AUTHOR: Matt Dickman TITLE: New blog DATE: 1/07/2007 03:44:00 PM ----- BODY:

I've moved to a TypePad account located here http://technomarketer.typepad.com.

-------- AUTHOR: Matt Dickman TITLE: Flickr DATE: 9/07/2006 01:36:00 PM ----- BODY:

This is a test post from

, a fancy photo sharing thing.

-------- AUTHOR: Matt Dickman TITLE: Dissapointed by WWDC DATE: 8/10/2006 11:31:00 AM ----- BODY:

I was really hoping for some exciting news to come out of the WWDC regarding new apple consumer hardware. Needless to say this did not happen and leaves a lot of pro-Apple users with a bitter taste in their mouths. No new iPod, no phone, no MacBook upgrades, etc.

The new OS release looks nice. Some cool new features were added, but come on guys. This was the most boring keynote I can ever remember from Jobs and his three amigos. You need to pick it up boys. Other companies are starting to focus on the design as well, you need to keep innovating!

-------- AUTHOR: Matt Dickman TITLE: Apple iPhone more than a rumor, challenge for Apple begins DATE: 8/02/2006 04:44:00 PM ----- BODY:

Apple's 'iPhone' (we'll call it that for lack of a better name) was recently confirmed by CFO Peter Oppenheimer in a conference call. His confirmation paired with alleged phone-related programming calls in an iTunes update are leading many to believe that Apple could introduce a phone/MP3 device this year.

If they do release such a device it is sure to be a huge hit. It would no doubt carry through with Apple's unique design, would be intuitive to use and probably retain familiar iPod-like controls for digital music. It should wirelessly connect to the Tunes Music Store and have other cool features like BlueTooth and WiFi. Millions of Apple faithful would surely flock to stores in desperate need to obtain one (myself included). Having THE mp3 player with a great phone all wrapped in one smooth translucent white/chrome casing would just be too much to pass up.

Apple has never been in the phone business before (outside of a mediocre partnership with Motorola on the Rokr phone) and that is where their challenge starts. Making sure the phone is carried on the major networks will be crucial to achieving iPodesque ubiquity. Will the carriers participate and can Apple knock off popular phones like the Razr? What other features will be onboard when it is released? Camera, browser, mini-OSX (please learn from Microsoft and don't miniaturize the OS, it's really poor for phone use).

We'll have to hold our breathe and see what happens. Apple's WWDC is next week and this is still a possible candidate for release (although a very outside candidate).

-------- AUTHOR: Matt Dickman TITLE: The data avalanche conundrum DATE: 8/01/2006 09:27:00 AM ----- BODY:

Data doesn't mean anything if it's not put into the proper, relevant context. Seth Godin has a very good, short post today on the subject of data. We as marketers and researchers have more data available to us today than ever before. From Google Trends to web site traffic statistics, we are bombarded with data which can be spun any number of ways.

Small percent changes in data may seem dramatic at first glance, but put into perspective it is really worthless, per Seth. Large amounts of this same data strung over time and compared with business trends, however, is golden.

-------- AUTHOR: Matt Dickman TITLE: Toyota trying made-for-mobile video DATE: 7/31/2006 03:57:00 PM ----- BODY:

Toyota is making a large investment in the creation and promotion of it's new made-for-mobile video series 'The Pool'. The short-form movies will surround a group of car-poolers and their adventures in a Toyota Camry.

The deal is through the Sprint/Nextel network and limited to their devices. Video will need to follow in the footsteps of other mediums which have moved to cross device/network limitations.

-------- AUTHOR: Matt Dickman TITLE: Portable HD for your iPod DATE: 7/28/2006 11:46:00 AM ----- BODY:

A trend in the portable media space now seems to be developing hardware which enhances the video offering with new screens that use the iPod as a storage device. ATO just announced their iSee HD video sleeve for the iPod. This device features a 3.6 inch screen capable of HD quality video playback. The iPod plugs into the back of the unit and serves up the video files from a partitioned section of its hard drive.

-------- AUTHOR: Matt Dickman TITLE: Microsoft Zune coming late in '06 DATE: 7/28/2006 11:24:00 AM ----- BODY:

Multiple sources, including Microsoft, have reported the company's plan to launch a new digital media play to compete with the iPod. The device details are unclear, but should leak out as the hype on this picks up. They have a long way to go to catch Apple especially if Apple unveils their next-gen iPod at the WWDC in August.

-------- AUTHOR: Matt Dickman TITLE: Wikipedia meets Google maps DATE: 6/21/2006 09:13:00 AM ----- BODY:

Here is what you get.

-------- AUTHOR: Matt Dickman TITLE: Bringing the message into our reality DATE: 6/14/2006 10:21:00 AM ----- BODY:

Check out this site's archive of some outdoor ads done for Amnesty International. A very powerful example of what advertising can be when done correctly.

-------- AUTHOR: Matt Dickman TITLE: Google spreadsheets drops DATE: 6/06/2006 03:29:00 PM ----- BODY:

A limited beta of Google's new http://spreadsheets.google.com/">spreadsheet application has just released today (6/6). Google is saying this is not a competitor to Microsoft Excel, but a compliment to it.

-------- AUTHOR: Matt Dickman TITLE: 2000 bricks or... DATE: 6/01/2006 03:50:00 PM ----- BODY:

...how to pay for your back yard patio. More and more of these limited edition sales sites are popping up everywhere. This one is pretty funny.

-------- AUTHOR: Matt Dickman TITLE: 1000 paintings...going fast DATE: 5/31/2006 09:16:00 PM ----- BODY:

Along the same line as the million dollar homepage, this site is selling 1000 paintings. Each painting is an actual number. Pricing is based dynamically on the remaining supply. A cool way to auto tie a price to real supply and demand.

-------- AUTHOR: Matt Dickman TITLE: Google releases AdSense API beta DATE: 5/31/2006 08:52:00 PM ----- BODY:

Google just released their beta for the AdSense API which will allow developers to create and manage AdSense accounts as well as have more control over the appearance of the ads on the site. Stay tuned.

-------- AUTHOR: Matt Dickman TITLE: Apple and Nike set to release co-branded products DATE: 5/23/2006 09:43:00 PM ----- BODY:

Apple and Nike are set to release Nike+, a shoe/sensor/receiver that allows a Nike+ shoes to wirelessly transmit workout data to a receiver attached to an iPod Nano. The information will update in real timeand include information like distance, pace, etc and it will even be able to give audible feedback. More Nike+ products should roll out over the next couple months.

-------- AUTHOR: Matt Dickman TITLE: Apple competition getting desperate DATE: 5/23/2006 09:05:00 AM ----- BODY:

Apple's 'competition' in the MP3 player category are starting to get desperate as evidenced by SanDisk's recent iDont campaign. The premise of the campaign is to try to influence would-be iPod purchasers that doing so would make them like like sheep in a herd. What I don't think they really "get" is that owning an iPod is cultural. It's being independent and owning a small piece of art that works exactly like it should. Creating a nicely designed package (which SanDisk's alternative is not) is not impossible, but it's more than that. It's being part of something...a community of people who act and think independently. This may effect some disheartened Dell DJ owners who tell themselves their DJs are just as good as an iPod, but you don't see those people showing their devices off to friends or following Dell DJ news.

-------- AUTHOR: Matt Dickman TITLE: 24 hour Apple store to open Friday DATE: 5/17/2006 09:41:00 AM ----- BODY:

On May 19th, Apple will unveil its newest Apple store in New York City. This one is a little different though. The store is actually below ground, with a three story glass cube jacketing the entrance a la the Louvre's glass pyramid. The subterranean nature of the store isn't the only thing that is special about this store. It will also be the first Apple store to be open 24 hours. Fitting for the city that never sleeps. I will, however, be interested to see what their 4am sales look like.

-------- AUTHOR: Matt Dickman TITLE: A funny take on Creative v. Apple DATE: 5/16/2006 11:28:00 PM ----- BODY:

Creative, in a lame attempt to take on Apple, is trying to effect Apple's supply chain as it cannot create more demand for its products. I came across this hilarious take on real story.

-------- AUTHOR: Matt Dickman TITLE: Better traffic, not more traffic DATE: 5/16/2006 07:58:00 PM ----- BODY:

Great post on Seth Godin's blog about different types of traffic. He compares the traffic numbers of sites like MySpace and Facebook to Amazon. While Facebook and MySpace crush Amazon in pure volume, those people aren't buying anything. Visitors are playing net voyeur while Amazon customers are spending money. The moral of the story is to improve the quality of traffic, not generate get more of the same.

-------- AUTHOR: Matt Dickman TITLE: AOL launching YouTube competitor DATE: 5/16/2006 03:06:00 PM ----- BODY:

AOL has a YouTube competitor in beta release right now called UnCut Video. The premise and interactions are very, very similar to YouTube. The problem for YouTube, however is that AOL has more experience and resources aligned to video streaming than they do. Should make for an interesting fight.

-------- AUTHOR: Matt Dickman TITLE: Google launches Google Notebook beta DATE: 5/16/2006 09:21:00 AM ----- BODY:

Google has launched Google Notbook which is basically a cross between portable note taking system and personal wiki.

-------- AUTHOR: Matt Dickman TITLE: Apple unveils MacBook laptops DATE: 5/16/2006 09:19:00 AM ----- BODY:

Apple today has unveiled its much anticipated MacBook line of laptops to replace the iBook. The initial introduction looks like three laptops; 2 in white (low and mid level) and 1 in black (high end). Pricing ranges from a reasonable $1099 to a 'why don't you just get the MacBook Pro if you're spending this much' $1499.

-------- AUTHOR: Matt Dickman TITLE: Embedded marketing in social networking DATE: 5/16/2006 12:06:00 AM ----- BODY:

A marketing trend in social networking environments (MySpace, et al.) is to embed advertising into the core content of the site, user generated content. Companies from Volkswagen's Helga to Wendy's Square Burger are finding ways to include their content in these sites in such a way that members not only see value, but precipitate their success. VW's Helga page includes all of the new VW anti-tuner TV ads, sound bites from Helga and a life-size PDF doanload of the German club-kid vixen. Users are finicky though and can see through blatant, self involved attempts to gain their trust. Bad vibes spread even quicker than good so marketers enter at your own risk.

-------- AUTHOR: Matt Dickman TITLE: Distributing content through distributed computing DATE: 5/15/2006 11:57:00 PM ----- BODY:

BitTorrent has been around for a while and is an alternative method of file transmission through a dhttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gifistributed network. Warner Brothers has announced a plan to distribute movies through BitTorrent and there are rumors of Apple including BitTorrent-esque technology as a staple in an upcoming release of OSX. This trend is geared around distributing content in alternative, lower bandwith (read lower cost) methods while giving users the 'on-demand' experience they require. Consider YouTube.com's ~$1M per month bandwidth charges according to Forbes. BitTorrent could save the company considerable amounts of money.

-------- AUTHOR: Matt Dickman TITLE: Microsoft and MTV launch Urge DATE: 5/15/2006 12:57:00 PM ----- BODY:

Urge, a new download subscription service from MTV and Microsoft, has just officially been announced. Will stay tuned to see how this is adopted, if at all, and how iTunes reacts. Probably a smart move from Microsoft to latch on to the hip, cool MTV brand.

-------- AUTHOR: Matt Dickman TITLE: In Apple v. Apple...Apple wins DATE: 5/08/2006 09:31:00 AM ----- BODY:

Apple Computer won its court case against Apple Records (aka The Beatles) allowing it to use the Apple logo in conjunction with the iTunes music store. The dispute was related around a 1991 settlement where the two companies decided not to cross into each other's line of business. Apple Records claimed that the use of the logo on the iTunes music store was too close to home. Apple Records says they will appeal, but it seems pretty obvious. Unless Apple starts producing its own music this should be a non-issue.

-------- AUTHOR: Matt Dickman TITLE: Vint Cerf at City Club of Cleveland DATE: 5/05/2006 10:31:00 PM ----- BODY:

I had the chance to hear Vint Cerf, Chief Internet Evangelist of Google and co-creator of the TCP/IP protocol which is the foundation of the Internet. Vint is widely credited as one of the founders of the Internet. The content of his speech was very relevant and informative. He started with an explanation of his work on protocols and gave one of the best examples of the way the Internet works (at the protocol level) I've ever heard...fitting I know. He compared the protocol to postcards in the mail. The explanation went through all of the iterations of data and how TCP handles it. Think of trying to mail someone a 100 page book and all you can use are postcards. Well, you would have to cut the pages of the book to fit on the cards first. So now you have ~200 cards you need to send. If you put them in the mail as is, how would the other person know what order they were in? So you have to number them. You also need to know if the other person received the cards so you have a confirmation. If you don't get a confirmation you need to re-send certain cards. Archives, storage, quantity, etc. are all factors which came up and what TCP handles. He then moved on to the net neutrality topic and as you can imagine, with Vint working for Google, he is anti-legislation. I agree with his premise. The net, as he envisioned/s it is meant to be free in order to encourage innovation. Broadband subscribers pay to be connected to the net and access anything they want. The legislation proposed by carriers would limit what the end user was able to see. It's a form of censorship by proxy. The less limitations on content the better. Vint also discussed his work with NASA and improving communication with the Mars exploration program. They have developed and are testing a new protocol which would allow data to be sent, saved at a location and sent on at a later point in time on a delay. Finally, one of the most important points I got out of what he said was in the Q&A. He discussed the spread of the iPod and the change in content delivery this signals. No longer is 'live' important. The shift is toward on-demand. That demand may be faster than realtime (on a 1 gigabit connection) or slower than realtime (on a 56K modem). Either way, it is the person requesting the content on their schedule using the connection available.

-------- AUTHOR: Matt Dickman TITLE: Coca Cola launches online rewards program DATE: 5/05/2006 10:03:00 AM ----- BODY:

Coke recently launched an online rewards program to capitalize on customer affinity to the brand. The site offers different options from their partners (Delta, Adidas, etc.) to redeem the points you earn. A lot of big names are jumping on this bandwagon now (NASCAR and Pepsi have been doing it for some time). The key is keeping it relevant and timely. Nobody will remember these sites unless they can interact with them at least once a week (more if possible). The audience is splintered already online, this will be just another username and password to remember if not done properly.

-------- AUTHOR: Matt Dickman TITLE: Vista delay again? DATE: 5/02/2006 06:27:00 PM ----- BODY:

Rumors are spreading across the net, based on a Gartner report, that MS Vista for comsumers may be delayed until June now. If true, this would be the second major setback for the product team in a short time. MS is denying the report and says it's on course for January as previously stated. Only time will tell.

-------- AUTHOR: Matt Dickman TITLE: New Apple ad campaign DATE: 5/02/2006 04:50:00 PM ----- BODY:

Apple has just released their new ad campaign geared at acquiring more followers through a clever series of ads. The key issues, outside of security, are right on the money. Per security, it's only a matter of time before Macs become the target of more and more attacks. Hopefully Apple is ready to respond.

-------- AUTHOR: Matt Dickman TITLE: Disinterested? I knew that. DATE: 4/27/2006 03:13:00 PM ----- BODY:

Cool post on Engadget showing a 'shrug detection' system that can tell if a person is disinterested. Immediate marketing thoughts include bars (to stop guys from wasting their time with women who could care less) and trade shows.

-------- AUTHOR: Matt Dickman TITLE: Getting the worm DATE: 4/27/2006 02:59:00 PM ----- BODY:

Good blog post on conditioning the mind to wake up when you want to. Say goodbye to the Snooze button forever...well, maybe not forever :)

-------- AUTHOR: Matt Dickman TITLE: The 9 month plan...or how to outsource your baby DATE: 4/26/2006 09:30:00 AM ----- BODY:

SAw a LATimes.com article detailing how surrogacy is the new wave to hit outsourcing. For a mere $5000 (6 years salary to an Indian woman) she will bare your child. That's a fraction of what the cost would be in the US. The article also mentions the potential risks in a country where 100,000 women die each year due to child birth related complications.

-------- AUTHOR: Matt Dickman TITLE: Online ad spending up 30% in 2005 DATE: 4/25/2006 09:51:00 AM ----- BODY:

According to recent studies conducted by the Internet Advertising Bureau and PricewaterhouseCoopers (reported in eMarketer) online ad spending rose 30% in 2005. These numbers are higher than even the most optimistic analysts were expecting. Advertisers are seeing value in online advertising and are ponying up the money to back this up.

-------- AUTHOR: Matt Dickman TITLE: Google cross promotes DaVinci Code DATE: 4/24/2006 11:45:00 PM ----- BODY:

Google is promoting the upcoming release of the Dan Brown best-seller 'The DaVinci Code' through a personalized Google Module. The promotion gets the user into the movie by utilizing a series of puzzles and challenges.

-------- AUTHOR: Matt Dickman TITLE: Coldplay and Loyalty Building DATE: 3/24/2006 10:57:00 AM ----- BODY:

I went to the Coldplay concert in Cleveland this past Monday and came away with ringin ears and, more importantly, a deeper understanding of what makes loyalty building effective. How did this happen at a concert you ask? Let me explain. The pre-concert activities were nothing out of the ordinary. Opening act, stage re-configuration, testing, etc. Even the start of the concert was usual. The opening number is an upbeat, pop hit that really got the crowd amped up. This is where the difference was made. In between the first and second song Chris Martin (the lead singer) addressed the audience thanking us for coming and telling us how much they appreciated us taking a Monday out of our lives to come and see them. This did not feel like a canned speech, it felt like it was a sincere jesture. I instantly felt more engaged in the music and what he had to say. Mid-way through the concert, they pointed to the back of the audience and told us they weren't forgetting about us. Another touch point well received and the crowd erupted. During the very next song he jumped from the stage, ran to the back of the arena, climbed a railing and sang while wrapoped in a throng of fans. We were all sold. Even the cranky 40-something behind me, that I overheard earlier say 'I'm here because my wife made me come', was clapping his hands high above his head and bopping along to the music. The point is, they didn't have to engage us as fans on a personal level. They could have just played the music, said thanks and boarded the plane for Detroit (or wherever they were off to next). But they didn't. They made us want to hear more, to buy more music and to find out when they're coming back so we can have the same feeling all over again.

-------- AUTHOR: Matt Dickman TITLE: Slivercasting DATE: 3/15/2006 10:55:00 PM ----- BODY:

Slivercasting is a new buzzword flying around the net and other blogs. It is basically a niche TV program broadcast over the web. Nothing new here but the term.

-------- AUTHOR: Matt Dickman TITLE: The Art of the Schmoozing DATE: 3/15/2006 10:53:00 PM ----- BODY:

Another great post by Guy Kawasaki over at his blog. I've just finished reading Keith Ferrazzi's book 'Never Eat Alone' and Guy's post plays hand-in-hand with Keith's ideas. Bottom line, to schmooze well...ask questions, shut up and follow up.

-------- AUTHOR: Matt Dickman TITLE: Google for developers DATE: 2/17/2006 10:50:00 AM ----- BODY:

A new open source search engine is in beta now. The premise is that it will index open source code to make mods and sharing easier.

-------- AUTHOR: Matt Dickman TITLE: Confessions of a Weathergirl DATE: 2/09/2006 11:41:00 AM ----- BODY:

Accuweather has come up with a blog/vlog for it's weather personality Kate Bilo.

-------- AUTHOR: Matt Dickman TITLE: RIM workaround announced DATE: 2/09/2006 11:37:00 AM ----- BODY:

RIM today has announced that it has a working plan in place to avoid any service shutdown the court system may order. The update called "Multimode" would change the delivery method, but keep service going. So, why not roll this out now and avoid the court costs and possible royalty payment to NTP? Curious.

-------- AUTHOR: Matt Dickman TITLE: Transparent New York DATE: 2/09/2006 11:30:00 AM ----- BODY:

I'm obsessed with New York City. I admit is readily, the place is pure magical energy. I'm also amazed by its history and this is a cool site, built in Flash, showing how it was built as well as when. Transparent New York. Pretty cool!

-------- AUTHOR: Matt Dickman TITLE: Turning Japanese? Not yet anyway DATE: 2/09/2006 11:12:00 AM ----- BODY:

Great article on eMarketer today about US/Japan phone usage. The NPD group recently released a study which found that just 12% of Americans use their phone to connect to the web. Compare that with 75+% useage in Japan.

Japanese users are also using their phones for practices which will see an increase in the US in the near future. The following chart notes some examples. These will slowly trickle over to the US market as usage and consumer confidence increase.

-------- AUTHOR: Matt Dickman TITLE: Cool use of flash/Jessica Simpson DATE: 2/09/2006 09:29:00 AM ----- BODY:

You can't really go wrong when you use Jessica Simpson as part of your advertising campaign, and Pizza Hut doesn't dissapoint with their new Cheesy Bites site. You can go in, pick background tracks, add sound effects by clicking on the pepperoni's, etc. and then they all play back over the commercial they ran in the super bowl. Seems like a good way to get across a pizza concept that is a little off-the-wall.

-------- AUTHOR: Matt Dickman TITLE: MacGyver's return DATE: 2/09/2006 09:21:00 AM ----- BODY:

Great commercial using on of my all-time favorite TV shows. He's baaaack

-------- AUTHOR: Matt Dickman TITLE: Agency model of the future (um...I mean present) DATE: 2/08/2006 11:25:00 AM ----- BODY:

Just saw this get picked up in the WSJ. An LA based agency called Spot Runner is enabling smaller companies with less budget to create TV ready adversiting. Desktop tools are very high in quality, and require less of a learning curve, making this possible. The site also allows customers to pick their own schedule/media mix and is using volume pricing (think co-op) to make it happen cheaper than would normally be possible.

-------- AUTHOR: Matt Dickman TITLE: AOL and Yahoo! move to pay email model option DATE: 2/07/2006 02:27:00 PM ----- BODY:

AOL and Yahoo! recently announced the creation of paid "whitelists" for commercial email senders. The fee that is collected (1/4-1 cent per email) would basically give those messaged priority and guaranteed avoidance of Spam and volume filters. Basically a web version of "certified mail". Vendor GoodMail it set to provide the services. UPDATE: AOL has announced it will maintain its Enhanced Whitelist which has been growing over time to weed out spammers. 2/8 UPDATE: Interesting article in Forbes questioning the end of email. With RSS usage on the rise, more and more marketers and consumers seem to be re-focusing their attention and dollars. 2/9 UPDATE: ClickZ article. Always a good source.

-------- AUTHOR: Matt Dickman TITLE: "Coursecasting" take 2 DATE: 2/07/2006 01:42:00 PM ----- BODY:

As I said in my earlier post more and more universities are starting to podcast course material. This Cleveland.com article expands on more schools using the technology.

-------- AUTHOR: Matt Dickman TITLE: Super Bowl XL Commercials on Google Video DATE: 2/06/2006 12:21:00 PM ----- BODY:

20 minutes is all it will take you to watch all of the Super Bowl XL Commercials on Google Video. Overall this is was a pretty mediocre SuperBowl from an advertising standpoint. A couple were decent, but I think everyone expects more. Overall I give a C-. If you're going to pay that much you should at least come up with something clever or include a wardrobe malfunction.

-------- AUTHOR: Matt Dickman TITLE: State of the Blogosphere DATE: 2/06/2006 12:13:00 PM ----- BODY:

David Sifry, Founder and CEO of Technorati, has published his State of the Blogosphere report. His summary: * Technorati now tracks over 27.2 Million blogs * The blogosphere is doubling in size every 5 and a half months * It is now over 60 times bigger than it was 3 years ago * On average, a new weblog is created every second of every day * 13.7 million bloggers are still posting 3 months after their blogs are created * Spings (Spam Pings) can sometimes account for as much as 60% of the total daily pings Technorati receives * Sophisticated spam management tools eliminate the spings and find that about 9% of new blogs are spam or machine generated * Technorati tracks about 1.2 Million new blog posts each day, about 50,000 per hour * Over 81 Million posts with tags since January 2005, increasing by 400,000 per day * Blog Finder has over 850,000 blogs, and over 2,500 popular categories have attracted a critical mass of topical bloggers

-------- AUTHOR: Matt Dickman TITLE: Ebay on the move, GBuy allegedly coming DATE: 2/06/2006 12:05:00 PM ----- BODY:

According to a WSJ Online article today, Google is looking to invade EBay's market share in the online auction world. EBay's PayPal unit is already taking steps to protect itself if Google decided to make a move, as is rumored. Move to come on this for sure. Why would Google just stop at search?

-------- AUTHOR: Matt Dickman TITLE: "iPod Killer" dead DATE: 2/06/2006 12:16:00 AM ----- BODY:

The alleged "iPod killer" Dell Jukebox is being discontinued according to Engadget. Clunky and poorly designed, it was only a matter of time. Long live the iPod

-------- AUTHOR: Matt Dickman TITLE: Portable Firefox DATE: 2/03/2006 12:50:00 AM ----- BODY:

This is a very cool site with lots of information on applications which can be taken anywhere via a thumbdrive, iPod, etc. Surprising what you could fit on a 256Mb drive. PortableApps.com

-------- AUTHOR: Matt Dickman TITLE: Smooth sailing (so far) DATE: 2/03/2006 12:45:00 AM ----- BODY:

IE 7 seems to be much happier now. No more crashes and the load time is down from my first post. I'll keep this up to date though as I spend more time with it.

-------- AUTHOR: Matt Dickman TITLE: My first crash... DATE: 1/31/2006 07:27:00 PM ----- BODY:

...with IE 7. Only took about 4 hours from install til now. Not sure why it crashed but I did my duty and forwarded it along to MS.

-------- AUTHOR: Matt Dickman TITLE: IE 7 Beta 2 DATE: 1/31/2006 02:17:00 PM ----- BODY:

The Beta for Internet Explorer 7 (this page gives me a very uneasy feeling...terrible design) was released to the public today. I'm installing and running now. Wish me luck. I'll keep this post up to date with my thoughts. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Created a pre-IE7 system restore point on my backup machine just to be safe.
Cross 'em!
Man does this page sucks.
Install went cleanly, no hiccups.
Oooh. My blue IE icon has a yellow swoosh around it now! How innovative ;)
First startup a little slow, even for IE. I'll chalk that up to a first attempt. We'll see how subsequent starts go.
Default screen contains security/customization options including Phishing filter, language settings and ubiquitous MS customer improvement experience opt-in.
Also noting that the browser has a built-in zoom setting to magnify/minimize pages. This could pose a design problem in making this easier to access.
The overall look is improved, a little bit of a shift to Mac-iness, tabbed browsing as promised, RSS built in (finally).
One very nice feature is the ability to tile windows within the browser to select when multiple tabs are open. It's called QuickTabs (Ctrl+Q).
The menu bar along the top has moved to a tools/page menu system located on the right-side of the tab bar. Also there is a built-in search feature next to the address field (defaults to MSN, but adding others in is easy enough). All of the major engines are covered as well as eBay, weather.com, Target.com, etc. Takes about 3 clicks to add one and change the default.
Surfing seems to be a little faster.
Much improved printing interface...for those who print their web pages. You know who you are. Don't deny it....for shame.
Haven't seen any issues with site formatting/etc. yet.
The tabs have a close (x) icon on them so you don't have to right-click like in FireFox...small, but time-saving.

-------- AUTHOR: Matt Dickman TITLE: Alt Mac OSX Browser DATE: 1/30/2006 10:14:00 PM ----- BODY:

Shiira is a new Mac OSX alternative to Apple's (imho horribly inept) Safari. Shiira Project. This is definitely a small step in the right direction. Somebody has to take the lead on innovating the browser on the Mac now that Microsoft is out.

-------- AUTHOR: Matt Dickman TITLE: iWork second to Word? Ha....ha ha. DATE: 1/27/2006 10:22:00 AM ----- BODY:

I'd read somewhere that Apple's iWork productivity suite (and I mean suite in the loosest, 2 product combination that I possibly can) was the second such suite in the US. I hope this is a joke or someone trying to build on the buzz of Apple's recent Intel announcement. I love all things Apple, so don't get me wrong, but iWork is nowhere close to being in the league of Corel or Microsoft. It's actuall not even at the MS Works product level. The skin, templates and UI are, in typical Mac fashion, very well designed and easy to use. But the functionality is limited and the support is non-existent. As a Mac alternative to Word it's okay. The programs support their Microsoft cousins pretty well and, like I said, if design/look is your goal, iWork is the suite for you. Just don't expect too much.

-------- AUTHOR: Matt Dickman TITLE: Stanford now on iTunes DATE: 1/26/2006 10:36:00 AM ----- BODY:

The progressive, pro-technology school is the first to offer a substantial amount on content on the Apple service. I'm sure every college in America is scrambling to get content together now. The iTunes user is the perfect demo for the college recruiter. My hat's off to Stanford.

-------- AUTHOR: Matt Dickman TITLE: As devices become interchangeable DATE: 1/25/2006 11:51:00 AM ----- BODY:

An interesting New York Times article points out the fact that old-line media is now scrambling to catch up to the convergence of media and the interchangeability of devices (oh how true). The future of devices is moving toward fewer devices serving more and more purposes. A good, aka Apple-driven, video, music, phone, pda device seems to be on the tip of the industry tongue.

-------- AUTHOR: Matt Dickman TITLE: Yahoo! okay with #2 in search DATE: 1/25/2006 01:19:00 AM ----- BODY:

This is not what you expect to read in the ever-growing search wars, but Yahoo!'s CFO recently stated (read here) that Yahoo! can't compete with Google so they're proud to be #2. Search dominance leads to ad dollars leads to more capital investment leads to more ad dollars leads to Google taking more and more market share from Yahoo!. The close tie between search and revenue makes this even more odd for the CFO to be saying. I guess they're okay with mediocrity. I wonder if Yahoo! users are too?

-------- AUTHOR: Matt Dickman TITLE: 50ms to impress your site visitors DATE: 1/25/2006 12:59:00 AM ----- BODY:

This BBC Article discusses a recent study done at Carleton University in Ontario. Users were shown a 50ms glimpse of a page and asked to rate it. Their opinions were compared to those of people who had rated the sites after taking much longer to review them. The result...the scores were very closely aligned. Think about this the next time you go to a site. Do you immediately form an opinion of the content based on the look? Remember the old saying (and it's as true on the web as meeting someone in person), you don't get a second chance to make a first impression. Obviously there are exceptions to this when it comes to sites offering life-changing functionality (a.k.a. del.icio.us), but why add a barrier to the user. Concentration is already at an all-time low, if making a site look good helps get people to stay, click and buy then it is time (and money) well spent.

-------- AUTHOR: Matt Dickman TITLE: Can you make a profit $1 at a time? DATE: 1/25/2006 12:45:00 AM ----- BODY:

Apple has proved that the micropayment business model is successful and more and more businesses are moving in that direction. iStockPhoto is another example of a business model which has shifted from the old, more common astronomical (read unafordable) methods and is winning new customers from industry giants like Getty. This micropayment trend is only going to intensify once more and more mobile devices join and overtake the desktop in surfing usage. Is your business applicable to this model? If it is, are you already putting plans in place to make sure you're not left by the roadside?

-------- AUTHOR: Matt Dickman TITLE: And Steve Jobs Keeps Getting More Powerful DATE: 1/25/2006 12:34:00 AM ----- BODY:

As if Apple's growing success isn't going to his head enough, Jobs is now a first-rate media mogul through acquisition. News.com has a good review of the details. Go Steve!

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