I just found this on google today and its a pretty cool iteration of 'google' in morse code. it seem that samuel morse, creator of the eponymous morse code, was born April 27, 1791. thanks for the cool reminder google.

a few weeks ago I was reading about how australia was concerned with the declining tourist arrivals that would impact that significant sector of their economy. apparently crocodile dundee was their biggest marketing coup in recent memory and since then they had been doing quite well but now their ad well was starting to run dry and that their best effort recently was a flop of a movie released in the US called 'australia'.

 

it seems that they were working on the viral hit of the year that most people have not yet realized is a hidden tourist promotion. bravo australia. I post this here to illustrate how creative thinkers can come up with new angles to doing this that would impact their business (a country's tourism in this case) by creating positive buzz and being honest at the same time (I assume the job opp is real).

 

in case you're thinking, here's what they've achieved:

 

* made my friends believe that this was a 'job opportunity' and tell me about it like someone would really pay someone 105,000 USD as a caretaker on a paradise island for six months.

* had about a dozen or so people I know link, forward and post about this.

* had me write this piece analyzing how they did it.

* made almost all major global news sources mention it.

 

key takeaways:

 

* you don't need much money to make splash and have people talk about you.

* the story needs to be at least a little believable.

* there needs to be a little bit of mystery for people to want to find out more.

 

also keep in mind that the cost of this campaign, in addition to the six months pay, is likely the fees to a PR firm rather than paying for ad space that would cost an arm and a leg to get any bit of a global reach.

 

here's the story for those that don't know about it: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,479747,00.html

This is my initial reaction to the HTC Gphone that is powered by Google's much touted new Android OS: What a joke. I know its a version 1 but honestly, given the resources they have, they should have come up with something much more impressive. I can see the clunky design of this thing overshadowing the OS and functionality not matter how good they are.

Mobile phones have become fashion accessories on one level and people would take both the form and function if they were both better in one product. The G1 has to deliver significantly more in terms of usability than both Blackberry and iPhone to be considered competition.

[From HTC – Touch Phone, PDA Phone, Smartphone, Mobile Computer: Products – T-Mobile G1: Product Tour ]

This argument is getting quite stale. Let me put it simply: Google creates functional, intelligent products that don't necessarily win any beauty contests whereas Apple does it all with great technology combined with great functionality layered with a heavy coat of gorgeous design. It will take a long time for any competitor to get anywhere close to the lead they have created with intelligent consumer products.

The master tech columnist here put's an end to any discussions for the current generation of G-phones:

According to Walt Mossberg, "The G1 won't win any beauty contests with its Apple rival. It's stubby and chunky, nearly 30% thicker and almost 20% heavier that the iPhone."

[From Jonathan Ive: More Valuable to Apple than Steve Jobs? - Seeking Alpha]

It seems the rumor about factory unlocked iPhones is true. Check out the links below for more information. Now you just have to figure out how to get your hands on them.

[iPhone] Factory Unlocked List (”Locked to Carrier” List)

About activating iPhone 3G with a wireless carrier

I just created this icon. I am not a graphic designer. All I needed was a mac with OSX installed and a bit of serendipitous tinkering.

OSX is packed with thoughtful features that you sometimes never realize are there unless you need them. Contrast this with Windows' approach of throwing everything in your face whether you're a novice or a power user especially with their office suite. You can never find the simplest functions between the glut of formula tools and VB macros.

To avoid digressing and return to my topic, here is the series of events that allowed me to become a pro designer - even if only for a moment - with my mac (running Leopard):

• I had installed a new 'google reader' for my RSS feeds by using Fluid SSB (site specific browser that allows you to create self contained apps for online apps and sites you visit frequently and want to keep separate from your main browser).
• I wanted an icon for this application that would indicate it was 'google reader' or at least a RSS reader app.
• I scoured google images for some and the closest and nicest i could get to was in the banner of the google reader blog but embedded within the masthead with no seemingly easy way to extract it.
• I click download image and open the file in my downloads folder.
• By default the app opens in preview and I think 'oh great now i have to try to look for photoshop level tools just to get this image out'. I could see myself giving up in a few seconds...
• I then clicked on the 'select' toolbar icon and the drop down menu had something called 'extract shape' that i had never noticed before. I think 'great, another shoddy tool that was thrown in the box that will probably make a crappy crop'.
• I am instructed by the tool to outline the shape to be extracted and then click return.
• Next instruction is to click the mouse and drag until i have wiped out the backround shap. I go 'shit it works. there has to be a catch!'
• I'm then told to click return and then crop the shape and voila! I find I have a ready to go cutout icon (as you can see above) with transparent background, no fragments nor jagged edges.
• I pause for a moment to think 'there really is nothing practically that is impossible with a mac'.
• I then stand to salute the cult of Jobs. (not true but added for effect)

The moral of this story is: Always try what you feel like with a mac because it can do anything you want much better than you think.

An interesting and much recited axiom of government fiscal management is that heavy public debt will lead to inflation. Will it be so this time around? Who knows but the fact that Kuwait has partially depegged from the dollar should help shield some of the decline while preserving the value of its oil exports.

"All this means that the Fed must pump more and more money into the system, to devalue the dollar and ease the burden of all these debts by “inflating” them away.

The overwhelming debts in the United States, coupled with the strong probability the U.S. dollar will continue to fall, is one major reason natural resource prices and inflation are headed higher.

Investors, expect a new boom in the price of commodities."

[From The Next Commodities Boom: Around the Corner? - Seeking Alpha]

This sounds like a useful tool in case you mac gets stolen. Almost a kind of insurance although I am not sure what mac theft insurance - the conventional type - costs or if it is available.

The tool basically makes use of the mac's built in isight camera as well as capturing location information, etc and emails it to the owner so that they can take steps to retrieve it if possible.

I'm looking into getting one of these.

[From GadgetTrak for Mac computers: Laptop anti-theft software for OS X]

Another nice critique of the now-iconic Macbook Air shows the products strengths and weaknesses. I personally did not get one because of the hard drive size limitation. I expect this to be resolved in the next version what with all the increases in capacity and miniaturization going on.

I also think that the fixed batter issue is not a problem for me as I can't remember the last time I swapped a batter in my Macbook. The problem is when replacing the battery one needs to likely take it to an authorized Apple repair center. It's a pain but not a deal breaker.

[From National Geographic ADVENTURE: The Adventure Life with Steve Casimiro Macbook Air Is Light, Yes, But It's No Lightweight]

This interesting research paper covers an interesting area of thought in the socio-political history of Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain in the 20th century in terms of the development of the state and its dealings with various groups. Most of the discussion centers on Kuwait initially with well-referenced sources and its worth a read for those interested in the topic.

link: research paper