If elected President, Barack Obama would create the first-ever Cabinet level Chief Technology Officer. Obama thinks that the US is not doing nearly enough to create jobs in the tech sector and believes an executive position would better the situation. Google CEO Eric Schmidt must agree, as he is endorsing Obama.
As an alternative to filing for bankruptcy, Circuit City is considering closing over 150 stores and cutting thousands of jobs. The struggling electronics retailer will have to cut back mass spending in order to get through the holiday season. While Circuit City posted sales of $11.74 billion last year, the retailer simply does not have enough cash to move forward at current capacity.
LaLa, the former CD-swapping and web radio site, is now reinventing itself as a cloud based digital retailer. LaLa will sell songs for 10 cents each, only you can't download them, rather the songs will be accessible via the web, on any web enabled device. LaLa's model is a hybrid of Apple's download to own system and Rhapsody's streaming subscription network.
Netflix announced a 30% increase in 3Q earnings, during which it took in $20.4 million. The increase in earnings was higher than expected, however, Netflix still had to cut its subscriber and revenue outlook due to the weakening economy. Netflix will attempt to increase earnings by instituting a higher charge for Blu-ray discs.
Plus, today's consulting question, "What ever happened with SanDisk, Samsung and Toshiba?" Shelly has the answer on today's MediaBytes.
Shelly Palmer is a consultant and the host of MediaBytes a daily show featuring news you can use about technology, media & entertainment. He is Managing Director of Advanced Media Ventures Group LLC and the author of Television Disrupted: The Transition from Network to Networked TV (2008, York House Press). Shelly is also President of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, NY (the organization that bestows the coveted Emmy® Awards). You can join the MediaBytes mailing list here. Shelly can be reached at shelly@palmer.net