I Hate Ads

Confused about Google Chrome OS? Here it is in a simple 3:21...

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 00:55:40 +1100

Confused about Google Chrome OS? Here it is in a simple 3:21 nutshell. Or for an 11-minute preview demonstration, go here. Looks like a great netbook operating system for those with very very basic needs, or for a secondary computer. In fact, it redefines the term netbook, back to what it was always supposed to mean.

Learn from the best, learn from the worst

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 01:25:08 +1100

Today I bring you two stories (both via Daring Fireball). The first is about one of the best performing CEOs of our time, the second is an astonishing story from one of the world’s largest airlines and their spectacular fuck-up.

The Best

Fortune Magazine has named Steve Jobs, CEO and co-founder of Apple as their CEO of The Decade. If you know me you’ll know I think this is an obvious choice. Over the last decade he’s made fantastic products, made Apple into one of the most profitable tech companies in the world, and set the agenda for the rest of the industry to follow. In honour of Jobs, Fortune have collected stories from eight famous business executives who have worked with Steve, and it’s an interesting insight into his role in the company. The overall theme seems to be his pursuit of perfection. This is well summarised by Oracle CEO Larry Ellison:

I remember when Steve was my neighbor in Woodside, Calif., and he had no furniture. It struck me that there wasn’t furniture good enough for Steve in the world. He’d rather have nothing if he couldn’t have perfection.

And I jokingly said, “The difference between me and Steve is that I’m willing to live with the best the world can provide. With Steve that’s not always good enough.”

Read the full story: 8 stars speak out on Steve Jobs

The Worst

This astonishing story highlights the corporate culture at American Airlines. It comes in three parts, written by user interface designer Dustin Curtis.

First, he writes an open letter to American Airlines, regarding their terrible website: Dear AmericanAirlines

Then, a user experience designer from AA.com responds: Dear Dustin Curtis

But those of us who work in enterprise-level situations realize the momentum even a simple redesign must overcome…

Then, astonishingly, American Airlines fires their user experience designer: The incompetence of American Airlines & the fate of Mr X

When AA fires the people who care most about the experience it provides, I have to wonder if there is any hope for AMR Corporation.

An intriguing look into a corporate culture that is holding a company back. I guess it all boils down to the top management. If they’re passionate, like Steve Jobs, the company can go a long way. If not, the corporate culture will follow and the company’s success will gradually erode over time.

This video is awesome.

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 16:35:33 +1100

This video is awesome.

According to Engadget, this new mouse from OpenOffice.org...

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 12:37:42 +1100

According to Engadget, this new mouse from OpenOffice.org “packs no less than 18 programmable buttons (each with double-click functionality), along with support for up to 63 separate profiles, a clickable scroll wheel, an adjustable resolution from 400 to 1,600 CPI, and, get this, a built-in analog joystick that can itself be used to store up to sixteen different keys or macros.”

This is the sort of thing that gives me nightmares.

http://ilovelocalcommercials.com/

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 18:11:25 +1100

http://ilovelocalcommercials.com/:

If more ads were like this, this blog might not exist.

Make sure you check out the “best of the web” section. Gold.

The Choice Shonky Awards 2009

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 15:09:51 +1100

The Choice Shonky Awards 2009:

This years winners of Choice’s award for the shonkiest business practices in 2009 include L’Oreal, Uncle Toby’s, Qantas and Tiger Airways.

Bad-arse picture of the month: shark mauled in half by bigger...

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 13:51:30 +1100

Bad-arse picture of the month: shark mauled in half by bigger shark

Killing two birds with one stone

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 22:42:03 +1100

Killing two birds with one stone:

This is really neat. Google are now using a technology designed to prevent spam and fraud to help translate old books and documents. Absolutely brilliant!

"It was too easy for them; they were too successful raising money. If they’d had to grow the..."

Thu, 01 Oct 2009 23:38:58 +1000

“It was too easy for them; they were too successful raising money. If they’d had to grow the company gradually, by iterating through several versions they sold to real users, they’d have learned pretty quickly that people looked stupid riding them. Instead they had enough to work in secret. They had focus groups aplenty, I’m sure, but they didn’t have the people yelling insults out of cars.”

- Paul Graham on The Trouble With The Segway

This is a video made by myself and classmate James Moran for a...

Thu, 01 Oct 2009 18:02:00 +1000

This is a video made by myself and classmate James Moran for a new unit at Monash, Electronic Marketing. It was a really fun way to complete our assessment and we learnt a bit too! It’s pretty embarrassing so I hope you enjoy it. We’re also considering continuing on from this and blogging or micro-blogging about the topic so stay tuned!

http://www.youtube.com/fastforward

Thu, 24 Sep 2009 16:33:36 +1000

http://www.youtube.com/fastforward:

A resource put together by Google for marketers, looks interesting.

So instead of having a typical in-store launch for Windows 7,...

Thu, 24 Sep 2009 16:07:44 +1000

So instead of having a typical in-store launch for Windows 7, Microsoft have taken a different route, having Tupperware-esque at-home launch parties, where the host shows guests some of the new features of Windows 7 and the guests can try them out throughout the party. Sounds kinda lame, but whatever. So they made this video to introduce it to party hosts. It’s so goddamn lame I can’t even tell if they’re taking the piss or not. Love the shaky hand-held camera style, the “unscripted” script, the not looking into the camera too often, etc. It’s very “hip” and “so in right now”.

A lecturer sparked my imagination the other day when she asked...

Mon, 21 Sep 2009 19:38:38 +1000

A lecturer sparked my imagination the other day when she asked the class what the university might be like if Richard Branson were running it. It would certainly be very different than it is now. Maybe he’d do away with lectures? Perhaps he’d insist on a hand-on entrepreneurship experience? Maybe there’d be free beer on the lawn every day and live music every night? Its an interesting topic and I’d like to hear your thoughts…

What would Virgin University look like?

I’m 4 days late here, but Happy 10th Birthday Blogger! Although I chose not to use you,...

Sun, 13 Sep 2009 14:04:01 +1000

I’m 4 days late here, but Happy 10th Birthday Blogger! Although I chose not to use you, you’ve certainly changed the world palpably in your first decade.

"The AFA pointed to an independent Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) study that..."

Mon, 07 Sep 2009 13:08:07 +1000

“The AFA pointed to an independent Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) study that determined there was no scientific causal link between advertising and childhood obesity.”

- Well then, that changes everything (NB: sarcasm intended) http://www.marketingmag.com.au/news/view/afa-calls-for-evidence-in-advertising-ban-1539

http://www.partyacrosstheinternet.com.au/

Tue, 01 Sep 2009 21:34:00 +1000

http://www.partyacrosstheinternet.com.au/:

Check out this cool site from Lynx!

Provocative ad placement at Caulfield Station, next to a campus...

Mon, 31 Aug 2009 11:58:00 +1000

Provocative ad placement at Caulfield Station, next to a campus that specialises in marketing (amongst other things)? I like it.

"We realised a long time ago that what you make people feel is more important than what you make."

Sun, 30 Aug 2009 19:37:03 +1000

“We realised a long time ago that what you make people feel is more important than what you make.”

- BMW

Green is fucking sexy/badarse. BMW’s new hybrid concept,...

Sun, 30 Aug 2009 19:21:39 +1000

Green is fucking sexy/badarse.

BMW’s new hybrid concept, check it.

Nokia has just moved into the PC industry

Tue, 25 Aug 2009 11:22:00 +1000

Nokia has just moved into the PC industry:

“After more than 25 years as a pioneer and leader in the mobile industry, Nokia will bring its rich mobility heritage and knowledge to the PC world with the new, Windows based, Nokia Booklet 3G.”

This will be interesting. Too bad they didn’t choose a different OS, though.