Brutal impulses
Brought forth by deep frustrations
Malware crafters: ugh!
Loathsome Malware Makers
Tag: tech
Autocorrect Woes
Deeply frustrating
My autocorrect errors
Failure of my eyes
A Binary Haiku
One zero zero
Zero one zero one one
One one zero one
Packet Transfer
Drifting, tired,
Mind wandering aimlessly,
Pointlessly, disjointed thoughts colliding,
Packets of disconnected data
Glance off each other,
Ultimately unimpacted,
Though perhaps slowed.
Vista
Ballmer: Vista a ‘work in progress’
Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer called Windows Vista “a work in progress” on Thursday, but he stopped short of committing to extend the life of its predecessor, Windows XP.
This might sum-up Microsoft’s problem’s here. Customers were expecting the “work in progress” to have progressed further.
Microsoft Challenges the iPod (Again) – New York Times
Microsoft Challenges the iPod (Again) – New York Times
I’m glad Microsoft is getting going in this space; it’ll serve to keep Apple honest and not take us for granted. Competition is good, blah, blah. Apple is (hopefully) not going to make the same mistake as they did in the desktop wars of the 80’s.
Apple Waves Its Wand at the Phone – New York Times
Apple Waves Its Wand at the Phone – New York Times
One of a zillion articles on the debut of the iPhone. Dave Pogue has one key piece missing from most others: he’s actually handled one (albiet for around an hour). I really appreciate Pogue’s review, especially in lieu of the aforementioned point. If you’re excited by the thing, this a great piece to give you some insight about how the thing actually works. With that in mind, another good piece on all of this is over at Treonauts. They’ve done a great job comparing the Treo 680 and the iPhone.
Another good piece to read is this one at the NY Times. It gives a good explanation about Cingular’s motivations in all this. In here, I have one point to argue with Roger Entner an analyst with Ovum Research (Ovum? Anyway…). He’s arguing that the price point ($499) will limit its appeal. He needs to look at the iPod, and how it was introduced. I would gamble that Apple has several lower cost options in the works (the iPhone Mini and Nano?), which it will release after it has solidly grabbed the “cool” market. The iPod was quite expensive to start, which ensured it was the domain of the chic. Notice, too, that Apple always has something in the spendy category, keeping the elite fueled with ego stoking while expanding the product’s reach.
It looks to me that the keyboard will be the key marketing grounds for these devices (remember, the iPhone has the virtual one). Though I’m filled with gadget lust for one of these, it’s hard for me to ignore price (I can get an unlocked 680 for the low end price for an iPhone. It is my deepest hope that the iPhone will kick start Palm, Motorola, RIM and the rest to redouble their efforts. It’s very clear that Apple’s here for the long-haul and will innovate the pants off of anyone slacking. To my chums at Palm, look closely (and quickly) at the iPhone, then get to WORK. You have the best chance to really compete.
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 the success of shows like “American Idol,” which brought in people in droves, spending 10 cents a shot to vote. Made money for the network, for the advertisers, and for the cellular carriers. And folks were entertained. I guess that’s the ultimate win-win.
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 seeing all that’s to come!