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Jon Adair › Comments
It is American to consider both sides. I hated what Bush did but still took my son to see him. Where did we lose the ability to do that?
Kol Tregaskes, Hutch Carpenter, Ben Hanten and 22 other people liked this
We haven't lost the ability to consider both sides - your actions with your son testify to that. Throughout history, some people have been able to consider multiple views, and some haven't.
- John E. Bredehoft
I am appalled at this concern about the President's address to school children, as if he is going to pollute their minds. So disrespectful of the institution and his position. It makes me wonder about deep-seated, unacknowledged racism.
- Teri Gidwitz
We lost it when mainstream media over-covers rhetoric vice facts and the mindless drones of the general public blindly follow. I'm not a Big Obama "fan" but you still have to respect the office and the guy sitting in the big chair even if you don't "Like" him you can still respect and disagree.
- Stan Augustyniewicz
Stan: yup. Media business has turned politics into a sports team.
- Robert Scoble
from iPhone
I don't attribute it solely to racism - some whites didn't like it when white presidents spoke to children either. It's this "my way or the highway" mentality that refuses to even listen to the evildoers, be they Commies or Baby Seal Clubbers.
- John E. Bredehoft
"as if he is going to pollute their minds." - 50 years ago, the same nutters who are spewing about, quite literally, every single thing Obama does would have been ranting at the local barber shop about Flouride and Communist infiltration of the government. They are all Id, no Superego. That the cable "news" networks give these John Birch Society wannabes a platform is a disgrace.
- John Craft
I'm not sure how many people believed in the ideals of the US when it was started. A system based on laws, checks and balances, a democratic republic, protection from the government. But enough people went along so that it worked. Now it seems people are tired with the experiment and feel entitled to remake the country as a theocracy. It's just easier that way.
- Todd Hoff
Blue Cross presents the Senate Healthcare Reform debates!
- Stan Augustyniewicz
It's unfortunate we've become so polarized; for or against, no appreciation for nuance or complexity.
- Teri Gidwitz
News delivery is such an open market people can go and look and find whatever news they like that agrees with what they think. Combine that with "news" having such a wide ranging definition and much of it not being "and that's the way it is" anymore, we've reached that divide. I really think it'll have to get a lot worse until people start to wake up and realize they can't just listen...
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- Dean Clark
My impression of this (from the UK) is that people are more bothered about their kids writing a letter about "how they are going to help President Obama". It does sound kind of creepy.
- Rob Fisher
Why aren't these same parents so concerned about the politics of the teachers and administrators who get to speak to their kids all the time? I've pretty much decided to wait and see how many people I know really hold their kids out and how many are just running their mouth. Not sure which is worse. My kids? They're homeschooled so we'll watch the speech together and talk about it. We'll also get to talk about their friends and their parents that didn't want to let them see that speech.
- Jon Adair
The speech itself isn't that bad, however I can pretty much guarantee it was re-written. The worst part was the lesson plan that followed that sounded like it was written by ACORN. The other problem is Obama's cult following and how his narcissism has affected his ability to govern.
- Spencer
Good point, Jon Adair, and a good solution too. Dean Clark, "they can't just listen to what they want, or bad things will happen" -- now *that* sounds kind of sinister. If you mean that people need to apply critical thinking, then you're right. I think the idea that *any* news reporting is unbiased is naive. There will always be the possibility of picking and choosing. That's why I like blogs: a much wider range of views than the MSM's narrow left vs. right.
- Rob Fisher
Spencer: did you talk like that about Bush? I really hate that media has given us all permission to call each other names.
- Robert Scoble
from iPhone
Robert: I think it works both ways. Remember bushitler?
- Rob Fisher
I think most people can actually consider and respect both sides. It's the passion and consequent fervor that arises around specific issues. People want to have their views heard and respected. When they do not get this emotional-based reactions crop up. It has been there for ages and will continue to be so.
- Altan Khendup
One of the major themes that was presented after Ted Kennedy's death was his ability to work with the Dan Quayles and John McCains of the world.
- John E. Bredehoft
I believe racism is a big part of it. There's quite a few people out there who have issues with their children seeing that a black man can be president (and at the same time be more eloquent they can even dream of). Maybe they fear that he will empower all the black kids ...
- Rene Wirtz
1UP Rene
- Derrick
The last 16 years have proven that the moderates are way to quiet in this country.
- Moved to Facebook
I'm just sad
- Wayne Sutton
from iPhone
I think Rob Fisher's hit the nail on the head twice here: the vitriol against the 43rd President was far, far harsher than anything the 44th has faced so far, and the suggestion about "writing letters about how you can help the President" — what about the majority who are opposed to his current agenda? Are they expected to help achieve something they oppose? It could easily and should...
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- James
I grew up in the 60's and I can never remember the President speaking directly to me as a student. I 'm not sure its a good idea no matter who the President is. That being said, if the President did speak I am sure my parents would expect me to be respectful. You respect the office of Presidency, even if you don't respect the current occupant.
- Kim Landwehr
Over the past few years the American fabric has been broken down. People have embraced ignorance over knowledge. We listen to the talking heads on television and let them shape our beliefs instead of making our own decisions. We view disagreements as personal attacks w/o attempting to see the other side's point of view. Sad indeed.
- Vaughn
from BuddyFeed
I'm now convinced because of this http://www.pcworld.com/article... that PC World really doesn't know what it's talking about. More:
Bill Sodeman, linearthoughts, Chris Greene and 39 other people liked this
1. A Tablet does not need to lie flat.
- Robert Scoble
2. An Apple Tablet would find a HUGE market just waiting. Our coffee tables.
- Robert Scoble
3. There are a huge number of people who will buy ANYTHING Apple puts its name on. Well, OK, Apple TV proved that isn't quite true.
- Robert Scoble
4. If hosting a virtual keyboard takes too much real estate on a 10 inch display, I guess they didn't see the iPhone.
- Robert Scoble
and if only there were molds that could make these things fit us perfectly, like a blackberry hand mold, would rock the available accessories....
- Liza
5. I used to own a tablet, made by NEC. It was my favorite computer. Bill Gates bought 400 of them to give to his closest friends, too. It was really awesome, nice and thin, easy to carry around.
- Robert Scoble
6. I guess he didn't see that the Amazon Kindle is pretty close to a tablet and works fine.
- Robert Scoble
7. I want a computer I want watch TV with and interact with while watching TV. A Tablet is BETTER than a laptop in that mode.
- Robert Scoble
Urban legend is that the NO buttons were a decision that was so important that he does not wear buttons - mock turtle...But surely his jeans have a button, and his car, and other items....
- Liza
8. Artists actually don't like Tablet PCs. Why? Not enough screen realestate. He's right there, but for the wrong reasons.
- Robert Scoble
9. Note taking in class? I dare you to copy a chemical molecule in text on a keyboard, or write an advanced mathematical formula without a pen. Of course, if this writer really wanted to make a good point, just use pencil and paper and take a picture of that with your iPhone.
- Robert Scoble
good points, Robert. Form factor and software functions / features are related, but can can really take products in different directions.
- Lora Heiny
(Disclosure: Lora works on Microsoft's Tablet PC team).
- Robert Scoble
Their definition of "tablet" is way too restrictive. A Kindle IS a tablet. A tablet, in my opinion, simply means a computing device with the capacity for input while in a two-dimensional format.
- Trent Hamm
My HP-TX2 is the best computer I've ever owned. Evernote on this baby is what's getting me through my Linear Algebra class this semester. Also, Civilization 4 is awesome in tablet mode.
- Scott Ohlemacher
robert - apple tv kicks arse, provided you install boxee on it.
- Terry O'Fee
Terry: I totally agree.
- Robert Scoble
My thought: lets see this thing before we criticize it. It's an Apple tablet after all. I know a certain phone that was criticized for being a me-too phone as well.
- Ryan Massie
Agree except for a few things. For 7, it's still easier to have a laptop form factor sitting in your lap instead of having to hold it with a slate. For 9, Sorry but people won't be inking notes in class with their finger on a capacitive touch screen. What's missing is the active tablet and ink/character recognition that doesn't take up a lot of resources.
- Rodfather
Ryan: all good products have haters.
- Robert Scoble
Rodfather: absolutely disagree. Reading or getting comfortable on a couch is much easier with a Tablet. Oh, and let's not forget sitting in coach seats in planes!!!
- Robert Scoble
I kind of ripped into him on mashable: http://mashable.com/2009...
- Ben Parr
i still really wish they'd make a 10 inch MB, though. they must know a smaller version would sell well, regardless of price..
- Terry O'Fee
Ben: I missed that totally but glad great minds think alike.
- Robert Scoble
(Update: Last fiscal year I worked on an education project and some tangential things, like the Tablet Accessibility Imagine Cup award. Still find Touch & Tablet PC future concepts really intriguing. On to new things in the next few weeks :) )
- Lora Heiny
Looks like someone's trying to fill Dvoraks hater pants.
- Joshua Schnell
It's probably because Mashable tweets are getting lost in the cloud. Twitter's experiencing a slowdown.
- Ben Parr
Robert, whatever floats your boat. For me, it gets tiring and hot having to hold a slate all the time. I like having my hands free.
- Rodfather
Rodfather: keep in mind that I own three laptops and my wife owns one and my son owns one. So this would be IN ADDITION to a laptop, not as a replacement for.
- Robert Scoble
I suspect the iTablet is actually going to be much like the HP TX2, likely running OS X with some mobile features (like note taking / a program like One Note) and the capacity to read books from the iTunes store - or possibly functioning as a Kindle.
- Trent Hamm
Yes, that's fine. I'm just pointing out it's easier for me to couch surf with a laptop form factor. If both are actually released, I'll be grabbing both but who knows what their use will be for.
- Rodfather
I see the potential in a virtual keyboard that has been missed up to this point by everyone. Allow the users to program the "keys" with shortcuts and such. Then the real estate being "lost" to the kb suddenly becomes productive and valuable. Other points were generally spot on, Robert except #1- whether it has to or not- other than flat how else is a tablet going to lay? Little pop-out legs?
- Alyx
I think this is just an attempt to kill the Kindle and have some other cool features that take on netbooks. It will all depend on how it's priced.
- Mark Juleen
Rodfather & Robert: one big issue you're pointing out is definition that media is using vs common use of words we're used to, ex. tablet, slate. These are form factor biased. iPod Touch, iPhone, Kindle -- all very successful slates. Specialty PCs with multitouch, handwriting, etc. like the HP TouchSmart PC or a Motion Computing slate are similar form factors and very different in size....
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- Lora Heiny
I doubt this Tablet will have any inking capabilities at all and it won't matter. It's all about consuming not creating with the possible exception of video/audio/etc....
- Warner Crocker
And the PCWorld article was just trash.
- Warner Crocker
I think an Apple tablet would be kinda neat, and watching movies on a tablet can be ok, but not always as nice as a regular laptop or even netbook (depends on how you're sitting/laying). I think though that not having a full-fledged OS X running on it will severely limit its potential...
- Jan Ole Peek
Yes, the article was crap
- Rodfather
Are they a bit biased ??
- Cookenstein
I wonder what the hardware will be .. will it run photoshop? if so there's a winner
- Dylan Richardson
Love point number 9
- Gustavo Gomez
Dylan, Photoshop on a 10" screen isn't that amazing. Plus the hardware would have to be faster than my Dell Mini 10v with 2gb of ram to do anything more than basic photoshop stuff.
- Jan Ole Peek
I'm not so sure this thing will be a hit. Who's the audience for this device? Current Mac/iPhone users? They own a Mac and an iPhone now they're going to buy a tablet...for what reason? What can they do on the tablet they can't do on their Mac's? Handwriting recognition...unlikely, used as a video/music/TV player...possibly, but this can already be done without needing another device,...
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- Kenny
They also missed the point that Apple wouldn't want OSX on this. They like controlling the platform and limiting the available apps. The buzz for the Crunchpad is a pretty good indicator that a lot of people would like these, at least early adopters. The mass market may not 'get' it yet, but they're just now getting full use of the iPods and iPhones they bought in the last year.
- Jon Adair
I would never bet against anything that Says "Apple". But actually http://itablet.com is promoting Vista Tablets...
- Robert Higgins
PC World vastly overlooked the gaming market as well. As a hand-held device with a larger screen, I am sure developers are drooling at the opportunity of an entirely new market for games. Larger screens open one set of flood gates and clouds knock down the dam. I would wager very few of us can conceptualize the possibilities of such a market in 3 years.
- thestaticfrost
I'm with Kenny. I don't see it, yet. Usually Apple goes into a market to completely dominate. I don't see it here.., yet. Which devices will it try to take over? Netbooks, GPS nav devices, media-players, ebook readers, portable gaming devices? Take on the vertical markets and replace all the tablets in hospitals with this? No clue.
- Rodfather
thestaticfrost - Agreed, a gaming device has some potential.
- Kenny
Rodfather: there is one place in your home that NO ONE dominates yet: your coffee table. Another? Your kitchen counter. Apple could make a neat market by going after JUST those two places.
- Robert Scoble
Who's got room on the kitchen counter?
- Eric @ CSTechcast.com
Robert, perhaps. I don't see Apple making a huge hit with that segment. They usually go in to dominate. We're talking about a 3rd or 4th device now after a laptop, netbook, and smartphone. For me, I don't spend that much time in the kitchen. I wouldn't buy a whole new device for the bathroom or to replace my clock radio either.
- Rodfather
Rodfather: Apple rarely goes into dominate. They haven't dominated cell phones yet, gaining only a few percent of market share so far. But what they DO dominate is mindshare. Here Apple could very cleanly dominate in both places once again. You might not spend that much time in the kitchen, but a lot of people do.
- Robert Scoble
C'mon Rodfather, you have to admit, an Apple Tablet, whatever it turns out to be would be a great Stall Surfing device. :)
- Warner Crocker
I'll just say this, since wireless became ubiquitous, I take my laptop into the kitchen all the time. I store recipes on delicious or other websites, and I just pull them up, instead of printing them out and taping them to the cabinet door like I used to. The iMac is too big for our tiny kitchen, so I'd be all over an OS X tablet.
- ha3rvey (doesn't dance)
I'm sure it'll be fantastic and I would get one, and yes Warner, I would use it on the can. :) I just don't understand the market they are going for. From what I know now, I don't see it having the same impact as an iPhone, iPod Touch, or a MacBook.
- Rodfather
Robert Higgins - after looking at your link for iTablet.com the kitchen is what came to my mind. Robert - It could have some cool uses there but I'm still not sure there is much of a market for this type of device. But having this type of device in the kitch could be kinda cool. Imagine it sitting there and using the touch screen to scroll on web sites, use it to hold recipes, integrate...
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- Kenny
Here's the real question I have about all of these new slates -- Can I get my typical right-click functionalities? And if so, how? Because I use the heck out of "Copy Link Location" and "Open in New Tab".
- Miss Elle
Most tablets if they have a digitzer stylus pen will have a button on it to hold down for right-clicking.
- Jan Ole Peek
Miss Elle - if it's a touch screen you would most likely just 2 finger tap for the right click functionality, just like you do know on Mac laptops
- Kenny
I want a coffee table / kitchen counter tablet asap!! Must be simple and elegant as my iPhone; designed for web browsing.
- Susan Beebe
from BuddyFeed
Most likely, hold down to register a right-click. That's how it works for touchscreens on Windows Tablet ed, Vista, & 7. Holding down on a link/image in Safari on the iPhone also gives you a menu.
- Rodfather
This article reminds me of Steve Ballmer laughing at the iPhone for not having a physical keyboard.
- Dennis Chiuten
IF that device shipped tomorrow, and assuming for this discussion it's not a PoS, my only decision is how many rooms would have one on the wall this year and how many would I wait for the next revision. Why do people think laps & tables are to only two places this would be used? I want my first one on the wall in my bath/dressing room; so I can glance at it from the shower and while getting dressed to get the morning news, weather, stocks, Tweets, etc, etc, etc ... standing & walking around.
- Don Strickland
The guy (Michael Scalisi) who wrote the article for PC World is an IT Manager from somewhere, he isn't clued in to how such a device would/could be used - just ignore it!
- Geer
As someone else mentioned, just like the iPhone, I think there is no way to surmise what an Apple tablet will be - they probably won't call it a tablet. And most underestimate the marketing prowess of Apple. I can see an extension of the "we've got an app for that" ads already.
- PXLated
An apple tablet with what sort of touch interface? If like iPhone, from an artist's point of view, not good. I like doing graphics/cartoons on digital devices, but windows mobile was always too small to draw really big illos with, though spot cartoons it wasn't bad. Would LOVE an Apple tablet I could use a stylus with. And yes, there's a huge market for one. You wouldn't have to squint or squeeze to read a whole news item.
- George Hall (Australia)
Guess if I had a choice, though...if a crunchpad had the ability to do art/graphics with a stylus and an apple tablet didn't, I'd buy the crunchpad instead...though I'd still be eyeing the Apple tablet for a bit later...
- George Hall (Australia)
I want my Newton 2100 back but with web capabilities and a color screen.
- Mark Davidson
from BuddyFeed
Apple's device is out there to destroy the netbook, the Kindle, and the legal pad. That's a pretty sweet target imo.
- Trent Hamm
i still think they should make a small form macbook. the tablet will be interesting and maybe very good, but theres people out there who want some reliable small netbooks, laptops, whatever you want to call it.
- Terry O'Fee
Have to say I don't get the whole idea of the ITablet/IFoleo. A netbook - Yes. For me this back to the days of one device for calling, one device for viewing, one device for typing. I am sure there would be a nitch for it like Robert watching TV on it, but It would hardly be the innovative design that Apple is known for. I can see it now, like a nightmare, People walking around in the streets with giant Iphones. Apple, please don't make my nightmare come true
- Asgeir
By definition, a tablet does need to lie flat. But otherwise agreed.
- xero
Xero: I disagree. A tablet needs to be able to be configured in some fashion to be flat, but it does not need to be flat, period. Take HP's excellent TX-2 - it's a tablet, clearly, but it's also got a keyboard and with a quick rotation, it serves as a laptop.
- Trent Hamm
For the purposes of writing upon the tablet's screen, a tablet needs to be able to lie flat on a flat work surface such as a table or desk in order for it to actually be used like a tablet of paper, a notebook, a clipboard, which is what it is replacing. Just like any other laptop/notebook computer, it is ergonomically ignorant to assume it can lie in ones lap or cradled in ones arm for...
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- xero
O, Robert, say it isn't so?! What will I offer my guests for light water closet reading? :)
- Melanie Reed
Geer: I'm totally with you on your comment about the author. Apparently, it's become really easy to write for PCWorld now. You don't need to know how to write, just be an in the tech biz at some level with some hair-brained story about a rumored product's future failure. Bizarre.
- Paul Salzman
Facebook drops other shoe tomorrow? - http://www.techcrunchit.com/2009...
Aaron Crews, Nicholas James, Daniel Rowley and 37 other people liked this
I know its asking for too much, but here's hoping for OAuth so we can try to standardize some of this stuff!
- Mike Flynn
yeah, open standars will be good. i'm hoping.
- rama mamuaya
The article's analogy to when AOL "opened up" internet email to the masses scares me to death.
- Jon Adair
We need decent FriendFeed to Facebook integration. Going via Twitter isn't the best solution.
- Peter Kelley
Interesting that there are so many retweets, and so few comments. What is there to say in the moments before Facebook eats Twitter?
- Cliff Gerrish
Seeing integration for FriendFeed where we can comment on Facebook entries directly, see more data flow over from Facebook to FriendFeed (sans every annoying notification about every quiz someone takes) will be very nice.
- Kevin Kuphal
Actually, I think Twitter can be saved in several ways. I think they could come out on top if they really kicked things in gear differently. Been blogging some thoughts on that,
- Ken Camp
I agree with the comments about open standards. Along those lines, I don't think choosing a platform needs to be an all or nothing decision. The redundancy and additional reach that multiple platforms provides now is very beneficial. Inter-service messaging would be helpful and annoying if you are tracking multiple services, but there would be a way to "tool" around that issue.
- Larry Roth
Shouldn't Twitter be saving itself? Why would it be up to the users to save Twitter? And re: standards - the word 'open' is redundant. You just need a standard that works to transport messages between the services.
- Cliff Gerrish
They've also announced support for the Activity Streams standard today http://wiki.developers.facebook.com/index... this could help towards creating an open standard for Lifestreaming.
- Mark Krynsky
Recession resistant business? Selling guns and ammo. I hear that local gun shops are out of almost all ammo. Answer why here:
Susan Beebe, Rutger Blom, Hutch Carpenter and 20 other people liked this
There's a rumor going around in California that the State is going to really raise taxes on ammo, so people are stockpiling thousands of dollars worth.
- Robert Scoble
Hunting?
- Johnny Worthington
Patrick's step-father runs a gun shop. He says gun sales are also brisk.
- Robert Scoble
That and the fascist government of President Obama is soon to announce a nationwide collection of all firearms greater than BB guns.
- Chrimmus Tad
Johnny: nope, this is for handguns. Although it sounded like all gun ammo is in short supply right now.
- Robert Scoble
Duuuuuuuuuuuuuuude... *rethinks his trip to California*
- Johnny Worthington
So they can shoot up their places of employment when they get laid off. Simple.
- Sam Ismail
Gun nuts are stockpiling for the Armageddon seems like a likely reason.
- Brian Sullivan
Brian: that's part of it, but most of his business isn't weird nutty people.
- Robert Scoble
they are getting ready for the invasion from mexico !! - oh btw this trend is only on the border states.. States like MI and CT have no shortages from what I can tell.. !
- Peter Dawson
Brandon: that's part of it too, cause gun owners are expecting anti-gun legislation to come down the pike.
- Robert Scoble
Sam, there was something on that topic in the local news last night. Shootings going up bec of ppl being unemployed and being disgruntled.
- Kashif Khan
To some extent there is feed-back cycle of hoarding going on. People have a hard time getting ammo, so they buy more than they normally would whenever they find it available, which further strains the supply. This is a nation-wide phenomenon that extends to other supplies as well. My father reloads his ammo and hasn't been able to get primers for months now.
- Charles Fenwick
I suspect whenever Democrats return to the majority, either nationally or in a particular state, there is a rush on ammo sales. Justified or not, nut-case or not, it is simply expected that more gun control legislation will follow.
- DGentry
Preparing for 2012?
- CAJ, somewhere else
Robert, It is a base fear that guns and ammunition may be banned, partially banned, or punitively taxed. I don't know if the fear is founded in reality or not, the exact same thing happened in 1993 when Clinton was elected. In his first two years he was successful in banning certain types of ammunition, certain types of magazines and rifles, and he signed the Brady Bill. Some analysts believe his aggressive attack on guns led to the Republican takeover in 1994.
- Steve Olson
Gun nuts are afraid the government is going to take away their unnecessary assault rifles so they're buying them while they still can (See Tad above). I LOVEs MA GUN. OR... People realize it's makes better economic sense (and it's better for the environment) to shoot their meat than to buy it from a factory farm.
- David Connell
Robert: I consider anybody buying handguns/military rifles and ammunition for them weird nutty people.
- Brian Sullivan
BTW, it isn't just in California, there is a run on ammo here in Minnesota as well.
- Steve Olson
I reload our shells for target shooting :) and have enough gun powder to hold us over.
- Janet
Also, the short supply of ammo has been an ongoing situation, with demand from Iraq/Afghanistan being cited as the cause. While concerns over regulation in the wake of Obama's election spurred the sales of guns, it is not the sole reason for the ammo demand/supply shortage.
- Charles Fenwick
Maybe the Twitterati are gearing up for an all out war against the forces of Oprah.
- Vincent Galante
Oh, and one more thing, if I may. A few weeks ago there was a panic when a regulation came out of the Department of Defense forbidding the sale of used shells to anyone not planning to melt them down. As this is a significant source for ammo vendors, this would have phenomanally driven up costs and tightened supply. The regulation was stricken a week or so after it came to light, but...
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- Charles Fenwick
Guns/ammo sales are up only because of Obama. Look around the country, and you will see gun sales (all types of guns, not only "assault rifles") are way up, including concealed weapons permits. It's no secret that Obama has a strict anti-gun stance and voting record, so no surprise that people are arming themselves. Also, lets not forget the state of the economy, that people want to prepare for the worst.
- Spencer
In Phoenix, its everyday people who a lining up to buy handguns... there is a message here about our society. The local gun shop I visit is busy selling gun's all day long, every day of the week.
- Michael D'Haem
Because too many people in America use the 2nd amendment as a way to (ineffectively) ease their fear of the unknown and subsequent feelings of a lack of control. (Also, Erik Prince is planning a military coup with the help of an African warlord so he can demand that the president give him a seat at the head of the table)
- Ankush Narula
Also: Church.
- Andrew Leahey
Peter: this isn't just a trend in border states. SC has been short on ammo since... Well, since the election. I'd venture to say it's a red state and border state issue.
- FFing Enigma (aka Tina)
It's not just politics and shortage fears driving it. The economy has people worried about increased crime. Guns also depreciate less than most purchases. How many other things can you buy today that will likely be perfectly functional and useful 10, 40, or even 100+ years from now?
- Jon Adair
are sales increasing all over the states or just in a couple of states ?
- Kashif Khan
Buyers may not be primarily of the scary/nutty type - but for me it's a scary/nutty trend. I'd personally ban any gun created for killing people if I had the power.
- Jen (SquirrelGirl)
I'd like to contribute as to why this is, but being Canadian I can only buy simple hunting rifles and even that is a royal pain of a process.
- Matthew Bertulli
Sales are brisk at the local gun shops in my neck of the woods. Major hunting area, major red-neck area, a red spot in an otherwise blue state.
- Janet
Down here in the South I heard the reason was that they were going to be increasing taxes on ammo 500%. I heard another rumor claiming they were going to stamp ever bullet with an ID number (all courtesy of Obama, of course!). Neither of those are entirety true but the fear is a democratic POTUS means tougher gun restrictions which has everyone in a hurry to stock up. FYI I'm not saying any of this is fact, simply fears of the general public.
- Brian Bufalo
Plus you can never be too prepared for a zombie invasion! ;)
- Brian Bufalo
There was a great piece on 60 minutes recently http://www.cbsnews.com/stories... . The cost of ammunition is skyrocketing, so buying now makes sense. And many feel that the Democrats will use this opportunity to increase restrictions on legal gun ownership. Many politicians would like to see NYC gun control legislation go nationwide (high fees (and recurring), multiple trips, long wait times (over 6 months), a requirement that your weapon be unloaded in the home, etc.
- Matt
Perceived shortages --> hoarding --> actual shortages. Very common behavior. Look at gasoline every time a big hurricane threatens oil refining.
- Dave Roth
because the US is headed towards no longer being the world powerhouse; China will take over soon
- clarke thomas
Alcohol is a better recession resistant business, and in fact does better in the bad times.
- Martha
Fear. Plain and simple, fear. Fear of gun rights being taken away and fear of crime. False Evidence Appearing Real. Fear is a complete waste of time.
- Carlo At Your Service
What businesses are historically recession resistant? "Well, certain facets of the entertainment industry, and then there's our thing." -Silvio Dante
- Dave Roth
People would have been smart investing in the gun and ammo businesses when they realized a Democrat was going to be in the White House. The unfettered 2nd Amendment fear that comes with that is inescapable.
- Edwin Perello
Americans and their guns...Not a business to be proud of if you ask me.
- Rutger Blom
The newspaper industry just gave away another free meal, er Twitter: do they have any left? - http://scobleizer.com/2009...
Simone Lovati, andy brudtkuhl, Katie Dob and 26 other people liked this
Newspapers need to set up lacanica installs that then can post to Twitter. That way they could get their entire news orgs rolled up in a private label Twitter but still be part of the Twitterverse.
- Christian Burns
I've been talking with a few already - they're very interested in this
- Jesse Stay
and not for nothin'... but before you would hit JUST the Times for a theatre review, now you hit Critic-o-meter and get the aggregated reviews and get a broader scope of what critical opinion is.
- Travis Bedard
Jesse, radio, tv, every media outlet should have their own lacanica
- Christian Burns
I just created http://utahtalks.com for this reason - our local TV and print sources weren't providing anything useful. Now I'm going to get them to be the ones paying for distribution through our network (or maybe I can sell to them)
- Jesse Stay
lacanica isn't enough. Sorry. It's too late for just a clone of Twitter. That meal was given away. Now they need to do something else and head off the next meal being given away.
- Robert Scoble
Robert, oh, I plan on completely adding to the source and giving back to attack things like what you mention. Of course that's as I have time, but I agree with you - it needs much, much more.
- Jesse Stay
There is still a benefit to targeting smaller niches though - it's how Facebook started
- Jesse Stay
newspapers didnt give any of this away for free - most of it they never owned in the first place (i.e. many things were syndicated through others, eg: comics, weather, traffic, astrology), and the few things that they did own or were primary source for (local news, classified) they either a)dropped the ball in fear of harming print or b)tried but too early/too little (eg: in the uk they...
more...
- Joelle Nebbe (iphigenie)
As I've stated before, this could be implemented in a regular tweet (which could be "attached" to another "regular" tweet with a simple [hashed] unique tag) and transported over standard microblogging platforms, be interoperable between all of them (by lowest common denominators) and be implemented now. The tweet full of the compressed (and encrypted?) data would be read by the client software. If implemented in this way any tweet could add all kinds of metadata. http://guruvan.gurus.net/techbiz...
- guruvan (Rob Nelson)
Joelle: when I say "own" I mean that in my mind that's where we all went to find those things.
- Robert Scoble
Fantastic breakdown Robert. Very comprehensive. I find the idea of a private search engine and invisible commenting very attractive. I'm gonna have to think on this more...
- Erica OGrady
from Friend Deck
it would be easier to find toasters if the post to twitter option in friendfeed had been enabled, suggesting remaining challenges in data portability
- Mike Chelen
Mike: Dave did Tweet about the Toaster Oven. You still won't find that with Twitter Search: http://twitter.com/davewin...
- Robert Scoble
@Robert - you are right of course, but I just wanted to point out that some of those the newspapers just had no right to use online (eg: comics etc) so they could do nothing. But in other areas (classified especially) they did hand over the market to others - often due to an unwillingness to compete with their print offering. But even if you withhold from competing with yourself, others...
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- Joelle Nebbe (iphigenie)
We mostly only buy the local paper for coupons and Sunday sale ads. All those ads are online at each store's site for free and we really don't use that many coupons. Something that they have reluctantly given away for free is TV listings.
- Jon Adair
I like the Twitter-like stack you describe using the bike purchase as an example. It could be a way to get advertisers interested again. A papers' ad side would be interested; the ed side might see a breach in the Chinese wall and wonder how it relates to the editorial product -- or wouldn't it necessarily relate?
- Amyloo
I really like your #7 - opening up the whole "news that hasn't happened yet" stream. Who would pay for that? Local businesses, nonprofits, schools, politicians?
- tim windsor
covered all bases as usual robert - well done
- mike "glemak" dunn
I would love to see this blog post as Robert Scobles resume to Facebook, twitter or friendfeed. Even better yet the core of his pitch to angel investors or to venture capitalists. These are the type of ideas that need more than saying, they need implementing and Robert is just the right guy.
- Mark Essel
Robert: wow, that is frustrating! why can't twitter search find that post, will that kind of thing be fixed ever? closest services to what is described here might be semantic mediawiki, or freebase, which allow such custom data fields
- Mike Chelen
I think you write off laconica far too soon, Scoble. The benefits of having your own microblogging site for brands/interests as big as CNN, The US Govt, Oprah, Leo's Twit Army, or http://www.todaysmama.com/connect... with one's own collection of groups & tagclouds, inter-subscribe-able by other OMB-compliant sites and free of being at the mercy of a company like Twitter's policies and Fail Whales is pretty attractive. Come to think of it, you should have one.
- exador23
Kutcher Surges Past CNN On Twitter — But You Can’t Unfollow Either - http://www.techcrunch.com/2009...
shayne catrett, AJ Batac, Morton Fox and 9 other people liked this
btw, i just subscribed to ur ff stuff but not because of this kutcher bullshit...i like ur real stuff. welcome to tc.
- Landon
lame
- Susan Beebe
I see the reason for no unfollow. Twitter doesn't want everyone who is following unfollow then follow trying to be the 1,000,000. Surely the prize should should go to a random follower, not the actual millionth.
- CJPhoto
Forcing him to win was uncool.
- Nicholas James
10 Affordable Pens Geeks Love - http://www.lifehack.org/article...
Greg Guitarbuster, Nicholas James, Jim Connolly and 17 other people liked this
Doesn't include my favorite, the Uniball 207 (make mine a Micro, .5mm tip, please). Got turned onto it at Moleskinerie. It's wonderful to write with, and the ink is fade proof, water proof, acid proof, and all kinds of other proof. Uniball markets it as "Prevents Check Fraud!!" (from check washing), but when I'm writing in my little Moleskine that I use for "deep thoughts", I like the idea that the ink will pretty much outlast the paper it's on.
- Josh Bancroft
I always have the Fisher Space pen on me. It's on that list. So small and convenient!
- Sam Grover
Here's the link to the review that convinced me to make the Uniball 207 my pen of choice: http://www.moleskinerie.com/2006... (hat tip to @tiesque on Twitter, who sent me that link when I asked for pen recommendations). It's easy to find (you can get it at the grocery store, Target, etc. as well as the office supply stores) and it's cheap (usually about $1.50 per pen). It comes in black, blue, and red. I love it.
- Josh Bancroft
It's also the "official pen of that check forger guy behind the story/movie Catch Me If You Can", because the ink is chemical proof. Or something. :-)
- Josh Bancroft
I'm mainly hooked on the Tombow Zoom 414 multipen at the moment - a nice metal multipen that takes standard D1 refills. Parker branded refills are nice - smooth and dark black. He does have some good choices, though. I'd second Josh's points on the Uni Signo 207, though - nice style and good to write with. I'm usually a fountain pen fan, though, and I love the Lamy 2000, and Pelikan Souverans.
- Michael Randall
I'd add the Pilot Razor or Razor II (both fine-point felt-tips) and the Zebra F-301 (a small non-gel ballpoint that can go on a keychain).
- Jon Adair
So odd that geeks should share preferences in pens. I am all about the uni-ball deluxe micro. And you can quote me.
- Ed Guinn
Why is paper not dead? Answer CEO of Levenger here: - http://ourdoings.com/roberts...
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Bill Romanos, guruvan (Rob Nelson), Arnaud Fischer and 32 other people liked this
I am talking to Steve Levenger CEO and co-founder of Levenger http://www.levenger.com (his blog is http://blog.wellreadlife.com ). He is trying to convince me that paper is not dead. He has some great ideas, but needs more. Leave them here.
- Robert Scoble
I ♥ Levenger. There will always be people who like the high-touch pleasures of reading well-typeset books and writing on fine papers with high-quality writing instruments. I'm waiting for an order in the mail as we speak.
- LogEx
Not sure what it's like in the US, but here in Australia a lot of government regulations still require paper based records to be kept. Add to that the fact that only a few companies are setup to distribute letters and bills electronically. Also junk mail / paper-based advertising is a big part of the reason paper is still not dead.
- Jason Cartwright
Answer: electronic alternatives are not ubiquitous and universally accessible. it's making great strides, but not quite there. Also, universal wireless has something to do with it as well.
- Mark "Rizzn" Hopkins
Index cards will ALWAYS find a home http://i.friendfeed.com/797be3c...
- Dave Ferrick
Hah. He said friendfeed makes paper look boring.
- Robert Scoble
The interface is both intuitive and ubiquitous. Paper's lighter in small quantities and the form factor is more adjustable. Also, most things that destroy paper will take out a computer as well.
- Terry Robinson
Bring back the Circa Compact organization pages (ToDo / Goals), Steve!!!!!!! Paper is dead if you quit supplying great products for the medium!
- Jack Collins
Ask him why Levenger doesn't accept Paypal. I'd buy a lap desk this second if it did.
- Kent
Unfortunately, I can't agree, would love to hear Steve's points. I feel that the soon to be released flexible OLED devices will take the place of current newspapers, electronic forms are replacing paper forms, electronic medical records are replacing filing cabinets of patience history, digital media storage are making library contents accessible from almost anywhere in the world. Yes, this means that we are placing reliance on digital media, but weren't our forefathers placed faith on stone tablets
- Vinko
Vinko: the point he made that stuck with me is that things on paper that are signed are worth more.
- Robert Scoble
Yeah, there's no such thing as a digital original.
- LogEx
auditors. auditors want more then just electronic proof. first they screw up accounting; then we pay them to fix it (SOX); then they make us have dupes of everything in paper.
- clarke thomas
Brian: you are absolutely wrong there. Paper is MUCH more expensive.
- Robert Scoble
I love Levenger, Moleskine, and Franklin Covey stuff, but I have this mental block where I'm not willing to "mess up" the nice stuff, so I end up writing on index cards instead.
- Jon Adair
I have at least 8 Levenger products in view of my right now (not counting the one in my pocket). I think the vast amount of information will someday be transmitted electronically (newspapers, etc.) but paper will still be around, if only for the durability of it.
- Mistletoe Glen
What I really love about paper versus digital is that, especially with index cards or loose sheets, I can spread things out and see much more at once than on my phone or even my laptop. I'd love to see someone make a really good Moleskine-like sketchbook that really opens up flat. And would it kill anyone to make journals, sketchbooks, etc. that have a built-in slot for a full-sized pen or pencil?
- Jon Adair
People who don't have computers (especially those that don't have easy access to computers, either) need paper.
- Rochelle
Both! I love physical notebooks. I also love the NET. I've debated this keep notes on paper or digital for ages. I've a little symbol system that has 'hyperlink' symbols from the NET (e.g. Google Doc) to the physical notebooks and a filing system (based on Star Names) that covers both. As a filing system it's bizarre but as a context in which I know I'm putting everything in a findable place it works well for me. I often start a note online, and continue it in one notebook and finish it in another.
- Julian Edward
Leave a comment here on why paper is not dead? I think I'll just mail the guy a letter. Where's my quill?
- shelisrael1
Several reasons come to mind: First the effective resolution of paper is much larger than that on a computer screen. (Of most screens, anyway) It's much easier to look at a big drawing, long chunk of text or pagefuls of equations on paper than on the computer. Second electronic ink input options like the Tablet PC are decent but very far removed from the actual mechanics of writing on paper. The PC is heavy and expensive and the format of the Windows electronic notebook is not portable in editable format.
- Jiahao Chen
For people like me who have to think carefully before buying gadgets, it's hard to beat the cost of pen and paper. Third, you don't have to power up the paper before writing on it. You can write notes on a bus where you'd fret about ruining a HDD. Fourth, if you drop paper or spill on it, it's usually no biggie. Try saying that for your laptop! Fifth, and most importantly, the current state of hardware and software is well-suited only to the input of ASCII (and some limited Unicode) text entry.
- Jiahao Chen
It is an incredible pain to work with information that is not easily notated in text form. Drawings are ok, but try working with chemical structures or mathematical equations on a computer. It's often an exercise in frustration reading documentation and/or shelling out lots of money for specialized software to deal with these data. Sixth, I write and scribble pretty fast, so much so that the time lag for Tablet PCs to process what I'm doing with the stylus is noticeable and distracting.
- Jiahao Chen
Sometimes Windows will hiccup and part of a scribble will disappear off the input buffer while Windows deals with disk paging or something like that. Having said all that, computers are great for many things, especially for typesetting documents and page layouts for things that are ready to show to other people. However they are still far from ideal media to play around with ideas and words, and scribbles often do a far better job than dealing with the intricacies of data entry on a computer when thinking.
- Jiahao Chen
OK, sorry for the terribly long answer and possible abuse of medium, but paper and pen works far better for me when jotting down ideas as they are forming, and are usually better than the computer for organizing these ideas as they coalesce into coherence. Once past that stage however, computers are far superior for producing legible output that you wouldn't be embarrassed to show people. BTW I love Levenger stationery! If I could afford it, I'd buy it all the time. Too bad I'm still stuck in grad school.
- Jiahao Chen
Remember Minority Report where Tom Cruise rearranges information on a big board in front of him? You can do that today with paper products.
- Bruce Lewis
I love the Levenger catalog!!!! Really nice, high quality paper / pen / ink products. Geared towards execs who remember the virtues of writing
- Susan Beebe
I confess, I am a Levenger addict. I am also an IT professional, who uses many paper based systems for managing GTD, as well as a paper based planner, which is wrapped in Levenger's Bomber Jacket leather. I have several notebooks with Bomber Jacket leather, and for some reason, it adds to the enjoyment of putting pen to paper. I also use "The Hit List", which is a Mac GTD app, but honestly, the feel of good paper, with a good pen can't be beat. Instant archive, and no worry about media failures.
- Bruce Garlock
It's just a flesh-wound! ;)
- Meryn Stol
I don't want any time-sensitive information via paper, it's too old. However I like paper for portability, longevity, tactile sensation and smell. Moleskines, post-its, notepads etc are all part of my daily life. BTW, love Levenger.com . I'm an old customer in Australia.
- Cait
I dispute that paper is always more expensive. Digital storage requires data conversion (if it's old), redundancy (if it's important and you want to keep something for a long time), hardware, monitoring and eletricity. But yes, sometimes it's more expensive.
- Cait
I do the vast majority of my work in digital form, but I also love paper, a fountain pen, good ink. Each tool has its place.
- Rob McNair-Huff
Paper can do so much more than computers can at this point. Try making a 3-D tactile model with a computer in just a few seconds. You probably don't want to see how far your computer can glide, unless you're mad at it. Paper is easier on the eyes than most monitors and screens at this point and even the ones that are getting closer to a soft medium for viewing paper is quicker. Paper is extremely cheap for area and the ability to write multiple contextual ideas down. Paper has at least another 20 years.
- Jimminy Fuller
It's not dead because my parents and my wife still use it. It is going away though.
- Jesse Stay
It's also not dead because there are still art-forms that revolve around it. I will always still love drawing and painting on paper or canvas.
- Jesse Stay
i hate paper clutter. i am forced to collect them in order to document write-offs for taxes. it's unfortunately still a necessary evil.
- sɹǝɥʇɐǝɟʞɔɐןq
blackfeathers, check out Evernote - I've gotten rid of most my paper through them.
- Jesse Stay
I'm sure when Guttenburg first published his books, some people clamored for scrolls. Humans tend to be sentimental about technology. It's only a matter of time until paper is gone, and I say bring it on.
- Ian Wright
Dunder Mifflin will be pleased http://www.dundermifflin.com/ :)
- Jim Connolly
It's simply a massively entrenched technology. People joke around about stone tablets, but clay tablets really were the dominant medium for information storage for probably almost 4,000 years. Modern paper has been around for less than 2,000 years. I'm thinking its probably going to be around for a least a little while longer.
- Victor Ganata
Still always handy having some nice, solid records. Assume a worst-case scenario, if we had it ALL electronic...one decent, world-sized electro-magnetic impulse, there goes the entire planet's accumulated knowledge in one hit. Those ancients at least still have their stuff around 4000 years later because clay tablets and other solid mediums LASTED the distance.
- George Hall (Australia)
Wow. I'm awed by the dialog in response to Robert's question about paper. We are living in interesting times as so many of us seek and find new balances between old technology and new--balance points that are themselves in a state of flux. We feel it's our duty at Levenger to side with paper and help it evolve in the face of the tremendous evolutionary pressure from advancing technology. If ultimately paper goes extinct, let it be a gradual and noble death.
- Steve Leveen
One bit of advice that I gave to Robert and I'd like to share with all of you. In the waning days of the Golden Age of paper-based books, grab hold of the books you cherish and write in the margins. Write in the front and back and everywhere in between. History has shown that the most valuable books of all are those written in by famous people. And you are all famous to your family and descendants. Actual ink leaving physical impressions on natural paper in your own hand--it will never come again.
- Steve Leveen
One curious little followup to this...I took a look today at the Twitter hashtags #vicfires and #fireupdates. NO tweets from #fireupdates showed up, even though it was a busy hashtag during the Victorian Bushfires. #vicfires only goes back to 30 days ago. Very good example of the IMPERMANCY of the electronic form. Any of us wanting to refer back to February 2009 for historical data on the Twitter record now really have nothing to refer to. Makes me wish I'd done my February 2009 tweets on clay tablets
- George Hall (Australia)
Academic Earth - Video lectures from the worlds top scholars - http://academicearth.org/
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Thousands of video lectures from the world's top scholars, including complete courses.
- Jon Adair
Facebook "stream" redesign: Disruptive companies don't listen to their customers – Mark Zuckerburg - http://www.25hoursaday.com/weblog...
Adam Cohen, Bob Hitching, Moses Kpetigo and 27 other people liked this
One reason Facebook is interesting is they are willing to take risks--even ones that piss off customers/users/participants/partners.
- Robert Scoble
Ammended: Disruptive companies that assume you're locked in don't listen to their customers.
- Michael Markman
The thing is, they didn't get rid of the old functionality when they did the redesign. The virtual rolodex is still there, the UI is just different.
- Victor Ganata
the only thing i really disliked abt the new look is that the font's a tad too large n takes up too much real estate... i do prefer the earlier look.
- Pratish Menon
Apple's the same way. Otherwise, we'd have a tablet with a floppy disk running Newton OS.
- Louis Gray
I think it's important to listen to customers, but you have to listen to the *right* customers. The average customer of any product can almost be expected to be willing to hold on to the old version of a product. I can remember myself (figuratively) swearing at the redesign of Delicious. Now it's all fine to me. Also I think that Zuckerberg just like Jobs listens to himself really well. He figures that if he likes, other users will like it eventually too.
- Meryn Stol
"Design by committee" doesn't work that well.
- Meryn Stol
So, be your company's own customer. "Eat your own dog food." (except if you're actually producing dog food of course :P)
- Meryn Stol
Users are good at noticing what they don't like and telling you what they dont want, but not that good at telling you what they need. I think its very important to watch your users though, and pay good attention to how they use your application. A great quote by Henry Ford comes to mind: “If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.”
- Lasse Johnsen
When you end up listening to people complain all the time, you probably eventually learn which complaints are actual issues, and which complaints are just people grumbling about having to deal with change. Only one class of complaints are really worth listening to.
- Victor Ganata
The trick to solve information overload in the stream is to make people explicitly select of which of their friends they want to see updates. This would be functionally equivalent to Twitter, except that there's also a "friend relationship" which keeps the "phone book functionality" intact.
- Meryn Stol
He'll listen to them when the traffic falls off. Want to chase users away? Keep hitting them with 100 items a day from quiz and easter candy apps that they don't want to see while no longer showing true updates from friends like "Joe added Pete" or "Sara uploaded a photo" or "John joined AnInterestingGroup". I'll be using http://m.facebook.com until they fix the main feed. I realize a lot of users just hate change, but there are real problems with this new update.
- Jon Adair
Does Facebook have any customers (maybe advertisers?) -- defining customers as those who directly provide revenue.
- Brian Sullivan
Interesting that this week we've seen Google's chief designer leave for listening to their customers too much, and criticism of Facebook for not listening to their customers enough. :-) Though after the about-face on Beacon, and the about-face on their TOS, it should be clear to everyone that "listening to customers" *before* rolling things out isn't really in Facebook's corporate culture. Cue the apologetic, "We screwed up, and we heard you" Zuckerberg blog post in five... four... three....
- Karim
E-books for Nintendo DS - http://www.boingboing.net/2008...
Ann liked this
Another interesting move for the DS.
- Jon Adair
Build your social network before you get laid off - http://www.column2.com/2008...
Ann liked this
I'm always telling people that are laid off: "everyone you know should know that you are looking for a job." Even if they're not in your field, they could easily know people that are.
- Jon Adair
Signs of the times in San Francisco - http://ourdoings.com/roberts...
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Alekkus, Brodie Beta, Lloyd Doppler and 38 other people liked this
I am walking down Market Street in San Francisco and two long-time key stores are closing. Virgin and Staceys. Prime retail real estate. Apple's store is across the street and is still busy.
- Robert Scoble
They claim they can make more money renting the space then they were making as a store front.
- Sean Montgomery
Yep. I have gone in their twice since moving to SF. They don't sell DVD-Rs there (fail) and full retail on everything. Amazon always is chea
- Yoono
I heard about Virgin going out, but I have no idea Staceys going out too. This is so depressing, that's always my favorite book store :-(
- charles
sad...
- Luca Filigheddu
Virgin mega stores all shut down in the UK a few years ago and became Zavvi. Within a year all Zavvi stores closed down... just a few days ago they relaunched as an online only retailer of music.
- Kaustav Bhattacharya
Robert - one thing to think about (and i dont know the answer) is - why is the apple store busy - are people buying or using? i know i go to the apple store when i need a quick internet hit - but i dont buy anything... virgin doesn't have internet terminals, etc.
- Allen Stern
My local Virgin store in Burbank closed a few years ago after the roof collapsed during a storm. They never bothered to re-open it. Bummer, as it's a great music store.
- Jonathon
Richard Branson said that one of his biggest regrets in business was that he didn't get out of retail sooner.
- Dan Morelle
Allen: there certainly are still buyers but Apple is brilliant at psychology. I never go into an empty restaurant and Apple stores always make me feel good even as a place to dream.
- Robert Scoble
Sad to see Stacey's go. They had a great selection. Virgin, not so much. I rarely could find anything I was looking for in there. Rasputin has a better selection and more informed staff.
- Jeremy Brooks
I blogged about this a while back - but one thing to note that is very different between Apple stores & Virgin (and Stacy's for that matter) is how cluttered Virgin stores are vs. how clean & highly curated the Apple store is. Very different models & philosophies of retail (and look which is prospering)
- Shannon Clark
robert - not sure i get your point about an empty rest. and apple? for example, i had 30 minutes to kill before a doctor appt - the apple store was on the next block so i went over there to use the internet but didnt buy anything - if you go to the store on 59th it's all tourists playing with the computers - will this change their thoughts for a future purchase? maybe - not sure honestly - it didn't change mine, i just bought a refurb dell xps :)
- Allen Stern
good point shannon - i always found virgin in times square to be dumpy
- Allen Stern
I almost twitpic'ed some stuff from BestBuy today. Couldn't get the laptop I wanted because it was sold out. Most of the lower-end Canon point-n-shoots had "sorry, sold out" signs in front of them. Are they purging inventory or are people still buying?
- Jon Adair
Allen, something to keep in mind with Apple Stores (which is rare in US retail other than higher end designer stores) is that transactions can be closed by roving salespeople w/handheld credit card machines- and that most sales are fairly high margin (Apple's own products)
- Shannon Clark
I Think we will be seeing this all over North America for the some time.
- walterh
Not Stacy's! It was always a must visit when I was in SF.
- Tom Landini
Stacey's is closing?!? I was hoping to go there next time I went to SF! Is the Palo Alto store closing as well?
- Wilson Afonso
Actually, ignore that. I see that the Palo Alto store closed a while back. Damn.
- Wilson Afonso
Staceys? NO!!!!
- Helen Sventitsky
Article about Virgin store closures: http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/article...
- Barak B
I'm sad about the closure of Virgin Megastores for the same reason that I was sad about the closure of Tower Records a while back. As opposed to many other brick and mortar music chains, Tower and Virgin had a fairly large selection. If I couldn't find it in a Wherehouse or Music Plus, I could find it at Tower, or later at the Virgin Megastore. Are economics driving us to no wide-selection brick and mortar stores? Will we depend upon Amazon and Netflix for songs and movies?
- Ontario Emperor
I should note that in my 8-bit rotary phone way, I'm not quite ready to move from CDs/DVDs to complete downloads where I don't purchase any tangible media. I rarely purchase songs online - the only time I did was via MSN Music, which no longer exists. My CDs that I bought at Virgin, Tower, etc. still exist. I guess I'm a tangible guy.
- Ontario Emperor
Virgin was bound to close down anyway. Their prices are not competitive and they are certainly not innovative - nothing sets them aside. They're like Blockbuster. It's more of a result of not being with the times, rather than sign of the times, imho...
- Mona Nomura
With so much music and video now sold without tangible media (discs) it's little surprise that companies like Virgin are closing. For example, I'm writing this on a Samsung NC10 - which doesn't have (or need) a CD/DVD drive. Unless Virgin and others chane their business model, more stores will close IMHO.
- Jim Connolly
Virgin Megastore is a dinosaur.
- Bill Sodeman
I think not just Virgin, but the whole Virgin Megastore concept now has had its day.. Media is just not bought this way IMHO any more. The only exception could be video games for now, until they also move online..
- Nigel Walsh
In the UK, Virgin Megastore's had a management buyout. It renamed to Zavvi and then went bust.
- Nicholas James
the hollywood one is shutting down as well. last time i was there was on december. i purchased the cure's new & current album w/ event pass. i returned the cd days later after a fiasco /not so good experience @ the event. i hear they are keeping the new york times square megastore however.
- sɹǝɥʇɐǝɟʞɔɐןq
Yep we saw that store closing down... bummer.
- Drew Lucas
Great time to buy yourself a Virgin, wouldn't you say? :-)
- Scott W.
Not sure that the Virgin Store is a victim the recession but instead a victim of iTunes and Amazon.
- Steve Sill
I agree, Steve. Not so much victim of the recession. Virgin is just a symptom of a greater issue. Say rather its a victim of the disappearance of the virtue of loyalty. We say in a business we want to develop brand loyalty. But loyalty has to mean something in the spiritual sense before it translates into another discipline. When it loses its spiritual currency, the other does not follow far behind. Loyalty isn't loyalty unless its tested.
- Melanie Reed
I wonder if there has been any service or goods that has been able to consistently deliver their service or product over the long term and constantly anticipate the demand for the novel yet sustainable for a whimsical buying public? Can you name one?
- Melanie Reed
Long term is dead, at least for now. Its trends that we are going to have to move on from now on
- RALPH
I agree, RALPH. And trends represent restlessness. So what is behind the restlessness?
- Melanie Reed
Long term is not dead. Innovating, reinventing, and creativity = longevity.
- Mona Nomura
It's sad that Virgin Megastores is closing - they already closed in Canada a while ago - but at least SF still has both Rasputin's and Amoeba Music.
- Andrew C
Mona N. I would like to suggest that what appears to us to look like "long-term" by reinventing, innovating is just restlessness. That real long-term is something that supersedes that restless desire for reinvention, innovation (which are just synonyms for restlessness), that it is closer to what Chesterton called "exalting in monotony". This "getting up and saying to the sun: do it again!" We are not there yet. We have made nothing that warrants it and we are losing the capacity to notice what is.
- Melanie Reed
This is why you use pictures in your blog posts - http://www.winextra.com/index...
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Nicholas James, Moses Kpetigo, Paula Hawk and 25 other people liked this
True. A large proportion of my current traffic (and even of remaining traffic on my ancient abandoned blogs) comes from Google Images.
- Bora Zivkovic
My site is about images with some short text below. If it weren't for Google images traffic I would be almost ignored.
- Carlos Lorenzo
@Leather so is my braincell soup blog - well a very large portion of the posts are all pics
- Steven Hodson
My library blog is getting hundreds of hits from image searches and the rest of the blog is useless to them and isn't aimed at them, so I actually wish they'd stop distorting my stats. :-(
- Deborah Fitchett
Next post: "12,432 visitors in 10 minutes from Scobleizer."
- Jon Adair
@Jon .. na .. it would take at least 15 minutes
- Steven Hodson
I posted a link to the "research paper vs. internet" image you(and I) have on one of your posts.
- Mr. Gunn
Agreed. But be careful what you have pictures on. My number one blog post is because of people searching for pictures of North Korea. I have a picture. People come, use my bandwidth, and bounce away. It takes more than pictures (but they do help). http://blogan.net/blog...
- Brent Logan
I agree pictures are important, but dependent on your business model, a decent percentage of the time traffic from Google Image search isn't going to convert well. Not that it really costs you much of anything.
- Kevin Mullett
Yes pictures are important as long as they are in context and add value to the post. At http://cruisinaltitude.blogspot.com I add pictures when appropriate and sometimes the entire post are in pictures.
- mskonfa
Photos from the Parks: World Showcase Models - http://photosfromtheparks.blogspot.com/2007...
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Scale models of some of the Epcot World Showcase countries, showing the design work that went into them.
- Jon Adair
Vintage Disney Collectibles: Walt Disney and the Red Cross - part one - http://vintagedisneymemorabili...
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Stories of Walt Disney's time with the Red Cross post-WW I
- Jon Adair
Microsoft BizSpark - http://www.microsoft.com/bizspar...
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Free full production Microsoft technology for startup companies.
- Jon Adair
Wolfram Mathematica Online Integrator - http://integrals.wolfram.com/
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It puked on integrating x^x. I did too the first time I got that as a problem.
- Jon Adair
Sociological Images & WHAT DOES &8220;BLACK&8221; AND &8220;WHITE&8221; LOOK LIKE ANYWAY? - http://contexts.org/socimag...
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Interesting points about peoples' perception of race.
- Jon Adair
Pretty cool, minimal concept game.
- Jon Adair
Big Guns Come Out In Effort To Show RIAA's Lawsuits Are Unconstitutional - http://techdirt.com/article...
Untitled - http://www.goer.org/Journal...
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Decluttering for geeks. The first of a four part series.
- Jon Adair
Hypnoteis / 06-28066253 - http://www.hypnoteis.nl/
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Looks like someone threw up every "grunge" cliche all on one page.
- Jon Adair
Microsoft Case Studies: TeamZoneSports uses Virtual Earth - http://www.microsoft.com/casestu...
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To provide members with critical functionality and a rich experience, TeamZoneSports needed to incorporate a mapping feature in its Web site. The company embraced Microsoft® Virtual Earth mapping technology rather than Google Maps because of its fast time-to-market, affordability, and richer user experience, featuring elements such as bird's eye view functionality and automatically customized driving directions.
- Jon Adair
Microsoft Case Studies: TeamZoneSports - http://www.microsoft.com/casestu...
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TeamZoneSports founders wanted to offer members several ways to connect with teammates and share information. They chose a software-plus-services approach and such technologies as the Microsoft® Silverlight browser plug-in and Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 to deliver multiple avenues of communications. As a result, members enjoy a flexible, feature-rich experience, and TeamZoneSports maintains development agility for fast time-to-market.
- Jon Adair
The Grief and Loss Corner - http://mlondon.blog.uvm.edu/
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the Grief and Loss corner of the UVM Counseling Center
- Jon Adair
Suncoast Kid's Place - http://suncoastkidsplace.org/
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Support for children, teens and their families following the death of a loved one through peer support groups and education
- Jon Adair
Camping weather - http://blogs.tampabay.com/outdoor...
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Terry Tomalin, outdoors editor for the St. Petersburg Times has some picks for Florida camping.
- Jon Adair
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