Technology Quote Of The Day

Silicon Valley Guru Steve Blank Welcomes The New Bubble And Says Microsoft Is Doomed

BI: What about IBM? IBM was able to turn around and they’re about to pass Microsoft in market cap. (Update: They just did.)

SB: But remember how they did that? They brought somebody in from the outside that said “fuck everything you know, I’m going to fire a shitload of people.“

Boldfaced emphasis added by me.

That is exactly the prescription for print publishing too.

Except those morons keep bringing in more Suits.

Music: OttO Vector

It was February 15, 2007 and I was just about a groupie of a now-defunct band called Girls Don’t Cry.

They were playing at a place called Pianos. I did something uncharacteristic that night because it was so damn cold outside (I can still remember it!). I went inside before they were due to start and heard some of the band preceding them.

I was too cold to concentrate but right away I was impressed by the power of the singer. When the band left the stage, I told the singer, and I wound up with a free CD out of the blue.

Her name is Renee and the band is OttO Vector.

The National Jukebox

National Jukebox: Historical Recordings from the Library of Congress

The National Jukebox is a project of the Library of Congress Packard Campus for Audio Visual Conservation. The goal of the Jukebox is to present to the widest audience possible early commercial sound recordings, offering a broad range of historical and cultural documents as a contribution to education and lifelong learning.

These selections are presented as part of the record of the past. They are historical documents which reflect the attitudes, perspectives, and beliefs of different times. The Library of Congress does not endorse the views expressed in these recordings, which may contain content offensive to users.

Quickest entry point: Jukebox Day by Day

Update: Think mashups are new? Listen to this.

Quotes Of The Day: Roseanne

Yes, as in the former sitcom star.

I was never a fan. Her TV family were too damn realistic for my taste. I grew up around — and fled from — people like that and I’d be damned if I consider more time with them as entertaining.

But Lefsetz recommended this piece she wrote for NY Magazine and it’s really, really good. Eye-opening and with behind-the-scenes stuff I never knew or even suspected.

TV: The Shadow Line, Episode Three

No spoilers ahead.

Writer Societies Are Led By The Brain Dead

The American brain dead of the Author’s Guild has a good match in England with the Society of Authors similarly lead by the brain dead.

Excitement and relief over Waterstone’s future

Writer Tom Holland, president of the Society of Authors, said… “There is something deeply sensory about Daunt’s bookshops. They are the literary equivalent of walking into a delicious bakery. That’s something he can bring to Waterstone’s which can’t be replicated online.“

Boldfaced emphasis added by me.

Does this guy even own a computer? Does he have an Internet connection?

How Amazon Could Switch Over ePub Book Buyers

Amazon is very, very good with their strategy and tactics.

This week they announced eBooks are outselling print books.

But why did they announce that this week?

Next week is BookExpo America. The news released then would have made a huge splash, been a seismic shock.

This makes me think that Amazon has an even bigger announcement for next week, to stab the heart of BEA and cause weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Liberty Media + Barnes & Noble: The Day After

Well, I’m not the only one who was flummoxed by the news. Just look at this headline from the Wall Street Journal:

Insane! John Malone Offers to Buy Barnes & Noble

It still makes sense to me for Amazon to buy Barnes & Noble. Amazon will eventually be surrounded by states imposing taxes on its business, so why not jump ahead of all of them? Barnes & Noble has generally classy stores and could be made into Amazon Stores. Again: FedEx bought Kinko’s, and this would not be any more unusual than that. Just imagine all those customers coming in to see samples of the latest offerings from Zappos!