painted plywood that looks huge and majestic on the silver screen, but in reality is quite small and miserable according to them. That is the reason why the Danish architect Christian Bay-Jorgensen, wants to turn this sign into what he thinks that everyone really wants- an hotel.

Moreover, Bay-Jorgensen wants to transform the sign to a boutique hotel that will have the same shape. But he won’t stop there, his vision includes wrecking the entire sign and the surrounding area and building it from scratch only this time, double the size. He believes by doing this he will create a sizzling hot location which will bring in rich tourists and Hollywood celebs, located right at the heart of Tinsel town. Finally he thinks that his idea would make the sign better for everyone, since it will bring in more cash, create more workplaces, create the next best thing for L.A’s night scene, all while everyone else would be able to see it from a greater distance.

However, it seems many people are not in favor of the new idea. They claim that making the landmark bigger, will ruin the view for everyone: it will block the sight from on top of the hills as well as create an ugly real estate monster, disproportional to its surroundings. Another group of people, object the creation of an hotel because in their minds, creating an hotel over the ruins of the sign, is another sign for the city’s gloominess and carelessness- turning everything into a matter of cash. In addition, environmental issues are also taken into consideration since creating such an ambitious project requires infrastructures (and a whole lot of them) which will destroy the surroundings and natural habitats of wild animals.

Omer Shachnai

The CEO Game.

On Facebook’s new move which just might change the Web as we know it.

Facebook wants it all: the popular social network is expanding and seeks to take over the Web. As the first day of Facebook’s annual “f8″ developers conference got underway this Wednesday in San Francisco, Facebook revealed its plans to take over the entire Internet. The means: integrating its social networking service into all websites and deepening the connection between the Web itself to its users. In short: Facebook will be wherever you look, whenever you look. A revolution?

Puts people at the center

After making an entrance which is reserved only for rock stars, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg got down to the business of explaining what their plans are all about. He then rolled out a bunch of changes that are all apart of an “unavoidable evolution” in people’s interactions, activities, events and interests all folded into their online identities who follow them all across the Web.

The crown jewel of the new Facebook platform is what Zuckerberg likes to call the “Open Graph”, “the most transformative thing we’ve ever done for the Web”, according to him. “Today, the Web exists as a series of unstructured links between pages,” said Zuckerberg, whose social network boasts more than 400 million users around the world. “The open graph puts people at the center of the Web”.

The concept, is basically to map out user behavior across various corners of the Internet. He explained that this can be achieved by using information gathered from a user’s general online behavior. Thus creating “a smarter, personalized Web that gets better with every action taken”.

He then gave the example of a Facebook user who clicks on a news story in CNN and then automatically sees which of their friends liked that piece. In addition, a Facebook member could visit Pandora (an online radio station) or ESPN online and instantly share “likes” or “dislikes” about the song being played or game news with their friends in Facebook. “Pandora will start playing music from bands you have liked all across the Web,” Zuckerberg said. It’s a revolution in the way we experience the Web, everything is interlinked and any page can become a de facto Facebook page.

Moreover, Facebook vice president of engineering Mike Schroepfer believes the move could turn websites into digital age versions of “Cheers”, the old TV comedy show set in a bar where everyone knows each other. “It’s like Cheers, the bar where everyone knows your name,” Schroepfer announced.”People can have instantly social and personalized experiences everywhere they go”, Zuckerberg added.

Facebook’s move is a strike at their competitors (like Web searching giant Google) who constantly fight for people’s attention and advertising bucks. Zuckerberg said that Facebook seeks to benefit by strengthening bonds people have to the social networking service. “The more people use Facebook the stronger the bond”, he added.

Finally, the new tools have one downside- they could mean less and less people will visit the Facebook site itself. “How do we create a world where when we show up anywhere our friends are there?” Facebook vice president Chris Cox asked rhetorically. “Our answer is an open platform and to give these tools to developers”. A one which just might change the Web as we know it.

Omer Shachnai

The CEO Game

Another one of Apple’s notorious gimmicks or a spoof? A prototype of the new, yet to be released IPhone 4G had been found stranded alone in a bar in Redwood City (San Francisco Bay Area), California. It seems an Apple employee had forgotten the phone either accidentally or deliberately in the bar and Gizmodo, a trustworthy and familiar site was able to obtain it. According to Gizmodo, they have dissected the phone and found that all the internal parts and components were clearly labeled as Apple and not a knock off as many believed. So has Apple done it again?

iPhone 4G

The first analysis shows that the device contains new components. These new parts found, may suggest that the new IPhone is not just like the previous 3GS, only suited up with a new case, but more. So, without further ado, here are the big additions: A new front-facing camera (will probably enable video chat), an improved regular back-camera (they claim the lens is noticeably larger than the old one), camera flash- a feature many Apple groupies yearn for quite some time now.

Moreover, the device has a slot for a Micro-SIM instead of a standard SIM (just like the one the new iPad uses), the guys at Gizmodo also claim the forgotten device has improve display (it’s unclear if it’s the 960×460 display thrown around before). In addition, there seems to be a secondary mic for noise cancellation, on top of it, next to the headphones jack. The volume button has been splitted into two different buttons. The volume button as well as the mute and power buttons got a new metallic look.

What’s changed? Well for starters, the back of the phone is entirely flat, made of either glass (more likely) or ceramic or shiny plastic in order for the cell signal to poke through. An aluminum border going completely around the outside. Slightly smaller screen than the 3GS (but seemingly higher resolution). The phone has a new drastically different exterior- a more “squared off” look. Now you have a thinner body, with no wasted space and lots of hard lines. The phone is 3 grams heavier too. The phone’s batter is 16% Larger, while other internal components are shrunken, miniaturized and reduced to make room for it.

Unfortunately, they claim the phone had been remotely disabled by Apple, so no one was able to test out the new features on it. Whether it is true or not, the entire story seems too good to be true anyways, and it would come as no surprise if it was just another one of those publicity stunts, Apple is so famous for. When connecting the phone to a computer it behaves exactly like an iPhone does when it is plugged, with the proper boot sequence and “connect to iTunes” restore functionality. Maybe a sign of its authenticity. However, the Firmware cannot be loaded, since it is tied to the device model, and in this case there is no firmware yet for the 4G.

Why do they think it’s real? The people at Gizmodo said that after playing around with the phone for a week “the overall quality feels exactly like a finished final Apple phone—and after disassembling this unit, there is so much evidence stacked in its favor, that there’s very little possibility that it’s a fake. In fact, the possibility is almost none”. What the feeling like? “Freaking amazing. As a person who never really liked the round mound of a back in the 3GS, the sleeker, flatter, squarer design is super welcome. It feels sturdier than the 3GS, and much less plastic. The metal buttons give it a heftier feel—less of a toy—than all previous generations”.

Currently, It is rumored Apple will officially announce on the IPhone 4G in June, so this “gag” could be getting close to a final retail model. Up until then it is all speculation on if this is real or not. If it is real, either Apple did it intentionally, or perhaps one of Apple’s employees could be looking for a new job. And what do we say? Out with the old and in with the new.

Omer Shachnai

The CEO Game

Microsoft announced earlier this week on Kin, their new line of phones, which puts the emphasis on social networks, SMS-texting and sharing. In a press conference held this week (Monday), Microsoft has launched their brand new mobile devices which plan to stay ahead of the competition, by appealing to younger audience. According to Microsoft, the whole purpose of the Kins is to make using and interacting with social media sites like Facebook and Twitter convenient and easy. On top of that, they promise a relatively low price.

Microsoft's Kins

The announcement itself comes as no surprise, just a short time after launching the Windows Phone 7 operating system which is intended for Premium mobile devices. Lately Microsoft realized that the cellular market is a cash cow. So now, they seek to grab a bigger bite of this market, by creating quality phones that come along with low prices, designed especially for teenagers who make use of many social networks and texting services. They want to create a device where the users’ entire “digital life” and content comes together into a single a platform, which is exactly what the users want, according to Microsoft.

Microsoft launched two models: Kin1 and Kin2 (how original). Both of these devices look very impressive. In one button click, users can update from the Kin their status on all social networks they are members of. By moving their finger across the screen, users can decide on files that will be shared with their friends as well as decide with which friends exactly, all this- with no clicks. The device knows who are our closest friends, with whom we talk the most and respond to their social networks’ statuses. It also ranks the contacts by the frequency we make conversations with that.

Moreover, they are Microsoft’s first mobile devices which support Zune, including an option of song recommendations and requests by other users and remotely streaming songs. The Kin1 (previously known as the Turtle) is equipped with 5 MP “shooter” with flash, mono speakers, 4 GB of on-board storage, Zune media player, and a small touch screen. On the contrary, the Kin2 is a bit better and packs a 8 MP camera and ability to shoot HD video in a resolution of 720p, 8 GB of storage ,stereo speakers, a tuner, larger sliding keyboard and a larger touch screen. Some of these are quite important when texting all of the time. Because the storage is limited, Microsoft allows backing up all the content into cloud computing- which is a new concept, especially in the cellular world.

The supported social networks include Windows live, Facebook, MySpace and Twitter and using the “Loop” interface (for uploading content) users will be able to upload pictures and videos with no need to use additional software. In addition, Microsoft has just launched www.kin.com, the Internet hub for their new line of phones. The site itself is composed of a time-line with pictures which are attached along it, just like the “story of our life”.

Omer Shachnai

The CEO Game.

American Airlines companies, United Airlines and U.S Airways are conducting merger negotiations, which if and when take place, will create the second largest airline company in the U.S . According to the New York Times, This is the third time in a decade in which the two companies are trying to reach agreement on terms of a possible merger between them.

Second largest airline in the U.S?

According to a report in The New York Times the merger is an attempt to help the U.S. airline industry, which lost  60 billion dollars over the last decade. If the merger will take place, the new company will be the second largest airline in the U.S.

The report said  that the merger is designed to jump-start  if possible the U.S. airline industry, which lost  60 billion dollars over the last decade due to soaring fuel prices and a drop in passenger rates. Both companies expressed the willingness in recent years to strengthen public cooperation.

The problem is that mergers in the airline industry are a difficult task to perform, mainly due to the fact that the complex labor contracts of employees in each company can lower the value achieved in sweeping cost reduction. The merger between Delta Airlines and Northwest Airlines took two years to achieve, but ultimately created the largest airline in the U.S.. Now in the company’s labor contracts U.S Airways focus of controversy, since US Airways still has not integrated pilot seniority since its merger with America West in 2005. The labor issue could turn out to be the biggest hurdle to overcome in any merger with United Airlines.

Lucy.

The CEO Game

Google buys web video company Episodic in order to beef up YouTube.

Internet searching giants, Google have made another big acquisition and this time it is in the video arena. Episodic, a start up web video company based in San Francisco, will become a part of Google. Thus, Episodic surpassed its key competitor Brightcove, also an American company which offers services for adding video to your website. The deal was announced on last Friday (2nd April) on the Episodic blog. Although the financial terms are undisclosed and haven’t been revealed yet, both companies are said to be very pleased and satisfied with the results.

Episodic. The Newest Addition.

Episodic offers a platform for live and on demand web videos. Content sites, advertisers and practically any enterprise use the platform in order to broadcast streaming video, analyze it and offer video content to their audience via different platforms: computers, laptops as well as mobile phones and IPTV gadgets (televisions who are connected to the Internet). Basically, the platforms allows every type of enterprise to deliver innovative technology and also to make money from it through advertising and online sales. Many experts claim that Episodic resembles YouTube and since Episodic’s technology and team are being folded into YouTube, it’s possible that we could see new ways for video creators to profit from their YouTube videos. This looks like good news for mid-level YouTube dwellers who did not have the leverage to work out money-making on their own.

Episodic also provides a content management system and offers an advertisement server, which allow clients to place adds in the videos and pay for it in credit card. Currently, Episodic supports Apple’s iPhone, Google’s Android and Blackberry and intends to support Symbian devices as well in the future. On their blog, Episodic explain how they and Google also share the same ideas and goals for the future: “Episodic and Google share a common vision for video on the Web. Online video will be ubiquitous, engaging, entertaining, informative and effective. Both teams place value on creating a great experience for viewers and on delivering a powerful and flexible platform for publishers, marketers and advertisers of all kinds.”

Google’s shopping spree, or blitzkrieg if you wish, comes as no surprise. Last year Google completed purchasing the online advertising company AdMob for 750$ million in shares and Teracent for targeted display ad technology. This year, Google already bought On2 for 106.5$ million and many other companies, amongst them you can find: Docverse (a file sharing site), Appjet (a collaborative real time editor), Aardvak (social search), Picnic (photo editing). Google’s CEO, Eric Schmidt claimed on September 2009 that Google plans to return to making purchases, after a minor pause, or setback if you wish, due to the global financial crisis. At the time, he also said that Google wishes to “buy a company a month” (on average). It seems that Google is definitely keen on fulfilling its chairman’s announcement.

Omer Shachnai

The CEO Game.

Google, Amazon and even the White House are already prepared for the iPad release and they will support it. As usual only Microsoft isn’t.

Everybody is getting ready for the iPad. Apple is expected to start selling her tablet computer later on today, and now large service providers had announced that they will support Apple’s iPad along with other tablet PCs. The expectation is that the iPad will take the tablet PCs into the mainstream.

iPad, will it meet the expectations?

Starting from Google, the search engine giant had announced the release of special version of it’s mail service (Gmail), that is designed for tablet PCs. The new version will support the HTML 5 protocol along with other visual features.

Amazon had announced the release of its Kindle application for the iPad. The application itself will contain few unique features designed for the iPad. Amazon kindle will directly compete with Apple who had released its own book store application. Currently Amazon already offer its Kindle application for the iPhone and iPod touch.

The White House official blog had announced that the Whitehouse site will now fully support the iPad.

And who is left behind? Microsoft. According to different reports, Microsoft currently does not have any plans to release an iPad version of its Microsoft Office tools. The company still waits to see how much success the iPad will gain before investing in supporting it.

Ailon.

The CEO Game.