Barnako.com

Just back from Penn State ... One extreme to the other

Frank Barnako — 2009-11-08T15:32:40-05:00

"WE ARE!"

"PENN STATE!"

If you've never been to State College for a football game, you have no idea of the excitement and emotion that runs through the penn State stadium on a Saturday afternoon in the fall.

Yesterday, there were 110,400 people in the seats, rooting for PSU. But, alas, we were to be disappointed as Ohio State ran over the Nittany Lions ... and that was AFTER they had all been cheering for my alma mater, Northwestern, which upset Iowa in an earlier game.

But the point of this post is not to talk about Penn State, it's to also wish you never have the other experience I did this weekend. Staying with friends (kind, generous people), 17 miles outside of State College ... on a mountain top ... with NO cell service and only dialup.

That means my iPhone was useless, as was my laptop and its WiFi. For the first time in years, I have gone nearly 48 hours with Net access. And it's not a pretty sight.

So, when I came back to Va. and logged in, I found an invite from Leo Laporte to join this evening's' Webcast of "This Week in Tech." From zero Net access to joining the roundtable of what could be the Net's most popular tech talk show ... well ... i am SO glad to be plugged in again.

The show Webcasts live at 6 p.m. eastern at http://live.twit.tv/, and you'll be able to download the podcast from iTunes.

Message to Murdoch: mission accomplished!

Frank Barnako — 2009-10-26T12:01:53-04:00

Couldn't help but see this morning's Wall Street Journal and The New York Times shared the same photo on the front page, for the second time in less than a week. Today it was one of 50 shots from the weekend's horrible explosions in Iraq, available from Getty Images.

It's been said that since News Corp. bought the WSJ, Murdoch wanted to go head to head with The Times. He has. The first section of the paper has made the shift with much more national and international news coverage than business content. And where stylized etching-like graphics used to sparsely illustrate stories, now four-color photos do.

Maybe they should rename it The Wall Street Times.

Murdoch, the ‘perfect mogul’

Frank Barnako — 2009-10-07T11:31:22-04:00

WSJ reviews The Curse of the Mogul, describing who’s got ‘it’ and who doesn’t when it comes to building media companies.

Bloomberg’s created more value than any other media type, say the authors, while Murdoch “alone possesses all the elements of the perfect mogul.”

In his review, Jeremy Philips offers this caution to today’s and tomorrow’s would-be content kings.

The Web has eroded the barriers protecting traditional businesses without improving the competitive position of even one incumbent. For a new competitor, of course, lower barriers mean opportunity, but they will mean opportunity for still newer competitors, too, making it difficult to establish a sustainable advantage.

The WSJ review is here.

The new Shuffle s****

Frank Barnako — 2009-10-06T09:39:32-04:00

I love Apple. But ... how dumb is its new 3rd generation Shuffle?

My 2nd generation Shuffle started gasping during the summer. The player became temperamental. Sometimes it would turn on, sometimes not. Tracks would stop in the middle. I gave up and ordered the 'latest and greatest' Shuffle. Not!

The new Shuffle, the one they call the 'stick of gum,' has no controls on the device. "On" and "Off" are embedded in the Apple-supplied earbuds. Skip to the next podcast or music track? You have to push the tiny 'button' on the earphone's wire.

The problem? Does anyone USE the Apple earbuds? Not if they really want to listen to something. There's a huge after-market earphone market for iPods for a good reason. The Apple-issued ear buds deliver a tinny sound and, if you;re a runner, they don't stay in your ear. They're awful. So, for runners or anyone who really wants to listen to music off their iPod, the new Shuffle is not the answer.

My solution? After trying a Sansa Clip (which fritzed out 60 seconds out of the box) and no-name MP3 player from Micro Connection, I went back to the Apple Store and bought two refurbbed 2nd generation shuffles for $39/each. Amazon has a couple new ones priced at $100.

But why no one else is calling out Apple for this terrible design is beyond me. Somebody's gotta do it.

Fox business news makes way for Imus

Frank Barnako — 2009-10-05T11:41:00-04:00

Don Imus debuted this morning on cable’s Fox Business Network, but the business news wheel didn't stop at FBN. It just shifted to the Internet .

From 6 a.m. to 9 a.m., Fox is streaming “Morning Edition” with three young, attractive talking heads and occasional remotes from stock exchanges and Europe. One of the heads, Jenna Lee, also does news and business cut-ins on the Imus show. So, she’s a busy girl.

This Web venture is pretty much the same show Fox was broadcasting last week. I can’t be sure because, like most of America, I never watched the channel's ‘pre game’ show. Instead, my DVR is set to roll on ‘Opening Bell’ at 9:30 a.m. and I watch it while doing morning push-ups and sit-ups.

But what I saw online this morning was serviceable, basic information. Not much spice, no rumors, nothing juicy to move a stock. Kind of like having someone read you the WSJ.

I think it’s great Fox is live streaming the morning show. It’s another small step for wired-man as live video on the Internet expands. In fact, Fox even streams a live business news hour at Noon, eastern. Here's a link to the stream. Even better, Fox has engineered it so it can be watched on an iPhone.

Speaking of Imus, if you’ve ever listened to him, during his 40-year-career, ya gotta hear rant by Charles McCord this morning. Everything you’ve ever wanted to say to the I-man.

I'll be on TWIT tonight

Frank Barnako — 2009-10-04T09:10:49-04:00

Looking forward to "This Week in Tech" tonight. The show starts at 6 p.m., eastern, accessible on any Net-connected computer near you.

This flagship show of Leo Laporte's TWIT Network attracts as many as 250,000 listeners. I'm really flattered he's asked me to join the panel.

Like all of the network's programs, it's video Webcast live. You can watch at TWITlive.tv, or grab the iTunes podcast feed and listen during the week.

Why bloggers and podcasters should be happy about a Comcast/NBC deal

Frank Barnako — 2009-10-03T10:41:58-04:00

The report that Comcast has been discussing a deal to buy 51% of NBC Universal is good news for bloggers and podcasters.

It is evidence that a company with wires into hundreds of thousands of households sees the future online. Comcast saw its broadband sign ups last quarter nearly double from a year ago as people turn to the Internet for more and more of their information and entertainment.

You might argue that getting a lock on NBC programming is a defensive move. Even though the network’s audience has been shrinking ever since Seinfeld had his last cup of coffee at Monk’s Cafe (aka Tom’s Restaurant in real life), NBC shows attract millions of viewers a night. Consider like ‘30 Rock’ and ‘Trauma’ as loss leaders to build foot traffic for Comcast’s other programming, its owned cable channels. They include the Golf Channel, E!, and lots of sports. NBC, on the other hand has cable, too, including Bravo, CNBC, and USA Networks. (Photo courtesy of Flickr.)

A few decades ago, the Big Three networks owned it all. Now, cable channels targeting cooks, gardeners, gays, farmers, and gamers are vacuuming up advertising dollars. And, soon, the Internet. In the UK, Net advertising already eclipses TV ad dollars.

While the average TV household watches ‘only’ 17 of the several hundred channels available, that's 500% more than when there were just NBC, ABC, and CBS. The growth has come from special interest programming.

And what is online audio and video? Nothing but special interest programming. You offer me high-protein programming about Macintoshes, digital photography, and start-up investing opportunities, and I’m there. Goodbye CBS shows or, at least, get me a DVR that records three shows at the same time for later viewing.

The point is that there are more than 125,000 podcasts available on iTunes. Many could be aggregated into special interest channels, and programmed into a 24/7 wheel of audio or video.

If Comcast or any cable company is going to grow, the challenge it faces is to bring more people into the tent at the same time that those people have more narrow interests in content.

I think Comcast is recognizing that tomorrow’s cable channels are today's Netcasts. By adding NBC’s mass appeal programming and niche channels, the number one cable company’s strategy is to grow its subscriber numbers by constantly promoting of its ‘old’ cable channels and to fertilize the green shoots of a thousand more 'new' flowering programmers.

Switched to Fox Business News

Frank Barnako — 2009-09-02T16:22:44-04:00

I’m becoming a fan of cable's Fox Business News.

It’s not because Fox’s anchorettes look better than CNBC’s. It’s just that Fox’s on-air talent isn’t trying to be as ‘cool’ as the Street. Fox’s people talk with me, not at me or over my head.

I’ve complained before about CNBC’s penchant for playing the game as if it were an insider, trying to buddy-up to execs and an endless parade of unknown-stock analysts. The interviews and conversations are aired as if the only people watching are Captains of Industry. Everyone’s chortling to themselves about how smart they are.

But is any of CNBC's stock and investment advice CNBC worth anything? Ever hear your broker, financial planner, or accountant say you should pay attention to it? of course not. In fact, they say just the opposite. Turn off the TV.

Now, Fox is not averse to touting stocks or giving no-names a perch from which to make a pitch. But the level of conversation and reporting is much more entertaining. The trading session numbers, “stocks to watch” and sometimes-laughable efforts to explain the market’s movement are similar to those on CNBC.

But Fox doesn’t take it all so seriously. FBN is not trying to get into “The Club," to be invited to Davos as a participant, not just a reporter.

FBN’s just doing the news of the day, offering a few comments of their own, and not wasting your time with charting analysts, small mutual fund managers plowing tiny investment niches, and bond salesmen who, really, don’t have anything in their inventory that a normal person could buy.

Seems to me that CEOs and investment relations people might begin to realize there is a difference between CNBC and FBN, too. CNBC is where they can go to talk to each other or their own company’s employees. Fox is where they might actually talk to investors like you and me.

Fox DOES look better, too. :)

Boomerang hangover from Clunkers?

Frank Barnako — 2009-08-28T15:38:26-04:00

I can't help thinking I've seen this movie before.

Easy credit spurred lots of consumer buying. In the case of autos, annual sales of 10-12 million vehicle sales became normal. The car companies kept hundreds of thousands working. Then came the middle of last year and the crump of the economy. Car sales, like sales of everything else, fell off a cliff.

This summer;s cash for Clunkers program certainly revived the market. Nearly 700,000 vehicles sold.

Now, when you got past a car dealer's lot, chances are you think to yourself, "Looks like slim pickin's there." That's because it is. Dealer inventories have shrunk. So, it's time to restock.

Ford is increasing its production. General Motors, too, is ramping up and bringing back 1,350 workers.

I worry the companies are acting prematurely. I worry that Clunkers 'pulled forward' a lot of purchases under guise of 'priming the pump' to get retail moving again. But, are you more likely to buy a new car or a dishwasher in September because your neighbor got a good deal on a car in August? Doesn't make sense to me.

nd if I'm right, and the car business does not show strength next month, what are the odds those GM workers get sent back home? And what message will that send?

The economy is all about consumer sentiment, right? It's not getting any better, we learned today.

I'd feel a lot better if car lots don't get jammed and crammed full just yet.

Nathans to close July 12

Frank Barnako — 2009-07-06T15:24:39-04:00

The party’s over at the corner of Wisconsin avenue and M Street in Washington.

Despite an extension on the lease for the iconic Washington, DC power eatery and bar, the site of many a tryst and a few political tussles, owner Carol Joynt has announced The End. Blame the rotten economy, an impossible building lease, and more than a decade of financial hassles.

In an e-mail, she wrote, "We hope over the next week you will find the time to come in and enjoy a last drink and meal with us. We wish we could give it away, but economic reality is that we need your dollars. Also, if I may, I urge you to be please be generous with the staff."

Carol’s story goes back more than a dozen years. I’ve said before it’s the stuff of a movie or a TV series, a story of a single Mom suddenly saddled with the dregs of her husband’s attitude of ‘the good-times-are-always here, and damn the paperwork and the taxes.’

Well, the Nathans saga is ending, literally. Joynt’s been writing a book about her self-described nightmare, and maybe somebody will pick it up. Meanwhile, she’s got two pro-bono lawyers who had been working mightily to find a way she could keep the business going but who now will have to offer advice about avoiding liens, judgments, and perhaps even the IRS.

You’ll be hearing from Carol. Before her glamorous life as the wife of a DC bon vivant and restaurateur blew up, she was a savvy journalist and TV producer (Larry King and Charlie Rose.) Now she will be able to get back to doing what she loves.