First there was Nokia, with the secretive, luxury, yet-to-be-released Nokia Erdos.  Back then I said:

Come think of it… I think I Open Source my name.  Apple, Dell, Sony, BMW, Mercedes..etc, I’m looking forward to your Erdos models.  Just don’t forget to send a courtesy unit.

Dell listened: they are coming out with the Latitude Z luxury notebook, the first notebook to charge wirelessly.  Whose next?   BMW?  Mercedes?

I’ll be happy to add these brands to My Z-life.  Just remember to send a courtesy product

It’s not every day one sees his family name as headline on TechMeme.  Well, if that name is Scoble or Arrington, sure, but for the rest of us it’s a red-letter-day…

Well, it just happened to me, courtesy of Nokia, and the shiny new Nokia Erdos luxury phone.  Last I checked a few years ago, they could not keep up with demand for the $5K Vertu phones in platinum, gold and diamond casings.  The Nokia Erdos will only have brushed aluminum casing, but it’s stuffed with hi-tech, like the OLED display, a rising keyboard, 5 megapixel auto-focus camera with Carl Zeiss optics, etc.  Here’s a promo video:

(Why is this, and all other copies on Youtube so blurry?)

Anyway, back to Nokia.  I’m a little pi***ed that they did not ask me … but in the end, it’s OK.  I don’t get productized every day, after all.   Just remember to send me a test unit, Nokia!

Come think of it… I think I Open Source my name.  Apple, Dell, Sony, BMW, Mercedes..etc, I’m looking forward to your Erdos models.  Just don’t forget to send a courtesy unit.

Related posts:

• Nokia Erdos spotted in promo video
• Nokia Erdos Leaks: Decadence Defined
• Nokia Erdos: a shiny specter, or an OLED-equipped reality?

(Cross-posted @ CloudAve)

I don’t normally quote such a huge chunk of a post, but this is a gem:

A couple years ago, after trying nearly everything to get my new Dell to work, I did the unthinkable. I called Dell’s tech support. After giving the service tag and all that other jazz, I explained the problem to the technician.

"According to the BIOS," I said, "my computer has 4GB of RAM installed. But Vista Ultimate only shows 2GB."

"Hmm," the tech responded, "what is this Vissa software you are using?"

"Microsoft Vista Ultimate," I explained, "you know, the new Microsoft OS?"

The rep paused. "I’m sorry, we don’t support third party software. But if you would like, I can help you restore your computer to its original state. Do you have your Dell Resource CD?"

"No, no," I countered, "this isn’t third party software. It is the operating system that came with the computer when I purchased it from you."

"What is the software called again?"

"Microsoft Vista," I said slowly, "Ultimate Edition."

The rep put me on hold for a few minutes and returned several minutes later. "Where did you get this Vissa program? I will see if anyone here has heard of it."

"Well," I wasn’t sure how to respond, "it’s Microsoft’s newest Operating System, and it is called Vista."

"Ooooh," the rep responded, "Vissa! Yes, I understand now."

I just waited for a moment.

"Well Mr. Mike," he said, "this is a problem with the Vissa software. We have notified Microsoft and they have informed us that you can not use more than 3GB of memory with this software. I suggest you uninstall it and install the XP Pro that came with your computer."

"But, my computer came with Vista Ultimate installed on it. It is less than two weeks old."

The technician seemed a little confused, "okay, but I can send you a copy of XP Pro?"

"No thank you," I said, "my friend bought the exact same PC, and his shows the 4GB in Vista, so I don’t think it is a bug."

"I see. So is there anything else I can help you with, Mr. Mike?"

"I would really like to find out how to resolve this," I pleaded, "I read up a little on it on a website, but I cannot make changes to the BIOS with everything grayed out. I was hoping you could help me?"

"Unfortunately we don’t offer support for other software like Bios and Vissa, but we can help you restore your system back to its original configuration if you would like?"

"No," I was started to get agitated, "I really would like see the 4GB in Vista."

Without even acknowledging my request, the rep said "so is there anything else I can help you with Mr. Mike?"

"But can’t you tell me who else I could check with to try and find answer to this problem?"

In the same exact tone, the rep repeated "so is there anything else I can help you with Mr. Mike?"

I said no, and disconnected the call shortly thereafter.

Hilarious.  And yes, I’m pretty sure the story is somewhat exaggerated, perhaps entirely fictional, yet something in the dialogue will no doubt sound familiar to all of us.  The Brainless Stonewalling Machine runs Customer Service in far too many places.

Btw, you should bookmark / subscribe to The Daily WTF.

Fellow Enterprise Irregular Vinnie Mirchandani did a good job of un-hyping the Gartner Hype Cycle for emerging technologies.

He points out some inconsistencies comparing this year’s chart to the 2007 version. He should know, he is a Gartner Alumnus himself.  But I’ve been wondering if there was a way to further simplify it, i.e. make it digestible to average folks like yours truly .. and I’ve just found it.

Ladies and Gentlemen, here’s the simplified,  scobleized, oprahized, too-oh-ized version of the Gartner Hype Cycle:

Courtesy of Geek & Poke.

(Cross-posted @ CloudAve)

It’s really simple.   Here’s your default choice:

But now you can opt out of all google services. Welcome to the Village, courtesy of The Onion.

Click here should the embedded video not work…

Would you believe pubsubhubbub is a name of a real service by none other than Google?  Here’s the skinny… and all I can add is  yaba daba do.

TGIF.

Bing is gaining on Google.  Do you know why?  Check these Google image search results for the keyword Bing. My friend Chris Yeh could come up with all sorts of theories on why she is winning, but I’ll skip the details.

On a serious note (and it’s not even tomorrow) here’s an easy way to experiment yourself: either use Bing vs. Google online, or better yet, add it as a search provider to your browser and observe the results for a few days.

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• Bing To Google: Try Updating Your Index Once In A While (techcrunch.com)

The barebones low-cost airline is considering standing-room flights.

Can’t be much worse than sitting on most airlines today, right?

- says Jeff Nolan.   But wait, these flights may be free!   Says Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary:

Why is this any different to what happens on trains where you see thousands of people who cannot get a seat standing in the isles?

There’s still room for further cost-cutting, like shrink-wrapping passengers and piling them up in the cargo area Or do like the Flintstones:

(You can purchase the original here for a lot more than a Ryanair ticket)

This listing on eBay is hilarious, almost makes me wonder if it’s a true listing or carefully planted advertising for Google Apps (and SaaS in general).  But the seller appears to be real, has been on eBay for ten years…   Here we go, get Microsoft Office w. Outlook for $75, because:

It’s brand new and never been opened.  My boss bought it right before I moved the whole company over to Google Apps.
We never looked back, but here’s your opportunity to live it up, 90’s style, with this great, retro piece of Microsoft 2007 software.

Read more…