Posts by Michael Gartenberg from December 2003

Michael Gartenberg | December 30, 2003, 08:02 PM
Rhapsody Rocks
I have never been a strong advocate of online music services. I prefer to own my music and be able to take it with me. Besides, how often do I want to listen to music on a computer and only when that computer is connected to the Internet. Like... ( more )

Michael Gartenberg | December 30, 2003, 10:06 AM
More on Longhorn adoption
Scoble disagrees with my prior comments about Longhorn adoption. Robert, I don't think that we're talking about no future in Software, in fact, I think that's where the innovation is (and the money as well - every investment I did as a VC was in software for the most part).... ( more )

Michael Gartenberg | December 28, 2003, 06:28 PM
Phil Goldman RIP
I just learned some sad news Phil Goldman, CEO of Mailblocks passed away in his sleep on Dec 25.  Word is over 350 people attended a memorial service today in the Bay Area. Phil was a real visionary who worked for Apple, was a co-founder of WebTV and most... ( more )

Michael Gartenberg | December 26, 2003, 12:00 PM
Driving Longhorn Upgrades will not be easy for Microsoft
When I was in Seattle last week, I had dinner with one of the folks on the Longhorn team and one of the things that we were discussing was the drivers that could create success for Longhorn. I’ve been thinking about this for a while now and am starting... ( more )

Michael Gartenberg | December 24, 2003, 05:11 PM
'Tis the Season to Predict
My predictions for the New Year. Happy Holidays and best wishes for a year filled with health, happiness, life and peace.... ( more )

Michael Gartenberg | December 24, 2003, 05:10 PM
How do you get VC's excited about Tablet PCs?
Interesting comments from Scoble about the Tablet PC market. One of my predictions for 04 is how the Tablet market will break out. Robert’s suggestions are all great verticals for OEMs to go after. Loren Heiny: "How would you explain the business opportunities of Tablet PCs to VCs?" I'd... ( more )

Michael Gartenberg | December 24, 2003, 04:57 PM
The Velvet Rope: Turned away from Club RSS?
From Susan Mernit, looks like more bickering on the RSS front. I had a briefing earlier this week from a company that is doing some really amazing syndication stuff (look for more news about what they are doing around the CES timeframe) and I asked them what they thought of... ( more )

Michael Gartenberg | December 24, 2003, 04:41 PM
Unhappy with your iPod's battery life? Sue Apple
Department of *sheesh* What’s next?  Blatantly attempting to cash in on this whole pseudo-controversy about the iPod's battery life (e.g. "The iPod's Dirty Little Secret, etc.), a law firm in... [Gizmodo]... ( more )

Michael Gartenberg | December 23, 2003, 03:03 PM
Another Treo 600 Fan
Alan Meckler, our CEO, likes the Treo 600. I have been a Blackberry user since 1999. I have been a cell phone user since before most of this readership was born (I was one of the first cell phone subscribers in New York City --- 1983. In those days... ( more )

Michael Gartenberg | December 23, 2003, 02:57 PM
Apple coming out with "mini iPods ?
 According to Gizmodo Apple has a raft of new iPods coming out. Bear in mind, the rumor sites are often in error. I’ll be in SF for Macworld if any of you want to get together… That veritable font of Apple-related rumors and speculation that is Think Secret is... ( more )

Michael Gartenberg | December 18, 2003, 02:50 PM
The mystery behind iRobotNow
Not a mystery but what appears to be a very cool movie tie-in to the iRobot movie coming next year. I do love stealth campaigns like this, the last really good one was the AI game (that unfortunately was much better than the movie IMHO). A few people have written... ( more )

Michael Gartenberg | December 18, 2003, 01:14 PM
Businessweek: Is Google the new Microsoft?
Thanks to Susan Mernit for the link. Alex Salkever "Taken to its logical extension of providing an interface for every popular service or sector on the Web, Google becomes the omnipresent middleman and a clear and present danger to just about any company that relies on the Internet for commerce.... ( more )

Michael Gartenberg | December 18, 2003, 01:10 PM
INTERNET PLANET
And here's some comments directly from our CEO.,. Today Jupitermedia announced another new show: INTERNET PLANET. I founded Internet World as a trade show in 1993 - it no longer takes place. It died because it did not not evolve. Internet Planet is in fact the evolution of what Internet... ( more )

Michael Gartenberg | December 18, 2003, 08:00 AM
Jupitermedia Announces Launch of Internet Planet Trade Show Focused on Growing Business Online
Here's the release for a new conference we are launching. Our CEO has been talking for a while about the need for focused shows. This one in particular is going to resonate well as we focus on growing business online. There's a lot of really interesting things that are happening... ( more )

Michael Gartenberg | December 16, 2003, 07:19 PM
Mac Testing Lab at MSFT
I got a tour of the testing lab at Microsoft today that compiles the tests for products. What an amazing site of rows and rows of Macs going through tests and stressing the software. IT was cool seeing products that went back to the original 128k Macintosh. The Mac business... ( more )

Michael Gartenberg | December 16, 2003, 07:13 PM
It's raining here in Seattle
Shocked! I'm shocked to find gambling going on in this establishment :)... ( more )

Michael Gartenberg | December 16, 2003, 07:09 PM
Fellowship of the Movies: A Marathon Screening of 'Rings'
Sounds like a fun time. They start showing at 12:01 here in Seattle. I`m debating about whether to try and see it tonight or just wait until I get back to NY. There's something about seeing a movie like this when it opens the first day in the middle of... ( more )

Michael Gartenberg | December 11, 2003, 04:52 PM
Off to Seattle
It's been really busy here as we try and finish up the all the stuff that needs to happen before YE and then I'm on the road next week in Seattle. If anyone wants to get together, drop me a note and hopefully we can hook up. I'll be taking... ( more )

Michael Gartenberg | December 10, 2003, 12:53 PM
New Watch Finds the SWEET SPOT
I have been testing a beta version Microsoft's new SPOT (Smart Personal Object Technology) wristwatch for last month and thought I would share some observations. For those of you who haven't been following, SPOT's core premise  when it launches is to integrate core information and extend the function of everyday items... ( more )

Michael Gartenberg | December 10, 2003, 08:05 AM
The NYTimes article on the Dean campaign
John Robb talks about social software on the Dean campaign. It's not that Dean has made such good use of the Internet, it's more about how much success he has had with just limited efforts. Exploiting the Internet's capabilities, even to a fractional level helped Dean enormously. It's surprising that... ( more )

Michael Gartenberg | December 10, 2003, 08:05 AM
Jupitermedia: iPod, iTunes 'energized music industry'
Our forecast for portable media devices is getting a lot of play today. We have a major vision report on the subject on tap for early in 2004. Stay tuned, there's a lot more happening in this space... Market research firm Jupiter Research announced that it expects MP3 player shipments... ( more )

Michael Gartenberg | December 10, 2003, 08:04 AM
Mailblocks Weblog
Phil Goldman, CEO of Mailblocks has started a weblog @ http://blog.mailblocks.com/.... ( more )

Michael Gartenberg | December 09, 2003, 09:04 AM
The software isn't 25 times better
Wired interviews Bill Joy. Thirty years ago a supercomputer was 80 megahertz.  Now a personal computer is 2 gigahertz, and yet the software isn't 25 times  better. Amen to that :). I can do a lot more with my PC today than I could  just a few years ago, but... ( more )

Michael Gartenberg | December 09, 2003, 08:28 AM
10 things advanced users need in Longhorn
Actually, this should be called 10 things that Scoble needs in Longhorn. I'm hardly a novice user but I would disagree with at least eight out his ten things. But there's more here than my 10 features vs. yours. Systems need to be discoverable by a wide variety of users,... ( more )

Michael Gartenberg | December 09, 2003, 08:04 AM
Playing for keeps
Actually, it's probably not about what the folks at news.com are reporting at all. Game devices will always need to be first and foremost game devices. Console vendors that attempt to stray too far into the realm of the converged will likely not succeed. Our research points to this over... ( more )

Michael Gartenberg | December 09, 2003, 07:53 AM
Making a Fortune, Losing It and Moving On
Interesting tale in the NY Times about Rabbi Benjamin Blech and the circumstances that led him to write his latest book. I had Rabbi Blech as a teacher back in my undergraduate days in college and recall his classes fondly. Of all the people in the world to get caught up in the... ( more )

Michael Gartenberg | December 09, 2003, 07:42 AM
Toshiba's New Tablet PC
We have been looking at the new crop of Centrino based Tablet PCs lately. My colleague David Schatsky talks about his experiences with the new version of the Electrovaya Scribbler here. I have been working with the new Toshiba M205 lately. While The Scribbler is a pure slate that has... ( more )

Michael Gartenberg | December 08, 2003, 11:39 AM
Emergency Root Canal
Which turns out to be the least of my dental issues :) Posting will be light today.... ( more )

Michael Gartenberg | December 04, 2003, 03:51 PM
Look for Basics, not Frills, in a PDA
PocketPCThoughts links to an interview that I did. The full article is here. But Jason is wrong, adding bells and whistles will NOT bring users on board. Focusing on core features and device integration rather than convergence is much more important. The market will continue to grow slowly at this... ( more )

Michael Gartenberg | December 04, 2003, 07:38 AM
Microsoft RSS
There's an interesting discussion on Robert Scoble's weblog about RSS vs. Atom. Scoble asks as part of the discussion, "Hey, since we're gonna have to do two formats, why shouldn't Microsoft invent a third? Very interesting. I don't think Robert is making a formal announcement here but RSS is just... ( more )

Michael Gartenberg | December 03, 2003, 10:52 AM
To PowerPoint or Not to PowerPoint
My colleague Avi Greengart weighs in on the issues of PowerPoint. Personally, I like to see the PowerPoint slides ahead of time to set the framework for the meeting and so everyone is on the same page ahead of time. Meetings are more useful when there is prep work done ahead... ( more )

Michael Gartenberg | December 03, 2003, 10:42 AM
Palm's Creativity vs. Windows' Compatibility
Interesting comments from PocketPC Thoughts on a BizWeek article. There's clearly a balance and a shift going on here. In 04, we are likely to see the first PocketPCs that break the traditional constraints of those devices (and also introducing flux into the marketplace in terms of software support) and... ( more )

Michael Gartenberg | December 03, 2003, 10:07 AM
Cell phone lockdown
News.com reports on the cell phone lockdown. Not a surprise, if carriers are going to subsidize expensive phones, it's not likely they are going to be open for users to take to other carriers. When I first started using OmniPoint (now T-Mobile) all my phones were SIM un-locked which meant... ( more )

Michael Gartenberg | December 03, 2003, 08:57 AM
NewsGator
I spend a lot of time on the Web like most of you. I actually like the surfing experience and the browsing metaphor. On the other hand there are a handful of sites that I like to visit every day and I want to focus simply on the content. To... ( more )

Michael Gartenberg | December 03, 2003, 08:49 AM
What's Wrong with Microsoft's Mobile Strategy
I have been reading a lot of critiques of Microsoft's Mobile strategy lately. Especially with the departure of Juha Christensen, (who was brought on board from Symbian to help Microsoft gain some needed ground against rivals like Symbian and Palm) more and more it seems like the Mobility division is... ( more )

Michael Gartenberg | December 02, 2003, 03:58 PM
Smartphone issues?
My colleague Joe Wilcox seems to have some issues with his new Smartphone. My battery life is pretty good but I don't use a headset. One of the questions I will be asking Microsoft this week: What difference does using a headset have on Smartphone battery life? As I blogged... ( more )

Michael Gartenberg | December 01, 2003, 12:31 PM
The ipod Aura
Great article in the NY Times about the iPod. It has been two years since the iPod has been introduced and it remains the standard that other players are judged by.... ( more )

Michael Gartenberg | December 01, 2003, 12:15 PM
CLIE Video Recorder
Good review of the CLIE Video Recorder here. I have been using one for a few days and will post my comments later in the week.... ( more )

Michael Gartenberg | December 01, 2003, 08:48 AM
My new Bluetooth Car
It was time to turn in my lease last week so it was time to go car shopping. The Internet made it a bit easier, but overall, the experience left a lot to be desired. The new car has a lot of great geek features but the feature I like... ( more )

Michael Gartenberg | December 01, 2003, 08:29 AM
iPaq 4100
Thanks to the good folks at HP PR, I finally got a chance to work with the 4100 series iPaq. Overall, I am quite impressed and like this unit a lot. It has the small form factor of the wonderful iPaq 1900 series (smaller than the famed Palm V series).... ( more )

Michael Gartenberg | December 01, 2003, 08:21 AM
Waiting for Longhorn
Another "hope they/they will fix it" in Longhorn comment. More and more Longhorn is becoming a mighty big rug to sweep things under. Not a good sign for the development process. Also, IMHO, I hope they don't "fix" this one. There's a need for monitors to work out of native... ( more )

Michael Gartenberg | December 01, 2003, 08:18 AM
I'm Back
I took off a little time last week to spend with family and friends. Also caught up on movies as well. Timeline was very good but the book was better (in the book, they DO NOT go back in time but I guess the concept was too hard to bring... ( more )