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Microsoft takes $6.2 billion of lumps on fizzled aQuantive online ad acquisition
Among all the Windows 8, WP8 and Surface excitement of late, Redmond has also dropped a chunk of less shiny happy news: its online services division is taking a goodwill writeoff of $6.2 billion as a result of its ill-fated aQuantive acquisition in 2007. Not coincidentally, that's almost exactly what it paid for the company, which it brought in to create pre-Bing online ad revenue -- back when Mountain View was eating even more of its lunch in search. The software giant said that aQuantive didn't "accelerate growth" as much as intended, although it added that it still provides assets for its internet advertising activities. With the advent of tablets and smartphones since then, it seems unlikely we'll see any of its now-quaint tech -- like shopping cart-mounted computers -- again.
Microsoft and MediaCart prepping self-checkout carts, with RFID, video and grocery lists for good measure
We've heard plenty of these initiatives before, but with the likes of Microsoft pushing the tech, it might not be too long before we're all pushing a super-connected shopping cart down the aisle. Microsoft's aQuantive acquisition last year has the company looking to new ad venues, and apparently shopping carts are one of those. Microsoft has been working with a company called MediaCart which builds a cart-mounted computer that helps consumers navigate the store, and then checks them out when they're done. Microsoft wants to bring video ads into the mix, and the companies will start testing out the carts in ShopRite markets in the second half of 2008. Shoppers can bring their list to the store with a swipe of their loyalty card, and RFID tracks their movements around the store to pinpoint advertisements and other useful information. That's a whole lot of tech coming soon to a bum near you.
