Bush still has the ability to surprise. Not only does he want to escalate American involvement in Iraq, but he plans to attack Iran and Syria too. Meanwhile the Democratic response was actually great. We were there for Iraq, backed them up, gave the lives of our solidiers and our wealth, and democratic principles, we dug Saddam out of a hole and supported you while you tried, convicted and executed him, and that’s enough. We won, time for us to go home, thank you very much. 
Computerworld Australia: “James Plamondon, the former technical evangelist for Microsoft who in a 1996 speech called independent software developers “pawns,” said Wednesday he now regrets using the metaphor.”
Nick Carr: “User-generated content? Hah! We’re not even allowed to change the damn battery. In Jobs’s world, users are users, creators are creators, and never the twain shall meet.”
Doc Searls: “The influence of developers, even influential developers like you, will be minimal. The influence of customers and users will be held in even higher contempt.”
Press release: Cisco Sues Apple for Trademark Infringement.
Google Trends comparison betw RSS and Web 2.0.
CBS News piece (1967) on the hippies in San Francisco and the Grateful Dead. Echoed by early MSM articles about bloggers.
Make it real for Bush 
It seemed fair to withhold judgement of the President’s new plan for Iraq until he made it public, but the announcement has already happened, and it’s as it was being telegraphed. His response to the electorate that voted his party out of control of Congress, because we wanted him to withdraw from Iraq, is to send more troops to Iraq. Part of his package is a $1 billion jobs package… for Iraq!
I will listen to his speech tonight, and I will listen carefully, for any sign that reality is creeping in. But I suspect that after tonight the problem is going to clearly rest with the people. We still need to find a way to make our will felt in Washington. The election, apparently, didn’t work.
Did Steve get smarter?
I’ve read dozens of reports on the iPhone; two stand out.
Paul Boutin notes that everything Apple announced is in vapor, and that’s new for Apple (and disappointing for users), but all CES previews are vapor and Apple is, in every way, a consumer electronics vendor now. “By holding his own mini-CES 500 miles away, Jobs literally stole the show. As I sit here typing in a sulk, an NPR stringer in Vegas just messaged, ‘CES is dead because iphone is all that mattered today. there is a mood of — like everyone here went to the wrong party.’”
Tom Evslin: “The design of the phone — no hard buttons, all touch on screen, sounds like everything we expect from Steve and from Apple: it’s all about the GUI and that part’ll be fun. But the business relationship is as old school as it can get: exclusive US distributorship through Cingular.”
Tom has a point. Like many others, I was hoping that Apple would turn the cellphone business upside down. On the other hand, quoting from the essay I wrote yesterday, before the iPhone announcement, “Get in bed with the guy whose lunch you want to eat.” Maybe Steve is more clever than we give him credit for?
Posted by Dan on January 10, 2007 at 9:37 am
I’m with Tom. I think Apple may have squandered their chance to turn the cellphone industry on its head. I can only hope that the second generation iPhone has no such exclusivity with Cingular (fat chance) or that someone hacks it fast to work on other networks.
Posted by Marc on January 10, 2007 at 9:39 am
The Apple specs say the battery life is Up to 5 hours. Is that like a normal mobile phone in standby or 5 hours of talk time? I know I can get about 3 hours of constant phone use with my current mobile and about 24 hours standby time. This is the issue that I will wait until Generation 2 of the phone before plunking down $600 bucks for a device I have to constantly plug in. It’s remarkable that not one reporter or blogger that I’ve seen has addressed the battery. This thing is going to be sucking juice like there is no tomorrow.
Posted by Matt Terenzio on January 10, 2007 at 9:47 am
Wifi on a cell phone may not turn the industry upside down, but it does represent the possibility of VOIP cracking into the mobile arena.
It could have pretty big ramifications down the road.
Also Dave, I have a first pass at an OPML/Attention cloud app. What channel should we use to discuss that stuff?
Posted by Baron on January 10, 2007 at 11:50 am
The big omission on iPhone was the lack of iChat. No doubt Apple didn’t want to tick-off Cingular by demoing a product that could let users bypass Cingular’s long distance charges and SMS fees. Think of it, having iChat on the iPhone would be the killer app on the device and having a camera that could rotate front or back (or maybe just install two cameras) would allow live video chatting.
We’ll also have to see how Apple treats developers regarding how open iPhone is to 3rd party apps. Also does the iPhone allow data tethering for computers? Does it work with the Nike Sports Kit?
Posted by Ben on January 10, 2007 at 12:54 pm
Matt, Nokia has had WiFi on its cellphones for at least a year now. All the E-series phones have TriFi (GSM/WiFi/BT). They even support standard SIP calls. But they don’t roam automatically between WiFi and GSM.
I’m total schizophrenic about the iPhone. On the one hand I think it’s nothing that a WM5 phone can’t do (apart from multi-touch), but on the other hand I’m thinking it’s incredibly futuristic and amazing.
Posted by Gary Short on January 10, 2007 at 2:18 pm
America and the UK created the mess in Iraq, they owe it to the people of Iraq to stay and sort it out.
Posted by Scott on January 10, 2007 at 3:16 pm
Funny to note how Bush’s reality distortion field is the opposite of Jobs’.
It only works on INcoming reality, not on others’ perception of it.
Posted by nakedjen on January 10, 2007 at 3:37 pm
That video you just posted about the Grateful Dead? That just cracked me up.
I needed a laugh today. Thank you for that little “trip”!
Posted by Matt Terenzio on January 10, 2007 at 4:39 pm
nakedjen,
Keep on dancin’ thru the daylight,
(Keep on dancin’ thru the daylight)
Greet the mornin’ air with song
(Greet the mornin’ air with song)
No ones’s noticed, but the band’s all pack and gone.
(packed & gone)
Was it ever there at all?
Posted by Nick Nichols on January 10, 2007 at 4:48 pm
Dave may be right about bed and lunch. Did you ever in your life notice such a dichotomy between the old school Cingular CEO Stan Sigman and Jobs? It was almost as if Steve were serving him up – to eat! What’s the old story about how to cook a frog? Put it into a pot and slowly increase the heat; by the time he realizes he’s being boiled, it’s too late.
Posted by Donald on January 10, 2007 at 6:26 pm
Apple to buy Cisco, AT&T
One shot deal.
Why not !
Posted by Matt Terenzio on January 10, 2007 at 6:39 pm
OPML cloud test site
Posted by Mark Kelso on January 10, 2007 at 7:59 pm
Dave, Thank you for the link
After enjoying the video on the Grateful Dead a suggested link came up, interview with Ed Bradlely. Poignant and timeless.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2161660730923398368
Posted by Gary Short on January 11, 2007 at 2:19 am
“We were there for Iraq, backed them up, gave the lives of our solidiers and our wealth, and democratic principles, we dug Saddam out of a hole and supported you while you tried, convicted and executed him, and that’s enough. We won, time for us to go home, thank you very much.”
Let’s put aside for the moment the reasons for the invasion of Iraq, because I don’t think many people believe it was for the good of the people of Iraq, but let’s assume for the moment it was. That being the case; we won’t have won if we leave now with the country in chaos. Can anyone honestly say Iraq is a better place now, our job here is done, let’s go home?
Posted by Roger Smith on January 18, 2007 at 2:03 am
iPhone is available with Cingular ONLY!? And what if I am stuck under contract with a carrier OTHER than Cingular but still want a iPhone?
Well, the only solution I could fine was http://www.Cellswapper.com – they get you out of any cell phone contract!
Posted by Roger Smith on January 18, 2007 at 2:03 am
iPhone is available with Cingular ONLY!? And what if I am stuck under contract with a carrier OTHER than Cingular but still want a iPhone?
Well, the only solution I could fine was http://www.Cellswapper.com – they get you out of any cell phone contract!