Margins Check: end of Quarterlife, Google’s Sites, ad recession, and more

Editor’s Note: Welcome to On the Margins, a feature for RCR Wireless News’ weekly e-mail service, Mobile Content and Culture. Every week, the RCR Wireless News staff considers events in the wider business world and how they could affect the wireless industry.
–NBC has canceled “Quarterlife,” a TV show that got its start on the Internet. Hollywooders have watched the series intently, as it was the first to make the jump from the Internet onto broadcast TV. The apparent failure of “Quarterlife” could stand as a guidepost in the evolving mobile TV market.
–Microsoft announced it will cut the price on some versions of its new Vista operating system for desktop computers. The software giant has struggled for months with its new OS, which was released last year following numerous delays. Critics said Vista has suffered from lackluster marketing and too many different versions, from Home Basic to Ultimate. Although many expect Vista to ultimately succeed due to Microsoft’s dominance in the desktop OS space, the company’s troubles could serve to steer mobile players looking to upgrade their own offerings.
–A report from research firm comScore showed a declining number of clicks on Google’s Internet search ads in January, which some believe foreshadows a slowdown in the Internet advertising space. Mobile advertising players would do well to watch the situation carefully, as any troubles on the Internet side of advertising could affect the mobile realm.
–Google announced a new offering called Sites, which the Internet search giant said will allow Internet users to quickly and easily build their own Web sites. In view of Google’s many and varied efforts in the mobile space, one could assume that a similar service for the creation of mobile Web sites isn’t far off.