More Kindle Burning

I've been thinking about the Kindle more and I've decided why I think this thing is going to go down in flames.

Amazon was too ambitious with the Kindle.

At its core, the Kindle is meant to be used as a book or collection of books and Amazon got away from this. They tried to appeal to the wrong audience: the gadget geek, not the book lover. The device tries to be something that it's clearly not - a browser, a newspaper, an RSS reader, an audio player. It's a jack of all trades and a master of none. Opinions aside of whether you like to read a book digitally or not, the form factor and screen function well as a book - The physical size is similar, the text layouts are identical, and there are some nice features built in to the device that make it an efficient book-reading tool (built in instant dictionary, adjustable text size, no eye strain). This part of the device works well in a simple way. Combined with built in EVDO service (probably the best or at least most intriguing feature of the device) and the ability to use the Kindle without ever connecting it to a computer, it seems like a really good electronic companion to your laptop.

This brings me to what I think is the Kindle's problem. It really tries to be a laptop (and a few other things).

• The newspaper interface (from what I have seen and read about) is clunky as it should be. Try to read a newspaper folded up into a small square and navigate through it without ever opening it up to see all the different material in all the different sections and pages - newspapers are made from large, very thin sheets of paper for a reason.
• The browser on the device is slow and clunky. Most people that buy a Kindle probably have a laptop and would prefer to use it to browse the web.
  
• Pay to read blogs? I understand that the EVDO can deliver instant content, but again, the interface is not optimal and I have to pay to read free content?

I guess it's nice that these things are included in the device....but this is why most computers sold today are laptops, right? They do all of these things (plus a lot of others) much better already. My laptop cannot be a book however, and this is where the Kindle has its place in the market(for a lower price of course). Simplify the Kindle, take out features, make it JUST an ebook, and maybe the price could be lower ($200 maybe). Then possibly, it can start appealing to its main market: book lovers (read: NOT JUST technology geeks).

Outside In

Warning: Do not start watching this if you do not have time to finish it.

Can you turn a sphere inside out? The rules of the game are as follows:

• This sphere is made of an abstract elastic material.
• The material can stretch, bend, and pass through itself.
• You cannot rip or puncture the material without destroying it.
• You cannot crease the material or bend it sharply.

I took me a minute or two to figure this out before I watched the video....nah, just kidding.

iShuffle

iShuffle is a neat little program that lets you manage your iPod Shuffle without iTunes. It's great for quickly managing the device like a USB thumb drive - just drag and drop your audio files into the Shuffle, run iShuffle and you're done. iShuffle takes about a second or two to run. Managing an iPod Shuffle with iTunes can be pretty unnecessary, especially if you have a small music collection. The main use of the program is being able to manage your iPod on multiple computers (iTunes deletes the contents of the iPod if you try to do this). iShuffle is perfect if you listen to a lot of podcasts as you can quickly add new files that are published through the day. Thanks, Packard.

Microsoft's Identity Crisis

Windows Live ID (originally named .NET Passport; briefly Microsoft Passport Network) Confused?

Why can't Microsoft get things straight? The design of most of their services/products usually contain a glaring flaw - You can tell there was a room full of designers fighting for features and rather than narrowing the design down to the best features and making the design efficient, they opted to keep every feature in the final design. The end results are usually messy, confusing and frustrating, which brings me to Microsoft's approach to their unified login or attempt at one. First off, three things:

1. It has to be incredibly difficult for Microsoft to design products and services because they have to design for such a big audience. They can't leave a billion machines out of their plans going forward on anything.
2. When is Microsoft going to stop trying to make themselves the de facto standard for everything web rela.....no, just everything?
3. I'm considering most of this for the average user who buys a computer and is presented with the most obvious choices of services/applications that come loaded as the default on a Windows machine.
   

Ready for confusion? OK, follow me. Hotmail was created by Sabeer Bhatia and Jack Smith in 1996. Microsoft buys the service in 1998 and integrates it into its line of MSN services - We have MSN Hotmail with @MSN.com and @hotmail suffixes. With either suffix, you can log in to Hotmail and MSN services and use the webmail service in addition to manage your accounts in Outlook Express and Outlook.

Jump forward - Microsoft decides that they need to make a unified login service for all of their services and this is where it gets really messy. They create the .NET Passport, which allows a user to log in to all of Microsoft's services as well as a host of other services that support .NET Passport. To get a .NET Passport, Microsoft requires a user to have one of the following logins:

1. An email address with a @MSN.com suffix, which also provides email
   
2. An email address with a @hotmail.com suffix, which also provides email
   
3. A login with a @passport.com suffix, which does not provide email
   
4. A login with an existing email address with any @blank.com suffix

Microsoft renames the service the Microsoft Passport Network for some reason.

Jump forward again - Windows Vista is out. Microsoft decides to rename two more things:

1. Outlook Express, the previous default Windows email application, becomes Windows Mail (Outlook in Microsoft Office is still called Outlook however).
   
2. The Microsoft Passport Network becomes Windows Live ID.
   

Microsoft opens Windows Live and Office Live officially. The suite of applications require a Windows Live ID, which adds the new default Windows Live ID login of @live.com email suffixes. Login is still available through @MSN.com, @hotmail.com, @passport.com, and @blank.com. With the launch comes a new webmail service. One would guess that the new name would be Windows Live Mail or just Windows Mail. It's named Windows Live Hotmail, which can now be checked through its own webmail service (available in new and old formats), Outlook Express on XP machines, Outlook and Windows Mail on Vista machines, and a new application available for both XP and Vista that is part of the Windows Live suite called Windows Live Mail. It does not replace or upgrade existing applications - Windows Live Mail is one of four default Microsoft email services that allow users to check one of three default Microsoft email accounts.



I really wish there was an easy way for Microsoft to clean this mess up and phase out their older services. Why do I even care - I use the Google suite of services that have one simple login. I think the Windows Live thing could be really cool if it functioned as a really clean web extension of your Windows computer. One login, one desktop mail client, one webmail service, which can easily replace a desktop client if it's robust enough (Gmail). Tie it in with a free Live Office service. This problem is widespread in all of Microsoft's designs and it will probably never be cleaned up until they decide to completely explode their current set of services/applications.

Bubble 2.0

Flying Dogs Late At Night

It's late and I can't sleep so I've decided to have a beer and share some of the thoughts that have been rattling around my head (as well as some that will begin rattling around as I write this).

• If you like wheat beers, the one mentioned/pictured above is really good.
• I'm thinking of splitting this weblog into two weblogs - one for this kind of stuff and one for this kind of stuff.
• I just registered a new domain on GoDaddy in the event that I decide to do this.
• Writing bullet-pointed lists is a lot easier than writing prose.
• Not being able to sleep is a horrible feeling - probably worse than not being able to stay awake.
• Trying to go to sleep is the single least productive activity a human can participate in - you're literally doing nothing while trying to do less.
• I haven't gotten many blog posts up before Sunday after striking a deal with my friend.
• It feels good to have one done before Sunday.
• Again, writing lists is easy (and easy to read - I read a lot of blogs so I'm familiar with this cheap tactic)
  
• I have a lot of posts in draft that I need to finish.
• I'm not going to finish one of those posts right now as my plan to drink beer and write about nothing has been successful in making my eyes begin to shut.
• Gmail had a nice little update today.
• The only rational explanation for people who complain about the lack of "folders" in Gmail is that they haven't really explored the service enough. Labels are better, period.
• Is it wrong to make assumptions about people based on their email suffix?
• It's late.