It’s been a week since Apple announced its entry in to the tablet computing space. The iPad is a very cool sleek device. But after all is said and done the iPad cannot be elevated beyond a very big slightly more powerful iPod Touch. It runs the same OS and runs the same applications. The only difference is that it is larger and has contract-free 3G. That’s it.
Apple did add the iBook Store to their mix of media distribution channels and in doing so has harmed consumers. MacMillan Publishers, Ltd. struck a deal with Apple where MacMillan books will cost consumers $15 in the iBook Store instead of $9.99 on Amazon’s Kindle. Amazon in an attempt to bring this to the bright light of day temporarily removed all MacMillan books from their store before announcing they will reluctantly continue to sell MacMillan books at the higher price. Amazon realistically can’t exclude MacMillan because they are one of the world’s largest publishers. Then the tech pundits went after Amazon.
Too many in the tech podcast and blog space are blinded by Apple’s ability to make cool and sleek devices. I guess that’s what makes it possible for them to declare Amazon’s move as anti-consumer. Usually competition brings lower prices to consumers. If, when Amazon was essentially alone in the e-book market prices were lower and when Apple decided to enter the market prices went higher, shouldn’t these same tech pundits be skewering Apple? Simply because Apple decided to sell e-books consumers now will have to pay $4 to $5 more per book. How is this good for consumers?
From all the coverage of which I’ve been listening and reading the most egregious offenders are those heard on Mac Break Weekly. Namely Leo Laporte, Andy Ihnatko, Merlin Mann and Chris Breen on Mac Break Weekly number 178. I can’t put any blame on Alex Lindsay because he wasn’t on the show this week.
I know it’s an Apple fan show but all these guys are professionals and should be able to see outside the Steve Jobs/Apple distortion field.
An hour of your time and an open mind will totally debunk everything that’s been pushed on you about “climate change” and “global warming”.
This hour special was broadcast on KUSI-TV in San Diego, CA. and produced and hosted by John Coleman, the meteorologist I grew up watching on Channel 7 in Chicago.
Try to ignore the smug look on Robert Gibbs’ face while he’s saying what he is saying. But, if this isn’t grounds for a mistrial, appeal or even acquittal I don’t know what is. How can a system of justice based on the principle of innocent until proven guilty have at its top an administration that has publicly decided a case before the trial? This is highly irresponsible and is why this case belongs in the military system of justice and not the civilian system.
It’s 9 degrees outside and Nico, our pug, hates the cold. So, in his search for the warmest spot in the house he has decided to precariously perch himself on the edge of the futon in order to grab some sun.
This guy has a set of stones. He shows the inanity of the TSA and government airport security. These videos were made shortly after the crotch bomber set his junk on fire. Enjoy!
On January 12, 2010 an earthquake devastated Haiti. It has taken about a week for aid from the United States to start flowing with any regularity. What has been the problem? I see the news reports and the network television reporters on the scene showing us the tent cities and the victims who are desperate for food, water, and shelter and I have trouble understanding why the U.S. response has been so slow especially given Haiti’s proximity to the United States. That is until I heard someone mention on the radio yesterday an interview with Retired Lt. General Russel Honore in which he says,
“I was a little frustrated to hear that USAID was the lead agency,” he said. “I respect them, but they’re not a rapid deployment unit.”
Therein lies the problem. The bureaucrats are in charge and not the military. Now it makes sense. The military specializes in getting to places that are normally inaccessible. It’s how they are able to fight wars any place on the planet. They have equipment and personnel that can move mountains if necessary. Bureaucrats meanwhile sit and ponder the situation to determine the best course of action and are quite often the bottleneck when it comes to decision making.
Watch this interview from last Sunday’s Face the Nation. Continue Reading »
