Tuesday, August 31, 2010

I Have One

After several attempts I have managed to get myself an iPhone 4. There were the several trips to the Apple Store when none were available. Then there was the waiting in line at West Edmonton Mall, only to have to bail to go to a wedding. I checked many other retailers to no avail.

Finally today I got in line about 8:15 am and at 4:00 pm my new iPhone 4 was activated.

This is a big jump from the 3G version I originally had. The screen is extremely clear. The camera is 5 megapixals. It shoots HD video. The processor is much faster and it has a lot of storage.

Like every Apple product it is easy to use and designed to to interface with humans.

I am very happy with my acquisition. It's going to serve me well. It is worth the long wait in the mall.

I have an iPhone 4 and this makes me very happy.



Tuesday, August 24, 2010

It Must Be A Popular Item

Last weekend I tried to buy an iPhone 4. After visiting about 20 retailers I'm fairly certain that none were available in Winnipeg. There is only one reason I could not get one. The system miscalculated the demand for this product. The only question is, did they miscalculate demand in general or was it just in the Winnipeg market?

Being out of stock is costly and foolish.

When someone makes a decision to purchase an item from your organization, you need to have it available. You need to be able to fulfill their purchase need. If you do not, chances are you have lost the revenue to another product or retailer.

The iPhone 4 may be a bit of an exception.

Apple has had a significant resurgence in the last 5 years. They have spent a lot of time studying how we interact with machines and their easy to use hardware and software has developed a loyal following. I know this first hand. I used Microsoft operating systems on various hardware platforms for most of my life. They have always been clumsy and difficult to use. When I started acquiring Apple products I discovered that computing doesn't have to be awkward.

I will continue my quest for the iPhone 4. I'm sure I will get one in the next couple of weeks. I'm sure I will be happy with my purchase. I'm also sure Apple will continue to put out great products.



Thursday, August 12, 2010

And We Laughed

In the last few months I have rediscovered late night comedy. I'm not sure why I stopped watching but like many things in life, I forgot how much I enjoy it.

Comedy is important.

Although, laughing makes you feel good and usually relieves stress, that's not why comedy is important.

Comedy is important because if it is done properly it pushes boundaries.

For some reason, society seems to be moving further and further toward not offending anyone. People do not share what they believe because they fear the repercussions of rubbing someone the wrong way. As we have moved from a duty based society to a rights based society, creativity and honesty have taken a back seat to not saying anything that may hurt anyone.

By laughing about what is different we can move to closer together. Being able to poke fun at yourself, makes you human and approachable.

I know my humour is edgier than most and I find something funny in almost anything. I know not everyone shares my sense of humour. I'm quite fine with that. I feel for the people who don't share or pretend not to share my sense of humour. They are loosing out.

If you don't push forward you will risk withering away. Humour can move you forward and enlighten you. It can make you see the world around you. In this world of being highly connected it appears that people are less aware of the world.

We need to get out and laugh more. We need to find the funny in the world around us, we need to share this with those we know. We need to do this without fear. If we do this we will all be in a much better place in the long run.



Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Maybe This Was The World Protecting Itself

Very early this morning I was buying gas for my SUV. While I was filling up at the pay at the pump island, a woman pulled up to fill her car. Ok, there may be a bit more to this. In trying to park her car to fill it, she nearly backed into the pump. It appeared that she was trying to parallel park to fuel up. In the end, despite nearly backing into the fueling station, she really wasn't close.

To add to the situation she didn't know how to fuel her car. The pump she wanted to use would only work if you pay at the pump. She asked me to fuel her vehicle for her.

I did not fuel her car.

If you cannot put fuel in your vehicle, then eventually the car will not be useable. It will become a motionless piece of manufactured goods.

I'm not against women driving. Where I draw the line is, if you cannot safely drive or fuel your vehicle, you should not be be in a position to operate your vehicle.

Maybe this is the world protecting itself.

I realize this woman, not through skill or ability, managed to put more fuel in her car. I know for a fact that she didn't do it at the station I was at.

You could argue that being able to fuel a vehicle is a basic life skill or at least a testable skill for the issue of a driver's license. It appears it is not the case. However, the world is trying really hard to keep this woman from driving but since she managed to drive to the gas station, she will most likely continue to drive.

I only hope she doesn't hurt me while driving without a clue.