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Archive for the ‘innovation’ tag

Bright new ideas from Seedcamp

Posted on 16th Aug 2011 at 08:42 by Clive Webster with 4 comments

Clive Webster
The Guardian brought SeedCamp to my attention the other day, which is like a European KickStarter for entrepreneurs. Lord Sir Alan Sugar would be proud.

The idea is that small startup companies with big ideas can pitch to SeedCamp and get the funding they need to develop or launch their product or service. Or, In SeedCamp’s own words, ‘Seedcamp is an early-stage micro seed investment fund and mentoring programme… For the winning companies of any event where we choose to make an investment, Seedcamp’s standard investment is: €50,000 for 8-10% per cent of the company.’

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Tags business, funding, innovation

Does Sony Still Matter?

Posted on 31st May 2009 at 12:33 by Alex Watson with 48 comments

Alex Watson
The first time I went to Japan, in Spring 2002, the Sony Building was high up on my list of places to visit. Six floors of space set in a classic 1960s skyscraper in Tokyo’s wealthy Ginza district, the Sony Centre is a showcase for the company’s brand, image and values, as well as its new technologies and products.

When I visited, dark, moodily lit corridors swept me to an audio playback lounge with towering speakers, rooms full of astoundingly slim laptops, and of course, saving the best till last, there was a pen full of yapping AIBOs to watch.

Despite the fact I’ve been back to Japan several times since then, I’ve never returned to the Sony Building. I enjoyed my visit a lot, but each time I’ve been in Tokyo, a visit there has seemed less relevant, less necessary, less worthwhile. It struck me that perhaps this says something about Sony itself, and makes me wonder whether it’s true to say that Sony doesn’t matter anymore.

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Tags ceo, innovation, japan, sony

Where's the innovation? Right in front of you!

Posted on 27th Jan 2009 at 14:56 by Tim Smalley with 3 comments

Tim Smalley
It's fair to say that the current economic crisis has hit the technology industry - we've seen big layoffs at many of the biggest tech companies, with AMD, IBM, Intel, Microsoft, Sony and Western Digital all announcing significant workforce cuts. However, some companies argue that it's not just the recession that is killing their revenues - they're citing the rise in popularity of netbooks as a major catalyst as well.

Frankly though, the industry appears to be looking for a scapegoat and the success of low cost, ultra portable devices like netbooks seems fitting from the industry's perspective, but that doesn't make it right.

For example, Microsoft blames the rise of netbooks on its lower profit margins because it has to sell Windows at a lower price in order to compete with Linux-equipped netbooks. While that is fair enough, it is not a reason to hate netbooks - instead, Microsoft should think of it as another sale, because the netbook was and never has been sold as a replacement to traditionally more powerful machines.

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Tags economic crisis, gpus, graphics, hardware, innovation, recession, scapegoat
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