Print With Stämpfli Polska Sp. z o.o., the Stämpfli Group wants to gain a foothold in Poland. According to the Bern-based company, the new company will initially concentrate on media prepress and coordination services as a general contractor. Dr. Rudolf Stämpfli, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Stämpfli AG, sees the expansion of the company as an opportunity to "grow quickly and independently". Stämpfli Polska will provide media prepress and coordination services primarily for the Polish market. Other services, such as publishing services, are to be developed step by step in addition to the prepress services. Stämpfli all media AG's publication systems are to be launched on the Polish market by the beginning of 2008 at the latest.

The 2007 general meeting of the Interessengemeinschaft elektronische Medien (IGEM) on February 6 unanimously elected Stephan Küng, CEO of the media agency Initiative Zürich, as its new president. Urs Rueb from the Bern-based media agency Mediaplus succeeds Andy Lehmann, who resigned from the Board. The rest of the Board remains unchanged.

Web television Web TV is on the rise. One provider brings 41 programs to the computer screen free of charge. The number of moving images on websites is constantly increasing. As a rule, these are video contributions that add a visual dimension to the text information. In contrast to video podcasts, which can be downloaded onto a computer and distributed further, contributions that can only be consumed via a player (usually provided by the provider) should be referred to as television or Internet TV. Such offers to watch television on the Internet are on the rise. The commuter newspaper 20 Minuten recently announced the expansion of its Internet TV activities. The existing offer of three daily news broadcasts will grow by at least two additional video contributions per day. The service runs under the new label "20 minuten tv", which clearly signals that it is television and not "just" videos. Two new programs per week provide an overview of current events in film and cinema as well as trends from the world of music. The creators use a new video player to enable interactive television.
Last November, the Kleine JungfrauZeitung also began to add images and sound to the texts on its website with video contributions that it had filmed itself.
The closest thing to the dream of watching TV on your computer, however, is the young start-up Zattoo. It currently delivers 41 channels to the full screen format free of charge. Once the full bandwidth has been reached, there is hardly any interference. This usually takes a few seconds. In contrast, the weather report from SF meteo, for example, is modest even at full bandwidth. 
Simple and clearZattoo works according to the peer-to-peer principle known from music sharing networks, which combines the stream from several sources and thus leads to TV-like conditions on the computer. The player can be easily downloaded from zattoo.com, the operation could not be simpler and is essentially limited to a volume control and the list of 41 selectable channels. And it is in stark contrast to the sometimes complicated Internet offerings on the broadcasters' own sites. "Broadcasters still don't really feel comfortable with the Internet," says Bruno Giussiani, publicist, author and specialist in Internet communication. "They usually have elaborate websites that are primarily aimed at generating advertising revenue and have so far kept the online community away from the video feeds."
Zattoo launched last August with a beta version and four SRG channels exclusively in Switzerland. At the end of January, the makers have now upgraded to 41 channels. If you miss the BBC on cable, you can easily get it on your laptop. The public channels from the surrounding countries are available as well as the most important private stations. In the medium term, the creators want to expand Zattoo worldwide and offer more channels than can ever be received on a conventional television. The Swiss-American company, whose founders developed the technology together at the University of Michigan, has offices in the USA and Zurich. Even when Zattoo has outgrown its infancy, there will be a free basic version of the browser. The creators are also planning to provide a range of paid services.
An indication of the constant convergence of television and the Internet: Conversely, Swiss Television has added a new service to its Internet offering. Programs produced by SF, which could previously be streamed to the computer screen for an average of 30 days, can now also be viewed directly on the television set, detached from the computer.
René Worni

In England, health campaigners are joining forces with MPs to put pressure on the government to impose tougher rules on junk food advertising. The MPs are backing a private member's motion that goes further in regulating advertising than the UK media regulator Ofcom (see ). The new motion is for a complete ban on all advertising for fattening foods before 9pm. The ban is intended to protect young people and children from the dangers of overweight and obesity and, in the opinion of a Labour MP, the ban will reduce weight problems among children, as Pressetext reports. Ofcom tightened the regulations back in November 2006, but these do not go far enough for health campaigners. The television and advertising industry fears financial losses if the requirement comes into force.

SRG's Board of Directors has elected Martin Hirschi as the new head of auditing. The certified public accountant replaces Beat Häring, who will retire later this year, according to the company's statement. Hirschi has been working in internal auditing since November 2005. Previously, he worked for several years at Ernst & Young; as deputy director, he advised and reviewed companies in various industries. At SRG, Hirschi played a major role in shaping the concept of a viable control system.

Thanks to Second Life, everyday life is increasingly moving online. More and more people are creating a second life for themselves in Second Life, which can be exactly the same or completely different from the real one. Perhaps they are just escaping from reality for a short time in order to outwit reality in the virtual world. 3.2 million users have already created a second self and live in a parallel world on the Internet. Everyone can invent their own role. Everyone is their own director and actor. Second Life is the virtual image of the real world. The fact that more and more companies such as Toyota, Reebock and the BBC are selling their products on the Internet platform shows the importance that the virtual world has gained in recent years. Because Second Life is becoming more and more like the real world, the platform is developing into a serious economic area in which real money can be earned. Real dollars can be exchanged for the Second Life currency Linden Dollars. There are even people who earn their real living in the virtual world.
Swiss companies are also gaining a foothold in Second Life. The new media house Mitlinks is the first Swiss agency to open an office offering everything to do with the realization of appearances in this booming virtual world. Mitlinks develops brand presences for companies, realizing buildings and advertising presences, and perhaps the Ronorp will soon be available for all Second Lifers.

The Zurich agency JWT+Hostettler+Fabrikant (JWT+H+F) has built a platform for the 100th anniversary of the Knorr food company. This presents the Supermamis in the anniversary year. As part of this project, Knorr is celebrating Swiss moms in advertisements and radio spots. In addition, in collaboration with B6 Brand Emotion, editorial collaborations were launched on the topic of supermoms, with several Swiss magazines and newspapers presenting celebrities and less prominent supermoms. With the continuation of the "Genial einfach Kochen" recipe booklets, moms and families also receive an anniversary gift. Finally, families and friends can nominate their own personal supermom in a major competition.

Operating system Microsoft is launching Windows Vista, which it claims is the biggest update of its operating system to date. For a long time, operating systems were primarily a necessary evil in order to run programs on them. A prime example was MS DOS, which did exactly this job - and nothing more. With the transition from workplace computer to multifunctional device, which has changed both everyday work and private life in many areas, the requirements for operating systems have also changed. Several gigabytes in size and consuming almost as much memory, this basic software increasingly supports people in their communication and is the interface for digital input (digital camera, video camera, music and film data carriers, IP telephones) and output devices (monitors and projectors, printers, external data storage devices, etc.). In order to keep up with the ongoing changes in these areas, the operating systems have to be updated from time to time - but probably also in order to flush money into the manufacturers' coffers.
More secure - and more insightMicrosoft recently made such a significant update to its operating system. Its new Windows Vista system was unveiled at the end of January - more or less simultaneously around the world. Peter Waser, General Manager of Microsoft Switzerland, summed up the highlights of Vista at a launch event on Bern's Waisenhausplatz: "Vista is more secure, simpler and enables better handling of digital media." For the stability of the system, Microsoft has integrated a separate layer in the system; if an application crashes, this crash no longer has to affect the system itself. Thanks to this separation, among other things, it is now also more difficult for hackers to gain external access to a computer equipped with Vista. In the run-up to the announcement of Vista, Microsoft CEO Bill Gates spoke about security in an interview and claimed that Vista is currently the most secure operating system. It remains to be seen how long this statement will hold true.
New in Vista is a display variant in Windows Explorer that provides a preview of file content - this is particularly practical when searching for images. It is also easier to compile and create or burn DVD disks, for which ready-made themes can be used. The new interface, called Aero, is pleasing - which is a matter of taste and, as we all know, debatable. An innovative technology called Windows Flip 3D is very practical and pleasing, which keeps open windows slightly rotated and arranged one behind the other in perspective. This makes it very easy to switch between open windows - supported by the scroll wheel of the mouse if required.
Who invented it? After six years of users gaining "experience" or eXPeriences with Windows XP, it is now time for a "wow" effect - at least that is what Microsoft's current advertising message conveys. This effect is supposed to occur when the new Windows Vista (Vista) operating system is used. But what is so revolutionary, so fundamentally new about Vista apart from what has already been mentioned?
For most PC users in the world, a lot of things. However, some of the innovations touted as new may seem familiar to Mac OS X users... If you look at both systems, you will notice that there are many similarities between Mac OS X 10.4 and Windows Vista. The differences are often reduced to where the function is located or how it is labeled. Here are two examples to illustrate this: The search technologies Spotlight (Apple) and Microsoft's search function differ only in that Apple makes the function accessible at the top right and Microsoft at the bottom left - both search the system for terms entered and even do this in documents, e-mails etc. and list the results as a result. Second example: Vista's "Sidebar". This tool enables access to small auxiliary applications (clock, calendar, dynamically updated share prices, notes, etc.), which are called up by clicking on the sidebar icon and can then be moved around on the screen. Apple introduced this technology with OS X version 10.4 and calls the auxiliary applications "widgets" - Microsoft calls the little helpers "gadgets". There is no other recognizable difference between widgets and gadgets - both are based on HTML code and there are utility programs for both available for download on the Internet. Both wow effects if you haven't seen the functions before - but are they completely new?
Finding out whether and to what extent Microsoft copied from Apple's Mac OS X for Vista is a difficult task. It should not go unmentioned here that at the time Microsoft announced its new functions for Vista, Apple had also not yet included them in its OS X version at the time.
Also a strategic productIf you look at the latest efforts of Apple and Microsoft, you will notice that both are increasingly involved in the area of digital media content. While Apple launched an attack on the providers of digital video content shortly before the launch of Vista with the Apple TV set-top box in conjunction with iTunes, Microsoft is countering with another promising move in Switzerland: Vista opens up access to a website of the Swiss television channel SF, which was updated on February 15 and enables television-on-demand. This new service allows you to watch their programs
live or at a time after the TV broadcast. In addition to a broadband connection, a computer equipped with Windows Vista or at least Windows XP Media Center Edition is required.
 

 
 
Vista per se more secureSoftware
Microsoft has given Vista more than 300 new functions. WW: What's new about Windows Vista? Shanon Boetcher: Vista's look and feel has been completely revamped - without Windows XP users not being able to find their way around it immediately. The system maintains views of documents, images, etc. without having to open them. A technology called Windows Flip 3D simplifies access to several open windows. In addition, a number of functions that previously required separate programs have been integrated directly into the OS or the new Windows Explorer. Another highlight is the support for a wide range of hardware. For example, Vista now also supports the latest generations of computers and systems that can be controlled via touchscreen operation.WW: Anyone who goes online today is not immune to potential phishing attacks, viruses etc. What has Microsoft done in terms of security? What has Microsoft done in terms of security? Shanon Boetcher: Microsoft has developed a new architecture for Vista that makes the operating system more secure per se. A different security approach allows access times to be set and content to be blocked. A technology known as parental control makes it possible to track where children have looked on the Internet, for example. In addition, computers equipped with Vista are also secure against physical access by third parties - for example, if the laptop computer is lost or, as is increasingly the case, stolen.  

Windows milestones in summarized formIn 1985, Microsoft introduced
presented its first alternative to the MS-DOS system with Windows 1.0. Two years later, Windows was adapted to new processors: Windows 2.0 supported the Intel 286 and Windows 2.03 the Intel 386 processors.
In 1990, Windows 3.0 was launched - equipped with a program, file and print manager as well as new icons. Microsoft describes the introduction of Windows NT 3.1, a 32-bit server system that set new standards in terms of security, performance, scalability and reliability, as a milestone. Windows for Workgroups 3.11 was released in the same year; network capability was an integral part of this version.
In 1994, Windows NT Workstation 3.5 was introduced, which supported the OpenGL graphics language as well as file names up to 255 characters long. One year later, Windows 95 came onto the market, which Microsoft saw as the first successor system, replacing technologies from Windows 3.1, Windows for Workgroups and MS DOS.
The software company launched its Windows NT Workstation 4.0 operating system software in 1996. Microsoft cited further simplified user guidance and better network throughput as the highlights. The company then said goodbye to the term NT in 1998 and introduced Windows 98 in the same year, a version "specially developed to meet the needs of users". It made it easier to find information both on the PC and on the Internet, and also supported DVD reading and the connection of USB peripherals.
In 1999, Microsoft released Windows 98 Second Edition, a major update of Windows 98.
At the turn of the millennium, the Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition was released - the last system based on Windows 95 code.
In October 2001, Windows XP was launched on the market, combining the previous consumer and business systems into one system or system family. Playing music, movies and photos, exchanging information via messaging and other features became more central than before.
In addition to Windows XP with Windows XP Professional, Windows XP Home Edition and in 2002 with Windows XP Media Center Edition as well as a version adapted for 64-bit Intel Itanium processors (Windows XP 64-bit Edition) and tablet PCs (Windows XP Tablet PC Edition), further XP versions were released for different requirements.
Windows Vista, available since January, is the latest system. There are four versions: Home Baisc, Home Premium, Ultimate and Business. (jf)
Jürgen Franck

Quality is a top priority at the three Strozzi stands. The restaurant chain sets itself a unique quality standard, which it now wants to implement in its advertising. The Zurich-based creative agency Matter & Gretener was commissioned to implement the restaurants' motto. According to the agency's press release, Strozzi's liked the recipes presented for a new website and communication measures so much that the table will soon be set.

Regional press Arc Presse, a new type of newspaper association for French-speaking Switzerland, is starting small - and can be expanded.To explain to German-speaking Swiss how they should categorize the new association of the daily newspapers L'Express, L'Impartial and Le Journal du Jura (JdJ), Jacques Matthey resorts to a comparison: "Arc Presse works like the Mittelland Zeitung," says the director of Société Neuchâteloise de Presse SA (SNP), publisher of Impartial and L'Express. There are indeed parallels: Since February 6, the participating titles from Neuchâtel, La Chaux-de-Fonds and Biel have been published with an identical layout, a joint jacket section, with the uniform "Arc Presse" label and with a combined rate. The new umbrella brand even forms a prominent part of the newspaper headers.
As with Mittelland Zeitung (MZ), the existing printing sites will remain in place and the publishing houses will continue to be independent. However, unlike the MZ, Arc Presse has had financial and personnel ties from the very beginning. For example, the JdJ publisher W. Gassmann AG has held a 9.5 percent stake in Philippe Hersant's SNP (albeit for some time). Publisher Marc Gassmann also sits on the board of directors there. However, there is no reverse shareholding.
Other differences to the MZ: At Arc Presse, some of the cover section is produced in Biel (sport) and some in Neuchâtel, and there is no central editorial office. In addition, the brand will hardly appear in the national advertising market, but will be integrated as a new module into the existing combined structure of French-speaking Switzerland. This is based on the duo, the combination of L'Express and L'Impartial. Thanks to Arc Presse, this can now be supplemented with the JdJ. The trio can in turn be extended with the Quotidien Jurassien in Delémont to form the 4x4plus estate. And finally, together with La Liberté and Le Nouvelliste, the four form the Romandie Combi (ROC).
All of these station wagons will remain, although Arc Presse was originally intended as a quartet to replace the 4x4plus. But the Quotidien Jurassien (QJ) did not want to join. The trio could now have used a dumping strategy to try and force the renegade QJ into the Arc Presse boat. But Marcel Geissbühler, Head of Media at W. Gassmann, waves it off: "We're not fighting against anyone, we want to stay in contact with QJ." His colleague Matthey agrees: "Arc Presse is not in competition with other combinations." After all, you benefit from them yourself. As the ROC reaches half of French-speaking Switzerland in terms of population, this brand serves the national market. The 4x4plus is primarily a job combination, while the Duo is offered exclusively to regional customers.
And how is Arc Presse positioning itself? "Also as a regional offering, but we don't expect any major shifts from the Duo or the 4x4plus," says Geissbühler. "We hope that we can stimulate the local market and thus contribute to increased sales - thanks to our innovations." He is referring to the introduction of fixed formats and the joint layout. The latter enables new special offers in the three titles, such as header fields or topic-specific placements. He emphasizes: "Arc Presse is not just a station wagon. We have gone much further and created something that is new for French-speaking Switzerland."
ExpandableThe name Arc Presse
stands for the Jura Arc. But for the time being, the new network is just a patch in the Jura. But that hasn't stopped SNP and W. Gassmann from getting started, in the hope that the new cooperation will not only win over customers, but also other potential partners - the Quotidien Jurassien or La Liberté and Le Nouvelliste. "It is quite conceivable that we will expand our partnership. We are open to anything that makes sense," confirms Marcel Geissbühler. And Jacques Matthey adds: "We're starting small now, but remain open to other partners if they want to join us of their own accord. We're not forcing anything on them." Markus Knöpfli

Free press The launch of Ringier's free newspaper in the evening appears to have been a success. This is shown by an interim survey by Wemf. Bernhard Weissberg, coach from the very beginning and editor-in-chief of Ringier's Abendblatt Heute, is visibly satisfied with the results of his product. "Initially, there was a certain risk as to whether there was even a need for an evening newspaper." After six months, however, the response from the public has been good. According to the Wemf special study, the paper already reaches 211,000 readers. 53 percent of readers are between 14 and 34 years old. According to Weissberg, the circulation fluctuates between 170,000 and 190,000 distributed copies, after temporarily dropping to 110,000 last summer. Weissberg speaks of a "permanent increase in circulation". In terms of distribution, the 600 locations targeted for the distribution boxes have not yet been reached. He estimates the number at around 400 plus an additional 100 at special distribution points in buildings. "Distribution is a constant learning process," says Weissberg. Constantly testing the most suitable locations takes time, but the paper has successfully positioned itself with its regional editions in the Basel, Berne and Zurich media triangle and, together with Blick in the KombiNation advertising network, also achieves even coverage throughout German-speaking Switzerland in the advertising market.
As expected, Weissberg considers the overlap between the readership of Heute and Blick to be small. The potential for synergy between the two titles was also repeatedly explored. "But I agreed with Blick editor-in-chief Werner de Schepper that everyone should push their own title." Once the situation has calmed down after the start-up phase of Heute, further options will be discussed. So far, there are synergies in the online area. For example, the Heute chat is also available online on Blick. From the outset, Heute has taken into account the regional needs of the three cities in terms of advertising space, event and nightlife tips. However, regionalization is still happening "on a small scale", says Weissberg.
Compared with the launch of 20 minutes in French-speaking Switzerland, Heute is slightly worse off. The Tamedia product reached 250,000 readers after six months.
René Worni

Career choice Schminke and team launch the biggest campaign in the industry for auditors. Auditors and tax experts have a very responsible role to play in safeguarding the value of companies. The career opportunities are correspondingly high. But hardly anyone is aware of this. The industry is extremely discreet and correspondingly reserved towards the general public, but this will change over the next four years. Schminke und Team in Zurich has developed a broad and long-term campaign for the umbrella organization of auditors and tax experts, the Swiss Institute of Certified Accountants and Tax Consultants. The aim is to inform an interested public in detail about the broad spectrum of the industry by promoting young talent. At the same time, students at universities and universities of applied sciences are made aware of a promising career opportunity.
Successful industry representatives29 portraits present successful auditors and financial experts from all parts of the country. Their respective careers are examples of the diverse opportunities that lie behind a profession that is often mistakenly regarded as dry and colorless.
The full-page, four-color advertisements have been appearing in various NZZ Group media, selected business publications and corresponding university publications since January. Law and economics graduates are also made aware of the not always obvious career path with brochures. The campaign is supported by skyscrapers on the opening page of NZZ Online.
Andreas Panzeri