Author: Tom Nolle

We’ve got a number of interesting points to end our week, and monetization issues are at the heart of them.  Let’s get moving! Google is taking some steps that show how hard it is to be a portal player.  First, it’s letting users block sites in search results, and second it’s classifying gmail to facilitate…

It’s obvious that the big question this week, politically and economically, will be what happens in Libya.  Politically, the situation poses a kind of double threat.  First it’s a continuation of a kind of Middle-East-domino problem that might or might not result in democratic sweep of the region.  Second, the turmoil puts western governments in…

Juniper made a second major announcement in two weeks, this time its PTX MPLS-optical supercore switch.  The product’s roots probably lie in early interest (“early” meaning the middle of the last decade) by Verizon in a new core architecture for IP networks that would eliminate the transit routing that was common in hierarchical IP cores. …

The big news today is Apple’s new iPad announcement, an event whose usual Apple drama was upstaged by a surprise visit by Steve Jobs.  The essence of the announcement was familiar; iPads are making us smarter, healthier, richer, better looking, and so forth, and that’s from the first version.  Now look what’s going to happen! What is…

The weekend brought more disorder to the Middle East, particularly Libya, but while the initial turmoil there had knocked stock prices down a bit, the decline has not been alarming and it was reversed on Friday.  Today futures and the European exchanges both suggest an up market again.  Even cooler-than-expected growth in US consumer spending…

Amazon has further complicated the already-complex world of streaming online video by announcing their own service, which is included in the free-shipping Prime membership.  The service currently includes about 5,000 items (movies and TV).  Obviously this isn’t good news for Netflix or even Apple, but it’s also a new step in the growing challenge faced…

Well, we’ve got the usual regulatory flap as we end this week, with the same players and the same issues.  Republicans in Congress are looking for a way to derail the FCC’s neutrality order, and the strategies range from a disapproval vote (which only buys some time) to pulling funding for the measure (a cop-out…

A couple of talks at MWC may be signs of important future trends in mobile and online.  AT&T CEO Stephenson said that the difficulties in moving content between devices, was hampering mobile content opportunity.  He also commented that AT&T believed that apps should run across devices, not be linked to a single gadget.  While at…

As MWC unfolds, we’re starting to get a clearer picture of the thrust of the event and also some feedback from operators on their specific take-aways.  The picture isn’t simple, but it’s interesting! Microsoft has said more about its Phone 7 plans, no doubt to take some pressure off new partner Nokia.  The new software…

“Half a loaf is better than none” is an old saw, but it sure seems to describe the newest mobile development—the Microsoft/Nokia pact.  The pact is being hailed and panned depending on perspectives, but maybe it deserves it because it’s not the whole solution for either party.  Both probably know that, and are gambling that…