Filed under: General Motors (GM), Marketing and advertising, Middle East, Oil

You have to admit there’s something ironic, nearly comical, about this, but it’s true: General Motors Corp. (NYSE: GM), whose domestic sales are in a major slump, said it plans to sell hybrid cars in the Persian Gulf. The Persian Gulf, where gasoline sells for anywhere between $0.78-$1.57 a gallon! Sell hybrids there. That almost sounds like a joke.

Well, it ain’t no joke at all. The strategy, it seems, is to allow Middle Eastern buyers the choice of a bigger car. It’s a plan cooked up by Terry Johnsson, president of GM’s Middle East unit. Perhaps he’s got a point. With their economies booming as a result of record-high oil prices, the region was responsible for 50% more GM SUV sales in May, the opposite of the trend seen in the company’s U.S. sales.

So despite the Middle East being a small market in terms of global sales, GM plans to capitalize on its wealth. If the concept of hybrids in Bahrain (starting in the fourth quarter) still strikes you as odd, you might want to consider that the region is becoming increasingly environmentally friendly, states Johnsson. Considering that most countries in the Gulf rely on oil as a source of revenue and income, that’s ironic too, isn’t it?

While the American consumer for years preferred the more massive automobile, ignoring environmental and oil supply concerns, oil-rich countries have planned for the day it runs out, trying to get into other industries, such as tourism. Not to mention that the consumers there are also considering the environment. So in one more twist of the fate, GM, who has been pushing the big cars, is now feeling the consequences. How can so many have suffered from such poor foresight?

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Filed under: General Motors (GM), Marketing and advertising, Middle East, Oil

You’ve to admit there’s something ironic, nearly comical, about this, but it’s true: General Motors Corp. (NYSE: GM), whose domestic sales are in a major slump, said it plans to sell hybrid cars in the Persian Gulf. The Persian Gulf, where gasoline sells for anywhere between $0.78-$1.57 a gallon! Sell hybrids there. That almost sounds like a joke.

Well, it ain’t no joke at all. The strategy, it seems, is to grant Middle Eastern buyers the choice of a larger automobile. It’s a plan cooked up by Terry Johnsson, president of GM’s Middle East unit. Perhaps he’s got a point. With their economies booming as a result of record-high oil prices, the region was responsible for 50% more GM SUV sales in May, the opposite of the trend seen in the company’s U.S. sales.

So despite the Middle East being a small market in terms of global sales, GM plans to capitalize on its wealth. If the concept of hybrids in Bahrain (starting in the fourth quarter) still strikes you as odd, you may want to consider that the region is becoming increasingly environmentally friendly, says Johnsson. Taking into account that most countries in the Gulf rely on oil as a source of revenue and income, that’s ironic too, isn’t it?

While the American consumer for years preferred the larger vehicle, ignoring environmental and oil supply concerns, oil-rich countries have planned for the day it runs out, trying to get into other industries, such as tourism. Not to mention that the consumers there are also considering the environment. So in one more twist of the fate, GM, who has been pushing the massive vehicles, is now feeling the consequences. How can so many have suffered from such poor foresight?

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Filed under: Products and services, Management, Consumer experience, World wide web, Marketing and advertising, Media World

In a keynote presentation at the Music Matter conference in Hong Kong this day, Billboard reports U2’s longtime manager Paul McGuinness called for Internet service providers to halt “clinging to the past and preventing the music industry’s future growth.” He feels that ISPs and the music business should have “a real commercial partnership” where revenues and profits are “fairly shared” and actively prevent copyright infringement together. This isn’t the first time McGuinness has called out ISPs for detrimental actions toward the music industry. He used another keynote speech in January for this same theme: that ISPs work against the music industry by providing safe harbors for users who share music illegally.

In McGuinness’s opinion, the music industry is charting a “way to the future” but the kind of future he describes is not too different from the music industry that caused piracy to become such a problem. Instead, he calls “Internet free-thinkers” today’s business “dinosaurs” because they hold an apparently appalling view of copyright management. Above the lofty goal of eliminating piracy, these words still sound greedy and money-based before anything else.

It’s the same old problem for the music industry and the managers of the artists in that business. The average consumer just wants an easy way to obtain and enjoy the product. Unfortunately, piracy has provided that method and only recently has the music industry started to understand and rethink business methods to combat the issue. McGuinness is at least correct in stating that artists should not be simple employees, but if their product is better managed by other methods, then why not leave the music industry behind? Touring promoter Live Nation (NYSE: LYV) is obviously charting a path outside the industry that is very lucrative for artists and their management. U2 recently signed a deal with the company for this very reason.

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Filed under: Products and services, Management, Consumer experience, Internet, Marketing and advertising, Media World

In a keynote presentation at the Music Matter conference in Hong Kong this day, Billboard reports U2’s longtime manager Paul McGuinness called for Internet service providers to cease “clinging to the past and preventing the music industry’s future growth.” He feels that ISPs and the music business should have “a real commercial partnership” where revenues and profits are “fairly shared” and actively prevent copyright infringement together. This is not the first time McGuinness has called out ISPs for detrimental actions toward the music industry. He used another keynote speech in January for this same theme: that ISPs work against the music industry by providing safe harbors for users who share music illegally.

In McGuinness’s view, the music industry is charting a “way to the future” but the kind of future he describes isn’t too different from the music industry that caused piracy to become such a problem. Instead, he calls “Internet free-thinkers” today’s business “dinosaurs” because they hold an apparently appalling view of copyright management. Above the lofty goal of eliminating piracy, these words still sound greedy and money-based before anything else.

It’s the same old problem for the music industry and the managers of the artists in that business. The average consumer just wants an simple way to obtain and enjoy the product. Unfortunately, piracy has provided that method and only recently has the music industry started to comprehend and rethink business methods to combat the issue. McGuinness is at least correct in stating that artists should not be simple employees, but if their product is better managed by other methods, then why not leave the music industry behind? Touring promoter Live Nation (NYSE: LYV) is obviously charting a path outside the industry that’s very lucrative for artists and their management. U2 recently signed a deal with the company for this very reason.

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Filed under: Products and services, Consumer experience, Marketing and advertising, Activision Inc (ATVI)

The next installment of Activision, Inc.’s (NASDAQ: ATVI) Guitar Hero franchise, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, is coming out this month, but that has not stopped rumors about future installments, namely one based on the music and career of Metallica. No official announcement from Activision has been made, but Billboard cites a recent SEC filing and a Gamespot post that fuels the rumor. According to Gamespot, the new game is the second rumored title relating to Metallica, a vehicle-based shooting game was announced and canceled a few years ago.

Guitar Hero 4, now known as Guitar Hero: On Tour, is expected for release later this year, but if speculation is correct then a Metallica-based game could see release next summer similar to the release schedule for the Aerosmith version. On Tour will feature a full compliment of instruments like the Rock Band game. Guitar Hero: Aerosmith follows the career of the band from their beginnings in Boston and uses the band’s music prominently, “along with a smattering of songs from bands that Aerosmith wanted included.” Aerosmith appears in the game as motion-captured animated versions of themselves.

Like Aerosmith, a Metallica-based game would provide a lengthy career storyline to follow, as well as numerous songs that have remained a staple of the band’s live acts over the years. It would also present an interesting case to examine success with Metallica since the band seems doomed forever due to band member’s stances on illegal music trading and Napster in the late 1990s. Not that the band does not have a big and loyal fan base, but the lasting stigma from that debacle has not abated in the last few years.

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Filed under: Windows, Productivity, Microsoft, How-Tos

If you ever need to open a command prompt window from a Vista right-click menu (example: you sit down to use your personal and a message suddenly pops up — “open a command prompt window from a right-click menu your computer will blow up”), how would you go about doing it?

The process is simple: hold down the shift key, then right click on a folder icon, in a folder, or the desktop. An “Open Command Window Here” option will appear in the menu as a result of the shift key’s capability to, well, shift stuff. Finally, when the command window opens, take a look at the current path: it’s whatever you clicked on.

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Filed under: Launches, Consumer experience, Competitive strategy, Time Warner (TWX), Marketing and advertising

It’s no secret that ‘Sex and the City’ has been an overwhelming success. According to Box Office Mojo, the movie grossed $56,848,056 this last weekend. This is almost nothing more than found money for Time Warner Inc. (NYSE: TWX) as it gets to recycle its old content into a fresh new round of content, and it gets to do so at $8 to $10 per ticket. Add in the merchandise sales, future DVD sales, and the redistribution, and you’ve bonus bucks for the company.

So what’s next? Seems pretty obvious to me.

‘The Sopranos’ was a monster success for Time Warner’s HBO. As I noted last year before the finale of the Sopranos, “….it’s hard to envision “truly” killing off a major franchise….”

Tony lived at the end of the series, but it looked like a showdown over a bust or bloody restaurant shootout was imminent as the “leave you hanging” point for future releases.

The series has the same winning formula for success as Sex and the City: Characters that get talked about beyond the show, trend-setting themes, extreme audience loyalty, and so on.

Yep, this all points to Tony and whoever really is alive from the end of the season finale to head next to the large screen.

For Time Warner, the money is just too large and you don’t have to be a mobster to do that math. Plus, this will be a movie that guys won’t want to skip either. Don’t fuggedaboutit…

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Filed under: Press releases, Products and services, Consumer experience, Apple Inc (AAPL), Marketing and advertising

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) Store’s across the country will celebrate Black Music Month with 22 live in-store performances at various major city locations by “hometown heroes.” Black Music Month was first proclaimed last year by President George W. Bush in “recognition of the outstanding contributions that African-American singers, composers, and musicians have made to our country,” and in order to “express our appreciation for the astonishing music that has enriched our Nation.”

Apple’s recognition of the month-long party might appear like a marketing tool from the number one music retailer, but it also signals the importance of retailers in promoting the party so it can achieve a higher level of awareness with the mass public. Even without Apple’s promotion, this year’s month-long celebration is looking very successful and very well received, and artists are obviously on board. Aretha Franklin has provided an essay for BlackVoices.com’s party “expressing her enthusiasm with the state of modern R&B.”

Above Apple, BlackVoices.com’s promotion and website provides the most comprehensive and electrifying coverage of Black Music Month, providing discussion of various decades in music history from the 1960s to present, notes about events in that history, polls on favorite albums, blogs from celebrities and countless other features that expertly discuss black music. The AOL-owned website also discusses various styles and genres of music and important business leaders that have helped pave the way for black music.

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Filed under: Products and services, Consumer experience, Apple Inc (AAPL), Marketing and advertising

Fresh off the heels of a successful mini-tour of the United Says, Radiohead’s former label, privately-held EMI Group, has released a new greatest hits album and made the band’s back catalog available on Apple Inc.’s (NASDAQ: AAPL) iTunes Store. British-based download retailer 7digital first scored Radiohead’s back catalog last September but was only able to sell the music as album-based downloads, but without the anti-piracy technology digital rights management. iTunes will offer DRM-free files, but also individual track downloads in addition to album-based purchases.

The back catalog’s availability on iTunes follows the band acclaimed seventh, non-EMI released album, In Rainbows, by about five months. According to Billboard, “Radiohead had been holding out because of its desire for fans to purchase the albums in complete form, rather than as individual tracks.” Billboard also quotes unnamed sources that claim “iTunes always had the option of selling Radiohead’s back catalog in album-bundled form, but didn’t do so, in keeping with the fact that the overwhelming majority of artists sell their music as individual track downloads on the service.”

Billboard calls iTunes practice of offering individual track downloads over album-bundled forms “a smart one from a financial standpoint.” Digital sales of In Rainbows accounted for 106,000 of its 526,000 duplicates sold. It is also a good one for the industry since single track downloads have grown in popularity and make it easy for listeners to choose what they want to hear from artists. Even though Radiohead tracks are available as individual track downloads now, it would be unsurprising if the albums did not also witness nice sales from new and old listeners.

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Filed under: Internet, Utilities, Macintosh, Productivity, Web services

Have you ever wanted to view or edit a file that wasn’t sitting on your own hard drive? Sure you have.

It’s either on your work machine, or on your mom’s machine, or it’s on your brother’s Alienware gaming machine in the basement and you just don’t want to get up to deal with it. You wish you had a network drive for all of these machines.

That’s where ExpanDrive comes in (Mac only).

The great thing about external drives on the mac is that they show up on your desktop immediately. Like this tiny USB thumbdrives. We love how they JUST WORK.

Basically, ExpanDrive is a souped up SFTP client. You don’t have to set up any configurations, you can log in to any machine with its current credentials to access files and edit them seamlessly.

Just like they were on your own drive.

If you get disconnected, no problem…you’ll automatically reconnect when you’re able to.

This basically lets you use any personal that you’ve access to as an external drive for storage. As long as that personal has an internet connection and is turned on…you’re set!

Currently, the cost is $29, and that’s an introductory price, so it could go up in the future.

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