Lets Zazzle :-) !

Kinda cool idea....but then i guess how many would actually like to get customised stuff ?
But you never know :-) !

Google rainmakers and venture capitalists John Doerr and Ram Shriram are pinning their hopes--and millions--on yet another Stanford University spin-off with a nonsensical name. Doerr and Shriram, whose early investment in search giant Google paid off in spades, have invested $16 million in Menlo Park, Calif.-based Zazzle, a 2-year-old online marketplace where people can buy and sell artwork in the form of customized gifts, T-shirts, stamps, posters and prints.

Power net ?

A big-ticket investment by three corporate heavyweights in a little-known start-up that provides Internet access over electrical lines has sparked renewed interest in a technology that's never come close to living up to its billing.

For several years, many have hoped that the technology, called broadband over power lines, or BPL, would allow electric companies to become a viable third alternative to the cable and telephone companies providing high-speed access to the Internet. It's a sentiment seconded in recent years by the Federal Communications Commission.

Technical limitations and a bad habit of interfering with local emergency radios, however, have made BPL a tantalizing near-miss for the tech industry.

But last week's investment by Web search leader Google, the media conglomerate Hearst and bankers at Goldman Sachs in a Germantown, Md., company called Current Communications Group has many wondering if the time is finally right for the oft-ignored BPL. Current didn't disclose the amount of the investment, but The Wall Street Journal reported it was about $100 million. IBM has also started making noise in this market, announcing on Monday that it is partnering with Houston-based power utility CenterPoint Energy to build a BPL network.

More from CNET

Idea Dukaan !

Hmm looks like apna idea dukaans are gettin smarter these days ....
check out this story from e4m about an initiative everest did for Hitachi Airconditioners........

"For Hitachi air conditioners, the agency backed the television commercial with a unique solution, which was to print 1,000 books with the title “Autobiography of an Air Conditioner.” The book appears like a novel and the back cover indicates that it has been published by ‘Neverest Books’. The novel contains no content till you reach the last leaf where the page mentions the author – Hitachi qaudricool.

That’s not all. The agency also planted a plug on the Hindu’s book review section. “The response was overwhelming. We planted the books at coffee shops and priced it at Rs 20. Surprisingly, people bought the 1,000 copies and now we are printing more,” he said.

Internet Ka Baap ?

Hehehee...cant help usin my rustic side language .......
check what the supposedly legitimate parent of the internet is wrangling for ....

An international political spat is brewing over whether the United Nations will seize control of the heart of the Internet.
U.N. bureaucrats and telecommunications ministers from many less-developed nations claim the U.S. government has undue influence over how things run online. Now they want to be the ones in charge.

While the formal proposal from a U.N. working group will be released July 18, it's already clear what it will contain. A preliminary summary of governmental views claims there's a "convergence of views" supporting a new organization to oversee crucial Internet functions, most likely under the aegis of the United Nations or the International Telecommunications Union.

Check here for more from CNET

Live8 for your tubbie !

In the realm of entertainment coverage, the Live 8 concerts were a huge success for AOL, which served live streams of the various concerts to more than 5 million people. While that overshadowed audiences for the ABC TV special (2.9 million) and MTV's coverage (2.2 million), the worldwide TV audience for all concerts might have been 3 billion people, according to organizer Bob Geldof. The AP called it a milestone in the maturity of streaming video online, which has come a long way since a failed Victoria's Secret webcast in '99. One Live 8 producer, Ken Ehrlich, called the AOL webcast a template for the future. "Not to negate the importance of television, but I really think the Internet generation has come of age and the numbers have multiplied to a point of real change," he told the L.A. Times. AOL opened the door here and once it's open it ain't going to close."

mobi dick ?

There's a new domain for Web sites that are used in conjunction with wireless phones and devices. It's ".mobi."

The new suffix was approved by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers at a meeting last week in Amsterdam. The first Web sites for mobile devices will be ready in 2006.

Mobile phone providers and marketers of handsets wanted the new domain name and have established a joint venture to encourage companies and Web site designers to create mobile Web pages. The move to create ".mobi" is similar to recent moves to create a domain to flag adult/porn-related sites.

Companies backing the new domain include Ericsson, Microsoft, Nokia, Samsung, T-Mobile, and Vodafone. They say that having more Web pages optimized for mobile and handheld devices will spur consumers to upgrade their phones. Obviously the companies backing the domain also hope telecom companies will upgrade their technology to support ".mobi" pages

Maa.....Mein First Class Mein Pass Hogaya !

A though provoking post by Tim Miles of Ad Partners on the great thing that we all miss out in the mad rush to achieve short term objectives .....
We all start our careers wishing to win an Oscar,or a Cannes , a padma bhushan ( if you really understand wht it means :-) ) or the biggie , the nobel.
Many of us even have a tentative accpetance speech in mind ..................
But then all that whimpers off to be replaced by cold pragmatic passionless approach ..........
hey u got to check this out........
some Sound Thinking: What Will Your Mom Say?

Quote/Unquote

What’s dark and knocks at the door? The future

Another cheerful Hungarian proverb
Check the inspiration link on Doors Of Perception
Atleast that way ....you would get off the same beaten track :-) !