Tim Marman's Loosely Coupled

April 2007 - Posts

• Apr

  30

  2007

  The Problem with Multitasking

  A recent NYT article discusses multitasking and the impact of interruptions on the quality and speed of our work. In a recent study, a group of Microsoft workers took, on average, 15 minutes to return to serious mental tasks, like writing reports or computer code, after responding to incoming e-mail... Posted Apr 30 2007, 03:28 PM by Tim with 1 comment(s) Filed under: Technology, Productivity

• Apr

  24

  2007

  Blogs are "definitely not reputable news sources"

  Jawn Murray, a columnist for AOL's Black Voices and a regular personality on the Tom Joyner Morning Show , had this gem in the latest Giant magazine. Blogs are online diaries written by your average Joe - people who don't work in the entertainment industry and have no formal journalism training. They... Posted Apr 24 2007, 12:00 PM by Tim with 2 comment(s) Filed under: Technology, Things that bother me, Things that amuse me, Blogging

• Apr

  24

  2007

  Missing SAPPHIRE

  I was excited about attending SAPPHIRE this year, but had a conflict and cancelled my travel plans last week. (Well, Vienna might have fit in my schedule since I'm done with exams). I'm disappointed to not have the change to hang out in the Blogger's Corner again, especially since I'm... Posted Apr 24 2007, 11:38 AM by Tim with 1 comment(s) Filed under: Technology, Enterprise

• Apr

  18

  2007

  Major Blackberry Outage

  Starting last night, I'm stopped getting "capital EDGE" connectivity on my 8700. The last e-mail I received from my BES server was at 5:15 EST last night, and I've only been getting e-mails intermittently from my BIS servers. Turns out it's not just me - there's a widespread Blackberry outage in the... Posted Apr 18 2007, 07:59 AM by Tim with no comments Filed under: Gadgets, Productivity

• Apr

  16

  2007

  What are your predictions for The Sopranos?

  With 2 episodes down and just 7 left, what do you think is going to happen? Who will die and who will make it? Who will end up in jail and who will turn informant? How will things play out with the Brooklyn family? Personally, I think that Tony will not end up dead or in jail - it's just too predictable... Posted Apr 16 2007, 10:19 PM by Tim with no comments Filed under: Personal, Video

• Apr

  12

  2007

  Is Apple about to launch a subscription service?

  Rumors of an iTunes subscription service have resurfaced . At first I thought that the DRM-free announcement meant a subscription service was less likely , but perhaps the opposite is true. First of all, album purchases will already be the DRM-free "premium" versions. As for individual tracks, the new... Posted Apr 12 2007, 03:27 PM by Tim with 1 comment(s) Filed under: Music, Business, Apple, Audio, DRM

• Apr

  11

  2007

  Understanding the Cablevision DVR lawsuit

  While I agree with Mark Cuban that the lawsuit is a mistake , I thought it was worth discussing why - from a legal perspective - the network DVR is an issue. Copyright gives the owner a limited monopoly over a few aspects, most notably the ability to reproduce and distribute the work. In a "normal" DVR... Posted Apr 11 2007, 08:25 AM by Tim with no comments Filed under: Technology, Intellectual Property, Gadgets, Copyright, Video, Law

• Apr

  10

  2007

  How Microsoft can crush Google

  Dare points to this insightful, if nefarious, post on how Microsoft could crush Google in one easy step . I've long made the argument that Google is not a technology company, but rather an advertising / media company. Clearly, the distinction between technology and media is at least blurring. In fact... Posted Apr 10 2007, 01:01 PM by Tim with 1 comment(s) Filed under: Technology, Business, Microsoft, Google, YouTube, Advertising, NextNY

• Apr

  10

  2007

  Concept phone designed by high school student

  Forget the iPhone - I want this ( via Hillel ). Posted Apr 10 2007, 11:01 AM by Tim with 1 comment(s) Filed under: Technology, Gadgets

• Apr

  09

  2007

  Was DRM-free music an Apple innovation?

  Some people have tried to paint the recent announcement by Apple as example of Apple innovating and Microsoft following . Headlines like " Microsoft changes tune on selling DRM-free songs " are simply misleading - none of the technology companies truly wanted DRM, but they were a necessary evil in selling... Posted Apr 09 2007, 12:59 PM by Tim with 1 comment(s) Filed under: Intellectual Property, Rants, Things that bother me, Things that amuse me, Copyright, Microsoft, Apple, Law, Audio, DRM