Tag business

The Olympic Legacy

I just read this article on Guardian (via Buzz) regarding the legacy of the sporting venues created for the Olympics and whether they're worth it. Living in Athens for the past three years it's become clear to me that most people --- including myself until very lately --- is unaware that they can, cheaply, access some of the facilities created for the 2004 Olympics, for example the Olympic swimming centre. It has been clear that most of the facilities have been under lock and key and unavailable to anyone wishing to use them. Then there's the case of 'The Mall', the huge shopping mall that was created just after the games and which seems to be illegally built (a story widely publicised [in Hellenic], but largely ignored), but also a recent report [in Hellenic] by the Hellenic private TV station 'Alpha' claiming that the main building of the Olympic Village was given by the Hellenic government to a monastery which then sold it. It's, therefore, unclear to me whether the Olympic facilities are really a burden or whether Athens is such a bad example upon which this conclusion is drawn. With proper management, more public interest and --- if anything --- no multi-billion euro scandals, I'm pretty sure that the Olympic investments could be beneficial to many hosts. Barcelona comes to mind.

Canon EOS 50D

It’s been almost four and a half years since I got my venerable Canon EOS 20D. And, in DSLR time, that’s quite a lot. The 20D was a fantastic camera for its time, highly valued by both amateurs such as myself and pros (mostly as a second body). Sadly, most updates to the series by […]

iΠακέτα ηλιθιότητας

Η Vodafone Ελλάς ανακοίνωσε τη διαθεσιμότητα του iPhone 3G της Apple στην χώρα μας. Πέραν τις ιδιαίτερα ακριβής τιμής απόκτησης του τηλεφώνου (ιδιαίτερα για τα ελληνικά δεδομένα), η Vodafone κατάφερε να δημιουργήσει κάποια από τα αθλιότερα πακέτα που έχω αντικρύσει διεθνώς, σε βαθμό που ακυρώνουν πολλά από τα χαρακτηριστικά του iPhone (250MB μηνιαίως;), τόσο σε απόλυτη τιμή όσο και αν λάβει κανείς το πραγματικό εισόδημα του μέσου έλληνα. [Γράφει σχετικά και ο Γιώργος στο Reality-Tape]

Επίσκεψη στο Ευρωπαϊκό Κοινοβούλιο

Τη περασμένη Παρασκευή, 18 Ιουλίου 2008, έλαβα μια πρόσκληση από την ομάδα Ευρωβουλευτών του ΠΑΣΟΚ για μια επίσκεψη στο Ευρωπαϊκό Κοινοβούλιο στις Βρυξέλλες όπου θα πραγματοποιηθεί σειρά συναντήσεων με Ευρωβουλευτές, σχετικούς Επιτρόπους της Επιτροπής καθώς, εκπροσώπους κάποιων ιδιαίτερα γνωστών Μη-Κυβερνητικών Οργανισμών (π.χ. Statewatch, EFF μεταξύ άλλων) αλλά φυσικά και αρκετών bloggers, πάνω στο θέμα της […]

The Three Strikes. EU Edition.

A Fist Full of Euros reports on the crucial topic of ISPs, neutrality, surveillance as manifested through the failed 'three strikes' french law that's now reached the European Parliament.

Εκτροχιασμοί

Προ κάποιων εβδομάδων ο Νίκος Σμυρναίος έγραψε στο blog του σχετικά με το ζήτημα της παρακολούθησης των συνδέσεων του διαδικτύου στα πλαίσια της προσπάθειας, τόσο κρατικών όσο και ιδιωτικών φορέων για τη μείωση της ανταλλαγής πνευματικών έργων μέσω του διαδικτύου. Σήμερα διάβασα από το blog του Ματθαίου Τσιμιτάκη ένα παρεμφερές άρθρο που παραπέμπει και εμπλουτίζει […]

It may well turn out to be the largest war profiteering in history.

There's no doubt about it: the war had its critics, and there were many of them, even before it became a mainstream affair, in late 2002; much like the 'discussion' about an attack on Iran is today, there were those that foresaw what was about to unfold. Over the years much has been said or written about the corruption, the unbelievable cost, the blatant disregard not just of the life of Iraqis, arguably of little importance to the leaders, military or political, of the US, but of the domestic social and economic impact of the war within the United States. Few had any significant evidence to back it up. BBC's Panorama investigates the matter and claims that up to $25 billion (€16.2 billion) of the budget allocated by the US Congress to the rebuilding of Iraq may have been 'lost, stolen or not properly accounted for'. At the same time, a gag order in the US prevents anyone from discussing it. Even if no political argument, no humanistic, ideological or ethical platform of discussion is capable of penetrating those thick enough not capable of comprehending the severity, futility and cost of this war, I'm hoping that the economics of a dwindling US economy are in the coming US elections in November.

Steamrollin'

Early last week a report was published online according to which Apple's share of the retail computer market for the first quarter of 2008 was 13.8%, a figure about four times higher than the company's market share in 2004 and six times higher than its share two years earlier. But the most impressive part of the report wasn't this figure. It was the fact that Apple owned 66% (!) of the $1000+ market. From the relevant Computerworld article:
And Apple essentially owns the $1,000-and-up market, according to NPD's data. Overall, Macs accounted for 66% of all personal computers in that price category sold at retail during 2008's first quarter, taking 70% of desktop sales and a 64% share of notebook sales.
This is an astounding percentage for a single company going against the whole industry, but it's also somewhat concerning given the weakness of Microsoft and lack of alternatives. Yes, Apple is a very US-centric company that seems to not-give-a-damn about the rest of the world for the most part, and it's certainly too early to start sounding the warning sirens ("Ahoy, new monopoly in sight! Not exactly incompetent like that last one, captain"), but if this report holds any water I'm pretty certain that it'd be no surprise if Apple became the No. 1 personal computer manufacturer in the next five years. As Steve Jobs told the Panic people when they refused to 'sell' Audion to Apple: "We're a giant steam engine about to run you down." Somehow this frightens me.

Steps Towards Irrelevance

Mary Jo Foley, Microsoftphile and tech writer (since the company's early years) writes, when asked about the future of Microsoft's leadership once Bill Gates retires:
There's always been this dichotomy between "Bill's guys" and "Steve's guys." Steve's guys have MBAs and their roots are in sales. Bill's guys have been traditional technologists. The people who are more like Steve will probably get more power and will run the show, so I wonder who's going to be the tech champion for Bill's guys. I think that's going to be a big cultural and noticeable change once Gates is out from his day-to-day duties.
That's funny. Microsoft has been pretty much excellent in marketing and sales for many years, but mediocre (or even poor in some cases) in engineering and technology. If "Bill's guys" have been running the show all these years, how will "Steve's guys" help Microsoft overcome its pretty obvious technological problems without squandering its strategy? I'm guessing if Steve Ballmer is going to stay --- which he probably is --- Microsoft will probably move a bit faster, but still quite gradually, towards irrelevance. It's not salesmen and marketers that make or break a company like this. It's not technologists either. It's visionaries, pioneers and innovators. Microsoft never really had many of those in positions of power, and it desperately needs them to compete in today's market. Innovation and a solid vision for the future have always been at the fringes of corporate policy at Microsoft or in Bill Gates' books and lectures. Sadly, I doubt the 'MBAs' and 'salespeople' that are going to run the show in Redmond for the next few years have any clue as to what any of that mean.