All Things Digital

Since Sony Pictures apparently wants to make a movie from the story of the two men who bought a lion from London’s Harrods department store, it’s a good time to replay one of the many online videos of their reunion a year after they released him into the wild in Africa.

Although the event took place in 1971, the videos of the meeting with Christian the Lion have been hugely popular on YouTube, with millions of views.

Here’s one of the videos:

There will be a lot of different reactions to the first of Microsoft’s newest series of commercials, featuring Founder Bill Gates playing straight man to comic Jerry Seinfeld.

Set up as a discount shoe-buying skit, Seinfeld helps Gates purchase a pair called “The Conquistador,” and for some Seinfeldesque reason, it’s churros all around.

Actually, it feels a lot like the frequent and excellent Microsoft internal spoof videos Gates does with various celebs.

I have always liked them a lot and I like this one too, as it is quirkily charming (or is it charmingly quirky?).

But I am not sure the Gates-Seinfeld kibitzing will really get a lot of people talking about Microsoft (MSFT) products, as is the marketing goal.

And they surely are no where near as spot-on as Apple’s famed PC-Mac guys commercials, which are memorable and witty and deliver the message that Apple (AAPL) products are better.

What might be more effective, of course, at least in the Internet arena, is for Microsoft to get off the stick and lay out its next Web strategy clearly, especially in the wake of its failed attempt to acquire Yahoo (YHOO), and name the digital chief it said it planned to.

Several sources with knowledge of the situation expect an internal choice to helm the part of the business that was run by former Microsoft exec Kevin Johnson, who left after the software giant’s bid for Yahoo failed.

Although an external star coming in would be CEO Steve Ballmer’s top choice, I would guess, top internal contenders are Brian McAndrews, who came to the company via its $6 billion aQuantive acquisition, and longtime exec Yusuf Mehdi, who was Johnson’s strategy guy.

(BoomTown votes for a combination of both to make it extra complex!)

In any case, if it is serious about taking on rival Google (GOOG) in the online ad space and becoming at least the No. 2 player in the market, Microsoft has to move sooner than later and definitely much faster and it has a lot of options.

With Yahoo’s stock circling the drain, closing yesterday at $17.75, will Microsoft think about another bid for even a part of the Internet company?

Or will it try, as it claims, to get truly serious about building its business organically with programs like Live Search cashback, a deeper focus on vertical search improvements in places like video, images and mapping, and more content on its MSN sites?

Or should it be aggressively looking around for other properties to purchase to bolster its Web assets, such as the company that owns the Ciao price comparison and online shopping sites in Europe, for which it just forked over $500 million?

Of course, Microsoft will likely keep trying all of these, although I hope not in the muddling way it has behaved for far too long.

Johnson was entirely right in his internally controversial concept that being one of the top players on the Web is key to Microsoft’s future, even more than its lucrative Windows software hegemony.

(If you want to read an interesting take as to why, don’t miss New York Times columnist Joe Nocera’s “Does Windows Still Matter?” post yesterday).

And with Google’s new foray into the browser business this week, Microsoft surely has to be certain that it does not lose in the one place it does dominate.

In other words, Microsoft has a lot of work ahead of it, well beyond amusing us with Gates doing a thankfully hands-free adjustment of his boxer shorts.

In any case, you should see that, so here’s the first Gates-Seinfeld commercial:

Last night, Arizona Sen. John McCain officially accepted the GOP candidacy for President in a speech in which he pushed himself as a change agent, even though the Republicans have been in power for eight years.

Ah, politics!

Actually, the maverick image was one of the reasons we invited Sen. McCain to our fifth D: All Things Digital conference in 2007.

In the video, Sen. McCain talks about substandard broadband in the U.S., tech policy and also Iraq (keep in mind, this interview took place during a time when most had written him off in his bid for the Republican presidential nomination).

Since the speech last night had more generalities than specifics, as convention speeches often do, here’s an hour-plus interview with Sen. McCain by Walt Mossberg and me:

We’re posting all the interviews from the sixth D: All Things Digital conference that took place in late May.

Unfortunately, due to issues too complicated to go into, we have to post all the D6 interviews in several 15-minute parts (I know, I know).

But–as many readers have requested–they will all be available in their entirety in this column.

Here’s the fourth and final part of an interview Walt Mossberg did with Sony Chairman and CEO Sir Howard Stringer. (I posted one video part of the discussion with Stringer every day this week except Monday, starting Tuesday and concluding today.)

Sony (SNE) has been under enormous pressure to innovate and compete better in all its many businesses, and the consumer electronics giant still has not proved that it can knit them all together into a cogent whole.

In this video, Stringer takes questions from the audience about audio quality, cable versus telephone, software and iTunes.

It is absolutely worrisome that Yahoo’s share price continued its downward swirl today, closing at a five-year low today at $17.75.

The downward drift far from the it-can’t-drop-below-$20 barrier makes it clear that Wall Street is valuing the company at close to what it could sell its assets off for and not much more.

This obviously puts additional pressure on the already squashed-down Yahoo (YHOO) management to perform.

In fact, with all this pressure, you’d think Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang would have turned into a twin of the cursed Hope Diamond by now.

But Yahoo is not the only Web company getting bashed by the weak economy and continuing mortgage crisis. In a bruising market, shares of eBay (EBAY), Microsoft (MSFT), Amazon (AMZN) and Google (GOOG) have also been down about four to five percent this week in an already lackluster period this year.

In fact, on a year-to-date basis, it is Google that is off the most on a percentage basis (see chart below; click on the image to make it larger), with Amazon being the most hardy performer.

Nonetheless, it is not a particularly good situation for the whole sector or the smaller Web 2.0 players that have banked their futures on having an IPO or being slurped up by the bigger players.

Of course, Yahoo is the most vulnerable to attack because of the last year of turmoil, especially Yang, but also longtime board members, who are perhaps even more at risk.

As BoomTown wrote earlier this week, Yahoo execs must find a way to turn around its business and fast, clarifying its focus and streamlining its units, before someone does it for them.

That does not mean anything will happen though, because newly minted board member Carl Icahn can no longer be an activist as an insider and he only has two other possible allies on the board, who also recently joined as part of his cabal.

Thus, it is highly unlikely Icahn could force Yang to resign at this point, unless it was on Yang’s own steam.

While a lot of names for possible replacements have been bandied about and laughably unsubstantiated reports of a secret deal with Icahn for Yang to resign are floated, this is just wishful thinking for some unhappy investors.

Nonetheless, a change could be forced via yet another agitated outside investor, one smart observer noted to me, who could start another noisy circus and demand a split of the company (search to Microsoft, the content and communications assets to one of many companies like News Corp., Disney, Comcast).

Such a move would require a lot of energy, which is lacking in the market overall right now. In addition, tangling with Yahoo has already ground up Microsoft and Icahn, as well as disgruntled major investors like Gordon Crawford.

So, even in its decidedly prone state, taking on Yahoo once again is probably not for the faint of heart.

After her stemwinder of a speech, where Republican vice presidential candidate and Alaska Governor Sarah Palin finally broke her silence of the last week in an edgy address at the party’s convention (pictured above from Getty Images), it seems like a good time to peruse some of the many Palin-focused videos popping up on the Web.

No surprise–most are comical spoofs of the colorful politician, but there are all kinds. Then again, Palin seems a quip machine, and in her speech last night she managed to call herself a pit bull with lipstick.

First up, a brilliant one from Jon Stewart of “The Daily Show,” in which he points out with dueling video clips just how doubled-faced some Republican operatives and pundits have been defending Palin by playing the gender card:

Next, a very funny news vlogger giving one of the more informative reports on Palin I have seen so far:

There is nothing like a man in drag, but I am still amazed how this guy managed to work classic lines from “Toostie” into his Palin impression:

And ABBA’s “Lay All Your Love on Me” is the soundtrack to this great photo montage of Palin (although I am not sure why polars bears inexplicably appear at the end):

We’re posting all the interviews from the sixth D: All Things Digital conference that took place in late May.

Unfortunately, due to issues too complicated to go into, we have to post all the D6 interviews in several 15-minute parts (I know, I know).

But–as many readers have requested–they will all be available in their entirety in this column.

Here’s Part 3 of 4 of an interview Walt Mossberg did with Sony Chairman and CEO Sir Howard Stringer. (I am posting one video part of the discussion with Stringer every day this week, starting Tuesday and concluding tomorrow.)

Sony (SNE) has been under enormous pressure to innovate and compete better in all its many businesses, and the consumer electronics giant still has not proved that it can knit them all together into a cogent whole.

In this video, Stringer talks more about craplets, discusses digital music players, including the iPod and Walkman-enabled Sony Ericsson cellphones, and takes questions from the audience about YouTube and the challenge of maintaining innovation and entrepreneurialism at a huge multinational company.

At the Google launch of its new “not-a-Windows-killer” Chrome browser, held at its Mountain View, Calif., HQ yesterday morning, Google Co-Founder Sergey Brin arrived late and looked casually dressed and very windblown.

But he was quite talkative about Google’s Chrome, the software to navigate the Internet that the search giant released yesterday.

Brin talked about a lot of aspects of its development and implications, as well as its business prospects for Google (GOOG).

(Google’s other Co-Founder Larry Page is also in a small part of the video, also talking about Chrome.)

In a follow-up interview with me on the same video, Brin talks about possible market share for Chrome, the Mac version and the reaction from the company-that-shall-not-be-named-much–Microsoft (MSFT).

(And, not to get too personal, but check out Brin’s luvvly-jubbly Cayman Red Crocs too.)

Here’s the video:

Also, here are links to three blog posts I did live from the launch yesterday, in order:

Liveblogging From the Google Chrome Launch: Hello, Sundar!

Liveblogging From the Google Chrome Launch: Toe Fungus and Pinocchio

Liveblogging From the Google Chrome Launch: Hello, Larry! (Wake Up, Sergey!)

Please see this disclosure related to me and Google.

Here is a video I did while I was attending and liveblogging the Google launch of and press conference for its new “not-a-Windows-killer” Chrome browser, held at its Mountain View, Calif., HQ yesterday morning.

Google (GOOG) released its own software to navigate the Internet yesterday, setting itself up in yet another bruising competition with Microsoft (MSFT).

In the video, I reveal my secret Google parking spot, survey the media scrum, bother a Google PR guy, check out snacks while discussing Chrome with blogger John Furrier, listen to various Googlers–including Co-Founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin–talk about the effort, interview Chrome project honcho Google VP Sundar Pichal (and ask him about when the Mac version is coming) and make fun of Google furniture.

All in a day’s work for BoomTown!

Here’s the video:

Also, here are the links to three blog posts I did live from the launch yesterday, in order:

Liveblogging From the Google Chrome Launch: Hello, Sundar!

Liveblogging From the Google Chrome Launch: Toe Fungus and Pinocchio

Liveblogging From the Google Chrome Launch: Hello, Larry! (Wake Up, Sergey!)

Please see this disclosure related to me and Google.

We’re posting all the interviews from the sixth D: All Things Digital conference that took place in late May.

Unfortunately, due to issues too complicated to go into, we have to post all the D6 interviews in several 15-minute parts (I know, I know).

But–as many readers have requested–they will all be available in their entirety in this column.

Here’s Part 2 of 4 of an interview Walt Mossberg did with Sony Chairman and CEO Sir Howard Stringer. (I am posting one video part of the discussion with Stringer every day this week, starting yesterday and concluding Friday.)

Sony (SNE) has been under enormous pressure to innovate and compete better in all its many businesses, and the consumer electronics giant still has not proved that it can knit them all together into a cogent whole.

In this video, Stringer talks about the next direction for the PlayStation gaming business, Blu-ray discs, the impact of digital distribution, digital changes in the movie industry, personal computers and the “joy of craplets.”

And BoomTown has to wonder who is going to try to catch it without getting sliced and slashed.

As we noted earlier about Yahoo’s dicey situation, in a back-to-school post about what various Internet companies need to focus on in the months ahead:

Now, it is less than that as Yahoo (YHOO) shares have descended even lower, to close this afternoon at $18.75.

This chart from Yahoo Finance tells the tale clearer than I ever could. But if it keeps declining, there will surely be lots to talk about.

Finally, Google Co-Founder Larry Page takes the microphone and thanks the Chrome browser team and compliments them for their efforts.

This is–as anyone on the receiving end of Page’s sometimes pointed manner knows (and BoomTown has been)–a big deal.

Page also starts to talk about how browser choice and innovation could make the planet a better place.

Of course! World peace through better browsing!

Then he moves on to questions from the media, bringing some of the Chrome team up to the stage.

There’s a sequence of very serious questions on how to move tabs, privacy, mobile issues, WebKit, bug testing, Incognito, distribution plans and ongoing support for Mozilla’s Firefox (yes, it will continue–plus, Mozilla HQ is across the street! Hmmm…).

Ooops–the other Google (GOOG) Co-Founder, Sergey Brin, suddenly arrives late. He slips into the lineup of “Inside the Actors Studio”-type chairs, looking like he just woke up, in what is a classic move by Microsoft’s Bill Gates that I like to call the “bed-head maneuver.” (I like the spanking red Crocs though!)

It’s a sleepy ruse, as it turns out, as Brin deftly deflects a question about whether Chrome is an operating system for the Web, given that Internet navigation software has become so integral to consumer behavior.

As in, a Windows killer!

Nope, says Brin (full video answer to come), totally ignoring my dubious look.

The distribution question is key, of course, since Google will want to get Chrome out there. So what’s the secret sauce? Because it is a “great product,” says Page.

As to why Google was doing this, VP Sundar Pichal said the search giant wanted to “start from scratch” in the browser game. Like baking a really good cake, one would assume.

When no reporter would get up and ask the obvious what-about-tweaking-Microsoft question, I finally did and also asked about the business plan for Chrome–as in, how will it help Google make more money?

Both Brin and Page answer again that it’s all about providing choice and also keeping the Web open, which will spur usage, which will rain more magical moolah down on the Googleplex.

Also (and video to come on this too), Brin later adds, Google never thinks of Microsoft (MSFT).

Well, at least on that issue it seems we’re back to Pinocchio–the long-nosed version–again.

Soon to come: BoomTown’s Chrome Launch video and one of just the sleepy-as-a-fox Brin on Chrome!

Until then, here’s the exclusive review in his Personal Technology column of the new Google Chrome browser by AllThingsD.com’s Walt Mossberg, which was published at the same time as the news of its product launch was announced by the search behemoth this morning.

Walt’s reaction is mixed:

“My verdict: Chrome is a smart, innovative browser that, in many common scenarios, will make using the Web faster, easier and less frustrating. But this first version–which is just a beta, or test, release–is rough around the edges and lacks some common browser features Google plans to add later.”

Anyone can now download Chrome, but Walt has been testing it for a week. He also reviews Microsoft’s newest version of its powerful Internet Explorer, called IE8, which he likes better than Chrome.

Money quote: “The second beta version of IE8 is the best edition of Internet Explorer in years. It is packed with new features of its own, some of which are similar to those in Chrome, and some of which, in my view, top Chrome’s features.”

A little tarnish on the Chrome, it seems.

Please see this disclosure related to me and Google.

Now, we have two Googlers, who are demoing Google’s new Chrome browser and its features and user interface.

“Friendly” tabs, knowing your history better graphically, auto-typing, simplicity, easier downloading with a new window that one guy is calling a real app like “Pinocchio, because we wanted to build a real boy.”

Well, Pinocchio was wood for most of that story, but I like the effort!

Also, they show off the “Incognito” feature, where you can hide Web searches you don’t want others to see, which basically means porn and Barry Manilow fan sites.

Except the Google (GOOG) guys use a toe fungus search!

This is gross, although hiding toe fungus is a good idea related to Web navigation software.

Now, another smart-looking guy comes on, who looks like the other guys, and discusses the architecture, including rendering, security and so forth.

Also a speed test, from another Google guy, from Denmark, where Google’s Chrome–incredibly–beats Microsoft’s Internet Explorer! It is like one of those blind taste test commercials on television.

My mind starts to wander and I wonder if Microsoft Founder Bill Gates is watching this and getting plenty steamed up north at Microsoft (MSFT) HQ.

At this point, I suggest you please watch the Webcast of this demo to listen to the details, available through both Windows Media Player and RealPlayer.

Because once the Googlers start talking “plug-in bugs,” I start staring at Google co-founder Larry Page–who is here sitting with with top Google exec Marissa Mayer off to the side–to see if both are paying rapt attention.

They are, natch. (I should have eaten a tasty pastry.)

Please see this disclosure related to me and Google.

Okay, BoomTown is grudgingly going to liveblog this event at the Googleplex, as it might be mercifully short, given that Google is supposed to release its new Chrome browser at high noon, Pacific time.

Then again, this is Google (GOOG), so you know they love to talk, because they are super-duper smart, I am told.

I will be posting video later, but thus far: A roomful of press in Building 43 at Google’s HQ in Mountain View, Calif. Tasty snacks, as expected, but unusually caloric (many tiny pastries, heavy cream, very small amounts of fruit).

First up: Sundar Pichal, Chrome honcho!

Google’s VP Product Management, who rode herd on this project to create the search giant’s own piece of software to navigate the Internet, apologizes for the snafu that resulted in this announcement being made a day early.

Google Fedexed a comic book it is using to talk about the technical aspects of Chrome to a Germany-based blogger too early.

Ooops, the Big Brains of Google jinxed by some mailing room goof and express mail! How deliciously ironic is that?

Now, Pichal talks about a bunch of info that has been previously released about Chrome being built on WebKit, being available in 100 countries and being open source (a new open-source project launching today is called Chromium).

As to why Google makes a browser? ‘”We live on the Web,” said Pichal.

Um, doesn’t Google actually own the Internet, and we are all just serfs on its vast lands?

Please see this disclosure related to me and Google.

BoomTown is back from a seasick cruise vacation in the wilds of Alaska–official sightings: lots of icebergs, 16 glaciers, a passel of jellyfish and starfish, four lumberjacks, three orcas, two seals, one otter, no moose or bears and, yep, one Republican Vice Presidential candidate’s lovely house in Juneau–just in time for school.

Or, more precisely, a little schooling for some of the tech companies that I cover in a mildly obsessive-compulsive manner.

All of them, I predict, are in for a news-filled fall.

That’s right, more Facebook employee hijinks! More BMOC-battling between Microsoft and Google! More Yahoo trying its hardest not to look like so much of a loser (Keep trying, Jerry–release your inner head cheerleader!).

Thus, here is a rundown of what to expect and also what some of those companies need to focus on over the next several months.

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