Monthly Archives: January 2010
The ads you will and won’t see on the Superbowl
Issue ads are generally not accepted for the Superbowl. But this year, CBS will televise an ad created by the anti-abortion, anti-gay, anti-woman Focus on the Family. The ad will be anti-abortion.
Yet CBS refuses to run this commercial for a gay online dating service:
So where does the bigotry lie: with CBS or with the NFL or with both? I vote both.
The best extended takes of all time
In movies, an extended take is an uninterrupted shot that lasts much longer than normal as measured by the rest of the movie or movies in general. Geekweek nominates 20 of the best extended takes.
My favorite is this incredible shot moving through a TV studio from Magnolia:
(h/t Andrew Sullivan)
Does the iPad cost too much?
Nope. (Click the image on the target page for a full view.)
Future Shock
Fraser Speirs seems to be on to something important about the negative reaction in certain tech circles regarding the iPad. He argues that the device is actually the first solid attempt to make computing simple. And simple computing scares technologists who unconsciously rely on technological complexity to maintain their social and economic status, while paying lip service to ease of use for the tech-challenged masses. A great essay worth reading in full. And some of the comments are good as well.
Excerpt:
For years we’ve all held to the belief that computing had to be made simpler for the ‘average person’. I find it difficult to come to any conclusion other than that we have totally failed in this effort.
Secretly, I suspect, we technologists quite liked the idea that Normals would be dependent on us for our technological shamanism. Those incantations that only we can perform to heal their computers, those oracular proclamations that we make over the future and the blessings we bestow on purchasing choices.
***
With the iPhone OS as incarnated in the iPad, Apple proposes to do something about this, and I mean really do something about it instead of just talking about doing something about it, and the world is going mental.
Not the entire world, though. The people whose backs have been broken under the weight of technological complexity and failure immediately understand what’s happening here.
Obama and the House GOP Caucus
The interchange on Friday between President Obama and the House GOP Caucus was amazing and important. From the New York Times:
The encounter at a Baltimore hotel was unlike any of Mr. Obama’s presidency, or very many other presidencies, for that matter. Such a sustained and public dialogue with a hostile audience is rare for a president. Instead, Friday’s back and forth resembled the British tradition where the prime minister submits to questions on the floor of the House of Commons — something Senator John McCain had promised to do if elected president.
And here is the full video. Well worth a viewing.
What are the political ramifications?
Tech quote of the day
Playing with this machine is like eating Doritos. It’s hard to stop.
-Brian Caulfield, of Forbes, describing his reaction to hands-on quality time with the iPad. The reactions of those who have used the device are all glowing.
Disclosure: I own Apple stock.
The power of Apple
I know there will be many who have already taken one look and pronounced [the iPad] to be nothing but a large iPhone and something of a disappointment. I have heard these voices before. In June 2007 when the iPhone was launched I collected a long list of “not impressed”, “meh”, “big deal”, “style over substance”, “it’s all hype”, “my HTC TyTN can do more”, “what a disappointment”, “majorly underwhelmed” and similar reactions. They can hug to themselves the excuse that the first release of iPhone was 2G, closed to developers and without GPS, cut and paste and many other features that have since been incorporated. Neither they, nor I, nor anyone, predicted the “game-changing” effect the phone would so rapidly have as it evolved into a 3G, third-party app rich, compass and GPS enabled market leader. Even if it had proved a commercial and business disaster instead of an astounding success, iPhone would remain the most significant release of its generation because of its effect on the smartphone habitat. Does anybody seriously believe that Android, Nokia, Samsung, Palm, BlackBerry and a dozen others would since have produced the product line they have without the 100,000 volt taser shot up the jacksie that the iPhone delivered to the entire market?
Disclosure: I am long in AAPL.
Mossberg is on board (naturally) (updated)
Update: And here is Mossberg’s written summary of his first impressions.
The iPad appears (updated several times throughout)
My preliminary thoughts are that it is not a revolutionary product, but more of an evolution from the iPod Touch and the iPhone. The new processor seems very fast, so the performance will be better than either. The starting price ($499) is very attractive.
Unlimited data for $30/month without a plan commitment is alluring. I also think that you need to touch/feel/use it in person to get the full experience of the device. Finally, it could compete well against net books, while protecting Apple’s profit margins. Oh, and the Kindle is dead and the name iPad is silly.
What was most important to the stock market today: price. When the device was first announced, the stock fell, but it rose quickly when Steve Jobs announced the $499 starting price.
However, because the iPad (as least as I currently understand it) is not revolutionary, I doubt it will define a new category. And the goal of Apple, as stated several times today, was that this is a whole new type of device. Not yet.
Apple has now posted the video of the launch. You can watch the whole thing here.
Where to “watch”
The real story on the Apple tablet
The Onion has the real story…
Claiming that he completely forgot about the much-hyped electronic device until the last minute, a frantic Steve Jobs reportedly stayed up all night Tuesday in a desperate effort to design Apple’s new tablet computer.
A very bad day for pimps
Remember the (heavily edited) video shot a few months ago in an Acorn office in Southern California. Well the faux-pimp/mastermind of that operation was arrested today trying, apparently, to bug the office of United States Senator Mary Landrieu. He was arrested by the FBI along with a few equally intelligent comrades, include the son of the United States Attorney for the Western District of Alabama.
Fox News is desperately trying to locate some exculpatory “context.”
Tomorrow is tablet day
Andy Ihnatko, tech columnist for the Chicago Sun-Times, gives his thoughts on CBS. You can read more of his thoughts about the tablet, which are always worth a read, here.
Middle of the road Democrats
I have never understood why every “middle” of the road Democrat isn’t so much a moderate but just seems to switch sides on issues to get re-elected or to get attention. Republican moderates always seem to have some sort of centrist beliefs. And we get stuck with the Joe Libermans and Harold Fords of the world. Colbert does a good job mocking Harold Ford below.
| The Colbert Report | Mon – Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c | |||
| Alpha Dog of the Week – Harold Ford Jr. | ||||
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