Google's never been a predictable sort of company. Its focus on green energy, support for the Klingon language, and decision to set up beehives on corporate property are just a few examples of unusual behavior. But if Google acts in a rational manner, Hitwise believes the company will enter the gaming sector.
This isn't a random guess. In response to Google's acquisition of ITA Software, Heather Hopkins wrote, "We at Hitwise have been waiting for such an announcement for some time. In 2006 when Google Finance was launched, we looked at the top downstream industries from Google and noticed an obvious gap: Travel. Then again in 2008, when Google Health was launched we did the same analysis and pointed out the same gap."
And now that Google's filled the gap, Hopkins concluded, "[T]he next biggest downstream industry from Google.com is Games and Google does not yet have a presence in that industry. Stay tuned..."
Photo Credit: Hitwise
The one problem with this prediction might be if Google thinks it already gave gaming a shot in the form of Lively. Lively didn't come close to entertaining the average person, though, instead flopping in obscurity.
So we'll see what happens. Maybe Google will find another $700 million it doesn't quite know what to do with and make another major acquisition. It seems that all the positive reactions to the recent /> [...]
The National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT) released their report "Women in IT: The Facts" today, examining the current state of affairs for women working in IT and computing careers. The report addresses some of the reasons why women leave the industry at staggering rates and what companies can do to attract and retain them.
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Although the percentage of jobs held by women in almost all other sciences has increased, the report indicates that women's participation in computing jobs has been on the decline since 1991, when it reached a high of 36%. Although the overall number of jobs in the computing sector is increasing, interest in computing careers - for men and women - is shrinking.
According to NCWIT, if these trends continue, by 2018 the U.S. tech industry will only be able to fill half the available IT jobs.
Women's Declining Participation in IT Impacts Profits & Innovation
The NCWIT report contains extensive data about how the loss of women in IT impacts corporate profitability, innovation, and competitiveness. For example, companies with the highest representation of women in senior management teams had a 35% higher return on equity and a 34% higher return to shareholders.
The report challenges the stereotype that women are simply not interested in technology careers. Even women majoring in computer science tend to pursue careers in other industries.
Women who do work in the tech sector have an attrition rate that is more than double that of men. The NCWIT report contends that 56% of women in technology companies leave their organizations at the mid-level point (10-20 years) in their careers, a/> [...]
Rhapsody has introduced a new version of its iPhone app that allows users to store subscription music in the phones memory and stream it when they don't have an Internet connection.
Rhapsody says it is the first U.S. service to allow people to download subscription music to the iPhone. By downloading playlists directly to the device, users can listen to Rhapsody from any location.
"Today marks a turning point for Rhapsody and subscription music," said Jon Irwin, Rhapsody's president.
"By making Rhapsody accessible anywhere people want to hear music -- and not just the places where they have an Internet connection -- we're giving music lovers a new way to discover and enjoy music on the devices they love."
Using the iPhone app requires a subscription to Rhapsody for either $10-per-month, which provides access to the music service on one mobile device or for $14.99 which provides access on up to 3 mobile devices.
Earlier this month, the company launched a mobile app for the Android platform. Rhapsody said it is developing a new mobile app for BlackBerry users that will launch this summer.
SlingBox released the most recent version of its iPhone app today. The app allows SlingBox users to view streaming video from their home television wherever they are, whether or not there is a wireless network available. Sling had already announced its return to the 3G network at the beginning of the month, but the apps update just appeared this morning.
The Slingbox app runs $29.99, but for those customers that have already downloaded the app, the update is included. The announcement comes as part of what may be an exciting week at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona
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While we're excited about SlingBox coming to the 3G, we're also wondering if Skype might be releasing their 3G version this week. Peter Parkes, the social media communications lead at Skype, interviewed Russ Shaw and posted a blog on Skype saying the company would be making "a couple of exiting announcements" this week at the conference.
According to the video, which we've included below, Skype will make announcements concerning "how [it] makes apps available for download, either through Skype.com or app stores", work with handset manufacturers and partnerships with mobile operators. The one company on everybod/> [...]
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The National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT) released their report "Women in IT: The Facts" today, examining the current state of affairs for women working in IT and computing careers. The report addresses some of the reasons why women leave the industry at staggering rates and what companies can do to attract and retain them.
SlingBox released the most recent version of its iPhone app today. The app allows SlingBox users to view streaming video from their home television wherever they are, whether or not there is a wireless network available. Sling had already announced its return to the 3G network at the beginning of the month, but the apps update just appeared this morning. 
