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Author Archives: Jeremy Toeman

2008 Holiday Gift Guide (part 1)

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Grinch or no grinch, tis the season to be shopping.  In some sectors, the next 30 days represent more sales than the entire rest of the year combined.  I’ve decided to put together the first of at least one posts on what stuff I’d recommend buying this year (although the best recommendation I could possibly make is donating gift money to charity instead of buying more stuff we don’t actually need). I’ll give a major disclaimer by saying some of the products here I have a personal affiliation with (which shouldn’t be too much of a surprise, as I tend to get involved with things I like).

Most Versatile Gift:  Flip MinoHD ($229 on Amazon).
With the massive surge in personal video creation and HDTV, having an inexpensive, reliable, easy-to-use personal HD recorder just makes sense.  The Flip is a great product, works exactly as advertised, and is probably new to most people you’d buy it for (here’s a hint: if the recipient sends you a lot of HD videos already, don’t buy this for them).  You can also customize it with your own picture/design!

Most Practical Gift: External USB hard drive (numerous options).
With every passing year your likelihood of losing data to a hard drive crash increases.  If you know anyone who is not doing regular backups, shell out $99 (or less) and fix that problem.  Backup ain’t exciting, but losing data is just dumb.

For a Music-Lover: TuneUp Media for iTunes ($19.95)
Anyone who spends hours making playlists or using their iPhone at the gym, on the bus, etc, has dealt with the issue of missing or incorrect song information.  TuneUp fixes it, pure and simple.  Note: I have a professional relationship with TuneUp.

Simple Sleek, Sexy Storage is a Smart Stocking Stuffer: SuperTalent Pico USB Flash Drives (more info here)
Yeah, it’s hard to make a flash drive “sexy” but this as close as they come (plus check out that awesome alliteration!).  Check it out in 12 seconds:


SuperTalent 8GB Pico USB Drive on 12seconds.tv

For Your Programmer Friend: Bug Labs’ BUGbundle ($629)
If you have someone in your life who spends their days (and probably nights) coding, introduce them to the BUG.  Think of it as a Heathkit on Steroids (maybe Congress should investigate that one?).  Note: I have a professional relationship with Bug Labs.

For anyone living in a disaster-prone region: Medis Powerpack ($33.95 – you may need to buy more tips)
This is a fuel cell system good for charging your cell phone.  My wife and I have one in our emergency kit, and it seems like something virtually everyone should have available in times of need.  Here’s a quick video intro to it:


Testing the Medis 24-7 Power Pack on 12seconds.tv

For those of us exhausted by acting as tech support for our parents: Macbooks or Mac Minis (good Black Friday item)
I’ve lost almost 2 hours of my life trying to get my dad on Skype with his webcam.  My mom still has issues with simple photo sharing.  I’m pretty sure that if I were to add up my billable rate against the time I’ve spent debugging stupid technology issues that are all related to driver issues, I could’ve bought them both Macs and still showed a profit on it.

For a Gamer: Astro Gaming A40 Headset ($199)
When I was a teenager, my mom bought me Reebok Pump shoes to help me get better at basketball.  Needless to say, it was a poor investment.  With more and more video gamers turning their hobbies into potential careers, there’s actually some equipment that could help make the difference.  These headphones are crazy good, and have a lot of extra features for those who taking their gaming seriously.

For an Internet Video Maniac: Boxee on AppleTV ($250)
boxee.tv is a “social” media center (imagine Windows Media Center meets Facebook, only with less throwing sheep).  AppleTV is an underperforming media center device that hooks up to your HDTV.  boxee.tv + AppleTV is pure joy, but requires a fairly complex hack.  Not anymore, these guys’ll do it for you, and just send you a preconfigured unit.  Note: I have a professional relationship with boxee.tv (and I can get you invites).

Weirdest Gadget I can find that someone might actually like: Orbitsound T3 (not sure if they ship to US directly)
The company calls it a Mobile Stereo Speaker, I think it’s the modern boombox (notebuying something someone already has.  Happy shopping, and don’t forget to check out the sales this Friday!

Lack of Trust key to eBay's decline

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I read on The Technologizer that eBay is suffering from a drop in visitors (SAI has some more stats too).  This comes as no surprise to me, as I believe eBay has abandoned its core over the years.

eBay is one of those “the community really matters” success stories.  The company slowly and steadily built a community around niche products, antiques, hard-to-find stuff, collectibles, etc.  eBay was so successful that neither Yahoo nor Amazon could even dabble in the space.

But that was a few years ago, and many things have changed.  For one, we have a whole new generation of Internet users.  The “millenials” are less likely to seek out collectibles or memorabilia, as they’ve been brought up with the Internet right at their side.  An old Sega Genesis kit is much less exciting to a 25-year-old than an Atari 2600 is to a 35-year-old.

More relevant to the decline in eBay traffic is the erosion of trust for the brand.  As the company served the needs of its shareholders, instead of its users, it catered to the bottom line.  And that bottom line meant foregoing the concept of nurturing the community, and instead to increased sales and transactional revenue.  Which, in turn, means less value is placed on the individual seller, and a higher value to the institutional or semi-pro seller.

When faced with the challenge of selling my Vaio (now $1000, want it? anyone?  I’m throwing in the docking station too!), my wife and I initially turned to eBay.  We put up a fairly standard listing, but have a zero rating.  We had a handful of inquiries, every one of them turned out to be a scammer (including one who very cleverly had establish a history of 35 items purchased, but as I checked I realized they were all under $5).  Similarly, I’m going to assume we had no other offers due to our 0 rating.  I’m trying again now.

The above experience is the core problem of eBay today.  It works for power sellers, and is probably still just fine for the collectibles and hobbyists.  But “regular people” trying to sell decent-sized items are unable to leverage the millions of people who use eBay.  It’s almost off-limits to us.  I actually found the process more daunting and nerve-wracking than experimenting with Priceline and playing Call of Duty 4 on Xbox Live with 12-year-olds.

As I’ve polled my friends and peers, many have expressed similar doubts and concerns.  “eBaying it” is no longer the action verb it once was, and if a company loses it’s position as brand-category, it’s in trouble. Their stock price is down over 50% this year alone (I sure hope nobody takes that one too seriously, but hey, it’s the Internet).

The interesting thing to me here is the opportunity.  I think eBay could easily rebuild, but they’ll have to make some tough decisions.  I also think it’s a great time for another brand to attempt to enter the online auction market (you’ve got to lock that down!), with an emphasis on trusted sellers and buyers, integrated community selling (I tried importing my sale into my facebook account, but it was very non-obvious and failed miserably), and empowering individuals.

How to Use Social Media to Get Hired

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I hate the term “social media”, but I didn’t really want to write a post entitled “How to Use Blogs, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, social networking, Google Search, Craigslist, and other Web sites to Get Hired.”  It just didn’t have a good ring to it.

The last time my consulting firm put out a job opening (on Craigslist and LinkedIn) we received a few hundred emailed resumes.  We phone-screened about 25 of these resumes (and I left some advice for the other 375), met 8 people in person, and hired none of them.

As the firm is hiring again (haven’t listed it yet, but similar to this description), I thought I’d give some tips to anyone out there in need of a job. First, pay more attention to the Jobwire from RWW and WebWare “spreadsheet of sunshine” (as opposed to the doom-and-gloom purveyors, who aren’t really helping anybody with their efforts).  Second, look for jobs on craigslist and LinkedIn, they are excellent resources.

Braindead Easy Stuff
These are the things you’re supposed to be doing.  In other words, if you come in my office and haven’t done all of this, you will not get hired.

  • Read the last 2-5 entries of the company blog and/or press releases.
  • Do a Google Search, Google News Search, and Google Blog Search for the company.
  • If the company makes a product, read reviews of that product, and be familiar with its current prices, offerings, etc.  If the company makes many products, be generally familiar with them.  Use Amazon to see user ratings of product(s).
  • Check to see if the company uses any social networking services (e.g. MySpace or Facebook Fan page), communities, twitters, etc.  If so, read through some recent content.
  • If the company has a page that profiles employees, read about them.  Ditto for a “clients” page.
  • Be very ready to talk about what the company specifically does as a business!  One of my first questions tends to be “so what do you think we do here?”, and while I don’t expect anyone to say it as well as I would, I expect them to roughly get it.
  • Make sure all your “social profiles” are job-ready.  Get the photos of you throwing up at the frat party off your MySpace page, and make sure your last few blog posts, twitters, and status updates aren’t embarassing.  While you should always “be yourself”, you don’t necessarily need to be all of yourself all the time (hint: it’s like dating – I didn’t tell my wife-to-be that I waited in line for 7 hours to see LOTR the first midnight showing on our first date).

Smart Moves
Here are some simple things you can do that will probably help your chances with any interviewer.  None are mandatory, but help a good candidate stand out from the dreck.

  • Comment (thoughtfully – don’t just suck up) on a recent blog post.  No need to leave a comment on all the blog posts, but one or two is a good move.
  • Try to get a list of who you might be meeting with before you come in.  Read their Facebook and LinkedIn pages before the interview.  Caution: don’t be stalkery, and if you don’t know the difference, you probably should skip this one.
  • Figure out if any of the people you are interviewing with blog, and if so, read it too!
  • If the company has a Web service, use it before you come in (that one’s probably a given).  Have some feedback to share (and it doesn’t have to be all rosy and good either).

Double Ninja Maneuvers
These are the things that I think can make a difference, but must be handled differently for every situation.

  • Send a Tweet to the company’s twitter account (or individual’s) before/after your interview.  There’s no “rule” to the content, but a cleverly handled message can be impactful.
  • Thank everyone you met by email.  You could send written cards too, depending on the length of interviews (I wouldn’t do it for someone you only spent 10-15 minutes with).  If you go down this path, your window of opportunity is 1 day, anything later is a big procrastiFAILnation.
  • Write a blog post about the interview.  Again, proceed with major caution, as any misstep here can cost you an opportunity.  That said, if you handle it right, it could also bring you the attention you want to show why you deserve the job.
  • “Follow” someone on any business or pseudo-business social sites.  Good ones: Twitter (and other microblogging sites, even though nobody else actually uses them), FriendFeed, Digg, Upcoming, Google Reader.  Bad ones (more explanation below): Facebook, Last.FM (unless, of course, you are interviewing at a music-oriented startup), Flickr (ditto), etc.

Oh No You Didn’t!
Here are a couple of things you really shouldn’t do, either due to inappropriateness or other potential backlash.

  • Don’t “friend” someone.  It’s perfectly fine to add anyone you meet as a LinkedIn contact, but unless you know, for sure, that someone treats Facebook “friends” as a list of anyone/everyone they’ve ever encountered, don’t cross this potentially bad line.  By the way, sending a message via Facebook isn’t a bad thing – but then again, you do have their email address…
  • Make any negative remarks about the company/employees, in any digital environment, anywhere (and yeah, that includes email and IM).  If you felt the guy/gal you interviewed with was “a total tool”, that’s just fine, and you can tell your buddies in person and out loud, as opposed to in writing.  You’d be amazed how easily an email can get forwarded.  By the way, I’d also advise against ranting in public, this town of technology companies is really, really small, and you never know who you’re sharing a bus ride with.

I hope this is helpful.  For those who didn’t pick up on the recurring theme, it goes something like this: use the Internet to thoroughly research companies and individuals you are going to interview with, and mildly engage with them before and after the interview.  Then again, if that wasn’t obvious by now, you probably don’t want to interview with me.

Is It Time To Upgrade Your Gadget?

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Disclaimer: Please don’t throw out gadgets.  If your current gadget works, keep using it, or gift it to someone you know.  Nobody want it?  Donate it.  Just don’t throw em out – electronics waste is at an all-time high, and recent reports put a dubious spectre over the merits of recycling them.  Remember: you probably don’t need a new gadget, you probably just want one.

If you’re even close to being a “gadget guy” (gadget person?), you probable own: a laptop, MP3 player, digital camera, cell phone, bluetooth headset, gaming console, computer speakers, flatscreen TV, DVR, GPS, camcorder, DVD player, printer, router, and possibly more.  Some of the gadgets we’ve bought over the years are still holding up just fine, others (like your Startac) probably get you a little teasing from time to time.  Here’s a handy little guide to help you decide what you may want to pick up this holiday season (black friday anyone?).

  • MP3 player (with hard drive): I still swear by my Rio Karma as the best one ever made, but it really is out of date.  If you are constantly erasing music just to make room for other mixes, you could probably do with a newer unit.
  • MP3 player (flash memory): Pretty much the same rule of thumb as above.  Also, instead of just rushing out to buy an iPod, take a look at the new Sansa units too.  And then buy an iPod.
  • Digital camera: This is probably a good “needs an update” category.  I recommend having something in the 5-8 megapixel range, with image stabilization.  Beyond that is really unnecessary for a point-and-click camera (and I’m no DSLR expert, so you should check out Thomas Hawk’s blog for better advice)
  • Cell phone: Aside from vanity factor, if your phone makes calls, has good coverage and good battery life, and can send/receive text messages, there’s no need to upgrade.  If you aren’t in high school, your cell phone doesn’t make you cool, and there’s nothing “unique” about having an iPhone…
  • Bluetooth headset: if people constantly say to you “are you on your stupid headset?” then you might want to think about an upgrade. I recommend picking a retailer that will let you return it, so you can try something til you like it.  The Jawbone and Sound ID headsets are my two picks if you need a recommendation.
  • Gaming console: If your console rhymes with “ShmeamCast”, “Jimtendo 64”, “Naystation 2”, “Bolecovision” or “Henesis”, you need to upgrade.  Get an Xbox 360.
  • DVD player: You should have an upscaling DVD player, you do not need Blu-Ray (and never will).
  • Flatscreen TV: If you have a HDTV display, you are still good.  No need for 1080p (yet, maybe next year this’ll start to change, but that’s pretty doubtful).
  • GPS: If you don’t have one, get a Nuvi.  If you do have one, enjoy.
  • Camcorder: Unless you have some very specific purpose, the new Flip MinoHD is probably the most awesomest thing you can get.  That said, your digital camera probably does a good enough job as it is for most personal use short videos.
  • DVR/Set-top box: If it supports HD, you’re all set.  If it doesn’t, call your cable company, get an upgrade.
  • Backup Device: YOU MUST HAVE A BACKUP HARD DRIVE FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!  Get a spare USB HDD or a ReadyNAS (or other) for your network, and use it!
  • Laptop: If you have my Vaio, try to sell it.  If your laptop is more than 3 years old, and a few keys fell off the keyboard, it’s probably due for a replacement.  I recommend the 2nd-to-the-bottom-end MacBook, and I’m sure there are some good Windows options these days, but I don’t know what they are.
  • Printer: If printing something out sounds eerily reminiscent of a loose fanbelt from a 1972 Oldsmobile, go get a new inexpensive printer.
  • Router: 802.11g is a must have.  I’m trying out the D-Link DIR-855 now, but also like the NETGEAR Rangemax line.  For the “go-to workhorse reliable easy-to-use router”, I recommend the Linksys WRT54G.

Any other recommendations I should add to the list?

Vaio Laptop For Sale

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Laptop in handNope, it’s not a joke or some cleverly worded piece of subterfuge, I’m selling my Vaio. For those of you who have followed, I’ve had some great times, followed by some terrible times, followed by some great times again with Vaios. But we’re going to move to a desktop at home (read: gaming PC), and we don’t have any family members who need any laptops, and I certainly don’t want to try to “recycle” it. So I’m turning to the community (since it’s impossible to sell a laptop on eBay anymore).

It’s the Sony Vaio VGN-SZ460N (full specs here).  I bought it new approximately 17 months ago for $2500, and I believe $1100 is a fair price for it relative to current generation laptops.  It’s in perfect condition, and comes with Ed Bott’s awesome Vista installation (in other words, better than how it was shipped to me!).  I’m also including a docking station for it.

If you’re interested, please leave me a comment or otherwise get in touch.

LIVEdigitally Alum Launches Site for Crowdfunded Journalism

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When I first met David Cohn he was a wee lad, writing for Wired magazine and looking to expand his opportunities. He wrote many wonderful (and some not-so-wonderful) blog posts here, such as Internet Radio To-Go, Rsstroom for the Restroom, Writing in Pajamas, Wine Tech, Digital Art, Very Small DJs and of course, as nobody will forget, Digital Hugs.

Dave’s gone on great journeys since his days at LD, got himself a degree, worked with various citizen journalism projects, and let his hair go way out. And today he launched Spot.us, a “crowdfunded journalism” site (disclosure: I’m an advisor to the site, but it’s a non-profit, so it’s cool).

Basically, if you have a cause/concern/issue you think is worthy of some investigative journalism, and are willing to put a bit of money toward it (think $10 or $25, not $1000), spot.us is the place for you. I’ve submitted 4 tips so far (Why are San Francisco city streets in such poor condition?, How effective are the homeless shelter resources?, Why Aren’t There More MUNI Express Buses? and Is swimming in the Bay actually safe?), and one of them has already been “picked up” by a journalist!

This is the 2nd half to spot.us – journalists can either read through “tips” (written by concerned folks like myself) or simply “pitch” stories they are interested in writing about. So the pitch “How safe are San Francisco Bay beaches and water a year after the Cosco Busan oil spill?” is now up for crowdfunding. As I write this, it’s received pledges for $360, and the reporter is asking for a total of $800 to do the work.

Will this replace journalism as we know it today?  That’s a big TBD, but in an industry with massive flux and consternation (love that word), it’s exciting to watch new options emerge.  Good luck, Dave!

Can the Government Please Hire Tony Fadell to Build Voting Machines?

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Who’s Tony Fadell?  The guy who built the iPod.

What’s wrong with voting machines (just in case you really needed to ask)?  Everything.

So let’s think about the criteria of a good voting machine, and put it in context to an iPod…

  • Voting Machines must be secure. The iPod is a very secure device, it even satisfies the criteria to make the content industry (including the RIAA) happy.  If those draconian organizations can sign-off on the device, I believe it’s safe to say Tony and crew can make a safe & secure voting machine.
  • Voting Machines must be reliable. The current generation of iPods are able to play music, videos, and games, and are extensible to an external developer community.  Granted there are third-party applications which can cause some issues on an iPod (touch/phone), but we are dealing with an extreme case.  Considering there won’t be any plug-ins or apps for a voting machine, it seems like Tony knows how to build a reliable enough device to work perfectly for a single day of the year!
  • Voting Machines must be easy to use. There are roughly 3 use-cases for a voting machine: (1) choose one of several options; (2) choose multiple of several options; (3) choose options in a ranked/cascading order.  There are a few other minor features, such as entering personal/private data, confirming selection, etc.  I think it’s pretty safe to say that an iPod (especially when you include iTunes) has many more features, many more complex features, and is a fairly easy to use device.

Per the link above, Tony Fadell left Apple to spend more family time, which I totally respect.  With 2 years until the next election, and 4 years until the next presidential election, it seems like we have a pretty good runway to build something much better than our current system.  Also, I have to assume that the US Government would probably be a lot less demanding than Mr Jobs, which should give Tony plenty of time with the kids!

How the Internet Defeated the McCain Campaign

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My wording here is very deliberate, and I want to explain briefly why.  Back in 2000, as a Canadian citizen (with US Green Card), I watched the elections, but didn’t pay all that much attention.  At the time, I hoped for Gore to win, but I really liked John McCain and became forever resentful to GWB for his tactics in the primaries.  Now, as an American citizen (dual), I paid more attention, but it wasn’t until the announcement of Sarah Palin as running mate that I actually became engaged with politics.  As I began my research, both backward into the history of the candidates and in “real-time” dealing with timely issues, I quickly noticed a separation of John McCain, the man who ran for president in 2000 and 2008, and the McCain Campaign.

The McCain Campaign could be described as Rovian, full of attacks, negativity, and hate.  It selected Sarah Palin, an ambitious woman who appeals to a segment of America who somehow believe that education, success, and facts are less important than “being gutsy”.  Beyond Palin, the McCain Campaign ran ads proclaiming that Obama might be a terrorist, and if he’s not, he certainly pals around with them.  Other ads tried to scare Americans into believing Obama wanted to teach our children sex education in kindergarten, has questionable friends and allegiances, and might not be a US citizen.  It did more “spin” than a dreidel on the streets of Tel Aviv (is that a metaphor?  if not, it should be).  For as honorable a man as John McCain appeared to be, it was truly a shameful campaign.

And 8 or 12 years ago, they would’ve got away with it, if not for those meddling kids.  Thanks to the Internet, our ability to research and fact-check audacious claims was stronger than ever.  In fact, I’d argue that the Internet truly thwarted the McCain Campaign, which was clearly unprepared for the power of blogs (here’s my favorite), twitters, Google and youtube, digg, and social networks.

With the Internet at our hands, we as a nation of individuals were able to rapidly tear through the cleverly woven web of lies.  For every claim of “Obama had dinner with Khalidi”, the Internet had an answer, “McCain gave the guy $500K a few years earlier.”  And when these claimed attacks were revealed, they affected others by getting them more involved, more engaged, more active.

But the true defeat of the McCain Campaign by the Internet was the simple lack of a campaign.  When an attack ad was thwarted, or a debate claim debunked, McCain was rarely found making pro-active remarks.  As voters, we were being educated on what Obama was about (or more importantly, not about), but at no point were we given insight into McCain’s positions.

We heard words like maverick, but the Internet gave us voting records.

We were pitched on Palin as a reformed, but the Internet showed us her dubious use of finances in Alaska.

It took less than 20 hours for the Internet to reveal that a woman used a mirror to poorly scratch a backwards B in her face, despite other claims.

The Internet provided us with the information, and the people shared it across countless sites and services.  Now don’t get me wrong, there were plenty of lies spread as well (yes, Obama really is a citizen).  And I’m not saying Obama’s campaign was completely innocent either, plenty of attacks were made as well.  But for the most part Obama’s campaign represented Obama’s positions and politics.  Unfortunately for Mr. McCain, the McCain Campaign did not do the same.

Tonight, the senator gave an excellent concession speech.  I hope we remember him for his great services and the man he is, not the man his campaign made him out to be.

I also hope our politicians take warning from these results.  The era of politicians being able to say one thing while do another is at an end.  We the people are tired of the negativity, the fear, and the lies that politicians have perpetrated over the years.  The Internet was a major part of this election, and this is only the beginning.

Will the WePC be a Horse or a Camel?

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Community-powered development and brainstorming is an interesting challenge.  On one hand, you get exposure to more ideas and concepts than you can possibly get from an individual or small team.  On the other hand, the signal-to-noise ratio rapidly gets out of control, and depending on the level of empowerment, you get clumsy, hard-to-use, yet feature-rich products.  When I read about the WePC concept from Intel and ASUS, I started pondering what wisdom the crowds have to offer (thanks to BrianB for the image suggestion).

I’ll admit, I’m skeptical here.  First and foremost, the challenges of building any computer come back to the single element which seems to make/break good PCs today: the drivers.  No matter what excellent ideas come back from the crowd, someone has to come along and make outstanding drivers, otherwise they’ll have the kinds of problems with XP or Vista that I used to have with my Vaio (yeah, I went back to the Vaio, beaten horse it may be).

Next, we have a fundamental cost/performance issue.  I don’t think you need to be Jonathan Ives to say “people want lightweight, thin, exceptionally well-styled computers that are feature-rich and inexpensive”.  Draw a triangle with size/weight, features, and cost onto the axes (clumsily drawn to the right using this tool – which desperately needs help).  You can pick any TWO, but not all three.  But what do people want?  All three.

This brings us back down to unfortunate reality, where the “average” computers are cost-driven with basic features and basic size/weights.  Machines like eeePC or the Voodoo Envy or the MacBook Air are all targeting extreme edges of the combinations, but none of these laptops could’ve come from the committee – they are all horses.

That said, if the WePC effort helps give Asus a good handle on what their users may purchase, that’s great.  If it lets them further innovate in their product design, also great.  Companies like Dell and Bug Labs are both using their communities to help steer product direction, but not definitively decide it.  I think it’s a careful balancing act.

My hunch is the WePC’s will end up extremely similar to the existing product lines made by most notebook manufacturers today.  I hope I’m proven wrong, and we see some amazing innovations.  I’ll give Asus a lot of credit with their new products over the past few years, now let’s see where the crowd takes it.

Can the BlackBerry Storm Kill the iPhone?

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I saw a post entitled “Why BlackBerry Storm Is An iPhone (and G-1) Killer” and thought it needed a rebuttal. The post makes some very salient points on how it’s a good device, on good carriers, app store coming, etc. All good points. Now let me explain why I think those points are utterly irrelevant.

The iPhone (which I don’t own, for the record) is not compared to the BlackBerry on the same terms.  It’s not a portable email device, and it doesn’t want to be one.  To compare the two devices its more important to think about the decision-making that goes in to buying either device.

Business buy BlackBerries.  They will continue to do so.  Few businesses buy iPhones, this too will likely remain the same.  Accordingly we don’t need to take enterprise purchasing into account, as this market makes purchasing decisions based on price, security, integration, etc.  What we’re really talking about here is consumers.

Consumers who buy luxury goods are not buying things based on cold-hard fact comparison.  If you drink Grey Goose vodka or use Kiehl’s skincare products or purchase Infiniti cars, odds are pretty good you do a lot less “comparison shopping” than you do when buying mainstream products (btw, for more on this I recommend reading “Trading Up“).  The iPhone clearly falls into this category, people buy it for reasons that have little to do with technical specifications or even feature set (heck, they sold almost 8 million units before they launched the app store).

The iPhone has further achieved success because, frankly, it’s an amazing product (despite its inability to do video recording like my good ol Samsung UCH-740). It’s one of the best phones, best MP3 players, and overall best gadgets you can buy.  It doesn’t matter if the BlackBerry does “somewhat better” in almost any category, whether it’s web-surfing, email, or downloadable games.  Being “better” is far from good enough to beat the iPhone.

A recent survey showed that 22% of teens wanted an iPhone.  I don’t think these same teens are even remotely close to buying a BlackBerry (you know, like Dad uses at work).  There’s no sex appeal to the BlackBerry brand, and building a great device isn’t enough to turn it into a sexy one.  Just ask the HTC G1/Android phone that question (that thing is enough to make Nokia phones look sleek!).

The BlackBerry Storm seems like it’s going to be one heck of a BlackBerry.  Best one ever, no doubt.  Probably the best portable email device ever made.  And they will probably grab a good chunk of the existing BlackBerry market.  But kill the Iphone?  That gun’s not loaded yet, and it would take RIM years to create the combination of product/brand positioning to come even close.

Sonos + Pandora = 42

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My insufficiently geeky readers probably won’t get the 42 reference, so I’ll assume you read this reference before continuing. Of all the convergence I’ve seen that bridge gadgets with Web services, I think the implementation of Pandora’s free Internet radio service onto the Sonos music system is probably the best.   The single “snag” in the entire system is that you actually need to (1) have a Pandora account, and (2) own a Sonos.  If you don’t, I recommend correcting the situation immediately.

In a nutshell, Pandora works by building “radio stations” based on artists and/or tracks you like.  If you pick Frank Sinatra, boom, you have a Frank Sinatra Radio Station.  Add other artists, and create your Smooth Crooners Radio Station.  If you don’t get it yet, well, go to Pandora and set up an account, it is free after all.  The super delicious part of the story is how well they integrated with Sonos.

On your Sonos, you simply need to add your Pandora username/password, then you have access to virtually all Pandora features.  Key to it is how easy it is to use on the Sonos, including bookmarking content and creating new stations.  One of the softkey (programmable) buttons is labeled “ratings”, the other “Pandora”.

Click “ratings” to rapidly Like, Dislike, or Not hear a song for a month.  Perfectly logical, works just like Pandora on the Web does.  This feature is one of the key parts to how Pandora works – while you can’t specifically pick songs to play, the collaborative filtering system (recommendations) works extremely well.

The “pandora” button allows you to add the given song or artist to your current radio station, or build a new station based on the song/artist.  Again, this implementation is exactly how it should work.  Within minutes I created five different stations, all in different genres, with practically no effort.  You can similarly bookmark content to retrieve later at pandora.com.

I’ve ripped my 800+ CD collection into MP3.  We have access to tons of other streaming Internet content.  I can say without hesitation that 90% of my Sonos listening will now be over Pandora (and my new house has 7 Sonos zones planned).  Amazing job to both companies.  BTW, Sonos also introduced an iPhone app, but since I’m not an iPhone guy I’ll let the pro’s talk about how great that is instead…