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Microsoft TV - Another box running Windows (because that's worked so well in the past)

> Microsoft will reportedly announce a new Windows-based $200 set-top box using Windows Media Center as its primary interface, according to the [ > *Seattle Times* > ](http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2013824940_brier03.html). The company, which has been trying to put a Windows box in living rooms for more than 10 years with little success, is expected to make the announcement during the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
via [macworld.com](http://www.macworld.com/article/156842/2011/01/microsoft_set_top.html?lsrc=rss_main)
I can’t believe that Microsoft’s strategy this year is going to be a box running Windows. Again.

When is someone going to fire Ballmer?

And the comparison here shouldn’t be Microsoft TV vs. Google TV. Both products are DOA. The set-top box battle is closer to Roku vs. Apple TV, but even in that case it’s way too early for anyone to have full success with this kind of product.

Jobs wasn’t wrong when he said that this category is never going to be a blockbuster market until someone kills the cable companies. That’s not going to be easy. And whoever does it is either going to have to partner with or buy Netflix.

Vivek Wadhwa on Google

> Content creation is big business, and there are big players involved. For example, Associated Content, which produces 10,000 new articles per month, was purchased by Yahoo! for $100 million, in 2010. Demand Media has 8,000 writers who produce 180,000 new articles each month. It generated more than $200 million in revenue in 2009 and planning an initial public offering valued at about $1.5 billion. This content is what ends up as the landfill in the garbage websites that you find all over the web. And these are the first links that show up in your Google search results.
via [techcrunch.com](http://techcrunch.com/2011/01/01/why-we-desperately-need-a-new-and-better-google-2/)
I’m glad to see other people start to notice how bad Google search results have gotten. Seriously, with all the SEO crap you have to sift through, we’re actually worse off now than in the old Alta Vista and Yahoo! days. People are gaming the system, and Google is either too busy playing with TV interfaces to care, or more likely, is profiting too much from the manipulation to care. And we’re paying for our naive trust in Google’s “Don’t be Evil” every day.

This is an excellent read. And I agree with the conclusion, that someone needs to swoop in and kick Google to the curb with search.

The Unbearable Inevitability of Being Android, 1995 by counternotions

> As business models go, there are currently two dominant ones: either people like your product enough to purchase it or they don’t care enough to buy it but will overlook its deficiencies if it’s “free” in exchange for their personal browsing and purchasing info sold to advertisers. The former model is Apple’s, the latter is Google’s.
via [counternotions.com](http://counternotions.com/2010/12/28/the-unbearable-inevitability-of-being-android-1995/)
Great article, as usual, from Counternotions. Amazing to me how few people understand this fundamental difference between Apple and Google. And how few understand that Google’s mimicking of Microsoft’s old, failing strategy is not a good long-term plan.

End of 2010 Road Trip: Day 5

A few surprises for what became the final day of this little trip to Portland. At a rest stop on the way south from Eugene, I checked the road conditions one last time, and realized that the I-5 was clear of any snow hazards. So we were able to visit Ashland and head down the middle of the state, after all.

Ashland is famous for its Shakespeare Festival, of course. Since we were there off season, I didn’t expect it to be tremendously lively. But we did manage to find a nice spot to grab a quick lunch, and to walk along Main Street a bit.

Even had some ice cream, despite the 38-degree weather.

[![Photo1](http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/jcieplinski/5v2eaJwjQRfrYCupOJ0vmajcNXSTkgpOfESC1fMFuDI8BqdiR86uLLX62BG1/Photo1.jpeg.scaled.500.jpg)](http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/jcieplinski/8xUy5jYtQ7zF5DmXnvWkqjM4g7D0LambtN8Pi2FexDaL5up9FdNAxtLnd7sv/Photo1.jpeg.scaled.1000.jpg)
[![Photo2](http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/jcieplinski/LdBTxwAUDHcbX6X5odAAyl6yDmynQXkZpfy5j532ka7K5U7j4VAPfpbm2MiZ/Photo2.jpeg.scaled.500.jpg)](http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/jcieplinski/d12GKRb2MPwQXLAw97gnI2caQCc9mjJ2GxsoHh3Gyxue7brMfd8UE3Ak6oy7/Photo2.jpeg.scaled.1000.jpg)
After Ashland, it was the beautiful pass over the Siskiyou Summit, which was covered in fresh snow. Once we got into California, our next quick stop was at Mount Shasta City. We considered staying here for the night, but then thought maybe it would be better to push on to Redding, since it was still early.
[![Img_0637](http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/jcieplinski/duVBAzi5DvXw1wvHYWAt31375ccRz5Ul9OTSIYR3vgBMp1U8TvA6kaLGWHXR/IMG_0637.jpeg.scaled.500.jpg)](http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/jcieplinski/5tsOhWFwYSHMN3O5Slp4Y2IFedSBJZpEca903aJB1rb93k5XbX9Ughyxzlrp/IMG_0637.jpeg.scaled.1000.jpg)
Once we got to Redding and started looking into hotels, another new option came to light. Why not just go home? Considering that Lassen Park was closed for the season, there didn’t seem to be much chance that we’d do anything except sleep in Redding, wake up the next morning, grab breakfast, and then start driving again. So why not just push on all the way to San Francisco? My car’s SatNav suggested we’d be home before ten.

So that’s what we did. Ended the trip a day early with no regrets. Got to see both the coast and the beautiful mountains along I-5. Drove 1,401.4 miles in five days. Not a bad way to end the year.

[![Dsc_6250](http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/jcieplinski/1kjbY2J1KiribEjI54MxEnx9EbMAUsDknQYanSX44bOeNTFSYufziJfwYpOX/DSC_6250.jpeg.scaled.500.jpg)](http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/jcieplinski/yRo8Xa5uV58BdNyNlmntigvTDUpbzhOO49R7yNs70d8qPYHvJP7eg9HFwCZB/DSC_6250.jpeg.scaled.1000.jpg)
 

End of 2010 Road Trip: Days Three and Four

Left Portland today to get a slight jump on our big journey back to San Francisco. Having only spent two days in the city, I can nevertheless say that we got a clear feel for the place, and the reaction was very much positive.

Not a bad meal the whole time we were there. Managed to stumble upon a coffee tasting, in which the proprietor offered an amazing amount of knowledge about the process of selecting as well as trading and auctioning coffee worldwide. Got to see a film at the Living Room theatre, which is a nice place to have a drink, some light dinner, and some indie film.

Powell’s book store, of course, is a must see. Absolutely overwhelming in its size. The rain let up for a bit this afternoon, too, which was a nice break.

Would I recommend Portland for a weekend trip? Sure. Not sure there’s enough to make me want to live there, though.

Right now, we’ve stopped for the night in an amazing little bed and breakfast in Eugene. Cuts our road time tomorrow down by about two hours or so, and gives us a very quiet and dark place to rest.

Unfortunately, as I feared, it looks like the mountain pass along the 5 is going to be too snowy the rest of the week, so no Ashland, Crater Lake, Shasta, or Lassen for us this trip. We’ll have to do all that in the spring or summer.

So it’s back to the coast tomorrow through Crescent City, Eureka, etc. Still debating whether or not to stay in Healdsburg New Year’s Eve.

Connectivity hasn’t been too much of a problem on this trip. Lots of free WiFi in Oregon. And decent 3G AT&T signal in the cities, at least. And the iPad/iPhone haven’t left me wishing I had a laptop at all. Though I’m going out of my way to avoid doing any serious work on this trip.