Filed under: Chocolate, Television/Film, Trends, Comfort Food

No, this isn’t a giant mound of chocolate shaped like a television (though wouldn’t that be something?). It’s a web TV network devoted to all things chocolate. Brilliant!

As we all know chocolate can cure everything that ails us both physically and mentally, and Chocolate Television covers just about everything: companies that make chocolate, candy expos, chocolate blogs, recipes, and so much more. Viewers can even upload their own chocolate-related videos and other content.

I’d rather see this on my local cable system than the Oxygen network.

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Digitimes reports that Asus will not ship the Eee PC until the end of October, which is quite painful, given the hype surrounding the tiny –and cheap. from $260 to $400 - computer. It was supposed to be available about right now, but Asus has decided to push the release to “expend its software application” (The device runs on Linux). I suppose that they are talking about licensing more software. If you missed earlier posts about the device:

Asus Eee PC 701 External Review
Asus EeePC 700 price is final

Permalink | Comment | Uberbargain | Uberphones

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Last week the Web Standards Group reached a milestone of 5,000 members, and thanks to SitePoint the lucky 5,000th member has scored some awesome prizes. (For clarity, the WSG is a grassroots organisation focussed on educating designers and developers through the sharing of knowledge, both online and at regular presentations — not to be confused with the Web Standards Project, who works with browser vendors and tool creators.)

From the announcement that went out to the group’s members this afternoon:

Our first meeting was held on 6 March 2003 in a pub in Sydney with 8 people. We currently have 5,009 members from 109 countries. We also have meetings in a range of cities including Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, Brisbane … Wellington, London, Singapore and Moscow — with more to come in the next few months.

To celebrate this milestone, SitePoint has donated a range of books to be presented to member No. 5,000: Michael Riethmuller, from Australia. Michael will be receiving copies of The Principles of Beautiful Web Design, The CSS Anthology, 2nd Edition, Simply JavaScript and Deliver First Class Web Sites: 101 Essential Checklists to add to his personal reference library.

Congratulations Michael!

Becoming a member of the Web Standards Group is free. Anyone can join, and membership provides you with access to a range of online resources, the ability to ask questions of the (very active) mailing list and forum, and free attendance at meetings.

(Disclaimer: I am the organiser of Melbourne’s WSG meetings).

This article provided by sitepoint.com.

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Filed under: PlayStation Store, News

Whilst getting some hands-on time with Devil May Cry 4 at TGS with the guys from Capcom we asked a few questions regarding Puzzle Fighter HD and its delay in Europe. The Capcom representitives told us that the game would be available for download on the EU PSN store in early November. The reason for the delay is, as usual, localisation issues. They were also quick to mention that in solving these issues now all future Capcom downloadable content will be available worldwide simultaneously. Sounds like a good deal to us.

We followed up by asking whether Sony Europe would be providing any localisation aid to publishers now that they recognise the issues that are causing the delays and trying to fix them. Quite frankly, the answer is no. Third party publishers who want their content available to all regions simultaneously will have to make it happen themselves. But if Capcom can promise that all future releases will be available without delays, then others must be able to do the same, right Sony?

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Filed under: Audio/Video, Computers, iPod

Today, Amazon.com quietly re-targeted its missiles to point them squarely at Apple. The Internet superstore has launched a public test version of amazonmp3, its new music download service that offers MP3s compatible with every digital media player on the planet. That means you can download tracks and listen to them with iTunes and iPod just as easily as you could with Windows Media Player and, say, a Creative Zen.

The songs are also free of DRM copy protection, meaning you can freely copy them from device to device without getting tripped up by legal red tape. Unfortunately, that means the store is only offering songs from Universal and EMI, the two major labels that have gotten with the times and dropped DRM. Warner and Sony still won’t set their songs free on the Internet without DRM, which means they won’t be appearing on amazonmp3 any time soon. Even Universal and EMI haven’t opened up their catalogs completely, further diminishing what’s available on amazonmp3.

That said, we like what we see so far. Unlike iTunes, there’s no flat rate for songs and albums. Songs are generally 99 cents a pop, though the top 100 songs are offered at a 10-cent discount. Just like in a music store at the mall, there’s a bargain bin for albums (usually priced $8.99) that price as low as $4.99 and under. We found some excellent multi-track singles from the likes of Nirvana, Lily Allen and the Pixies for dirt-cheap.

One thing to note: While songs can be downloaded a la carte through your browser, you will need to download an amazonmp3 client program in order to download albums - but you’re already used to that from using iTunes anyway.

Overall, we think we’ve found a new way to buy music. The selection isn’t as big as we’d like it right now, but if you’ve already got all of your information stored with Amazon as a customer anyway, this really couldn’t be any more convenient.

Related Links:

• Amazon Spins Up Digital Music Store (AOL Money & Finance)
• Five Annoying Things About iTunes’ New Ringtone Service
• Wal-Mart’s New Downloads Play on iPods, Zunes, Cell Phones and More

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Filed under: Google (GOOG), Hilary On Stocks, Stocks to Buy, Videos, China Med Technologies Inc. (CMED)

The market has turned since my last video update — with the Fed’s recent interest rate cut, now is the time to embrace your inner bull! I discuss buying strategies in this edition of StockWatch: Between the Bells.

Three stocks you should look into:

• First Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR), a Phoenix manufacturer of silicon-free solar-power modules. FSLR is significantly undervalued, by as much as $40 if you believe Bank of America.
• China Medical Technologies (NASDAQ: CMED), which develops cancer treatments in Beijing. CMED is expanding its operations into the rest of Asia, as well as into Russia and Europe.
• After stalling a bit last month, Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) is pushing higher again, bound for $600.

Stay away from home builders like Hovnanian (NYSE: HOV) and Beazer Homes (NYSE: BZH) — the ongoing mortgage meltdown is not over, and the housing market has yet to bottom out. Until then, also avoid home furnishings retailers, like Ethan Allen (NYSE: ETH).

Lastly, check out Baidu (NASDAQ: BIDU), China’s leading search engine — currently trading at $275 and soon to hit $300. Don’t think that Google is considering a Baidu buyout? Think again.

Enjoy the video!

My new book, Ahead of the Curve, is hot off the presses. Here’s an excerpt! You can also visit my AOL Coaches site.

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Filed under: Before the bell, Analyst upgrades and downgrades, Deals, Launches, Google (GOOG), Microsoft (MSFT), Yahoo! (YHOO), Apple Inc (AAPL), Dell (DELL), Hewlett-Packard (HPQ), General Electric (GE), Pfizer (PFE), Starbucks (SBUX), Amazon.com (AMZN), Amer Intl Group (AIG), Red Hat Inc (RHT), Barclays plc ADS (BCS)

Before the bell: Stocks to open higher, but Street is cautious

Starting Oct 2, Starbucks Corp. (NASDAQ: SBUX) plans to give away 50 million free digital songs to customers in all of its domestic coffee houses until Nov. 7. The giveaway intends to promote a new wireless Apple’s (NASDAQ: AAPL) iTunes music service that’s about to debut in select markets. At 7:35 a.m., AAPL shares were up 1.29% in premarket trading.

Staying in online music, Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN) today launched its largest-ever single-artist music store for Bruce Springsteen.

Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) today announced a deal to launch a retail presence in China by selling computers through the country’s biggest chain of electronics stores, Gome Group. The deal could help it compete better with Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ) in that market. DELL stock is up nearly 0.6% in premarket action.

According to reports, General Electric (NYSE: GE) and American International Group (NYSE: AIG) have offered effectively zero to Barclays (NYSE: BCS) for the FirstPlus subprime consumer loan unit. BCS shares are down 1% in premarket action. Barclays was also downgraded to Underperform from Peer Perform at Bear Sterns.

European Union regulators will review Google’s (NASDAQ: GOOG) $3.1 billion takeover bid for online ad tracker DoubleClick. The DoubleClick deal has prompted complaints from rivals Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO) and Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) as well as from data privacy advocates.

Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) was cleared by the European Commission to market Celsentri, a drug designed for adult patients who have been infected only with and treated for CCR5-tropic HIV-1 virus detectable.

Red Hat Inc. (NYSE: RHT) was downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at Credit Suisse. Shares are down 1.37% in premarket trading (7:02 a.m.).

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Filed under: Competitive strategy, Google (GOOG), Microsoft (MSFT), Marketing and advertising

The Wall Street Journal [subscription required] reports that Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT), hoping to bolster its legal challenge, is now paying a PR firm to drum up public opposition to Google Inc.’s (NASDAQ: GOOG) $3.1 billion deal to acquire online advertising firm, DoubleClick. Microsoft hired PR firm Burson-Marsteller to drum up opposition to Google’s DoubleClick deal. In Europe, Burson urged Internet companies to sign an online petition for a more “transparent and competitive Internet,” according to the pitches.

Why does Microsoft oppose the deal and why is it hiding behind Burson? Microsoft does not want Google to strengthen its competitive position in the online advertising industry — and DoubleClick, which serves online display advertisements, would surely help Google expand its online advertising dominance. Microsoft has been hiding behind Burson in Europe because it has just lost a European Court upheld a ruling that found Microsoft had abused its near-monopoly position in PC computer software.

The irony of Microsoft’s efforts to block competition through the courts and the media was not lost on the Journal. In the 1990s, Bill Gates enjoyed tweaking competitors which similar tactics by rivals as it cemented its own power in personal-computer software, and those efforts factored into its run-ins with antitrust regulators.

But current Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer lacks Gates’ competitive chops, so he’s struggling to use the means of a second rate competitor against the market leader, Google. Those clumsy means will only make Microsoft look bad.

Peter Cohan is president of Peter S. Cohan & Associates,. He also teaches management at Babson College and edits The Cohan Letter. He has no financial interest in Google or Microsoft securities.

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Filed under: Gaming

Just in case you’ve been keeping one eye trained on the console wars out there, you might want to take note of the most recent sales figures from Japan. According to the latest stats, the PSP overtook the DS, Wii, Xbox 360, PS3, and PS2 in sales last week, propelled by the newest handheld installment of the Final Fantasy series, Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII. Sure, it’s happened before, but with the increasing competitiveness out there, this one seems extra important. The message should be clear to Nintendo — don’t rest on your laurels. Also, don’t miss out on really hot Square Enix exclusives. The last thing you want is to go the way of Atari, and just end up as a simulation on a thriving system.

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

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