I have been developing my own theme for some time(6 months) and have done over 20 designs. Every time I get close to releasing one, it starts to get old. Publishing out a design and calling it my own is a huge step, since it’s like my identity on the web. I love minimalist but trendy blogs, since they help the user focus on what’s important: the content! Some people just clutter their blogs with so much stuff it’s not even funny.
For my big blog overhaul I have a couple of cool ideas that will make the blog more usable and easier to read(no, not less spelling mistakes).
In the meantime, I will begin to implement the above philosophy in my own blog with a slightly modified theme I got from plaintxt.org.
In an address to students in a Hungarian university, a disgruntled student threw eggs at Steve Ballmer(, Microsoft CEO(link).
The funniest part was not the egg hurdling, but the most beautiful sight there is: A student carrying a white Macbook at a Microsoft led speech. I think that was the big insult of the day!
The blogosphere has a new entrant: rakepoint.com. It’s written by Erick T. He is starting out and want to learn CSS, PHP and (insert geek buzz words here) to build his own theme. I look forward to that. I helped him set up his (mt) grid service just like where I am hosted….so Digg away!
I am actually expecting to get all sorts of iPhone related news from him(he only talks about that). I’ve added him to my links. Hope to read some stuff soon.
It’s been a general rule that hardware has always lagged behind software development and releases. It’s obvious that iterating and releasing in software is much easier than in hardware since there is little to no fabrication issues.
On the other side of the spectrum is content(movies, music, books). For the first time in history almost all the technical hardware difficulties are pretty much solved, and content is lagging behind.
Enter Roku and Kindle. Both very promising pieces of hardware(like the Apple TV) but limited because content providers can’t see to let go of past business models.
Let’s take a look at what the marketing guys for Roku have to say about content:
The Netflix Player lets you explore even more possibilities from the world’s largest online movie rental service. Access a growing library of over 10,000 instant movies and TV episodes. Watch as many as you like, as often as you want—with no additional fees. You’re in control with the power to play anytime and finish watching whenever you like.
I think Netflix has nailed the streaming business model. Monthly fees for all you can watch is the way to go. the device costs just a mere $100 when compared to Apple TV which cost $229. The price differance lies in that the Roku unlike it’s fruit competitor dosen’t hav a hard drive, therefore it is just a streaming device and not a Media hub. Conclusion: it is priced according to it’s capabilities. I wish I could end this here, then comes the big “BUT”; according to Gizmodo:
Basically, you get a lot of back catalog (classic movies) and a lot of TV shows (unheard of in rental situations!) right as they hit the market. But you don’t get the same blockbusters on day one release that you’d get from Apple TV or Vudu.
The same thing happens with Amazon’s Kindle. After all the technical details were sorted out: digital paper with great battery life, over the air downloads, limited books(120,000 books and growing, versus the 1 million released in English every year) have a lot of heavy readers doubting the platform. Don’t believe me? Search for “John Grisham” give little to no relevant content:
Sure they have a huge Kindle Library but not the new releases just like the Roku. Hard cover new releases go for far more than their kindle counterparts, thus scaring old media. This hasn’t stopped the Kindle from being a huge success. Good for you amazon!.
Pop open your twitterific and subscribe to @willshipley cause he is going to break the news of Delicious Library 2 in twitter first and offer a promo code for a few minutes. He just wrote:
Twitter Special: When I launch DL2, what I’ll do is mention it here first, at special pricing, but only for a few minutes.
One more way social media is being used for promotion.
BTW: I’ve been using the beta for a while and it rocks! It’s like a Cocoa technology showcase.
The problem with Yahoo is that they are playing catchup in Google’s game: search and advertising.
Yahoo is not an algorithm like Google is. They started off as a human directory. If they go back to their roots and start a human ad network(with the help of OpenSocial), they could probably get better results than what google can in niche sites, like local sites.
Take a look at these ads from willowglen.ning.com a local community site for the San Jose area:
This is an assumption and I can’t test is right now but:
Blogsphere readers know that anybody has access to Robert Scoble’s cell phone number. We all know Robert Scoble posts his cell phone regularly on his blog and we know he has an iPhone (Exhibit A, and Exhibit B).
So assuming his number is not a VoIP or a GrandCentral number, and that he is not cheap enough to ditch the data plan, you can just enter his number at any AT&T WiFi hotspot and booom, your on your way to a Flash-less internetz at WiFi speeds!
Note: I am not currently in the US therefor can’t prove my evil theory, so would appreciate anybody helping me confirm this ; )
