Categories
Life

Aging

Hello, Dr. Jones.Garret P. Vreeland: “Ageism is starting to raise its ugly head – people are judging based on wrinkles and hair color (none) now. That totally sucks. Yet my photography skills are burgeoning, and I’m up to my eyeballs in video and video editing again (yay, FCPX!). Got some good web contracts in as well. Yet I’m not comfortable yet. Goal one for my 57th year – achieve satisfaction.”

Then there’s this from a developer I have a lot of respect for.

A couple years back I went through an interview with a company I’d still love to work for. I didn’t get the gig and to this day I still don’t know why. It’s totally possible I did something completely wrong during my interviews but in the end I was told “You’re a good developer and a great communicator, but you’re not a good fit.” I was crushed. At the time I was in a bad place mentally and physically. A lot going on in life at that point in time. I didn’t handle the rejection well. That is my fault of course, but the only reason I could find that fit was I was too old for their group. Sour grapes I suppose.

I have a feeling getting a gig with Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Facebook, and Apple will come down to your ability to do the work. I’ve interviewed with Microsoft and worked for them. I’ve interviewed with Apple and didn’t get through the interview. I know for a fact that Google interviews are notoriously difficult to get through.

The best companies hire the best people. I have no doubt James Thomson could work for any of these companies. He’d probably have to prepare for the interview process, but he could do it.

Categories
Apple Cloud

Apple’s Cloud Infrastructure

Mac360: “In recent years Apple has used Microsoft’s Azure cloud infrastructure and Amazons’s Web Services, as well as it’s own data centers, as a mashup melange which together makes up iCloud and other cloud services. That’s right. Apple’s iCloud and cloud services come from Microsoft and Amazon. And soon Google’s Cloud.”

I find this fascinating. You’d think Apple would have their own services, hosted on their own hardware, in their own facilities. Read the article and, like me, you’ll discover they just didn’t have the bandwidth to standup a facility the size of Azure or AWS or Google just to serve their customers. Wow, that is amazing growth.

I would really love to see a report outlining all the technologies Apple uses to serve iCloud customers. Everything from service providers to hardware to software stacks and how massive each of those really is. It has to be mind boggling. Makes me wonder if any one person at Apple knows the answer for all the services, top to bottom?

Categories
Tablet

Amazon and Android sittin’ in a tree…

TechCrunch: “It’s called simply the “Amazon Kindle”. But it’s not like any Kindle you’ve seen before. It displays content in full color. It has a 7-inch capacitive touch screen. And it runs Android.”

I’m pretty sure Amazon is pulling a fast one on Google. If they do what I suspect they’re doing they could take over the top spot in the Android OS space, ahead of Google. Yes, I think they could do it. They have their own Android store, they have the selling power of the Amazon and Kindle name. If they focus on creating a great user interface and experience on top of the Android OS why can’t they be the leader? Android is dying for someone to create an iOS, or even WebOS, experience.

Why not Amazon?

Categories
Business

No Amazon Associates for you California

If you have an Amazon Associates account, and you live in California, you probably got a ‘Dear John’ letter similar to this one.

Notice of Termination due to New California Law

Hello,

Amazon Associates LogoUnfortunately, Governor Brown has signed into law the bill that we emailed you about earlier today. As a result of this, contracts with all California residents participating in the Amazon Associates Program are terminated effective today, June 29, 2011. Those California residents will no longer receive advertising fees for sales referred to Amazon.com, Endless.com, MYHABIT.COM or SmallParts.com. Please be assured that all qualifying advertising fees earned before today will be processed and paid in full in accordance with the regular payment schedule.

You are receiving this email because our records indicate that you are a resident of California. If you are not currently a resident of California, or if you are relocating to another state in the near future, you can manage the details of your Associates account here. And if you relocate to another state in the near future please contact us for reinstatement into the Amazon Associates Program.

To avoid confusion, we would like to clarify that this development will only impact our ability to offer the Associates Program to California residents and will not affect your ability to purchase from Amazon.com, Endless.com, MYHABIT.COM or SmallParts.com.

We have enjoyed working with you and other California-based participants in the Amazon Associates Program and, if this situation is rectified, would very much welcome the opportunity to re-open our Associates Program to California residents. As mentioned before, we are continuing to work on alternative ways to help California residents monetize their websites and we will be sure to contact you when these become available.

Regards,

The Amazon Associates Team

How many people have built part of their business on this program? That’s gonna leave a mark.

ZDNet [hat tip Cass McNutt]: “In the ongoing state-by-state battle over tax collection on affiliate website sales, this afternoon Amazon warned thousands of affiliates their revenue streams would be shut off if a tax bill would be signed into law. Mere hours later, Governor Jerry Brown signed the bill, signifying tough times ahead for many online business owners.”

Categories
Apple

In-App purchase?

Red SockTechCrunch: “Remember when everyone was freaking out over the Apple in-app subscription changes? You should. It was just a month ago. And while some of the fears that arose do appear to be very real, the two things most people focused on were Amazon’s Kindle app and the Netflix app. Well guess what? Both received updates today, and neither includes the supposedly mandatory changes.”

That’s a relief. Let’s hope this doesn’t change.