Pandora Rocks, Apple Scrooge, and Other Thoughts...

I know - it's been almost 3 weeks since my last post. OK. I know, I'm an SEO junkie, and I ought to know how detrimental this is to my blog's prospects for visibility. But, alas, as I have failed so far in my attempts to make this blog into a net money-maker, my time has been used up with more profitable ventures.

Back to blogging, I must take a short minute and say something about one of the things I like. Pandora is amazing; if you've never tried it, take a quick detour right now (and then come back). If you don't know what Pandora is yet, just think "Internet radio" - except much, much better than our normal concepts of radio. The site is so user-friendly that spending any more time explaining it would be overkill.

Now for today's first news item: Apple’s cash: It’s one sour cider - Financial Week

It seems Apple is following a troubling cycle, and it goes like this:

1. endure steady, light criticism from tech blogs everywhere for several months;


2. announce an upcoming product release; ride an incredible wave of rising hype as the release date draws nigh;


3. reap big profits from initial sales;


4. endure steady criticism about the new product's shortcomings.

So, it appears we're in the interim period between #4 and #1, a familiar "dead zone", where Apple can't seem to do anything right, and we all wonder about the merits of their closed model of production.