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I'm a very patient person. I'm sure I'll see a 17" PowerBook in my future. After all, it's my fault that I quickly jumped on a significant offer for my 15" TiBook several months ago. Wishful thinking. The eternal optimist. Can't find any reason to be any other way. Not that I want to set myself up for disappointment, but positive thinking, smiles and attitude all make for a better day. And that's how I take this news. If I really wanted to push it, I could displace my guilt for low blogging activity this week and blame Apple for my inability to be as flexible as I'd like. But that's a cop out and I'd only be fooling myself -- never and not you! But damn.... I'd like to un-tether myself from this desk soon....
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This is, if you're into quoting dictators. And a few others thrown in for color. Thanks to Brownbelly for some excellent research, wisdom and inspiration in pulling together our Saturday collection. Light the fire under their feet.
All that can be said of modern man is that he fornicated and read newspapers. Camus (from memory)
Death solves all problems - no man, no problem. Joseph Stalin
Gaiety is the most outstanding feature of the Soviet Union. Joseph Stalin
One man with a gun can control 100 without one. Vladimir Ilyich Lenin
The truth is that men are tired of liberty. Benito Mussolini
Chamberlain seemed such a nice old gentleman that I thought I would give him my autograph. Adolf Hitler
The best blood will at some time get into a fool or a mosquito. Benito Mussolini
Communism is not love. Communism is a hammer which we use to crush the enemy. Mao Tse-Tung
There are no morals in politics; there is only expedience. A scoundrel may be of use to us just because he is a scoundrel. Vladimir Ilyich Lenin
In waking a tiger, use a long stick. Mao Tse-Tung
It is true that liberty is precious; so precious that it must be carefully rationed. Vladimir Ilyich Lenin
Passivity is fatal to us. Our goal is to make the enemy passive. Mao Tse-Tung
If any foreign minister begins to defend to the death a "peace conference," you can be sure his government has already placed its orders for new battleships and airplanes. Joseph Stalin
When the enemy advances, withdraw; when he stops, harass; when he tires, strike; when he retreats, pursue. Mao Tse-Tung
We think too small, like the frog at the bottom of the well. He thinks the sky is only as big as the top of the well. If he surfaced, he would have an entirely different view. Mao Tse-Tung
A true voluptuary will never abandon his mind to the grossness of reality.
Lord Byron
Courage is knowing what not to fear. Plato
At times one remains faithful to a cause only because its opponents do not cease to be insipid. Friedrich Nietzsche
A man cannot be too careful in the choice of his enemies. Oscar Wilde
Oh, and just because he has so many fun and pointed quotes, I leave you with this one:
"Seriousness is the only refuge of the shallow." Oscar Wilde
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As bombs blast Baghdad, and the pro-war constituents cheer for the liberation of Iraq, the anti-war vocalists, those musicians who out of one side of their mouths shout anti-war epithets and out of the other provide nothing more than feed the media PR sound bytes that appear to do nothing more than promote theselves through the guise of making a public statement against the war. Where are the real songs?
Chicago Sun-Times' Richard Roeper's excellent piece today calls the musical elite out on the carpet.
[...] few of today's pop artists seem concerned with turning out peace anthems to counter the drumbeats of war Even the exceptions seem more like calculated career moves than passionate calls for peace. Madonna's upcoming song (and video), "American Life," might end up on Saddam's CD player, but the true chorus of the song is: "Forget about 'Swept Away,' I'm still relevant!!!" [...]
Roeper doesn't give anyone a break.
[...] George Michael appeared on the BBC's "Tops of the Pops" recently, with four female background musicians wearing T-shirts that said, "No War, Blair Out." Oooh, confrontational. But what does Michael have to lose? His post bathroom-arrest career options are pretty much limited to a Wham! reunion, a role on the next edition of "The Surreal Life"--or a "controversial" song that is stirring controversy only in the hearts of the publicists promoting it. [...]
And my favorite.
[...] So who will lead the pop charge against the war? Eminem dressed up as Osama bin Laden and clowned around on the video for "Without Me," but the song wasn't about international tensions, it was about Eminem's favorite subject, Eminem. Is the Emster furiously at work on an obscenity-riddled protest rap, or maybe even something along the lines of a song titled "F--- the French," or is he too busy vacationing and dodging the Oscars? Canada's Avril Lavigne is suitably young enough and perpetually pissed off enough to flip the musical bird to the White House, but is she too preoccupied with her lost "Sk8terboi" and her next photo session to get involved? [...]
And who wrote…?
[...] "Come you masters of war, you that build all the guns, you that build the death planes, you that build the big bombs, you that hide behind walls, you that hide behind desks, I just want you to know I can see through your masks" [...]
Bob Dylan. 1963.
Not one for trivia or nostalgia, but Roeper's got quite a few examples of real anti-war songs he suggests should be in heavy rotation this week. But don't count on it. To Roeper's point and to my earlier post on Safire's French Connection, follow the money. Many of today's artists are phony, self-dealing and hypocritical. Sure, there are many exceptions. Who do you think puts their money, career and passion where their mouth is today?
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This really frosts me. The lines that divide those in favor of our government's recent action and those that do not are quite blurry. Nothing is black and white here. Many shades of grey. In reality, you'd be hard pressed to get anyone, republican, democrat or libertarian to acknowledge that they like or are in favor of war. Nobody at the end of the day will consciously admit that the loss of life and property are good. Except perhaps suicidal terrorists. But even these tend to prefer a more self-indulgent approach over strategic offensive or defensive maneuvering -- let alone diplomacy. But as my friend Jimmy is quick to point out, follow the money. Money talks. On both sides of the Atlantic, Pacific, Indian Ocean, the Red Sea and even the Arabian Sea, East China Sea and the East Sea. Where the water flows. The money flows. And it appears Safire's sources have followed the flow of some of the money. The hypocrisy. Truly, it's of the great motivators in the conflict. Religion the other. To be sure, Safire is quick to point out some facts involving the flow of cash. On both sides of this conflict it seems that the facts get lost or even blurred by the blurry lines of division.
Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passions, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence. -- John Adams
Facts? What they mean is anyone's guess. Everybody has an excuse, justification, rationalization or a lie. It's the way of the world.
Now I've got a hankering for some pommes frites with fleur de sel and a glass of Bonnes-Mares from Roumier -- 1990 would be a good vintage. Cheers.
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There's too much war blogging. Too much passion with no outlet other than the streets of the blog. Many choose the blog. But I like Doc's post today. Slightly refreshing and slightly bordering reason that most of us forget or simply refuse to do.
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Apple's Board of Directors elected former Vice President Al Gore to its Board. I'm not sure if this is a good thing. Isn't he a loser? I mean all boards need a little window dressing. But. But. But...
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I think Halley Suitt is great. The real thing. Great blend of witty writing, personal insight, humor, some sarcasm and a lot of openess. If you haven't read her Alpha Male how-to guide and expose, get on with it.
Today I find that while Halley admits that she doesn't often imbibe in the fruits of the fermented grape -- that'd be wine -- she had a very unusual pairing with her dinner last night -- chardonnay and gatorade.
I'll be the first to admit that this is a first. And while I'm the man on the soapbox during these slightly excessive wine tastings, dinners or events waving my arms and telling everybody to hydrate. That's true. Hydration. And wine in moderation. Then again, moderation in moderation. But there's Halley, complete with her nice Salmon dinner, a nice bottle of chardonnay and a glass of gatorade. Out of this world. Post dinner, she's building new world's with her son. I wonder what she'll come up with next. Perhaps Cabernet and Hot Cocoa?
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Technology is a great thing. Even aging technology. Take coffee makers, for example. Perhaps these days we should call them brewers. Nonetheless, I've opted in recent years for the type of equipment that "brews" the coffee into a thermal container. We've moved way pass the glass bowels of Mr. Coffee, Bunn, Krups and the like. Remember the smell of burnt coffee after you left the dregs on the warming plate for just a bit too long?
I can bask in the luxury of warm, even hot coffee from morning until afternoon. Thanks to thermal pots.
No less or more important, a feature perhaps equally as intriguing in the coffee brewer product category is the 24-hour timer. While not as old as coffee brewing itself, this wonderful feature that allows you to grind your beans before bed, set up your brewer with water so at just the right time before your feet hit the floor out of bed you're smelling the coffee. For those of us who jump start the morning with the caffeine injection this is a compelling proposition. Waiting for coffee to brew in the morning brings out the most impatient qualities of our psyche. But thanks to timers, you shuffle yourself to the counter, poor a cup of coffee and your eyes start to open, your attitude starts to brighten and a morning smile emerges. Hmmm. Good.
This is all good, of course, provided the night before you are careful and complete in setting your coffee brewer. Far more simpler than a VCR, easier than your TiVO box and brainless as operating a microwave, it's hard to screw up. Perhaps the little dot that signifies AM or PM on the small LCD clock might throw someone off. But getting past this minor detail and your home free. Going to bed you're already dreaming about smelling the coffee..
That is. Unless you forget to put the thermal pot under the brewer.
Yes. You heard that right. Can we talk brainless? Simple? Easy? Who could forget such a basic thing prior to getting between the sheets. Yes. You guessed it. Me. Your truly. Moi. Yo. Dude. Me.
The rain was pouring all night. But instead of worrying about roof leaks, flooding, I simply dreamed of coffee. Waking up and smelling that beautiful aroma that sets your magic morning mood. The rain. Rhythm. Pitter. Patter. Nice sounds to help me fall asleep.
Many hours later, I barely hear it as I crack my eyes open. But it's there. I can hear the bubbling. The sound of hot boiling water. This time not the rain. But rather the coffee. Moments later still lying in bed I the aroma teases me as if wafts into the bedroom.
So I throw my feet onto the floor, slip on my robe and shuffle my was own the hall, pass the other bedrooms, the other bathroom, around the corner and into the great room. Smelling the wonderful coffee as I make my journey.
As I round the corner the first thing I see is a pool of liquid on the floor not far from the coffee brewer. My mind flashes. Shit. The rain. I do have a leak. I shuffle closer. Dirty water? Slowly I move my eyes from the floor up the past the cabinets to the counter. More dirty water. NO! Coffee. The thermal, the nice thermal pot just a tad six inches from its proper place. Coffee is everywhere. It dripped into the top drawer of the cabinets, eeked its way into the next one. Nice brown oozing stain on the fronts of my beautiful white kitchen cabinets.
And this is why I set my coffee to brew first thing. So I could wake up and clean up a friggiin' mess. Before my morning coffee.
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Maybe you saw them on the North American leg of their 40th (gulp) Anniversary Tour. Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and the rest of the Stones. Well a month ago EMI China released their Anniversary CD "Forty Licks" and the will be headlining shows in China starting in Shanghai next month.
But while in 1967 Ed Sullivan asked Mick to slightly change the lyrics of one of the Stones classics, the Chinese have told The Stones to forget, so to speak, 4 of the 40 licks. Thus, leaving only 36 licks.
[...] Cindy Tai, managing director of EMI China, said: "The songs were submitted to the Ministry of Culture a few months ago. They simply said 'no' to those four songs [...] the songs wouldn't be performed at the concerts either and suggested the reason for the ban was probably sex-related. "I think probably those songs have some rude words or something that does not fall into the criteria of the Chinese Government," [...] But there were 130 songs on the playlist for the concerts, "so we need not care about those four songs", said Wang Long, a spokesman for tour promoters Beijing Time New Century Entertainment Co." [...] The Australian 14 March 2003
The songs? 1) Brown Sugar; 2) Beast of Burden; 3) Honky Tonk Women;and 4) Let's Spend the Night Together. Funny thing is, Ed Sullivan asked Mick to sing "Let's Spend Some Time Together" during the Stones performance on his legendary variety show in 1967. Those were the days. These are the days. --thanks for tip, Jon.
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Life is funny. I love life. You'd be hard pressed to find me anytime without a big smile and happy "excellent" expression. It's an icebreaker. In this way, I'm typically warm, open and approachable. And that's the first thing people feel when they meet me.
But what about life's transitions? How do you greet them? Some may fear or even avoid them. But me, I like to face them head on. So, as spring approaches we all will experience, in one way or another, one of natures greatest life transitions. The cold chill of winter causes many species to remain dormant, yet alive in the comfort of their winter nest. With spring there is an awakening. An awakening of the senses. A thawing of the mind. A heightened sense. The feeling of being alive.
With spring comes the usual cadre of awakening metaphors. There's the spring fling to awaken love and romance in those who've found it dormant and hiding under the chill of winter. There'll be caterpillars then butterflies. Buds then flowers. We will all begin to awake as winter settles and takes its annual nap.
All of us experience transition or life changes, expected and unexpected, at various times during the year. But yet Spring, yes Spring seems to set in motion the churning of the mind and spirit and the longing and beating of the heart. In transition it's important to stay in tune. Balanced. And checked.
With the fast paced world whipping around you like the quaint merry-go-round gone awry, With the nagging unknowns of a world at war,your health, your job, your family and your relationships, it's important to check in with yourself. Ask yourself how you're doing. Truthfully. And I trust and hope you're ok.
Me. Excellent. And I'm definitely in transition. At times things are quieter than I'm used to or that I'd like. But rather than focus on the absence that silence signifies, I tend to look at the space it yields. Since I quit the company I co-founded 15 months ago, I've been in a whirlwind of transition. The last month especially interesting. But for the most part it's very exciting. Yet it makes me think, wonder and wander. And that's what I like about blogging. I've got an open forum. And I'm glad to have you checking in, too. I can smell spring. And I feel an awakening, yet I'm sure I haven't been asleep. So I'm going to dig deep into this transition and experience it for the adventure and unknown it brings.
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My buddy and fellow Mac Magnate and rich media guru Vance points me to the ultimate truth. To be free from any cord. Using WiFi technology this company says it will let you transmit video from your PC to your big screen via 802.11b. As Vance put it simply, "This is what I want."
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Legendary British Rocker Sting plans to get into the wine business. According to this article he purchased prime property in Northern Italy and plans to launch a wine under his name. And soon after, we'll have Sting-branded olive oil.
'I have a wager' the brave child spoke
The fisherman laughed, though disturbed at the joke.
'You will drink what I drink but you must equal me
And if the drink leaves me standing, A soul shall go free'
'I have here a cask of most magical wine
A vintage that blessed every ship in the line
It's wrung from the blood of the sailors who died
Young white body adrift in the tide'
'And what's in it for me my pretty young thing?
Why should I whistle, when the caged bird sings?
If you lose a wager with the king of the sea
You'll spend the rest of forever in the cage with me'
These are the soul cages…
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Do you want internet access with your fries and McNuggets? How's a free wireless hour sound? Today McDonald's announced it would offer WiFi internet access in 300 restaurants in NYC, Chicago and a yet unannounced California municipality. It currently is in the midst of a 3-month pilot program in NYC.
You'll get an hour with your meal, for free. Additional time will be approximately $3.00 an hour. McDonald's is taking an approach not unlike that suggested to Starbucks by Doc Searls in his "Earth to Starbucks" plea last week. Question is for Doc and his legion of Atkins diet followers (and leaders), is there anything Atkins compliant on the McDonald's menu?
The article mentions that Toshiba and Intel will set up wireless ''hot spots'' in coffee shops, hotels and convenience stores across the United States. Additionally, Hilton, Mariott, Sheraton, Westin and W hotels will roll out wireless access points in hundreds of hotels in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Germany. And access will also be extended to passenger lounges at the airports in Dallas-Fort Worth and San Francisco.
Today this may be a huge differentiator and lure to get WiFi addicts and busy professionals to step through doors they may not normally go. And Bravo to Starbucks for getting into the access business. Yet as we come to expect cream sugar, (clean) bathrooms, heat in winter, air conditioning in summer and a glass of water by asking, we can expect to see a transition from fee-based WiFi to a unbiquitous "What do you mean you don't offer..." WiFi in the next 24 months. Just makes doing business that much easier on the road and faster, smarter and better blog posts in near real-time.
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Light blogging today and the last few days. Been cranking on some tight deadlines for projects for my favorite and very important clients. Should be able to pick up with more blog content later this week.
Today I had to do what you should only have to do once, maybe twice in one's adult life: buy a washer and dryer. For all that I love about technology, these common appliances, for the most part, haven't changed in years. Sure a microprocessor chip here, and LED read out there. But funtionality remains the same. I got sucked into this Calypso thing from Whirlpool. I guess Sears owns Whirlpool? Or they've licensed this technology (and I'm using this word loosely) to Whirlpool. Instead of a center spindle that turns and twists your clothes to wash them, this Calypso thing shoots sudsy water and extremely high pressure from the top of the tub container, down through the clothes. And no spinning, this thing rocks back and forth -- hence like a Calypso dance. You gotta love these marketing guys. No need to set the water level, it auto senses and sets levels based on exact load. As for the companion dryer? It auto senses the dampness of clothes and supposedly turns off when things are dry. I'll believe all this stuff when I see it. They deliver it on Wednesday. Oh. And the hot tip for this type of appliance: I bought it at Sears Outlet Store in Santa Ana, California. Probably will find one near you, if you find yourself needing a major appliance. Anyway, the units here are just lined up in a huge warehouse. Most have scratches, minor (even major) dents, were returns due to wrong size or whatever. My pick of the litter has a scratch here or there. Minor cosmetic flaws. But who cares. My laundry room isn't where we'll be hanging out when you come by to visit. I saved more than 30% and still get a full warranty. Good deal. But that's as much as I ever want to disuss, write or talk about W&D appliances.
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CBS legend Dan Rather got what should be the hottest story and biggest opportunity of the year. Perhaps of this century, so far. His interview with Axis of Evil star, Saddam Hussein, was perhaps the highest rated news show ever. Did you see it? How do you think Dan did? Even Dan admits he needed to practice a bit in front of the mirror prior to his history making television moments. So tell me. Post your comments. I'm very curious. Jon uncovered this bit that appeared in the Washington Post a few days ago that might offer some food for your thoughts.
[...] CBS News anchor Dan Rather got the Mother of All Scoops in interviewing Iraqi President Saddam Hussein last week. So he wanted to make sure he would be at his best with probing questions. On arrival in Baghdad, "I went to my hotel room and started preparing lists of questions and tried to memorize an outline of the questions," Rather told our colleague Howard Kurtz. "I had 31 or 32 questions. I put them in three different orders. I practiced them. I sat in front of the mirror," Rather said, as he tried out the questions "and pretended he [Hussein] was on the other side." Duh. He was! It did seem odd the way Hussein appeared to anticipate the questions [...] - Washington Post
I asked a few friends that given the chance to ask Saddam anything what would you like to know. I'm curious what you would ask. Here is the complete transcript from Rather's interview. And below are a few lingering questions posed by me and friends which we believe perhaps Dan Rather in his epic interview could of or should have asked:
Why did you have your son-in-law Hussein Kamel killed in 1996? Was your daughter upset by this?
Why did your soldiers torch Kuwait's oil fields in 1991?
You have more than two dozen presidential palaces. How many presidential palaces does a president need? Why?
You say that you won the 1991 Gulf War. If so, why did you withdraw from Kuwait and why did tens of thousands of troops surrender to the Americans (including some who actually surrendered to unarmed journalists)?
How many of your political opponents have you had killed since becoming the leader of Iraq in 1979?
Why did you use poison gas against the Kurds?
Why did you attempt to assassinate former President Bush?
When was the last time you had tea with Osama bin Laden?
Point is, Rather seemed to avoid the tough, hard and controversial questions. Sure, he hit a few questions, but why let an opportunity go by without digging a bit deeper into the stories and news items that have painted the picture of Saddam as we see him today? Ask him anything. What about you?
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My blogless friend and adventure traveler cohort Johnny "A" points me to a cute story about an Alaskan who never heard of Jerry Garcia nor the Grateful Dead. Short but fun read. Check it out.
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In December I blogged about my News Aggregator epiphany when I discovered a beta version of the now nearly ubiquitous NetNewsWire Lite. Shortly after, Ranchero Software and Brent Simmons released a "pro" version of the product which includes a Notepad and Weblog Editor among other premium features -- simply called NetNewsWire (NNW). I was excited about the prospect of losing my dual application dependency with BBedit and Radio (my weblog software and hosting solution).
By using NNW's weblog editor, I could read my news, write, attribute and post to my weblog in a single application. But unfortunately an early bug prevented me from downloading and posting to my Radio Categories. This week Brent and Ranchero released NetNewsWire 1.0.1b3 which includes a variety of bug fixes including my category problem.
The two posts previous to this are my first using the weblog editor built into NNW. Brent's great integration of Mac OS X's contextual menus makes it simple for me to grab URLs, HTML, HTML w/attribution, directly post, copy headlines and even launch blog content from any of my weblog subscriptions. Amazing.
I do have one issue, however. Radio has a unique feature not available on all blogging platforms: the ability to catalog a post to multiple categories. For example, this article should ideally be posted to both my On Blogs & Blogging category and my Mac My Day category. In Radio, I have the ability to click multiple caegory check boxes to utilize this feature. I also notice that the text in the weblog editor is a bit slow to react to my rapid typing, occasionally dropping characters. Of course, this is beta. But I do see a more productive blogging lifestyle. Question is, will I have more free time or WILL I simply read more blogs and post more blog entries?
UPDATE: Damn that Brent Simmons is good. I just discovered how to post to multiple categories. There is a Category "drawer" the slides out to the right of NNW's primary Weblog editor window -- complete with check boxes. Yay!
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The SJ Mercury News interview with Marc Andreessen (founder of Netscape) asks if he has a blog. "No," he said. "I have a day job. I don't have the time or ego need." People used to say stuff like that about email, believe it or not. [Scripting News]
12:26:08 AM permalink | | trackback disabled due to spam
Associated Press has more on Apple's, as of yet unannounced and unconfirmed, foray into an online pay-for-music venture that would integrate with Apple's iPod and iTunes products. The LA Times broke the story earlier this week. Here's my original post.
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Trader Joe's bled it for what it was worth. The $1.99 wine that the airlines supposedly sent back because it couldn't bring corkscrews on board. It was a hoax. Much like that Nigerian national looking for a domestic US banking account. Or the e-mail that will destroy everything on your hard drive if you open it. But at less than $24 a case, Trader Joe's had the exclusive on the hot wine this past holiday season: Charles Shaw.
But you fell for it. The public that is. Trader Joe's sold more $1.99 wine than anyone believed. The bottler bought surplus "juice" from Central Valley suppliers, hauled it to Napa and bottled it their so it could use the Charles Shaw moniker with a Napa Valley origin.
Even infamous LA Blogger Sir Ken Layne fell for it - hook, line and even blogged about it. Poor guy hated to see the LA Times article for fear he wouldn't have more $2 wine to stash in his cellar.
[...] Dear God, have we tasted this Charles Shaw wine. It is a fantastic bargain -- we pick up entire cases for $25, and never tire of it. Read my L.A. Examiner post for more details. I was sort of sad to see the L.A. Times story, because now there will be a rush on the last cases. I plan to seriously re-stock tomorrow: four cases [...] Ken Layne
Poor soul. I tasted the chardonnay and the cabernet. Sure, it tastes ok. But it's not wine. Not even close. But it's sweet, over ripe and I would be bold to say that some fancy wine enhancing (uh. could someone say add sweetner) went into making this wine ultimately palatable for the average American wine drinker. And while he was clever enough to hide behind the guise of Bronco Wine Company of Napa, the mastermind behind "Two Buck Chuck" is Box Wine Kingpin Fred Franzia. Next time you feel the urge to slug down some Chuck Shaw $1.99 wine, save yourself some money. Go for a gallon of Franzia out of the box. Franzia found a nice exit when he sold the box wine brand to Coca-Cola. Maybe Coke found it just like the other flavored sugar water they sell -- sweet and profitable.
[...] Few wine companies are in a position to make money on a wine that retails for $1.99. Nonetheless, the "Two Buck Chuck" phenomenon is growing: Golden State Vintners just introduced Pacific Peak, which sells for $1.99 at Beverages & More stores in California. In less than a month, GSV has orders for 50,000 or 60,000 cases [...] Wine Business Magazine
Fact is, the cheap wine is partially the result of what the media have coined "The California Wine Glut". For the most part, this is true. Wine's popularity has risen dramatically in the last decade. American's are consuming more and more. Eager to cash in on the surge, California growers planted and planted and planted. More and more grapes. it typically takes grapevines 3-5 years to yield fruit good enough to turn into wine. Those vines planted in the last 5 years are finally coming of age. This means more wine. And this means lower prices. But one thing it doesn't mean: good quality.
Don't get me wrong, I'll be the first to admit California wine prices have skyrocketed beyond belief. And there needs to be a correction. But for the most part, California wine quality has increased dramatically in the last 20 years. And while I'm sure that the $1.99 will appease the masses, I would only hope that it would instill the thrill of discovery for those wanting to experience and learn more about wine. With hundreds of different wine varietals, dozens of wine producing regions each with its own history in every glass, grape and bottle, I would hope that instead of buying 4 cases of the same wine that you would want to try something new. Experiment. Pair new wines with different foods. Or just simply to Think Different about wine. Then I think you'll find the joy that can be appreciated like a good book, movie or other art or expression in each wine you taste. You can read up on some of the wines I've tasted in the Good Juice section of The Digital Tavern.
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If you been following the hot blog topics the past few days no doubt you've read about Dr. Pepper's hot new marketing gimic: A Blog. And it's tied to what's destined to be a hot new drink, Raging Cow. Geeez. What happened to the damn bull?
Ok. So FilchyBoy, the inquisitive, deductive and reporting type of blogger he is, uncovers the campaign's creators and interviews Ragingbull.com domain owner and Dallas-based Richards Interactive agency director, Todd Copilevitz. Makes me wonder if this could be THE Odd Todd? No matter what. At first glance, it appears Raging Cow is targeted at the late teens to early 20's group.
The story is interesting. It's on my radar screen because it's right up my alley. I knew it wouldn't be long until a creative campaign that truly integrated its message with traditional, online and really new media (blogs) would surface. I'm going to watch carefully as Richards and its client launch Raging Cow. I just uncovered this tonight, so I'm just learning and checking into it now. So why not read the blog and FilchyBoy's story and we'll meet back here at The Digital Tavern and talk more about it in a few days. (or, punch your name into the subscribe box to the right, and you'll be updated when new articles are posted here) Till then.
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Wired reports today that cell phone industry underdogs Verizon and T-Mobile support a plan that would allow cell phone customers to switch carriers without giving up their phone numbers. Bravo.
[...] The FCC has mandated that the cell-phone industry let its customers switch carriers without having to give up their phone numbers by Nov. 24. But the industry has vehemently opposed the policy, saying it could cost carriers up to $500 million a year to implement [...]
I currently am a Verizon customer. But I'm not tied to Verizon. I think there are better providers with more cost effective plans and better service - for my needs. But I've been hanging with Verizon for three years or more because I don't want to give up my phone number. And why should I? But fact is if you switch carriers today, you lose your number. It's a "got 'em by the balls" situation. And frankly, I hope the grip is loosened.
"While the national wireless carriers have uniformly stated their general opposition to WNP (wireless local number portability), we think it is interesting that Verizon Wireless and T-Mobile USA are among the first to potentially break ranks," the analysts said. "In our view, this makes sense."
To counter a potential stampede of customer defections, AT&T is lobbying the FCC to extend number portability to traditional home and business land-line customers to keep their numbers but switching to a cell phone instead. It looks like we could be getting closer to realizing the promise of a single phone number or other alternative of a follow-me (where the one phone number always finds you -- regardless of where you are) type of telecommunication service.
Should phone numbers be like domains? Once reserved, you can use the phone number with any provider you choose. Makes sense. But who really "owns" the phone numbers. Certainly the telecommunications giants have made large investments in infrastructure which enables the routing of telephone calls from land, air, sea and virtually everywhere else. I remember in 1995 or 1996 during the infancy of telecom deregulation (local and long distance services) I switched my company to MFS (ultimately acquired by WorldCom). Making this switch would save our company thousands of dollars. But there would be a cost. I would have to change our phone number. In analyzing the numbers I realized that the cost to switch numbers would ultimately cost more in customer confusion and potentially lost business, I passed on the switch. At that point MFS indicated that we could "rent" the phone number (the primary number, we had 7 or 8 rollover lines) from Pacific Bell (my carrier at the time) and like an alias on my computer all calls to the Pac Bell number would get "forwarded" transparently to the new MFS number. I bought it. The rental fee was less than $5 a month or so. But as telecom services emerged, this aliasing/forwarding would have side effects not considered at the time: caller ID. Making calls from the primary line would confuse the caller ID services of our vendors, customers and our employees. The "real" MFS number was transparent. Until caller ID. And when callers would confirm our phone number on the digital readout, our employees were confused. Where did THAT number come from. Crazy stuff. Frankly, we should have been able to keep our original phone number and saved time and effort for SBC, MFS and our team.
Technology and infrastructure changes (ie. wi-fi) make it hard for the FCC to keep up. As a result, a bevy of regulation and deregulation agendas either speed through without critical assessment of what's right for customers or even worse, stall due to the collective lobbying efforts of industry and special interest groups. But for me, my concern is now. Let me keep my phone number. And help me from an endless update of phone numbers from friends and associates who fill my email with changes making my address book updates a full time task.
8:12:58 PM permalink | | trackback disabled due to spam
Though this hasn't been confirmed by Apple, the Los Angeles times reports this morning(free registration or username/password: digitaltavern) that Apple will launch an online music service allowing users to purchase music online and download into their iPods or iTunes application on their Mac.
[...] Apple offering won over music executives because it makes buying and downloading music as simple and non-technical as buying a book from Amazon.com. [ ... ] "This is exactly what the music industry has been waiting for," said one person familiar with the negotiations between the Cupertino, Calif., computer maker and the labels. "It's hip. It's quick. It's easy. If people on the Internet are actually interested in buying music, not just stealing it, this is the answer." LA Times 3/4/03
If this is true and the service is priced right Apple has found a revenue stream that could be quite profitable while continuing to build a solid case of differentiation for its computer and consumer electronic product lines.
Would I buy music online? Sure. But the bit rate must be user selectable. I just won't accept anything samples at less than 256 kbps. The problem with most current legal (Pressplay, MusicNet etc.) (and illegal peer-to-peer networks Limewire, Kaaza, Gnuella etc.) online/downloadable music is that it's sampled at 128 or 160. Might be likely to find a 192. According to the LA Times, Apple will initroduce a new version of iTunes that supports a new file format (using a new advanced codec) that be higher quality than MP3. Does this mean new iPods? Certainly updated software for the 100,000's that Apple has sold of the current iPod. But more importantly, apparantly the new format has an embedded lock that would allow the song to be playable on only one Mac or iPod registered with Apple. It's unclear whether the format would be burnable to CDs. And perhaps it's this lock that the record industry really is having a love affair with. Just another tool to strenghthen their grip on the market and appease their fear of digital music.
But there's more. We all know this is where the future of music is going. Problem is who controls what's available on Apple's online service. If it turns out to be just an online version of what you find at CD listening posts/bars at large retailers such as Border's, Tower, Virgin etc., then it's just another way the large record companies can force feed us music that we may or may not want to listen to or even consider buying. But if Apple opens the service to allow small independent labels and musicians (not unlike MP3.com) a chance to sell music online we will begin to see the rules change.
Is this a rumour? Don't know. I guess we'll just wait and see.
12:05:07 PM permalink | | trackback disabled due to spam
Monday, March 3, 2003
Sunrise 6:09am (10 minutes ago) Back Bay Newport Beach, California. Ahhhhhh. Good to be alive and awake.
8:19:48 AM permalink | | trackback disabled due to spam
I found Peter Burrows op-ed piece on Apple Computer in Business Week a bit tainted, if not unfair. While reading it I had flashbacks to the mid-90's when Apple was everybody's favorite computer company to bash, pity and hate. Do a word search of the hundreds of articles describing Apple Computer's business issues at this time. The words beleaguered, on its last legs, troubled, unstable, shuddering, failing and a bunch more. You see, people, especially business and technology journalists love to kick the company that's on the ground and hurting. Certainly, Apple may have asked for it. It's very effective at PR, But unlike the adage that some prescribe to that "even bad PR is good PR", Apple has taken its share of digs from the media, business and Wall Street. This translates into small talk sound bytes so that average consumer who "knows just enough to be dangerous" can join the charade and beat the company further.
Most recently the pundits are pondering whether Microsoft will renew its five-year old agreement to continue development of its ubiquitous Office application for the Macintosh.
These days Apple gets its digs for two things. One, market share. And Burrows and Business week love throwing numbers around like the peanut peddler at Pac Bell Park. Second is processor speed and how Apple is seriously losing the speed war with Intel. The processor speed issue has been beaten, bruised and bastardized plenty in the media and the blogs. But market share? The mere talk makes me sick.
[...] Apple continues to be the trend-setter for the PC industry, which has been far more focused on cost-cutting than on innovation. In recent years, Apple has drawn crowds of copycats with its AirPort wireless networking gear and its flat-screen iMacs [...] Apple's share of the U.S. consumer market jumped from 2.2% in 2001 to 3.9% in the first three quarters of 2002. In part, that's because of the rollout of 51 Apple retail stores and the six-month-old "Switcher" ad campaign aimed at persuading PC users to buy Macs. Roughly half of the people who bought Macs in Apple stores last quarter had never owned one before [...]
Sure. Market share remains important to provide a much needed customer base to Apple's growing list of developers. But when it comes to the media, the comparison is made between Microsoft's 90+% of the market. But nobody ever compares the market to say, the automobile industry. What's BMW's market share? How about Mercedes? Well, if you live in Orange County and certainly other affluent burbs you might be swayed to suggest a higher number.
But fact is, many automobile companies do extremely well by garnishing a market share below 5%.
To Burrow's point, Apple needs to maintain margins so it can continue to invest in R&D and therefore innovate new products. Both in the mainstream PC market, but even more important to Apple's burgeoning consumer market where it has already proven quite successful in selling its wildly popular iPod. It's this innovation that Burrow's points as the key to Apple's success. Duh.
And while my automobile analogy is sure to draw its critics, naysayers and ignorant disbelievers, I do agree it has problems. First, automobiles compete in a very mature market. The computer industry (PCs) is barely an adolescent on the verge of adulthood. Far from mature. And secondly, automobiles for the most part all run on fossil fuel. And nobody has yet made a car that will only run on Chevron gas. But who knows. Fact is, not all computers run on the same fuel - the operating system. Finally, once you learn to drive one automobile, chances are you can drive virtually any. This isn't the case with the PC industry.
But these arguments don't hold up well. The PC marketplace is evolving and changing. Most important change is brought on by the evolving internet. And while operating system may have been important in the past where specific applications were developed for specific computer platforms, today more and more applications are running on web browsers. These crazy little applications have leveled the playing field -- that is -- for the "end users" or as my fellow cluetrain bloggers refer to them more appropriately as -- humans.
No need to worry about the infrastructure designers and builders (developers) at this point. They will develop and build on whatever works for them. Fact is they are developing applications for the rest of us. And the rest of us are using the internet more and more and specific applications lees and less.
Instead of worrying about fuel or operating systems. I think it's important to look at what's common among virtually all computers: the internet. Whether dial up, DSL, T1, T3, Cable, DSL, Satellite or WiFi, humans (computer users) are using the internet. Remember when the internet first captured the attention and interest of the media? They liked to refer to it as the information superhighway. Ha. I like that. Because frankly, all of these computers are driving the same roads. Like cars. But the road for computers is the internet. To be sure, there are some very specialized vehicles designed to build roads and maintain roads. And there are some roads that are more suitable to different types of vehicles. We can be assured that in our quest to lose our dependence on fossil fuel, there will be a future for vehicles that use alternative fuel (operating systems)- solar, veggie powered, hovercraft, electric or wind. But even still, these vehicles will still drive on our roads and highways. As will more and more applications use the internet and run on browsers.
And when we look at it this way, it's both important to consider and to forget our fascination with market share.
2:45:15 AM permalink | | trackback disabled due to spam
I think 
Technology is a great thing. Even aging technology. Take coffee makers, for example. Perhaps these days we should call them brewers. Nonetheless, I've opted in recent years for the type of equipment that "brews" the coffee into a thermal container. We've moved way pass the glass bowels of Mr. Coffee, Bunn, Krups and the like. Remember the smell of burnt coffee after you left the dregs on the warming plate for just a bit too long? 
Wired 
