Posted August 25th, 2007 by Warren
The Jesus phone strikes again. Don’t get me wrong, I love my iPhone(no really, I do), and I do think there are lots of T-Mobile users out there liquidating their equity portfolios as I type this, but is this a major blow to AT&T? Doubtful. This is more of a bonus for Apple than a blow to AT&T. A huge chunk of phone users out there that want the iPhone bad enough to leave T-Mobile, have already left. Those waiting for their contract to end are clearly not dying for the iPhone, or they would have found one of the many ways to get out of their contract, like playing dead as shown on iPhoneMatters.com:
“Verizon Wireless: Hello, can you give me your full name and the phone number on the account?
Me: Sure. My name is Gregory Ng and my number is ***-***-****
Verizon Wireless: Thank you Mr. Ng, can I have the last 4 digits of your social security number for verification purposes?
Me: XXXX
Verizon Wireless: Thank you. What can I do for you today?
Me: I have a question. If I die, will I still be charged an early termination fee?
Verizon Wireless: No sir.
Me: If I die, will you ask for a death certificate to prove I’m dead?
Verizon Wireless: Sir, are you planning on pretending to die to get out of the early termination fee?
Me: Thanks for the info. Goodbye.
“
Ok, so we can see that AT&T has already enlisted all of the tMobile customers that didn’t care about the ETF(early termination fee), Nicollo Machiavelli wannabes, and other creative individuals out there using various other techniques to dodge that ETF. Who’s left? The technophiles that read TechCrunch and Engadget salivating over every iPhone article published. AT&T, it’ll be OK.
Posted May 3rd, 2007 by Warren
Intel, the reigning champ in the processor business announced that it will be cutting 1000 jobs in Mexico as a result to eliminate obsolete 200mm wafer production. It truly seems as though the sleeping giant is in fact a wake. AMD’s party is over and Intel is coming down from all sides. In the last year, Intel’s product line has seen improvements in all dimensions. Cooler, faster, cheaper than AMD’s processors, Intel’s offerings continue to eat into the market share gains enjoyed by AMD just 1 year ago. This job cut emphasizes Intel’s reluctance to relax and enjoy its lead over its rival. My hat goes off to Intel for providing healthy severance packages and encouraging the employees to apply in other areas of Intel.
Read more here.
Posted April 26th, 2007 by Warren
I’d be lying if I said that I didn’t already have 15 different methods to streamline my news reading process. In fact, its beginning to truly exploit my information addiction. Nevertheless, Newsvine is my new favorite hook. The website design is clean, attractive, and intuitive. The makings of a good homepage. As it is with most Web 2.0 sites, the site is simply a conduit for user provided content. Thus, profits are directly linked to the eyeballs attracted in the form of advertising revenues. A rather unique feature of the Newsvines business model is that its users are shown gratitude for their editorial time spent on the site by earning a percentage of the advertising revenues earned from their columns. Despite the simplistic nature of news aggregation, the quest for the most efficient and attractive method for news delivery continues one more formidable challenger.
read more | digg story
Posted April 15th, 2007 by Warren
Rumors about a possible $100 million acquisition by Yahoo of sports content site Rivals surfaced today. But two previous deals to acquire the company died once it was discovered that the CEO, Shannon Terry, was found to have violated the anti-touting and antifraud provisions of U.S. securities laws in 1998.
Last week after reading Necromancer by William Gibson, I was lectured on the homogenization of the personal identity due to the digitization of human life. It was proposed by my prof, Fred Turner, that the interconnecting nature of the digital lifestyle gradually strips away the individual by making one dependent on the collective we call the net. We are effectively always “plugged in.” What does this have to do with the Bad Boys over at Rivals? Nothing in the slightest, but its nice to know that amidst the downward spiral orientation of society, there are still bandits at the helm of society committing old school crimes. As long as there are bank robbers, how different can society really get? Right?
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Posted April 14th, 2007 by Warren
For every decent web 2.0 product there must be 20 useless, and I do mean useless, ones out there. This, however, looks as though Stanford has produced yet another winner. The idea of collaborative blogging has interested me for a while. Currently, I’m enrolled in the class New Media Entrepreneurship out here at The Farm which is my first formal peek into the world of journalism. My prof on the other hand is certainly no newbie. Anyways, I assume the search for a compatible blogmate is probably going to be atleast as challenging as finding a sustainable company from the Web 2.0 era.
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Posted April 4th, 2007 by Warren
First, let me just say that I am quite the Mac fan. Definitely a result from being related to a certain Mac addict cousin and attending Stanford. Nevertheless, I try to keep a level head whenever Cupertino sends out some updates. The cinema display is yet another symbol of Apple’s excellent branding. Despite its high cost relative to its competitors, Apple is able to sell a product arguably inferior to its arch rival the Dell UltraSharp line. In the past, I was able to sell an 18 month old 23″ display while purchasing a replacement Dell 24″ and reap a $100 net profit. How can I sell an old and used product for more than a new and superior product? I suppose, whether the product is superior or not can be disputed. From a technical and performance standpoint the Dell has an edge, but looks do matter these days and that is part of Apple’s appeal. Brand sensitivity acts like a short cut for consumers removing the need to search for the latest and greatest. However, Generation X and Y, ages 45 and down are proving to be more value sensitive than their predecessors, the boomers. Will innovation in design and marketing be enough to continue battling the functional and high performing offerings of Dell and other display manufacturers?
read more | digg story
Posted March 17th, 2007 by Warren
Welcome all! I finally got around to getting this site functional. Its 5am and too early to post anything substantial so it’ll have to wait till tomorrow, goodnight all.