Adobe gets Hammered – from two sides…
Adobe, maker of PhotoShop, Illustrator, Flash, InDesign and others is taking a hammering in the press over the last few weeks. Many readers of this weblog know of course about the Apple iPad, and its’ inability to play Flash movies; content created by Adobes proprietary File Format. The web is currently full of Flash applications, and many times you have downloaded them without even knowing.
Steve Jobs Is Not Happy With Google, Adobe by Stan Schroeder
Here’s a couple of Steve’s (inexact) quotes from the meeting: “Adobe is lazy. Apple does not support Flash because it is so buggy. Whenever a Mac crashes more often than not it’s because of Flash. No one will be using Flash. The world is moving to HTML5.”
I’m sure that battle isn’t over, but Steve Jobs and others make compelling cases for the use of the upcoming HTML 5.0 specification, which will provide similar multimedia experiences as Flash does now; with no need for some other proprietary software.
The advantage of HTML 5 is clear, as it is an open standard. Many ‘web companies’ are supporting HTML 5 as the new standard; Apple, Google, Mozilla.
At one time- Adobe’s Flash was the reliable way to download video and animated content through the web. Flash became the standard because it worked. Flash still is one of the most powerful methods to delivery interactive content, but they are in for some competition.
In January, printing expert Frank Romano wrote about the abandonment of the print industry by Adobe. Romano concludes that Adobe is leaving print for the screen delivered world. The fact that Adobe is pulling back from their best users is made compellingly in this article.
Adobe, you’re breaking my heart By Frank Romano
[Excerpt] I realize that giant corporations must make hard business decisions. But I think that Adobe is making a grave mistake in abandoning print. It reminds me of Wang Labs. They built giant buildings in their heyday, but then lost their way, and now people visit those buildings and wonder who Wang was. Some day, they will visit San Jose and ask who Adobe was, because the transience of pixels will never replace the permanence of print.
Adobe has built some of the best applications for creating content. PhotoShop (their most widely known tool) is a cultural iconic term: ‘Photoshopped’ similar to ‘xeroxed’ or ‘kleenex’. They make many other powerful tools, used to create, adjust, organize and distribute the content we all see everyday.
No one involved in the professional world of imaging, print publishing and multimedia will be giving up on Adobe’s tools anytime soon. Adobe will still make millions from these advanced tools. But for the millions of users who just want to put photographs or videos on line, as well as those feverishly building applications for the upcoming IPad, Adobe may fade away – maybe not as quick as some may thing (Romano), but with these two developments – Adobe’s in a heap of trouble.
Three Things for Sure About the New Apple iPad
The Apple iPad was announced yesterday. Millions of electrons have been moved to prognosticate, inform, and gripe about the next big thing. As of today, 7000 + articles on Goog News…
Apple states the device fits in ‘between’ the phone and the laptop. It does. Users of both devices can find something to like and something to complain about in the new machine.
Three things for sure about the new Apple iPad:
1. Even though it is a device many of us don’t need* – we’d like to have one!
2. Other manufacturers of small laptops and netbooks (HP, Sony, Dell) must be having fits.
3. If you are buying an iPad; Wait for version 2 of the machine. It will have upgrades, many more accessories, and will be cheaper.
*We likely have a laptop, smartphone and an iPod..
Some of the best analysis online: Erica Ogg with her article: iPad unites Apple’s media and mobile ambitions
New Firefox Available – Download Now!
There’s a new Version of Firefox available; version 3.6.
For Mac users – OS 10.4 and ‘up’ required.
Download here.
NYT- Pay to Read in 2011
Announced yesterday: beginning in 2011 the New York Times will try charging for online access, again.
When they tried this a few years ago- they shut it doesn’t after two years, the initial attempt had less that one million subscribers, and many who left the site at payment just went somewhere else.
If you get your news and information from the Internet, you most likely have a list (bookmarks) that you move through – perhaps daily, gleaming content interests you, reading a bit here and there – the first time you hit the pay wall on the new NYT what will you do? Reach for your credit card or move down your list to the next source?
The Times is the largest viewed non-aggregator site today, how much add revenue will they loose when they shut out viewers that choose not to pay?
The winners in this will be NBC, NPR, Reuters and the BBC. The losers; us who rely on the Times as the ‘Paper of Record,’ and the fine content creators that work there.
What can change their demise – give us something we can’t get anywhere else – and whether for good or worse- there’s always something else one quick click away…
Lock Me Out – Please
There is another device like this for much cheaper – it’s called a mute or off.
Combined with voice mail these controls work well these options are formidable and inexpensive tools for taking a message and not talking on your phone.
See More:
Warning - this link will lead to an autoplay video. Cellcontrol forces you to watch... (Theme = Control).
Google and Conan vs. ‘Unethicals’
Two items big in the news this week that have some strange similarities. Two entities that have made reasonable ethical statements to their respective powers.
Google + China
Googles’ business decision: how can they jettison 300 million potential customers from the Chinese Market?
Every big company – and your thinkin’ box machine -are targets of hacking. From Russia to Shanghai to Anytown USA- there’s someone hoping to hack Google, Microsoft, Apple and you and me.
Is Google bailing because they have a small market share? Maybe. But I wonder why they are publicly pulling away from the 300 million.
Meanwhile the Chinese Government is holding firm on Censorship.
Reports I have seen from some Chinese state that many will be able to access Google through underground means. I just hope that ultimately they are safe…
Conan + NBC
Conan O’Briens statement this week; the Tonight show is an institution, and you shouldn’t mess with it. Leave it where it is. What some forget is that the show moved the show, technicians and musicians from the East Coast to California. This messed with people’s lives- even though many of the Tonight Show employees are getting paid darn well.
Conan O’Brien knows that people who work for him disrupted their lives, he understands people well enough to be a Simpson’s Writer for Homer’s Sake!
“For 60 years The Tonight Show has aired immediately following the late local news. I sincerely believe that delaying The Tonight Show into the next day to accommodate another comedy program will seriously damage what I consider to be the greatest franchise in the history of broadcasting. The Tonight Show at 12:05 simply isn’t The Tonight Show.” – Conan O’Brien
So- from drastically different viewpoints, it seems that some still believe in ethical behavior. How refreshing it is to see people behaving with integrity. Of course we can all say – in both cases – “It’s all about the money.” Maybe not this time.
Image by http://sirmikeofmitchell.com
Update: Conan O’Briens’ negotiations to leave NBC slowed by his desire to help the employees of his doomed show with severance.
Think about that for a minute: Have you ever heard of another ‘employer’ has ever done such a thing? Not in this culture…
Rumors, Free Stuff and The Apple Tablet
Much News all over the web from the just concluded Consumer Electronics Show, (CES). The new tech highlight bubbling up is 3-D TV. Imagine the new realities: car accident footage followed by the Scrubbing Bubbles in the ’space’ of your living room! Video games and porn will be the first to exploit the new 3-D Tech.
CES cool as usual -what better way to get paid – by going to a huge underwritten party. I’ll always remember the Shrimp Cocktail and excellent beer I had courtesy of a major printer company..memories.
Undercutting the thrill of the products announced at CES is for a product that doesn’t ‘exist’ yet built by a company that is absent from the show. The Apple Tablet. Apple is an expert at building hype, sometimes for even non-existent products. But the web rumor mill is full of speculation about a new device, using a version of the iPhone operating system (?). Speculation about this device is rampant- expert marketing – Apple generates buzz without even being at the show, the timing of the popularity of the rumors couldn’t be done better. CES is last year’s news already.
Supposedly the official announcement from Apple will be January 27.
The Power of the A.M.
What cheap dependable technology has been around for over a century and still influences our culture? Good old A.M. Radio.
Their Electronic Base
A.M. Radio is the home of the political talkers; you’d need to be in a media blackout to not know who Limbaugh, Beck and Hannity are. Maybe you have heard George Noory’s late night supernatural talk. Many of these commentators have crossed over to cable television, but their base remains the place they all started, A.M. Radio.
Critical Content Scheduled
AM delivers bread and butter content, news, traffic, weather and sports. If you’re late for work, the traffic and weather is critical content. Every eighth minute update.
The Young think AM is boring, talk only and bad fidelity for music. If young folks are listening to AM, it’s because they learn to use traffic and weather to get to work on time.
For the old folks, AM is a way to connect with those that think like them, a audio water cooler where political opinion forms the emotions of the gullible / governable. If so-and-so says the sky is green, the sky is green.
Plus, some folks get a rush out of yelling their opinion out through the national magic talkin’ box.
Magic Randomness(r) of late night dial twiddling -
The First Surfing Device
A.M. Radios were the first widely available media surfing device. Even a cheap A.M. Radio can receive stations from thousands of miles away. Sitting around the kitchen table late at night twirling the dial slowly to hear stations from another state or maybe even another continent. Lying in bed with a portable radio tuned to a station 500 miles away like it’s next door. Foreign languages, time shifted syndicated programming, and of course the distant / local traffic, weather and sports. Space compressed through atmospheric interference.
Real Cheap and Real Good
A.M. is perhaps the cheapest electronic communication technology you can buy, with battery operated (barely) radios available at cut-rate stores. A functional A.M. Radio can be had for less than five dollars. There is a large variation of builds, for the cheapest portable to a fine install in a new car. Powered by small batteries, AC or handcrank. Ubiquitous, functional and informative.
Christmas Photo #4 – Styrofoam Snowman
South Carolina Aquarium, Charleston, South Carolina, December 2009
Marked Trees in the Middle of the Woods
A collection of trees in the middle of the woods are wrapped with plastic tape – sequential numbers designate a few trees in the midst of hundreds of specimens. This area is adjacent to Wetland Delineation BR-26 which is a U of R research project. What is surprising about these trees is their remoteness, no real paths lead here, bushwacking is required.
Map Battle: Verizon vs. AT&T near Storage B?
The Coverage Map controversy between AT&T and Verizon is interesting. AT&T charged in court recently that Verizon was misrepresenting their reach. The court found in favor of Verizon, as their advertisements state this is a map of AT&T’s 3G coverage, not their overall slower network.
(AT&T Drops Fight Over Maps in Verizon Ads By SAUL HANSELL @ NYT).
AT&T has responded in the media with their postcard flipping advertisements. I’m sure some folks don’t realize that Verizon is only comparing 3G coverage, but maybe it’s more than I think…
Both companies are expanding their service areas, and will continue to do so. But Verizon and AT&T shouldn’t forget that we also need our devices to work in the stone and metal buildings most of us work in.
We expect connectivity along interstates, airports and stadiums, but what about when we’re in the basement visiting our friends near Storage B?
Online Security and Photographic Privacy
Privacy and Technology; two words when mixed invoke fervor in some. As technology advances, and our use of the online medium becomes expected, we are distributing tiny bits of our traits outside our physical relations. If you carry a mobile device’ we are never truly offline. Does your phone go with you everywhere? Just in case… Your location, via GPS may be broadcast. Just in case…
Google CEO Eric Schmidt mentioned December 3 that we should have no expectation of privacy when we are online. Soon we may not expect privacy not just online, but offline as well. If we are moving with a mobile device – offline never exists.
A recent California law directed at paparazzi who chase celebrities for gossip video / photographs amends the expectation of privacy persons have in a public space. The new law states a person may have a ”reasonable expectation of privacy” or they may sue the photographer and the distributor of the illegal images.
Previously when a media outlet published an image, the outlet had no liability towards how the image was acquired. A paparazzi may have trespassed to get the photograph. The new law removes the First Amendment defense from the paparazzi and publishers who break the law to acquire content.
For nearly twelve thousand dollars, you can purchase a telephoto lens that will provide incredible magnification power.
Check out a cool Canon focal Length Comparison here, to see the effect of zoom and telephoto lenses.
If a paparazzi rents a room in a skyscraper hotel near a Celeb hotel and point the lens out the window is this trespassing – by law yes, as the Celeb would have a reasonable expectation of privacy in their luxury hotel. But the technology exists that a photographer could do this, easily.
I wonder when the gossip media empires will own their own surveillance satellite, zooming in on the rich and famous of the future from orbit?
Wooly Worms
We called them Wooly Worms when we were kids. I’ve seen many Wooly Bear Caterpillars in the woods this Fall. Strange to see ‘bugs fresh’ this time of year, as it seems they should be active in Spring, rather than just before it gets cold.
Folklore / mythology states the the size of the Wooly Bears stripes are predictors of the coming winter.
This has been scientifically disproven.
Some interesting facts about the Wooly Bear:
- are the larval stage of the Isabella Tiger Moth (Pyrrharctia isabella).
- they hibernate over the winter, they are protected from freezing by an alcohol based ‘antifreeze’ (cryoprotectant) they produce and secrete into their body. They pupate and become moths the following Spring.
- when Wooly Bears are infected by an intestinal parasite, they consume the Senecio plant, which contains alkaloids that kills the parasitic fly eggs.
Watch out for the Wooly Worms this Fall!
Cell Towers and Cell Cameras
Irondequoit NY - November 2009 ©
Cell Phone Tower photographed with a Cell Phone Camera..
© G. Elyjiw
Cell Phone Tower Photograph on Cell Phone Camera Viewfinder
Broken Glass at the Glass Museum
Corning Museum of Glass - October 2009 ©
Fall Milkweed @ ‘The Meadow’
Brighton, NY – November 2009 ©
Three Exits
Ithaca, NY - October 2009 ©
Shepard Fairey – Appropriation of Truth?
Shepard Fairey admitted yesterday that he attempted to conceal the source image for his iconographic Obama Hope Poster. His countersuit will most likely be dropped, and he and his legal team will continue to argue the issue of ‘Fair Use.’
Even a clueless jury could see the original photograph and the poster are as close to the same as possible, it’s obvious that Fairey used the image copyrighted by the AP as his source. Quotes yesterday from Shepard Fairey:
“In an attempt to conceal my mistake, I submitted false images and deleted other images,” said Fairey. “I sincerely apologize for my lapse in judgment, and I take full responsibility for my actions, which were mine alone.”
From the Associated Press:
Fairey sued the not-for-profit news cooperative in February, arguing that he didn’t violate copyright law because he dramatically changed the image. The AP countersued in March, saying the uncredited, uncompensated use of an AP photo violated copyright laws and signaled a threat to journalism.
He said he was taking steps to correct the information and regretted that he didn’t come forward sooner.
Fairey, a Los Angeles-based street artist with a long, often proud history of breaking rules, said in a statement Friday that he was wrong about which photo he used and that he tried to hide his error.
But here’s when it gets really weird: (more from the AP):
Fairey described his craft as manipulating existing images and said barring such work is like “saying you can’t use those words anymore, they’ve already been used. How would we talk to each other?”
Ok Shepard, isn’t that a bit too much? But is Fairey arguing for the copyrighting of common speech? Is a Window a hole in the wall covered with glass or a computer operating system? Let’s not even get into OBEY Giant and OBEY Your Thirst.
Shepard Fairey should just give up; it’s obvious he used the image in question. Why make a horde of lawyers richer fighting a battle that would never exist if not for fame. Artists / Designers appropriate all the time, it’s just when the work gains visibility that a problem arises. For those who have been inspired by the work of Shepard Fairey for years this is disappointing.
For more on the issue of Fair Use, and discussion of Sherry Levine (who is at least honest about her appropriation of content) see my earlier post.
Link to yesterdays’ original AP reporting via HuffPost here.
Desperation and Boastfulness on Linkedin
I am a regular user of Linkedin, I was not an early adopter, but I have utilized the site frequently as it’s a helpful tool in my recent job.
Compared to other social networking sites, Linkedin is all business. Posting the name of your favorite musical artist would be a bit questionable, as the site is purposely made more for ‘serious grown ups’, compared to lamespace and lamebook.
Pictures on Linkedin? Sure as long as they’re tiny and located only here. Info text about your job, education and letters of recommendation – yes Linkedin has that, but it’s purpose is as a networking tool, with the more guilty pleasures of other sites minimized.
Could someone place content on their Linkedin page that would be detrimental to their job or personal status? Sure –but this process of oversharing would almost seem an inappropriate use of the tool – using the ‘software’ in a way it’s not intended.
One of the great things about Linkedin is it can be used efficiently, the amount of information you can gather can be acquired through skimming and scanning; mousing quick through the recent updates – deciding to move on or digging in to detail. Compared to other social networking tools – Linkedin is for adults, the others are for the kids.
Linkedin profiles all have a similar structure, with the highest priority personal data being your personal ‘headline’, following that are the summary and specialties of the individual. You are limited in the quantity of your headline, some go short, and others use every character available, interesting are the headlines that hint towards the quiet desperation of unemployment mixed with the aggressiveness of personal promotion. When I see the headline of an acquaintance turn to: ‘Experienced Professional’ uhh ohh – someone’s out of a job…
Here’s are samples of some of the most subtly jarring headlines I’ve seen on Linkedin, these are posted by people who are approaching their career detours with humility or aggressiveness:
- Experienced Executive
- Company name = In Transition
- CFO at my house.com
- Seeking new opportunities
If someone actually has their headline as Unemployed – it’s a blast of cold reality in a place of indirect statements.
And, for you big corporate workers out there – no one outside of your monster sized beehive cares that you are LEAN, know about FAST, practice KAIZEN or have a silly 6 SIGMA Black Belt! Those of us that work at smaller companies or as indy contractors chuckle that the big corps have the time and money to create these sandbox games. How are those incestuous consultant pushed false sense of accomplishments working out for you now? Jeez, you folks are worse than someone with a Ph.d making 24K/year.
Perhaps the most aggressive statement I’ve read on Linkedin is: “Next to the Bible, Atlas Shrugged is the most frequently read book by CEO’s in the Western World.” – Posted on Linkedin by a “Visionary Transformational Leader.” (who is unemployed).
Lawful Defacement (?)
We had primary elections yesterday. Our mailboxes were full of flyers from many candidates. Our roadsides were not nearly as cluttered as last November, but some candidates did put signs out.
This sign was stickered after a few days – I’ve never seen this before, a sticker placed on the sign, but the sign left up. Was the sign in an illegal location? Probably, but the action of stickering the sign seems less effective than dumpstering. Sap heads call for the protection of the First Amendment!
The fine print of the sticker states: ”As per Rochester City Code Sec. 35 & Sec. 69” although this does not seem to be an official sticker placed by city code enforcement.
Miles of Ink
Running out of ink...
I have always used pens that I keep for as long as possible, the act of writing longhand helps me process and retain the information I consume and create.
Over the last few years, I have bought big fat pens, as they are more comfortable in my hands. I also demand ball point, as my writing and sketching always seams to smear or run with gel inks.
So, I’ll hold onto a special pen for a while, perhaps four to six months. This pen goes with me everywhere, (except when I’m in the woods or on the bike, where I take a more packable shorty pen), and I am vigilant in its proper location, my breast pocket (biz) or in the pocket of cargo pants (fun).
So, ultimately my favorite pen will die, run out of ink. These days, when a cheap giveaway pen ‘malfunctions’, it’s garbage time. But for my pens, the manufacturer actually makes replacement ink cartridges, they must know about the users’ penchant for holding on to them.
If I ever loan out the pen, it’s quick, maybe for someone to sign their name to a log book, and they will find my hand outstretched when they finish, an expression of ‘give me my pen back.’ If you want to see me lose my cool, put my pen in your mouth – after that gross out – you can keep it.
When the ink dries and no longer flows, I consider the places the pen has been, the papers I have written on and the long line of ink I have created. Ideas, places and time distilled into dark marks on paper.
A sense of accomplishment, progress and loss all wrapped up in a $2.99 writing instrument.
A bag of chips is not a balanced meal; Tweet Dumps=Fail.
Recently a number of folks whose weblogs I read have stopped posting long form content and are instead they’re dumping their tweets on their pages.
What a disappointment. This is not an anti twitter screed, but a statement to those whose weblogs / pages used to be filled with contemplative ideas are now filled with the familiar short messy tweets messages that usually have no context or depth.
A weblog can be short hits / posts or can contain hours worth of content. Tweets are the antithesis of this – with the act of conversation substituting for a depth of conversation. Anything goes, unedited and without flow. Here’s a tweet about an academic paper, here’s a tweet about waffles.
I am reminded of the first time I read People magazine or USA Today, and I thought, OK, they covered it – but there’s not much here – lack of depth.
Will you sometimes see posts on my pages that are too slim? Sure, but every once in a while, you may see a collection of photographs or a longer form argument, a balanced meal vs. a bag of chips.
So to my friends out there that have transformed their weblogs into tweet dumps, please come back with big thick content, I miss the good stuff!
