SeeNBSee?

Apple is frustrating sometimes.  The endless restrictions, the frustrating lack of information pertaining to new products, and the price...my god the price!  It seems as if one member of CNBC remained unaware to the Apple norm.  CNBC's Jim Goldman vented this week regarding the ban on laptop use by the media at the recent shareholders' meeting.  Apparently he hasn't gotten the memo.  It's probably been sitting on his desk for the past eight years or so.  

Tom Krazit seconds my sentiments in his article regarding the incident.  While Apple's requires more privacy detail at its meetings then Barrack Obama, its no reason to get bent out of shape over it.  As an Apple consumer (MacBook, iPod, iPhone) I know what comes with the territory.  I pay too much for an electronic product, then I battle through its incompatibility issues, and finally I watch as the battery eventually dies on me.  SIDE NOTE: Why is it that with most objects they either stop working or they break.  But batteries...they die.  So dramatic.  

Guess what though?   I still buy their stuff.  I feel like an abused wife on the Maury Povich show, I just keep coming back.  Apple's good to me.  My laptop is easy to use and runs as fast as the day I got it.  My iPhone completes me.  Its as if Steve Jobs took a newspaper, a laptop, and a cell phone, threw them in a blender, poured them in a glass and garnished with a little bit of love.  So, you just don't understand my relationship with Apple and you never will!

This brings be back to Jim Goldman.  I get it, Apple has your ***** in a vice.  But isn't it worth it?  Isn't it worth that special feeling you get when Steve struts up there, black turtle neck, sleeves up, and presents us with greatness?  For a great parody watch this Mad TV spoof.  Their OCD has everything to do with their success, why deny them that.  iTunes one of the, if not the biggest provider of downloadable entertainment on the web because of it.  Sorry Mr. Goldman that Steve Jobs doesn't need you to run an extremely successful enterprise.  But you sure as hell need him to write your article.  So take some advice.  Get a pen and paper, leave the laptop (that Apple helped pioneer) at home, and get the news out in an hour.  It can wait.  And also, check out the new App Store, it's great!

   At the price I pay, it should be made of gold.

...until death do us part

The internet has recently churned out another story with strong ties to our class.  Facebook (how apropo) has recently been fighting off protests from account holders over privacy issues (double whammy!).  The site, according to the AP,... 

backed down late Tuesday on policy changes that tens of thousands of users complained would grant the social-networking site the ability to control their information forever, even after they cancel their accounts.

Here's the deal.  Facebook changed their Terms of Service about a week ago.  Facebook's terms of service used to say that when you closed an account on their network, any rights they claimed to the original content you uploaded would expire. The new change would have altered this wording, and your info would be floating around cyberspace forever.

Luckily, the consumerist.com, a public advocacy group, got wind of this.  They put pressure on Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook's founder, and he reverted back to the old terms.  See his blog here.  

The new terms were created with complete disregard for us account holders.  And they knew it.  Otherwise they would have announced such a change publicly to Facebookers everywhere.  The battle here is over the legal rights of ownership to an entity's image and information.  Facebook hopes that they could cash in on the property of their members, through release of their profiles.  It's slap in the face to many, but let's look at it more closely.

I understand Facebook's position on this one.  They're a business, and the objective is to make money. Many sites collect and hold onto consumer information, so why should Facebook be any different? Pulling a fast one on you're consumer base?  Ok, I get it.  But they got caught.  Alex Rodriguez taught about what to do when you make mistakes.  Apologize, come clean, make reparations.   He did, they did, and it did.  So, I guess I don't mind the actions of Zuckerberg and his team.  I mean, we have this great FREE social networking site.  It has extremely limited advertising and an easy to use interface.  It's been the icebreaker in relationships, business partnerships, and friendships.  So I'm willing to cut the "book" some slack here.  But I will be monitoring what I put up on that site a bit more closely.

Similarities????

Doodle 4 Google

Google has grown leaps and bounds since its infancy.  Probably the only thing more iconic then the search engine's leading algorithms is its logo.  Recently Google chose its winner in the Doodle 4 Google contest.  Google sets up four divisions in the contest, organized by age.  What makes it neat is that these are kids creating the logo.  Also, Google creates a theme for the doodler to follow.  This year's "My Community" theme is about describing what community means to you.  Check out some of the winners from past years as well, some pretty amazing stuff.

Kudos to the kids who take part in this, sharing their vision through art.  But even greater praise should be given to Google for such a creative contest.  What a great way to engage children's minds and enhance the profile of your company.  There's nothing better then a true win-win situation.

The winning submission: 14-16 year olds

Mashup

The mashup that I found was called Map Sex Offenders.
It takes information from the National Sex Offender Registry and combining it with Google Maps. This is an extremely useful tool if you're a parent worried about the safety of your children. You are able to visually see where these people live. The only thing that sucks is that it costs money. I guess Map Sex Offenders doesn't care about your kids that much.