Transcript: The PodTech News Brief

This transcript is from a PodTech.net podcast at:
http://www.podtech.net/home/technology/1368/podtech-news-brief

Guest: Jason Lopez
Host: Catherine Girardeau - PodTech

Jason Lopez
This is PodTech news for Wednesday, October 25, 2006. I am Jason Lopez.

AMD says it has completed its $5.4 billion purchase of ATI technologies, the maker of graphic chips. AMD is hoping the combination propels them into a better market position with Intel.

Oracle took aim at Red Hat today by offering half price technical support to Red Hat Linux users. Shares of Red Hat fell 16 % today. More often then not, Starbucks patrons in major cities are faced with this vexing problem, which of one, two or even three Starbucks within walking distance, so they visit for their daily caffeine fix. PodTech's Catherine Girardeau looks at the cause of this growing morning conundrum.

Catherine Girardeau
Starbucks Corporation feels for its customers; and potential customers who have to wait, walk or god forbid cross streets to get their Mocha Frappuccino or Pumpkin Spice Latte's. The Seattle based coffee chain said it plans to dot the globe with 40,000 green awnings with mermaid logos, more than doubling its current count of almost 12.5 thousand stores. This doesn't only mean adding stores in places that don't already have them, like parts of Middle America, Africa and the Middle East. Starbucks plan calls for something called 'Infill' in some places putting stores so close together, a customer could stand between two locations and gauge which one has a shorter line. Launi Skinner, Senior Vice President and in charge of Starbucks' store development said, “Going to the other side of the street can be a barrier. So, don't think of those 40,000 stores as potential global domination, it's all about removing those pesky barriers between you and your Grande low fat no foam double caramel macchiato.” In Menlo park, I am Catherine Girardeau. Podtech News.

Jason Lopez
If you are an American, even if you do have a so called 3G phone, you probably aren't taking full advantage of all that functionality you paid for. 3G phones have higher data speeds and always on access among other advances, US phone users still look for a camera, mobile internet, email and gaming on their handsets, but not necessarily at the most advanced levels. According to new findings from global technology insights (ph), only one out of six US phones are technically 3G, but only a fraction of those phones are used to their fullest. How does the US stack up compared with other countries? Globally, half of those with 3G phones take advantage of their capabilities and since we are always looking for economic indicators, it's worth mentioning that Americans take costs into consideration more than people in other countries.

GTI collected its survey information around the world during August from about 16,000 respondents. Not that it's a competition or anything, but Skype recently conducted a survey in Britain on how people are using their phones. The results - Brits appear to be obsessed with talking on the phone. 1,000 respondents for the survey confirmed for Skype that people already use their phones just about anywhere - important information for a company hoping to cater to people, who need to be on the phone all the time. Among the findings, nearly 75% of respondents say they have used their phone while on the toilet. A smaller percentage admits to falling asleep, mid phone conversation. The study doesn't say whether there is a smaller subset overlapping those two groups. It may not be the most accurate barometer for the health of American small businesses, but if you look at what entrepreneurs are searching for in the web, it looks like they are getting serious about growth. This past month saw a noticeable uptake in internet searchers for things related to computer security, equipment and phone systems. These are topics of particular interest to new businesses and existing companies looking to invest in themselves. That's probably good news if in fact that's the best interpretation of data from business.com. The business search engine provides a monthly measurement called the Barometer of small business trends according to internet queries. You probably thought online banking was one of the big, winning categories on the web along with travel and books. But, banking by internet has stumbled as of late.

A Pew Internet & American Life Project survey shows that the rate of growth in adoption of online banking has slowed compared with the rate in each of the previous two years. In explaining this sluggish acceptance rate, some analysts say “Users have been scared off by media reports of identity theft and hacking.” It might not be as simple as blaming the media though. According to a separate study from the Changes Sciences Group, newcomers to Internet banking might be turned off by any number of the complexities they are faced with, like bank terminology and site navigation. Well, speaking of navigation, that navigation device in the car is going obsolete; not that it couldn't display a map and give good directions already, but ABI research says “The navigation device is set to go real time in a big way; expect the newest technologies to give you more of an internet experience with things like restaurant locations, menus and reviews”. One of the buzz words, perhaps away from the word 'navigation' device is, 'connected' device; that means the screen with a map on your dash, would also give you data services.

Let's check out the Dow today; up 6 points at 12,134, NASDAQ up 11 at 2356 and the S&P 500 up for at 1382. Podtech news is produced by Editor Michael Clinger (ph) along with reporter Catherine Girardeau and Jason Lopez.