Google Goes Las Vegas

Very interesting article about an experiment with Google AdWords. It seems if you try to mess with the system, the system will smack you down.

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Water and the Grocery Store

So, can anyone explain mass panic to me? Gas stations are just packed, there isn't any bottled water (or bread) left at the grocery store, and people are just coming out of the store with toilet paper like crazy. WTF? We are in a staging area for evacuees, and yet it's like the storm is going to hit right here. The power will likely go out with the winds, but how long are people expecting it to go out? Update: In all fairness, I've met several people while out today that are hosting others from the coast, so I understand some of the activity out there. It has just gotten a bit out of hand, as several others I met are just caught up in the craze. I even found myself almost catching it. The local stores are well staffed. Apparently they've called in extra help. I talked with one cashier at a local wholesale store who was just happy to be there; he's getting paid overtime for all of this. I guess this is one way to drive up the economy.

Rita in Central Texas

So, I'm in Austin, and the news is just going nuts about this. They are telling us that we could still see a Class 1 Hurricane this far north from the coast on Saturday. Crazy. Update: Looks like the track is going further east. Update: Saturday, 8:36 AM CST All the rain has moved out of the forecast for the day. It's a bit more windy out than normal, but otherwise it looks quite nice. The Austin City Limits festival is still going on.

Do What You Love

I often see this little quote bantered about in motivational speeches, or business books. A little tidbit of wisdom. Lately, I've just been trying to figure out what that is. It's not as easy as it sound, especially when you throw the expenses of life around. I guess I have the problem of being good at several things, not all of which I like. About the only thing I've figured out so far is that I like starting new things. Not necessarily finishing them, which presents quite a conundrum if you want to follow the above advice. So, I just need to find a job where I can start a bunch of things, but then just let other people finish them. That doesn't sound like the clinching interview quote, does it? I guess the problem is that I am good at getting things done, but I just don't like the finishing part. Often I find myself smack in the middle of something when I've already thought out the rest of it in my head, found that uninteresting, and start thinking up the next task. So, does "Do what you love" really count for stuff like this?

del.icio.us

I've added my del.icio.us feed to the sidebar of this blog. This represents a good portion of what I'm looking at on the web. I'm using this is a bookmark aggregator, and so far it's pretty good.

Katrina

In the midst of this tragedy, I am in awe of how quickly we will have access to satellite imagery via the Internet. No longer do we have to be spoon-fed the data from the media; we can just get it ourselves. My prayers go out to all who have suffered.

New Katrina sat pics from NASA; more coming via Google: "Xeni Jardin:

BB reader Phil Gross says,

Regarding use of Google Earth to overlay near-live damage photos: Satellite photos of Katrina's damage will be available through Google Earth and Google Maps in the next few days. They've scheduled time on five flyovers in the next week. Poeple will at least be able to see the damage for a large part of the area at a fair level of detail. Link

(Via Boing Boing.)

10 MPH Movie Trailer

The movie about 2 guys who crossed America using just a Segway just released their movie trailer.

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An amazing world we live in...

Sometimes this stuff is just old hat to me, but every now and then I take a look back at just how far we've come and am amazed. I am listening to a song on my iPod here, and I thought to myself, "That is a cool tune. I wonder what that is like in guitar tablature?" I then just typed in the name of the song and the word tablature into the Google search bar of Firefox, and there it was. Now, keep in mind, ten years ago I had to scour several text-only sites, and search for awhile to find anything. Often, I'd have to go to newsgroups, or even just go out and find the sheet music. I'm not trained to read music very well, so that wasn't what I wanted anyway. That's if I could find it at all. I'm a hack guitarist. This is just one example. Often I will come up with a question in my head; something like, "I wonder how this works?" I can usually just type that into Google and get an answer really quickly. Life is better in the information age. P.S. The song was "Conviction of the Heart", by Kenny Loggins.

Mac Mini

Mac Mini
Originally uploaded by ryandobson.

So, I've taken the plunge and bought a new Mac Mini. This is so much better than my almost 4-year-old iBook. And the screen on the Dell 2005FPW is just beautiful. Fun stuff.

Transitions

So, now I have to think about a "transition" computer. I'm really glad the Mac Mini is out there as an option. I wonder how close it is to a refresh? Can they get it up to 1.5 Ghz in a month? Probably whatever I decide to do, it'll refresh right after I buy. Time to start digging into rumor sites more...

Apple heart Intel Rumors

This particular bit of information is of great interest to me right now. Why? I'm on the verge of buying another Mac, and I was leaning toward that top-of-the-line PowerMac G5. Now, I know most were lackluster about the last round of updates, but I am still using an iBook at 500Mhz, so I was just waiting for another round before going whole-hog. What concerns me most is, I wanted to buy a machine for the next 3-4 years. My venerable iBook as surprised me at lasting 4 so far. If there is an architecture switch coming, then whatever I get, it isn't going to last much longer than 2 years. That certainly leaves me wanting to put less money into a current box. I already bought a external monitor, so I'll either be stuck with a Mac Mini (not a bad choice, but I have G5 lust) or a low-end PowerMac. Steve -- whatever happens with your relationship to IBM, please keep the sexy hardware coming!

Cornered Possum

Cornered Possum
Originally uploaded by ryandobson.

I found this little guy trapped in our garage last night. He was hiding behind a case of Shiner. The prior night I noticed some things were mysterously falling off shelves. Now I know why.

He didn't want to give up his prized location easily, so after taking his picture I proceeded to poke him with a broom handle until he ran out the door. He stayed by the front door until my wife (ever so brave) honked the horn at him and he ran into the bushes.

Marketing the iPod shuffle

This has already been done ad-nauseam throughout the web, but I just wanted to put my 2 cents in. The iPod shuffle is about changing the rules of the digital music player market. It is not about competing on a feature-by-feature level. This product is about marketing. Apple can outspend the others on marketing. Creative doesn't quite get this, as every comment I've seen from them goes into how much better their features are, or how many more features they have. Features aren't as important in this space. It needs to be good enough, but more importantly, it needs to make the buyer feel better for making that decision. This isn't normal in the computer products business -- it is quite unique to Apple, but it is normal in the consumer electronics business. It's normal in any consumer product business. This is key, and this is how Apple is competing. The other important factor to consider here is margin. Apple likes margin. Margin allows them to spend what they do. With all the components that aren't in the iPod shuffle, the cost is a lot lower. The price is just below the competition, but the competition has spent money on LCD screens, FM tuners, and recording. Where do you think that leaves their margin? Most of their competition is focused on razor thin margins in order to compete (with all those extra features). Some say that this is capitalizing on the iPod's iconographic status, and this is partially true. It certainly doesn't hurt their marketing efforts. The iPod was the beachhead into this market, but they needed to tap more of the market, as it's still growing. They aren't sacrificing margin yet, as there is still a long push ahead. The iTunes Music Store ties all these products together, and it was also the factor that solidified this market. It is still small compared to the rest of the music industry, and that is why they need the margin from the iPod. Until this market is mature, the two products need each other. The iPod provides the revenue to build up the store, while the store provides legitimacy for the iPod. The lock-in allows Apple to control the whole product experience, and will help the market grow. Apple will only give up control when it absolutely has to.

Planned Obsolescence

Never quite finished this though, but I'm posting it anyway. I had this flash of a thought while driving home yesterday, and while some won't think it very insightful, I felt the need to write about it anyway. It seems that most modern media companies are predicated on planned obsolescence. This includes audio, video, and software. What doesn't fit into this realm is print media -- books. Books have had to contend with the same copyright issues as other media, yet they have not suffered the wrath of obsolescence -- I can still read a book that was published well over a hundred years ago (granted that I understand the language). When it comes to modern media, there as always been the issue of the player and compatibility. Edison used it quite successfully for both audio (phonograph) and video (film). In my lifetime, audio has transferred from vinyl records though cassette media, up to CDs, and now the publishers are pushing both Super Audio CDs and DVD-Audio. Granted, technology has made the newer recordings a richer experience, but this has also left the industry with a great taste of planned obsolescence. They can make more money off selling the same content on new media than they can making new content. Books don't suffer this fate, because they never become unreadable. There is a thriving business selling old books. Old media also has this trade, but try finding an Edison-compatible recording in one of those places. DRM, or Digital Rights Management, restricts this transfer of media in the all-software age of audio. Old software also becomes harder to read -- does anyone have a 5 1/4 inch floppy drive any more? How about an 8 inch floppy drive? I think this is one of the prime reasons behind the open source software movement. If the platform developed on becomes scarce, then the software can at least be ported. This isn't true of binary-only software, because the developer is most likely long gone. Emulation is the trick in this case, but the software itself will never evolve. And software was meant to evolve. And this is why people are so concerned with open source software. To preserve rights to their data both now and in the future. The Word lock-in forces you to keep a copy of the software in working condition in order to keep access to your data.

Infinite Copyright

Although the museum finally admitted they were incorrect on this issue, this incident shows how our changing view of copyright has turned into a control mechanism. Even if the paintings were copyrighted, the artists are long-dead and copyright should be expired. People now view copyright as lasting almost forever. This is relatively new legislation, as the original intent was to grant only a small monopoly over a work to encourage authors to create new works. The reason the copyright expires is to encourage derivative works. Stop sketching, little girl -- those paintings are copyrighted!: "Xeni Jardin: Museum security guard told a child to stop sketching paintings in a museum -- because they're copyrighted.

It is standard operating procedure for students of art to learn by example by sketching masterpieces in an art museum. A budding artist in Durham found that the time honored tradition was challenged while seeking inspiration at the Matisse, Picasso and the School of Paris: Masterpieces from the Baltimore Museum of Art exhibit in Raleigh. Over the weekend at the North Carolina Museum of Art there were works by Matisse, Picasso, Monet, Degas and some Illanas. Julia Illana is a second grader who was visiting the popular exhibit there with her parents and was sketching the paintings in her notebook. 'I love to draw in my notebook,' Illana said. Her sketch of Picasso's Woman with Bangs, which came out pretty good, and Matisse's Large Reclining Nude got the promising artist into trouble with museum security. A museum guard told Julia's parents that sketching was prohibited because the great masterpieces are copyright protected, a concept that young Julia did not understand until her mother explained the term.

Link (Thanks, Cowicide)" (Via Boing Boing.)

Quote of the Day

Never be afraid to fail.

The Golden Rule

He who has the gold, makes the rules. FCC clarifies that they do, in fact, control everything: "The FCC files a brief in the ongoing dispute over the mandated broadcast flag claiming unprecedented reach. We cringe." Things like this really worry me. I need to think about this some more, but I'm sure I can come up with an historical example that parallels this. I just don't see how a new medium is going to flourish by taking away rights granted to us on old media. Digital technology is about flexibility and ubiquity, not locks and keys. Intellectual Property is being used and controlled like weaponry. Trade secrets. What we're talking about here are ideas. What has prospered by limiting the flow of ideas? Power and corruption.

Introducing Hannah

Introducing Hannah
Originally uploaded by ryandobson.

So, my parents just got a new puppy. The name for now, is Hannah, and she's a six-week old Yorkshire Terrier. She seems quite cute, and I can't wait to meet her.

How to Persuade People

I wanted to keep track of How do you persuade? from Scoble, because it struck a chord with me. Since learning more about business, I try to not always track down the best products, but also the best service. I've reached a point in life where price isn't always the best measure, and I want people who treat me (as a customer) like a valuable asset to succeed. The article basically sums up how I like to be treated when I'm going in to make a purchase or simply to explore the product. Most of the time I end up knowing more than the sales person of a product, and if they admit that, I'll give them some slack -- if they don't, and try to strong arm me, I'll just leave. It's a shame that there are too many people like that. If they would take the time to probe, the could learn a few things about their product.

The Choices We Make

The True Story of Audion This is a great story. It's inspiring, as a software developer, to see how a couple of guys went off chasing their dreams and made a product that a big behemoth would have bought. They didn't get bought, but don't regret it. I just like that. It makes me think about the future and the present. What you are doing has much greater impact on your life than what you could be doing. So, whenever you start letting your head go off into the clouds about grand plans, just try to come back to earth and think "What would I like to be doing right now?"