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 | A Global Leader Asks, “When Can You Start?”
With global stock markets officially in bear territory and the mortgage crisis continuing to roil world economies, it would be easy to say that there’s no good news on the business pages. Look again.
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 | Microsoft: We See Windows 7?
As Windows XP is reaching the last months of its marketing life, after several extensions due to consumer demand, is it finally time for Windows Vista to shine? Speculation says, unlikely. Windows Vista, despite its various upgrades and improvements over its XP predecessor, has been underwhelming in the market. Consumers still “downgrade” new computers to Windows XP, from Vista. What image does that give to a product, when the predecessor is in more demand?
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 | Olympic Sponsors: Marketing Efforts in Quicksand
The media’s ever increasing negative coverage of China is stamping the entire country with a tainted “Made in China” brand image. This sullied impression, which now includes the repression of Tibet, is in danger of shrouding the upcoming Olympics. As local politics, environmental concerns, and product quality quickly diminish the glow of the country’s positive spotlight, corporate sponsors for the Olympics are filled with alarm as they see their own images damaged by association with the Chinese government’s misguided strategies.
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 | Can EA Take Over Take-Two?
As Take-Two Interactive rolls out one of the most eagerly anticipated video games of the year, “Grand Theft Auto IV”, the company’s stock price has danced around $26, a share range that EA had previously offered as a bid towards its rival company. This attempted amalgamation has been EA’s crack at regaining dominance in the interactive entertainment industry after the merger of Blizzard and Activision created a commercial giant that effectively dethroned EA as video game king.
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 | AMD: Setting the Brand on Fire
Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), known for its Opteron microprocessors, is extending its brand into the computer market. Targeting small and medium sized businesses, AMD is attempting to revitalize lost market share from rival Intel. After six consecutive quarters of losing market share to this formidable competitor, AMD needs to recognize the urgency to revitalize its brand.
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 | Mean Mr. Magenta: T-Mobile vs. Engadget Mobile
T-Mobile, Deutsche Telekom’s U.S. wireless division, is demanding that popular technology news blog Engadget Mobile stop using the color magenta in its logo. Exclusive use of magenta? That’s absurd.
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 | Surf the Web, AT&T Style
David Krantz, VP of Business Development at AT&T recently presented a new web browser called “AT&T Pogo”. The CoreBrand interactive group is already testing web solutions on a dozen or more web browsers for our clients to make sure our projects are up to brand and web standards. So, my first reaction: “Oh boy, just what we need, yet another web browser!” (With each of the leading browsers having its share of quirks and proprietary standards, it is already a challenge for web developers to create a consistent experience across platforms.) And my second reaction: What is AT&T up to? Is this an effort to continue to shake off its phone company heritage and more closely tie its brand to the promise of IP? Or are they, as they say, truly looking to create a better web experience for everybody?
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