David Pogue: How can companies churn out such bad design?
“But you don’t have to have an M.B.A. to understand that refusing to compromise on design, for any reason, can lead to fantastic commercial success. Look at Apple, Google, Sonos, R.I.M. (makers of the BlackBerry), or (in its glory days) Palm. So what goes through the minds of executives who don’t sweat the small stuff? Don’t they realize that critics and bloggers will find and publicize the limitations? Don’t they realize that customers nowadays can compare notes, can warn each other away?”
You need to sell things which can not be copied
“When copies are free, you need to sell things which can not be copied. Well, what can’t be copied? There are a number of qualities that can’t be copied. Consider “trust.” Trust cannot be copied. You can’t purchase it. Trust must be earned, over time. It cannot be downloaded. Or faked. Or counterfeited (at least for long). If everything else is equal, you’ll always prefer to deal with someone you can trust. So trust is an intangible that has increasing value in a copy saturated world.” [via MH]
Trent Reznor: Why won't people pay $5?
“And then Reznor ended the hoopla last week when he reported on his blog that 154,449 people had downloaded Niggy Tardust and 28,322 of them paid the $5 as of January 2. In the blog, Reznor suggested that he was ‘disheartened’ by the results.”
Daring Fireball’s “Translation From PR-Speak to English of Selected Portions of Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang's Company-Wide Memo Regarding the Microsoft Takeover Bid”
“We very much want to say ‘no’ but can’t figure out how without triggering a shareholder revolt.”
A message to MacBook Air haters
“Some journalists get so close to the truth it hurts, yet miss the large print. ‘OMG! The unit is all sealed and self-contained like the iPod!’ Yes… the iPod. That huge failure. Also, the iPhone. Stunning disappointment that it was. I mean, jeebus, why would Apple make ANOTHER device incredibly simple? Clearly the market has spoken, and it wants tons of ports and screws and geegaws and flippers… no, wait, no it doesn’t.”
Online PO Boxes from Earth Class Mail
“With an online PO Box you’ll manage your postal mail as easily as your email View scanned images of your sealed envelopes online, then choose to have your mail securely scanned into a PDF document, recycled, shredded or forwarded to you or someone else.”
Fast Food: Ads vs. Reality
“Each item was purchased, taken home, and photographed immediately. Nothing was tampered with, run over by a car, or anything of the sort. It is an accurate representation in every case. Shiny, neon-orange, liquefied pump-cheese, and all.”