Tech News

Marvell beats Street but posts weak outlook (Reuters)

admin — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 00:18:39 +0000

Reuters - Diversified U.S. chipmaker Marvell Technology Group Ltd gave a conservative outlook for the third quarter, sending shares lower, even after it posted better-than-expected profit helped by increased sales in the wireless and storage sectors.

Site Visit Interviews: from Good to Great

admin — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0000

Field visits are unique in the way that they allow us to blend context, observation and interview: we're able to observe a behaviour, probe for the motivations behind it and then interpret our analysis with the customer in the place where the behaviour happens. But how do you go beyond the basics of a conventional interview and really understand the user's behaviour? Here are 5 characteristics that we've seen in great interviewers that led to deeper insights on our projects.

Good interviewers build rapport. Great interviewers realise that rapport involves more than meeting and greeting. Rapport is the ability to be on the same wavelength as your interviewee — to make a mental and emotional connection. But rapport isn't just something you do when you first chat to someone over tea and biscuits. It's a continual process of building a relationship based on trust and understanding. To develop real rapport you need to see the world the same way as your interviewee.

One effective way to do this is to match your interviewee on both a verbal and a non-verbal level. On a non-verbal level, look at the interviewee's body language — their posture, movement, sitting position and gestures — and echo these behaviours. Time your mirroring behaviour so it's not seen as too contrived. Note that you don't have to do exactly the same as your interviewee: sometimes "cross matching" (making the same movement with another part of your body) is more effective.

On a verbal level, pay attention to the volume, tone and pitch of the interviewee's voice as well as the choice of content and words themselves. For example, does your interviewee tend to use the phrase "I think" in preference to "I feel"? Depending on your own preference you may have to adapt the way you communicate to mirror these terms. Using the same preference as your interviewees will make them think — or feel — they are more understood and valued. This in turn means you'll get richer information from them.

Good interviewers listen. Great interviewers realise that listening involves more than using our ears. "Hearing" and "listening" are two different activities. Really listening to someone is an active process: it's about hearing what the person says both verbally and non—verbally. It's about listening with your eyes as well as your ears, observing and responding to the interviewee's body language.

There are four key steps to active listening:

MySpace overtakes Yahoo in display ad views: report (Reuters)

admin — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 23:44:35 +0000

Reuters - Yahoo Inc has lost its lead of the U.S. market for online display advertising to MySpace and its parent company News Corp's Fox Interactive Media and MySpace, new industry data shows.

Broadcom: Qualcomm in Contempt

admin — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 22:25:00 +0000

Irvine-based semiconductor firm Broadcom Corporation said Thursday afternoon that a federal judge has found Qualcomm in contempt of an injunction ordered against the firm last December. According to Broadcom, U.S. District Judge James V. Selna found that Qualcomm violated an injunction which ordered Qualcomm to cease use and support of WCDMA chips that infringed on Broadcom patents.... (more)

Comcast to make monthly Internet use cap official (AP)

admin — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 22:21:42 +0000

AP - Comcast Corp., the nation's second-largest Internet service provider, Thursday said it would set an official limit on the amount of data subscribers can download and upload each month.

Lindsay Lohan lashes out at father on blog (AP)

admin — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 22:20:49 +0000

AP - Lindsay Lohan had words for her father on her blog.

Dell 2Q profit drops 17 percent and stock plunges (AP)

admin — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 21:00:02 +0000

AP - Computer maker Dell Inc. said Thursday its fiscal second-quarter profit fell 17 percent, hurt in part by lower prices and restructuring charges. The earnings were short of Wall Street estimates, and Dell shares plunged.

Passcode Vulnerability Returns in iPhone Updates (NewsFactor)

admin — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 20:59:19 +0000

NewsFactor - Apple's publicity nightmare keeps growing worse. The latest twist is more serious than dropped calls or lost e-mail -- it's a security flaw in the iPhone that could dial up trouble for users.

Sprint Will Launch 4G WiMAX with Localized Features (NewsFactor)

admin — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 20:59:02 +0000

NewsFactor - In advance of its WiMAX rollout this fall, Sprint announced Thursday a lineup of mobile partners to localize its customer's 4G experience. In what the company calls "geobrowsing," XOHM users will get local news, weather and many other localized networking features delivered to their laptops and mobile devices.

Dell earnings down 17 percent (CNET)

admin — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 20:34:00 +0000

CNET - Dell on Thursday reported its second-quarter results, and the company admitted it had more work to do to improve its performance.