Digital Living

Microsoft ZunePhone "Prototype" ?? ... Oh Come On Microsoft!

We HATE low quality copycat product that resembles no innovation nor beauty, nor truest inspiration around it. Microsoft, pls. stop "photocopy-ing". Unless, this is what "might" happen, someday ... :-) :-) :-)

"Cell-Computer", ... "Cloud-Computer" ... "G"-Computer ... "Paper-Thin" Computer ??

Since everything that surrounds us turns connected, seamless and digital, perhaps sometime in the future -- when we are mobile -- what we REALLY need is simply "one" device that resembles a mobile phone computer, with internet connection, and a browser.

To some extent, the overall look of the device might feel like the "iPhone" we had today -- but with its "bulky harddisk" removed. The device then might legendary become a super thin device, something that could be as thin as credit card, with screen size that is as crisp and as big as iPhone screen today, yet with browser based software power that is as good.

We would be able to carry this device everywhere easily. Because it "lack" the burden of a bulky harddrive that is attached to it directly, battery power perhaps would last longer, and data then will be stored entirely on the web.

Through it, the "web" now becomes our "portable harddisk"; we can access everything from anywhere, at anytime ... with our battery still "alive" at all time.

Best of all, the way we manage and organize our work becomes simpler and far more convenient:

• We can now store our "bulkier" (yet REAL-powered) portable notebook, laptop and dekstop on our couch, while we can rely fully on the "paper-thin" device, when we are mobile.
• At anytime we need data and application, we could "pull-it-out" off the web, and each time we finish working, we can store it back to the web.
• Incase we need "heavy number crunching and processing", we can always switch back to our beloved laptop or desktop, pull out the data from the web, edit and continue our work from there; and once we are done, we can store the data back to the web.
  

Is this how we are going to work more and more in the future? Would the "paper-thin" computer be the kind of device that we -- mobile people and mobile society -- increasingly need?

We'll see how the future goes.

ps:

Related thoughts:

Why can't we compute in the cloud?, Part 1 -- by John Markoff.
Why can't we compute in the cloud?, Part 2 -- by John Markoff.
Where's my CloudBook -- by Nicholas G Carr

The Ticker Symbol "FAD" Continues ...

Blog-post courtesy of FSJ.

Since Sun changed its ticker symbol to JAVA, and everybody else seems eager to jump into the "ticker fad" bandwagon also, perhaps BEA system plan to change its ticker symbol too. To what? FCKD?. That's what FSJ wrote today in his blog.

Of course that statement could be a joke. (That's very typical of FSJ). But the essence is true:

People sometimes act funny and crazy. They often imitate thing without clear reason; being a herd-animal, they just try to make "things" work without clear purpose or reasoning behind it. If somebody is doing it, and everybody else is doing it too; they find a "reason" to do it too!

Sun latest move to change its ticker symbol to JAVA perhaps is driven by an attempt to make traders "feel" the "real thing" when they trade the "unreal thing".

Trader 1: "How's JAVA performance today?"

Trader 2: "Great. But tomorrow it might go down"

Trader 3: "What? JAVA can't go down. It's JAVA you know"

(then the trade goes up).

Perhaps its this kind of "fad" and "annoying logic" that some marketing-geeks hope to influence into the minds of the illogical-trader around the world. By twisting the ticker symbol, they hope they can influence the mindset and decision of the traders. Quite phenomenal indeed. But totally stupid inside.

All in all, the basis thinking of the whole ticker symbol change is crazy and un-cool anyway. It's cheap marketing that would might seem "fun and brilliant" in a short while, yet might bring greater long term consequences in the future.

Looking at these, one same question constantly pop-up again in my mind: If one day Java is no longer popular ... (taken over by PHP, Ruby, etc) ... would Jonathan change the ticker symbol again ... this time to AARGHHHH ... or HELP ... or SHIT ????

What a real strange mind that these people had.

So, we'll see whether the fad will continue. Would BEA change its logic to "FCKD" as we jokingly thought? Would other company follow through? We simply don't know.

But the funniest thing would be a thought that comes up from GirmoDe regarding the subject, when he said ...

(if BEA changed its ticker symbol to FCKD) ... BEA might have to fight SCO for that ticker.

LOL!. What a fad these actions taken by these companies and executives really are! Let's see whether they would really fight each other for that symbol. :-) If they do, everybody would be FCKD. :-) :-) :-)

 

Sun Would Like To Change Its Ticker Symbol To JAVA. >> What??

I read on Jonathan Schwartz (SUN CEO) blog today that there's a plan within the company to change SUN ticker symbol from SUNW to JAVA. One of the reason for this change is because SUN is no longer in the workstation business only anymore -- The "W" in SUNW belongs to SUN-W-orkstation -- and that people shall say "passe" to the past, and move on into the future.

Reading that really feel strange and confusing. I mean, I could understand that Jonathan would like SUN brand to be known through its software and development platform:

"StarOffice, OpenOffice, Java are all from SUN, ladies and gentleman ..."

"The hardware, storage systems are all SUN too ..."

Nice move. One day more and more people might know (and experience) SUN brand from its software, not only from its hardware and data center stuff. After all -- as the logic goes: the number of people using software -- which potential could be "all of us" -- one day could be greater from the number of IT guys tinkering with the Sun Hardware in the data center. Interesting thoughts from Jonathan.

But with all that, I still don't understand why on earth the SUN ticker symbol need to be changed from SUNW to JAVA? No matter how hard Mr Schwartz try to explain it, I still don't get the point -- and still refuse to "get" the point (probably). From any angle, this seems totally irrelevant.

Even, if JAVA seems really that important, why not changing it to SUN-J for example?. They could have announced the plan as: ... the era has changed, what used to be SUN-W (aka Sun W-orkstation) .. now become SUN-J (Sun J-ava)... Such would feel "a bit" more make sense, probably.

Jonathan Schwartz seems brilliant at time. He instrisinctly understand the powerful value of software. But if he indeed lead the company to really (and unjokingly) take this move forward, I really doubt whether he really understand the real value of a brand (and its rooted history) in its truest sense.

Imagine what happen when someday Java fades away, then PHP take over, or Ruby getting more popular, would Sir Jonathan change the SUN ticker symbol again .. this time ... to AARGH ?? :-)

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Best Software For Mac ...

If you're new to Mac. These are perhaps list of early Mac software that you would like to have.

Click here for detail.

Book Of The Week: Made To Stick

What made some ideas survive, while others die?

Chip Heath & Dan Heath argues that may be its the way the idea being storytell, break-down to its core essence, imbused with unexpected/fascinating surprise, broadcasted and retold in simplified/emphatic/iconic/memorable ways that makes it truly survive.

People can tell (and re-tell) great story and ideas if they can understand its most essential meaning, and can grasp the emotional essence and appeal that surrounds its whole construction.

When the idea consist of those "essential" elements, the idea survive. It goes to the natural spreading process as people can "told-and-retold" it from time to time -- even from one generation to another; meanwhile if the idea lack many of those "essential elements" it hardly stick. People never "get" it. And the idea dies.

A pretty interesting and explorative book about the "nature" and "science" of story-telling and construction of "memorable idea that stick" .. and "spreads like fire" from time to time.

Have a look.

Is Vista Really That Bad?? (Quick Review By PC Magazine Leader)

Below is an excerpt from latest article written by Jim Louderback, of PC Magazine, regarding Vista.

Jim Louderback *)

Maybe it was something in the water? I've been a big proponent of the new OS (Vista) over the past few months, even going so far as loading it onto most of my computers and spending hours tweaking and optimizing it. So why, nine months after launch, am I so frustrated? The litany of what doesn't work and what still frustrates me stretches on endlessly.

Take sleep mode, for example. Vista promised a new low-power sleep mode that would save energy yet enable nearly instantaneous resume. Poppycock. The brand-new dual-core system I built a few months ago totters off to sleep but never returns. I have to cold-start it to bring it back. This after replacing virtually every driver inside. It's gotten so bad that I've actually nicknamed it Chip Van Winkle. And I've nicknamed my primary Dell notebook Philip Marlowe.

But it's not just the long sleep. My home notebook acts as if it comes from Starbucks rather than HP. It used to snooze—but now, after a recent Vista update, it never goes to sleep at all. Its new nickname: Compuccino.   

Networking, too, gives me huge headaches. In XP, a simple right click on the system tray icon put me one click away from IP settings and connections status. Now that same icon brings up a menu of options that ultimately lead to the Network and Sharing center—sharing in the Sirius Cybernetics, "Share and Enjoy" obfuscation mode, not any sort of network sharing I'm familiar with. I've configured every PC on my home network to share drives and printers, yet owing to some undiscovered element, there's no guarantee that any of them will be visible at any given time.

Take my media center PC, for example. It's supposed to serve up photos, videos, and music. Instead, it often simply drops off the network for absolutely no reason. Chip Van Winkle might be able to see it, but Compuccino can't.

Another complaint: With XP, wireless network connectivity out of sleep mode was virtually instantaneous. Now it can take up to 30 seconds to reconnect, even when my systems do wake up. That's in a trusted network, a trusted zone, and a trusted system. And why does it take so long for the dialog box to pop up after I right-click on the network tray icon? Vista has replaced XP's quick reaction time with molasses. I'm always wondering if something's wrong.

I could go on and on about the lack of drivers, the bizarre wake-up rituals, the strange and nonreproducible system quirks, and more. But I won't bore you with the details. The upshot is that even after nine months, Vista just ain't cutting it. I definitely gave Microsoft too much of a free pass on this operating system: I expected it to get the kinks worked out more quickly. Boy, was I fooled! If Microsoft can't get Vista working, I might just do the unthinkable: I might move to Linux.

-- Jim Louderback was the top leader of PC Magazine and is next the CEO of Revision3, the leading Internet television network focused on developing programming for the on-demand generation. The complete referenced article is here.

Beautiful Quotes ... From "Apple"

This is one beautiful quote from Steve Jobs during the D event -- taken and adapted from the insightful excerpt of the Beatles -- when he explained about the great years of evolution of computers and how we all fit beautifully into the many fascinating side of it:

"We have memories longer than the road that stretches on ahead ..."

Wonderful thoughts. Right on track. Magnificento! Jobs is the master of true, great, deep emotional expression.

And this is another great quote from Fake-Steve-Jobs (FSJ), in his recent blog post, when he "heard" this "statement" from the faked-monkey-dancing-boy:

"... I've got a $270 billion market cap. I've got more money in my back pocket than your entire company takes in in a year. So take some free advice, hippie. Don't fight me on this. Okay? ..."

and FSJ beautiful direct answer:

"Beastmaster, Monkey Boy, and all the rest of you in Redmond, listen close and hear what I'm about to say: We will fight you on the desktop. We will fight you on the Internet. We will fight you in the browser space, and in desktop productivity apps. We will fight you in music players and smart phones. We will never surrender. We will never make peace. We will never stop fighting. Never, ever, ever".

That's the spirit! Go Apple!

Siooma Mr Ballmer, Siooma

Never in the history of Microsoft the Microsoft product feels so lame, and increasingly become a "worse imitator" of the great Mac product.

Below story by FSJ might be fake. But the core essence of it could still be true: Unless Microsoft changed quickly (and probably have Mr. Gates back at the helm), the "monkey-dancing-boy" Mr. Ballmer would keep driving Microsoft towards the cliff of "unfavor beast-ness". (Whatever that means).

How sad, the once humble, small, tenacious, high-spirited Microsoft camp, now really become somekind of a beast of worst arrogant character and real shameful weak player in product excllence and innovation.

I still love the gesture of the smaller nerdier more humble Microsofties of the 1984s. They we're great favor with everybody around that time. Everybody "loves" them so much and fully support behind their act.

How time has changed these days. Seriously. :-)