I have not yet touched an iPad. Neither has virtually every person I have read panning the device. So far, every person I have read that actually laid their hands upon a demo unit and used it for a few minutes has had very good things to say about it.
When the iPhone was to be released in 2007 I was working for Apple. In the days leading up to the launch I could not sleep. I had the sweats. I was panicked. I was sure that it was smoke and mirrors and that the device would be slow, buggy and that it would ruin Apple and I would be out a job. Then, two hours before the product launch, I laid my hands on it. Later, I parted with $499 I had not planned on spending.
I am excited to get my hands on an iPad.
I was gearing up to write a “Your Website Sucks” post when I ran across this little tidbit about the wonderful Pandora music service.
Technical shortcomings aside, the Pandora service itself is fantastic. Not because it offers users a bunch of “free” music, but because it introduces listeners to music they otherwise would never have heard. In my short stints with the service, I have added almost two dozen bands to my “you must check these guys out” list. This is the value that the service offers to music labels, but these greedy fuck-wads just don’t get it.
The big labels still believe they can cling to their faulty business model as the whole ship rapidly sinks. They know they need a bucket brigade but instead of moving water from the hull to the sea, they are helping the water in. In this case, instead of exploring new ways to capitalize in emerging technologies, they simply want to exploit them as they have in every other market. What they are likely to do is watch as these new companies shutter their doors rather than face the prospect of trying to stay above water as the labels bleed more and more of their revenues.
It is insane to think of internet stations being forced to pay 2.91 cents per hour per listener against terrestrial radio’s zero. But then again, that industry is also pumping water into their own bilges, sinking faster than the labels. The RIAA does not see that it will need the internet more than ever by the time this pricing comes into effect. Why would people listen to radio, with its one hour playlist repeated ad nauseam when their iPods delivers only songs they want to hear. Those people still want to discover new music, but if the labels insist on killing great ideas (knowingly or not) and fighting companies that make great user-experiences, someone will step in to do it for them. And that will be the night when the lights went out of sight.
(Via azrael)
Though I have not posted in some time, I have been writing. I was on the road a chose to leave the “connected” technology behind. I have to say that it was an enjoyable and pleasant experience. No laptop, no cellphone, no way for someone to get ahold of me for some petty reason that they, of course, think is the most important thing in my life.
In the absence of these devices I formed a very close and satisfying relationship with a classic medium: the writer’s notebook. In my case, I found a wonderful little black book by Ciak called the Piccolo. I had spent some time looking into a good notebook and found quite a community around the Small Black Notebook. The Moleskine is the classic journalist’s notebook, but I was turned off by it’s hard cover. I wanted something that would fit in my back pocket with great paper and a soft, malleable leather cover. I found this at Joseph-Beth, a great semi-local bookstore.
I have almost filled this notebook but J-B has yet to restock. I need a new local vendor. Does anyone have a suggestion? Also, how do I get all of that data out of the Ciak and onto this blog? I can’t seem to find the USB port on the thing.
Blogging is like masturbating into a mirror while you videotape yourself so you can watch it later while you masturbate.
Email combines intimacy and distance in a way that sociopaths seem to really enjoy.
