The business model is a great one for not only Panera but also for hotels and such. Hell, hotels probably spend more on the free coffee per month than they would on providing free wifi to customers.
Ponder this. For $60, they get their broadband. Pop in the access point and a gateway and you're good to go. That's it. A one time charge of maybe a couple hundred bucks (including labor) and recurring cost of $60, you'll be getting people coming day in and day out JUST because you've got free wifi. I know companies that have blown ten times that amount on marketing that brought zilch in revenue. This is one of the cheapest and easiest ways to bring people into your establishment.
We have to take this article with a grain of salt. First off, the article is put out by WiMax Trends. Of course they're going to say that. It's like Microsoft saying they rock and the world depends on their software. Second, there are a lot of trends that COULD happen...broadband over powerlines for example. While this is a rather cool wireless application, let's not all be getting all giddy just yet.
I see more people carpooling (I pay the taxes, you buy the gas)...or even better, more people riding bikes (for those lucky enough to live in bike-friendly towns).
Looking deeper into this and other MS actions, I start to wonder if this is the beginning of decline for the MS gorilla. No more IE for the Mac (this has been known for a while). Why? Too much competition from Safari and others. I guess they realized they can't really compete in a non-monopolistic environment.
Back in the day when EVERYTHING had to be Microsoft, they were getting loads of money from software sales and licenses...the OS, server software, Office, etc. But now, slowly but surely, they're losing out the "it has to be MS" in the server space. They'll undoubtedly be losing money there. Will they get pissy at Apple with their incremental attacks at Office and stop producting their too? What happens when Linux actually DOES gain mainstream popularity on the desktop and MS doesn't have the stranglehold their either to sell their software?
Is this the beginning of the end? Or am I thinking too deeply?
I want it. Why must all geek toys (the GOOD PDAs, good computers, good gadgets, all gadgets before they go mainstream) be expensive? Fooey. But...I like cool toys. So it's more ramen for me while saving up for my next batch of toys.
'Nuff said.
OK, maybe it's not. Let us all try to remember the number of times that adjective was used to describe the company. I don't think I can count that high. And yet...yet there are STILL nay-sayers...
I'm loving the fact that there are so many new alternatives to IE (I mainly use Safari and Firefox), Outlook (I use OS X's Mail and am still dabbling with Thunderbird) and now calendar (I use iCal and am now testing Sunbird) apps. It's driving me batty though...I get used to using one particular app and then new, better ones come out. Not one to be stuck using the old stuff, I gotta try the new releases. The only problem...there's a small learning curve and I have to redo the way I used to do them before.
I'm an early adopter and I admit it. It's one of the things I have to deal with. My concern however is, just how many people in the everyday world are willing to stop using Outlook to learn an entirely new way of doing things. Some apps, such as browsers, don't matter as much. A browser is a browser, with a few features here and there, but the underlying concept is the same. Type in a URL and go. Other things though...aye...
Bill Gates would say the human body doesn't need oxygen if it meant a few more billion dollars worth of profits. Little snide remark aside, let's ponder this. Bill says to his customers "Linux isn't good with Microsoft products." Big surprise. The real fun part though will be when the "independent" studies start confirming Bill's claims. You know, the studies done from independent research firms...that just happen to be 95% bankrolled by Microsoft...
There are reasons why products copy another, but they all revolve around "success". Remember when the original iMac came out? Suddenly EVERYTHING came in fruity colors...from power strips to toasters and I believe even the George Forman grill. The reason Explorer is copied is because of it's success in penetrating practically every computer on the planet. Show the masses how similar your product is (thus, not scaring them away with having to learn a whole new way of doing things) and eventually you'll pull some people over.
Unfortunately, this problem persists with most software applications, not just Windows. There are quite a few programs out there, riddled with bugs, glitches, incompatibilities, etc. If it was a car, all hell would break loose. It's just software, so people deal with it.
The big question now...how do we fix it? Do we stop buying it? Do we hound the programmers? Do we pester the vendors? Until we actually TAKE ACTION, Window along with many other programs will continue to suck.
We did switch from audio iChat to Skype. At the time, it seemed as if Skype may have been just a tad bit more stable. iChat would lose the audio connection every now and then. It juts got a little aggrivating watching the audio window drop and a message pop up saying there was no data being sent, even though we were talking.
There are many possibilities as to why this could have been happening. iChat, mixing in with AIM, could have been getting a lot of "noise" and thus dropping us. Or maybe Skype liked my DSL connection and my biz partner's DSL connection better than AIM/iChat did. I really don't know. It's just what we experienced and one of the reasons we switched (another reason was to not be harassed by everyone on our iChat buddy list that saw we were online).
Hope that helps or gives at least a little insight. Have a swell day.
For about a year and a half, I had to locate myself in Philly while keeping operations of our company up and running in California. My business partner and I had weekly meetings, starting out with Chat on OS X, then audio chat. When we discovered Skype, we switched to that. We found that it seemed to work a bit better. I even used my PS 2 USB headset (originally purchased for SOCOM II) and enjoyed the experience.
Granted, we used it on a very basic level...simply for online chat. I'm looking forward to bigger and better uses, especially loading it onto a wifi-enabled PDA and using it as a "cell phone".
"Just who, other than Mac cultists and SFF geeks, is going to buy a Mac Mini?"
Good question, and thanks to a disaster with my PowerBook Saturday, I have my own input. Had you asked that earlier, I would have said the target audience was rather vague...perhaps people that wanted to test out the Mac, the Mac cultists, and a handfull of switchers. It's the price point that erases all the "well the Mac is too expensive" excuse that many people have.
After a nasty power issue with the laptop, I've had to take it in for repairs. Aw criminy...what to do? Can't really afford a new G5 or anything...ayeee! But wait...only $499 for the Mac Mini? That's a perfect solution. I can just use that temporarily, it's got a decent processor, is small...yeah...that's the ticket. And then I can use it as a database server when I get my PowerBook. Totally beats buying a G5 (even though I want one) or something used off of eBay.
Look everyone! I've figured out how to put my Ford engine, stereo, and electrical system into my Porche! Read all the details at www.whywouldiwanttodothis.com
I guess I just wanted more out of it. They talked about electrical impulses, forces acting like stretched rubber bands, inverted contact lenses, etc. I wanted to know just how the electrical impulses triggered something. Is it some funky electromechanical system? Does this mean a Venus Fly Trap requires certain minerals in the soil so it can absorb the electrolytes and thus carry the electrical impulse inside the plant? How does the electrical impulse trigger a plant to snap? In the human body, it forces a muscle to contract...but what happens in a plant. Am I asking too many questions or thinking too deeply in this?
So I read the article, rather intrigued. I wondered if it was water pressure inside the leaves. I wasn't so keen on the "it's like a rubber band..." theory, mainly because I couldn't figure out what forces pulled the "rubber band" back in order for it be right at the snapping point. Just what builds up the kinetic energy inside the plant?
After reading the whole article, they say this: "The exact mechanism the flytrap uses to change the pressures within the leaf remains unknown, Mahadevan and other scientists said." So it's still all theories and guesses, yah?
Good googly, my parents (52 and 54) are Halo junkies. I thought I would be nice and get them Halo 2 the day it came out...psh...they already got it. My mother stayed up 'til 3:00 am that morning playing it.
My point to this rambling (aside from thinking my dad is one lucky mofo)? Halo is THE biggest bonding experience for my parents. They don't really eat together or do many other things together. But they like "to blow shit up" together...daily.
That phrase just keeps on ringing over and over in my head. It's a completely different scenario than the movie, but geeze...I'm just gettin' creeped out by my mental images of missles flying here and there...
So AOL recently announced they were going to cut their broadband services. They also just laid off a whole slew of people. And now they're going to try their hand at a music store and a media player? I see a desperate, desperate company with no focus right now...
I agree with you in your theory...that the halo effect requires certain conditions to exist before it can happen. My only sticking point with what you're saying is that we're talking about Apple here. You said "If you make a cheap minimal flash player you lose this selection effect; you are now targetting the budget market, where the halo effect is less likely to be effective because these are the people more likely to just go buy eMachines or whatever it is they make these days with a minimum of fuss." Do you really think Apple would make a cheap player...or a cheap anything for that matter? Apple prides itself now in making elegant machines.
We could debate this forever, but until we know exactly what Apple will come out with, it's a moot point. If they put out something cheap that gets lost in the shuffle (which would really really surprise me), then I think it would be a big mistake on their part. My guess is that they'll come out with some new player that makes all the other flash-based players look like cheap toys you could pick up at any gas station along with a bobblehead doll with any fill up.
Slashdot Mirror
The business model is a great one for not only Panera but also for hotels and such. Hell, hotels probably spend more on the free coffee per month than they would on providing free wifi to customers.
Ponder this. For $60, they get their broadband. Pop in the access point and a gateway and you're good to go. That's it. A one time charge of maybe a couple hundred bucks (including labor) and recurring cost of $60, you'll be getting people coming day in and day out JUST because you've got free wifi. I know companies that have blown ten times that amount on marketing that brought zilch in revenue. This is one of the cheapest and easiest ways to bring people into your establishment.
We have to take this article with a grain of salt. First off, the article is put out by WiMax Trends. Of course they're going to say that. It's like Microsoft saying they rock and the world depends on their software. Second, there are a lot of trends that COULD happen...broadband over powerlines for example. While this is a rather cool wireless application, let's not all be getting all giddy just yet.
I see more people carpooling (I pay the taxes, you buy the gas)...or even better, more people riding bikes (for those lucky enough to live in bike-friendly towns).
Looking deeper into this and other MS actions, I start to wonder if this is the beginning of decline for the MS gorilla. No more IE for the Mac (this has been known for a while). Why? Too much competition from Safari and others. I guess they realized they can't really compete in a non-monopolistic environment.
Back in the day when EVERYTHING had to be Microsoft, they were getting loads of money from software sales and licenses...the OS, server software, Office, etc. But now, slowly but surely, they're losing out the "it has to be MS" in the server space. They'll undoubtedly be losing money there. Will they get pissy at Apple with their incremental attacks at Office and stop producting their too? What happens when Linux actually DOES gain mainstream popularity on the desktop and MS doesn't have the stranglehold their either to sell their software?
Is this the beginning of the end? Or am I thinking too deeply?
I want it. Why must all geek toys (the GOOD PDAs, good computers, good gadgets, all gadgets before they go mainstream) be expensive? Fooey. But...I like cool toys. So it's more ramen for me while saving up for my next batch of toys.
Damn beleaguered company...
'Nuff said.
OK, maybe it's not. Let us all try to remember the number of times that adjective was used to describe the company. I don't think I can count that high. And yet...yet there are STILL nay-sayers...
if: bloat
//kill me now. the devil made me do it
then: bloat more
while: bloat
end: just kidding...add more bloat
bloat
bloat
bloat
end: clean code
add: bloat
"How many of you remember the classic strategy game Archon?"
Not me. Nope. Not a clue.
What I DO remember is "MacFoxex". When is THAT going to be revived? Now there's old school quality...
Hmmm...I guess the university simply spams people saying "enroll for our spamming class". Who else would want to sign up? Oh the cruel irony...
I'm loving the fact that there are so many new alternatives to IE (I mainly use Safari and Firefox), Outlook (I use OS X's Mail and am still dabbling with Thunderbird) and now calendar (I use iCal and am now testing Sunbird) apps. It's driving me batty though...I get used to using one particular app and then new, better ones come out. Not one to be stuck using the old stuff, I gotta try the new releases. The only problem...there's a small learning curve and I have to redo the way I used to do them before.
I'm an early adopter and I admit it. It's one of the things I have to deal with. My concern however is, just how many people in the everyday world are willing to stop using Outlook to learn an entirely new way of doing things. Some apps, such as browsers, don't matter as much. A browser is a browser, with a few features here and there, but the underlying concept is the same. Type in a URL and go. Other things though...aye...
Bill Gates would say the human body doesn't need oxygen if it meant a few more billion dollars worth of profits. Little snide remark aside, let's ponder this. Bill says to his customers "Linux isn't good with Microsoft products." Big surprise. The real fun part though will be when the "independent" studies start confirming Bill's claims. You know, the studies done from independent research firms...that just happen to be 95% bankrolled by Microsoft...
There are reasons why products copy another, but they all revolve around "success". Remember when the original iMac came out? Suddenly EVERYTHING came in fruity colors...from power strips to toasters and I believe even the George Forman grill. The reason Explorer is copied is because of it's success in penetrating practically every computer on the planet. Show the masses how similar your product is (thus, not scaring them away with having to learn a whole new way of doing things) and eventually you'll pull some people over.
Unfortunately, this problem persists with most software applications, not just Windows. There are quite a few programs out there, riddled with bugs, glitches, incompatibilities, etc. If it was a car, all hell would break loose. It's just software, so people deal with it.
The big question now...how do we fix it? Do we stop buying it? Do we hound the programmers? Do we pester the vendors? Until we actually TAKE ACTION, Window along with many other programs will continue to suck.
It'll never work. How can they make the characters on the game "life-like"?
Hell, I'll buy the game just to hear Stewie scream "Stop mocking me!!!" to the broccoli.
We did switch from audio iChat to Skype. At the time, it seemed as if Skype may have been just a tad bit more stable. iChat would lose the audio connection every now and then. It juts got a little aggrivating watching the audio window drop and a message pop up saying there was no data being sent, even though we were talking.
There are many possibilities as to why this could have been happening. iChat, mixing in with AIM, could have been getting a lot of "noise" and thus dropping us. Or maybe Skype liked my DSL connection and my biz partner's DSL connection better than AIM/iChat did. I really don't know. It's just what we experienced and one of the reasons we switched (another reason was to not be harassed by everyone on our iChat buddy list that saw we were online).
Hope that helps or gives at least a little insight. Have a swell day.
For about a year and a half, I had to locate myself in Philly while keeping operations of our company up and running in California. My business partner and I had weekly meetings, starting out with Chat on OS X, then audio chat. When we discovered Skype, we switched to that. We found that it seemed to work a bit better. I even used my PS 2 USB headset (originally purchased for SOCOM II) and enjoyed the experience.
Granted, we used it on a very basic level...simply for online chat. I'm looking forward to bigger and better uses, especially loading it onto a wifi-enabled PDA and using it as a "cell phone".
"Just who, other than Mac cultists and SFF geeks, is going to buy a Mac Mini?"
Good question, and thanks to a disaster with my PowerBook Saturday, I have my own input. Had you asked that earlier, I would have said the target audience was rather vague...perhaps people that wanted to test out the Mac, the Mac cultists, and a handfull of switchers. It's the price point that erases all the "well the Mac is too expensive" excuse that many people have.
After a nasty power issue with the laptop, I've had to take it in for repairs. Aw criminy...what to do? Can't really afford a new G5 or anything...ayeee! But wait...only $499 for the Mac Mini? That's a perfect solution. I can just use that temporarily, it's got a decent processor, is small...yeah...that's the ticket. And then I can use it as a database server when I get my PowerBook. Totally beats buying a G5 (even though I want one) or something used off of eBay.
Look everyone! I've figured out how to put my Ford engine, stereo, and electrical system into my Porche! Read all the details at www.whywouldiwanttodothis.com
Mouse traps are good enough for that. Ahhhh...the good ole days of cheap, fun "toys"...
I guess I just wanted more out of it. They talked about electrical impulses, forces acting like stretched rubber bands, inverted contact lenses, etc. I wanted to know just how the electrical impulses triggered something. Is it some funky electromechanical system? Does this mean a Venus Fly Trap requires certain minerals in the soil so it can absorb the electrolytes and thus carry the electrical impulse inside the plant? How does the electrical impulse trigger a plant to snap? In the human body, it forces a muscle to contract...but what happens in a plant. Am I asking too many questions or thinking too deeply in this?
So I read the article, rather intrigued. I wondered if it was water pressure inside the leaves. I wasn't so keen on the "it's like a rubber band..." theory, mainly because I couldn't figure out what forces pulled the "rubber band" back in order for it be right at the snapping point. Just what builds up the kinetic energy inside the plant?
After reading the whole article, they say this: "The exact mechanism the flytrap uses to change the pressures within the leaf remains unknown, Mahadevan and other scientists said." So it's still all theories and guesses, yah?
Good googly, my parents (52 and 54) are Halo junkies. I thought I would be nice and get them Halo 2 the day it came out...psh...they already got it. My mother stayed up 'til 3:00 am that morning playing it.
My point to this rambling (aside from thinking my dad is one lucky mofo)? Halo is THE biggest bonding experience for my parents. They don't really eat together or do many other things together. But they like "to blow shit up" together...daily.
That phrase just keeps on ringing over and over in my head. It's a completely different scenario than the movie, but geeze...I'm just gettin' creeped out by my mental images of missles flying here and there...
So AOL recently announced they were going to cut their broadband services. They also just laid off a whole slew of people. And now they're going to try their hand at a music store and a media player? I see a desperate, desperate company with no focus right now...
I agree with you in your theory...that the halo effect requires certain conditions to exist before it can happen. My only sticking point with what you're saying is that we're talking about Apple here. You said "If you make a cheap minimal flash player you lose this selection effect; you are now targetting the budget market, where the halo effect is less likely to be effective because these are the people more likely to just go buy eMachines or whatever it is they make these days with a minimum of fuss." Do you really think Apple would make a cheap player...or a cheap anything for that matter? Apple prides itself now in making elegant machines.
We could debate this forever, but until we know exactly what Apple will come out with, it's a moot point. If they put out something cheap that gets lost in the shuffle (which would really really surprise me), then I think it would be a big mistake on their part. My guess is that they'll come out with some new player that makes all the other flash-based players look like cheap toys you could pick up at any gas station along with a bobblehead doll with any fill up.