The New York Times: The Publicis Groupe has approached a competitor, the Aegis Group, to discuss a possible takeover bid valued at around £1.56 billion, or about $2.8 billion, people close to the companies said yesterday. One person cautioned that the talks between the two advertising companies were preliminary, but a takeover would accelerate the consolidation of the ad industry into a handful of global players. It …
A Dash Of Salt
Anil Dash has an interesting take on Google's corporate mantra. Now, I'm as skeptical as the next person in regard to Google's "Dont Be Evil" mantra, which makes me snicker just because, well, it seems like an awfully low bar to set for a company. It's like saying my personal motto is "don't kick kittens". Easy! That being said, Bill Gates' reaction to Google's motto seems tone-deaf even by his near-autistic …
Taking On Googlezon
The New York Times: Three authors filed suit against Google yesterday contending that the company's program to create searchable digital copies of the contents of several university libraries constituted "massive copyright infringement." The lawsuit, filed in United States District Court in Manhattan, is the first to arise from the Google Print Library program, the fledgling effort aimed at a searchable library of …
Flickrlovers Testify
Image of "Flickr's Love Board" courtesy of Flickr user Miss Rogue. Thanks to Horse Pig Cow for the pointer. …
Batteries Stink
Toshiba Corporation has developed two prototype direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) units and begun tests to validate their operation with mobile audio players, bringing its practical use a major step closer. The new fuel cell units have an output power of 100mW and 300mW (providing up to 35 hours of device usage) and have been applied to a flash-memory-based digital audio player and an HDD-based digital audio player, …
On Purple Cows
Andreas Duess, a Toronto-based creative director knocks Seth Godin's Purple Cow thesis. In a nutshell, Godin says stop worrying about how to market inferior products and services and put everything into making remarkable products or services, or Purple Cows, to use the author's vernacular. Does being remarkable guarantee success? We all know that it doesn't. Take the portable mp3 player as an example. Apple's iPod is …
Macy’s It Is
USA Today: Federated Department Stores said on Tuesday it is planning to cut up to 6,200 jobs beginning next year and change all 62 Marshall Field's stores to the Macy's name in the fall of 2006 in its biggest steps yet since completing its acquisition of May Department Stores. The job cuts are the first announced since Federated completed in August its $11.9 billion acquisition of rival May, creating a combined …
Giant Muffin Crushes Car
Thanks to Seth Godin for seeding this image of a unique outdoor board from Bloom, a Food Lion concept store aimed at providing a "simple, uncomplicated and hassle-free shopping experience." …
