Daily Marauder

MACBOOK AIR, MEET THE SONY VAIO TZ

Last week at MacWorld, Steve Jobs unveiled the thinnest computer in the world, aptly named the MacBook Air. In his keynote, he compared the newest MacBook addition to the previous thin record holder, the Sony TZ series. I thought this comparison deserved a closer look. Let’s check out the features to see who the real winner is in this tête a tête. (Note: In comparison, I compared both standard models for the MacBook Air and Sony Vaio TZ)

Thinness: MacBook Air

At .76” at its thickest section, the MacBook is thinner than the Sony Vaio at 1.17” at its thickest section.

Weight: Sony Vaio TZ

The MacBook Air may be thinner but it’s a wee bit heavier than the Sony Vaio TZ.

Screen: MacBook Air

The screen on the MacBook Air is the same viewable screen as the MacBook at 13.3”. The Sony in comparison is a bit small at 11.1”. That said, the resolution on the Sony is slightly better than the Macbook Air.

Price: MacBook Air

The Sony is listed as $2099 on the Sony Style website but available for $1849 on the B&H site. Click on the Sony image at the bottom for the B&H site. Still, the MacBook Air is cheaper.

Hard Drive: Sony Vaio

Both are 4200-rpm PATA drives. Sony’s has 100GB to Macbook Air’s 80GB.

RAM: MacBook Air

Apple’s comes with 2GB of 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM. Sony’s comes with 1GB of 533MHz DDR2 SDRAM.

Speed: MacBook Air

Both have Intel Core 2 Duo processors. The MacBook Air’s runs at 1.6GHz while the Sony’s runs at 1.06GHz.

Connecting on the Go: Sony Vaio

Being the sometimes proud owner of an Apple iPhone, I have become overly in tune with the Wi-Fi hotspots in NYC. Based on this hyper awareness, I understand the catastrophe that would occur if someone clipped the wings on my Edge network. It may not be 3G, but it’s a Wi-Fi replacement when I need one. In addition, it works quite well in the standard Google search realm. The MacBook Air offers wireless and Bluetooth connections. The Sony Vaio offers wireless, Bluetooth, Sprint EDVO, Ethernet, and a modem (OK, a little overkill on that last one.) The Sprint EDVO, available by monthly subscription, offers a nice mobile replacement when Wi-Fi is unavailable.

Battery: Sony Vaio

The Sony offers 4.5 to 7 hours of run-time and as an extra incentive, the battery is replaceable. The MacBook Air offers 5 hours and, as is generally the case with Apple, cannot be replaced.

Keyboard: MacBook Air

Apple offers a full keyboard as compared to Sony’s mini me. In addition, the Apple keyboard is backlit in low lighting situations as typically found on overnight flights and in dark conference rooms.

Optical Drive: Sony Vaio

The long and short. The Sony has a DVD drive. The Apple doesn’t. Apple claims the sacrifice on optical drive is satisfied by a remote drive feature. I say: That doesn’t help me on a NYC to LA flight. I want my DVD drive yo.

THE LOW DOWN:

At least in this comparison, MacBook has a slight lead with 6 leading features as compared to 5. That said, even though I don’t dig the mini me keyboard, I’d rather have a built in DVD drive than extra dependence on a Wi-Fi network or another box to carry around. The MacBook is sexier by far but a bit impractical. I’d have to go with the Sony Vaio. Either that, or could you just put the DVD drive back in Apple? A girl has to have her Peep Show on the plane.

BROADCAST/CABLE

In support of Hollywood’s striking writers, the Screen Actors Guild is threatening a boycott of this year’s Academy Awards. Oscar producer Gil Cates hints that he might not need actors onstage: “There are enough clips in Oscar history to make up a very entertaining show.” (http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/business/la-et-oscarplan19jan19,1,5449080.story?ctrack=7&cset=true  1/19)

Spurred by the new employment deal signed by the Directors Guild of America, Hollywood’s striking writers and the major studios are agreeing to resume talks as early as Tuesday. Writers Guild of America reps plan to meet with News Corp. boss Peter Chernin and other top execs. (http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-strike19jan19,1,2347780.story?ctrack=6&cset=true  1/19)

On Tuesday, truTV debuts a new 30m, eight-episode series The Real Hustle at 10p that uses hidden cameras to capture professional scam artists in action as they con unsuspecting people out of money, items such as cars and jewelry and identities. Starting off with two back-to-back episodes the series will offer insider knowledge on the techniques and psychology behind the capers. The series is produced by Objective Productions/Crook Productions.

This series seriously scares the crap out of me.  How about this?  Can we, perhaps not, explain each of these cons.

Strong performances by NBC’s film unit and cable networks — including Bravo, Sci Fi, USA and CNBC — propelled the General Electric division to $15.4 billion in total revenue for 2007 and accounted for about 75% of NBCU’s windfall, according to President and CEO Jeff Zucker. The company also reported that earnings for the period were $3.5 billion, which Zucker said was a 6% increase over 2006. (Variety 1/20)

Jeff Zucker, CEO of NBC Universal, plans to seize on the writers’ strike to eliminate “extravagances,” such as the pilot season and the splashy upfront presentations. “Things like that are all vestiges of an era that’s gone by,” he says. Also: The business model for online is “still not developed.” (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22758787  1/21, http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22758786  1/21) 

NBC Entertainment co-head Ben Silverman is selling his production company, which makes “The Office” and “Ugly Betty,” to a London-based firm owned by Elisabeth Murdoch. Silverman put the company, Reveille, up for sale last year to deflect conflict-of-interest charges. (http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-reveille19jan19,1,4487548.story?ctrack=8&cset=true  1/19)

Lachlan Murdoch plans to return to the media industry by teaming with James Packer to buy out Australia’s Consolidated Media Holdings in a deal worth nearly $2 billion. Murdoch, who quit News Corp. in 2005, is raising funds for the deal from outside the company. (http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23083604-30538,00.html  1/21) 

News Corp.’s Fox network, seizing on marketers’ demand for advertisements viewers won’t skip, may sell its last 30-second spot for the Super Bowl as soon as this week. Fox is holding out for about $3 million for the slot; CBS got as much as $2.6 million last year. (http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601204&sid=adUgrzGvSnR4  1/18)

Comcast shareholder Chieftain Capital is launching an attack on CEO Brian Roberts, calling his reign a “comcastrophe.” The cable giant is issuing a response: “We welcome input from our shareholders. We will review Chieftain’s correspondence and respond in due course.” (http://blog.wired.com/business/2008/01/comcast-ceo-bri.html  1/18) 

Oprah Winfrey is being called a “traitor” by some of her female fans for supporting Barack Obama instead of Hillary Clinton. Oprah.com is being flooded with a barrage of negative comments. One female reader sniped that Winfrey is “choosing her race over her gender.” (http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/us_elections/article3216586.ece  1/20)

Cable networks and some online sites will become a more important source of shows for the syndication market in the future, according to an annual report from Katz Television Group. “With dozens of cable channels now producing original programming and a burgeoning content engine called the Web, this pipeline will continue to grow more vibrant in the future,” Katz director of programming Anthony Spirito said. (Broadcasting & Cable 1/20) 

A little more than a year into his tenure as general manager of cable net AMC, Charlie Collier says the critical success of the network’s “Mad Men” series will translate into a ratings bonanza in its second season. In this Q-and-A-style interview, Collier also touched on future programming plans, CPM parity with the broadcast networks and transforming the AMC brand. Broadcasting & Cable (1/19)

TiVo Chief Executive Officer Thomas S. Rogers talks about the path his company has taken to boost profitability and gain a foothold in today’s changing media industry in this interview with the Los Angeles Times. TiVo has recently inked deals with Comcast and Amazon.com to bring its services to a wider audience. (Los Angeles Times 1/21)

ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA

News Corp.’s MySpace is evolving into a more advertiser-friendly, traditional media platform, says site co-founder Chris DeWolfe. DeWolfe and fellow co-founder Tom Anderson recently signed new contracts with News Corp. reported to be worth $7.5 million a year. (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/21/technology/21myspace.html?_r=1&oref=slogin  1/21)

Time Warner on Tuesday will begin testing HBO On Broadband, offering 400 hours of movies and original series that can be downloaded to computers. Users must be digital cable customers who subscribe to HBO, and must use the cable company as their Internet provider. (http://www.usatoday.com/life/television/news/2008-01-20-HBO-broadband_N.htm  1/20)

Barely a month after taking most of its videos off of iTunes and going home, NBC is ready to play again. In a story about NBC CEO Jeff Zucker, the Financial Times reports:Mr Zucker appears to have patched up relations with Apple after a pricing dispute last year led NBC to pull its shows from the iTunes digital media store. “We’ve said all along that we admire Apple, that we want to be in business with Apple,” he said. “We’re great fans of Steve Jobs.”Still no sign of the missing NBC shows on iTunes. But it looks more and more like NBC’s walkout may have just been a negotiating tactic.  (http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/01/21/wow-that-was-fast-nbc-looking-to-patch-things-up-with-apple  1/21)

The decision to make NBC Universal’s films available for Apple’s iTunes’ rental program is consistent with NBCU’s decision not to renew its contract for TV show sales, CEO Jeff Zucker told the FT. The difference? Variable pricing for the films. Zucker: “We want to be in business with Apple. We never said that we did not want to be in business with Apple. But we want to do it on terms we feel comfortable with.” And that is quite consistent with NBCU’s stance all along. (http://www.paidcontent.org/entry/419-zucker-universal-films-rental-deal-with-apple-is-consistent-with-nbcus-  1/20)

Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg will be among the keynote speakers at this year’s South by Southwest Interactive Festival, March 7 to 11, in Austin. SXSW Interactive will feature more than 500 speakers, 150 panel discussions and other events. (http://www.bizjournals.com/austin/stories/2008/01/14/daily29.html  1/17) 

Google is seeing its lead in the lucrative Internet-search market slacken, according to Nielsen Online. Both Google’s and Yahoo’s shares of the U.S. search market are said to be declining. Microsoft, which is investing heavily in its online services, is experiencing an increase. (http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/googles-search-share-slackens-nielsen/story.aspx?guid=%7BD8576427-26FF-4F34-9910-88A0BA58E9D8%7D  1/18)

Former Wall Street analyst Henry Blodget reports that Yahoo is preparing a list of 1,500 to 2,500 employees targeted for layoffs by division heads, at the behest of co-founder and CEO Jerry Yang. A leaner Yahoo is expected before Yang’s Jan. 29 analyst conference call. (http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/080120-112309  1/20)

The founders of Facebook, Digg, Twitter and other hot Web sites are among the Internet celebs being honored with the first-ever “Crunchies” awards. The blogs GigaOm, Read/WriteWeb, VentureBeat and TechCrunch came up with the awards and voting was done via their sites. (http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080119/tc_afp/lifestyleitinternetawardmediacrunchies  1/19)

Gawker blog publisher Nick Denton: “There used to be a shortage of attitude and aggregation, but there are now thousands of highly trafficked blogs. There’s a huge media ecosystem hungrily searching for anything original. The economics have changed.” (http://www.wired.com/techbiz/media/magazine/16-02/st_15denton  1/18) 

Not that this is a surprise, but LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman has finally admitted it has been having talks with the “usual suspects” for a buyout, but then decided not to. “I know we are going to be much more valuable in a year or two…We have had (buyout) conversations with all the usual suspects, but I think an IPO is by far and away the most likely outcome”, Hoffman told AP. (http://www.paidcontent.org/entry/419-linkedin-yes-we-had-ma-talks  1/20)

Slide, the maker of social networking widgets, has raised a big $50 million fourth round from Fidelity and T-Rowe Price. The round, sans-dollar amount, was first reported by Kara at All Things D; Brad Stone at Bits then reported the amount. (http://www.paidcontent.org/entry/419-widget-maker-slide-raises-50-million-from-wall-st  1/18) 

With the cost of Super Bowl commercials nearing $3 million per spot, Coors Brewing Co. is inviting its consumers to submit user generated content videos online to win tickets to the big game. The contest allows consumers to “interact with our brand,” says a Coors rep. (http://www.clickz.com/showPage.html?page=3628158  1/18)

People born after 1993 prefer visual information over text and are frequent multitaskers, according to a new report on the “Google Generation” from the British Library and the Joint Information Systems Committee. Also, they like to cut-and-paste; plagiarism is “a serious issue.” (http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080118-the-google-generation-not-so-hot-at-googling-after-all.html  1/18)

WIRELESS

Shares of Sprint Nextel on Friday sunk $2.87, or 25%, to $8.70 after news that it planned to fire 4,000 employees and close some stores to cut costs as its customer base drops. The stock prices of AT&T and Verizon also dipped slightly after the announcement. “The broader question here is whether this is the tip of the iceberg in a deceleration of the U.S. wireless market over all,” said Craig Moffett, an analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein & Co.  (The New York Times 1/19)

Nokia and Facebook are working on porting the social network on to Nokia handsets in a major way, we have learned. The Facebook placement could be as prominent as the YouTube button on the main screen of iPhone, our sources indicate. Also, the deal involves giving Facebook a major slot within Nokia retail products’ displays. (http://www.paidcontent.org/entry/419-nokia-and-facebook-working-on-mobile-deal-could-involve-inv*stm*nt  1/20)

GAMING

Earlier last year, John Riccitiello promised to try hard to adapt the Electronic Arts behemoth to the rapidly changing gaming market, and is now taking his first major shot at it, beyond the reorg and acquisitions: EA is developing a new version in its hit Battlefield series that will be offered as a fr*ee, ad-supported download online. The revenue sources will be ads and in-game virtual transactions, mirroring the MMO games. The new Battlefield Heroes will launch this summer, reports NYT. (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/21/technology/21game.html?ref=business  1/21, http://www.paidcontent.org/entry/419-ea-to-launch-new-battlefield-version-as-ad-supported-download  1/20)

TECHNOLOGY

Apple will likely post strong results Tuesday for the holiday quarter, but investors are wondering how long the ride can continue. Although analysts expect Apple’s earnings to grow 45%, investors are growing nervous after CEO Steve Jobs failed to make any dramatic product disclosures at last week’s Macworld Expo. (Forbes 1/21)

Geotagging, the process of using global positioning to plot location information on digital maps, is moving into the mainstream, according to users and experts, who note the increased presence of built-in GPS support in digital cameras and cell phones. Until now, geotagging has been limited largely to tech-savvy photographers, but the new technology has brought in such professions as naturalists and archaeologists — and even travelers who can use it to add another dimension to digital slide shows. (TechNewsWorld/Associated Press 1/20)

Toshiba has reduced the price of its HD-A3 player to $128. The entry-level player is available through Amazon.com. (The Man Room 1/21)