I’ve always admired Pete Townshend’s intellect. He’s right on here.
… Townshend proposed that Apple should become more hands-on with the musicians who use its online shop instead of just sitting back and collecting an “enormous” 30 percent commission. …
Townshend advised Apple to hire 20 A&R people from the “dying record business” who could essentially listen to and critique new artists, grooming them for future success. …
Apple should also provide 500 free computers with music software each year to artists who stand out in the crowd, said Townshend. “Follow the work of these 500 artists very carefully and help where you can, and keep out of the way if necessary,” he advised. …
Apple’s spent all their energy out-profiting every competitor in every market they enter. As they (eventually) stop growing, it’s time to reinvest in each of those markets.
It’s a comfort to know that Apple products are only rarely discounted. You never need “shop”.
Friday is the BIGGEST sale of the year, however.
Apple famously keeps its Black Friday deals a closely guarded secret until the day of the event. But thanks to a leaked sales pamphlet from a “trusted tipster,” we already know where the Cupertino company will be slashing prices, with savings to be made on the iMac, MacBook Air and MacBook Pro, iPod nano and iPod touch, iPad, and plenty of accessories.
… Shoppers will save $101 on new Macs, including the iMac, the MacBook Air, and the MacBook Pro; $41-$61 on the iPad 2; $11 on both the 16GB and 32GB iPod nano, and $21-$41 on the iPod touch.
Apple has also thrown a ton of its own accessories into the sale, including $11 of the iPad 2”s Smart Cover; $11 off both the Apple Wireless Keyboard and Magic Trackpad; $5 off a $50 App Store/iTunes/iBookstore gift card; and money off the Time Capsule and AirPort base stations.
A shed-load of third-party accessories are also reduced, including iPhone and iPod touch cases, iPad docks and mounts, the new Jawbone Up, headphones, and cases and sleeves.
If you’re buying Apple gadgets or accessories for loved ones this Christmas, there’s no better time to buy than this Friday!
I paid for 1yr of Carbonite online back-up storage. Then quit as it was WAY TOO SLOW to be practical. (I’m back to using external hard drives.)
Now Apple is building in similar cloud back-ups. Will it work?
… I have not had the best experiences when experimenting with Lion Internet Recovery. One attempt to use it on my MacBook Air during the week when iOS 5, iCloud and the iPhone 4S launched resulted in a recovery, just for Mac OS X Lion, that was going to take well over nine hours to complete! Ouch. …
… recovering and restoring a computer to full working order could take up to two days …
My buddy Andy from Microsoft showed me an unreleased version in August. So I knew they would be cool.
Quite different, too, from Apple and Android.
Here’s the first available commercially, I believe, though not in North America. You can order one in Europe, including the UK, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Spain.
If I actually use the device for navigation, email, social networking … I’ll want excellent syncing between phone and my MacBook Air. Not perfect, it looks like Apple is on the way to getting that working.
Leo Laporte, Om Malik, Robert Scoble, and John C. Dvorak
The first 3 are respected tech gurus. Dvorak’s there as a comic, contrary counterpoint. Here’s their advice:
• iPhone 4S is a winner — first as a replacement for you point-and-shoot camera. Still a great phone for regular folks. Tech geeks will be happier with the high end Androids. Look for the Nexus Prime with Ice Cream Sandwich to be launched next week.
• Kindle Fire (coming Nov. 15th) likely to be a loser, a poor competitor to the iPad. Instead get a $79 Kindle e-reader, the low end. A perfect Christmas present.
It costs $109 if you want NO ADS on that same cheap device. … I’m not sure how well it works around the world. Check first before you buy one if you’re not living in the States.
• huge fight looming between Facebook & Google. Many already spend most of their time in Facebook … when they can SEARCH and WATCH TV / Movies in Facebook, they’ll never need to leave.
• the future of watching what you want, when you want, online is still up in the air. Another looming battle.
• Microsoft bought Skype. The gurus have no confidence that’s going to work. Competitors could beat Skype.
Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.
… When I was 17, I read a quote that went something like: “If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you’ll most certainly be right.” It made an impression on me, and since then, for the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: “If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?” …
… Townshend proposed that Apple should become more hands-on with the musicians who use its online shop instead of just sitting back and collecting an “enormous” 30 percent commission. …
Rick McCharles 