BigNameSoftware (BNS) claims that its browser is regaining market share... Sheeeeesh! That is a nice way to SPIN the story... here is an example:
IE 7 Tops 100M Download Mark
An article which I will only read the title of...
IE 7 is not a choice!!! IE 7 is a security patch.
People have to download it to maintain a 'secure' system.
Mary Jo Foley in her post
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Until Mordaxus mentioned it in his post 'That's Funny' at Emergent Chaos I would never have given the possibility of "Medical" identity theft even the slightest credence. Who in their right mind would want my sordid medical history? But wait... what I lack in health my employer more than makes up for in Health Insurance.
[Update: Additional Link - Hospitals Becoming Popular ID Theft Target ]
Thanks to some enterprising soul I was able to watch the majority of the CES 2007 Keynote address hosted by none other than that perennial CES Keynote Dignitary: William "Windows" Gates...
I am impressed with the direction that Microsoft has chosen in presenting its flagship product before the Consumer Electronic Show. Hype and multimedia glitz - sound and fury signifying little, to paraphrase the Bard. Appealing to the home user, the gamer and the family-picture-scrapper Windows Vista will be your link to your friends and your life. With a click the mouse or X-Box controller you can determine what your friends are doing and with whom. Even driving in your Ford you can enjoy the ubiquitous Microsoft connectivity.
In the course of the 66 minute presentation I think I heard the Office suite mentioned...er, uh, once... in passing.
[Amendment: Bill mentioned Office ... twice... in passing.]
This makes me very happy. Microsoft has declared its intended area of focus; Middle America. That leave business waving like a limp flag and serious computer users looking for a serious computing environment. I am excited because it appears that in going after the emotionally driven, vain 'Meriken middle market Microsoft is finally declaring itself to be the second seat OS that it really is.
Bruce Schneier in his article ID Cards to Stop Bullying decries the use of ID cards.
It's important that schools teach the right lessons, and "we're all living in a surveillance society, and we should just get used to it" is not the right lesson.Mr. Schneier should spend a prolong period of time in a public school! Bruce should be exposed to the egregious behaviors and attitudes of today's young people. The 'surveillance society' that Bruce refers to has less to do with privacy and more to do with safety. Having two daughters in a urban/rural American High School gives me certain insight into this matter.
I learned long ago not to bother with New Year's Resolutions.
Seems that we insist once a year on holding ourselves to a standard. Why? Because we believe we can change. We believe that we can control our lives as though we were sitting behind the wheel of a car; turn the wheel right, go right; turn the wheel left, go left. The only real hitch-in-the-git-along of the car analogy is the "Do you know where you are driving to?" question. Usually if you are after a gallon of milk the directions are pretty clear.
Seems New Year's Resolutions are a bit more vague than a gallon of milk. Or, they are a bit more complex in their implementation than just a drive to the convenience store. Either way they more accurately reflect the true nature of the human condition. We are frail, compromised, and indecisive. [Oh boy, should I receive ugly comments about this...] If on the other hand were were truly strong, whole and complete, as well as clearly decisive we would have addressed "Resolutions" on a daily on-going basis.
Therein lies the key to this entire matter: it should not be a matter of a "New Year's Resolution" but rather a simple matter of today's resolution. Our endeavors should not be lofty grandiose goals. Rather we should focus on the moment of our lives. We can affect significant change in our lives not by scheduling it for a week from next Tuesday but by making small, minor adjustment right now.
Right now...I am going post the first Pa^ Patois post of 2007...right now.
[Note: 1400x1050 is the most excellent resolution of this 15' R52 IBM ThinkPad.]
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
The very best of the season to you and yours this holiday season.
< andy_rooney > Didja ever notice that cool things aren't cool until cool people make a point of saying they are ... well... cool? Didja ever notice that Chris Locke is the purveyor of things with high cooliocity factors. In fact Chris Locke is the very picture of cool. Didja ever notice that? < / andy_rooney >
H/T to another Master Cooler - Frank Paynter
Technorati Tags: Chris Locke, Frank Paynter, Cool
"This is a serious, long-term war," the former speaker said, according an audio excerpt of his remarks made available yesterday by his office. "Either before we lose a city or, if we are truly stupid, after we lose a city, we will adopt rules of engagement that use every technology we can find to break up their capacity to use the Internet, to break up their capacity to use free speech, and to go after people who want to kill us to stop them from recruiting people."Newt, you are absolutely right! We, as a nation, should "break up their [your] capacity to use free speech" for the overthrow of this great nation and all that it stands for.
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Remember the old joke that starts out... "I saved your life. Jim and Joe were going to make you eat a ... sandwich..."
You do? Then you won't be at all surprised when you read this report on McDonalds Intellectual Property and the protection thereof.
McDonald's puts patent on sandwiches
Tuesday, November 21, 2006McDonald's wants to own the rights to how a sandwich is made.
The fast-food chain has applied for a patent relating to the 'method and apparatus' used to prepare the snack.
The burger company says owning the 'intellectual property rights' would help its hot deli sandwiches look and taste the same at all of its restaurants.
It also wants to cut down on the time needed to put together a sandwich, thought to have been dreamt up by the Earl of Sandwich in 1762.
The 55-page patent, which has been filed in the US and Europe, covers the 'simultaneous toasting of a bread component'.
Garnishes of lettuce, onions and tomatoes, as well as salt, pepper and ketchup, are inserted into a cavity in a 'sandwich delivery tool'.
The 'bread component' is placed over the cavity and the assembly tool is inverted to tip out the contents. Finally, the filling is placed in the 'bread component'.
It explains: 'Often the sandwich filling is the source of the name of the sandwich; for example, ham sandwich.'
Lawrence Smith-Higgins, of the UK Patent Office, said: 'McDonald's or anyone else cannot get retrospective exclusive rights to making a sandwich.
'They might have a novel device, but it could be quite easy for someone to make a sandwich in a similar way without infringing their claims.'
McDonald's said: 'These applications are not intended to prevent anyone from using previous methods for making sandwiches.'
©2006 Associated Metro Limited
Value silence.
Be humble.
Do not engage in idle speculation.
Do not ask questions that are their own answers.
Do not think out loud.
Not liking something does not make the thing wrong or bad.
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...is my favorite holiday. A time when the human spirit soars. When fellowship and the sacred rite of sharing food brings us to the temple of the kitchen. Warm and comforting. Appealing to all the senses. May you and yours celebrate.
You worry about what Jason Calacanis says?
You know who is the current points leader in NASCAR?
You worry about what Mark Cuban will not buy next?
You can recite the guest list from Tom and Kat's wedding?
You know that Zhang Yin the richest person in China?
You really are excited about Ponzi and Chris?
You laugh or cry at hugh macleod's cartoons.
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Bad or otherwise...
J. Wentworth was quoted in this posting Breaking Bad Habits at Cultivating Greatness
Making Changes Once you start, do everything you can to help yourself succeed: * Break your goal into several manageable steps so you can enjoy small victories along the way. * Develop new routines and activities to avoid falling into old traps. * Keep track of your progress. * Seek professional help and support groups if you feel the need. * Reward yourself for your hard work!It took time to develop your bad habit, it will take time to stop it. If you look for overnight success, you will likely be discouraged. Some days will be easier than others. If you slip up, don’t let that keep you from trying again.
Got a call from the Head Bum... seems there is a one show revival of Rent-a-Bums for Gary Allan tomorrow night. So 11:AM tomorrow we will load in the show.
It seems he is a popular Hat, Buckle and Boots entertainers with a hot number: 'A Feelin' Like That' ... from his album 'Tough All Over'.
He must be really really famous because I don't know anything he has done.
I mentioned that I enjoy pulp fiction, I likened it to television without the commercials. Well, I just finished Louis L'Amour's 'Tucker'. It is a coming of age novel story - Shell Tucker starts out a know-it-all boy and turns into a mature savvy young man. Classic L'Amour.
When he was interviewed L'Amour said he could write anywhere, anytime. Give him a portable typewriter and he could write in the middle of Hollywood boulevard. Part of it was his simple straight forward style. Part of it was his love of telling a good story. Part of it was writing about something he believed in deeply.
I don't think L'Amour believed in the stories that he made up. I believe he was a man who clearly knew fact from fiction. He did however believe in the values represented in his stories. Clearly he loved the hero, rough around the edges, who stood for Honor, Truth, Compassion and Commitment. He wrote simple action-adventure storys that show us what we can expect from ourselves if we hold to our core values.
Did I mention that the man just loved to write.
So where is this preview?
Slack 11 and the 2.6 Kernel - sounds like the title of an action-adventure thriller, sort of like Ocean's 11 and the Temple of Doom. Now that is a scary movie prospect.
The preview? It is coming to a blog near you. Watch your local papers for times and dates.
John Dodds offers this 'minifesto' which I distilled yet again in red. While not as pioneering as the original M'festos John does brings to the fore a number of important points... My favorite is #9 - less because it about selling but more because it acknowledges what the customer is really all about; buying.
I think number 8 brings the matter into very clear focus - keep coming back to your customers. Get to know them, return to their values, come back to their successes with your product. Keep coming back.
The J Train (A Marketing 2.0 Minifesto).
- All Markets Are Up For Grabs. Focus: Re-frame the discussion.
- Difference Not Differentiation. Minimize the behavioral change you demand.
- Don't Disappoint. An informed customer is your best promotion.
- Make Your Marketing Sociable. Build genuine relationships with potential customers.
- Interaction Requires Iteration. Community, co-operation and co-creation.
- See The Wood For The Trees. Find out what [your customers] are like.
- Relate, Renew and Reinvent. You must keep coming back to your customers.
- Don't Forget To Sell. Sell - your customers are interested in buying.
- Le ROI Est Mort. ROI will rise as your engagement [discussion] intensifies.
- Marketing Is Not A Department. It is everybody's job.
The J train that I used to ride from lower Manhattan out to JFK is synonomous for me with expanding horizons and (with its echoes of those trains called clue and hugh) it seemed an aptly contrived title for my rough draft minifesto on this evolving thing we call marketing 2.0.
posted by john dodds @ 2:10 AM
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