A great little Flickr pool I've found by way of Daring Fireball. It's amazing how prevalent Moleskine notebooks are.
Here's mine, in case you were interested.
Link.
Friday, July 27, 2007
Thursday, July 26, 2007
HD-DVD and Blu-Ray dependent on console sales.
One of the most notable thing about this C|Net article on HD-DVD and Blu-Ray sales, is just how dependent the formats are on video game consoles. According to the article, Sony's Playstation 3 accounts for 1.4 Million of purchased Blu-Ray players (only 100,000 are set-top boxes) and the XBox accounts for half of the 300,000 HD-DVD players sold. This is a tiny percentage of the 13 Million XBox systems Microsoft expects to sell by June 2007.
This was already well understood that Blu-Ray would be buttressed by the PS3's introduction, however, so far without the PS3 Blu-Ray is just a flash in the pan. Surprisingly, HD-DVD is also hampered by poor sales, and the Microsoft juggernaut appears strangely uncomitted with their own pet format, having waited until late 2006 to introduce a drive for the XBox to play HD-DVD.
So, while C|Net writes: "...but just six months after the first Blu-ray players went on sale, the numbers show that the fight may be nearing its conclusion..." I can't imagine that this fight is over just yet, rather I'd expect a long internecine war of price drops and PR campaigns.
My own advice, keep your standard DVD player.
This was already well understood that Blu-Ray would be buttressed by the PS3's introduction, however, so far without the PS3 Blu-Ray is just a flash in the pan. Surprisingly, HD-DVD is also hampered by poor sales, and the Microsoft juggernaut appears strangely uncomitted with their own pet format, having waited until late 2006 to introduce a drive for the XBox to play HD-DVD.
So, while C|Net writes: "...but just six months after the first Blu-ray players went on sale, the numbers show that the fight may be nearing its conclusion..." I can't imagine that this fight is over just yet, rather I'd expect a long internecine war of price drops and PR campaigns.
My own advice, keep your standard DVD player.
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
AT&T Reports iPhone News, Apple Stock Takes Beating
...and I can't figure out why. According to AT&T's first-quarter financial results, there were 146,000 activations of the iPhone in less than two days. From the report:
The iPhone was introduced for sale at 6:00 p.m. on June 29 and AT&T's financial quarter ended on June 30. Of course, the stock market reacted to the news and Apple's stock dropped $8.81, according to the NYTimes.
Is the market simply confused between sales, estimated at nearly 700,000 during the weekend, and activations over a shorter time period and hampered by faltering activation servers?
I guess we'll know on Wednesday when Apple reports its own quarterly earnings. It's the only way to be sure.
Sales of the Apple iPhone have been robust. The June 29 launch allowed for less than two days of sales and activations before the end of the quarter. In that time, AT&T activated 146,000 iPhone subscribers, more than 40 percent of them new subscribers. Sales of the iPhone continue to be strong in July with store traffic above historical levels.
The iPhone was introduced for sale at 6:00 p.m. on June 29 and AT&T's financial quarter ended on June 30. Of course, the stock market reacted to the news and Apple's stock dropped $8.81, according to the NYTimes.
Is the market simply confused between sales, estimated at nearly 700,000 during the weekend, and activations over a shorter time period and hampered by faltering activation servers?
I guess we'll know on Wednesday when Apple reports its own quarterly earnings. It's the only way to be sure.
Saturday, July 21, 2007
A moment of love for Harry Potter
Well, that last final push is done. The boxes have been split open, the books piled in neat columns and distributed to an excited populace. The last Harry Potter novel, beloved by both adults and kids, has reached it's final path and will end.
For a moment the crowd stilled, moving almost at once, every movement and breath a potential for chaos, every gesture fraught with the sudden possibility that the crowd would turn. It pulsed around the desk like a tide, cutting the world away so that there was just the counter, eight booksellers, and the surging crowd. Then, as one manager stood on that counter, the crowd shivered as she cried out “7 minutes” and for a moment the counter seemed to wallow in the crowd, small waves of people would rush forward with their tickets and bracelets, saying “I'm next.”
We waited until it was close, until we could get within a few seconds of 12:01 to pull the purple sheet away. Touched it, made sure it would break away, we caressed the sheet and the boxes beneath, each one marked so that it was obvious what it was, but beneath the purple sheet, the boxes didn't hold the same potential. But, now that potential was pulsing with the crowd, the air conditioning vents raising the corners.
And, then we counted down, 10...9...8... and the crowd began to cheer, full of the realization that the moment was about to arrive.
The pallet is proudly depleted, ranks of boxes once neatly stacked are now strewn about, the volumes inside are in the hot hands of the crowd. People cheered for a book, people lined up in a huge crowd, in the heat of a bookstore too full with souls, to buy a book. A children's novel about magic, and they were excited, they jumped up and down, they screamed. The girl, who had arrived at 5:00 am that morning, nearly cried. She cheered as she stood up front, and then for a moment her face quivered and tears formed when she saw the bright orange cover. For a novel, we did all this.
Now that the last push is done, the boxes split open, and the books distributed, the last Harry Potter novel is being chewed through by children and adults. Much has been said, either way, about the Harry Potter series and it's ability to induce literacy. Some love the book, anytime kids read is great they say. Others are not so sure, they frown at the notion that a single blockbuster novel is not enough to get kids to read literature, but merely a cultural blip. Ask me tomorrow and I'm sure you'll hear a variation on the second idea, but tonight with the memory of all that excitement, of all those people overjoyed to dig into their favorite story and find its bittersweet endings, I can't help but love Harry Potter a little. I can't help but love Rowling's prose, though it be 'sturdy' and those characters, even as each is destined for the silver screen's own thin lens.
Tonight, I cannot escape the idea that around the country there are thousands breathing in the same world, each turning the page and loving a book.
For a moment the crowd stilled, moving almost at once, every movement and breath a potential for chaos, every gesture fraught with the sudden possibility that the crowd would turn. It pulsed around the desk like a tide, cutting the world away so that there was just the counter, eight booksellers, and the surging crowd. Then, as one manager stood on that counter, the crowd shivered as she cried out “7 minutes” and for a moment the counter seemed to wallow in the crowd, small waves of people would rush forward with their tickets and bracelets, saying “I'm next.”
We waited until it was close, until we could get within a few seconds of 12:01 to pull the purple sheet away. Touched it, made sure it would break away, we caressed the sheet and the boxes beneath, each one marked so that it was obvious what it was, but beneath the purple sheet, the boxes didn't hold the same potential. But, now that potential was pulsing with the crowd, the air conditioning vents raising the corners.
And, then we counted down, 10...9...8... and the crowd began to cheer, full of the realization that the moment was about to arrive.
The pallet is proudly depleted, ranks of boxes once neatly stacked are now strewn about, the volumes inside are in the hot hands of the crowd. People cheered for a book, people lined up in a huge crowd, in the heat of a bookstore too full with souls, to buy a book. A children's novel about magic, and they were excited, they jumped up and down, they screamed. The girl, who had arrived at 5:00 am that morning, nearly cried. She cheered as she stood up front, and then for a moment her face quivered and tears formed when she saw the bright orange cover. For a novel, we did all this.
Now that the last push is done, the boxes split open, and the books distributed, the last Harry Potter novel is being chewed through by children and adults. Much has been said, either way, about the Harry Potter series and it's ability to induce literacy. Some love the book, anytime kids read is great they say. Others are not so sure, they frown at the notion that a single blockbuster novel is not enough to get kids to read literature, but merely a cultural blip. Ask me tomorrow and I'm sure you'll hear a variation on the second idea, but tonight with the memory of all that excitement, of all those people overjoyed to dig into their favorite story and find its bittersweet endings, I can't help but love Harry Potter a little. I can't help but love Rowling's prose, though it be 'sturdy' and those characters, even as each is destined for the silver screen's own thin lens.
Tonight, I cannot escape the idea that around the country there are thousands breathing in the same world, each turning the page and loving a book.
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Hotter Islands
While browsing the BLDGBLOG, I ran into their article about climate change, and more specifically, the "urban heat island effect."
The result of man-made materials tendency to absorb and retain heat, urban heat islands not only cause the local cityscape to remain warmer than the surrounding countryside, but these islands also effect the local weather by causing strong thermal updrafts that, according to New Scientist, generate rain-bearing clouds and thunderstorms.
Tucson, like any city extended by metastatic growth, also experiences the heat island effect. This is what it looks like:
Up towards Oro Valley the air is up to 7 degrees (C) cooler than the University of Arizona near the center of the map. This works out to a difference of 13 degrees (F) if the weather widget is trustworthy.
Also, of note, according to the New Scientist article BLDGBLOG refers to, the heat island effect causes thunderstorms up to 60km downwind. In other words, while Tucson gets hotter because of all the asphalt, concrete, and heat-bleed from air-conditioning, someone in Benson might be getting the rain.
This effect can be easily felt in Tucson by driving down Broadway, as you pass Reid Park, the ambient air temperature rapidly drops.
The result of man-made materials tendency to absorb and retain heat, urban heat islands not only cause the local cityscape to remain warmer than the surrounding countryside, but these islands also effect the local weather by causing strong thermal updrafts that, according to New Scientist, generate rain-bearing clouds and thunderstorms.
Tucson, like any city extended by metastatic growth, also experiences the heat island effect. This is what it looks like:
Up towards Oro Valley the air is up to 7 degrees (C) cooler than the University of Arizona near the center of the map. This works out to a difference of 13 degrees (F) if the weather widget is trustworthy.
Also, of note, according to the New Scientist article BLDGBLOG refers to, the heat island effect causes thunderstorms up to 60km downwind. In other words, while Tucson gets hotter because of all the asphalt, concrete, and heat-bleed from air-conditioning, someone in Benson might be getting the rain.
This effect can be easily felt in Tucson by driving down Broadway, as you pass Reid Park, the ambient air temperature rapidly drops.
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Why I Don't Trust Microsoft: Entry No.: 195
Apparently, Microsoft has patented the ridiculously evil "advertising framework" which will use "context data" from the user's own hard-drive to deliver ads. Yes, they want to use your data (including text documents, music, photos, etc.) to sell you stuff. Of course this data will be secure and anonymous. And, of course this will not be another vector for malware. Not to mention the potential for embarrassing spam based on content you'd rather no one knew you had.
Microsoft continues to view users as a source of revenue rather than as customers.
Link
Microsoft continues to view users as a source of revenue rather than as customers.
Link
Macintosh BU is alive!
This is good news, the Microsoft Business Unit (who builds Office for the Macintosh) has announced updates to Microsoft Office for the Mac. This includes updates to RDC as well as file converters for Word and Powerpoint. Oddly, Excel goes unmentioned, but I would assume that a file converter is coming for that program as well. Stay tuned.
Link
Link
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Elliot Bay Bookstore - Seattle, WA
If I could marry a bookstore, I'd buy a ring for the Elliot Bay Bookstore in Seattle. Wood floors, a huge poetry section, a neat little cafe, and lots and lots of books. It's such a cool place, I'm jealous that Tucson doesn't have an equivalent.
I purchased an autographed copy of Anne Fadiman's At Large and At Small: Familiar Essays there and I'll remember to stop there every chance I get.
Trust me. If you love books and you're in the Seattle area, go here and buy something.
I purchased an autographed copy of Anne Fadiman's At Large and At Small: Familiar Essays there and I'll remember to stop there every chance I get.
Trust me. If you love books and you're in the Seattle area, go here and buy something.
Friday, July 06, 2007
On Reviewing the iPhone
Caught by John Gruber over at DaringFireball, another technology columnist has reviewed the iPhone without actually using one!
Tim Carroll over at Palm Infocenter has written a 10-point (yes, hackneyed is the world you're thinking of) comparison of the iPhone and the Palm Treo. And, yes I expect a completely unbiased review of the Treo's abilities from Palm Infocenter. After giving the Treo a 6 to 5 victory over the iPhone (yes, there are 11-points), he later admits this in the comments:
When did this kind of hackery become acceptable? New rule: if you're going to review a device (or anything frankly) you actually have to engage it in some way. I know, I know, it takes time, but that's what readers deserve. Not this obvious click-fodder.
Link.
Hat-tip to Daring Fireball
Tim Carroll over at Palm Infocenter has written a 10-point (yes, hackneyed is the world you're thinking of) comparison of the iPhone and the Palm Treo. And, yes I expect a completely unbiased review of the Treo's abilities from Palm Infocenter. After giving the Treo a 6 to 5 victory over the iPhone (yes, there are 11-points), he later admits this in the comments:
Actually won't even have a chance to play with one for at least a year, if the usual time to market in Oz is any indication. But I don't think that any of the points I've made would change if I got to play with one; I base my criticisms not just on Apple's own promotional materials and video guided tour, but the dozens of iPhone reviews and hundreds of comments from new users over the net. And just plain common sense too.Well now, I've actually handled an iPhone but not the latest Treo, but I think according to Palm's promotional materials the iPhone is way better. I mean, it's just plain common sense. Now, someone pay me.
When did this kind of hackery become acceptable? New rule: if you're going to review a device (or anything frankly) you actually have to engage it in some way. I know, I know, it takes time, but that's what readers deserve. Not this obvious click-fodder.
Link.
Hat-tip to Daring Fireball
The iPhone is a Platform, Just Not Yet
Ethan Kaplan over at blackrimglasses has started iphonehints and he has posted a great little response to all those "but the iPhone doesn't have..." articles.
He writes:
"Its important to think of the iPhone not as a cell phone, Internet device or iPod, but more as a general purpose computer who's software and operating system enable it to function as all three. Without any software, what the iPhone consists of is:
"Apple's 1.0 product release strategy is quite simple: get it perfect with as many features to get a feel for use, then expand from there. If you were around for OSX 10.1, Final Cut 1.0, iPhoto 1.0, Aperture 1.0, etc. Each was barely usable, and got a feel for a market without over-extending the engineering behind it. Apple has focus with software development, in a top-down pyramid structure. Get the core perfect, extend from there."
I can't help but agree with the guy, the iPhone is a platform for Apple, akin to the iPod but with a much greater degree of flexibility because of the inclusion of OSX. Hasn't anyone noticed that the Apple TV was, within a week of its introduction, hacked to extend its capabilities? And, does anyone think the iPhone will be any different?
The iPhone is a platform.
Link
EDIT: Apparently, Uncle Walt (better known as the Wall Street Journal's tech columnist Walter Mossberg) has been told that Apple will include Flash on a future iPhone update. Link
He writes:
"Its important to think of the iPhone not as a cell phone, Internet device or iPod, but more as a general purpose computer who's software and operating system enable it to function as all three. Without any software, what the iPhone consists of is:
- A 600-700mhz computer
- Dedicated 3d graphics processor
- Cellular modem
- Wi-Fi network adapter
- Accelerometer
- Ambient light sensor
- Proximity sensors
- Multi-touch haptic touch screen display
- Audio input and output
- High speed data support (USB 2.0)
- Bluetooth communication adapter
"Apple's 1.0 product release strategy is quite simple: get it perfect with as many features to get a feel for use, then expand from there. If you were around for OSX 10.1, Final Cut 1.0, iPhoto 1.0, Aperture 1.0, etc. Each was barely usable, and got a feel for a market without over-extending the engineering behind it. Apple has focus with software development, in a top-down pyramid structure. Get the core perfect, extend from there."
I can't help but agree with the guy, the iPhone is a platform for Apple, akin to the iPod but with a much greater degree of flexibility because of the inclusion of OSX. Hasn't anyone noticed that the Apple TV was, within a week of its introduction, hacked to extend its capabilities? And, does anyone think the iPhone will be any different?
The iPhone is a platform.
Link
EDIT: Apparently, Uncle Walt (better known as the Wall Street Journal's tech columnist Walter Mossberg) has been told that Apple will include Flash on a future iPhone update. Link
Tuesday, July 03, 2007
iPhone's Opening Weekend
Simply put, the iPhone is a blockbuster selling approximately 700,000 units in three days, a number which took the Motorola Razr in its first month. Hype is obviously important, but as the reviews continue to roll in it seems, it seems that Apple has done more than create a frenzy, they've created a fantastic device.
Unfortunately, I'll have to wait to purchase mine, but after a few minutes at a packed Apple Store fiddling with the sleek iPhone, I'm more than ready to get one. And note, this is a coup for AT&T who just attained 700,000 new subscribers.
Link.
Unfortunately, I'll have to wait to purchase mine, but after a few minutes at a packed Apple Store fiddling with the sleek iPhone, I'm more than ready to get one. And note, this is a coup for AT&T who just attained 700,000 new subscribers.
Link.
Sunday, July 01, 2007
A Quote on Literature - Jean Paul Satre
The creative act is only an incomplete and abstract moment in the production of a work. If the author existed alone he would be able to write as much as he liked; the work as object would never see the light of day and he would either have to put down his pen or despair. But the operation of writing implies that of reading as its dialectical correlative and these two connected acts necessitate two distinct agents. It is the joint effort of author and reader which brings upon the scene that concrete and imaginary object which is the work of the mind. There is no art except for and by others.
— Jean Paul Satre, What is Literature?
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