Category: Life

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Business Life

Oracle vs. Google

RoughlyDrafted Magazine: “Oracle’s purchase of Sun was likely done in part to get the Java intellectual property that could be used by Oracle to stab Google in the face. And yes, Oracle isn’t just after money, it’s after blood. In its complaint, Oracle does’t just demand monetary infringement damages, it’s seeking to have any code that is found to infringe upon Oracle’s copyrights “impounded and destroyed.””

If Oracle wins what does this mean for Android?

This will be fun to watch from the cheap seats.

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Business iPhone Life Mobile

Survey says!

TechCrunch: “When AT&T’s monopoly on the iPhone ends in the U.S., it is not going to be pretty. With increasing evidence that Verizon is preparing to offer the iPhone 4 early next year, many people are waiting before buying one or upgrading. Many of those are existing AT&T customers who want the same phone on a better network. According to a new survey by market research firm Morpace, 34 percent of AT&T iPhone owners are waiting for the iPhone to be available on another carrier before upgrading, and a full 47 percent of current AT&T iPhone owners say they would consider switching to Verizon. So almost half of AT&T customers surveyed are not completely satisfied with AT&T’s network.”

If Verizon gets an iPhone, the jury is still out, this could be a really good thing for iPhone customers currently on AT&T. It may mean those that do not bail will have a much better network, especially if a whole bunch of them jump ship for Verizon. You know how polls are, you have to take them with a grain of salt, but this one does make for great “iPhone on Verizon” fodder.

You’d also need to take a look at the number of people that just upgraded to the iPhone 4. I’m fairly certain AT&T’s new, higher priced, penalty for canceling your contract will keep a lot of folks on their network for the next two years.

It’ll also be very interesting to see if the iPhone can make a dent in the Android juggernaut at Verizon. I’m not so confident it will. Android based phones are pretty darned nice and they come in all different shapes and sizes now, one to suit every need. Drop the iPhone in the mix and you may see some very aggressive pricing of Android phones on Verizon. Stir in an average person that wants a smart phone and you may see a lot more Android’s on the street. For some the iPhone has lost its’ luster, especially since you can get an Android phone that comes fairly close. Who knows, with the mystique surrounding the iPhone and Verizon customers clamoring for the device it may be a day one hit. Remember the “I don’t care” video, yeah, that phenomenon.

We’ll all have to wait and see.

Just make sure you get the one with the Bigger GB’s and the WiFi.

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Business Life

Book Retailers Dying?

James Robertson: “A decade ago, my entire family looked forward to a trip to Borders or B&N. We’d easily drop a ton of money on books, and spend a happy hour or two browsing the aisles. We just don’t do that anymore. Why? Well, the Amazon store is the primary reason.”

Kim and I used to do this all the time. We’d troop down to our local Borders, walk around, collect a bunch of books, and make a large purchase. We haven’t done it in an eon, and I love book stores. I just love walking around them, looking at what’s new, sippin on a coffee. It’s an event, like going to the movies. Since I picked up a Kindle for Kim last year I can count on one hand the times we’ve been to a physical book store.

The other strange thing, in the same vein, is we’ve stopped visiting Blockbuster Video. I used to go by there at lunch on Tuesday’s to see the new releases. It’s another place I loved to stroll. I haven’t done that for a very long time, probably more than a year. Now it’s all about Netflix.

Things they are a changin’.

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Life

A Liberal, with an M4?

Yes, that’s right. I said Liberal, and M4, in the same sentence. As a kid I was brought up around guns; hand guns and rifles. I had a shotgun at the ripe old age of 10. I loved shooting. We’d go out with Dad and shoot tin cans and other targets, it was fun. I used to hunt game bird. Would I love a chance to fire a Barrett .50 cal? DARNED STRAIGHT! Now, I’m not your typical Lefty, I’m just left of center. I’m a Democrat that believes in your right to bear arms. I don’t have an issue with folks having weapons, I also don’t have a problem with registering my weapons, which I believe is the sticking point with most Righties and Lefties.

Anywho, I thought I’d share a picture of our daughter having fun, with an M4. Yes, the old man is a bit jealous.

Oh, and don’t worry. This weapon wasn’t fired illegally. This picture wasn’t taken in California.

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LEVEL Life

LEVEL – Don’t forget to laugh.

LEVEL Weblog: “In my history here at LEVEL, what keeps me coming back are the folks we work with. Something I have found to be critical to success is that we don’t forget to take time to laugh, tell a joke or pull a prank. I am fortunate to work with some amazing, talented folks with a collectively fantastic sense of humor.”

Ben Ryken, the author of the above post, is the first person I met at LEVEL. He’s very good at what he does and manages to keep us laughing. GIVE THAT MAN A RAISE! He’s one of the many reasons I love coming to work each and every day. Yes, this is a GREAT place.

I’ve also had the pleasure of getting to know Jason Gurley. The man is a very talented artist, as you can see by his doodles. I hope to some day have the honor of being “Gurley’ed.”

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Life

One big mistake

NY Times: So the future of General Motors (and the $50 billion taxpayer investment in it) now depends on a vehicle that costs $41,000 but offers the performance and interior space of a $15,000 economy car. The company is moving forward on a second generation of Volts aimed at eliminating the initial model’s considerable shortcomings. (In truth, the first-generation Volt was as good as written off inside G.M., which decided to cut its 2011 production volume to a mere 10,000 units rather than the initial plan for 60,000.) Yet G.M. seemingly has no plan for turning its low-volume “eco-flagship” into a mass-market icon like the Prius.

We should’ve let GM ride off into the sunset. That’s right, we should’ve let it die. I thought the bailout was a horrible idea from the get go. I know a lot of folks that think it’s un-American to buy cars from foreign manufacturers but what choice do you have if American car companies create bad cars?

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Life

A job we won’t do

CNN: “Gary is starting to catch on to the work, but admits the work is not only physically exhausting; it’s also tedious and monotonous. As the day draws to a close, a large truck comes through the work area and starts picking up the boxed grapes. It’s the end of a long tiring day and while many workers will be back here tomorrow, none of us could imagine doing this every day.”

Welcome to The San Joaquin Valley guys, great story.

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Life Mobile

My Little Pony is Evil

DailyTECH: “If you download Jackeey Wallpaper from Google’s Android Market for your smartphone, you might want to start worrying just about now. The popular app has been exposed as potentially being a piece of malware designed to steal your personal info and send it to China.”

I knew it! My Little Pony is pure evil! I’m just sayin’.

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Life

One key to rule them all…

POPSCI: “A minimum of five of the seven keyholders – one each from Britain, the U.S., Burkina Faso, Trinidad and Tobago, Canada, China, and the Czech Republic – would have to converge at a U.S. base with their keys to restart the system and connect eveything once again. We’re imagining a large medieval chamber filled with techno-religious imagery where these knights cyber must simultaneously turn hybrid thumb drive/skeleton keys in a massive router, filling the room with the blinking light of connectivity.”

There’s definitely a movie in there somewhere, a spy thriller, starring Bruce Willis, Vin Diesel and Sandra Bullock. Lot’s of terrible Hollywood user interfaces and gadgets. It’ll be huge!

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Life

Take that!

You can't keep Uncle Sam down!Dave Winer: “So yes, we should build a mosque where the World Trade Center used to stand. Because it’s consistent with our values, and because it’s the most arrogant and territorial thing we could do vis a vis the a**holes who blew up the WTC.”

I couldn’t agree more. We are a nation of many religions, contrary to what a lot of people believe, and our founders made sure to write it down, so we wouldn’t forget. The important line is Freedom of Religion, not Freedom from Religion. So, you can be Jewish, Christian, Muslim, or whatever.

I also like that it’s kind of flying the middle finger at the nut-job terrorists, that may be my favorite part of the whole thing.