All of this has been said elsewhere (I'm just too lazy to look up the references) but Amazon does a lot more than sell books. It's a retail technology platform geared to selling anything online in a professional manner. There is more going on at Amazon that meets the eye at first.
Amazon's real issue is can it continue to find a market for it's service? Would large brick and morter retailers prefer to outsource their online equivalent (Target, Toys-R-Us) or do it themselves with their own or 3rd party software.
By the way, Amazon's latest initiative, 'Inside the book' searching isn't really a technology advance - they used their leverage with publishers to sign them up for allowing their texts to be searchable. It's a legal coup far more than a technology one. Don't expect B&N to do this anytime soon.
I personally saw the BSOD at Heathrow, Terminal 3, morning of October 7th, 2003, 10am-ish. It was supposed to be displaying flight departure information, not that that's important in an airport like Heathrow.
About half the screens appeared to be fed from the one computer, since they all has the same BSOD display. Thankfully the other half were working normally.
The TV rights to the Women's World Cup are owned by FIFA, the organizing body of world soccer. So you should always check www.fifa.org for any international soccer game. FIFA usually market the internet rights themselves and for the last Men's World Cup used Yahoo! as their broadcaster. $20 got you game highlights of all 60+ games. I don't know if they did the same with the Women's Cup.
For US viewers information on actual TV coverage can always be found on www.soccertv.com. An excellent reference. But note that the majority of the big games are often pay per view (since I don't have digital cable for example I usually have to go to a bar to watch any Ireland game - and man what a depressing experience that suddenly turned out to be, but I digress:).
The FIFA games are usually an exception to pay per view and can usually be found on cable in the US (Disney/ESPN currently have a lock on the FIFA games in English, Telemundo in Spanish).
This all changes for other competitions - the organizers usually own the rights and they each go about selling those rights in different ways. Currently UEFA, the organizers of the top European clubs, 'Champions League', have done a deal with Real Networks for same day video coverage, video highlights and live audio, $5/month, $40/season. I'm ambivalent to Real but many/.ers seem to think they deserve their own circle of hell.
But be careful what you wish for, the Men's World Cup coverage was adequate, but fuzzy. It could be a little hard to see what was happening. I've only viewed the free preview of the UEFA Real Network stuff and the video is dramatically better, still not up there with a good TV, but not far short either - ASSUMING you have a high speed (100kb+) connection. Forget dial up for anything other than audio.
Oh, everything is streamed, no downloads, DRM and all that guff.
Combine your comments with the earlier post about the amount of legacy corporate data in.doc memos, files, proposals, letters, etc. and it's becoming more obvious that the XML move isn't that big a deal from M$FT's perspective.
Cheers
From someone who is so comfortable with my choice of religion I don't feel the need to put in my sig...
Positional trackers are a little strong IMHO. But I like the webcam idea not so I can check on my kid's care givers, but because I simply miss the little bugger and like the idea of seeing what he is up to - I have a two year old in day care as I type. The camera isn't or shouldn't be there to watch the care givers, there are lots of other, non technical, ways to do that. It's there to assuage the guilt of the parents who need to go work to pay for the bleed'n day care.
Apparently you are still not listening. Someone put up a list of items where Mac was supposedly superior, and hopefully I articulated how that supposed differentiation doesn't exist in reality. Even the color thing isn't true as another poster noted, Compaq is going the color thing now.
That leaves no clear differentiation, if you can think of one speak up and save the cheap shots.
Why is it that anytime I try to have an intelligent discussion about Apple all I (usually)get is this rabid frothing - look at a few other posts where one or two individuals actually articulate clearly meaningful differentiators.
Will you rabid Mac fanatics ever understand you undermine your 'cause' with this immediate reliance on cheap shots. I haven't upgraded from the 6100 because I don't see any point!
Let's see now:
-built in USB in all systems
Well everyone ships USB these days pal.
-built in Firewire in most systems
Lots of PCs come with Firewire also, it's option too since not everyone want this, this saves them money.
-inexpensive wireless networking ($100 option on all systems)
I spent $103 on the wireless network card plugged into my PIII right now (it's a Proxim Symphony PCMCIA card from OnVia.com if interested). Close enough?
-Gigabit ethernet built in to all their towers, 10/100 on cheaper models
Ditto, lots of PCs now come with built in 10/100 but it's still an option for the zillions of PC users who don't need networking.
-easy setup
Nothing hard about my new Win2k laptop, fired up out of the box just by hitting the power switch. That was pretty much it.
-superior user interface
Used to have, not any more, they're different and each has it's pros and cons but sssshhhh, they're really very very very very very similiar.
-induction cooling means no fans needed in the iMac or the Cube
You got me, ooooh baby. No fans are nice, quiet. And that is good.
-vastly superior color correction technology
I'm a guy, I know about six colors, the rest I leave to experts in advertising and graphic design, an important, but very narrow market niche.
-efficient RISC-based CPU
The PIII in my laptop uses power stepping or something, I'm not really sure. I don't really care. With processor speeds exceeding a Gigahertz what exactly do you mean by "efficiency"?
-groundbreaking industrial design
The mouse on the iMacs is so crap they charge you $50 for a real one. Steve put it a little nicer at MacWorld, I'm editorialising a little here, but this is the core. Then there is the color thing again, is that what you mean? There is nothing groundbreaking in the current mac line. Now the Newton and the school clamshell laptop they used to make (the eMate? it's been a while), those where cool and they deserved the spot they used to have/may still have in the San Francisco Modern Museum of Art. But they look what Uncle Stevie did to the Newton and the eMate.
-maniacal attention to detail in all phases of development
Is that OS 7 kept hanging on me and I had to spend $90 to move to OS8. Or is this why Apple can never seem to keep hot models in stock? A little fuzzy on what you're getting at here. Apple ships software to the same standards as Microsoft, and that's late, very very late.
-free off-line storage space via iDisk
Anyone can have free off-line storage, X-Drive.com, Driveway.com, gee there are dozens, really, the internet is an amazing thing.
The colors may be all that you noticed, but that says more about you than it does about them.....And when all else fails, resort to a personal insult. That'll get your point across and win others to your point of view every time.
Like I said, no differentiation beyond color. Cute, but the revenues aren't going to continue to grow with this business plan and I sincerely hope for all the people working there that they're using this time productively to come out with something good. Competition is good, it's a 'good thing' for Apple to suceed. But sticking your head in the sand repeating outdated dogma from the Apple publicity machine isn't helping anyone. Least of all Apple, or Steve Jobs.
Ta ta.
Lest we forget, Apple's current $20 billion market cap (or whatever the actual figure is) seems to be based around a set of computers whose one distinguishing feature appears to be their color.
Gonna take Dell and the other M$ suppliers years to catch up to this one. Hope Stevie boy has some more brilliant differentiators up his sleve. He's gonna need something good soon, and I don't mean adding Ruby, nice though it is.
Focusing on some of the other issues mentioned in another post such as the core OS capabilities might be worthwhile in the longer term, don't ya think?
Sitting next to me as I write this on my PIII are a Mac 6100 and SE/30. It's been over a year since I even fired the 6100 up. I used to love Apple but I've been burned too many times, asked to fork over too many dollars too many times for what are now inferior products (I mean the OS) to ever want to go back.
Wake up and smell the coffee! Invest your energies in something with a future! Linux here I come!!!!!!!!!!!
Cheers
Slashdot Mirror
Excellent post.
Thanks
All of this has been said elsewhere (I'm just too lazy to look up the references) but Amazon does a lot more than sell books. It's a retail technology platform geared to selling anything online in a professional manner. There is more going on at Amazon that meets the eye at first.
Amazon's real issue is can it continue to find a market for it's service? Would large brick and morter retailers prefer to outsource their online equivalent (Target, Toys-R-Us) or do it themselves with their own or 3rd party software.
By the way, Amazon's latest initiative, 'Inside the book' searching isn't really a technology advance - they used their leverage with publishers to sign them up for allowing their texts to be searchable. It's a legal coup far more than a technology one. Don't expect B&N to do this anytime soon.
Cheers
i8msft
I personally saw the BSOD at Heathrow, Terminal 3, morning of October 7th, 2003, 10am-ish. It was supposed to be displaying flight departure information, not that that's important in an airport like Heathrow.
About half the screens appeared to be fed from the one computer, since they all has the same BSOD display. Thankfully the other half were working normally.
Ho Hum
The TV rights to the Women's World Cup are owned by FIFA, the organizing body of world soccer. So you should always check www.fifa.org for any international soccer game. FIFA usually market the internet rights themselves and for the last Men's World Cup used Yahoo! as their broadcaster. $20 got you game highlights of all 60+ games. I don't know if they did the same with the Women's Cup.
/.ers seem to think they deserve their own circle of hell.
For US viewers information on actual TV coverage can always be found on www.soccertv.com. An excellent reference. But note that the majority of the big games are often pay per view (since I don't have digital cable for example I usually have to go to a bar to watch any Ireland game - and man what a depressing experience that suddenly turned out to be, but I digress:).
The FIFA games are usually an exception to pay per view and can usually be found on cable in the US (Disney/ESPN currently have a lock on the FIFA games in English, Telemundo in Spanish).
This all changes for other competitions - the organizers usually own the rights and they each go about selling those rights in different ways. Currently UEFA, the organizers of the top European clubs, 'Champions League', have done a deal with Real Networks for same day video coverage, video highlights and live audio, $5/month, $40/season. I'm ambivalent to Real but many
But be careful what you wish for, the Men's World Cup coverage was adequate, but fuzzy. It could be a little hard to see what was happening. I've only viewed the free preview of the UEFA Real Network stuff and the video is dramatically better, still not up there with a good TV, but not far short either - ASSUMING you have a high speed (100kb+) connection. Forget dial up for anything other than audio.
Oh, everything is streamed, no downloads, DRM and all that guff.
Go Chelski for The Champions League!
Richard
Dude, I think you nailed it.
.doc memos, files, proposals, letters, etc. and it's becoming more obvious that the XML move isn't that big a deal from M$FT's perspective.
Combine your comments with the earlier post about the amount of legacy corporate data in
Cheers
From someone who is so comfortable with my choice of religion I don't feel the need to put in my sig...
You sir (madam?) are awesome!
Cheers
Positional trackers are a little strong IMHO. But I like the webcam idea not so I can check on my kid's care givers, but because I simply miss the little bugger and like the idea of seeing what he is up to - I have a two year old in day care as I type. The camera isn't or shouldn't be there to watch the care givers, there are lots of other, non technical, ways to do that. It's there to assuage the guilt of the parents who need to go work to pay for the bleed'n day care.
Sorry to be so mushy...
Apparently you are still not listening. Someone put up a list of items where Mac was supposedly superior, and hopefully I articulated how that supposed differentiation doesn't exist in reality. Even the color thing isn't true as another poster noted, Compaq is going the color thing now.
That leaves no clear differentiation, if you can think of one speak up and save the cheap shots.
Why is it that anytime I try to have an intelligent discussion about Apple all I (usually)get is this rabid frothing - look at a few other posts where one or two individuals actually articulate clearly meaningful differentiators.
Will you rabid Mac fanatics ever understand you undermine your 'cause' with this immediate reliance on cheap shots. I haven't upgraded from the 6100 because I don't see any point!
Geez....
Let's see now: -built in USB in all systems Well everyone ships USB these days pal. -built in Firewire in most systems Lots of PCs come with Firewire also, it's option too since not everyone want this, this saves them money. -inexpensive wireless networking ($100 option on all systems) I spent $103 on the wireless network card plugged into my PIII right now (it's a Proxim Symphony PCMCIA card from OnVia.com if interested). Close enough? -Gigabit ethernet built in to all their towers, 10/100 on cheaper models Ditto, lots of PCs now come with built in 10/100 but it's still an option for the zillions of PC users who don't need networking. -easy setup Nothing hard about my new Win2k laptop, fired up out of the box just by hitting the power switch. That was pretty much it. -superior user interface Used to have, not any more, they're different and each has it's pros and cons but sssshhhh, they're really very very very very very similiar. -induction cooling means no fans needed in the iMac or the Cube You got me, ooooh baby. No fans are nice, quiet. And that is good. -vastly superior color correction technology I'm a guy, I know about six colors, the rest I leave to experts in advertising and graphic design, an important, but very narrow market niche. -efficient RISC-based CPU The PIII in my laptop uses power stepping or something, I'm not really sure. I don't really care. With processor speeds exceeding a Gigahertz what exactly do you mean by "efficiency"? -groundbreaking industrial design The mouse on the iMacs is so crap they charge you $50 for a real one. Steve put it a little nicer at MacWorld, I'm editorialising a little here, but this is the core. Then there is the color thing again, is that what you mean? There is nothing groundbreaking in the current mac line. Now the Newton and the school clamshell laptop they used to make (the eMate? it's been a while), those where cool and they deserved the spot they used to have/may still have in the San Francisco Modern Museum of Art. But they look what Uncle Stevie did to the Newton and the eMate. -maniacal attention to detail in all phases of development Is that OS 7 kept hanging on me and I had to spend $90 to move to OS8. Or is this why Apple can never seem to keep hot models in stock? A little fuzzy on what you're getting at here. Apple ships software to the same standards as Microsoft, and that's late, very very late. -free off-line storage space via iDisk Anyone can have free off-line storage, X-Drive.com, Driveway.com, gee there are dozens, really, the internet is an amazing thing. The colors may be all that you noticed, but that says more about you than it does about them. ....And when all else fails, resort to a personal insult. That'll get your point across and win others to your point of view every time.
Like I said, no differentiation beyond color. Cute, but the revenues aren't going to continue to grow with this business plan and I sincerely hope for all the people working there that they're using this time productively to come out with something good. Competition is good, it's a 'good thing' for Apple to suceed. But sticking your head in the sand repeating outdated dogma from the Apple publicity machine isn't helping anyone. Least of all Apple, or Steve Jobs.
Ta ta.
Lest we forget, Apple's current $20 billion market cap (or whatever the actual figure is) seems to be based around a set of computers whose one distinguishing feature appears to be their color. Gonna take Dell and the other M$ suppliers years to catch up to this one. Hope Stevie boy has some more brilliant differentiators up his sleve. He's gonna need something good soon, and I don't mean adding Ruby, nice though it is. Focusing on some of the other issues mentioned in another post such as the core OS capabilities might be worthwhile in the longer term, don't ya think? Sitting next to me as I write this on my PIII are a Mac 6100 and SE/30. It's been over a year since I even fired the 6100 up. I used to love Apple but I've been burned too many times, asked to fork over too many dollars too many times for what are now inferior products (I mean the OS) to ever want to go back. Wake up and smell the coffee! Invest your energies in something with a future! Linux here I come!!!!!!!!!!! Cheers