Archive for September, 2009
Drawing the line(0)
Kris has decided to impose a limit for himself as a way to jump-start his stalled job search: Read the rest of this entry »
Why Is Google Mailing Me Coupons?(9)
Over the weekend at home, my wife received just about the last thing I ever expected to get from Google: A coupon in the mail. I’ve posted photos of it above. The envelope also contained a helpful brochure explaining how Google AdWords works. Pictures of that are also above.
We were both surprised and amused. Google using snail mail to send me a discount? Huh?
Here’s a couple thoughts on why I find this so odd. And I’ve submitted questions about the offer to the Google press office and will include any response I get here. Read the rest of this entry »
Bringing you the latest fashion news … from HP(0)
We figure most people aren’t reading this blog for scoops on haute couture (did we spell that correctly?), but what the heck: Contacts at Hewlett-Packard tell us that designer Vivienne Tam will introduce her latest tech offering, the “HP Vivienne Tam digital clutch,” this Saturday as part of Fashion Week in New York.
Some of you may recall that HP created a buzz last year when it introduced a mini-notebook computer with a striking red floral design on the exterior, created by Tam. Looking somewhat like a stylish purse, it was marketed toward fashion-conscious women who didn’t mind paying a relatively high price ($699 for a netbook) to be able to surf the Web without lugging around a big, ungainly laptop.
This year’s offering, we are told, will have a cover design that reflects Tam’s upcoming spring collection, “inspired by the classic Chinese love story, “Butterfly Lovers,” a beautiful tale of freedom, romance and inspiration.”
And if that’s not enough, the HP announcement adds: “It fuses high fashion, small form factor and innovative function to take the personal computer from a necessity to a lifestyle statement for modern women on the go.”
No word yet on whether Tam will be introducing her own design for an x86 server next fall …
Preview of Palm’s Pixi(1)
Palm Pixi
After covering Apple’s music event this morning, I met with Palm and got a hands-on look at the company’s new Pixi smartphone, which Palm announced early today
I was a bit underwhelmed by the actual phone, which will be the second to run Palm’s WebOS software. But the Pixi, which Palm plans to launch before the holidays, will have at least one new features that will be very cool.
I found a lot to like about Palm’s Pre, the Pixi’s WebOS predecessor. One of the features that I liked most was something Palm calls Synergy. The feature collects and combines address book information from a variety of sources and displays them all together.
Good News And Bad News On IPO Front(2)
This morning my inbox contained the latest report from Renaissance Capital. It has some hopeful news about IPOs, but not necessarily for Silicon Valley.
First, the good news: ”After an uptick in filing activity, there are 67 companies in the active IPO pipeline, up from 29 in March 2009.”
As far as Silicon Valley is concerned, that’s about as far as the good news goes. Now, here’s the bad news.
Reader Reaction To Budget Cut Column(1)
On Sunday, I took on an especially personal subject in my column, “How One Agency’s Cuts Point To California’s Bleak Future.” The column explored why I think cuts to early intervention services for kids under the age of three are going to hurt our economy in the long run.
The column actually posted online Friday, and since them I’ve gotten a wealth of mostly positive feedback that I wanted to share here.
Kris nearly gets reeled in…(1)
After Sunday’s piece ran on the three Pink Slip 2.0 folks, now members of that ill-fated and burgeoning group of the “long-term unemployed,” Kris got a call. Check it out: Read the rest of this entry »
Making a switch(1)
After complaining repeatedly in my column, and to my friends and elsewhere about my Internet service, I’m finally switching providers.
Here’s the surprise: I’m switching to Comcast.
After writing a recent column about my frustration with Earthlink as my broadband provider and with my lack of other choices, I went around scrutinizing those choices more closely. Read the rest of this entry »
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