Weblands

Good Bye, Good Phone

2007-12-29T11:52:00.001-05:00

They don't make phones like they used to. Ever since Ma Bell was dematerialized, phone makers jumped the market and now we have all so many wonderful and cheap choices. But cheap is the operative word. Today, you' would be hard pressed even to find a new phone of comparable quality to this classic 1949 model, let alone afford one if you did. These babies were build like tanks --indestructible WWII tech. And for good reason, they were leased, not sold. So they had to last to be economically viable.

Perhaps we could (re)learn a valuable economic lesson from this classic phone -- Ownership isn't everything. Our "mine mine mine", "cheaper cheaper cheaper", "choice choice choice" mentality has led to an erosion of quality, market confusion such that it's hard to even know what you are getting any more, and subsequently the products we buy cost us more, not less, in the long run.

I for one miss real phones.

Will Education Save the World?

2007-10-25T21:37:00.000-04:00

There's a new charity in town, Manumission Corporation. They claim they can wipe out illiteracy, poverty and modern-day slavery, by building micro-communities and schools, and providing free accredited educations. They are also having an auction to help them get started. What do you think? Can it be done? Is education truly the key?

PS3: Have Disc Won't Travel

2007-01-05T23:57:00.000-05:00

I have a recipe for Sony's languishing PS3 that could put them on top in console wars again. Of course I don't know if anyone at Sony knows what the hell they are doing anymore. So they probably can't catch a clue even when it's about to smack 'em in the face. Nonetheless...

First, of all let briefly me define the problem: The PS3 is way to bloody expensive! Now, I could go on with all the driveling details, but in the end, that's the bottom line. Nuff said...

Now the solution, as good solutions tend to be, is forward looking:

Sony should release a low-end discless PS3.

That's right, no Blu-ray drive, not even a DVD drive! Seem crazy? Not at all. Disc drives are loosing steam as main stream media. Flash drives and Internet delivery are taking over. Sony could embrace this trend early and thus dominate it. Granted a single-layer Blu-ray disc can hold 25GB, but many games do not require that much content. 2 and 4 GB flash drives are on the verge of being very cheap, and well designed games can be augmented with online extras --additional textures, soundtracks, bonus levels, etc. (An added bonus is that flash-stored games would load very fast!)

No doubt Sony might be put off by the notion of a discless model b/c it wouldn't push Blu-ray into every house. But then they miss the point. Besides, once people get their foot in the door w/ a PS3, then they have a huge incentive buy an Blu-ray add-on drive in the future. To make it even more attractive, the drive need not be an external box, rather it could be designed to easily install directly into the PS3 unit. How cool is that?!

This discless console would also give Sony a much better distinction between low-end and high-end models. The current distinction via hard drive size has no manufacture cost advantage and only serves to further discourage consumers --20GB verges on a joke.

With such a unit, Sony could drop the the price by 200-300 USD. That would beat XBOX 360 and even be in striking range of the Wii. And if that isn't enough to convince Sony, let me put it another way. I won't be buying a $600 PS3. But I would buy a $349 discless PS3 in a heart beat.

White Post

2006-11-02T00:31:00.000-05:00

You're reading "THE POST READ AROUND THE WORLD".

The Post that gives as you give.

The most famous post of all, the royal White Post.

2006-11-01T23:49:00.000-05:00

APPLE FALLS OH! SO CLOSE

2006-09-12T22:25:00.000-04:00

Unfortunately Apple's new iTV, to be release some time in early 2007, is a feature or two shy of the perfect Internet Age Computer. Some front side USB ports, a flash reader and an eSATA port on the back would have sent this Apple to the Moon! Which is exactly what I asked for in my last post Apple's falling from the Pie.

Now, let's be honest. The component video and audio ports have a nice symmetrical look, but they are SO OVER. Why waste 70% of the back panel on legacy ports like this? Is HDMI the future or not? Stop waffling. (And don't give me the cable cost dance. Cables will be cheap enough soon enough.) Even if legacy support were an absolute must, a 4-conductor minijack (a growing standard on camcorders) can easily deliver stereo sound and composite video. Heck, go 3.1x further, bundle an inexpensive component adapter and delivered 5.1 surround sound along with actual component video on three 4-conductor mini-jack ports. For a company that supposed to think so "outside the box", they sure seem rather conservative in this area.

But I digress. What I'm really looking for here is a small inexpensive computer without all the mechanical storage dressings. Apple's iTV is so close it almost hurts to think that once again we have no cigar. Yet I remain hopeful. They say the apple doesn't fall far from the tree and thankfully Apple doesn't have much further to fall in this regard. So with any luck, they'll see the opportunity Real Soon Now and give us the "iTerminal".

Eulogy on Disc

2006-08-26T17:53:00.000-04:00

[Digg This!] I'm browsing my local CompUSA and I get this vibe. It's just one of those things. You can tell a change is in the air. It came from the first aisle with all those CD and DVD burners. The smell was faint but it was clear: Optical Media is dying. That might seem a hyperbolic prognosis at this point, and I'll be the first to admit we'll be using the shiny stuff for some time to come. But as with audio tapes --nay, even faster this time, a seachange is upon us.

I wonder. Did anyone notice when flash memory overtook CD capacity? And now it has overtaken the DVD as well. Of course the price ratio is still off. You can pick up a 512MB flash for about $20 on sale. A CD-RW disc will only cost you $0.50. The ratio doesn't seem very favorable for flash, that is, until you consider flash memory's many advantages. Flash memory is faster, more convenient, more portable, more reliable, less energy consuming, vastly more reusable and quiet. All that adds up to a vastly superior product, well worth the extra $19.50. But it gets even better...

The capacity growth of flash memory continues to accelerate. Word has it that 32GB media will be available by the end of this year. Flash has bounded over DVD capacities in a matter of months, not years! And if that rate continues, for any substantial length of time, flash will also surpass the capacities of the new HD-DVD and Blu-Ray discs COMBINED in less than 18 more (or should I say, "Moore") months. These new hi-def discs will barely have a footing in the market before new media is ready to replace them. One can only conclude that a very sad sirens song awaits HD-DVD and Blu-Ray.

In fact, I predict, by 2009 most movies will be online, HD content will be readily had via on-demand cable and flash media will be the ONLY transfer medium of choice. How can you doubt it?

It was 1969 when Klass Compaan, a Dutch physicist, dreamed up the idea for the Compact Disc. And it was then that many of us got our first glimpse of the shiny media. The CD was used as a prop on the original Star Trek series as a storage medium that recorded the contents of entire worlds on their surface. According to the show, if you placed one of these discs on the vertical reader, a portal opened up to a whole new realm of exploration. The CD and it's offspring went on to do just that. Through games and movies of unprecedented quality, we have been transported to worlds never before dreamt. Those little discs lived up to their promise and have served us very well. They will be remembered fondly. But as with all things, their time to say farewell has come.

APPLES FALLING FROM THE PIE

2006-06-12T16:49:00.000-04:00

Recent news tells us Apple is still struggling to gain market share in the personal computer market.

That's too bad. While I have some beefy greefs with Apple (being that I am a IT "expert" and all that), their systems nonetheless beat the proverbial tars out of the typical Windows PC crowd. You may beg to differ, but how about a case proof: Just a few months ago my parent's old PC went up and they were in the market for a new one. Knowing they were not especially techno-savy, I refrained from a strong Linux push and recommeded a shiny new Mac-mini instead. Not that they listened, of course. Rather they cited the usual "don't want to learn something different" line and went out and bought a "super deal" on a big darkly-colored brand name PC. Well, within a week they were fet up. Among other things, they couldn't get their printer to work and after a long battle they had had enough. They returned the PC to the store and finally took my advice. (After all, at this point they figured they could always just take the Mac back too). Guess what? You might be surprised to learn that they couldn't get the printer to work with the Mac either! Turns out the problem was the printer, not the computer. Yet, *waving finger*, they fell in love with the Mac so quickly that they kept it and and have had almost nothing but high praise for it ever since. They now regularly recommend Macs to others, and ironically find it frustrating that no one listens. A fairly telling and not a wholly uncommon story, I imagine. But it certainly leads one to ponder. If the Apple's Mac systems are so good, why in the world isn't Apple's market share going gang-go bang-go busters?

Well, let's consider an interesting comparison. Let's ask why a completey free operating system like Linux, which is just about as good in every way, and in some ways better, than Windows XP, doesn't itself go gang-go bang-go busters? It's an intersting question. Normally anything FREE will be snatched up so fast you have to be cautious of the whiplash. Now, many of course will cite the greater difficulty of installing Linux --since most people don't ever install Windows in the first place. It's simply there when they turn on their computer. Yes, that creates an adaption barrier. But I have found that even when an expert like myself offers to set the whole she-bang up at no cost, they still won't go for it. Why? The answer is simple really. It's the same old "citing the usual" I mentioned above. People fear signifficant change. It's very uncomfortable to feel "lost" and have to learn something new. And FREE doesn't stay that fear. In fact it heightens it, because people are naturally suspect of anything free --the old "it's to good to be true" adage. Unfortunately consoling them with, "it's not that different", just convinces them further that either it really is, or then, it's not worth the bother.

Well, there's not a whole lot Mac lovers can do about that situation. I mean, people are people, sillinesses and all. And even Apple doesn't have a whole lot influence in that regard despite dollars to throw at the problem. They can advertise, and it helps, but advertsing still faces the same barriers of perception. Fortuately, there is one thing that can almost always change a persons mind, as any sales person knows: perceived value. Otherwise knoe as a "steal". People love to think they got a really great buy for their money. Where free doesn't cut it, to actually "snooker the system" and get VALUE for your money, saves the day. Software has an impossible time with this because it is so emphemeral, but hardware...hardware's got substance. Unfortuately, one look at Apple's prices and one knows there isn't much in the way of perceived value. Yet, dispite their focus on high qulaity and slick desgin, I do not think this potential is out of the Apple's reach. In fact, there's this "great deal" on a "Mac-double-mini" that I would just love to buy...

If only Apple made it. What am I talking about? Let me explain... Essentially I'm suggesting that Apple take a page out of Nintendo's recent Wii book and stop trying to always hit the market at the top-of-the-line. Most people will be perfectly happy with non-cutting edge specs as long the system works well for them. This is exactly how Nintendo plans to clobber Sony in the new console wars. Another good comparison is the C64, the most successful single computer model of all time. What did it have going for it? 64K Bytes of Ram, a 1KHz processor, a TV for a monitor, 16 colors and 8 bit sound. It didn't even come with a disk drive! Such lack luster specs and yet I watched so many people run productive applications on their C64s including a windowing system called GEOS with a capable word processor and spreadsheet. Not to mention the endless games. People ate those C64s up like apple pie. Let me rephrase that, "like it was Apple's pie", becuase it was. While Apple was doing a good bit better with market share back in those days with it's Apple IIe, the company still suffered in much the same way it does today. The C64 had it all over Apple for maket share becuase it had the value --the proverbial greater bang for the buck. Of coure, back then Apple had no signifficant recourse. Apple could only continue to push foward b/c there really wasn't any "back" to speak-of. It worked out for Apple in the end, but just barely. Apple hung in after IBM swept the field, while Commomdre sunk ship becuase they went beyond value and undersold themselves. But today value doesn't have to come just from selling things below what their worth, No, today we have a that valuable "back".

Imagine this. An itty-bitty Mac with a 1GHz single core, 256MB, NO HARD DRIVE and NO DISC DRIVE --instead 4 front accessable USB slots via which the user can add flash memory. Add 2 USB ports to the back, a Gb ethernet port, an eSATA port for external hard drives, maybe a firewire port and an HDMI and you have a super slim, sexy and inexpensive system. Now you have an Apple computer in the $300 price range. Almost inexpensive enough to give away, but substantial enough for people to know they're getting a good deal for that dollar. Just the kind of thing that can move open wallets, move machines into customers hands and hence move Apple's share of pie back into the sky.

Some might scoff at such a computer. But stop and think a moment. What kind of computer is more fitting the Internet age? Speaking of which, try sticking a Google endorsement on the front of that box too and see what happens. Can you imagine? I get whiplash just thinking about it. Even so, I hope Apple's not behaving like the customer's they're failing to reach -- I hope they're listening.

I REWRITE THE X-MEN 3

2006-05-28T10:57:00.000-04:00

I hate it when a good thing is pissed on. And that's exactly what's happend with the third installation of the X-Men movies. [WARNING! Potential spoliers here] Yea, you heard me. Bryan Singer allowed Brett Ratner to piss on his series. The dramatic drabble attempted in this film is about as moving as puddle of popcorn butter. The movie overflows with miserable attempts at pulling heart strings. Only the demise of our wise Professor had any gallbladderability at all. The movie should have been true to what super hero flicks do best: surreal action combat. Girl friend drama aside, the real tragedy of this movie come from it's lack of utilizing an obvious subplot. So caught up is the film with the unmutant "choice" that it forgets to give it's audiance anything else to ponder. The clear question of Offence vs. Defense was brought-up early in the movie but was given no traction. I mean why bother touching on such a subject if you're not going to do jack nabbit with it in midst of arguably the greatest opportunity to do so in the history of film? It's just too much to bare.

So, I'm "rewriting" the movie. Not completely. Just enough to make the movie worthy of the first two. If you've already seen it than read my alterations, close your eyes and imagine what I've written is what really went down. I think it makes for a much better tale. If you haven't seen it, well don't hurt yourself for my sake. But if you must, this site will be waiting with its' "fix" when you get back.

Here we go...

For starters, just cut the first scene out althogether. We get the point without a whimpering angel boy clipping his wings to prove it. How frig'n realistic is that anyway? "Oh gee how awful, I'm an angel." Come on. No one would ever be upset about being an angel! For the love of God, spare us. Oh, and just out of curiosity, how the hell did a ten year old kid get a complete set of surgical instruments into his daddy's government office building without anyone, including his dad, ever noticing? "No dad. I'm just going to do a little plumbing while I'm in there. That's all."

Next. What did you go and kill Scott for? That just flys in the face of Marvel history. How can there be the X-Men without Cyclops? Obviously that's just not possible. So now we know, you're just jerking our chain here. Scott's not really dead! Think about it. We never actually saw him get ripped to pieces, did we? So he must still be alive. Ah ha! You're planning a secret fourth movie. Damn you. Go back and fix this one than maybe we'll accept a 4th. Besides, we don't want to deal with his death, Xavier is more than enough. Don't divide our love man, it divides our response. So how are we going to fix this? This is difficult since he can't die for the reasons stated, but if he's not ripped to shreds we undermine the seriousness of the situation. Right? Wrong! It's too early to give away just how dangereous this bitch is. Save Dr. Jean's billy badass for later. We don't realize it when we're watching that scene, but the movie actually does this already. There is really very little action here. Our minds just tend to fill in what MUST have happened previously by what happens later. Well forget that. We don't need Jedi mind tricks. Let's have Scott manage to bring Jean into base, and with a little help from Storm and Wolverine who get their tip from Xavier BEFORE laser blocking Oakley's start floating about. Scott can take a good banging that lands him in the hospital. Leave his life hanging in the balance. Cool.

Now, about the Beast. Did you have to get a gay guy to play the Blue Fiery? I'm sorry. I'm not trying to slander here. That's just how it comes off. Was the idea to provide us with some comic relief? Well, sorry to dissapoint, but it fell flat. Look, one furry dog-like creature cracking wise ass comments is enough. Please, the BEAST should have been more like a Yale graduated biker dude. Then maybe his character would have been believable. Lets do this, add a little gravel to his voice and a little more macho to his swagger and feel free to cut these scenes to their neccessary minumum. The less Furby the better. We can give him a more edifying end battle in the streets of San Fran instead.

Okay, We've improved the movie with just these few changes, no doubt. But the real kicker is the ending. What we have here is the greatest opporunity to make a smack down, all out super hero KaBattle! What do we get instead? A puny ally brawl. Ugh! What are you doing? Look, we have Magneto there not a hundred yards from Wolverine and he does nothing but watch his minions get torn to shreads? No way! He could have snapped him in half like a twig. And besides, why would he hurdle cars randomly at the solders? He just moved the entire Gloden Gate bridge for fucks sake! He could have used just one car like a fly swatter and killed just about everyone there. And lets not even go into the stupidity of all the solders running out to the middle of open ground. Isn't there someone being paid to worry about these things? Or did he go help with the new Superman movie too? Well, here's the solution. Lets move back to San Fransico and have street to street fighting all over the city serving as a distraction of man power while Magneto makes his way to Alchetraz island. That would serve up much better action and overall destruction as our heros must stop the bad guys, save civilians and get to Alchetraz before the super villian. But once there, we don't need as many little sub-villians nor so many soliders. Make the count more managable. Primarily just the main characters. Everything else can happen as it did in the flick. The Juggernaut stuff was great. But then, at the very end, do me favor. Just say no to more emotional dribble!

"Why?" Jean asks.

"For you." Wolverine returns in his GQ come-on voice just before he dices her into bologna.

Yea, there's not a crazed psychotic lunatic in the wolrd that wouldn't melt for that phrase --Love will show us the way. Spare me. I didn't take my girl freind to see the movie. Let's get back to the forgotten Offense vs. Defense subplot here instead. Remember Strom trying to make a point about the importance of defense? How bloody American that she half earnestly conceeds later. Screw that. The clear proof to this ultimate question is only yards away. How in the world this film failed to capitailze on this I'll never know. If it were a snake it would have bit them! So this is how it really goes down.

As "Super Unmutant Boy" makes his way out of the prison, he sees Phoenix in the distance and in a flash "knows" what is happening and what he must do. As if his life was made for this moment, he starts walking toward her. It soon becomes clear that all the wrath the Phoenix is throwing off is not effecting him. It is as if a bubble encases him, a place where her powers cannot reach. He gets closer. The Pheonix seeing this boy approach is getting mad. She tries harder to offend. The world around them is falling into smaller and smaller pieces. But still he gets closer. She gets even more enraged and the world around them starts to fade into oblivion. Our other heros must run for their lives from the expanding Void taking over the island. If her rage continues it seems the whole world will be consumed. But still the boy gets closer. She lashes out in one last heaping fit of super fury with all her energies directed squarely at the boy. But he is untouchable. As the boy reaches the Phoenix he puts her hand into his and in an instant the world rushes back to relative normality as Jean collpases to the ground. [Fade out]

The movie ends at the school with Strom touching off Wolverine about how Defense, not Offense, won the day. And Jean's there with the boy forever safe as long as he is with her. In time maybe they can tame the beast within. [The End]

You can keep the end Magneto scene too and defintely keep the after credit scene. That at least was very cool.

(And I sware if I had the money I would pay to have the movie redone just this way!)

Comment Powers Activate

2006-04-24T22:15:00.000-04:00

Form of a Blogosphere! Shape of a Rubicon!

Gleek, the space monkey, learns a valuable lesson in power activation. His expression is not unlike the modern blogger's who, upon realizing they had not activated open commenting, feels compelled to share their bewonderment with the world. I think Gleek speaks for all of us when he's says, "Ook eek eek aah aah!". The upshot of this monkey speak: You are now free to issue rants, citations, diatribes, dialogs, writs, fugues, bomblastings, ex·pati·ation and a variety of other assorted word-packs in my generally unsuspecting direction.

How All Life Begins: Cute

2006-03-14T14:04:00.000-05:00

Thanks to NEC, the lil' bots are here!

Robosapiens

2005-08-08T17:10:00.000-04:00

Do you find my concern dubious regarding the coming robotic revolution? Yet there is mounting evidence of what I tell you! Here is another example which came to my attention just today: a robot hand that can catch a ball moving up to 186 mph. Oh, it might not seem like much, but the rapidity of articulation of that hand is truly astounding --and will only improve. And as time wears on, so will the application of such technology to all forms of anatomy and industry.

Of course, the real difficulty of robotics still lies in the brain. And I am sure you are counting on this for some human salvation. But it to is to no avail. Yes, it is a difficult problem and one that will require more time, but the course has already begun. Consider such projects as Cyc and even Google.

The question ultimately becomes a matter of how we will adopt to the coming new age. Will we defy it, to our own demise, I assure you, or will we embrace it and thus remain relevant? Soon we will no longer be able to afford any remaining vestiges of "man at the center of the universe".

Tick-Tock, the Robot's on the Clock

2003-10-24T17:30:00.000-04:00

The robots are coming. The economic infrastructure of the world economy is already feeling, albiet yet slight, the repercussious weight. The countdown has since begun and expendential growth of robotic work-force is a given. Our current sociohumunistic degree of sophistiction pales in the limelight of any real scrutiny. We will undoubtfully handle the looming crisis with scarse attention to detail or reason --or more specifically ecologic systems theory. Neo-Luddities will likely previal over a shamelessly long stretch of generations, augmented by right-winged military agendas with continued rights violation. Agendas and violations we are already see, built upon predications of comparetively minor dilemma. The automatons continue to separate us from our humanity, until the day comes they will rule the Earth following programs which encode our fear.

On the upside, robots can now sumo.