Technology
The Google Chrome OS – which was immediately jumped on by mainstream media, by the way – seems to have already picked up some heavy hitters as potential partners, including HP and Lenovo, as well as netbook specialists ASUS and Acer. Dell – which announced a device somewhere between a netbook and smartphone last week – is conspicuous by its absence from the list. (Google is also working with Qualcomm on a device called a smartbook, which sounds just a bit like Dell's product.) Meanwhile, they might have more competition in the netbook OS field: A new company called Jolicloud has raised $4.2 million in funding for a netbook OS. There's also a rumor that Microsoft will be announcing its own counter to Chrome next week, but that's just hearsay right now.
The government has issued $4 billion in stimulus funds for broadband projects, which will go toward putting Internet into unserved areas, public computing centers and sustainable broadband products – so some Net-based companies are about to get a healthy financial shot in the arm. This could lead to creation of new jobs, as well.
Why Hulu Succeeded When Other Video Sites Failed: In short, by making smart partnerships with major networks and steadily building a recognizable brand. A good case study for anyone looking to start a new Web-based business.
Amazon Drops Kindle 2 Price: Which will get the digital reader into a lot more hands, further mainstreaming the E-book (and further escalating the E-book wars, expect their competitors to follow suit).
Video Games
Britain considering national gaming academy: Proof that you may be able to find geeky jobs even if you move out of North America and Japan isn't your demonstration. The city of Liverpool (which is about to be front and center in the gaming world thanks to Beatles Rock Band) is mulling building a school to put the country on the video game map.
Ubisoft's new Toronto studio, which is receiving funding from the Canadian government, has kicked up some controversy, but Comic Bin blogger Eli Green is arguing it will be good for the local economy. We would like to point out that the key words here are "Ubisoft" and "new Toronto studio," so Canadian gaming types, you know what to do.
EA's online-only FPS Battlefield 1943 is such a hit that it reached its server capacity shortly after release, forcing the company to double it. The title was initially released on Xbox Live and was scheduled to debut on Playstation Network today. Apparently, the smash success caught the company off-guard, a bit surprising considering the boom in online gaming.
Job Market
What Do Recruiters Read in a Resume?: As we noted last week, 70% of them end up in the circular file. Here's tips on how to make the cut. And, for after your resume is read: Types of Job Interview Answers and Questions.
Record high number of continuing unemployment claims: But the good news is that new claims are declining week-over-week.
The mother of all job search sites, Monster,has laid off 160 people - but also hired 80, saying it's looking for people with different skillsets for its new series of products. Still, that's a loss of 80 people, a sad irony that the one site that should be booming in these tough economic times is being hit as hard as everyone else.
Social Media
Money spent on marketing via social media is expected to escalate to $3.1 billion by 2014, so if you want to get into this arena, be aware that a lot of your campaigns will consist of getting your message across via Twitter's word limit.
NewsCorp, parent company of MySpace, is denying rumors that it is buying Twitter and selling its troubled social network, which recently shed a lot of its work force. Twitter acquisition rumors seem to be a dime a dozen nowadays, to the point where if the site really is sold, it may take several days before people realize it's not just another rumor.
Publishing
The New New Media: Tim Weaver of Brazen Careerist argues that society needs traditional newspapers and suggests a nonprofit model that would allow them to continue. Whether they'll actually go for a model like that is up in the air, but it's certainly one way that institutions like the New York Times could stay afloat.
Gannett's newspapers are suffering, but the digital side of its business is doing quite well, with increased hiring and acquisitions. One of its projects is adapting the traditional newspaper circular for online use, which would remove one of the bigger stumbling blocks against papers going digital. (The company's other businesses, by the way, include CareerBuilder.com).
Anime/Manga
Viz is launching a new imprint, Shonen Sunday, which will include Rumiko Takahashi's new Rin-Ne series. Existing Viz titles that originally appeared in Shonen Sunday will be moved to the new line, including Inu Yasha and Yakitate Japan. This shows that despite the move to digital, major publishers still have faith in traditional print manga, so rumors of its death seem to be greatly exagerated.
- Bonnie