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With some 900 million user accounts, Facebook would seem to be the perfect venue for advertisers. The question is, despite the amount of time people spend logged on, posting updates, chatting with friends and sharing pictures, how much does the advertising that has made Facebook a multibillion-dollar concern in a short eight years really move products? Not enough, the nation’s leading automobile manufacturer has apparently concluded. In its case, paid advertising on the world’s biggest social network hasn’t justified the cost. $10 Million Campaign The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday that General Motors was pulling its ads for cars on Facebook, while continuing to use free pages to publicize its products. The paid advertising had reportedly amounted to $10 million. The decision may reflect a mindset of “why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free?” That could be troubling on some level for the Mark Zuckerberg-founded company as it heads toward an initial public stock offering Friday that hinges on future profitability and revenue growth. The company could be valued as high as $100 billion. “GM’s move is certainly likely to give other advertisers pause, especially given the company’s heft, its reputation for advertising savvy and its remarkable return from the grave,” Charles King, principal analyst at Pund-IT, told us. “There have also been numerous similar situations in the past, where an initially hot Internet property cooled swiftly — in some cases, by Antarctic proportions — when exposed to close scrutiny.” One example, King said, was Second Life, the virtual world created by Linden Research in 2003 that allows users to interact through avatars. Virtual Showrooms Didn’t Pay “At one point, the site’s fast growth and its popularity among the technology elite made it a go-to venue for numerous vendors and manufacturers, many of which built virtual ‘showrooms’ to market and advertise their goods,” King… Continue reading GM Drops Paid Facebook Ads, Will Still Use Free Pages →

Viruses have gotten a bad rap for their role in colds, diseases and malware. But now the reputation of some viruses is being redeemed, as researchers in California have developed a way to use them for the creation of electricity. The technology works by converting mechanical energy from specially engineered, harmless viruses into electricity. To date, the research team from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Lab has created a generator that can produce enough current to power a small LCD display. ‘Viral Electronics’ The research is described in a May 13 advance online publication of the Nature Nanotechnology journal. Scientist and associate professor Seung-Wuk Lee said in a statement that, while more research is needed, the results thus far represent “a promising first step toward the development of personal power generators, actuators for use in nano-devices, and other devices based on viral electronics.” In the test generator, a finger tap of the postage stamp-sized electrode uses the viruses to generate an electrical charge. The electrode is coated with the viruses, and the generator is the first to create electricity by using the piezoelectric properties of biological material. The viruses self-organize on a multilayered film in the generator that measures about one square centimeter, and are then placed between two gold-plated electrodes. A wire connects the arrangement to an LCD display. When pressure is applied, about six nanoamperes of current and 400 millivolts of potential are created, equal to about 25 percent of a Triple A battery’s voltage. Piezoelectricity is the build-up of a charge in a solid, as a response to mechanical stress. Potentially, electricity from this kind of generator could be produced from a variety of everyday activities, such as shutting a door, walking, or bicycling. Stack of 20 Layers The piezoelectric effect, first discovered in 1880, has been found in crystals,… Continue reading Researchers Use Virus To Generate Electricity →

Advanced Micro Devices has launched a new A-series of accelerated processing units (APUs) designed for deployment in next-generation notebooks as well as in traditional desktop PCs. Code-named Trinity, the new series-A APUs reportedly double the performance of prior AMD offerings as well as boost processor performance by 29 percent through the addition of third-generation AMD turbo core technology. AMD’s turbo core technology shifts power between each chip’s central processing unit and graphics processing unit to best match each application’s specific requirements. As a result, AMD said CPU frequencies are able to rise to a maximum of 3.2 gigahertz. AMD’s new APUs also are capable of delivering up to 12 hours of battery life through CPU and GPU power enhancements, said AMD Corporate Vice President Chris Cloran. “Our second-generation AMD A-Series APU is a major step forward in every performance and power dimension, allowing users to enjoy a stunning experience without having to give up the things that matter to them most,” Cloran said. The processing boost doesn’t stop at mainstream notebooks, Cloran said. “It carries over into affordable ultrathin form factors featuring the latest in AMD Radeon graphics,” he said. ARM No Threat This Year Given the inundation of recent media reports about ARM-based processors expected to land in value-added notebooks after Microsoft launches its Windows RT operating system for mobile computing devices, we asked AMD about how the chipmaker’s new chips stack up against the ARM-based offerings coming down the pike. The A-Series APUs that AMD launched Tuesday are destined for deployment in notebooks from Acer, Asus, HP, Lenovo, Samsung, Sony and Toshiba and will likely be priced in the $500-$800 range by AMD’s OEM partners, said AMD spokesman Phil Hughes. “Value based notebooks come closer to the value proposition of our E-Series platform, which is designed for essential notebooks in the $250-$500 range,” Hughes… Continue reading AMD Doubles Power in New Chips for Next-Generation Notebooks →

Advanced Micro Devices has launched a new A-series of accelerated processing units (APUs) designed for deployment in next-generation notebooks as well as in traditional desktop PCs. Code-named Trinity, the new series-A APUs reportedly double the performance of prior AMD offerings as well as boost processor performance by 29 percent through the addition of third-generation AMD turbo core technology. AMD’s turbo core technology shifts power between each chip’s central processing unit and graphics processing unit to best match each application’s specific requirements. As a result, AMD said CPU frequencies are able to rise to a maximum of 3.2 gigahertz. AMD’s new APUs also are capable of delivering up to 12 hours of battery life through CPU and GPU power enhancements, said AMD Corporate Vice President Chris Cloran. “Our second-generation AMD A-Series APU is a major step forward in every performance and power dimension, allowing users to enjoy a stunning experience without having to give up the things that matter to them most,” Cloran said. The processing boost doesn’t stop at mainstream notebooks, Cloran said. “It carries over into affordable ultrathin form factors featuring the latest in AMD Radeon graphics,” he said. ARM No Threat This Year Given the inundation of recent media reports about ARM-based processors expected to land in value-added notebooks after Microsoft launches its Windows RT operating system for mobile computing devices, we asked AMD about how the chipmaker’s new chips stack up against the ARM-based offerings coming down the pike. The A-Series APUs that AMD launched Tuesday are destined for deployment in notebooks from Acer, Asus, HP, Lenovo, Samsung, Sony and Toshiba and will likely be priced in the $500-$800 range by AMD’s OEM partners, said AMD spokesman Phil Hughes. “Value based notebooks come closer to the value proposition of our E-Series platform, which is designed for essential notebooks in the $250-$500 range,” Hughes… Continue reading AMD Doubles Power in New Chips for Next-Generation Notebooks →

Nokia is struggling on many fronts, but the company is performing well in emerging markets — and it’s looking to boost its chances with two new mobile phones that play on its strategy to connect the next billion consumers. The Nokia 110 and Nokia 112 aim to attract young, urban consumers who want to experience a fast, affordable online experience. Both devices incorporate social-media aspects, like Facebook and Twitter integration. And a Nokia browser promises to consume up to 90 percent less data by compressing Web sites in the cloud. “Today’s mobile phone users want a quick Internet experience that allows them to discover great content and share it with their friends — but without being held back by high data costs,” said Mary T. McDowell, executive vice president of Mobile Phones at Nokia. She’s betting consumers will look to the Nokia 110 and 112, which combine browsing, social media, apps, entertainment and long battery life. Casual Gaming Savvy The devices have a 1.8-inch display that Nokia characterizes as “optimized for gaming.” In the months ahead, the Nokia 110 and Nokia 112 will bring free EA Games, including favorites like Tetris, Bejeweled, Need for Speed The Run, Monopoly Here & Now, and SimCity Deluxe. The Nokia 112 features a preloaded eBuddy instant messaging service so users can tap into popular chat services from the mobile device. And both phones offer an upgraded camera that lets users customize contacts with photos, or share images via social networks and Bluetooth. The VGA camera promises sharper, clearer pictures with support for up to 32GB of external memory, enough for more than 6,000 songs or 90,000 pictures. Consumers can tune into radio stations and share songs with friends over Bluetooth. And all this with a promised 10 hours of talk time and nearly a month of standby. The Lumia… Continue reading New Nokia Line Bets on Next Billion Mobile Users →