New OnStar tech keeps stolen vehicles from starting

OnStar's suite of Stolen Vehicle Assistance services currently includes GPS technology that pinpoints a stolen vehicle's exact location, and Stolen Vehicle Slowdown, which can remotely slow a stolen vehicle to idle speed. Today, OnStar announces Remote Ignition Block, a new tool that will help law enforcement to safely and quickly recover stolen vehicles.

Remote Ignition Block lets an OnStar adviser send a remote signal to a subscriber's stolen vehicle to prevent the vehicle from being restarted once the ignition is turned off. By killing the ignition, OnStar can make sure that the stolen vehicle remains stationary so police can recover it without the need for a dangerous high-speed chase.

The process works like this: First, the OnStar subscriber reports his or her vehicle as stolen to the police and requests stolen vehicle assistance from OnStar. The police confirm to the OnStar adviser that the vehicle is in fact stolen, most likely using a police report number.

Next, the OnStar adviser locates the vehicle using its onboard GPS antenna and sends the Remote Ignition Block to the vehicle. The next time the vehicle is stopped, it will be unable to restart, and the authorities can then pick it up.

OnStar will make Remote Ignition Block available on select GM 2009 and 2010 model year vehicles in the U.S. and Canada.

iPhone OS 3.1 Beta And SDK Already Rolling Out To Developers

It looks like Apple has already started sending out the beta version and SDK for the next iteration of the iPhone OS, 3.1, to developers. The iPhone 3.0 software was released just about two weeks ago, ahead of the iPhone 3GS launch. By most accounts it’s pretty stable, though some users have been having battery issues. That’s why it’s a bit odd that Apple would iterate up to version 3.1 already, instead of something like 3.0.1, which it tends to do for minor updates and bug fixes. Could we be seeing a larger update to the OS already? I’m told that there’s nothing much of interest in the release notes to indicate anything major that is new or changed.

Moblin: A Netbook OS to Watch

Intel's Linux-based netbook operating system gives Windows a run for its money.

The emergence of ultracheap netbook computers has been one of a few bright spots for the PC industry over recent months. Last year, some 14 million netbooks were sold against forecasts of 5.3 million, according to research company Gartner. And at this week's Computex industry conference in Taipei, Taiwan, computer makers and hardware manufacturers will demonstrate a host of new models and netbook-specific hardware.

But the battle to provide the software that runs these streamlined computer systems is becoming increasingly interesting. The first netbooks, released in 2007, provided a rare opportunity for the Linux operating system to reach a wider audience. Since then, however, Microsoft has reasserted its dominance, pushing Windows XP and its next major operating-system release, Windows 7, for netbook computers.

The latest version of a Linux-based netbook OS called Moblin could be set to challenge this dominance. Originally developed by Intel and optimized to run on its Atom netbook processors, Moblin version 2 beta was released last month.

Several lightweight Linux OSes exist already. One is Fluxbuntu, which features just a Web browser, media player, and word processor and runs efficiently even on older PCs. Another is Google's Android, a smart-phone OS that has already been ported to some netbooks.

The difference with Moblin is that it taps into the Atom processor used in many netbooks. It provides support for chip features including Streaming SIMD Extensions 3 (for smoother video playback), multithreading (for more-efficient programming), and power-management features.

In April, Intel handed over Moblin to the Linux Foundation, a careful move designed to boost the operating system's potential without souring Intel's relationship with Microsoft.

According to Ezra Gottheil, an analyst with Technology Business Research, Intel does not want to be so stringently tied to using Windows. "Intel wants to free itself from the Microsoft monopoly," says Gottheil. "With most Intel processors coupled with the OS, Microsoft implicitly controls the total cost of the processor; as a result, the entry price for Intel-based systems is higher than it otherwise would be, and the market is therefore smaller."

So how does Moblin measure up?

We installed and tested Moblin on three netbooks: a Lenovo S10, an Acer AspireOne, and an Asus Eee 901. All three worked well and were snappy for most tasks.

The Lenovo S10 and Asus Eee 901 both ship with Windows XP preinstalled, while the Acer AspireOne comes preloaded with Windows Vista. Installing Moblin was, however, relatively simple: just download the latest image file and copy it to a USB key. All current netbooks support booting from a USB drive.

The Moblin V2 user interface is built on Clutter, an open-source software library that provides easy access to several Web services. This means that it's possible to update your Twitter status or send instant messages directly from the desktop. Moblin also has a browser built on Google Chrome, plus a rudimentary music, photo, and video player.

The user interface still needs some work, though. One glitch is that, whenever a tool with a data-entry field was started, the cursor did not automatically move to that field--the user had to click it first. The Web browser also crashed repeatedly on all three systems and could not process a script in Gmail, which would sometimes cause an all-out system failure. On the Acer AspireOne, there was another problem: the netbook just could not resume after going into a sleep state. The screen would flash and appear for a moment but then go blank again.

The desktop shows a network icon in a drop-down task bar so that a user can select between a wired or wireless network connection. For some reason, Moblin did not support Wi-Fi on the Lenovo S10. (Intel says that the company is investigating the matter.) None of the Moblin installs on the three systems could recognize its built-in webcam, but audio, photo, and video playback worked flawlessly on all three systems.

Moblin supports a data-sync service; you can use Funambol, Memotoo, ScheduleWorld, or Synthesis to back up data, sync your calendar, and store contacts. Moblin V2 beta also includes three simple games (none of which use 3-D graphics), a calculator, a file browser, a terminal app, and a text editor.

There are a few oddities that might surprise Windows users. For example, in Moblin you can't just minimize a window. Instead, a user has to move apps to "zones" and switch between them.

But despite a few quirks and issues, the beta shows great promise. It's extremely fast, and it's one of the most up-to-date Linux distributions out there. It's certainly a good match for the netbook market, and it could yet become a popular OS.

No more Live Search: Bing Is Now Microsoft's Search Engine

Among Bing's core improvements over Live Search, according to Microsoft, are its capability to scour the Web more deeply and to deliver more-relevant search results faster. But the most striking feature of Bing -- setting it apart from Live Search and what Google and Yahoo deliver -- is the way it parses and displays search results.

Whereas Google emphasizes a stark, quick-loading design and a list of highly relevant search results, Bing's search results are organized into what it calls Search Categories -- subdivisions such as Web, Maps, Images, and Health. In a particular search, Bing creates Search Categories dynamically in response to the search query. Bing also packs some new smarts: technology that Microsoft acquired through its purchase of the firm Powerset, which attempts to figure out the searcher's intent rather than relying heavily on matching keywords to Web documents.

Stefan Weitz, director of Live Search for Microsoft, calls Bing a "decision engine" and says that it can help you explore, research, and find what you are looking for. "Google has done a great job of turning the word Google into a verb," he says. Bing is less about repeat searches, which Weitz sees as the key feature of Googling and more about finding the answer you're looking for the first time or helping you refine that search from the search results page.

Microsoft has struggled in the past to compete with Google for search market share. According to Nielsen Online, Google owns 64 percent of the U.S. search market, with Yahoo at 16.3 percent, and Microsoft Live Search at 9.9 percent. Microsoft will attempt to turn those numbers around in the coming weeks with a reported $100 million marketing campaign for Bing.

Will Bing's overhauled search engine and Microsoft's advertising investment woo the masses to Bing? My first impression after testing the preview release of Bing, called Kumo, is that it stands a good chance of succeeding. Still, the challenge of sharply reducing Google's market share is daunting

Search Engine Demographics

Everyone recognizes that the different newspapers have readers with different characteristics, but how many people know that the users of different search engines also have different characteristics? In this article we shall look at the demographic profile of each engine, and the different profiles of those who click on the paid ads and those who use the sponsored search.

Not all search engines were created alike
Nowadays it is commonplace to treat all the engines, portals and directories as if they offered better or worse versions of the same product to the same market. However, this is a misconception, and there are great differences between the different engines and their users. Granted, they all offer the facility to search the internet, but then all newspapers offer the news; and there is a world of difference between the readers of the Financial Times and those of The Sun.

The searcher and his search engine
Search engines are among the most popular sites on the internet. On any given day, 56% of those online use an engine. People generally trust these search engines. Engines such as Google, Yahoo and MSN also have strong brand loyalty. Most searchers use no more than two different engines to search.

Although the demographics of those using paid search and those using natural search are very different, only 40% of searchers were aware of the difference between paid and natural results.

What are the major differentiating factors between the engines?
The three largest search engines are Google, Yahoo and MSN. Together they make up 85-90% of all searches, and these different engines all have different users. These users can be divided by gender, by age, by income and by frequency of internet use. This is important information for your campaigns! I shall look at each of these factors in turn.

Gender breakdown by search engine
For the big three here, there are significant differences. A study carried out recently by Hitwise showed that 55% of Google users are male, whereas 58% of MSN users were female. Ask Jeeves and AOL were also more favoured by women than by men. Yahoo searches were split roughly evenly between men and women, with slightly more male users. The percentages may seem small, but when you're talking about the entire internet population, the numbers soon add up.

Gender breakdown by type of ad

Clicked on Organic Ads ......Women 56.9% Men 65.4%

Clicked on Paid Search Ads ..... Women 43.1% Men 34.6%

Here we see a greater difference, and it indicates that women are rather more likely to click on the paid ads than on the organic, or natural, ads. In the survey, we see that just over a third of men click on the paid search, whereas women are 25% more likely to do so. This is partly explained by female reluctance to read more than one page of results.

If a significant part of your clientele is female then you should strongly consider using paid ads to sell your product or service.

Age breakdown by search engine
Here again we see significant differences. Yahoo and Google are the most popular sites with those under the age of 34, whereas those over the age of 55 tend to prefer MSN.

Buying rate by search engine
The latest survey on buying rate indicated that in June 2005, visitors to Google sites were 42% more likely to buy online than the average Internet user, versus Yahoo visitors who were 31% more likely to purchase; MSN users who were 48% more likely to purchase; AOL users, 3%; and Ask Jeeves users, 17%.

However, studies also indicate that these engines are used in different ways. Users of portal search engines such as Yahoo, MSN and AOL tended to put in simpler search queries, of just one or two words. Google users often put in more complex queries. The more general searches are typically carried out at the stage where the user is gathering information, whereas the more precisely targeted searches indicate that the user is closer to making a purchase.

So what does this all mean for your PPC strategy?
Most companies should be running campaigns on all of the major sites to determine which search engine is generating the most cost effective and best converting visitors. Ultimately, the information generated from your website is the best market research.

Second, consider your creatives. By understanding the common characteristics of your customers and writing PPC ads best targeted at the search engine's usage demographics, you are more likely to connect with your audience and improve your website conversion. Also make special note that women are more likely to click on paid ads, and are more likely to buy as well.

Finally, paying heed to the different user profiles, and targeting your campaigns, budgets, creatives and landing pages appropriately will enable your marketing strategy to ultimately achieve stronger financial results for your web business.

LG Electronics launches LG G910 mobile 3G wearable phone in Europe

Orange announced it will be the first operator to offer the world's first Touch Watch phone (LG G910) in Europe, bringing customers the latest in breakthrough mobile technology in this tiny, wearable device from LG Electronics. This market-first innovation, available from flagship stores across Orange's European footprint later this year, will give Orange customers the chance to enjoy a whole new way of communicating.

Yves Maitre, Senior VP of Devices at Orange says, "At Orange, we are always finding new ways to bring mobility to our customers, from the simplest phones to feature rich devices. Innovation is at the heart of everything we do at Orange, and LG shares that vision. Together, we are pleased to offer Orange customers the first opportunity to experience this market leading Watch phone."

The compact and stylish wrist watch style phone comes with a blue-tooth headset and features a full touch-screen interface, 3G HSDPA and video-calling capabilities. Whether it is searching for restaurants and making video conference calls, or watching sports clips and listening to music on the built-in MP3 player, Orange customers will be able to enjoy the same multimedia experience on a watch, as they do on other mobile phones.

Yves continues, "This phone really manages to combine form with functionality and its chic styling and mobile broadband connectivity will no doubt appeal to all the early adopters out there. It is a great addition to our range, showing that we can give customers the latest in high-tech design for a totally new kind of mobile multimedia experience, or if they choose, a simple device for calling and texting."

Mr Harrison Lee, Senior Vice President & Head of European Mobile Business, LG Electronics says, "Orange's long heritage in mobile innovation and its proven success at bringing such technologies to its customers means it is an ideal partner to bring the world's first Touch Watch Phone to Europe."

It won't be for a year or more for it to be available in the United States. We hope sooner. Uber chic and portable.

World’s First Internet Car Radio by Blaupunkt and miRoamer

I have been seeing more and more Internet radios on the market these days, and I suppose that it was only a matter of time before someone invented one for the car. At CES, miRoamer, a popular Internet radio site, and Blaupunkt, a leader in automotive multimedia, introduced the world’s first Internet radio for the car.



I know that I have said this before, but I always get suspicious when I hear the words “world’s first” applied to any technological product. Usually, those words mean that “someone else actually did it first, but we are the first to really market it”. However, most of the other Internet radio makers at CES seemed genuinely surprised at the release of miRoamer and Blaupunket’s product, and they all asked the same question: How is an automotive web-connection achieved?

Yes, the Internet Car Radio cannot work on its own, but requires a 3G or GSM phone to be connected via Bluetooth in order to access the Internet. From there, the user is able to access radio stations from miRoamer, which allows the user tens of thousands of music, entertainment, news, and talk stations.

The large screen display allows for easy interface with the many station options, and it includes other features including access to the phone, address book, Bluetooth, not to mention navigation.

So, is the beginning of a new age of Internet radio? I don’t see why not. I think we’ve done all we can with Sirius and XM, so the Internet is really the only other way to go with automotive radio.