I received a promo item to test. It is a UCLEAR helmet communicator to operate your phone, iPod or other devices with what they claim to be some serious noise canceling technology and hands-free features all via blutooth. Another feature is the rider to rider communication system (with a few units). That also seems pretty cool. I will be testing it out soon, even with Old Man Winter arriving here in New England.
Stay tuned...
Four words an airline should never use in an advertisement, "don't fly with us".
Event though the intended message is different, the result is way off the mark. There are certain phrases that some industries should just not use.
Airlines - "don't fly with us". Sorry Southwest you own that one."
Which way do you read this ad?
I actually don't mind Southwest, but this ad just puzzles me.
1. Start up. Mac = 30 seconds or so. PC = 2-4 minutes depending on how the code unscrambles.
2. Shut down. Mac = instantaneously to sleep, 30 seconds if it has been maxed out all day. PC = If it has a simple sleep mode = 15 seconds. If not, pull up a chair for a spell because hibernate mode is like a bear in winter...takes a long time to go down and stays there for even longer. Pull the battery was invented on a PC.
3. User logic. Mac are intuitive and were designed originally around how humans think. PC are more ordered and mechanical in nature. The designers were solving problems and found solutions, in some cases the path of least resistance that may not have been the best fix. People use computers, not computers use people. By the way, a few years back Apple Computer Inc. became Apple Inc. Hmmmm.
4. Cost. Yes, Macs are more expensive but what is your time worth? I fly through things on the Mac that are "tasks" on the PC. "Cost of Ownership" is lower on a Mac. This means more money up front for the design, engineering and hardware that a PC cannot afford to include at a much lower price. Don't forget resale. Macs have resale value. PCs have none.
5. Internet/connectivity. The Mac seems to have a sense about how to connect to things like that pesky old internet thing that Microsoft CEO Bill Gates remarked in 1993, "the internet, ah we don't care about that". Although the backbone of The Internet is UNIX servers, the creative and coding side of the house is controlled by Macs in the view of this dark side that I have been privy to see. This tells me the people building the websites, social networks and games are on to something here, they use Macs.
As I have been typing this my PC has been running in the background essentially telling me that it can't find any connection to my wireless network, AKA "its blind". Every so often it happens and normally a reboot of all the devices solves it. Meanwhile the Mac has been uninterupted on the same wireless network. Hmmm.
I use a PC and Mac. I don't see a time in my life that they won't both be an option as the installed base of knowledge on PCs is so strong that a changeover is a mountain of a task. Go Apple and thanks for shedding some light on a sore subject, computing.
Much like advertising of the last gazillion years, we are led to believe that websites are genuine. Right? I hope you don't believe that universally. One surprising example is Yahoo Music. I was surprised that, much like many other lower-classed websites, they are running pre-programmed scripts to give the appearance that their search results actually find what you want. Here is the example of how they don't accomplish my goal.
A friend mentions a song we both loved as teenagers to me today. I immediately go to YouTube to see if it is there. Bingo! Find it. Nat the Cat - While You've Been Waiting. Next, I want to download it. ITunes, Amazon, forget it. Its too obscure. Over to Google and search on the name. Wow, there it is on Yahoo Music, or so it looks?
There in the videos section, it leads you to YouTube. Right song. Success!
What is next is where the issue comes up. Yahoo Music looks from this view that they have the mp3 to download possibly. Read on.
When arriving at the site (Yahoo now has me on their site), I discover that there is nothing about my search on that page, except some loosely chopped up keywords to lead me to something else. Take a look.
Its "blackhat" in my opinion, the skeezey practice of using keywords to attract you to one site under the cover of it containing information about something else...which you originally searched on. This is very prevalent in the porn and out of country prescription drug markets.
According to this page on Yahoo Music, Nat the Cat, although used in the heading, is somehow realted to a woman from Ohio, some text in Spanish (translated into "A quick sketch on a sheet of pictures ("This does not you may tell xD) Published ... Tuesday January 11, 2011. CAPE CAMEL DIY. Mango DIY camel wool cape-dress-H & M double"), and a link back to the same page I am already on.
The practice is lousy. As we automate more and more, we lose something. We lose the ability to work with our customers (as I use a search engine, I am a CUSTOMER looking to potentially buy something that Yahoo could generate some revenue from) in a way that caters to them. A gazillion hit website like Yahoo is not able to do that, yet. Search engines are getting more and more sophisticated, but they seem to also be getting less humanized. This is too bad. I hope Google and Microsoft are listening and will tell Yahoo that this isn't impressing people.
The workshop is no longer a wooden or steel bench and has fewer tools to hold in your hand. It's now plastic or virtual with 1's and 0's flying around at rates the visionaries of our parents generation could not envision.
As we lose these workshops and tools though we gain new skills. There is always a need for craftsmen but we are now in a new environment. I like it but I also appreciate the skill and mastery of a metalsmith or woodworker.
In this photo it is a mix of both worlds. A wooden table, some filament light bulbs and a mass of computing power. The key is to use them in balance. Know where you have traveled to find the right path ahead.
Skateparks are an oasis in winter months. As the snow hits the ground the parks heat up. Riding year round has never been more fun with the abundance of parks nowadays.
Get out and find one. Subliminal in shrewsbury is a fun park in central massachusetts. Check it out. Check out some bike footage from 2010. Plenty of skate videos on YouTube as well.
I don't like to poke fun at things people say, but this is a good example of how a good communications advisor or writer can save all of us. Have you said something you regret? I have on several occasions.
Seth McFarlane (Family Guy) has as well.
The two symbols of the Republican Party: an elephant, and a big fat white guy who is threatened by change.
- Seth MacFarlane
If I am not mistaken, the statement indicates that the Democratic party has a symbol that has so much more to be proud of?
Democratic Party logo...a donkey.
Now the Republican Party logo...an elephant.
Neither logo is all that flattering to the winds of change and wisdom we need in this country and world. I would say poking fun at one with essentially whipped cream on your face is a little odd...and short-sighted.
Both parties have a very interesting history. Check them out and you may learn more about why they are different...and maybe, just maybe how we could find some common ground. If you notice, we have the same colors and stars in the two logos...
In the meantime, Stuie is still chanting his mom's name. Mom, mom, mom, mom, mom...Hi.
