Microsoft fined $1.3 billion

"BRUSSELS, Belgium - The European Union fined Microsoft Corp. a record $1.3 billion Wednesday for the amount it charges rivals for software information.

EU regulators said the company charged "unreasonable prices" until last October to software developers who wanted to make products compatible with the Windows desktop operating system.

The fine is the largest ever for a single company and brings to just under $2.5 billion the amount the EU has demanded Microsoft pay in a long-running antitrust dispute.
Microsoft immediately said the issues for which it was fined have been resolved and the company was making its products more open.

The fine comes less that a week after Microsoft said it would share more information about its products and technology in an effort to make it work better with rivals' software and meet the demands of antitrust regulators in Europe."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080227/ap_on_bi_ge/eu_microsoft


That's just ridiculous. A couple hundred thousand OK, even 5 or 6 million but $1.3 billion for selling the secrets that would make other programs compatible with the Windows system. If they were stupid enough to pay crazy amounts then let the stupid live in bliss.

Assignment 4: How Your Company Sells

How is your company's product sold?

http://www.microsoft.com/en/us/default.aspx

1. The link above is one of the methods Microsoft uses to sell its products. Specifically, the product I chose to discuss is the Microsoft Ultimate 2007 package which is a combination of several popular software programs that Microsoft produces. Following the link above, a consumer will be able to download the program straight to their computer and even have a backup disk mailed to them.

2. The most popular way of selling the program is the conventional over-the-counter selling. Its almost a certainty to see the product shelved at any of the popular retailers of computers and its software, from Target to Circuity City to J and R Computer World.

3. A follow up method of selling for Microsoft is the Relationship Selling and Consultative Selling. They achieve this through the questionnaires about customer satisfaction and regular notifications about updates to the product or other products they feel the customer might be interested in.

4. Another important method for Microsoft is business to business selling which is the reason why a large percentage of the computers purchased are already equipped with the Microsoft Windows program

Economic Crisis: Stagflation

"WASHINGTON (AP) -- It's a toxic economic mix the nation hasn't seen in three decades: Prices are speeding upward at the fastest pace in a quarter century, even as the economy loses steam.
Economists call the disease "stagflation," and they're worried it might be coming back.

Already, paychecks aren't stretching as far, and jobs are harder to find, threatening to set off a vicious cycle that could make things even worse.
The economy nearly stalled in the final three months of last year and probably is barely growing or even shrinking now. That's the "stagnation" part of the ailment. Typically, that slowdown should slow inflation as well -- the second part of the diagnosis -- but prices are still marching higher......"

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080226/economy_twin_evils.html

Google Still on Pace

Reported in the NY times on Thursday Feb, 20, 2008 by Miguel Helft, Google is planning to sell ads that appear inside videos across the web. With Google's already dominant role in the online advertising world, they are looking to capitalize on the booming online video venue. The program entitled, Adsense for Video would help Web publishers and Google, make more money off of their video clips. The program offers, "...advertisers a choice between video or text ads that will be overlaid on a small portion of the video viewer." Of course, the advertisement will be related to the content of the video.

It seems that by the time Microsoft and Yahoo finish playing hard to get with each other, Google will already be at the finishline. Some advice to Microsoft, focus on innovation, not renovation.

Assignment 3: Blue Ray/HD

Identify and discuss the elements of marketing that exist in the story below.
http://us.f457.mail.yahoo.com/ym/ShowLetter?MsgId=1011_306516_17659_3110_5830_0_51_17485_3390164052&Idx=5&YY=31802&y5beta=yes&y5beta=yes&inc=25&order=down&sort=date&pos=0&view=&head=&box=Inbox

1. Conception: Taking home movies, formerly represented by hd dvds, and further developing the idea into a new concept, blu-ray discs.

2. Distribution: When the blu-ray discs won the war of home movies over hd dvds, U.S retailers decided to immediately adopt the new discs. These retailers included, Best Buy Co Inc, Wal-Mart Stores Inc, and Netflix

3. Strategic Planning - Blu-rays objective or strategic planning was centered around becoming the the leader in home movie sales.

4. Over-the-counter selling: when the U.S. retailers adopted the new blu-ray technology the retailers will in turn engage in over the counter selling of the blu-ray discs.

5. Competition - Competition existed between the blu-ray discs and hd dvds.

Takeover Costing Microsoft Already

Jerry Yang's latest tactic to counter Microsoft's offer is in the form of a package to Yahoo employees that any acquirer would be stuck paying. The strategy should help keep indispensable talent should the takeover occur. Full details of this report can be viewed at http://finance.yahoo.com/tech-ticker/article/2683/Yahoo-Employees-Gain-at-Microsoft's-Expense;_ylt=AhahIkyPS2wGoYV9BhAjwFtk7ot4?tickers=MSFT,YHOO

Assignment 2: How Much Do I Know

Define Marketing?
a. the planning and executing of the conception, pricing, promotion, and distribution of ideas, goods, services, events or organization to satisfy individual and organizational objectives

b. the process of planning and executing the conception, pricing, promotion, and distribution of ideas, goods, services, organizations, and events to create and maintain relationships that will satisfy individual and organizational objectives.

What is Utility?
a. No answer

b. the want-satisfying power of a good or service

Describe the exchange process.
a. No answer

b. Activity in which two or more parties give something of value to each other to satisfy perceived needs

What is the sales era?
a. Era in which firms focused on convincing customers to purchase a product even if they didnt need/want it.

b. "firms attempted to match their output to the potentail number of customers who would want it. They assume that customers will resist purchasing goods and services not deemed essential and that the task of personal selling and advertising is to convince them to buy."

What is the marketing era?
a. (since 1950's) began because of te existence of a buyers market following WW2. Firms focused on satisfying needs/wants.

b. "Organizational survival dictated that managers pay close attention to the markets for their goods and services. This trend ended with the outbreak of WW2, when rationing and shortages of consumer goods became commonplace. The war years however, created only a pause in an emerging trend in business: a shift in the focus from products and sales to satisfying customer needs........The advent for a strong buyers market created the need for consumer orientation by businesses. Companies had to market goods and services, not just produce and sell them."

What is the relationship era?
a. (since 1990's) Firms began to believe that longevity and success of a company is based on good relationships maintained with their suppliers and with their customers.

b. development and maintenance of long-term, cost effective relationships with individuals, customers, suppliers, employees, and other partners for mutual benefit


Extra Facts:

Production era?
when firms believed that a good product would sell itself and therefore they (the firms) focused solely on manufacturing and production of products.

conception of a product consists of improvements on an old product

market myopia - when a firm is confused about the scope of its business

Yahoo + News Corp.????

In an attempt to deter Microsoft's hostile takeover, Yahoo is possibly considering a merger with News Corp - the owner of the Wall Street Journal and Myspace. The specifications have not been drawn out yet but a source close to the situation says that News Corp. and a private equity firm would purchase stake in Yahoo, but as of yet, nothing has been confirmed.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/microsoft_yahoo

Assignment 1: What was the greatest marketing era for my

Founded In 1975 during the Marketing Era, (1950's -1990) Microsoft is a computer technology company with over 80,000 employees worldwide. Since its creation, Microsoft has been the leader in the computer software field with the creation of MS-DOS and especially since the birth of the Microsoft Windows program which, to date, is its most revenue generating product. This along with the Microsoft Office programs helped Microsoft rake in the $51 billion it grossed in 2007. The Relationship Era (1990's - ) was the companies greatest years due to the rise in popularity of PC's. With almost every PC that was bought, came a version of Microsoft Windows. And almost 20 years later Microsoft has managed to stay the leader in the computer software world, despite obstacles such as competition and legal intimidation concerning its alleged monopolistic characteristics.

Obama Victorious in Maine

Barack Obama has gathered his fourth victory Sunday, winning the Maine Caucuses while Senator Hillary Clinton replaced her campaign manager - a sure sign that the campaign is losing its edge and is looking for a turnaround. The manager, Patti Solis Doyle, also a long time friend of Clinton, has been replaced by long time aid Maggie Williams.

Exxon Breaks Record

In 2007, the Exxon-Mobil corporation posted a historical $40.6 billion dollars in profit. The figure is the largest annual take ever by any United States company. In the last three months of the year alone they posted a record breaking $11.7 billion. With oil prices hovering around $90 a barrel in those last three months, its easy to understand how such a record could be broken. An even more impressive fact is: the nations top three oil companies -Exxon , Chevron, and ConocoPhillips - together were making $10 million dollars and hour during the last three months of 2007. An even more depressing fact for car owners is, advisors don't see any decrease in the price of gas arriving any time soon.

Microsoft+Yahoo = Google?

In an effort to contend with Google's dominance in the online search engine world, Microsoft has announced a bid for Yahoo valued at $44.6 billion. In a report from comScore, which serves as the scorekeeper in the search world, there were 55.3 billion search queries during the month of October of 2007. Google assisted with 42.4 billion of these queries while, together, Yahoo and Microsoft were responsible for 12.9 billion. With the performance of Yahoo in recent years, its a good move for Yahoo to join with Microsoft though there are major concerns about how the differences in cultures of the two companies will blend together. Many look at Microsoft as the conservative mid 50's gentleman while Yahoo could be labeled as the young hip teenager with the blaring ipod headphones. In any event the companies must keep in mind the objective which is not to be shut out the market by Google which seems to have a stronghold on the business of the internet.

Isuzu Ends Sales In North America

Due to decreasing sales, Isuzu, the japanese car-maker, announced that it would end sales of the vehicle in North America by January 2009. Despite being an innovator in the market during the mid 1980's, sales began to decline since 1996 after Consumer Reports testing made it aware that the Isuzu Trooper was prone to tipping. After that report Isuzu claims it has forfeited $244 million in sales and a tarnished reputation. In 2007 a measly 7,098 cars were sold, down 18% from the previous year. All product warranties and roadside assistance will remain valid and the company is offering dealers the opportunity to become service-only dealers.