I finally had a few minutes to articulate some of my reasons why I feel that Apple (and Avid, earlier) felt that they no longer needed to go to NAB. While some people have argued that there is no substitute for face-to-face time with a human at NAB before making a purchase, it seems that Avid and Apple don't think so. Neither do I, and in my latest article here at the COW, I spell out some of the reasons that this opinion seems to be taking root around our industry. One of the most compelling reasons is that every year NAB continues to increase the cost to the companies who exhibit at NAB.
I just listened to COW leader Aharon Rabinowitz's commentary that ran on NPR. In it, he explores how human beings create one of the most insidious forms of computer virus, the "let's forward a warning about a new virus to all our friends and associates" strand.
I had to chuckle at some of the points that Aharon expresses in his four minute commentary in which he uses analogies drawn from sex education classes in school.
But in the end, it's something that I was thinking of forwarding along as a link to all my friends and associates that think they need to email me every time a new virus comes out. If you are one of these friends, here's the link...
Someone sent me a link to a blog written by a writer named Karen who has her own blog at wordsforhire.blogspot.com. In it, she uses my article "Clients or Grinders: The Choice Is Yours" as the jumping-off point to show how some businesses suffer what she calls "welfare mindedness." Her article is quite insightful and I am honored and flattered that my piece inspired her to write her own ideas, found in the article you can read here.
I have been meaning to get over to the blogs and add my reflections on the recent Genesis reunion tour. I've been a longtime fan of Genesis since the days when Peter Gabriel fronted the band. And I am one of those people who actually thought that Genesis was better (at least on "A Trick of the Tail" and "Wind & Wuthering") without Peter Gabriel, and that Peter was better without Genesis -- well, some of the time, anyway. So, when I learned that Genesis was hitting the road again, I immediately set out to get tickets and secured two tickets for the San Jose show and two for their first night at the Hollywood Bowl.
We recently moved eastward across the coast mountains, inland 30 miles or so, to the wine country of Paso Robles, California. This, after living for 20 years on the California coast in Cambria. We loved Cambria but its 340 days a year of temperatures that range no lower than about 50 degrees fahrenheit (at night), with a high of 72 degrees fahrenheit in the day -- again, for 340 days a year -- is the perfect breeding ground for mold and fungus. Did I mention that I am allergic to mold and fungus?
The latest iteration of the Creative COW website is well under way and I have to say that it's the first time in many years that I have logged into the COW and haven't hated the way it looks. I always meant to come back to it and get it done but couldn't find the time. So, last April, I gave it a minor overhaul but that was just a band-aid on a car wreck victim.
Well, at long last, the COW has a new interface. It's been a long time coming and it's way overdue. I had gotten to where I just couldn't bear to look at the site anymore. The new look is far more balanced and in keeping with the whole idea and spirit of the COW. I am happier than you can imagine to see it as it had worn on my nerves for quite a long time but we were just too busy to deal with it. It finally just got to the point where I told Tim that I was going to just have to do it because it was more than I could bear anymore. When we designed the original COW, Eric, Kathlyn and I did it all -- aesthetics and mechanics -- in under two weeks, total.
If Amazon has a rocket and PayPal has a rocket, then Google's Larry Page wants to outdo them both. He's hiring for his new lunar lab but hurry, the hiring is one day only, today.
When I first saw the iPhone previewed by Steve Jobs during his keynote at last January's Macworld Expo, I had a sneaking suspicion that I had seen that interface before. In fact, I told Tim Wilson, "Man, that interface looks just like the one that is over at the TED conferences..." that I had sent Tim a link to the summer before.
As we get to the finish line on the new pre-NAB issue of Creative COW Magazine, the thought hit me this morning that this is really quite an amazing ride. When we started building web-based community sites back in June of 1995, we would not have dared dream that this would be happening in 2007.
