cmpatrick.com » design

Samsung Airs Super Bowl Anti-iPhone Ad for $10 Million

Craig Michael Patrick — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 17:05:56 +0000

Indicative, I think, of the fundamental differences in thinking between Samsung and Apple. Apple wants you to streamline and be better for it. Samsung wants you to digitally maintain your way of doing things, maintain your way of thinking about things.

‘Think Different’ is a philosophy, not just an advertising slogan.

Trending Inhumanity: Flowfulness

Craig Michael Patrick — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 16:57:45 +0000

Artists are keenly aware of flow. ‘Flow’ is that point at which focus is utterly effortless, completely laser-like, and is not an uncommon occurrence in right-brain types. The challenge is that it usually takes a little while to submerge yourself into the folds of your consciousness and wrap yourself completely around what you’re doing.

New Scientist¹ has an interesting article called Zap your brain into the zone: Fast track to pure focus which suggests short-cutting into that precise focus.

Frankly, it’s disconcerting. Some things should be difficult. Some things should take time and training to attain. There should be effort, there must be some sense of struggle.

It’s a human story, that struggle, and it helps define our humanity, flaws and all. Part of being human is the struggle to maintain our humanity, in spite of ourselves.

The New Scientist article is, unfortunately, a multi-page article to help offset the cost of the magazine to multiple advertisers. Sorry about that. Fortunately, there’s a way around all this. If you’re using Chrome, download the iReader plugin which consolidates articles like that into one scrolling window. If you’re using Safari, a reader plugin is built into the URL bar. iReader for Firefox is also available. If you’re still using Internet Explorer, I recommend you use something else. Anything else. Even Lynx.

DuckDuckGo

Craig Michael Patrick — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 00:07:19 +0000

I’ve just recently moved away from using Google. Even Gmail (except as a junk mail account). Three simple reasons for this:

Google’s most recent privacy policy changes
Google’s choice to add Google+ content to search results
I choose not to be Google’s product to advertisers

Instead, I’ve started using DuckDuckGo. It’s search results are excellent, it’s a clean, well-designed layout, and searches are private. DuckDuckGo does not log my information. It’s a great engine.

Same As It Ever Was, ‘Til It’s Not

Craig Michael Patrick — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 17:57:34 +0000

Here’s to hoping that Video Game Chief, Kazuo Hirai, Sony’s new CEO, can rebuild the Sony brand name, a name once synonymous with ‘quality.’

Hirai replaces Howard Stringer, who permitted departmental siloing, a debilitating intrusion on the Playstation Network, and endured declining HD television sales.

I would love to see Sony give Apple a run for its money, but I’m afraid it’s just too big, too unfocused, too encumbered by bureaucracy. Apple needs the competition.

Over Average

Craig Michael Patrick — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 16:38:35 +0000

Thomas Friedman writing for the New York Times:

“In a world where average is officially over, there are many things we need to do to buttress employment, but nothing would be more important than passing some kind of G.I. Bill for the 21st century that ensures that every American has access to post-high school education.”

It’s difficult to disagree with the majority of Friedman’s points, but two additional points are worth considering:

Higher education will not save the unemployed in a “contracting” job market. I view Friedman’s argument as a band-aid to cure cancer. Government needs to re-evaluate policy to buttress local job growth rather than off-shoring.
While technology continues to be disruptive, there is some degree of balance. New jobs are now available that previously did not exist. There’s likely a pretty good-sized disparity in the ratio of elimination to creation, but still – the forecast isn’t entirely gloomy.

And let’s face it, the story concerning the waiters and waitresses is just … disturbing.

Business Is War

Craig Michael Patrick — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 22:00:11 +0000

Fantastic article by entrepreneur and software developer, Joel Spolsky, concerning the military tactic of Fire and Motion and how it relates to personal productivity and business.

Fire and Motion, for small companies like mine, means two things. You have to have time on your side, and you have to move forward every day. Sooner or later you will win.

Dare You Imagine A Better America?

Craig Michael Patrick — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 16:53:33 +0000

Politician Market allows you to submit legislation and payoff lawmakers to ratify the legislation into law. Do yourself a favor and click on the red ‘you sicken me’ button.

Priceless.

So How Do You Like Censorship?

Craig Michael Patrick — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 19:29:59 +0000

Wikipedia makes a stand against censorship, this time in the form of the SOPA and PIPA initiatives. I’ve never given to their fund raising drives before, but chalk me up for a donation on the next one.

“Right now, the U.S. Congress is considering legislation that could fatally damage the free and open Internet,” it said.

Google Merges Google+ with Search

Craig Michael Patrick — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 23:01:21 +0000

Smells like antitrust.

T-Mobile Launches VoIP Service for iPhone

Craig Michael Patrick — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 20:39:56 +0000

Forward thinking, in my opinion. I see cell carriers as having a relatively hostile relationship with their client base. Let’s face it, you don’t read many stories on the Web wherein the cell carrier is the protagonist.

I use GrooVe IP on my LG Optimus V Android 2.1 phone to make free calls over VoIP using Google Voice while in a WI-FI area. It works fine, allowing me to use the least expensive plan on Virgin Mobile.