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e_Marketing Blog WiMAX for Portland WiMAX service will soon be available in Portland, Oregon. What is WiMAX? It is a wireless alternative to cable or DSL. For a number of years this technology has promised to revolutionize the delivery of "last mile" service connecting homes and offices to internet access points. But these days the focus is more on mobile applications that make it a viable alternative to standard cell phone services. The provider of this service in Portland will be Clearwire, a company formed through joint cooperation of Sprint, Clearwire, Google, Intel, Comcast, and Time Warner. WiMAX will not be significantly cheaper than the alternatives, but it does promise to offer greater potential for merging disparate services such as internet, cell phone, Voip and cable tv. 2009 Will Be Pivotal for Microsoft 2008 has not been the greatest year for Microsoft, but they have still done surprisingly well in spite of the economic slowdown around the world. In an article from PCWorld called Microsoft's Top Three 2008 Mistakes, Shane O'Neill of CIO.com discusses some of the things that went well for MS, and some that clearly did not. In spite of aggressive marketing by Apple, Mac sales fell 1 percent over the year and Windows PC sales were up 7 percent. Microsoft's grip on the PC market remained firm - with 90% of users running Windows, and 70% of internet browsers using Internet Explorer. One has to think that the bad press MS keeps getting will have to impact these market shares eventually. Although it sure seems like both Apple and Firefox do not understand that their elitist attitude ("we're so much better and smarter than the other 90% of you") is an implicit criticism of the very customer they are trying to reach. 2009 will be a pivotal year for MS as they continue to try to beat off Apple, Google and Mozilla (Firefox). According to the PC Word article Microsoft's biggest mistakes for 2008 were: 1. Poor marketing of Windows Vista - They've been letting Apple get away with bashing Vista for years now. It's just not as bas as the critics say it is, and MS's own lack of promotion reinforces the idea that the critics are right. 2. Letting Apple Build Anti-Vista Momentum - Even though the sales figures may not yet show it in a convincing way, Apple has taken the marketing game away from MS with their constant Vista-bashing. MS has not shown that it can adequately respond. Expensive ads featuring Bill Gates and Jerry Seinfeld missed the mark. Just recently I saw an ad touting the unique features of Vista in a straight-ahead way. It's about time. 3. The Failed Yahoo Bid - Early in 08 the bid for Yahoo looked like it might be a case of two search losers getting together. The failure of the bid did nothing for MS's image as a "winner" or a company forging into the future. As it turned out it was probably good for MS that Yahoo rejected their offer. Now Yahoo is worth a fraction of what MS offered, Jerry Yang, the big Yahoo opponent of the bid is gone, and new Yahoo investors are now courting MS. MS is still interested in Yahoo's search business, and may very well end up with it in 2009. Squidoo New Look Squidoo seems to have a new edit and publish interface. I've always found it a bit clunky in the past, but now it seems quite a bit easier to add modules. The process makes more sense to me. I just created a lense about Car Repair for a client. |
Ezine-Network.com - This site contains information about getting published — submission of articles, photographs, ebooks, and other special features for a growing number of online publications. It also contains significant amounts of information, resources dealing with, and examples of blogs and blogging. Ezine-Network.com is a member of the sbo-linknet.com network of websites. Full Color Printing on Vinyl Banners Now PossibleMay 5, 2006 - Linknet Product News Full Color Vinyl Banners - Vinyl Banners shipped across North America Calendar Printing - Place calendar printing order at PrintPelican.com Trade Show Display Graphics - Beautiful trade show graphics Full Color Printing on Vinyl Banners Now Possible by Rick HendershotMost of us know what a "banner" is -- not the kind used in web pages -- but the kind used as signs on the sides of buildings, on fences, or across the stage at conferences. Roughly speaking, a banner is a large flexible sign or poster made of a durable material that can be easily folded or rolled. We are used to seeing banners strung across the road at fall fair time, or to promote a worthy cause. In recent years banners or "banner signs" have become much more versatile than even five or six years ago. These days banner signs are used in all kinds of places where we used to see more permanent signs. Instead of a sign made of wood or plexiglass we now often see a vinyl banner sign that serves the purpose very adequately. Today the most common material used to make outdoor banners is smooth, good looking but durable vinyl. A banner printed on vinyl will stand up to the sun and rain for a number of years, so vinyl banners are often used in places where a quick, low cost alternative is needed. Sometimes vinyl banners serve as a temporary substitute for a more permanent sign which will come later. Other times where the site is only temporary -- such as a construction site, or a special event like a family reunion -- a vinyl banner is the only sign that will ever be used. The great advantage of banners is that they are made of flexible and lightweight material. That means a vinyl banner can be rolled up or folded when it is time to take it down or move it to a new location. They are also relatively inexpensive when compared to the alternatives. What has made vinyl banners so versatile is that they can now be printed digitally in beautiful full color. Printing a vinyl banner used to be a fairly crude and laborious process, but the "digital revolution" changed all that. Special printing machines can now print directly onto vinyl that can be used either indoors or outdoors. The design and printing process is actually quite simple -- as long as you know something about digital printing. Banner designs can include photographs, artwork, fancy backgrounds, company logos. In other words, any graphic image that can be captured in a computer file can be printed on a vinyl banner. All suppliers don't use the same process The best place to find a source for vinyl banners is on the internet. A small number of companies specialize in prividing low cost, fast-turn-around vinyl banners. A specialty vinyl banner company has mastered the details of banner printing and prints hundreds or even thousands of them every month. They can usually offer the lowest price and fastest delivery too. But not all vinyl banner suppliers use the same process or the same equipment. Some use silk screening, while others use low end ink jet printers. The best suppliers use higher end solvent digital printers. It is important to know the difference between these processes, and often you cannot tell by looking at the descriptions provided to you on supplier websites. Silk screening has adapted some digital capabilites, but when it comes to the actual printing, it is still an older "low tech" process. It remains an important method of printing certain things that cannot be done "digitally" -- for instance, for printing on unusual materials, or wherever special inks are required. But setup costs are normally higher, turn around times longer, and printing smaller quantities is often not feasible. Lower end ink jet printers are sometimes used to print on vinyl. But the bottom line is that these inks are meant for indoor applications and short term outdoor use. They are more quickly faded by UV from the sun, and are also susceptible to scratching and water damage. When ordering a vinyl banner for outdoor use, or one that you want to last a couple of years without fading, be sure to go with a true solvent ink process. Especially when it does not cost any more. Article Source - Trade-Show-Tips.com
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