So, with the death of the Pink project, and Microsoft's new Kin mobile phone, the world seems a little less Microsoft, or at least a little less under their control. And what with the "re-organization" of the entertainment department within Microsoft, its starting to make this blogger wonder what is really going on in the land of home entertainment from old MS.
So, with all of this stirring and controversy, I get the feeling something is going to happen to the precious Xbox system that Microsoft has clung to for so long. Its been reported since the first Xbox system came out that it wasn't making the company money, but it really caught on here in the states(international sales were something of a different matter).
But I'm not sure what Microsoft is doing. Are they pulling the plug on the Xbox project to pool their financial resources against a greater foe, say Apple or Google? Or are they cutting the other areas in a hope to re-address the Xbox and focus on something that the public seems to want out of the entertainment department? Either plan would seem to benefit the company, and they certainly can afford to keep at the fight with the Xbox. I'm looking forward to seeing how this develops, either way it plays out.
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Product Pick in Reverse
It has been so long since I've done a product pick, and it will probably be a long time before I do another really good one. Today's article is actually something of an anti-pick. I had the opportunity today to try out Netflix's live streaming to the Wii. Unless you are already a big fan of the Netflix system, this will not be the feature that sells you on it.
This sad addition to the Netflix family has a simple set up; you are given categories pre-selected by Netflix, and then given a selection of movies for these categories pick by the happy people at Netflix. That is all. I have always been one for keeping things simple, the most user friendly and elegant systems are usually so. But there are certain features of any system that are essential, and must be included. The streaming to the Wii does not have these. There is no search functions for quickly finding just the right movie for you, there is no menu system to set your preferences in movies, heck, there isn't even a decent navigation system. I was constantly having to turn the Wii remote away from the sensor bar just to keep the pointer from interfering with the other controls.
So, as you can guess from this very short review, I am not impressed by the Netflix streaming to Wii. I'm not sure if I'll even try it out for the Playstation 3. All I can say is that this whole experience has been a big disappointment. I don't suggest using this to anyone.
This sad addition to the Netflix family has a simple set up; you are given categories pre-selected by Netflix, and then given a selection of movies for these categories pick by the happy people at Netflix. That is all. I have always been one for keeping things simple, the most user friendly and elegant systems are usually so. But there are certain features of any system that are essential, and must be included. The streaming to the Wii does not have these. There is no search functions for quickly finding just the right movie for you, there is no menu system to set your preferences in movies, heck, there isn't even a decent navigation system. I was constantly having to turn the Wii remote away from the sensor bar just to keep the pointer from interfering with the other controls.
So, as you can guess from this very short review, I am not impressed by the Netflix streaming to Wii. I'm not sure if I'll even try it out for the Playstation 3. All I can say is that this whole experience has been a big disappointment. I don't suggest using this to anyone.
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Problems with Perfection
I've just been reading a blog posting talking about how the top computer systems, Google, Windows, Facebook, and the iPhone, are too big to topple. I'm not for or against any of these technologies(with the exception being Facebook, because of its general lack of concern for its customers, and in my opinion, its worthless point in existing), but there is one problem with perfection: Price.
The writer of the blog post makes a comment at the end relating all of these technologies to sliced bread, saying that if something isn't broke, don't fix it. But the problem stemming from that is that people aren't willing to pay for it either. Once someone has gotten their hands on something that is perfect, they will never need another one, or if they do, they will feel cheated for having to pay as much as they did originally. That's the problem Microsoft faced with XP, no one really wanted a change, and many still don't. So the only way to get people away from that system and get them to start paying for things again was to simple quit making innovations to it.
So, with a need for imperfection essential to the business model of all the major companies, I would beg to differ on the idea that, like sliced bread, the major technologies of our time won't be toppled. Some one is eventually going to be bold or stupid enough to knowingly create something better, that won't need constant repair and replacement, and they will put it at a price point that will have it flying off the shelf. (Or in the case of Google and Facebook, redirect all of their traffic.)
Human beings naturally seek to become better, its how we've gotten to where we are. So with that mindset, these giants will either need to put themselves out of business, or one day they will have to graciously accept defeat from a superior product, which will then in turn be replaced thereafter by something else, until we somehow reach a point at which there can be no improvement.
The writer of the blog post makes a comment at the end relating all of these technologies to sliced bread, saying that if something isn't broke, don't fix it. But the problem stemming from that is that people aren't willing to pay for it either. Once someone has gotten their hands on something that is perfect, they will never need another one, or if they do, they will feel cheated for having to pay as much as they did originally. That's the problem Microsoft faced with XP, no one really wanted a change, and many still don't. So the only way to get people away from that system and get them to start paying for things again was to simple quit making innovations to it.
So, with a need for imperfection essential to the business model of all the major companies, I would beg to differ on the idea that, like sliced bread, the major technologies of our time won't be toppled. Some one is eventually going to be bold or stupid enough to knowingly create something better, that won't need constant repair and replacement, and they will put it at a price point that will have it flying off the shelf. (Or in the case of Google and Facebook, redirect all of their traffic.)
Human beings naturally seek to become better, its how we've gotten to where we are. So with that mindset, these giants will either need to put themselves out of business, or one day they will have to graciously accept defeat from a superior product, which will then in turn be replaced thereafter by something else, until we somehow reach a point at which there can be no improvement.
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Quick Blurb 1
Just a quick blurb: Both the Digital Fruit website and the Split-Shot Charters Website will be overhauled in the upcoming days. This may cause some erratic behavior out of these two sites.
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Launch At Last (Well, Sort of)
Well, I've learned a valuable business lesson, don't get your hopes to high. I really had planned to have the whole Digital Fruit site up and running when I announced that it was officially on-line, but I'm going to have to settle for just the joy of telling everyone that something is up and running on the web. So, for now, I'm letting everyone know that good things are coming to those who wait, and I'm really hoping to dazzle everyone.
One of the things that I have in store is streaming video. Something akin to hulu.com, but not quite so amazing and all encompassing. What I hope to make out of this Digital Fruit TV is a place to showcase all of the animated work I hope to complete, both with computer graphics, and with traditional ink and pen. I also hope to make this part of the site a place where budding new filmographers will be able to post their work to showcase to the community, so expect a local section in the future(I still have to figure out the logistics of how to work such a service). I will say, though, that this will not be something like YouTube. Any work submitted will be viewed by a committee assigned by Digital Fruit and evaluated for content and quality. This section is to showcase the best of local talent. It is not to be a garbage dump for all of the goofy things people like to do with(or without) their friends.
And the last bit that I'm hoping to showcase, though it seems a long way off still, is the video game my wife and I have been working on for some time. Things with that are developing, but not at a pace that I'm happy with, so this will probably be addressed in late blog posts, and I'll get some reader feed back about what to do about this problem.
That's about all that I have to say for tonight, and I hope you readers will log back in soon to get the rest of the scoop about the Digital Fruit website and how things are progressing with it.
One of the things that I have in store is streaming video. Something akin to hulu.com, but not quite so amazing and all encompassing. What I hope to make out of this Digital Fruit TV is a place to showcase all of the animated work I hope to complete, both with computer graphics, and with traditional ink and pen. I also hope to make this part of the site a place where budding new filmographers will be able to post their work to showcase to the community, so expect a local section in the future(I still have to figure out the logistics of how to work such a service). I will say, though, that this will not be something like YouTube. Any work submitted will be viewed by a committee assigned by Digital Fruit and evaluated for content and quality. This section is to showcase the best of local talent. It is not to be a garbage dump for all of the goofy things people like to do with(or without) their friends.
And the last bit that I'm hoping to showcase, though it seems a long way off still, is the video game my wife and I have been working on for some time. Things with that are developing, but not at a pace that I'm happy with, so this will probably be addressed in late blog posts, and I'll get some reader feed back about what to do about this problem.
That's about all that I have to say for tonight, and I hope you readers will log back in soon to get the rest of the scoop about the Digital Fruit website and how things are progressing with it.
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Senior Options
Another quick idea for company development and business decisions. I've been considering, at least temporarily instating a senior's referral program, where seniors that are retired and on social security will be able to gain vouchers for referring other customers. These vouchers would make them eligible for a free tech service.
How they would get these vouchers would be to apply for the program either in-store or on line, then when a customer would come in and say that so-and-so had referred them, they would be put on the mailing list for one of the vouchers.
So, what does everyone think? I'll be waiting for comments on this one before I really make a decision.
How they would get these vouchers would be to apply for the program either in-store or on line, then when a customer would come in and say that so-and-so had referred them, they would be put on the mailing list for one of the vouchers.
So, what does everyone think? I'll be waiting for comments on this one before I really make a decision.
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Thought on Safe Browsing
I just had a thought about safe browsing habits, and something that might help keep things a little less crap filled these days. What if there were law requiring anything of adult nature to be transmitted over a dedicated "adult content" port, something like HTTPS, and that any site not found to be in compliance with this would be shut down.
This would allow for firewall applications to be able to block specifically adult content, which in turn may be able to stem some of the flood of spam and crapware that are flooding the net. Also, it would help to keep things like child pornography down to a minimum, because any registered porn site would be transmitting it over the designated port, making it easier to track down information being sent down the incorrect port, which would help to massively scaled down the work of law enforcement in trying to track these things.
Also, it wouldn't require much change to initiate, just some fine tuning of servers, and it would be done, voila!
I realize this musing is somewhat naive and possibly impossible, but it makes me wonder.
I would like to hear my customers' and friends' feedback on this idea, so feel free to comment.
This would allow for firewall applications to be able to block specifically adult content, which in turn may be able to stem some of the flood of spam and crapware that are flooding the net. Also, it would help to keep things like child pornography down to a minimum, because any registered porn site would be transmitting it over the designated port, making it easier to track down information being sent down the incorrect port, which would help to massively scaled down the work of law enforcement in trying to track these things.
Also, it wouldn't require much change to initiate, just some fine tuning of servers, and it would be done, voila!
I realize this musing is somewhat naive and possibly impossible, but it makes me wonder.
I would like to hear my customers' and friends' feedback on this idea, so feel free to comment.
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