Cornfedtech.com

So long and thank you.

2009-10-19T20:33:00.006-05:00

Something for the road perhaps?

As you may have noticed, it's gotten a little dusty around here lately. Recent changes in my normal routine have compelled me to put down the keyboard. This will the last post at Cornfedtech.com.

Since beginning this venture more than 2 years ago on Tumblr, eventually moving here to blogger, It has been a great to see folks stopping by, if only for a few minutes, considering the nature of my blog was not unique. I have a great respect for those who give their all, day in and day out, creating good content that can be read, seen, listened to by as few as a handful, or go viral, getting millions of hits.

In the end, even posts on the most mundane of topics sometimes proved to be the most fun and rewarding.

But most of all, it was the comments, even if they disagreed, that I appreciated most. Participating in the conversation was the goal from the beginning. Each of us can and should contribute, even in some small way, so that we make these tubes a better place-considering we spend so much damn time here to begin with (Farmville? Really? Sigh...).

Although this is the last stop for me, I encourage you (yeah, I'm looking at you back there...) to put in your two cents to this Internet thing and go create something great, even if it's only great to you. What matters is it's you. Your voice. Your opinions. Your commentary.

Cats? Sure, go nuts.

Fin

CNET gets down with the Beatles, Rock Band Edition

2009-09-06T12:10:00.003-05:00

Hope everyone is enjoying the Labor Day Weekend. Although for some lucky souls, their work involves testing out the Beatles Rock Band Edition, due this Wednesday, 9/9/09.

CNET's crew of Dan Ackerman, Jeff Bakalar, and Scott Stein give you a full report:

"Music aside, this is essentially the same Rock Band game you've been playing for two years, but with nicely done overhauls of the menus, graphics, and interface, including some very cool animated Beatles segments. The biggest change to the actual gameplay is the inclusion of three-part vocal harmonies (you'll need three USB mics). We found out the hard way that these songs are actually pretty tough to sing, and nailing the harmonies is even tougher...

While there's a welcome free-play mode where all 45 included songs are immediately available to play, that's fewer songs than some previous Rock Band or Guitar Hero games include, and the track selection is sure to be missing at least a few of your favorites. There's clearly a big push to sell individual songs and whole albums as downloads (at $1.99 per track), starting with "Abbey Road" in October...

Three-part harmony allows up to three Beatles karaoke-ers to jump in and sing along, and the effect is simple and fun, focusing more on hopping in on a comfortable note than nailing parts perfectly."

I'm curious of how fast the game will fly off shelves this week. Also competing for your Beatle dollars us a new boxed set with remastered set. One can only imagine that digital downloads can hopefully not be too far away...

Word lives to sell another day

2009-09-03T18:59:00.006-05:00

Steven Musil of CNET reports that Microsoft has won a stay against a ruling in a Texas court that would have halted sales of Microsoft Word due to XML patent infringements of i4i Incorporated. That keeps the product on the shelves for now.

"In filing its formal appeal last week, Microsoft made a number of arguments for overturning the infringement finding, saying that the judge made several procedural errors and failed to live up to his role as "gatekeeper."

In addition to pursuing its appeal, Microsoft has other options including creating a technical workaround, removing the XML function, or reaching a settlement with I4i"

Of course another option is for Microsoft to throw some money at the issue and just make it go away. The 200 Million in damages they are talking about is pretty much chump-change for Redmond.

How painfully easy it is to get me started on eReaders

2009-09-03T17:03:00.004-05:00

It was in the middle of adding a comment on a great post by Ed Oswald of the Technologizer, that I had realized I was writing I lengthy post.

There are a few hot-button tech topics out there for me. eReaders and eBooks are one of them.

To that end, Oswald notes that based on some research, eReaders need to be much cheaper in order to reach critical mass.

"While the Amazon Kindle and to some extent the Sony Reader have ignited the e-book industry, analysts say that the market will not be able to grow much further without a serious price drop. Forrester Research studied the problem, and found the “magic price” where consumers would start considering a purchase was around $150.

It gets worse though: the actual price that consumers want to pay is much lower, sitting at around $90. This is nowhere close to the current retail prices of e-bookreaders: Sony’s somewhat close to the magic number with it’s cheapest at $199, but Amazon’s way overpriced in consumer’s eyes at $299."

That apparently tripped the comment trigger for me. I guess it takes so little ;)

"I think if you factor in the popularity of the price point of the $99 8GB (older model) iPhone when the 3GS first launched this summer (real cost aside for a moment), I think you see some data that could support some critical mass. I think you’re right though, that removing the EV-DO card might be a way to get a cheaper model, perhaps with a higher priced one getting it.

For me the bigger barrier to entry is the cost of the eBooks themselves. Although I have found the Kindle App for iPhone to be a very doable and convenient way to read that fits a busy schedule, I am constantly running up against a price point that (paperbacks and older books) that is very close to what I could get at a borders and Barnes and Noble-who are doing some competitive pricing on their own. Plus how do I know that the ebooks I buy are going to be able to port over to other devices. Expensive and DRM’d to kingdom come? Hmmm…

eReaders I think have a very small window to themselves if we are in fact gearing up for a tablet boom in the coming months/years. If I can get a Kindle app on a tablet, that sports all the other applications that smartphones are sporting, who wants to wait around for a cheap, dumbed down eReader?

We are talking here about a battle for the backpack and the backpocket of people and we are getting to the point where people want to carry less around with them.

So to get back to your title, it’s time for a price drop RIGHT freakin’ now."

Alright, I'm coming down off the soapbox. It's just that the view is so great from up there.

Seen and Noted : Nokia unveils N97 Mini

2009-09-02T12:30:00.005-05:00

The thing I guess to take out of this announcement is that we all learned that there is an event called Nokia World ('09 in Stuttgart, Germany). But we also learn that everywhere outside of the U.S. gets a broader range of Nokia hardware.

That said, what's notable about this device for me is the touch screen interface, (with slideout keyboard) Facebook integration and a 5 (yup) megapixel camera.

Here's the official dope:

"the N97 mini still packs 8GB of storage, a 3.2-inch touchscreen and full QWERTY keyboard into its 14.2mm thin frame. It’s also the first Nokia device to sport Lifecasting with Ovi – a new partnership with the world’s largest social network, Facebook. The N97 mini is based on the same tilt display design of its N97 big brother, built into a smaller body complete with new design touches.

The Nokia N97 mini works seamlessly with Ovi Store where users can add new applications, widgets, ringtones and other content to their device. It also sports Ovi Maps and comes with integrated A-GPS and compass along with with voice navigation for driving or walking. Over 155,000 points of interest are also available through Lonely Planet guides and restaurants through Michelin Guides.

Up to 12 days standby time are on offer and up to 28 hours music playback (in offline mode). The 5-megapixel camera comes with dual LED flash and video light, along with a Carl Zeiss Tessar lens. The 8GB of on board memory can be expanded to 24GB with the addition of a 16GB microSD card.

The Nokia N97 mini will be available next month for an estimated retail price of EUR450 ($640.71) before taxes and subsidies."

Marguerite Reardon of CNET:

"The handset maker also announced two new music phones: the X6 and the X3. The X6, which has a touch screen and 32GB of built-in memory, will be Nokia's new flagship music phone. The company expects to ship the new phone in the fourth quarter for a list price of 450 euros, or $639. As with the N97, users will also get the Comes With Music service bundled into the phone...In yet another attempt to diversify, Nokia also plans to offer more sophisticated hardware, in the form of a mini-laptop or Netbook--last week it announced the new device, dubbed the Nokia Booklet 3G. At the event in Germany on Wednesday it announced that it will ship the mini laptop in the fourth quarter with a list price tag of 575 euros, or about $817."

Is there a Verizon Storm 2 on the Horizon?

2009-09-01T17:11:00.006-05:00

Bonna Cha of CNET reports that you can get a good deal these days on the oft maligned Blackberry Storm.

"This is the second price drop for the Storm (first was from $199.99 to $149.99), leading many to believe that the carrier is clearing out inventory to make room for the RIM BlackBerry Storm 2. While RIM has confirmed only that it is working on the device, it has not commented on a release date, pricing, or final specs. "

However some sites around the tubes are running with a supposed leaked document from Verizon that says the Storm 2 could see you in September to mid-October.

James Falconer of IntoMobile.com:

"If the docs are to be believed, then you can look forward to a BlackBerry Storm 2 (9550) on Verizon starting on the 29th of September for business customers. Also, the device will rear it’s touchscreeny-goodness in Verizon stores on the 14th of October (for general consumption).

Of course, no pricing details are available at this point… But this is the latest. Believe it or not, I’m still chalking it up to rumor until I get more confirmation."

I would hold off on getting a Storm at this point even if we are a couple more months away from a new model. The Storm has no where to go but up.

Done with Snow Leopard? How about an Apple Event?

2009-08-31T12:12:00.005-05:00

News is traveling fast around the tubes that Apple has confirmed a September 9th media event.

Slash Lane of AppleInsider:

"Members of the press received their invitations for Apple's media-related event Monday via e-mail. Last week, sources confirmed to AppleInsider that the event would be held the Wednesday after Labor Day. The now-official keynote will begin at 10 a.m. Pacific Time (1 p.m. Eastern).

With a graphic stating "It's only rock and roll, but we like it," the invitation references a classic Rolling Stones lyric. It also features a take on the company's standard-style iPod silhouette graphic."

Erica Ogg of CNET:

"Because the date is a Wednesday, as opposed to Apple's traditional preference for events on Tuesdays, it's possible there could finally be an announcement regarding The Beatles catalog coming to iTunes. September 9 is also the day The Beatles' remastered digital albums and Rock Band video game will be released."

A number of outlets will be live-blogging the event and we will provide you with links as that date draws closer.

Disney nabs the web-crawler and Marvel for 4 Billion

2009-08-31T11:55:00.004-05:00

Disney announced today that they have made an agreement to acquire Marvel Entertainment Incorporated in a deal worth 4 Billion in stock and cash.

According to the release:

"This transaction combines Marvel's strong global brand and world-renowned library of characters including Iron Man, Spider-Man, X-Men, Captain America, Fantastic Four and Thor with Disney's creative skills, unparalleled global portfolio of entertainment properties, and a business structure that maximizes the value of creative properties across multiple platforms and territories," said Robert A. Iger, President and Chief Executive Officer of The Walt Disney Company. "Ike Perlmutter and his team have done an impressive job of nurturing these properties and have created significant value. We are pleased to bring this talent and these great assets to Disney."

"We believe that adding Marvel to Disney's unique portfolio of brands provides significant opportunities for long-term growth and value creation," Iger said.

"Disney is the perfect home for Marvel's fantastic library of characters given its proven ability to expand content creation and licensing businesses," said Ike Perlmutter, Marvel's Chief Executive Officer. "This is an unparalleled opportunity for Marvel to build upon its vibrant brand and character properties by accessing Disney's tremendous global organization and infrastructure around the world."

Under the deal, Disney will acquire ownership of Marvel including its more than 5,000 Marvel characters. Mr. Perlmutter will oversee the Marvel properties, and will work directly with Disney's global lines of business to build and further integrate Marvel's properties."

Paul Thomasch of Reuters:

"For Disney, movies like those should help address a key area of concern among investors: How it can better reach more young males.

"This helps give Disney more important exposure to the young male demographic that they have sort of lost some ground with in recent years," said David Joyce, an analyst with Miller Tabak & Co.

Disney Chief Financial Officer Tom Staggs told Reuters on Monday, "(Marvel's) audience is surprisingly broad. It transcends gender and age and has real potential worldwide. They skew a little more toward boys than many of our properties."

Though I wonder how much Stan Lee gets from this?

Excelsior!

To Live and Die in Snow Leopard - An Installer's log

2009-08-29T16:14:00.006-05:00

Grasshopper you journey only now begins...

David Carradine did not drop by during the time I was installing Mac OS X 10.6, but I did get my $30 dollars worth of entertainment for the evening considering the wonder and drama that goes into any OS upgrade that's not a wipe and install - Mac or Windows. Even though arguably this isn't the seismic shift of some previous versions, there was enough going on under the hood that left me wondering what I'd see on the other side.

A big help going in was the Snow Leopard Compatibility chart that showed you current state of some of the main Mac Software. Not really meant so much for Apple's own stuff, but the great collection of third party apps we live and die on.

Over the week I had been uninstalling things like the iStat Menus which were apps that ran on start up. If I saw a regular application that I saw had an issue, I checked for an update, which developers are really doing a good job of doing, considering the release date being pushed back.

Another good piece of advice came when you first start installing, which is to click the 'Customize' button just prior to install and for me at least, check 'Rosetta' which installs the Apple software that lets you run older Power PC apps. That said, I was not sure that my older Creative Suite (CS1) from Adobe would work, as well as my ancient copy of Toast, but it's probably time to upgrade that anyway. Time to let go and live in the now, I guess.

Another Customizing tip. Apple lets you choose not to install a bunch of printer drivers and basically just look for your printer's driver. You can also opt out of other languages, which may get everything done a little faster and save some more space.

The install took about 40 minutes and the machine rebooted a couple of times and then finished the installation. Pretty undramatic- which is a good thing.

My Mini booted up and looked just the same as I had left it earlier. I checked the Internet connection which was fine and checked the free space on the HD. Just as they have been saying, Snow Leopard does go in a little slimmer and gives you back some room. That's one of those things where I say - 'don't know what you did to get it there, but I like it.'

Then I started going through the critical apps making sure everything was still working.

MacHeist buyers rejoice since it looks like we either can get updates or run as is. Programs like Acorn, Boinx, Picturesque, Delicious Library, Little Snapper, etc. worked fine. Ambrosia, the maker of Wiretap Studio came out with updates yesterday which made it SN ready.

Dropbox runs a little wonky, so I went to their site and uninstalled for now. Pixen, a drawing program also did not work.

Other than that I was pretty much OK.

Do spend some time with Quicktime X. To me this was the big visible upgrade. Considering you can now record audio, video and do some screen capturing, and video trimming, like in the iPhone app, Apple has really made a great improvement to the program. But you can also still get and use Quicktime 7 if you have apps that need that version.

I think though that Snow Leopard really sets the stage for new applications and with Grand Central Dispatch and Open CL, start taking advantage of the horsepower of the multi-core Intel systems.

This update was probably a little too big to push over the internet, and thus probably made more sense to put on a DVD.

MacCast host Adam Christianson does a live install on USTREAM on Saturday

The bottom line is that it's a good idea to get Snow Leopard (if not now then definitely at some point) if you have the newer models, especially since some of the improvements will work well with that hardware. I think though that the Quicktime update is pretty solid and some of the extra menus in the dock items will make your life a little easier. I like getting the hard drive space back and I think overall we're seeing the maturity of OS X.

Which ain't such a bad thing.

Today the desktop, tormorrow, China - From CNET

2009-08-28T12:03:00.002-05:00

While Snow Leopard leaves stores starting today bound for your desktop, Apple has inked a deal with China Unicom to start selling iPhones in China.

From Jonathan Skillings of CNET:

"The news was, by and large, expected. Reports of an impending deal had been circulating for some time now. And at least as far back as March, China Unicom--the country's second largest mobile operator--had been posting iPhone photos and specifications on its Web site. Apple had also been in on-again, off-again talks with the country's largest carrier, China Mobile."

That point is echoed by Chris Foresman of Ars Technica:

"Entering the Chinese market is a major coup for Apple, as the country's roughly 700 million mobile subscribers represent the largest potential market for the iPhone in the world. If Apple is able to reach just two percent of those customers (that's Apple's current share of global mobile market), that represents 14 million more iPhone sales—a 56 percent increase over the roughly 25 million Apple has sold so far, over two years and in 80 countries."

Could Could Howard Stern go it alone? - From the BuzzMachine

2009-08-27T13:05:00.005-05:00

Taking a break between Snow Leopard and Beatle Mania this week, I thought Jeff Jarvis, author of the BuzzMachine among other things picked up on an interesting story by David Hinkley of the Daily News regarding Howard Sterns' possible future after his term is up with Sirius XM; could he go it alone?

"I’ve talked with a measurement company that did a study on his impact on satellite and concluded that a majority of users were there and paying $12.95 a month because of him. So say that half those people – 3.5 million – would pay half that much – $6 – to get Stern anywhere and on-demand. That’s $252 million. Absurd? OK, so charge $1 a month; that’s $42 million (though at a lower price, the volume would surely increase)."

He adds that Stern basically would need staff and bandwidth, much like Leo Laporte's TWiT network of podcasts and streaming audio/video.

Longtime Chicago sports talk personality Mike North hit the internet airwaves this spring after having his contract not renewed by AM670 the Score, although that venture has run into a bit of a financial snag as it's investor has run into some legal trouble.

That said, even without the big numbers Stern use to broadcast to, he still could talk to a very large and profitable audience and not really have to share the loot. Given the capacity of smartphones and mp3 players to receive streaming audio, it could be a win-win for him to be as Jarvis puts it 'The Stern Broadcasting Corp.'

Get your system ready for the big cat - From Lifehacker

2009-08-26T12:58:00.005-05:00

Gina Tripani, founder and oft contributor to Lifehacker has a nice step-by-step post on getting ready before you stick the disc in this Friday (so to speak).

Clean up, back up, and pay attention to the prompts. Also bear in mind that some apps may not be compatible. In fact, maybe take some time as she says and go through your drive and see if there's anything you don't need to come along for the ride. And if you have an external drive - all the better, in case something goes wrong.

It should be stated that this is an upgrade and not a fresh install, but Apple has mentioned that this system is a tighter one than 10.5 and should be some gigabytes lighter.

Best yet grab a single or six of your favorite beverage, because you know where your butt is sitting on a late summer Friday night. Yup, same as mine.

Yeah, I'm lookin' at you.

Sony shows what's behind eReader #3 - the Reader Daily Edition

2009-08-25T14:10:00.004-05:00

Earlier this month we told you that Sony had come out with a couple of new, moderately priced eReaders, which looked to put some pressure on Amazon's Kindle.

Today Sony threw down the 3rd and probably most interesting member of the family, the Reader Daily Edition, which comes with 3G Internet access.

From Sony's release:

"The Reader Daily Edition gives consumers wireless access via AT&T’s 3G mobile broadband network to Sony’s eBook store from just about anywhere in the U.S. Book lovers will be able to browse, purchase and download books as well as select newspapers and magazines when and where they want. There are no monthly fees or transaction charges for the basic wireless connectivity and users still have the option to side load personal documents or content from other compatible sites via USB.

The seven-inch wide, touch screen display provides for intuitive navigation and comfortable layout of content, including newspapers and magazines, whether you’re reading in portrait or landscape orientation. In portrait mode, about 30-35 lines of text are visible, making the experience very similar to that of a printed paperback book. A high contrast ratio with 16 levels of grayscale ensures that text and images are crisp and easy to read. The Daily Edition also boasts an attractive aluminum body with an integrated cover for durability. It has enough internal memory to hold more than one thousand standard eBooks and expansion slots for memory cards to hold even more. It will sell for about $399."

I like the access and the fact that they are mimicking Kindle's deal with Sprint, as well as the touch interface and portrait reader mode, but we are back up to 400 bucks now for an eReader. Oy.

Will the faithful line up for Snow Leopard this Friday?

2009-08-24T12:11:00.009-05:00

The Northbrook Apple Store for Leopard's launch in October 2007

Now that the news is out and we have an official date, will we have a line outside Friday for Snow Leopard?

For some insight, I looked back at a post I did prior to the Leopard launch in October of 2007. The turnout was dwarfed for certain by the launch of the first generation iPhone that summer, but was still probably along the size for previous OS releases.

October 26, 2007

"The first was a young guy who had been the first in line at 4:15... The line stayed pretty modest until about 5:30 when the lines began to swell. By the time the doors opened a healthy crowd filed in, upgrades on one side, new computer buyers on the other."

And although sizes for Apple crowds since have not come to the size of that frantic iPhone weekend of 2007, the steady pace of customers buying the iPhone 3GS arguably helped make that launch the success it was. So too did the fact that many were able to pre-order the phone, getting them to the front of the line.

So I have a couple of questions regarding Friday's release:

With the announcement just 5 days before launch, will your 'regular' Mac user- not the uber geek-know that it's out or feel obligated to upgrade? With the cost being so low, will people just pre-order it instead?

I Twittered my question out this morning and was kind to receive a few replies back from some folks who know far more about this stuff than I do .

Dwight Silverman of the Houston Chronicle and the TechBlog:

Julio Ojeda-Zapata writes for the Pioneer Press:John F. Braun is a contributing writer for The Mac Observer and co-hosts 'The Mac Geek Gab' with Dave Hamilton

I think the comments here could sum it up. A lot will pre-order (Silverman), some may hold off because it's mostly an under-the-hood upgrade (Zapata) and with less than a week to get the word out to the mainstream Mac audience may not be aware that it's out already (Braun).

My official recommendation is do get it, but take advantage of the pre-order option or come after the initial throngs converge because you probably have a lot better use for your time than say someone like me. Snow Leopard though has a lot of refinements that will make your Mac run a little better and will be the basis for a lot more software advancements down the line-and well, you just can't beat the price. So no matter what option you use to get it, because it's good for your Mac.

For me though, I like being part of a shared group experience that you just can't get online. It's fun to chat with folks and to feel some of that mojo that only Apple can seem to bring out time and time again.

Snow Leopard is GO for Friday August 28th.

2009-08-24T08:28:00.004-05:00

Apple couldn't have said it any clearer than right on the web site front page this morning...

From the official releas e:

"Mac OS X v10.6 Snow Leopard will go on sale Friday, August 28 at Apple’s retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers, and that Apple’s online store is now accepting pre-orders...

Mac OS X version 10.6 Snow Leopard will be available as an upgrade to Mac OS X version 10.5 Leopard on August 28 at Apple’s retail stores and through Apple Authorized Resellers, and online pre-orders can be made through Apple’s online store (www.apple.com) starting today. The Snow Leopard single user license will be available for a suggested retail price of $29 (US) and the Snow Leopard Family Pack, a single household, five-user license, will be available for a suggested price of $49 (US). For Tiger users with an Intel-based Mac, the Mac Box Set includes Mac OS X Snow Leopard, iLife ’09 and iWork ’09 and will be available for a suggested price of $169 (US) and a Family Pack is available for a suggested price of $229 (US). "

The release also talks of some of the internal improvements with this upgrade.

"To create Snow Leopard, Apple engineers refined 90 percent of the more than 1,000 projects that make up Mac OS X. Users will notice refinements including a more responsive Finder™; Mail that loads messages up to twice as fast;* Time Machine with an up to 80 percent faster initial backup;* a Dock with Exposé integration; QuickTime X with a redesigned player that allows users to easily view, record, trim and share video; and a 64-bit version of Safari 4 that is up to 50 percent** faster and resistant to crashes caused by plug-ins. Snow Leopard is half the size of the previous version and frees up to 7GB of drive space once installed.

For the first time, system applications including Finder, Mail, iCal, iChat and Safari are 64-bit and Snow Leopard’s support for 64-bit processors makes use of large amounts of RAM, increases performance and improves security while remaining compatible with 32-bit applications. Grand Central Dispatch (GCD) provides a revolutionary new way for software developers to write applications that take advantage of multicore processors. OpenCL, a C-based open standard, allows developers to tap the incredible power of the graphics processing unit for tasks that go beyond graphics."

I'm surprised not that they are shipping earlier than they had mentioned, but that they've given themselves only a week to launch. Of course the echo chamber that this site is a part of will be bouncing this story all over the place, it probably won't be heard by you mainstream Mac user for awhile. Sure it's an upgrade, but at the price point of $29 bucks this should be the most successful conversion that Apple has seen yet.

I haven't seen word yet on if there will be a store closing and reopening on Friday for the launch.

We'll see.

Norton & Heron back together again - HD Nation on Revision 3

2009-08-21T08:00:00.001-05:00

Not quite DL.TV, but close. Robert Heron & Patrick Norton of HD Nation

If you remember the good old days of video podcasts, you'd recognize the dynamic duo of DL.TV, Patrick Norton and Robert Heron. Norton left for Revision 3 and System and Tekzilla goodness, while Robert steered the ship with Roger Chang and Scott Asnault until DL.TV went on hiatus and eventually morphed into DL.TV Bytes earlier this spring. Good stuff, but I always hoped the two would eventually do a show once again.

Enter HD Nation on Revision 3. In a nutshell, two guys, and a basic set talking about Hi-Def goodness. The show plays of course to Heron's strength which is all things displays and Norton's ability to anchor and pace a show. But both together have a good chemistry and generally act much more natural and as if the whole thing was created right on the spot.

Face it, if the thing was called 'Toaster Nation' it'd still be interesting and fun to watch.

Now I must admit that Revision 3 stuff runs hot and cold with me, and that live streaming stuff is all over the place these days. But this show is what video podcasts do at their best solid material on a niche subject. And you'll get no better, than with HD Nation.

Welcome back guys, you were sorely missed.

Splitting hairs

2009-08-20T18:58:00.004-05:00

Now that the Southeastern Conference has revised its social media policy for ticketholders, something about the quote of SEC Associate Comissioner Charles Bloom struck me as ironic. Let me know if you see it too...

"We have such a great atmosphere and great excitement at our stadiums that we want people to convey those thoughts and images to people around the world, we want people to twitter I’m sitting at this LSU-Florida game and I can’t believe how great it is. Pictures can accommodate that. The prohibitions on the policy deal with 2 things, one is the resale of photographs, you can post them but we don’t want you to resell them, the second thing is we don’t want game footage on the web."

From the policy:

"In the event that the name or likeness of Bearer (of the ticket) is included in any broadcast, telecast, photograph, film, video or other media of the sports event for which this Ticket provides admission, such individual grants the Southeastern Conference the non-exclusive, transferable, perpetual right and license to use (and to sub-license the use of) such name and likeness in any media worldwide whether now known or hereafter devised."

Oh I get it, just like for the players...It all makes since now.

Annoying team or savvy marketers? From the Big Fat Marketing Blog

2009-08-20T08:00:00.002-05:00

Tim Parry of the Big Fat Marketing Blog sees the Vikings going full-bore on the new purple shade of Favre mania:

"But as annoying as it is, it may be a very good marketing move for the Vikings… even if it seems the only people other than the team who are thrilled about Favre’s latest un-retirement are the team’s ownership, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, and Reebok.

It starts with the splash page, ends at the e-commerce store, and has plenty of All-Favre, All-The-Time content in the middle."

I'm republishing my comment on this article from his post below:

Given the money brought in by NFL merchandise, you have to give it to the Vikings for getting on the stick. They may only have 5-6 months to cash in on #4 jerseys before Favre retires and shows up on another team.

As far as Viking fans are concerned, my heart goes out to them and the 4 Super Bowl appearances that left them empty handed. For all the talk of the Chicago Cub drought, I’ll wager there’s more than enough Purple People Eaters who’d be willing to trade the farm in on a trophy and parade across the Twin Cities.

And I think the markets of the NFL Central have to like the attention they’ll be getting from a suddenly having 3 very high profile QB’s with Cutler in Chicago, Favre in Minnesota and of course Rodgers in Green Bay.

I'm not a huge football fan, but from what I hear, the Vikings were a pretty good team already. Having Farve may make them even better if he stays healthy.

Goin' to an SEC game this year? Better check your social media at the door.

2009-08-19T20:39:00.005-05:00

St. Petersburg Times writer Michael Kruse reports that the Southeastern Conference has put out a controversial new media policy for reporters that put limits on how much content is more or less disseminated from games, practices and press events.

But you, the fan, are what may be the real threat and you get your new rules too:

"But even more interesting is that the policy also includes rules for fans in the stands. No updating Twitter feeds. No taking photos with phones and posting them on Facebook or Flickr. No taking videos and putting them on YouTube.

A conference spokesman said this policy was meant to try to keep as many eyeballs as possible on ESPN and CBS — which are paying the SEC $3 billion for the broadcast rights to the conference's games over the next 15 years — and also on the SEC Digital Network — the conference's own entity that's scheduled to debut on SECSports.com later this month."

He adds that the conference not only sees what you can do now on many phones, but what you could do just years from now. And that is what is prompting the policy.

Interestingly this comes at a time where the worldwide leader in sports, ESPN, has recently tweaked it's social media policies.

I see stadiums banning video cameras, and maybe like some places not allowing "professional " looking cameras or ones with long lenses, but Twitter and Facebook? What about my cell phone? Am I not allowed to talk during the game now?

Who here hasn't had a picture taken at the stadium - it's part of the experience. It says, 'hey look' I might have overpaid for my ticket and parking- had to wait in long lines and the concessions, bathroom, and traffic, but I'm here!

And your God Damn right I'm gonna take a picture, Tweet that I'm here freezing/getting sunburnt/getting rained, having a great time, rooting MY TEAM on and posting it on Facebook.

I want to see the first case of the SEC lobbying Twitter or Facebook to yank someone's personal picture or account ala YouTube. People will go berserk.

I'm all for protecting copyright, but not at the expense of alienating a very large group of people over a small percentage of fans who attend games. If you're there you are much more interested in watching the event, not burning up your battery trying to re-create the event for those on the west coast.

And if you've ever been to a Northwestern Game, heck, they'd probably pay you to Tweet it. I agree with the coach that social media is a way to expand and connect with your fans. The SEC probably sees Pay-per-view as the only option.

The rest of Kruse's article is worth the read.

Poor form SEC. Poor form.

Update: The Orlando Sentinel reports that the SEC has reviewed and revised the policy:

"The SEC finally has come to its senses with its revised-revised ticket policy, and you are safe social media network-aholics. After listening to a storm of complaints and outrage after it initially wanted to ban Tweeting and Facebook posts during live games, the league has backed down.

Ticketed fans are now allowed to post "personal messages and updates of scores or other brief descriptions of the competition throughout the Event."

Will music worlds finally collide this September?

2009-08-19T13:12:00.007-05:00

One thing we know for sure this fall. September 9th is the official release date for The Beatles Rock Band Edition. And that coinciding with that release date is a new box set, featuring a completely remastered Beatles catalog and all the fixins.'

We also know (maybe) that Apple usually has a big music event at this time to show off new iPods, versions of iTunes, ect.

But some are wondering if that Wednesday in September will see a release of the Beatles music on the iTunes Store, the top music retailer.

Katie Marsal of AppleInsider:

"Rumors of The Beatles' songs coming to iTunes are nothing new, but it was far less likely to happen years ago, when Apple and the parent company of The Beatles, Apple Corps, were engaged in a trademark dispute. In 2007, those issues were resolved, leaving many to believe an appearance for digital downloads would soon follow, though it never did.

Whether the Sept. 9 date has to do with planning or mere coincidence remains to be seen"

I can imagine it may not come then, but while the two sides have been haggling it out since the time Apple was a minor music player, they are a dominant force in music distribution now. If the remaining Fab Four and their entities want the biggest bang for the buck, they can only dance around Cupertino for so long.

Video/Magazine Ad mashup coming soon - From CNET

2009-08-19T12:38:00.004-05:00

Caroline McCarthy of CNET reports that CBS will insert a small chip inside a September 18th issue of Entertainment Weekly which will display an advertisement. This will be available only to subscribers in New York and Los Angeles.

"The technology for the battery-powered ads was manufactured by a Los Angeles-based company called Americhip, and each ad can handle about 40 minutes of video.

"It's leadership in innovation, which we really stress at CBS in every part of our company," (Marketing President George) Schweitzer said of the ads, which were developed with the collaboration of the Ignition Factory, a division of the Omnicom Group's OMD media agency."

From the official CBS release:

"As Entertainment Weekly readers flip to the "Monday to the Max" CBS/Pepsi Max promotional spread they will be greeted with a specially-produced brief video featuring THE BIG BANG THEORY's Kaley Cuoco, Jim Parsons and Johnny Galecki, in character as Penny, Sheldon and Leonard. The trio explains how to use the VIP (Video in Print) player - while also chatting about Entertainment Weekly and exchanging some characteristically cutting remarks with each other. "

Brian Steinberg of Ad Age:

"Pepsi agreed to the pact as part of a "one-off deal" with CBS, said Frank Cooper, chief marketing officer-portfolio brands at Pepsi-Cola North America Beverages, and not as part of its recent upfront negotiations with the network...Driving Pepsi's decision, Mr. Cooper said, was the fact that CBS comedies reach consumers between the ages of 25 and 39. The tone the beverage company uses in its Pepsi Max ads also "plays well," he said, with the male-oriented, irreverent humor that is so much a part of CBS's Monday comedies. Pepsi intends to measure the success of the venture by examining "buzz" among consumers, Mr. Cooper said. Rather than looking at sales of soda, he said, the company will look for "cultural feedback that comes from the kind of connection" an eyebrow-raising promotion creates."

Marisa Guthrie of Broadcasting & Cable:

"While the most effective promotional tool for broadcast television is still on-air promotion, marketers are nevertheless increasingly deploying outside-the-box marketing campaigns in an effort to reach consumers in a fragmenting media landscape."

Rory Maher of the Silicon Alley Insider though, is not so thrilled:

"Nice trick, but this kind of stuff is not going to save magazines. Entertainment Weekly will likely receive a higher rate for the ad, but magazines still face the challenge of retaining readers and advertisers, which continue to migrate online. All this while faced with burdensome printing and distribution costs."

Get bigger book options with new iPhoto update

2009-08-18T20:31:00.002-05:00

Apple today released an update for iPhoto which gives you a 'supersize me' type option for 13" x 10" books, a few new themes and holiday cards.

Can speeches go green? A fan's daydream

2009-08-18T16:43:00.003-05:00

News today of Brett Favre's signing with the Minnesota Vikings got me thinking. Back in the day I had a collection of press releases that covered topics that would come up year after year. Rather than have to reinvent the wheel each time, each year, I found myself making minor changes to some of the same material.

In that vein I wondered aloud if Mr. Favre might have a word document somewhere that looks like this...

All in fun...

Sony PS3 gets slim - From CNET

2009-08-18T13:40:00.002-05:00

David Carnoy of CNET:

"In Cologne, Sony Computer Entertainment CEO Kaz Hirai performed the unveiling, taking the stage and announcing the PS3 was "getting a new model" and that indeed it was called the PS3 Slim.The Slim is hitting stores the first week in September and will cost $299.99 (or for those who live in other regions, 299 euros or 29980 yen). Hirai says it has the same features and functions as the "old" PS3 but is 33 percent smaller, 36 percent lighter, and comes with a 120 GB hard drive."

Engadget has some nice shots of the announcement and hardware.

Mark Peckham of PC World:"The current 80GB PS3 had been selling for $400, though a few retailers slashed prices in recent days and fueled speculation a price drop was imminent. It's not clear whether the PS3 slim actually replaces the existing model or not, but if you don't care about aesthetics, the price of the PS3 just dropped across the board, meaning that as of tomorrow, you can buy an existing PS3 anywhere in the US for $300."

The new model does make the old look like a B-52 in comparison. Nice to see console prices drop, given the economic climate.

TomTom for iPhone comes to the App Store

2009-08-17T12:31:00.007-05:00

TomTom's iPhone application showed up in the Application store over the weekend. For $99 you can download and get most of the features of a stand alone device. According to the information on the App page, you can tap, pinch and navigate through the menus, just as you would on other applications. TomTom was previewed at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference back in June.

TomTom's page for iPhone also shows a special cradle that the iPhone can be docked on.

TomTom's iPhone cradle

Some early reviews, though, do show some issues with the 1.0 release including most notably (supposedly) not speaking street names, customizable voices, and traffic. And the $99 of course does not get you the dock.

That said, being able to get this in your iPhone is a major score, if you don't mind the high sticker price. I like not having to lug around another device and stowing additional cables when the car is parked to avoid having your car broken into. Plus having the TomTom resources in a device I carry at all times, makes it a fairly attractive option. Obviously using the iPhone's GPS is a battery drain, but in the car you would keep it plugged in just as you would any other GPS.

I would expect this though to drop somewhat over time, and the app to be updated to a point where this would be an option to consider when your thinking of getting another, or new GPS.