CE Forum

After Steve Jobs announced on May 22 that the next version of Apple's music software and store iTunes -- due within 60 days -- would feature support for podcasting, the nascent community of Internet-broadcast show creators was all atwitter.
...But with several podcasting directories already in existence, and high-profile podcast-related companies such as Odeo nearing their launch, Apple's entry could also roil some first-movers -- many fear that Apple will become the de facto place where people discover podcasts, much like iTunes has become for legal music online. "When I first saw it, I thought, wow, that's really surprising, and potentially bad for us," says Evan Williams, co-founder of soon-to-launch Odeo.com, a service that will help people create and find podcasts.

Read the full article at: http://www.technologyreview.com/articles/05/05/wo/wo_052605hellweg.asp?trk=top
(Free registration required)

Wisconson Attorney General Peg Lautenschlager announced today that her office has filed a civil action in Dane County Circuit Court against Best Buy Company, Inc., over several alleged violations of Wisconsin consumer protection laws. Among the allegations: misleading representations to Wisconsin customers about rebates, service plans, supplemental magazine subscriptions, exchange policies, restocking fees, gift cards, and reward zone points. ...
Best Buy has approximately 15 stores in Wisconsin and has its corporate headquarters in Richfield, Minnesota. The state has received approximately 215 complaints from customers of Best Buy, which led to the filing of the lawsuit.
Ohio has also sued Best Buy, Inc. and New Jersey has entered into an out-of-court settlement with the company. ...


All American Patriots 5/24/2005

After 35 years in Thunder Bay, the RadioShack name is no more.
The three local stores at Intercity Shopping Centre, Arthur Street Marketplace, and County Fair Plaza have been renamed The Source by Circuit City as of May 19.
InterTAN, a Barrie, Ontario company which owns the RadioShack license for all of Canada, was recently purchased by American company Circuit City Stores Inc.
An InterTAN official said the RadioShack license-holder in the U.S. became concerned about having their competitor owning the company with same name in Canada. ...


The Chronicle-Journal 5/26/2005

TomTom, a leading navigation solutions provider, and Circuit City, a leading specialty retailer of consumer electronics, announced that TomTom's award-winning GO line of personal navigation devices is available now at Circuit City Superstores across the United States.
...Building on the features that made the original TomTom GO so popular, the GO 300 and 700 models come with improved software and expanded capabilities including: -- An integrated Bluetooth receiver supporting real-time traffic and weather information (GO 300/700) -- New routing calculation options including fastest route, shortest route, avoiding toll roads, and more -- Hands-free calling (GO 700) via a compatible Bluetooth-enabled mobile phone -- Itinerary planning to allow multiple stops on a journey -- Updated and fully-connected maps allowing coast-to-cast and cross-border trip planning to and from nearly all streets in the U.S. and Canada "We're excited to be working with Circuit City to bring the GO line to even more customers," said Jocelyn Vigreux, President of TomTom USA.


Business Wire 5/26/2005

Japanese game console firm Nintendo has warned that earnings this year will suffer amid strong competition.... Demand for Nintendo's Game Cube console and related software is suffering as Sony and Microsoft launch new versions of their Playstation and Xbox products. Nintendo will have to rely more on sales of handheld players until it puts out its Revolution console next year.

Demand for Nintendo's DS portable game machine is expected to pick up from last year after sales of the two-screen player did not live up to expectations.... Gaming has become an increasingly profitable business, and has moved into the mainstream with adults as keen to play as children. Games are multi-million dollar production efforts and companies are lookihttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gifng at ways of attracting more users, especially women.

...As with elsewhere in the technology industry, getting new products onto the shelves first can help companies establish themselves as the industry standard. Microsoft is rushing to be the first with its new console and the Xbox 360 is due to hit stores worldwide before Christmas.

BBC 5/26/05

is introducihttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gifng a handheld tablet for Web-browsing over a wireless broadband connection, the company's first non-phone mobile device and the latest in a long line of attempts to create a so-called "Internet appliance" for quick online access around the home.
...While fairly unique in terms of its handheld size, the Internet Tablet can be seen as another variation on a concept that has repeatedly failed to catch on a device that offers easy Internet access and basic tasks such as e-mail for which the computing power of a full-blown PC is unnecessary.... Since the Nokia tablet is meant to be carried from room to room, its 4.1-inch screen is considerably smaller than the display on most of these predecessor appliances but also far bigger and sharper compared with most cell phones and handheld computers.


ABC News 5/25/05

With the back-to-school shopping season not far off, electronics chain Circuit City is planning to publish a test catalog that will be mailed to customers. Richmond-based Circuit City (NYSE: CC) has been losing consumers to Best Buy (NYSE: BB), which has already started mailing catalogs to potential customers.... Alan McCollough says the catalog may be used to prospect for new customers. Last year, Circuit City's sales rose 6.2 percent to $10.5 billion, compared with Best Buy's gain of almost 12 percent to $27.4 billion. Circuit City has also reiterated its forecast for sales to rise as much as 6 percent this year as it opens or relocates as many as 40 stores,

Washington Business Journal 5/24/05
http://washington.bizjournals.com/washington/stories/2005/05/23/daily14.html

Apple is among the five hottest retailers in the U.S., according to the “2005 Hot Retailer Award” from Shopping Centers Today, a publication of the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC).
...Selling not only Apple computers, but various third-party ‘digital lifestyle’ products such as MP3 players, digital still and video cameras, and PDAs, the stores became an instant hit with consumers.
...The other “hottest retailers” were Coach (a designer, producer and marketer of accessories for men and women), Steve & Barry’s University Sportswear (which offers private-label merchandise in upcoming surroundings), White House/Black Market (which focuses on clothing and accessories for women only in shades of white and black) and Williams-Sonoma (a specialty retailer of home furnishings).
...Its more than 50,000 members in over 80 countries include shopping center owners, developers, managers, marketing specialists, investors, retailers and brokers, as well as academics and public officials.

Macsimmum News 5/24/05

Edmondson has shaken up his senior management team, gutted one department, realigned others and forced his impatience down through the ranks. He's behaving like a newly elected president who realizes that his first 100 days may dictate the tenor of his term. He won't let RadioShack employees get comfortable, because he wants them to get better, faster, tougher -- and, in his words, move from being good to great.... When he says RadioShack will focus on great people, he's not talking about coddling employees; he's talking about amassing the best talent and demanding more from it.... Edmondson has installed five new senior executives -- two from outside the company -- and a nationwide search is under way for a sixth new face, a chief operating officer.
...Consider how organizations can take on the personalities of their top executives, from combative American Airlines under Robert Crandall to fun-loving Southwest under Herb Kelleher.
..."We as a company can do one thing better than any other company in the world," he said, "And that is attract, retain, develop, mentor and reward the most friendly, knowledgeable, well-trained sales associates, who are conveniently located, who have a passion for customer care and are willing to take the time to help customers solve complex technology problems."

Star-Telegram 5/22/05

The Participatory Culture Foundation is building a free and open-source desktop television application tentatively known as DTV. With it, the computer user can subscribe to a channel and video will download in the background.

It provides TiVO like caching will remove watched videos, to provide room for new ones. It uses Bittorent to make downloads swift. They also have a broadcasting tool for anyone to setup a broadcast from their web site.

See more at the web site: http://www.participatoryculture.org/

First-quarter retail Internet sales rose 23.8 percent to $19.8 billion in the United States from $16 billion a year ago, according to preliminary numbers released Friday by the Department of Commerce.
...Legg Mason Wood Walker analyst Scott Devitt said Internet sales have grown around 20 percent to 25 percent each quarter the latest year, and that stability is a good sign for long-term growth, Devitt said.

ABC News 5/22/05

Figures from the Census Bureau show that the country bought $55 billion more in imported goods and services than it sold in exported goods and services during March.
...The United States also bought fewer Chinese goods — cutting back on Chinese-made apparel (a glut of textiles made its way to U.S. shores in previous months after a WTO quota system expired) and toys.
...Despite the difficult oil situation, the United States saw an increase in international sales of its capital goods and foods/beverages to overseas customers during March.

ABC News 5/11/05


Sooner or later, things have to balance out. But it can get pretty difficult for us before then.