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Showing posts from 2005

Hot rival may be just what Microsoft needs

Hot rival may be just what Microsoft needs The competetion that Google is offering up to Microsoft will be the best thing that has ever happened to it. That is, of course, assuming that the Giant of Redmond will be able to rise to the challenge. AOL's choice to snub MS and go with Google should sting nastily. And, I imagine, that it will create quite a burn at the campus. Stings like this tend to motivate Gates and Co, so the next few months should be interesting. I wonder if this could build some passion into Vista?

thoughts

One thing I would love to see: an Apple tablet PC. Apple's interface is so much nicer, the device more stable, and Apple has some great handwriting recognition software in the form of the old Newton OS. They would make a more elegant machine. One that used bluetooth to connect a keyboard to the device, as opposed to some bizarre contorting screen/keyboard. I also think that a device that blended a pda with this would be cool. The true converged device, which allows for separation. I would like this set up to have a Treo that integrated nicely (again, bluetooth) for modem access. It would have an Airport card for Wi-Fi access. So, that's my dream for the great Santa of Cupertino.

Wired News: Technorati: A New Public Utility

Wired News: Technorati: A New Public Utility An excellent insight into Technorati and the emergence of the blogs. Also, Mr. Penenberg points out that the mainstream media and blogosphere are becoming quite dependent on each other. These don't need to be competetive institutions. They are quite complementary.

Wireless, Palms & PDAs - bizjournals.com

Wireless, Palms & PDAs - bizjournals.com More on the Blackberry plight. I'm pretty convinced that there won't be a service shut-down. NTP has a lot to gain by letting RIM keep selling, and RIM has the world to lose if they screw up again with this. Besides whatever losses they would incur with the NTP payout, they would certainly be looking at a class-action suite as well as shareholder lawsuits. I can't imagine that even RIM would be that dumb.

Software Notebook: Hotmail successor in works

Software Notebook: Hotmail successor in works The next wave in the web-based email wars. Both Yahoo and MSN have some interesting ideas, and are solidly positioning themselves to hold their leads against gmail. The most interesting idea presented was the use of RSS feeds within the new email programs. Sounds somewhat like good ol' Usenet. We'll see, I guess. Now, how will this make it's money? That, I doubt, will be terribly revolutionary. I'm sure it'll be via ads and subscriptions. However, I am pretty excited by these developments. Good directions, and it looks like MS will be using this to springboard it's web-based applications (which I think is an incredibly clever move).

Is the Web Killing the Newspaper Industry

Is the Web Killing the Newspaper Industry? - WXP News Deb Shinder, editor of WinXPNews (if you use Windows XP, you should subscribe), is right one with her article. The web is often blamed for the slow demise of newspapers. However, the current level of subsciber decreases tracks with a 20 year trend. The real culprits are #1: 24 hour cable news and, #2: restrictions on telemarketing. Anyway, this is only one part of this. Read on!

Visionaries

Reading a bit about some ideas futurists have, I'm struck by the way they see the world. They only see the potential. Looking out at all the possibilities, they only consider what could be useful. Rarely, if ever, do they look at the problems; either with their ideas, or what problems the technology in question is supposed to solve. It's not often that our society changes to perform something somewhat more effectively. There either needs to be a dramatic change, or some significant need filled, before behaviors are modified. We're always overcoming a fear of the unknown, a mighty fear it is, too.

del.icio.us: y.ah.oo!

del.icio.us: y.ah.oo! As someone who has used both tagging systems, and is a Yahoo afficianado, I think that this is a great move for both groups. Hopefully, this can lead to something really cool. I'll need to explore all the other options that are out there, though.

What the???

Now this is a hell of a phone! Gads, this makes my Treo look tiny.

What's Holding Back the Digital Living Room?

What's Holding Back the Digital Living Room? - New York Times I'm a fan of David Pogue of the New York Times and Missing Manual fame. There are some interesting points he brings up here. However, the main reason I think that the digital living room hasn't taken off has been bandwidth. Steve Jobs believed that it was the fact that people didn't want to interact with their tv. Internet television isn't, necessarily, about interaction. Nor is that the main value. The greatest promise with iTV has to do with freedom from the program guide. Even with cable, we were stuck with watching something only in a particular timeslot. Unless you were free at that moment, or had mastered your vcr (and avoided any quirky problems), you were hosed. Now, we are seeing "On Demand." I can watch what I want, when I want. That is where the demand is. With all due respect to the Great Oz of Cupertino, people do want some degree of interactivity with the tele's. Look at

Playlist: Duh of the day: Youth prefers iPods to radio

Playlist: Duh of the day: Youth prefers iPods to radio Christopher Breen does a great job explaining the dwindling effectiveness of the Mainstream media. He mainly focuses on radio, but talks a bit about newspapers. His ideas are relevent to the recording industry, as well. Youth have grown up with customizing their content. They value their tastes and don't take kindly to the MSM's notion that they should dictate what's quality/relevent/trendy/newsworth. There is a great deal that can be done within the new mediums, but sincerity will be key. So many of these folks want to "customize their content" to the kiddies. The youth market sees right through this condensending attitude, and it backfires.

Email: Can't Live With It, Or Without It - Forbes.com

Email: Can't Live With It, Or Without It - Forbes.com Quite an interesting article on the value of email, and the costs of keeping it running. It is incomplete, though. She talks about the costs of maintaining ailing systems, and how few companies are tracking them adequately. This is not put in context, however. Are these all systems? Are we talking about email systems that are not adquately maintained? Are obsolete and unsupported? It is, in the end, a one point article that brings up a number of good management questions...even if it provides not answers.

The Cyber World

It's sometimes hard to imagine, but I remember a world without PC's, iPods, cellphones and the like. Though it really wasn't that long ago, in some ways it was a lifetime. The impact of these, and related, technologies on our culture has been immense. These devices have changed the way we date, flirt, communicate, learn, yadda yadda. My life has kept me in the thick of it. I love these devices, and have been an early adopter (as much as I could afford to be, at least). Back in the mid-80's, a good friend of mine crafted a bulletin board with his Commodore 64 (ah, now there was a machine). This, the predecessor of the blog, the webpage, etc, was so cool a way to communicate...to me, at least. I wasn't any cheaper than a phone call, and a hell of a lot more expensive than a letter. My poor dad...and his phone bill! I did brutalize it with his first subscription to Prodigy, too. The changes since have been mind-blowing, and thrilling. And I'm looking forward to see