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    What’s All This Then?

    Welcome to this, my creative space on the Internet. I am involved in many places and many projects, but this is my laboratory. I come here to create and experiment with content and social media. I write mostly about technology, media, and life in Portland, OR.

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    Jan
    15

    The Great 3D TV Scam

    By | Blog, Marketing, Technology, TV/Entertainment

    1 Comment

    3dtvA recent study indicates most of the American public is not interested in buying a 3D television. This is no surprise to me as I have always thought 3D television is indicative of a greedy industry pushing technology consumers never asked for.

    Once you have sold plenty of HDTV’s, what’s next? How do you get consumers to keep upgrading their televisions? I understand the motivation but 3D is completely the wrong answer. It’s a gimmick, and not a very good one either. The same thing is happening with movies in theaters. Way too many 3D movies that have no reason to be 3D and they don’t even look better. Read Roger Ebert’s great article on why 3D movies suck.

    We may have a solution, however. What will propel the televisions in 2012 and beyond will not be the evolution is so-called “smart” tv’s. These are televisions with Wi-Fi and Internet applications built in. We have been waiting for this convergence for a long time and it’s looking like 2012 is the year it will happen. Apple is driving this change with their still rumored TV product. Even before the rumors are confirmed, other manufacturers are racing to get their own smart tv’s out. I will write more on smart tv’s later but for now let’s hope the smart tv technology will spell the end of the great 3D TV scam.

    Jan
    09

    Taking “Occupy” To The Next Level

    By | Blog, Culture, Politics

    Angry SignI’m not necessarily a big Occupy guy although I understand and sympothize with the ideas. Occupy needs to move beyond camping, however, if it’s going to start effecting real change. Occupy is also going to have to cooeless around some clearly communicated values and goals. It’s going to have to start trying to wrest the reins of power from the very 1% it rails against. This is what has made the Tea Party so effective. They turned their movement into a political power. Like it or not its political power that effects change.

    Occupy likes to think of itself as an ultra-democratic, grass roots, no formal organization and leaderless body. That’s great for a utopian dream, but impractical in today’s reality. You can take your hippie-dippie values and shove ‘em, the only thing that counts is real change and real change takes leaders and solid ideas. Unfortunately or fortunately the only way to make real change is to wield the levers of power. The two levers of power in this world are money and politics. So either Occupy finds some very rich support or they had better start figuring out how to get folks elected to local, state and national office. I’m sure most Occupy folks abhor money and politics but if they don’t get over this problem soon, they will amount to a hill of beans. Yell, scream and shove signs in my face all day and I don’t care. Why don’t you pick up a shovel and get to work already. Stop shouting and DO something.

    Again, this is where you have to greatly respect the Tea Party. They did their protests in the park and waved their signs, and then they got to work getting people elected. They realized the current folks in power were not going to pay attention to them, so they worked to get them out in favor of candidates who held values closer to their own. It didn’t always work and they lost plenty of times, but they moved the needle.

    This is how it works and unfortunately I don’t see any ambition or organization in Occupy to do anything like this. People WILL tire of your bitching and complaining if that’s all you seem to do. 2012 is the make or break year for Occupy. Time to stand up or fade away.

    Dec
    23

    Why Google Needs To Bitch Slap Samsung

    By | Blog, Technology

    fragmented-androidSamsung just took a giant dump on Google and Android.

    They announced today the hugely popular Galaxy S line of Android phones will NOT be getting the latest Android OS, Ice Cream Sandwich. Samsung only sold around 10 million of those phones last year. One year and your phone is already software out of date! It’s outrageous. The excuse is that the phones are not powerful enough to run the new OS. Not powerful enough actually to run the OS and Samsung’s user interface layer they put on top of Android.

    This is going to be a huge blow to Google and the Android OS. The ramifications will spread beyond the 10 million customers they just instantly pissed off to many future owners of Android. Who wants to buy a phone when there is no guarantee you can update the OS? Apple could pound this point home in it’s marketing. Every iPhone gets the same software update the moment Apple releases it. Apple only leaves behind phones that are more than 2 generations old. By that time, your two year contract is up and you are eligible for another discounted phone.

    Here’s what’s worse; they risk loosing the tech community and influencers who have been hot on Android. These folks set the buzz around products and the buzz on Android is going to get pretty sour.

    Google has not been able to control Android and this is the worst example to date. There was supposed to be a rule that all Android phones would be updated to the newest OS within 18 months. Samsung just threw that rule right out the window. Google is going to have to do something to these vendors to bring them in line. These are the perils of an open system. It sounds so great in theory, but when you get down to the practical day to day it often causes more trouble. I don’t always like Apple’s maniacal control, but I do love that my iPhone works really well all the time and I can expect regular software updates until I am eligible to move to the next model.

    This flakiness in updating OS software has been going on for awhile in the Android universe, but this could be the straw that breaks the camels back because the Galaxy S line have been the most popular Android phones ever. This could be the tipping point that really causes serious damage to Android. It will be very interesting to see how Google responds to this crisis.

    Dec
    19

    Toddlers & Tiaras – The Show That Makes Me Cry

    By | Blog, Culture, TV/Entertainment

    toddlersSo-called “Reality TV” gets sicker and sicker every year, but the one show that really gets to me is Toddlers & Tiaras on TLC. This show is all about beauty pageants for little girls, from babies to 3-4 year olds. More than that, it’s about the moms and their obsession with everything from hair to makeup to presentation. They continually tell us on the show how their daughters love it, but you can’t help but wonder who really likes it more.

    It’s hard to describe how wrong the show is. The kinds of pressure they put the kids under, the complete obsession with “winning”. I literally make me upset just to talk about it. I suggest you watch an episode yourself to fully understand. I can’t stand watching the kids on this show, no matter how much they seem to enjoy it at times. I’m sure an elephant at a circus thinks it’s got it good at times, but we all know he would be just as well and probably better free on the safari.

    The general objectivity of beauty at such an early age, the mothers who often act horribly and yell at the kids. The pounds and pounds of makeup, the mouth inserts to change the jawline. This show literally makes me want to cry. I cannot watch it. There is nothing cute or funny about it. These are real kids who deserve to just be kids and not parade around and win crowns to make their moms feel better about themselves.

     

    Dec
    16

    Ron Paul – The Only Intellectually Honest Republican

    By | Blog, Politics

    Ron PaulI’m a Democrat. Pretty much always have been and I support President Obama, for the most part. I certainly wish he would play a lot tougher with the Republicans who, no matter how much good will he may show them, will never truly respect or want to work with him.

    I am watching with great interest the Republican process to see who will challenge Obama next year. It has been quite shocking to see the collection of candidates they have to choose from. And here we thought George W Bush was not very smart. Rick Perry, Herman Cain, Michelle Bachman; these guys make Bush look like Albert Einstein. When did dim witted become the new black in Republican politics?

    Of course even those who are not completely out to lunch are full of s*it. Politicians have always been full of s*it, but they used to be better at hiding it. These days, it seems, you don’t even need to.

    I am not a big fan of Ron Paul and I’m certainly not a Libertarian. Yes, remember Ron Paul isn’t even a real Republican, he’s a Libertarian. Twice he was their candidate for President. However, the more I watch and listen this campaign year the more it becomes painfully obvious that Ron Paul is the only intellectually honest Republican left. I don’t agree with most of Paul’s positions and I wouldn’t vote for him for president, but what a breath of fresh air he is into a room full of skullduggery. It’s no wonder he gets good support from young people. The youth these days can sniff out bull crap a mile away and they’re sick of it. Young people know Paul is the only intellectually honest Republican and they love him for that.

    Despite being a Democrat, I don’t think the country would be a better place if everyone was a Democrat. We need a strong two party system, at least two parties. But the Republican party is not strong and full of intellectually honest people. It seems to only value the dim witted, completely non flexible types. Donald Trump, Christine O’Donnell, Sarah Palin. This is your new Republican party. I can’t help think William F. Buckley himself would be embarrassed.

    Dec
    12

    Why Romney Feels Like Hillary Clinton

    By | Blog, Politics

    insane clown posseIn 2008 the Democratic primary was Hilliary Clinton’s to loose. It was pretty well known even a year before that she would win the contest. She had everything going for her, no way she could loose. Then, out of nowhere, comes Barack Obama and completely by surprise, steals the primary from her.

    This nightmare senario is playing out again four years later, but this time it’s on the Republican side and the victim is Mitt Romney. This was Romney’s primary to loose. He has had everything on his side; the money, the establishment. Newt Gingrich’s primary was over before it even began. In the first week of his run, Gingrich imploded in spectacular fashion. Over, done. Now, the one thing that Romney could not afford to happen has happened. With all the other Republican candidates worn out, the anti-Romney votes have all coalesced around Newt Gingrich. As a commentator I heard recently said, Romney has been playing not to loose rather than to win. But, in fact, the more Romney opens his mouth, the more he puts his foot in it. The Bret Baier Fox interview, the $10,000 bet debacle. Romney looked a lot smarter when he hardly said anything. I could easily see Gingrich taking this primary from Romney and then loosing to Obama. People forget, outside of the far right, Gingrich has pretty high negatives. His ego is out of control  and he can often be a pompous ass. It’s ironic too because the anti-establishment tea party is about to help choose the most inside guy you could imagine for the Republican candidate for president in 2012. The entire Republican field this year has resembled the Insane Clown Posse more than a group of serious people with solid solutions for these difficult times. I think Obama has done some good things in his first term, but also has made some big mistakes. He needs to get a lot tougher in the second term and start calling bullshit on more people.

    Dec
    04

    Kids Creating And Producing Their Own Toys

    By | Blog, Technology

    Disruptive Technology

    A disruptive technology or disruptive innovation is an innovation that helps create a new market and value network, and eventually goes on to disrupt an existing market and value network (over a few years or decades), displacing an earlier technology there.

    3D printing is not terribly new and has been around a few years, but putting this technology into the hands of kids IS groundbreaking and could lead to all kinds of unexpected consequences. The prototype Origo 3D printer is made for children 10 and up to design objects on a computer and print them out in 3D to play with. Yes, kids designing and creating their own custom made toys. I have always preferred the random box of legos to the highly designed play sets they make these days. With a random box of shapes and colors, you can endlessly create all kinds of lego toys to play with. The only limit is your imagination. In that same spirit, this 3D printer can free kids minds even further to create literally anything they can think of. They could even make toys for friends. Technologically, the ability to design and create your own objects is very cool, but what kind of disruption could this cause for the toy industry?

    Oh Barbie and GI Joe don’t have to worry quite yet, but for how long? Per the definition, disruptive technology can take decades, so how much better do you think the technology will be in 20 years? This isn’t just a disruptive technology for the toy industry but as larger, and even more sophisticated versions of 3D printing are made for adults, it could be disruptive to a large sector of manufacturing. How many companies will be savvy enough to make the transition to selling the designs for objects rather than the objects themselves? How many entrepreneurs will get there first, selling their own versions of products directly to customers on the Internet?

    Nov
    27

    The Secret Of Apple Televisions

    By | Blog, Technology, TV/Entertainment

    Apple TelevisionIt’s been a rumor for years and years that Apple is building a televisi0n. Finally, with the new Walter Isacson biography on Steve Jobs, we have a hint that Apple has indeed been hard at work.

    “I’d like to create an integrated television set that is completely easy to use. It would be seamlessly synced with all of your devices and with iCloud. It will have the simplest user interface you could imagine. I finally cracked it.”

    The simplest user interface you could imagine. Some people are theorizing about a gester interface like the Kinnect on XBox, but this is wrong. The interface revelation is Siri. What could be easier than talking and simply telling your tv what you want. “Change channel to ESPN”, “Record this program”. “When is the next episode of The Walking Dead on?” Sounds like giving commands to an iPhone. Build your television with iOS and you have it all. iCloud/iTunes integration, Siri, apps, everything.

    Trust me, Apple will have a television in 2012 and it will be built on iOS and you will talk to it via Siri, and you will die to have one.

    Nov
    27

    What’s All This Then?

    By | Feature

    Welcome to this, my creative space on the Internet. I am involved in many places and many projects, but this is my laboratory. I come here to create and experiment with content and social media. I write mostly about technology, media, and life in Portland, OR.

    Nov
    09

    The Rankness Of Life

    By | Blog, Culture, Health

    Every time I walk up to a public ATM machine I always wonder about the keypad. Just take a moment and have a good look at one. Most are truly disgusting. Dirty beyond belief. What nastiness is on there? Now a new study shows that quite a bit of nasty is on those keypads, along with many other public items you touch on a daily basis.

    Among the gems, 16% of cellphones have poop on them. Also, computer keyboards are 5 times dirtier than a toilet seat. There is no stat for ATM keypads but I can only imagine. Fortunately, we put these things out of our minds for the most part because if you didn’t, you woud be carrying around a large jug of hand sanitizer and rubber gloves everywhere.

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