Pogue Missed the Boat on the Surface RT

Microsoft-Surface-RTDon’t get me wrong about David Pogue. Even though his pro-Apple bias sometimes infuriates me, I enjoy reading his weekly column, and I continue to believe that he’s one of the few truly essential technology columnists out there. But that’s part of the problem. When Pogue trashes something, it has an enormous impact on whether a product can survive in the marketplace. This is especially true in an environment where consumers are dubious about buying anything that is not on their proven comfort zone. So the purpose of this post is to say that Pogue really screwed up in his review of Microsoft’s Surface RT. Continue reading “Pogue Missed the Boat on the Surface RT”

HP’s Big Mistake

Anyone who knows me well, knows that I simply don’t do Apple. I’m not going to go into all the reasons here because today I want to rant about another company, HP.

As you can read elsewhere in my blog, my current smartphone is a Palm Pre +. I love just about everything about it, but with enough frustrations and nitpicks that I was recently flirting with the idea of switching to an Android device. I looked at the Motorola Droid Pro, which has a profile that is almost perfect for my needs (physical keyboard is a must), but switching to Verizon means losing international compatibility and the ability to be on line and on the phone at the same time. Continue reading “HP’s Big Mistake”

Slinging Obama

14 days to go until the election, and from what I can see, everything is trending in the right direction. There’s a part of me that is beginning to allow myself to dream about the possibilities. If Obama does indeed manage to win, there’s no doubt in my mind that it’ll be a true game changer in just about every way. New found respect abroad? Check. Forever removing the glass ceiling on race? Check. Reinvigorating the American dream? Check. Then there is the other part of me–I guess you could call it the Cubs fan part–which keeps reminding me that the Democrats (like the Cubs) have a way snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. In the meantime, I’ve become addicted to CNN, watching the pundits and reading into every potential portent.

Continue reading “Slinging Obama”