Neutron Systems is a California-based company in the telecom-software space. The company has developed a path-breaking product that is likely to re-define digital convergence in a way never seen before. Neutron Domestic Data Gateway is a product aimed at the digital convergence home segment. The home service system is a secure access point device that will consolidate all existing services at a user level, and provides new generation multimedia services with carrier grade quality. For the first time, we can think about targeted advertising at a user level among multiple-media platforms. Neutron gateway integrates secure-internet access with Voip and traditional POT voice services, and standard or high-definition TV channels' video services. The product, in the form of a console, will allow tracking of consumer media consumption across the Internet-Mobile-TV-VOD. This will enable advertisers to target household consumers through integrated multi-media campaigns - truly game changing.
Monday, November 10, 2008
Game Changers
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
An American Revolution '08
Barack Obama’s victory has in many ways reinforced my belief that disenfranchised workers, particularly in the services sector, are waging a silent revolution against free-style capitalists. However, this American Revolution has been waged by exercise of franchise. Average American worker has indeed used her ballot to bring about change.
Industrial revolution ensued an era of high productivity in the manufacturing sector in
The Services sector contributes close to 50% of US GDP, and employs two-thirds of total workers. While technology has played a major role in the overall productivity of the services sector, average wage in the services sector has not risen. This implies that while the services industry has become wealthy, the major factor of input (labor) in the services sector has remained poor – as indicated by stagnation of real wages in services sector since 1973. Further, wealth inequality between executives and average workers has increasingly widened. Roughly one third, 32.5%, of all income in the
According to 2007 annual survey of executive compensation from the
Despite an increase this year to $5.85 per hour, the real value of the minimum wage has declined 7% over the past decade and real wages have risen only a little over the same period. During this time, executive pay has soared by 450%. The twenty highest paid executives at publicly traded companies took home thirty eight times the income of the 20 top paid leaders from the nonprofit sector: $36 million vs. $965,000. A Financial Times/Harris poll found that 77% of Americans think CEOs "earn too much" and almost two-thirds think the wealthy should pay more taxes. According to data from the Pew Charitable Trust’s Economic Mobility project, a generation ago, American men in their 30s had median annual incomes of about US$40,000. Today, men of the same age, make about US$35,000 a year, adjusted for inflation. That’s a 12.5% drop over the last 30 years.
The ongoing financial crisis was the last nail in the coffin for free-style capitalism. I’m not suggesting the end of capitalism; but most definitely, old rules will be re-written to accommodate larger interest groups – in this case, the average American worker. I will not be surprised if we see some semblance of equity in pay – between the executives and workers. This is not to be misconstrued as socialism; but this is just neo-capitalism. As data indicates, despite a productivity boom, free-style capitalism has failed to create wealth for the average American worker, and instead, has enabled a handful of crony capitalists to amass humongous wealth. 2008 US Election will go down in history as one in which the average American worker revolted against injustice in a uniquely American way – by exercising her ballot. Ultimately, it’s a victory for Democracy.