In App Ads Tipping Point?

Retail Giant, Walmart continuing to focus on reaching new targets is running in-app banner ads on iPhones. Walmart’s ads appear in the NBC Today Shows Recipe App.

Interestingly the Walmart call to action featured in the Today Show in-App Ad is to download Walmart’s own iPhone App, which is focused on helping shoppers find great deals.

In addition to Walmart, Microsoft, Unilever and others are testing In-App Ads which means many more retailers and manufacturers will likely soon follow.

Peer Pressure?

Microsoft will offer it's newest version of it's Office Suite online for free. The columnist's claim that this move was "a stroke of genius" remains to be seen. One thing is for sure, Microsoft's peers are forcing the giant to revamp their business model in ways they'd hope they'd never have to.

The Mojave Experiment...

As most of you are probably aware, Windows Vista has taken a different approach to their campaign...It goes by the code name "Mojave." It targets "regular" (clueless?) people who have never laid eyes on Vista, then lets them "decide for themselves." At first, I was skeptical about the brand's need to disguise itself, but I've since warmed up to it. Branding needs a little alter ego action now and then.

Take a look at the site, if only to check out the video execution.

Cooler than Google Earth?

It looks like Microsoft has finally created a content feature that out googles google in terms of aggregating and displaying massive information in a totally compelling interface. It's the WorldWide Telescope project, found here.

This interface promises to have aggregated the photographic artifacts from both the Hubble and the best of land-based telescope-captured photograhy. As Microsoft puts it on the WWT site, " bringing together imagery from the best ground and space-based telescopes in the world for a seamless exploration of the universe."

Like Google Earth, Microsoft has created a 3 dimensional environment that allows users to explore in three dimensions the universe around us. The only problem is that you need a very advanced computer to view it, my MacBook Pro just isn't up to the task (ideally viewed on a PC with Vista, a .net framework installed, etc, etc, blah blah blah). At least give Google credit for making the old Keyhole technology both browser and OS agnostic. I'm sure MS will get there eventually, but I can't believe they think that this will sell more copies of Vista.

Assuming you don't have a .net framework on your computer, there is a pretty good overview here, showcasing it's introduction at TED earlier this year.