First, me:
It's January 12 and I'm only 8 blog posts in (this would be number 9). Unfortunately, last week was a very busy week at work, as we delivered a new version of our software to one of our clients last night. Things weren't so bad at the beginning of the week, but the 12-15 hour days really took a toll on me as the week progressed and I just didn't have much energy to write anything when I got home (even on Twitter, my most recent update was posted last Sunday).
Second, Gizmodo:
One of their bloggers ran around turning TVs off with TV-B-Gone. He's been banned from CES but the blogosphere is up in arms because it reflects poorly on all bloggers and jeopardizes mainstream media's already tenuous perception of bloggers as not-really-journalists. John Biggs of Gizmodo rival CrunchGear (the blog that I stopped reading when they posted a story detailing how to go about stealing Leopard) has a rather insightful post on the whole issue and I think he sums it up nicely:
While I’m sure editors at Business Week rarely have to sprinkle out sawdust in the break room, they are looking to emulate our style if not our traffic. Unless they’re willing to accept the risk of an asshole move with the promise inspired ones, they’ll be sunk. And unless bloggers are ready to act their age and use their skills, energy, and position to help consumers and not piss of PR folks, they’re also sunk. We’re almost there, but each stunt like this pushes us back a notch.
Also, see TechMeme yesterday at around 4:15 for more of the conversation.
Technorati Tags: blogging, journalism, mainstream media, CES, Gizmodo, CrunchGear, prank, TV-B-Gone
Saw these come across my RSS reader today and just had to share.
“Whenever there is a hard job to be done I assign it to a lazy man; he is sure to find an easy way of doing it.” -Walter Chrysler
[via Signal vs. Noise]
I personally prefer being called "selective" instead of "lazy", but I don't feel like justifying that just now ;-)
When a new Mac Pro that Apple advertises as “the fastest Mac ever” doesn’t make the cut for the Macworld Expo keynote, even the more jaded among us start salivating.
[via Justin Blanton]
I couldn't have said better myself. I'm not as big a rumor monger as I used to be (you could say I'm too "selective" to keep up with the 95% of pure speculation that exists out there), but Justin sure nailed it. The new Mac Pro is simply awesome, but I doubt I would ever buy one because I don't need it. For most people, these are just nice to look at and dream of owning for no good reason. That said, Apple has trumped CES for the second year in a row. Last year it was the iPhone at the keynote and this year it was a stealth update to the Mac Pro. Does this say more about Apple's Reality Distortion Field or about the sorry state of consumer electronics? Is a high-end workstation really more exciting than pretty much everything at CES? The fanboy in me wants to say the latter but I really think it's the former. In any case, I think Gizmodo has the right idea: these Mac Pros are just the tip of the iceberg.
Technorati Tags: laziness, quotes, 37signals, Apple, Mac Pro, CES, Macworld
Less than a day since Steve Jobs announced that the iPhone would drop $200 to $399, Steve himself has posted an open letter to iPhone customers in which he states that Apple has decided "to offer every iPhone customer who purchased an iPhone from either Apple or AT&T, and who is not receiving a rebate or any other consideration, a $100 store credit towards the purchase of any product at an Apple Retail Store or the Apple Online Store."
This is an excellent move by Apple and quite possibly the best way they could have handled the PR nightmare that would have been the 250-500 thousand $599 iPhone owners. While it's not exactly $100 in my pocket, it is exactly $100 more than I would have expected to receive. Store credit doesn't cost Apple as much as face value, but it goes a long way to satisfy those customers that felt wronged (again, I don't consider myself in that group). In addition to the PR boost, Apple could also benefit from the incremental sales this $100 store credit would generate. As a prime example, I was looking to sell my iMac in anticipation of the refresh and to take advantage of the free iPod deal. Not having easily found a buyer and realizing that I didn't really need a new iMac, I gave up on the refresh. This newly-found $100, however, might just be enough to relight that fire under me and get me to buy a new iMac: Apple wins.
I applaud you, Apple. With actions like these, you will no doubt win many customers for life as you won me so long ago.
Technorati Tags: Apple, iPhone, price cut, Steve Jobs, open letter, Apple Store, PR
