| CES Dispatch--Toshiba's HD DVD Response
I'm in Las Vegas, doing the rounds of press conferences that kick off the annual Consumer Electronics Shows. Everyone lined up early for the most-anticipated one—Toshiba Corp.'s. If gadgets could look forlorn, Toshiba's three new HD DVD players looked just that sitting on stage ahead of the executives' speeches. Jody Sally, vice president of digital audio/visual equipment, which includes Toshiba HD DVD player lineup, looked on the verge of tears during her truncated three-minute presentation in which reports of HD DVD's sales progress became moot following Warner Brothers decision to exclusively support the rival Blu-ray high definition DVD format later this year. Sally tried to put on a good game face, though, noting that HD DVD unit sales over the holiday shopping period accounted for 49.3% of the market.
Scots do not want to end the Union, merely modify it
IT'S time. Time for a change. Time to move on. This is the last column from this writer which will appear in this position in this paper. A new and extremely challenging role on the business desk awaits.Sadly, it means no time for the glorious self-indulgence of expressing a weekly opinion on the affairs of the nation.The world of politics is a continuously fascinating one. There is always something new. Political parties take power and always, in the end, lose it. Politicians' fortunes ebb and flow. Plots and conspiracies abound. Policies evolve and change.Over time, the decisions made by our elected representatives really do "make a difference", a phrase politicians use frequently, to the lives of the poor, long-suffering voters whose interests they are supposed to represent. Politics matters.And having spent many years at both Westminster and Holyrood as a reporter – and worked, albeit for only a year, on the "dark side" as a special adviser to former First Minister Henry McLeish – politics had become like a drug.
BT higher on new revenues
When NBC did a spin-off of its soap opera "Passions" exclusively for the Internet, they experimented with: "clickable video." A viewer watching "Passions: Vendetta" on NBC.com could move his or her mouse around the screen and click on parts of the steamy action. The clicked scenes were then book marked for the viewer to visit afterwards to get more information about the scene and clues to the overall story, a murder mystery. The goal: Get people to look at more pages -- where they would have no choice but to view more ads from "Passions: Vendetta" sponsor Maybelline.
Of the results Stephen Andrade, NBC's vice president of interactive development said "We were fairly blown away. Visitors who clicked, which was most of them, spent about twice as long with the show as those who didn't." Now, both NBC and CBS are offering the technology to advertisers as part of a menu of opportunities to reach television fans on the Web.
Movers: Rio Tinto, Bristol-Myers, Broadcom
In response to media reports, the company confirms it is in talks with controlling shareholders in China Oriental Group about future co-operation and including increasing its stake in the company. MT currently holds a 28% equity stake in China Oriental Group. Hecla Mining (HL) Down 0.31 to 11.93 CIBC World downgrades the shares to sector underperform from sector perform. Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY) Up 0.56 to 28.02 The company and Pierre Fabre Medicament terminate their license agreement for the development of vinflunine, a chemotherapy agent under investigation for the treatment of advanced or metastatic bladder cancer and other tumor types. Broadcom (BRCM) Up 0.18 to 27.32 Broadcom said that a federal judge has let stand a jury verdict that found that Qualcomm (QCOM) infringes three Broadcom patents.
Walker's World: The Fed and the Dutch boy
BRUSSELS, Jan. 29 (UPI) -- The withdrawal of Paddy Ashdown, the British politician, from consideration as the U.N. envoy to Afghanistan should give the international community pause for reflection about the possibilities of success and the dangers of failure there. .
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