Presidential Debate: Whomever Wins, We all Lose

1 Comment »October 8th, 2008

Having watched last night’s debate with breathless anticipation (ok, that’s I lie - I was bored to sleep), it’s becoming clear that both the Obama and McCain campaigns have devolved into a rhetoric of repeated talking points. The sound of suction is deafening. Obama was on top form, showing his usual college cool, but for the first time he is showing signs of retreading the tires on his platform. Nothing new fresh or substantial came out of the debate, other than the revelation that John McCain apparently thinks Obama is one of his Grandchildren - “That one”.

John McCain won on creep factor. The disturbing way he stalked the room, lumbering like an agitated grizzly bear inspired no one. But it was the condescending tone he took with his audience that made me most uncomfortable - painting middle-Americans as ignorant. “You’ve probably never heard of Fannie Mea before this crisis”. Never heard of one of the world’s largest financial entities? And his lame attempt at identifying with the digital world showed his own generational disconnect, in his unworldly observation that “some of you here may have even used eBay”. Some of you? That’s like saying some of you may have even used a telephone. Pathetic.

So I walked away from the debate with no real sense that either candidate has answers to our country’s greatest problems, other than the usual political weeble wobbling and rhetoric that defines Washington culture. That’s not change I can believe in.

An Example of Bad Web Advertising

2 Comments »April 19th, 2007

Websites utilize all manner of multimedia to advertise services, evolving from the classis banner ad to more advanced flash-based motion imagery. Most of these forms of online advertising are just plain awful, but the worst by far is those darned annoying Flash-based ads that spontaneously blast you with audio. I can’t even begin to count the number of times I was startled out of my chair (and underpants) late at night when loading some random webpage, when suddenly a voice comes blasting through my speakers…“CONGRATULATIONS! YOU’VE BEEN SELECTED TO RECEIVE A FREE IPOD!”. Scary.

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The Sad Tale of How I Murdered My iPod

No Comments »February 28th, 2007

There are moments in life when the challenges of a busy schedule, encumberences, distraction, and stupidity all converge at one terrible moment resulting in tragedy. That is what happened to me last fall during my morning commute. As I hurried out the door with hands and arms full of gadgets and wares, embarking in my vehicle, I failed to notice that I had inadvertently dropped one important item on the ground.

Having sped off for work and returning later in the day, I noticed a small metallic object laying in the driveway near where my truck is normally parked. “What the heck is that?” I half wondered. No sooner had that inquisitive thought entered my simian brain when I came to a horrible realization…“Oh my God, it’s my iPod!”. Yes, that shiny piece of metal laying lifeless on the pavement was my dear departed music player, crushed by the full weight of my Ford Ranger. Obviously the poor little fellow had fallen out of my grasp as I was entering my truck and had landed directly in the path of my tires, which did a fantastic job of making the already slim iPod a lot thinner than designed.

So, that’s the story. My fifth generation iPod has been gone for about three months now and I have fallen back to an ancient fourth generation iPod Photo. Waiting for the day when Apple will announce a new and improved model worthy of my Ben Franklins. Hopefully soon.

Confessions of Heresy: Why I like ZUNE

No Comments »February 26th, 2007

I have a dark secret. A secret so ignominious that its revelation will bring terrible shame and ridicule from my peers. Confession is good for the soul. My secret? I like ZUNE. There…I said it. Yes, you heard me correctly.

Technorati Tags: MP3, Music, Zune

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Walt Mossberg says Treo 700p is better than Motorola’s Q

No Comments »June 9th, 2006

In a startling turn of events, Walt Mossberg chooses the PalmOS-based Treo 700p over Windows Mobile-based Motorola Q phone. Stunning!

What I love about Mossberg is that he’s always predictably last in line to catch on to whats already been happening around him. I have my stopwatch set to see how long it will take before realizes that PalmOS is already dead. And when he does finally figure this out, how much longer will it be before he begins writing articles implying that he knew all along that.

It’s not just Mossy either. The entire mainstream media is equally inept at recognizing a trend in motion. I just love these epiphany news titles that read “Is Microsoft starting to catch up with Palm?”. Windows Mobile has been outselling PalmOS for well over two years now. PalmOS is laying in a coffin, in almost mummified form, appearing on elderly devices making its rounds on hardware like Lincoln’s body on display as it makes its cross country train ride to its final resting place. After Access introduces an entirely new platform, eliminating PalmOS Garnet for good, the media will still be chanting about how many fewer taps it takes to access your data on a dead OS. Enough already! It’s over, get over it!

Will Vista’s Delay Really Matter?

No Comments »April 28th, 2006

I’ve been watching the unfolding drama take shape Microsoft’s announcement that Windows Vista, the company’s next generation consumer and business desktop operating system, will be delayed further beyond its previous timeline. This is delay number 112 if you keep track of them as they go by. Naturally the news sparked off an uproar from angry Window enthusiasts and Microsoft bashers alike; with one side lamenting news while the other cheered. Engadget said it best…”Vista Delay Good For Pundits.” Open source zealots in particular, and even Mac users, see Vista’s delay as the death knell for Microsoft, or at least Windows. So what impact will the delay really have on the PC industry? None. Absolutely none whatsoever. What all the Linux trolls and Mac zealots fail to grasp is that the corporate customers never migrate to new operating systems at the time they roll out, and often delay upgrade cycles altogether until the first service packs are released, or until hardware upgrades require new system purchases. It is utter naivity and outright cluelessness to assume that business customers will make some kind of wholesale switch to a totally different platform because Vista is delayed by a mere few more months.

One the consumer side, mainstream users aren’t waiting with baited breath for Vista’s arrival. Operating systems just aren’t something to get excited about anymore. The days of people camping outside Best Buy, hoping to grab a shrink wrapped copy of Microsoft’s newest OS are over, and they ain’t coming back, as the saying goes.
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Smartphones Still Can’t Replace Traditional Feature Phones…Yet

No Comments »October 29th, 2005

I am a huge fan of convergence devices like the Palm Treo 650, which I use as my daily driver PDA/phone. It is the blessing and bane of my existence. Sleek looking, robust, combining the best of what PalmOS has to offer…well the best Garnet can do at any rate…in a phone centric form factor that truly works well as a do-it-all device. But as much as I do like the Treo, it just doesn’t cut the mustard when it comes to functioning purely as a phone. When I want to use this device as a PDA it largely serves that role perfectly fine, when it’s not locking up or crashing on me that is. As a phone, it rather sucks. The problem with the Treo, like most convergence devices, is that it’s simply too bulky. Right now I’m testing out the Motorola RAZR phone for Cingular, and I am really amazed at how sleek this device is, and how it serves as an example of why Smartphones aren’t “there” just yet.
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