techFive - Top Five Tech Stories from the Week of 01.12.07
First techFive of the year, and it’s been one heck of a week in the industry. Starting the year off right, I’m even trying to rank the stories in order of importance. Please remember, this is just one opinion…
5. Pirate Bay to purchase Sealand - A torrent/pirate/hacker website attempting to purchase their own country. This may prove that there is but one constant when dealing with computers and the Internet, there will always be those that strive to rise up against ‘the corporation’ or ‘the system.’ I’m not sure I would necessarily classify this as anarchy, but it does come close.
4. Google Ads expanding - Whether they are moving to radio or billboards, Google definitely understands that advertising is their bread and butter. Moving out into the traditional advertising markets and into an area that is so heavily congested is a bold move by the search giant.
3. Yahoo! purchases TheGoodBlogs - It was first announced by Techcrunch back in November, and I even thought it was big enough to make the techFive back then. Although there are those less than impressed with Yahoo!, I think it’s important that the company continues to expand and solidy its hold in the realm of social media.
2. Microsoft teams up with Ford - An excerpt from a previous post:
Ultimately, your handheld device will have to sync with everything, from your work PC, to your home PC, and yes, to your car. Microsoft already has the upper hand with more people using their PC’s, and have taken a step at tackling what I believe will be the second most important aspect of the whole equation, which is your car. By teaming up with Ford, Microsoft has tapped into a multinational producer and distributor that holds a fair amount of North America’s and the world’s automotive market.
1. The iPhone - Although Apple doesn’t seem to make any significant ground with computers, the iPod has become an important piece of popular culture. With the release of the iPhone, another appliance set to change pop culture, Apple had everyone talking. With the Cisco lawsuit, everyone will continue to discuss the device, whatever it really is, for months. And Americans won’t even have the chance to purchase one for themselves for at least half a year. Isn’t it interesting that it essentially makes their iPod somewhat extraneous?