Insights into how technology and the outsourcing of R&D are changing the software industry

Sorry it’s a day or so late, but I was busy playing mini golf and taking a “hike” in the woods with my daughter on Labor Day. Last week was interesting even though many were celebrating the last few moments of summer:

1. Intel realizes that desktops on the wane, mobile devices are actually important.  Thus they’re buying Infineon’s wireless business for $1.4B.
2. Holy Kaw! (ht to Guy) The hotel industry has a $5B hole in its online revenue bucket. Excellent review of how the hotel industry ceded control of pricing and bookings to OTAs, got it back and then lost it again from HeBS.  While the suggestion that hotels try to convert more direct bookings rather than pay fees to OTAs, I don’t think that it’s reasonable to assume as they do the math that hotels could maintain the same level of velocity if they eschewed the OTAs. Hence the dilemma.
3. An innovative use of social gaming, location, RFID and exercise by Vail Resorts. Seems they’re right on the cutting edge in the travel domain.
4. Amadeus signs up two more airlines for their Affinity Shopper platform. More momentum for Amadeus or simply building up their base?
5. More Amadeus news: Amadeus posts impressive results for the first half of 2010.
6. Even more Amadeus news: Trying to take advantage of the concerns around the Google-ITA merger, Amadeus tries to increase its share of the US market with Amadeus Meta Pricer product.
7. Hailing a cab is so Q2 2010. Stop flailing your arms and pick up your phones. UberCab lets you make limo drivers compete for your business. Who wouldn’t rather ride in a CrownVic than be stuffed into a yellow cab?
8. Alex Bainbridge discusses why “Google has more to fear in travel than just regulators”.
9. I love this app: Find out wait times at restaurants BEFORE you leave the house. Very useful for sure, but miles more useful for families with young children who don’t want to go from place to place without knowing if the next wait is longer than the place you just left.
10. Apple’s big music event was very eventful. We learned some of what we thought we knew…a new super-tiny AppleTV (now called iTV), a new version of iTunes, iOS updates (4.1 and 4.2 to harmonize the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad OS streams) and a revamp of the iPod lineup.  But the new iPod lineup, especially the new nano, looks like it has some real winners. But the announcement with the biggest potential is Ping, a new social network that’s focused on music…for now. Even though there’s been a lot of initial negative reaction to it, like many new Apple launches, I don’t think the value will be apparent immediately, but the vision is strong.