Month: May 2007

RANT! Airports and electricity

RANT! Airports and electricity

I travel a fair amount in my job. I also need to be connected to the web regularly so I carry a Windows Mobile based phone so that I can get email quickly and occasionally go out to a site.

Even though I carry this phone, I still need to hook up my laptop on an occasional basis. This allows me to grab emails that are too big, have attachments that I can’t read on my phone or check a site that doesn’t format down to my phone (I am sure that I will rant about these things in the future).

But as I sit here on the floor of an airport leaning against the wall just so I can get some more power, I am fuming. Why can’t airports realize that their best customers are businesspeople that need access to power? As I write this post, I have had a dozen people look at me with envy because I found the outlet. Two people have even whispered to me to let them know when I am almost done so that they can get in line for my wonderful floor seat.

Maybe I will start a website that has electrical outlet in airport hints! I bet I could sell memberships in such a needed site. Of course, this would be totally unnecessary if the airports would just PUT IN MORE OUTLETS WHERE PEOPLE SIT!

I am done with this topic for now but I reserve the right to rant more on it someday.

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RANT! Excuse me, is that so hard to say? 2 of 2

RANT! Excuse me, is that so hard to say? 2 of 2

Some of you are not going to get this post. I live in the Midwest, not in Boston or New York. There are different rules of etiquette in driving in those two cities but everywhere else is pretty much like the Midwest (or should be).

When I was a kid (as my children say – back when TV was black and white, the radios only played AM, and a CD was bought by rich people at the bank), we always let others in when driving and were stopped at a stoplight. You know the situation, you are the 5th car from the light, some poor soul just spent half of his savings at the gas station on the corner, and now he needs to enter the traffic stream. Back in the dark ages, that driver would give you a wave of thanks and usually even mouth a “Thank you” in your direction.

Now, no matter the age, you are lucky if the driver doesn’t give you the middle finger as he rams between you and the guy in front. Would it kill you to simply wave at me because I could have let you sit there until the Boston Red Sox win the pennant again!

I am done with this topic for now but I reserve the right to rant more on it someday.

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RANT! Excuse me, is that so hard to say? 1 of 2

RANT! Excuse me, is that so hard to say? 1 of 2

I am a very polite person (okay stop laughing). I was taught by my dear mother to always be polite to others, especially strangers.

So why is it so hard to say “I’m Sorry” (my apologies to the great Elton John and his songwriter Bernie Taupin for stealing this line – couldn’t resist).

It is one thing to be bumped in a crowd. Everyone understands that you are going to bumped, fondled, and stepped on in a crowd of noisy and obnoxious people. But if I am standing in a spot with plenty of room around me for even the biggest and fattest person to crawl through, I expect you to not step on my toes.

If you do step on me, hit me with your 20 pound purse or sneeze on me, would it kill ya to say “Sorry Dude” after I get back up from the floor where you knocked me?

More on this topic later…

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RANT! Music formats should get along – 2 of 2

RANT! Music formats should get along – 2 of 2

So why don’t iPods support WMA and similarly, why don’t other devices support AAC (Apple’s format)?

The why is simple. WMA is the format that many companies (e.g. Yahoo) use in their stores to sell music. WMA is developed by Microsoft and it is a competitor. Is it a better sounding format? For the most part, no it is not – the formats are essentially tied in audio capability for the average listener and the average audio speakers.

So it is a competitive issue. Apple makes the best device on the market with something like 90% market share. They don’t like Microsoft, so they don’t play nice to Microsoft. It definitely is not a revenue issue for selling songs on iTunes since at 99 cents per song, Apple isn’t making a lot of money on the songs. They do make a bunch of money for every iPod that is sold though.

They can still have iTunes be the pre-eminent way of managing your audio and video collection by supporting WMA. I even bet there is code within Cupertino somewhere that has iTunes playing WMA.

Hey Apple: Allow WMA on your iPods!! This doesn’t make any business sense! And while you are at it, allow other companies to license AAC to play on their devices – once again this will promote your iTunes product and store.

I am done with this topic for now but I reserve the right to rant more on it someday.