Monthly archive

November 2008

When the caste system goes too far

American’s boarding order has become hopelessly obtuse:
First class.
Superduper platinum.
Platinum.
Priority access.
Mortals.
Murderers, rapists and tax cheats.
Whoever gets on last must have done something unspeakable. Keep Reading

Usability testing made cheap

Best idea I’ve seen in a long time.

The game just changed

Oh my god! They killed user reviews! You bastards!
Oh my god! They killed user reviews! You bastards!

I’m in my hotel after the day has wrapped at the always-excellent ILM08 and feeling like the guy in the sci-fi film whose calculations indicate the asteroid is about to hit while the rest of the rubes are blissfully ignorant.
I’m shocked its not all over the Interwebs already, so I guess I’ll be the first to say it. More than any other day since their founding, today Google quietly, nearly silently, took an action that will, for better or worse, change the media world… Keep Reading

A thank-you note to the Microsoft Xbox 360 team

FAIL
FAIL

Dear sirs:
Thank you for the latest complimentary upgrade to your Xbox 360 system firmware. I am certain that it represents a substantial investment of time, talent and tender.
Your efforts are apparent not only in the anime-without-the-art avatar that replaced the picture of my dog. There is also the achievement of making one of the most ungainly user interfaces I’ve experienced even more unfathomable. And the bonus of being able to watch Netflix movies with golfball-sized pixelation on my widescreen TV is a treat beyond measure.
However… Keep Reading

Maybe Facebook is the killer news app

And now, the traffic report
And now, the traffic report

Preview: Elvis Costello's Spectacle


I do loves me some Elvis Costello, particularly when he stretches himself by mixing genres, going symphonic or starting a talk show that looks to be much more in-depth and interesting than your average gabfest. I may have to bump the DirecTV subscription a level on the basis of this show alone. And the upcoming episode with Lou Reed may well make my head explode with fanboy glee.
Preview videos of episode 1 with Sir Reginald:
Keep Reading

This newfangled television thing

Andy Rooney

Andy Rooney is my least favorite commentator anywhere, ever. Generally, his senile ramblings at the end of 60 Minutes bring me to apoplexy. But this week’s paean to newspapers was just sad.
To think that a discussion of the woes of newspapers today remotely calls for a comparison to television is beyond clueless, even for Rooney. Keep Reading

"I pray to God and Chevy, lighten up the load that's heavy"

Max Stalling
Max Stalling

Max Stalling’s “Dime Box, Texas” is the most uplifting sad song ever.
That is all. Keep Reading

"I wasn't losing — I was just learning how to win."

Lead, follow or get out o the way
Lead, follow or get out o' the way

Ted Turner has been a longtime hero of mine — It was an article he wrote about the media business that was the last push to leave a safe, lucrative publishing job to start a local media business.
I just stumbled on a nice CNN interview with him.
For me, this was the money-shot: Keep Reading

Go to Top