IPhone 3GS Review
This morning we braved the non-line at the AT&T store to pick up the new 3GS. So far the phone seems to have all the most important features and I’ll take a moment to list my favorites:
1) VIDEO – As a former Treo user I’ve been disappointed for years that we didn’t have this feature on the iphone. It works great and with 1 click upload to youtube its extremely simple to use.
2) COMPASS – For next time we’re lost hiking in the Alps this app comes standard.
3) SEARCH – This feature was also part of the 3.0 upgrade available for all iphones. Simply scroll to the left and a search screen appears. Basically similar to the Mac spotlight feature it comes up with the best results based on everything on your phone, even emails and contacts.
4) CALL LOG – A new update to the call log that I saw immediately was that under the names it tells where the call originated. For instance “City, State”
5) VALUE - At $199 for the 16 gig its a steal. If you haven’t purchased a new phone in the last 18 months sign up now. If you (like me) purchased the original 3G last year it gets a little more tricky. Check out this FAQ from CompuWorld to get the low down on your AT&T options.
Book Expo America Breakout Sessions
I attended the breakouts throughout Book Expo America while my posse worked our booth. Independent publishers seemed as excited as ever but fear was clearly on the face of the major players. Nearly every breakout seemed to have an “us versus them” mentality between the independents and the big publishers. I didn’t recall things being so tense last year. What did I learn? Well first of all I never got to attend the Google Books session because I wasn’t allowed to attend the “publishers only” session and the author’s session conflicted with another event. I really enjoyed the session “Book Reviews2010: What Will They Look Like” featuring Otis Chandler of Goodreads with some “real” reviewers including Ben Greenman from The New Yorker and David Nudo of The New York Times. I was surprised to learn that Otis’ grandfather founded the L.A Times. I feel for the newspaper industry and hope it can develop a viable model for earnings however believing that book sales will not continue to be driven by pop culture and the internet is very niave approach. David Nudo made the statement that he felt most people prefer a professional reviewer over the advice of a friend. I’d really like to hear your opinions on if this is true because in my case it is definitely not.
Also interesting was “Print On Demand For Dummies” featuring David Taylor from Lightening Source and two others. From this short breakout I could immediately see the future of publishing. Lightening Source also featured their “Espresso” machine on the show floor which offers book stores in house instant printing. Of course publishers are not yet giving up the rights to make this possible, but it is inevitably the future. Imagine walking into your favorite book store, browsing sample books storewide or even browsing the internet for the title you want. When you’re ready to purchase you take the book to the front and its custom printed in the size and paper type you want with your name in the front cover. This will also save the millions of unsold books that are destroyed each year because they don’t sell. The book industry would truly turn “green” printing only to meet true customer demand.
Saturday afternoon provided a pretty funny panel discussion called “Stupid Things Booksellers and Publishers Do.” There was a really funny guy who is a bookstore owner in San Francisco that attempted to moderate. Attacks flew back and forth but mostly in a fun way. Basically all sides agreed on one subject only – that non-returnable sales at a discount would be the most advantageous for stores, sellers, publishers and readers … but probably won’t happen.
Book Expo America 2009 – Review Part 1
Entering the events hall at the Javits Center, one could immediately fill a different vibe in the air. Not necessarily bad, just different than last year’s Los Angeles celebrity stocked buzz fest. Last year I was delighted to meet Slash, William Shatner, Rick Pitino, Arianna Huffington and many other huge stars. This year the headlining book signers were Doctor Ruth and Captain “Sully” Sullenberger. For me the highlight was Dr. Cornel West & Tavis Smiley who were just as great in person as he is on tv. Actually my very favorite author, Peter David, was there signing but I missed him because the book was just so thick I didn’t see his name.
There were basically no after-parties but that was ok because New York has so much to do we were really tired from all the running around. We did enjoy Steven Tyler’s opening keynote. He was very very funny and Clarence Clemmons playing the sax was classic. Neither took time out for a formal signing which seemed like a missed opportunity.
In the exhibit hall the aisles were noticeably less full than last year. However we got plenty of traffic to our booth set up in the University Press section. Many book buyers and bookstore employees were not at all eager to talk which I found odd since it was sort of the whole reasons they were there. Several of them read our sign and said ”I already have my dream job so I don’t need your book” to which we responded “Aren’t you here to find books to stock in your store? ” That seemed to totally puzzle them which was even more weird, making me wonder why they thought they were there.
Everyone associated with the show was extremely nice and gracious. That included the Freeman staff setting the show up. We really appreciated this because it seemed like everyone was really grateful to each exhibitor even us small guys. All the booths around me were great and I’m going to get links up on our website to all of their books.
All in all it was fun and we’ll definitely be back next year. Tomorrow I’ll post my reviews of the breakout sessions with notes.
Shrek The Musical On Broadway
While in New York City for Book Expo America we took time out to see Shrek The Musical. Here are some brief notes of interest:
#1 TICKETS are available online at up to 1/2 off retail via a lot of websites. I bought mine on Theatermania.com and needed 2 more the day of the show. We went to the box office about an hour before the show and bought 2 more with the same discount which was really cool. The screen at the box office showed our tickets at $225 and we paid $90.
#2 SEATING If you’re in the first 5 rows (A-F) you are right up on the stage. So close that it is almost an obstructed view. Believe it or not the best seats in the house are up top in the front. One set of our tickets was row E center and I felt it was still hard to see everything going on.
#3 MORE SEATING The characters spend a lot of time stage left so you get very up close and personal however Shrek runs down the aisle on stage right at the end which is very cool for that side of the audience. Depends on if you want a big moment or several small moments.
#4 REVIEW The show is very funny even for adults. Actually there are a few double-meaning moments that are borderline inappropriate. It sticks to the original movie pretty well and all of the actors are fantastic.
#5 DON’T TAKE PICTURES. SERIOUSLY. The couple in front of us were from Toronto anc celebrating their anniversary. During the intermission they wanted me to take their picture. This resulted in a rush of security guards and threat of expulsion. I talked them down with my charm but still highly recommend you leave the cameras in your bag!
More Signs On Surviving The Slow Economy
As news of an economic slowdown loomed last fall, I googled “depression” to get some ideas on how to stay at the top of the tide. I found interesting details about Chevrolet’s ability to make it through the great depression by boosting advertising and appealing to specific markets. Now the very same company has entered bankruptcy. But the auto industry is far from dead.
Yesterday’s USA Today made this point clear highlighting VW, Mercedes & Kia who are all experiencing growth despite the economic downturn. Why? All have increased their advertising budgets by nearly 40%. The moral of the story? More than just hard work will keep us on top. Don’t allow fear to close our pocketbooks. Its time to spend.
And the great thing is advertising costs are at record lows, especially TV & radio. Don’t allow this historic chance to get your name out there slip away. So the next time you hear someone complain about their business being down, ask them by what percentage they’ve increased their advertising!
Upgrading to Leopard
Upgrade. The very word echoes sentiments of new amazing features solving my every concern. So last week we took the plunge upgrading to Leopard for Mac. Albeit pushed over the edge slightly by the fact that our upgrade to QuickBooks ‘09 wouldn’t work with Tiger.
Installation went well although taking over 30 minutes. And it was a bargain at $169 for both the new OS coupled with iLife & iWork ‘09.
There was a problematic glitch after the OS loaded. I launched Mail but the app only partially responded. It wouldn’t open the Mail window and none of my messages appeared. I checked the settings and accounts in preferences and everything was ok. What to do next?
After googling the problem, I found this link the most helpful in correcting the issue and getting the upgrade back on track:
Apple Mail Upgrade Leopard Crash
After I removed then replaced the files everything worked fine. Although I’ve yet to experience the full bells and wistles of the new OS, it does seem a bit easier to navigate.
Hopefully this will help if you’re having the same issue!
Green Job Listings
Trees Instead is a company based in Miami, Florida, that is hiring for several positions including web designer and accountant. Basically peopl e donate a tree to be planted in the name of an event. They have pledged to plant over 200.000 trees in 2009. According to their website “Our Goal is to be the largest tree dedication project in the world for 2009, please support our efforts by dedicating a tree for any occasion. So far we had manage tobecome the #1 Private tree dedication Co. in the US*, #2 in Canada, #2 in Israel # 2 in Colombia & # 4 in Brazil by volume of trees planted and internet traffic.”
If you’re looking for a job with purpose, this career might be for you! Click to to submit your resume.
NYC Short Film Fest (a few months late)
I know I know, it’s been almost 5 months since the NYC Shorts film festival that ran convienently during IFC week in Manhattan. I just had a few moments tonight to recap the Program A portion of the event which we had the honor of attending in September.
First off, the location was nice although small. Everyone was extremely friendly and there was definantely a good buzz through the event.
We arrived late and akwardly watched half of THE ELEVATOR which was definantely not the best movie to miss the beginning. If you see if you’ll understand (and probably laugh your head off.)
Up next (if memory serves me correctly) was ON THE ASSASSINATION OF THE PRESIDENT which was well filmed but somewhat predictable. Then the very cool animated movie called HUNGU.
After a very long feeling ROADMARKERS [KESTOMERKITSIJÄT] came the two festival highlights.
First up RATTUS was a well filmed and edited documentary dealing with various individuals who love to have rats as pets. I personally voted this film festival best. giving slight leaning to the fact that the director was in the audience and was a local NYC guy. In the end it took home best documentary honors.
Last up was the French film TONY ZOREIL [TONY ZEAR] It is the amazing tale of a man born with humongous ears. It was funny laced with a human spirit story of overcoming prejudice. The object was well achieved in making all viewers self analyze how they view those who are not the social norm. This was the ultimate “must see” of the entire night.
Overall it was a terrific festival made all the more special by the great staff. We were very happy that we made the trip to the upper west side to catch the action and hopefully we’ll be there again next year.
Shazam!
Of the thousands (or millions) of phone apps there are only a handful that truly stand out. One such application is Shazam.
When turned on, Shazam will identify any song just by “hearing” it. Say you’re in a restaurant and a song comes on that you really like. Enable Shazam and presto it will load the song title & author.
This is a giant step toward the future. All I want next is my flying car 
8 Hours At Sundance
Today was our 8 hours of fun at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. First off, the surroundings are absolutely beautiful. Snow capped mountains, beautiful cottages & ski slopes. I put together a list of what we learned:
- Park in the $20 lot 1 block from Main St. Why walk 2 miles to save a buck? Time is important.
- Head to the ticket office first or if at all possible buy tickets online before you arrive. (NOTE: After 8 p.m they release extra tickets to the next days sold out shows.)
- Watch Amereeka! It was fantastic
- Give yourself lots of time between movies. It’s only 2.5 miles to the Raquet Club from Downtown but that is a 45-60 min bus ride!
- Arrive early to get good seats. I’d say 30 minutes is a good mark.
- Interact with the cast and crew after the shows. It makes the story that much more memorable and interesting.
- Eat early or at weird times to beat the crowds.
- Bring or buy a bottle for water. There are no plastic bottles of water available in an effort to reduce the Sundance carbon footprint.
- Have business cards to connect with people, especially with blog and twitter info. There are so many awesome people that you’ll want to stay in touch with later.
