Its interesting to note that Google one of the newest major corporations reshaping the world of advertising has reeled in Verizon Communications to resell Google AdWords at a local level.

Small Business used to purchasing ads in Verizon’s Superpages (yellow pages) will now be coached by Verizon agents on how to place their ads with keywords in Google’s AdWords.

AdWords is a service provided by Google where advertisers bid online to place their advertisment according to the keywords or page viewers most likely to be associated with the ad. They compete for placement according to others bidding on the same keywords or online viewers. Highest bidder gets the ad.

Its not mentioned specifically, but the article hints that these local placements will be geographically restricted somehow.

Verizon online directory in ad deal with Google - Yahoo! News:
“‘We’re pleased Verizon is an authorized AdWords reseller and helping local small businesses take advantage of the opportunities of search advertising,’ Google said in a statement.’”

Page Popularity for Site: 12% [?]

What happens when super mega corporations and the interests groups that go with them collide?

Ebay is fighting off a landmark patent case tomorrow (Wednesday Mar 29, 2006) against a company named MercExchange.

Ebay’s “Buy it Now” feature is contended to infringe on 2 patents, which Ebay does not own.

The situation demarks the two sides to the argument:

1. Technology companies looking to protect themselves from intellectual property holders
RIM and Ebay in recent cases have fallen in to this camp.

2. Technology companies looking to protect their intellectual property
Microsoft, RIAA, Pharmaceutical companies fall into this camp

The battle ground happens to be the process or legal mechanism that allows this protecting to occur. It’s the Injunction.

All the talk and paperwork, and patents and copyright symbols in the world aren’t worth a hill of beans unless there are three things in place: 1. A law to define the system, 2. A judiciary to decide upon questions in the law, 3. A mechanism to enforce the law - Injunction

Lots of focus is routinely placed on the laws themselves and even in the way a judge acts in creating or not creating new case law.

However, the injunction and how its enforced is now at stake.

If the injunction process is weakened, Pharmaceutical patent holders even copyright holders like Microsoft could be protected less harming their business.

If its maintained, companies argue that they can be harmed by frivolous or unmerited patent claims (reminiscent of the lawyer that created a patent for Phone menu’s and later sued for lost profits 10 years after they had been in use.)

The old saying goes, don’t pick a fight you can’t win. In this case, Ebay a technology company with patents and copyrights of its own, might be better served settling and not disrupting the status quo from a strictly financial perspective. However, if they have to chase an ideology, we’ll sit back and watch the collision.

Channelweb Exclusive News

Page Popularity for Site: 9% [?]

ShadowRam of CRN trade magazine from March 13, 2006, made a short comment about the lackluster of the Origami device.

ChannelWeb: “Origami is nothing more than a device from Samsung and other vendors running Windows XP Tablet PC Edition version 2.0 with enhanced touch screen and better navigation. In other words: yawn. ”

It would appear the comment is negative, however, its a bit of a forehanded criticism. Talking about how there is nothing special about the Origami unit by describing what is special. It would seem to be Anti-Microsoft code for, you cand hand it to Microsoft for doing something right because they are Microsoft.

Page Popularity for Site: 9% [?]