Entries from November 2005 ↓

“Nobody goes there anymore. It’s too crowded” - Yogi Berra, the great Yankee catcher.

As I guy who works in the busines of public relations, I am struggling to figure out why NextPage came out with an announcement that it is working with Microsoft to standardize the Office format in Nov 21.

Hello! This was the day before the launch of the XBOX 360. The problem is, the NextPage announcement is a big deal, and it got very little attention because of timing.

Other thoughts
[ Office12Watch.com ]

[ tomrafteryit.net ]

[ theunofficialmicrosoftweblog ]

[ negimaki ]

Isn’t this some kind of mathematical inequality to say that the MPAA’s Dan Glickman and BitTorrent inventor Bram Cohen will be doing a press conference today?

This has got to be a joke.

UPDATE: Hollywood, BitTorrent software creator reach agreement

What did they do? Brainwash?

Intel and Micron hookin it up to give it up to Apple.

The two tech giants said Monday they would form a new company called IM Flash Technologies LLC to manufacture NAND flash memory that is used in many consumer electronics, removable storage and handheld communications devices.

The new venture would manufacture products exclusively for Micron and Intel. However, both of those companies have entered into separate long-term contracts to supply Apple Computer Inc. with “a significant portion” of their share of IM Flash’s NAND flash memory output, with Apple to prepay $250 million to each company.

via [ DesNews ]

more via [ Utah Tech Watch ]

more via [ Forbes ]

more via [ MacOSX.org ]

once upon a time ago, I worked in Micron’s Corporate Affairs office.

Have you played one yet? The XBOX 360. Test versions started showing up in Wal-Marts over a month ago. No announcements. No advertisements. They just slipped ‘em in. What happened? People told people. Smart marketing.

keep the marketing guy - KTMG

Here’s a round up of some of the XBOX 360 news for today -

XBOX 360 is a winner, but at a great cost - LA Times

XBOX 360 delivers, for all types of gamers - San Jose Mercury News

Gates: XBOX 360 key to Microsoft Strategy - Seattle Post Intelligencer

Microsoft XBOX 360 Media Center Extender - ABC News/PC Magazine

Microsoft XBOX 360 Seen As Positive Stock Driver - Forbes (should have bought stock. 3 million units already sold at a minimum price of $399. You do the math).

I can’t believe what my eyes just saw a few minutes ago. I was browsing through some video at video.msn.com when I saw a link to one of the new XBOX 360 commercials, which I was willing to watch. As with most video sites, this video (er commercial) was preceeded by a commercial. The funny thing is, they were trying to sell me (a male . . . not even an old, retired, golf playing male) a product called Actonel, which according to parent company Proctor & Gamble Pharmaceuticals is:

a prescription medication to treat and prevent postmenopausal osteoporosis.

That’s right. This ad for the male-popular XBOX was targeted (er shotgun blasted) at postmenopausal babyboomers (or maybe their husbands, kids or grandkids - grandma will just love little Johnny for getting her that postmenopausal osteoprosis medicine for Christmas). Again, I am not even an old, retired, golf-playing male that would even have a wife interested in this product. Now the idea that this ad is trying to reach potential buyers is just rediculous. - if that is the idea.

a) How many older ladies do you know who use the Internet, let alone to watch video?
b) How many older ladies do you know who haven’t already been told by their kids and grandkids that the XBOX 360 comes out tomorrow, which is just in time for Christmas?
c) Why did they ask me if I am the type of woman that believes in fixing a certain type of womanly problem that this drug can help? Did I know that it can help me if I ask my doctor for it?
c) Why did they run this ad before an XBOX 360 commercial? Why? Why? Why?

I think I am going to start a saying to include with posts like this - here’s how it goes. somebody fire the marketing guy! FTMG!

In September 2005, the average price of diesel fuel was $2.59 a gallon — a whopping 72 cent increase from last year.

Diesel fuel use to be cheaper than regular gasoline.

If you sold diesel fuel, and one of the biggest construction booms was around the corner (think back a few years before it all started) what would you do with your gasoline prices. Think about it for a minute. The construction industry runs on diesel fuel.

- Excavation equipment (track hoes, bulldozers, etc…) - all runs on diesel fuel
- Large trucks (dump trucks, semis, cement trucks) - all run on diesel fuel
- Construction workers (big Fords, Dodges and Chevys) - big trucks that run on diesel fuel

Now, here is the kicker . . . this quote is pulled from a story about how the increasing costs of diesel fuels are making waves in the eCommerce arena.

Shipping charges have been a “secret” profit source for many e-commerce companies. Adding a little extra fee onto the shipping and handling charges fattens the bottom line for many e-tailers. But increasing shipping costs shaves this modest profit source.

via [ ecommerce-guide.com ]

This DesNews/AP article about the gore in television shows like CSI is an important read, and I think they make a very valid point: gore gets less attention becuase everyone has been so focused on fighting the amount of sexual content showing up in television.

• The lead character in Fox’s “Bones” discovering a badly decomposed body hanging in a tree, crows picking on the remains.

• A man preparing dinner on the WB’s “Supernatural” when his sink suddenly fills with water. He reaches in and something grabs him, pulls his head in the water and drowns him.

• On CBS’s “CSI: NY,” a man falling after trying to climb the outside of a skyscraper. He hits a ledge, and a large chunk of flesh falls to the street.

A few weeks ago, I saw a few minutes of CSI. The premise of one of the investigations on the show surrounded a man who had been partially eaten by a tiger. The scene was taking place in the coroner’s office where the camera kept showing a half eaten body (no legs, just the torso remained) and the rib cage was wide open. Enough with the imagery. This stuff doesn’t leave the mind. I was a kid once. It sticks around.

TV Fare is awash in Gore

Got something to say about it? - parentstv.org/
mediafamily.org