A convergence of rambling, branding, and information
7.29.2010
Hot Potato
...and additional industry nuggets o' opinions
Hot Potato better fit for Facebook - another case of talent is persistently more valuable than one idea. Has some good insight into brand and maturity of Foursquare being tougher to assimilate (unless you're MS and you just buy and bury)
Apple Sells More phones than Moto - I think this is a larger trend of the android growth curve "beginning" to flatten (this does not mean I don't think Android wont be one of 2-3 top Mobile OS's in the future. Also related to this is customer satisfaction/retention numbers between iPhone and Android. (this is the true information from Yankee group vs. re-quotes)
Pictures from the business trip a few weeks back... I had a great time, with the team hosting me & showing me around Sao Paulo; Brazilian Pizza (unique), Cafe and drinks al fresco, good Brazilian style buffets, and a great steak house. Productivity wrapped in fun like a pig in a blanket :)
First impressions architecturally, the city reminds me of a mash-up of Seoul and LA. At the density and skyline level its very much like Seoul, but at the street level the architecture turns more towards LA with a bit more room than Korea at this level for such a large city. The infrastructure suffers the history of capitalism and recent politics. There are some interesting pictures of nature vs. the infrastructure in the stream.
Also saw some interesting street art. Specifically I was drawn to the old and new juxtaposition of graffiti art which is very analogue, with the tag including the flickr URL being very digital.
..and not the urban dictionary definition. Found this site looking up an address yesterday. For 40% of my audience (thats 2 out 5 TL readers :))... Going "native" below.
Ft Worth Weekly Online (for those who don't want the dirty fingers of cheap print)
Dallas Observer - like the weekend guide specifically + they have good write up like when Badu took her clothes off for the video, minus the super-christy "fake crisis" filter
Plus for those who want to take their dog everywhere, use the Happy Hour free iPhone App to find places with outdoor seating in a town supported by the app.
Emulation is the "new old" these days (that and D.I.Y. fabrication but that's for another time).
Over the last few years the innovation in emulation has been nearly exponential. Native Instruments (possible fan boy alert ;-)), has been killing it, and I was blown away last weekend (again) when testing the Guitar Rig 4 Update when installing Konplete 6 in the studio. The sound was unbelievable.
This emulation is spreading to video as well as pictures. A cool new app to emulate old analogue cameras is out Hisptimatic.
Want to take a Polaroid or a Leica pic with your iPhone? Yes there's an app for that.
For a fun freebee check out the Stanley Bostitch Level App for your iPhone. Brilliant convergence of marketing, D.I.Y., and emulation of the real world.
While @ GHQ in Sao Paulo a few weeks back I saw a book I had been referencing being handed back and forth. Its the famous Mythical Man Month book by Fred Brooks. Mr Brooks has a new book out that definitely needs to be put into the queue. The Design of Design.
If you think this is no longer an important topic in 2010 with the great designs of Apple, ask yourself this (from Don Norman)
“Imagine you’re on the first slide of your powerpoint presentation and want to move to the next slide. Your remote control has two buttons. They are unmarked, but one button points up and one button points down.
“Which button do you press?”
Interaction paradigms are important to actual usage, user desire & effectiveness, and ultimately a company's reputation and sales.
I was discussing backwards compatibility with our CTO briefly yesterday on a particular mobile platform who's press release says "we're backwards compatible even-though we re changing the interaction paradigm to multi-touch". I had a friend on my old team who has forgotten more about touch interaction models and technical design than I can remember. We worked on changing the app layer on a mobile OS to a cludged version of multi-touch and it was time consuming to say the least. So lets just say I have some healthy skepticism around the claim.
Figured I'd spread the love as I am waiting for Komplete 6 to install (more weird sounds up coming with Reaktor 5 to a Soundcloud near you).
I found their site and got turned onto them b/c they now have some form of sponsorship w/ NI. These cats are out of Charlotte proving white boys can jam. I travel through this area for work and will have to see if I can check them out live.
As an equal opportunity post check out the Serato mixing as well :). Just more tools in the tool-bag....
"My dear girl, there are some things that just aren't done, such as drinking Dom Perignon '53 above the temperature of 38 degrees Fahrenheit. That's just as bad as listening to the Beatles without earmuffs!" - Bond, James Bond
Expect some mash-ups of original content and tracks as I acclimate myself to this gear. It certainly wont be as good as the mix below. Check Out Ean Golden's new mix to demo their new Midi Fighter. Great advertising. Skills to pay the bills.
A friend of mine who I kid looks a LOT like Ean Golden were goofing off in the studio a few months back and we doing a lamer version of Tim Exile's performance below looping mics, beats, and guitars, to make an impromptu song for the worldwide texting competition.
Soaking the gallery wall in burnt motor oil, Cenit (Zenith) is a temporal work tracing the brief history drawn by the course of 20th century fossil fuel consumption. Slowly pumping a black viscous liquid through a network of plastic piping shaped as a city skyline, the piece highlights waste and extraction as structural supports of contemporary civilization. Unfolding over a period of approximately five days, the tension in this work builds a story of excess. Much like the timeline in a film, the work starts with a place and basic premise which drives plot forward until reaching its climactic moment of release.
Been a nominal admirer of Dyson for some time but... when did she stop learning how to speak? She seems to be struggling on Bloomberg discussing Apple...
“The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.” George Bernard Shaw
Nice 3 minute and change clip below. Ether Dyson on Health/Healthcare
The ecological, economic, and personal satisfaction one achieves after buying a Vespa scooter. Vespanomics promotes embracing motor scooters as an alternative form of transportation to reduce oil consumption, pollution and traffic congestion.
Saw this on Bloomberg in Sao Paulo Hotel after great late lunch.
Carville never ceases to amuse me, Love or hate him he always evokes a response. This time a smile...
I got to meet him and his wife when I was at Microsoft several years back when the Tablet came out. I had them sign my Tablet, and Mary said, "oh like at Target...." :)
The video is James going off on the Fareed (he's right). Watch it the first time for James and watch it the second time just watching Mary's response next to him. A classic dynamic.
Below is an insert from Rolling Stone's Tim Dickinson interview with James
Rolling Stone (RS): First Katrina, now BP. Do you have any theories about why the Gulf region keeps having such bad luck?
James Carville (JC): I don’t have a theory, I have an ironclad fact - and the fact is shitty engineering. If you put shoddy, half-assed engineers in a volatile place, the results are going to be disastrous.
RS: So what should Obama have done from Day One?
JC: If FDR had been president, he would've jumped out of his wheelchair and RAN to the Louisiana. It's the perfect display of why this country needs the Democratic Party- and it sure needs a more invigorated one than this. If the Democratic Party is not standing up for 11 workers murdered by a multinational corporation, not to mention tens of thousands of fishermen, then why have we one? Just reset the whole deal- I'm serious.
RS: So [Obama] should have gone after BP more aggressively?
JC: I want this coast rebuilt, and if it bankrupts BP, fine. Frankly, I would also consider firing Ken Salazar. Take some responsibility. Say, ‘Enough wasn’t done. This is a new day.’
RS: Should this be the end of drilling in the Gulf?
JC: I'm not anti-drilling. I just want it to be well regulated. I'm not anti-flying, either, but I damn sure want planes to be safe.
RS: How do you make drilling safe, given the oil industry’s influence over regulators?
JC: Criminal prosecution. There’s nothing that will make a company safer than watching another CEO in handcuffs. If that happens. you'll have hotels on drilling rigs, they'll be so safe.
RS: Why do you think the president took so long to call in the justice department?
JC: I have no idea, I really don't. Every law professor I talk to says, "look, you have a slam-dunk criminal case on the environmental stuff." Not to mention manslaughter and negligent homicide. This president, the day he does that, I'll lead a parade for him. That's the only way that we're going to get justice here. I can tell you right now, Mr. Tony Hayward, the CEO of BP, will not fare well in a Louisiana prison, if you get my drift. He'll have three cellmates: Studly, Muley and Big Boy.
RS: Is this Obama’s Katrina, as some critics have charged?
JC: There’s nothing that Obama’s done that’s close to what Bush did after Katrina, in terms of detachment and negligence. But I’m still not happy with the response. ‘Better than Bush’ is not a sufficient answer to me.
Also interesting is this interview of Troy Aikman and Jean-Michel Cousteau, President of Ocean Futures Society, I stumbled onto in the hotel while working in Winston Salem a few weeks back. While there is surely a capitalistic slant to this, frankly who would care if people made money to try to solve the issue. It could be contractually based on performance.
Its scary when Neil is making sense to me "why not any and all takers"
In all things Gulf and New Orleans based, Treme's 1st season is over and lets hope it continues. I really got into it. It was the right mix of good acting/writing, regional focus, music, and drama. Tammy wasn't a big fan but she doesn't have the music bug as much as I do.
...Jumpin' and having fun....
Since we are in America lets close by trying to solve everything with a T-Shirt
This is pretty heavy both in terms of cinematography and sonic structure. I have been reading where people are whining about M.I.A. alienating old fans but I say go for it sonically.
Her "outsider" image is a "put on" (crafted like nearly 100% of all artists - either by them directly or their label) and coupled with the snobbery of the NYT outing it, who cares really? Its a false debate that plays straight to the media hype and exposure for both parties (artist and the press).
I wouldn't give M.I.A. the time of day for political stance or image cuz' I'm not dumb or 16 but I pay attention to the sound in terms of talent and innovation, and this get a thumbs up in my lil' corner. Dilpo is replaced by Rusko in the new world, but we get basically an updated version of the past as both are great beat makers, this time w/o the lovers spat :)
My Radio
VA Dub
Eno
Raveonettes
Answer
No Line
Mos Def
EWH
Joss
Tackhead
Stephen Stills
ArtyFacts
COB
Quintet
Inherent Vice
Chord Bible
Catch-22
Exile on Main Street
Word Virus
Jacques Cousteau
