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Sony
Many eyes and hands are on Sony -- or, more likely, on its high-profit consumer electronics products and gaming systems. The company makes a host of other items, including digital and video cameras, Walkman stereos, and semiconductors. Sony, one of the world's top media conglomerates, boasts entertainment assets such as music (Sony Music Entertainment), motion pictures (Sony Pictures Entertainment and Sony Digital Production), DVDs (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment), and TV programming (Sony Pictures Television). Under the direction of Sir Howard Stringer, the firm's first non-Japanese leader, Sony's realigning its business and shedding some longtime traditions in its effort to right the Sony mother ship.
If you've never Googled, you probably aren't finding what you want online. Google operates the leading Internet search engine, offering targeted search results from billions of Web pages. Results are based on a proprietary algorithm -- Google's technology for ranking Web pages is called PageRank. The company generates nearly all of its revenue through ad sales. Advertisers can deliver relevant ads targeted to search queries or Web content. The Google Network is a network of third party customers that use Google's ad programs to deliver relevant ads to their own Web sites. Google subsidiaries include YouTube and DoubleClick. Founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page each have nearly 30% voting control of the firm.