Sony new video Walkman
Sony said its developing a video-capable Walkman, playing catch-up with Apple's iPod. Sony created the market for portable music players with its epoch-making Walkman more than a quarter of a century ago, but in recent years it has trailed far behind Apple, whose iPod holds more than half the global digital media player market. Apple launched a video-enabled iPod last October. Sony and any other portable music player makers are expected to face a new and potentially formidable rival next month as Microsoft, launches its Zune music player, further stoking competition. Sony also said it will start rolling out five new models of a flash-memory-based Walkman, shaped like a perfume bottle, toward the end of the year at home and abroad. A 4-gigabyte model with a noise-reduction function is expected to sell for around $240.

CNET Networks CEO Shelby Bonnie resigned
CNET Networks CEO Shelby Bonnie resigned Wednesday amid a report from a committee established by its board of directors that cites handling deficiencies in company stock option grants. CNET has named Neil Ashe chief executive officer of the company and Jarl Mohn chairman of the board. CNET General Counsel Sharon Le Duy, Senior Vice President Heather McGaughey of Human Resources, and former CFO Doug Woodrum have also resigned related to the probe of options grants. A special committee report found those that resigned had varying degrees of responsibility for the deficiencies that resulted in accounting errors, which will lead to financial restatements. The report found that the deficiencies involved, including some backdating of options grants, occurred from 1996, during the time of CNET's IPO, until at least 2003. The committee report also said that recently resigned executives and the directors who received improperly priced options have agreed to have those options repriced at fair market value. The report said that the compensation committee relied on management regarding handling of stock option grants and that it would have been better if it had encouraged management to adopt “more rigorous procedures." CNET also said that it will not file its quarterly report on time because of the stock option-related financial restatements. CNET is a digital media company whose network of brands includes News.com, ZDNet.com, TechRepublic, TV.com, Download.com, MP3.com, Webshots, GameSpot, and others.

More Interent and More Bravo TV
If you have an Internet connection at home, odds are you're watching less television. Maybe as much as 25% less, depending on the broadcast or cable network . But interesting data shows visitors to Yahoo and MySpace watch more of the programming on Bravo and Comedy Central than does the average viewer. The interest in combined TV-Internet ratings has been high. Beginning next month Nielsen Media Research will add Internet activity metering to those homes also participating in its TV ratings service. The Nielsen's regular TV households are some of whom were identified as similar to participants of the company's NetRatings panels, and their Web use was then projected into the TV viewing study.

Howard Stern Still Wins
Searching for Stern, Carolla, Smiley Sirius Howard Stern left terrestrial radio and it appears his fans had to resort to the Internet to find him. For the sixth year in a row, Howard Stern was the most-searched talk radio personality by Web users, according to the Lycos 50, a weekly list of searches at Lycos.com. Newcomer Adam Carolla of Infinity's (CBS) "The Adam Carolla Show" was the biggest gainer this year, second most in demand with Web users. He was not even a blip on the radar last year. Carolla replaced Stern in several markets. Other notable moves by radio talkers included Bill O'Reilly dropping out of the top 20 while Tavis Smiley rose from 29th to 3rd. Half the performers in the new top 20 were not on the list last year including Carola, Don Imus (4th), Tom Joyner (6th), Lionel (7th), Wendy Williams (8th), Al Franken (9th), Jim Cramer (11th), Emma B (14th), Chris Evans (17th) and Sara Cox (20th).



Hotel traditions fading quickly away

As hotels spend billions on 21st-century upgrades, younger generations of travelers will grow up sleeping in a new breed of hotel. The money is going for things such as better beds, splashier showers, trendier bars, Wireless Broadband and flat-screen TVs. A recent survey by the American Hotel & Lodging Association suggests the transformation is well under way in an industry that this year is spending $5 billion on upgrades. Of 9,300 U.S. hotels in the survey, 69% had upgraded their bedding in the past year; 72% were offering voice mail; 82% had wireless Internet; and virtually all were wired for cable or satellite television. Gone are the floral, synthetic bedspreads, the sanitizer bands around toilet seats, ashtrays and wake-up calls from real people. Here are some often-mentioned memories:

* Wake-up calls from an actual person
* Vibrating beds
* Brass room keys
* Sanitize bands around toilet seats
* Postcards and stationery
* Four-inch-thick foam mattresses
* Windows that open
* Logo towels

Best tool for today - Registry Mechanic
Registry Mechanic is an advanced registry cleaner for Windows that allows you to safely scan, clean, and repair registry problems with a few simple mouse clicks. Problems with the Windows Registry are a common cause of Windows crashes and error messages. By using PC tune-up utilities such as registry cleaners regularly, your system will be more stable, your software will run quicker, and your operating system will boot faster.

Acer Rolling Out a New portable GPS

Acer has revealed a slew of new GPS navigation devices for the European market which will sit down well with both wearing business suits and women of leisure who wouldn't think twice about blowing a whole wad of cash on yet another handbag. The Acer e305, e310, and e360 measure an extremely portable 103mm x 58.4mm x 17.5mm and weighs just 130 grams, making them perfect to carry around. The interface is very finger friendly, so having a stylus is not compulsory. When you tire of checking out the thousands of Points of Interests, there's always the MP3 player and photo viewer to keep you entertained. There is currently no word regarding pricing and availability.

Today's Site To Peek At:
PayScale helps find your Job value. Users go through a process of disclosing detailed information about their job function and compensation, and add it to what PayScale says is the “world’s largest database of salary information” (300,000 new profiles are added each month). The user can then access detailed salary information in the database, including custom reports based on salary, bonus, commission, hourly rates, health and vacation benefits. The basic service is free, and Payscale generates revenue by upselling users to premium accounts and selling access to aggregate data to third parties. This is a useful service that gives significant value back to the user for spending time adding content to their database.

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