« November 2008 | Main | January 2009 »
A cautionary tale
We've all done it, sent a text to the wrong person by mistake, but some mistakes are more troublesome than others.
Meet Elizabeth (Lizzy) Frisinger, 18, who is currently not enjoying her 15 minutes of fame on the internet. According to the Post Chronicle Ms Frisinger was on a school trip away from home.
As is often the case when kids are out from under the spotlight of parental supervision Ms Frisinger seems to have had a wild old time, culminating in her losing her virginity on a beach with an unnamed boyfriend.
The only reason this was deemed news was becasue she saw fit to text the news to a friend of hers by the name of Darcy.
"OMG! Just had 1st time on beach! Gr8! Wish u were here!"
Unfortunately for Ms Frisinger she hit the wrong address button on her phone and instead of Darcy getting the message it was sent to her Dad.
Fatherhood has many joys but I'm willing to bet good money that Mr Frisinger is currently reaching for the brain bleach. It's not news that anyone would welcome about their little girl.
Judging from his response Ms Frisinger is going to have some explaining to do.
"Class trip is over. Tomorrow 7:10 am Delta #*** Use my credit card for taxi."
Her 'friends' have taken a screenshot of the messages and blogs are going nuts trying to find out if the story is true or not. It appears to be a little too perfect a story in my mind but no doubt time will tell.
One has to feel for the poor girl, it's a mistake anyone could make. Just remember the cautionary tale next time you text.
Obama confirms he's an iPod man
With the economy crashing, business leaders begging for money from Congress and terror in Mumbai and on the high seas it's nice to know that the blogosphere has its priorities right.
Last week a reporter in Philadelphia had a surprise during his morning workout when Barack Obama walked in and started his exercise routine. In the articabout it, he mentioned that Obama was using a Zune.
The blogosphere erupted - Obama, the coolest president in recent memory, using a Zune - the naffest MP3 player on the market! How could this be?
Apple fan boys were outraged. Zune user groups were ecstatic - could they one day be cool with Obama's help? Had Bill Gates got to Obama and lavished contributions in exchange for some advertising, one wondered?
Sadly, the answer is no. A spokesman for the president-elect confirmed to the Wall Street Journal that Obama was an iPod user, and if he had any sense he would have also pointed out that he had more grown-up things to worry about. Zunegate was over.
The original reporter, a bit taken aback by the furore a casual bit of information in a story caused, is sticking to his guns but for the Apple fanatics honour has been satisfied.
Why Silicon Valley is different
A step across the pond to sunny California and its tech hub Silicon Valley gave me a good indication of what it might be like reporting on technology in the UK in a couple of years time.
I attended the launch of the Intel i7 Nehalem chip - the first of the company's new range of processors that are more powerful than any of the company's current desktop products.
It was at this launch that I gained first hand understanding of why Silicon Valley has got the reputation it does and why it is the home to the majority of the industry's buzz and gossip.
Aside from the power handshakes that took place whenever a new speaker arrived on the event's stage (a pretty loud smack occurred whenever Intel vice president Pat Gelsinger welcomed someone new), and Gelsinger's loud "I love you" directed at the pathologist who was explaining how he had benefited from the new chip, and (of course) the wide mix of casual attires attendees were wearing to the event; there was something else that made me realise how different the valley experience is to the rest of the world.
What shocked me was the amount of videos that were being filmed as the launch took place. Nearly all the journos had cameras with them and were darting around the room to get their take of the event.
Those that remained seated were typing away on computers, the majority of these being Macs.
My mind started to wander back to another recent technology event I had attended -this time in Eastern Europe.
There it was me, and only me, who had been typing away on my laptop while all the other reporters jotted down the conference details in their shorthand notebooks.
"Shhh you disturb me with your typing," came a hiss from a Russian reporter next to me.
"Move!" he then said a bit louder.
Shocked, I quickly switched seats with the American press representative next to me.
The experience was worlds apart from the Intel experience I had a few weeks later where reporters were not shy in how much disturbance they made. In fact nothing seemed to be able to distract their focus because it was the norm, and they had to get the best take and be the first to get the story out.
When I recall company events in the UK, the country seems to be somewhere in the middle in terms of how adapted the industry itself is to new technologies.
It certainly has a way to go before it catches up with the valley in its use of Macs and video cameras but it would be quite unusual for someone to be told off for typing on a laptop at a tech event.
The Simpsons take on Apple
The writers of The Simpsons have taken plenty of swings at Microsoft over the years but at last Apple has come in for some well placed barbs.
In the latest episode the mall in Springfield gets a Mapple store, and includes Mipods, Miphones and a great video of Steve Mobs, the head of the company. There then follows a series of well aimed jabs at iPhone pricing, Apple's advertising and the credulous nature of some Apple fanboys.
It's a joy to watch, especially Lisa's opening line - "It's so sterile!"
Spanish
