MetaBatty

Hasta la Vista, Microsoft

Microsoft is preparing to (finally) launch its (long overdue) "Vista" Operating System, the latest version of Windows since XP was unveiled 5 years ago. If you believe Microsoft, this is going to be the greatest advance in computing since the advent of the home computer. Thousands of new features and upgrades. A user experience like nothing before it. “A breakthrough computing experience.”

However, if you listen to the rest of the industry, you may be surprised to learn that:

1.  There isn’t much new in Vista that you don’t already have in Windows XP. Do you want to spend upwards of $400 on software that you don’t need, much less doesn’t give you any new or breakthrough features? Basically, it's too expensive. Especially when there are other OSs you can get for free.
2. Vista requires VAST amounts of computing resources just to run on a computer. In fact, most computers out there today don’t have enough power (memory, graphics capabilities, even storage) to run Vista at full speed. Do you want to spend hundreds updating your current system, or thousands buying a new system, just so you can have an updated version of Windows? (Microsoft even ENCOURAGES you to buy a new system that “qualifies” for Vista, and in return gives you an "express update" when Vista is ready - basically they want you to buy new hardware now, so the hardware vendors don't lose any more money waiting for Vista to launch; meanwhile, you still have to pay for the software)
3. Vista doesn’t have any antivirus software included yet – so you will have to buy antivirus software from a third-party vendor, like Symantec or McAfee. The problem with that is most third-party antivirus apps aren’t yet compatible with Vista. Do you want to make your computer more vulnerable to hackers and viruses, and buy even more software, just to have the new version of Windows?
4. Vista still isn’t compatible with many third-party applications and hardware you use today. Do you like to use photo editing software, Web conferencing with family, or play video games? Do you enjoy burning DVDs and CDs with a non-Microsoft application? You may have to wait a while before you can go back to doing those things you enjoy, now that you are on Vista. Which, as you remember, you bought for up to $400, to run on a new computer you were forced to purchase.
   

I will soon be in the market for a new home computer, as my current Dell desktop (Dimension 4100 for those who care), is about to celebrate its 6th birthday. For a computer, 6 years is a long and productive life, but one that can’t go on much longer. While it still completes day-to-day tasks (Web surfing, documents, spreadsheets, photos and music), it is slowing down as data flow increases, my current applications become more complex, and new applications I want to use require computing power my system can't deliver. iTunes is slowing down a lot, and I can't have that.

My original notion was to wait for Vista to launch before I bought a new system – that way I could have the latest, hottest OS running on the latest, hottest hardware. But the more I looked into it, the more I realized what a scam this whole thing is – and always has been - and that I finally had a chance to escape Microsoft’s grasp, the downward spiral of security holes, urgent updates, incompatibility, reboots, system crashes... And besides, why would an OS launch dictate my computer decision? Because Microsoft has me trained to think it matters.

It’s almost like the film The Matrix – I have been shown that there is another way of living, a better way, that can be mine if I am willing to break out of what I have always known as reality. I am being offered to take either the blue pill or the red pill. I can go back to what I have always known, Microsoft, or I can free my mind. I can stay in the pod and continue to go through life blind to how I am being used to feed the machine, or I can break free of the energy (money) sucking attachment to a corrupt system and escape into a new and better reality.

I have debated for years about this, but I am finally going to do it. Now is the time. I am going to buy a Mac. I know Macs are not perfect. I know they have their own issues. There is no perfect computer out there. But it's time to make the switch and see how it goes.

Hasta la vista, Microsoft.

Gee, why didn't I suggest this...?

XM Planning to Have Reception Built Into Consumer 
Electronics

Washington, DC -- Gary Parsons, the chairman of DC-based 
XM Satellite Radio, said that the company is looking to 
have satellite radio reception built into a range of 
additional consumer electronics, such as MP3 players, 
DVD players and video game consoles, Reuters reported. 

"We would see the ability for consumer electronics 
manufacturers to perpetuate the availability of XM's 
service down to clock radios and DVD players," Parsons 
told an investors' conference. "Much of our effort goes 
toward helping others design, build and implement XM 
functionality so in fact it becomes very pervasive."
http://tinyurl.com/5vyms 

Competition good, fire bad

More good news from the world of capitalism.  There is a bidding war going on for your eyeballs, and, frankly, I couldn't be happier about it.  Competition and innovation are changing the way we use and pay for some pretty pervasive services, and the winner, without question, is you and me.

Mail Pride
Yahoo! Mail today announced yet another increase in the amount of free storage space they give their subscribers since Google Mail launched their free 1GB email service last year.  I don't know if anyone remembers but, before Google Mail launched, Yahoo! Mail's free subscribers got about 6 MB of free storage space for their email.  That's just enough to send/receive one MP3 file (one song) before maxing out your storage allocation. Then Google came along and announced 1GB of free space - roughly the equivalent of an iPod shuffle, or enough space to send/receive about 240 MP3 files.  That's a big difference, as it allows people to not only send and receive, but keep files and important emails indefinitely, and not have to delete them to make room for future mail.

Which service do you think people would choose?  Yahoo! (and Hotmail and others) realized this, and in May 2004 bumped up their free storage allocation per user to, get this, 100 MB.  About 14 MP3s.  Gee whiz.  Didn't change many minds.  Then, about 6-8 weeks ago, Yahoo quietly upped the storage amount to 250 MB of free space - about 50 MP3s.  Since they didn't really tell anyone about it, and it still wasn't even close to what Google was offering, the service was still bleeding subscribers.  Finally, they realized that, if they want to stay competitive and not lose any more subscribers (hopefully), they have to be on par with the new service that is taking all of their potential revenue. 

A duel to see who will go out of business last
Another area where we see intense competition and innovation improving the consumer experience is the DVD rental wars.  For more years than I can remember, Blockbuster had a stranglehold on the stagnant movie rental market.  Not only did they dictate the only way to rent movies - get in your car, go to the store, hope they have what you want, wait in line, show your membership card, rent the movies, get in your car, go home - but they wiped out many mom-and-pop stores and homogenized the market. 

Then a little company called Netflix came along and offered not only a more convenient way to rent movies (order from home over the Internet, have movies mailed to you, mail them back in a prepaid envelope), they also unleashed a subscriber model that meant you knew exactly how much you would pay a month for rentals, regardless of how many movies you rent - WITH NO LATE FEES. Plus it virtually guaranteed a predictable revenue model for the company, something shareholders love.

This is great for consumers.  Who hasn't watched Blockbuster get humbled and try everything under the sun to stay competitive?!  First it was their worthless rewards program - where you had to PAY an annual fee to get anemic rewards, and one free rental a month.  Woo.  Didn't last.  Then they unveiled their own subscription model, but it was in-store only (not online) at first, without the convenience and choice of Netflix.  Then, after going online, Blockbuster undercut Netflix's monthly subscription price.  Netflix in turn dropped their price, and offered a second service option with an even lower cost.  So Blockbuster, in a move that shows how desperate they are, put an end to the late return fees that were the high-margin bread and butter of their revenues for so many years. 

Now, Blockbuster is rolling out yet another new service, an "All you can watch" monthly subscription model, to compete with Netflix once again.  In the meantime, Wal-Mart and others are trying to horn in on the online monthly subscription rental service.  Everyone wants a piece of the recurring-revenue pie, and we benefit from the competition.

Missing the point
The real problem for them is, in less than 5 years, the need for these services will be long gone, thanks to competition and innovation.  Long story short - in the very near future, you will be able to order any movie ever made, on demand, right through your cable, satellite or telephone service provider.  You won't have to go to the store to get it.  You won't have to wait for it in the mail.  You won't have to wonder whether or not it is in stock.  And it will most likely be priced as part of your monthly subscription, not on a per-movie basis, as it is now.  Again, competition, I think, will eventually force this, and subscription revenues are much better for predicting annual revenues. 

Unless Blockbuster and Netflix figure out a way to start providing their content over broadband, they are fighting a battle no one will care about.  I'm sure they have something up their sleeves but, right now all they own are a bunch of DVDs and a subscriber list.  They have no online delivery model and own zero rights to the content.

Then again, with all the free email storage space we will have, maybe we all soon just be emailing to each other bootleg copies of the movies we want to see, for free.  That's a joke.

Has it really been five years?!

Yesterday marked the 5-year anniversary of the merger between AOL and Time Warner.  This is the merger that, in early 2000, saw AOL complete it's $120+ BILLION acquisition of media stalwart Time Warner.  Yes, a relatively little Internet company in Northern Virginia bought the mega-corporation that brought us Time and Fortune Magazines, Warner Bros. movies, HBO, CNN, and more. It was the ultimate symbol of the hubris, vision and drive of entrepreneurs of the dot.com era (and the lack of foresight of the leaders of stable industries), and, as we learned, too good to be true. 

Since then, "AOL" has been dropped from the "AOL Time Warner" title, and they are even discussing spinning off AOL, essentially sending it back to what it once was - a smaller outfit with some good content offerings, helping moms, teens and grandparents access the information superhighway with relative ease.  No more, no less.  Too bad they didn't buy or create a service similar to Google, huh?

I was quoted in an article on this very topic in the Boulder Daily Camera in the fall of 1999, saying that the merger would be a boon for both companies, bringing AOL subscribers to Time Warner media content, rising the waters for both ships.  I wish I had made some dead-on prediction that would have the world thinking I was some kind of business genius, but no dice.  Ah hell, I was only 25 at the time, what did I know?  I did know the bubble was probably going to burst, and it sure did about 5 months later.

Who wants to bet the housing market is next?  I think I will start a pool on this at the office.  And hopefully the Camera will ask me for a quote again so I can nail it this time around.

Birthday Wish

So, today is my birthday and, being back from the holiday break, my thoughts have returned to technology.  I thought of something that I would really like to get for my birthday in, let's say, two years: an Apple iPod that also plays satellite radio and broadcast stations.  And not only would that iPod be my mobile music device, it also would plug into a special cradle in my car to let me listen to MP3s, satellite radio and broadcast while driving.

I wonder if Apple is considering buying XM or Sirius?  I know it is not their core area of experitse, but they haven't moved the needle on PC sales in years (since the launch of the iMac).  The iPod has been a huge success for Apple, and satellite radio is taking off, as well.  Imagine the possibilities - both financially for Apple, and the convenenience of convergence for us.

Year of the Blog

TIME magazine delcared this the "Year of the Blog," and made a list of the ten things we learned about blogs.

A couple interesting points:
a.) More than half (56%) of the blogs out there are created and run by women, and men are more likely than women to abandon blogs once they are created.  Traditional commitment issues, no doubt.
b.) Bloggers can make money by running ads. I need to get in on that action, and know how much you want to be target-marketed-to by me.  (does that sentence make any sense?)
c.) Bloggers can break news.  I thought we were just supposed to recycle and offer unsolicited opinions on the news vetted, researched and reported on by others...  ;-)
d.) "Blog" is now a word in the dictionary
e.) So many people are doing this, I don't feel as much of the geek I feared I might be.  (might?)

So, who's sick of the word 'blog' after reading this?

Google for your desktop

Good article in Bio-IT world today about upcoming desktop search tool technology offerings from the likes of Google, Microsoft, etc.  Basically, it's the rough equivalent of having a google search engine for your own computer.  Instead of searching the Internet, it searches your computer's memory/storage to quickly find and retrieve files matching your search criteria  This will be a HUGE timesaver for just about anyone who has a job that requires them to dig up old emails, years-old files, etc - like me.

My quick wishlist for this tool, which I will use, is that it is:
1.) Free
2.) Easy to install and use
3.) Non-intrusive
4.) Completely free of any spyware and "weatherbug"-type apps

What will I do with all the free time I will have at the office, if I am not combing through old emails to find out when I last talked to a specific reporter?  I guess I can try to do some actual work...