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Google won’t be going public any time soon. At this week’s JP Morgan Technology and Telecom conference in San Francisco, company chief executive Eric Schmidt said that trying to determine when the very successful company would become the latest internet IPO “would be speculation.” During the late ‘90s successful web-based companies went public at an alarming rate, with most fizzling out by the time the 2001 economic downturn began. Now only the most stable companies can afford to take such a risk, though Google definitely fits that description. The search engine service does not release its earnings numbers, but analysts have long speculated on Google’s even rosier future were it to go public. Yet staying private has its advantages. The company recently began its fourth business model in its short history, initiating an advertising program that sends users outside the Google site when certain advertising is clicked on. Schmidt did make one prediction that had nothing to do with IPOs. He said that by 2008, he thinks wireless internet connections will have become the dominant way of surfing the net.
College crackdown nabs OSU student pirates
The record industry wasn’t kidding about cracking down on college kids. Ohio State University police raided a dormitory whose network allegedly was being used to distribute illegally downloaded music and movies. Five computers were seized in the Monday night raid, which could result in criminal or civil piracy charges against the some 3,000 students apparently participating. Police became aware of the activities because 10 percent of the university computer system was being used to run Direct Connect and send downloaded files to dorm computers. OSU confirms that it had received notices from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) about copyright infringement crackdowns. The RIAA went after four college students last month for alleged copyright infringement. An out-of-court settlement was reached last week in that case.
1 million bite on Apple's iTunes music service
Apparently consumers already out of college are willing to pay for music online, as long as it comes from the right name. Trumping analyst predictions, Apple’s new iTunes music store moved more than 1 million songs in its debut last week, selling them at 99 cents per download. In a development cheered by record industry executives, whose own efforts at legitimate music download services have been decidedly lacking, more than half the purchased tunes were downloaded as albums. Industry insiders had worried that album sales would be stalled by the availability of songs on a per-track basis. The new service is available only to Mac users, though Apple plans a Windows-compatible version for sometime this year. More than 200,000 songs are available. On the first day of iTune availability, the service sold 250,000. Vivendi’s Universal Music chief previously had said that 1 million purchases in the first month would make the venture successful.
Study: More people using online photo services
Online photo services are so convenient it’s no wonder their popularity has soared. A new study by InfoTrends Research Group finds that 19 percent of U.S. internet households have used an online photo service. The average number of photos posted per month has doubled to 24, while the number of prints ordered via the web has increased by 30 percent. InfoTrends analysts say that interest in online photo albums, which can be shared much more conveniently than traditional pictures, are a major driving factor behind the upticks. The company said that several online photo services actually reached profitability last year by also delving into the print arena.
At Microsoft, potty training for the internet
For those who truly can’t imagine even the most private moment without the internet, a new internet-enabled portable bathroom is on the way. The iLoo, engineered by Microsoft’s MSN, will debut at a British summer music festival. The lavatory will feature a wireless keyboard, high-speed internet access and a plasma screen. MSN developed a park bench with internet capabilities last year in Suffolk, England. The fully portable toilet represents the conquering of a last frontier of sorts for the internet. Last year a costly refrigerator with a built-in computer was released.
May 8, 2003© 2003 Media Life
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