AOL: Trouble in Paradise?

The paradise is the distancing of AOL services from the all too familiar, shiney yellow man boxed CDs we've all come to loathe and recignize. Filling landfills week after week (or stocking up on "coasters") may be a thing of the past as AOL moves from its massive push of 1,000,000,000,000 free hours! to a free service.

Now, the layoffs begin. Even with the alleged 40% savings on the bottom line reported to be produced by the switch it's no surprise some of those in the ranks are being set free.

The AP headlines "AOL to cut payroll by 5,000, 25 percent of its work force".

Some of the biggest cuts appear to be in Europe, customer service, and the "sales force" stuffing little gold discs in unsolicited mailings.

European market is to be sold to another company as AOL bows out. Customers support will be greatly reduced as free live services are only available to paying customers. And hey, if you don't HAVE TO pay why would you? Well, until it's 230am the day before a thesis is due and you're in dire need of some AOL tech support. But how often does that happen? And anyways, if you've got internet access there are plenty of IT support groups, forums, and threads to search. Make a pot of coffee and get to searching. It'll probably take less time than phoning an AOL rep anyway. But that's pure speculation.

The changes are coming not only because AOL plans to stop aggressively marketing its dial-up service, but also because it will end its practice of charging high-speed Internet users for access to its content and services, such as e-mail and parental control software.

The layoffs are expected to begin on September or October. I hope AOL has a plan to keep employees motivated for that long. Unsecure employees can be dangerous to any company and since no one is positive where the cuts will be focused no one is safe.

A good choice and good move by the Time Warner and AOL execs since users are switching to broadband and higher speeds every day, still a cut this drastic and PUBLIC will unsettle many things for the months to come. The stock market value notices and has held back slightly, we'll see what happens from the employee stand point.

Labor Strife -- Inc.'s Agenda

Inc. magazine, The Handbook of the American Entrepreneur, August 2006 edition offers the 8.06 Agenda, page 25.

I read this while treadmilling a few miles during abreak today and thought it interesting enough to share.

August 1: The 1st Whiff of Teen Spirit
Back when cable TV was thought to be a money-sucking endeavor, Bob Pittman argued otherwise. He launched MTV 25 years ago today (can you believe that?!). Over the years, the network's shows have taught CEOs a number of valuable lessons: Do not ask your 18-year-old daughter to consult on a business line, as Tommy Hilfiger did (Rich Girls); a new hire who vomits during orientation is probably not going to work out (The Real World:Las Vegas); and finally, you're not a success until you have a flat-screen TV in every bathroom (Cribs).

They should add also that names mean nothing -- music television has failed to promote music or show music videos for how long now? And launching another station to take over the original idea is just another avenue to screw up -- how often does MTV2 play videos anymore? Cool double-headed dog logo though.

August 5: Key Dates in the Labor Movement, Part 1
On this date in 1981, Ronald Reagan upended the labor movement by firing 11,359 striking air-traffic controllers under the Taft-Hartley Act.

Poor Ronney, and why do people dispise him still today?

August 20: Key Dates in the Labor Movement, Part 2
On this date in 1866, the new National Labor Union formally asked Congress to prescribe an eight-hour workday. Two years later, Congress agreed to do so for federal workers.(Today federal workers enjoy many more labor breaks than teh average Joe: Flag Day, Columbus Day, "Let's Pretend There's a Holiday So We Can Get Off Work" Day...)The NLU disbanded soon thereafter, but organized labor had gained steam.

August 22: Key Dates in the Labor Movement, Part 3
Finally, on this date in 1966, agricultural workers led by Cesar Chavez officially formed the United Farm Workers of America. Earlier this year, the union made headlines again when it disaffiliated from the AFL-CIO to join Change to Win.

August 28: Refining the Line
Now, some escapist fun: The U.S. Open starts today in New York City. The tennis tournament, televised on CBS and USA, will be the first grand slam event to feature instant-replay officiating.

Perhaps my favorite part of the line up is Stephanie Cliffords quote:

August is historically a dicey month in terms of labor strife. So throw a company cookout and make peace, already.

Microsoft to Charge for Beta Release

In Today's News:

Microsoft has announced that from this point on the downloading of Microsoft 'sOffice 2007 Beta 2 will cost you.

The already popular Beta version has ben downloaded more than 3 million times, reportedly. Further downloads will cost $1.50 per.

So the fee isn't a large one, but it still calls to question what the Redmond office's plans for the future may be.

Are they planning on delivering software via download rather than boxing it up all nice and neat?

Is Microsoft going to charge for other downloads in the future -- say, updates?

What will the implications be on the software movement if Microsoft pulls all, or most, products from store shelves (eventually) and only offers ordering online? Isn't that the wave of the future brick-and-mortars are afraid of?

Software giant Microsoft claims the Beta version of Office 2007 has been so vastly popular the fees cover costs from the overloaded servers.

The tactic in which Microsoft has implemented the fees is interesting as well. Although some may complain of a fee not many will complain loudly enough over $1.50. Rivaling an iTunes download price and receiving a major software program one can't fuss too much.

So Microsoft gets its $1.50 from the next few million downloads and millions of happy customers try out all the newest features of Office 2007 prior to its release, wheting their appetites for the real thing. Seems pretty win-win.

We'll see if this newest model will restructure the way Microsoft plans to deliver Office 2007, whenever the giant gets around to actually releasing it. Whoever heard of releasing a product the year it says it's going to not the year prior (autos do it every year).

I'm currently running the update now om my computer. When it's finished I'll report back. As of yet no charges have been required or requested.