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Google, Intel, Sony Prep ‘Smart TV’ Platform

admin — Tue, 18 May 2010 13:48:08 +0000

Intel has been actively gearing up for the past year to provide both silicon and software to Internet-enabled TV ventures.

Intel and Google appear close to announcing a deal with Sony for Internet-enabled TVs at a Google developer conference later this week in San Francisco.

The deal would help Sony to differentiate itself in a challenging and highly competitive marketplace for television sets. Last week, Sony reported pricing pressure on its Bravia LCD televisions, contributing to a half-billion-dollar loss in Sony’s consumer products and devices division.

Intel has been actively gearing up for the past year to provide both silicon and software to Internet-enabled TV ventures, according to Eric Kim, SVP and GM, digital home group, Intel Corporation, speaking at a May 11th investor presentation.

Read Full Article At: http://www.informationweek.com/news/hardware/virtual/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=224900139&subSection=News

Online advertising hits record level in Q1: report

admin — Thu, 13 May 2010 13:25:03 +0000

As reported by Market Watch…

U.S. Internet advertising revenues rose 7.5% in the first quarter compared to the same period last year, reaching $5.9 billion and marking the highest first-quarter level ever, according to a report published Thursday by the Interactive Advertising Bureau and PricewaterhouseCoopers. Still, online ad revenue in the quarter marked a slight decline from the $6.3 billion posted in the fourth quarter of last year, the highest quarterly total ever. Google Inc. (GOOG 481.47, -0.68, -0.14%) , Yahoo Inc. (YHOO 13.98, -0.01, -0.07%) and Microsoft Corp. (MSFT 24.66, -0.16, -0.65%) all issued quarterly reports recently that included some upbeat indications for the health of the online ad market.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/online-advertising-hits-record-level-in-q1-report-2010-05-13

25 jQuery Tutorials for Improved Navigation Menus

admin — Sat, 08 May 2010 15:04:44 +0000

Some More Helpful Tutorials from DESIGNM.AG

Navigation is an important part of web design from a usability perspective. However, links and navigation menus also provide opportunities to improve the visual appearance of the site, or to add some interesting effects. If you’re looking to create a navigation menu that stands out from the crowd, jQuery provides plenty of options. In this post we’ll feature 25 tutorials that will show you how to jQuery and CSS to create some interesting effects.

http://designm.ag/tutorials/jquery-navigation/

Microsoft’s Internet Explorer below 60 percent browser share

admin — Wed, 05 May 2010 12:22:53 +0000

Viable alternatives to Internet Explorer attributed to the decay of IE’s market share…

BBC News…

Microsoft’s Internet Explorer (IE) web browser, now accounts for less than 60% of the market, down from 95% at its peak in 2003, according to new figures.

Latest statistics, from measurement firm Net Applications, show that IE has 59.9% of the market, with Firefox gaining on it, with 24.5%.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/10095730.stm

CNET News…

Microsoft’s browser market share continued to fall in April, with Internet Explorer now in use for fewer than three in five Web connections.

IE’s share of the market in April was 59.95, down from 60.65 percent in March, according to Net Applications. Google’s Chrome grabbed the lion’s share of that, increasing to 6.73 percent from 6.13 percent, while Firefox also gained nearly a tenth of a percentage point, to finish April with 24.59 percent.

The decline for IE at the expense of Google and Mozilla is the continuation of several years of market share losses for Microsoft. In May 2008, Microsoft had 75.94 percent of the market, while Firefox had 18.3 percent and Google’s Chrome wasn’t even out yet.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13860_3-20004031-56.html

image source: The Big Picture

The Sleeper Wakes Transmissions

admin — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 14:37:38 +0000

The Sleeper Wakes is a project created by Jeff Mills that focuses on the proactive aspects in Electronic Music. Using the architectural concept of Compression – Release conceptualize by Frank Lloyd Wright, Mills creates a scenario whereabouts he makes a profound gesture through a concept entitled “One Man Spaceship” CD/Events – Womb/Tokyo 2005; an adventurous approach to Electronic Music by applying Classical orchestrations in ways that were uncompromising and without much explanation. Immediately following the debut this release, he chooses to step back and disappear from the Japanese Electronic music scene for a scheduled timespan of (4) four years. In this time, Mills has been constantly creating a new style of music for the next and final phase of the Sleeper Project. Conceptually, he explains that he is now traveling the Universe in search of New Worlds to explore(“Worlds” meaning Sounds in Music). His calculation is that such a extended absence from his long and close relationship with the Japanese music audience would create the foundation in which new ideas can be displayed, taking a giant step forward in terms of what the audience would be prepared for. Jeff Mills’ expected return date to Earth (Womb/Tokyo, Japan) will be the first second of the first day of the Year 2010 (New Years Eve 01:01:10 – 12:01am).

Axis Records Goes Social

admin — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 13:42:12 +0000

Long time client Axis Records has gone social. Futuramic Media assists Axis Records in mapping out and maintaining their online social strategy. Instead of blanketing all outlets with the same information, Axis took a different approach, utilizing the strength of each social media channel for specific purposes.

Facebook
Mainly used for more industry and internal information. Since a lot of people in the music industry use this to communicate, we try to keep the content similar to talking about projects before they happen.
FaceBook page: facebook.com/JeffMills

MySpace
Mainly designed for all public access. The material that generally goes here is usually party/tour/release oriented announcements.
MySpace page: myspace.com/jeffmillsofficialspace

Twitter
Used to make quick announcements.
Twitter page: twitter.com/axisrecords

YouTube
For promotion and distribution of video trailers, teasers, sneak peaks, performances and special offers.
YouTube channel: youtube.com/user/CinemaAxis

Startup Drinks in The Oakland Press

tda — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 17:02:27 +0000

Futuramic Media was recently in the news. Jillian Kushner’s article in the August 23rd Oakland Press, Business Networking Ideas, focuses on Startup Drinks, a group Futuramic Media has been involved with along with Matt Bower at Safford Baker. The article is a succinct summary of the heart and soul of why we have been participating in Startup Drinks. It is a low key and laid back atmosphere to share ideas on our local economy and how we can grow and flourish with new businesses.

Check out the website and stop by for the next meeting on Wednesday at 6pm at Slows BBQ.

Friends for Adam

tda — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 17:48:31 +0000

Last week we launched an updated site for Friends for Adam Niskar. We needed to develop a quick solution so The Friends For Adam Trust could begin promoting an upcoming fundraiser at The Detroit Opera House with Artie Lange of Howard Stern fame. The site links to Ticketmaster so one can purchase tickets for the event. A little about Adam Niskar:

The Friends for Adam Niskar Trust, established in 1999, aims to raise money for the ongoing medical expenses Adam incurred after a diving injury that year left him paralyzed. These expenses go above and beyond what his insurance company will cover. Your generous donations assist with medical supplies, custom vehicle costs and other expenses directly related to living with his injury, as we await a cure.

You can also see video on the site to learn more about Adam’s story.

Startup Drinks

tda — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 15:59:55 +0000

Matt Bower at Safford & Baker clued us into Startup Drinks a few months ago and we thought it was a great concept- the mixture of entreprenuial ideas and adult beverages. Together we took on the responsibility of forming a local Detroit Chapter. The kickoff event is this coming Wednesday, June 24th at Clff Bells. Drinks will be 25% off. Myine Electronics, homegrown manufacturers of high-quality electronic audio products, has also graciously come forward to sponsor the event with some food and drinks.

You may also find out more on the Facebook Group. Hope to see you there.

Slavik Management

tda — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 22:09:59 +0000

One of our longstanding clients has been Slavik Management. With 8 apartment properties in Metro-Detroit/Ann Arbor, they wanted a web based solution so property managers could update the site themselves. They also wanted to update the look and feel and visually showcase their properties. We looked at all the solutions out there in terms of a Content Management System (CMS) and settled on Wordpress. The site is now live and was completely designed and built using Wordpress. Now we are at the phase of beginning the training process for the Slavik team.

On a related side note, they are also hiring. We have visited and spent a lot of time at each residence, specifically by taking photos, and have gotten to know the Slavik company quite well. It is an extremely well run, fair, honest, hard working, and forward thinking organization. They are great people to work with.