Zomack

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    • Thu Sep 18th 12:27 PM
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      Commented on:
      Microsoft Copping to $10 Million Seinfeld Mistake?
      From a personal standpoint, I found them funny enough. It's certainly a different Bill than most are used to seeing. "Worst TV ad ever"? Please.

      But from a business/marketing strategy standpoint, I'm not convinced it's the best approach -- not yet, at least. Assuming they're ultimately trying to sell more product(Vista), it doesn't work for me if we're only looking at these couple of commercials.

      But branding and marketing plans can take months and years to have meaningful impact. Three commercials does not a Fortune 50 ad campaign make. This is surely just the start of a multi-phase, multi-year campaign that, when taken in sum, could end up having the desired impact. To judge these couple of ads in such an isolated context is short-sighted. Not saying it'll ever pay off, mind you, but I think it's far too early to judge the campaign(versus the commercial, itself).

      Whatever the case, I'm sticking with XP and will look forward to the next commercial : )
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    • Thu Sep 4th 12:34 PM
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      7 Reasons I Switched to Google's Chrome
      Potentially great browser...sure, why not? I'm a bit of a MSFT fanboy --largely because of intertia and laziness -- but I've pretty much moved to FF3 on the browser side, admittedly. So, I'm open to the idea that Chrome could be something better(haven't tried it yet).

      But an OS? Hahahaha!

      99%(unofficial stat) of people have no idea what an OS is, what it does or how it does it. Not that they should even need to know this, of course, but there is MUCH MUCH more to an OS than surfing the web and enabling AJAX apps.

      Just thinking about the gap between the current incarnation of Chrome(or any browser) and an OS gives me a headache. Sure, in years things could change and GOOG could certainly evolve this into something more substantial(I don't doubt they'll try, actually)...but let's not get too far ahead of ourselves.
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    • Wed Jul 30th 12:33 PM
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      Commented on:
      Home Prices in 20 Major Cities: You're OK If...
      Apparently, some aren't happy unless even a single blog post(not an article, not a book, not a week-long symposium) provides an exhaustive analysis of every nuance on the topic -- every angle, every perspective, every market, every scenario, etc.

      It is what it is...and it's free. Add it to the gobs of other pertinent data that's available and draw your own conclusions(instead of expecting somebody else to tie it all together all the time for you).

      Having said that, I do appreciate comments offering insight into how one might interpret data and, as someone said above, many times the comments associated with a blog post end up being more informative than the post itself. Sometimes.
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    • Tue Jul 8th 11:14 AM
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      5 Reasons Microsoft Will Get SaaS Right
      Don't forget the huge advantage offered by the inertia of their monopoly-ish installed base(eg Windows, Office) that makes up the primary "software" component of their their Software+Services strategy. This base(whether eroding or not it's still currently huge) plus their cash plus their talent/attitude(like them or not, there are some smart people at MSFT who don't want to be second place), and their sales/partner network and they'll certainly be a presence for a long time.
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    • Fri Jun 20th 21:28 PM
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      Yahoo's YMail - Don't Really Get It
      They'll get an incremental number of new users -- no amount to write home about or worthy of even a PR, IMO. IF the cost to setup/maintain the accounts for these new domains(eg infrastructure, support staff, etc.) is relatively small then why not roll it out? Cost-benefit probably MIGHT make sense. Their probably piggybacking on existing infrastructure and support staff anyway so it's near trivial.

      The potential for this will be WHAT services/features does that new customer(and a current one) get once they're convinced to sign up for a new email addy? This is what'll create loyalty, increase usage(time at site = more ad revenue) and grow the base.

      Overall, though, I have little faith that this'll turn into anything like that at all. And it's a pretty big pain to switch addresses(if you have more than 2 friends/associates).

      But, heck, why not?!
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    • Sat Jun 14th 13:00 PM
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      Will Microsoft Now Turn Its Eye to AOL?
      As a consumer, I'm not a huge fan of recent consolidation in this space. Ideally I'd love to see a bunch of competitors offering differentiated and compelling services/products. Ideally.

      As aninvestor, though, I understand that consolidation is inevitable in "hot" sectors like this, especially when you've got cash-rich, high-growth behemoths involved. If MSFT and YHOO are obviously "worried" enough about GOOG increasing an already dominant position, then TWX/AOL would be lucky to even be around(in a meaningful way, that is) in 18 months without some sort of major partnership or outright takeover.

      My basic observations are these:
      - GOOG has been and is in the lead here, and they're only increasing market share as the quarters pass. They've got tons of cash and are not slowing down.
      - YHOO is desperate and is reaching. If GOOG deal gets trimmed(or denied) by anti-trust concerns I could see them crawling back to MSFT(or even AOL or some up-and-comer looking to make a splash).
      - MSFT knows it's in a distant second place but has tons of cash and a culture that cannot stand being Number Two(no matter what it takes to be Number One). Hard for me to bet against this combination in the long run. Having said that, you really can't win EVERYtime.
      - AOL is one of a single-handful of even somewhat meaningful acquisitions left. TWX and Icahn are open to an AOL deal.

      Put it all together and...
      - YHOO-MSFT end up in eachother's arms again
      - It turns into GOOG/YHOO versus MSFT/AOL
      - GOOG stays #1, MSFT settles for #2 and YHOO/AOL fight for #3 scraps.

      Now, I'm not making a judgement call on whether any of these is "good"(for investors, consumers, or investors) -- I've got to do more research. But, I do think it lays out the landscape, in general.
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