We’re putting our brains into neutral, and revving the engine. We’re digitally dithering, clicking on links and swimming through a torrent of useless garbage being thrown at us by idiots and self-promoters, pundits and PR flacks and marketing people.
We’re immersing ourselves in games like Farmville and Mafia Wars, obsessing about earning energy packs, spending billions of dollars on virtual gardening tools.
We’re turning the world around us into a videogame, using sites like Foursquare to tell our friends where we’re eating lunch, and competing to see who can become “mayor” of some restaurant.
Meanwhile, in the midst of all this, Glenn Beck has become an influential television commentator, and Sarah Palin is a credible candidate for president in 2012. You think this is a coincidence?
No way. What’s happening is this: we are being so overwhelmed by the noise and junk zooming past us that we’re becoming immune to it. We’ve become a nation of Internet-powered imbeciles, with an ever-lower threshold for inanity.
My wife and I were pleasantly surprised when we went into the Verizon store and found the price had dropped on their Gateway 3G LT2016U netbook.
$29 after a $100 mail-in rebate. Of course you have to get the data plan. Sure, an iPad would have been nice but when you have to run Microsoft office, Bob’s your uncle.
With Li-Ion batteries, you’ve got to discharge them three or four times to condition them. I ran it for 6.5 hours on the first recharge cycle. It might even get better!
So, some details that I like:
- 3G - but also has a SIM slot so you can travel internationally.
- SD card slot
- It’s upgradable to 2 Megs of memory.
What I don’t care for, I can’t control. Here it is:
For $29, I can wait for Apple and Verizon to get together. Evidently, both Apple and Verizon think that it’s not in their customer’s best interests to get something going together. Customers want it - badly. Perhaps at a a premium. This is one case where the voice of the customer is heard but not acted upon.
Can’t believe getting up the oil would be so simple!
Bobo, our 14-week old Golden Retriever pup.
Ya gotta love landing pages like this…
$1.2B for Palm?
I’m confused by it. Here’s why:
- Does HP need a SmartPhone play to extend their platform? Make a larger dent in the Unified Communications segment perhaps?
- While everyone knows about Palm’s ability to innovate, their ability to sell has been the problem.
- Lastly, my rule: 2 or 3, max 5 (see an earlier post). To me, that’s Apple & Rim with HTC and Android hot on their tails.
