10 Interesting Links From March 20th
March 21st, 2009
- 5 Ways ‘Common Sense’ Lies To You Everyday | Cracked.com – Albert Einstein said common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by the age of 18. It is also a result of some pervasive and extremely stupid logical fallacies that have become embedded in the human brain over generations, for one reason or another. These malfunctioning thoughts–several of which you've had already today–are a major cause of everything that's wrong with the world.
- Electronista | Microsoft to challenge iPhone on price – Microsoft chief Steve Ballmer in an interview Thursday revealed the company's current approach to competing with rivals, particularly Apple. The executive noted he believes that Apple may have difficulties as smartphones gain market share as the iPhone is relatively expensive to make. Where Ballmer estimated that an iPhone costs about $500 before factoring in carrier subsidies, he saw the "sweet spot" as being phones that have a pure cost between $150 and $200, which are more likely to include Windows Mobile.
- The Associated Press: Post office offering early out, cutting managers – Battered by the economy, the post office is offering early retirement to 150,000 workers, cutting management and closing offices, the agency said Friday.
The Postal Service lost $2.8 billion last year and is facing even larger losses this year, despite a rate increase — to 44 cents for first-class mail — scheduled to take effect May 11.
The agency said it will reduce management staff nationwide by 15 percent, with more than 1,400 processing, supervisor and management posts at 400 facilities being eliminated.
And another 150,000 postal workers will be offered early retirement. - Remembering the TAM – Our friend Hadley Stern at Apple Matters reminds us that that on this day in 1997 the Twentieth Anniversary Mac (or TAM) was offered for sale to a mystified public. Originally slated to sell for about U.S. $9,000 it was reduced at introduction to U.S. $7499.00. It was delivered and set up by a concierge, and at the time it was pretty radical, at least in looks. It was a thin, upright design, with an 800×600 LCD screen, a TV Tuner, and a Bose Audio system with a sub-woofer and power supply that sat under your desk.
Only 12,000 were made, but many remained unsold. The price soon dropped to $3500.00 and in March of 1998 it was closed out at $1999.00. That outraged original owners, and Apple responded by giving them a new Apple laptop.
- Pam Martens: Has a Comedian Just Saved America? – As testimony to how Orwellian life has become under the outrages of Wall Street hubris, last week saw a comedian, who poses as an anchor on a fake news show, grab the reins of the Wall Street investigation from the actual investigators in Congress.
Either Jon Stewart is the smartest man in America or he has incredible instincts. In a week’s time, he has zeroed in, like a heat-seeking missile, on the core of Wall Street’s malady. How insightful of Stewart, host of Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show,” to rationalize that the core of Wall Street’s corruption might well be the same core that it has drawn the darkest curtain around: trading.
- Highways to Nowhere: The 7 Most Ridiculous New Roads Being Built With Stimulus Money » INFRASTRUCTURIST – At a White House gathering last week, both Barack Obama and Joe Biden warned America’s governors not to squander stimulus funds on ill-conceived infrastructure projects. “Six months from now,” Biden said, “if the verdict on this effort is that we’ve wasted the money, we built things that were unnecessary, or we’ve done things that are legal but make no sense, then, folks, don’t look for any help from the federal government for a long while.”
- Apple’s Delays Could Cost iPhone Developer $600K | Gadget Lab from Wired.com – Eric Thomas, CEO of FreedomVoice Systems, told staff this week that the company is ceasing indefinitely any work on an iPhone voice app, called Newber, because Apple will neither accept it nor reject it. FreedomVoice has so far invested $600,000 and more than half a year in the app.
"We followed all guidelines set by Apple throughout the development process and have never received comment from Apple as to why the Newber application has still not even been reviewed," Thomas wrote in a letter to FreedomVoice staff, provided to Wired.com. "Steve Jobs hailed the App Store as, 'the best deal going to distribute applications to mobile platforms.' Our experience is that it is the worst deal going." - Actually Delicious Turkey Burgers – Allrecipes – 3 pounds ground turkey
1/4 cup seasoned bread crumbs
1/4 cup finely diced onion
2 egg whites, lightly beaten
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper - Sony, Ericsson: Better Off Alone? – Forbes.com – Why are Japan's Sony and Sweden's Ericsson still together? On Friday, their mobile-phone joint venture warned of yet another quarterly loss, in the range of $475.6 to $543.6 million, on the back of some pretty dismal quarterly unit sales. Given that there is not much technological rationale for network-supplier Ericsson to stick with its consumer-electronics pal Sony, and even fewer financial benefits, it might be better off for the company if the two went their separate ways.
- Fannie: Cutting Bonuses May Derail Housing Recovery – washingtonpost.com – The government-appointed chief executive of Fannie Mae warned this morning that legislation in Congress to severely tax bonuses could imperil the Obama administration's housing recovery program.
"I am deeply concerned that eliminating our retention plan would jeopardize our ability to fulfill the mission the Government has given us to address the housing crisis, including the Administration's Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan that so many of you have been working nights and weekends to carry out," Fannie Mae chief executive Herbert Allison wrote in an internal message to employees this morning.
Related Items:
Sidelights on RelativityAn Unabridged Edition of Addresses: Ether and the Theory of Relativity/Geometry and Experience (1920/1921) with Original Illustrations
CaseCrown iPhone 3G 3GS Soft Polycarbonate Slim-Fit Case (Black)Snap on this CaseCrown Apple iPhone 3G 3GS Polycarbonate case to provide your iPhone stylish protection. This case is made from premium polycarbonate ... Read More >
Categories: News And Links Albert Einstein, Common Sense Is The Collection Of Prejudices, Early Retirement, First Class Mail, Gain Market Share, Hadley Stern, Human Brain, iPhone, Logical Fallacies, Management Posts, Management Staff, Mdash, Microsoft Chief, Postal Service, Postal Workers, Processing Supervisor, Rate Increase, Steve Ballmer, Sweet Spot, Twentieth Anniversary Mac
Recent Comments