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Millions of people living in the Dallas-Forth Worth Metroplex region of North Texas have basically been getting ripped off on their electric bills since at least 2008, and very few of them are the wiser, according to new reports. A federally-mandated utility tax levied… |
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Texas power company collects $500 million in ‘taxes’ that don’t exist
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Are children being zombified?
A conscious parent may be described as one who would like to raise a child who is fully alive to their choices to live free, intelligent, healthy lives, in tune with themselves and connected to nature. Compare that conscious parental aspiration to these proven facts… -
Flatulence-free belly: Six foods for a happy belly
If you are suffering from flatulence or bloating due to too much gas in your stomach, you are in the right place because this article will give you some examples of foods that are less likely to cause flatulence. It does not only make you feel uncomfortable, but it can… -
Six ways Ayurvedic medicine can change your life
China has their ancient medicine, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), and India has its ancient medical version called Ayurveda. Both go back 5,000 years or more. This article focuses on Ayurveda. Good Ayurveda practitioners can determine potential health problems… -
Tiny flying insect drones now a reality: See the video of controlled flight
It’s been more than a decade in the making, but now Harvard University researchers have developed a tiny flying drone that is barely larger than a quarter. Robotics researchers at the Ivy League school have achieved a first, reports Forbes: the creation of robotic… -
Lipstick found to contain alarmingly high levels of aluminum, cadmium and lead
A popular cosmetic product since time immemorial, lipstick has long been used by women in many diverse cultures to accentuate their femininity and emanate their own unique expressions of elegance and style to the outside world. But a new study released by the University… -
Immigration amnesty bill would instantly put millions on welfare
At a time when the U.S. government is spending a trillion dollars more a year than it takes in, it makes no sense at all for our elected leaders to be considering any legislation that adds to the federal deficit, which is already more than 100 percent of our entire gross… -
Black bean broth: Treatment for arthritis, gout and joint pain
Treatments for arthritis and gout, such as home remedies like black bean broth, offer antioxidant protection, lower uric acid levels, reduce pain and inflammation, and should be made part of your home remedy arsenal. Anecdotal evidence shows that the broth of cooked… -
Desperate to stop superbug infections, hospitals are now turning to robotic UV sterilizers
They kill at least 100,000 people every single year, and the collective medical costs associated with treating people who contract them tops $30 billion a year, according to U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) statistics. But hospital “superbugs” have… -
46,000 guns purchased every day while Obama in office
Despite his gun control rhetoric, President Obama has been the best thing for the gun industry since the early first-term days of President Bill Clinton and his “assault weapons ban.” According to the most recent data from the FBI, there have been 72,005,482 background… -
Feeding sugar to babies before vaccinations reduces crying, say quacks
Administering vaccinations to babies is often a source of never-ending frustration for the common quack. Babies dislike having their skin pierced with metal needles, it seems, and their ensuing screaming and thrashing often hinder the procedure. This insolent non-compliance… -
Feds push for mandatory cancer warnings on tanning beds (but not radiotherapy devices)
Despite the fact that millions of Americans, both young and old, are grossly deficient in vitamin D, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is on a crusade to fully discredit one of the best natural sources of this important hormone besides natural sunlight exposure… -
Science will destroy humanity, says team of scientists
One of the primary goals of science is to advance knowledge and understanding to improve the human condition, but all too often this noble field of study has devolved into a profit-seeking quest for power, at the expense of mankind. Indeed, the science of technology… -
Not even good enough for dog food: Imported food from China loaded with chemicals, dyes, pesticides and fake ingredients
Do you really know what’s in all the food you’re eating that’s imported from China? If you don’t, you’re actually in good company: The FDA only inspects 1% – 2% of all the food imported from China, so they don’t know either. Even when they inspect a shipment, they rarely… -
About those Windows 8 ads…
There’s more than one way to advertise a product and while I am a big fan of the approach that specifically focuses on features, I understand there is a need for other approaches. Sometimes you just need to go for the pure emotional response. In the case of the ads released by Microsoft today which focus on the Asian market that seems to be what they were going for. Take a look.
I’ve been a critic in the past of Microsoft’s approach to advertising its various products. I’ve always felt they never did enough advertising and didn’t advertise at the right time (popular prime-time TV shows or big sports events) but that has changed. I’ve seen Surface, Bing, Windows Phone, Windows 8 and Outlook.com commercials during primetime, during the NBA playoffs, and even at random times on random networks on cable TV. Microsoft has definitely increased the frequency of its advertising.
However, I still have one problem. I’d still like to see more focus specifically on features of these products that make them better than the competition. Take the Surface commercials, for example. I absolutely love the way they first introduced us to the product: remember the commercial with the dancing school girls? Loved it. And now they are running a slightly different twist on that with dancing business users to introduce the Surface Pro. Almost six months on the market and all we know about the Surface is that it clicks — and you can dance with it.
I think the general public is well aware that the Surface exists and if these commercials are primarily aimed to introduce us to it, then I believe they have so far succeeded. What we need now is not more dancers. What we need is to know why we should buy the Surface instead of an iPad. Tell us specifically in words why Surface is better.
The Amazon Example
This Amazon commercial may be one of my favorite iPad competitor commercials. In it, they focus on the displays between the two devices. They don’t say their display is better (because it isn’t from a technical perspective). Instead, they focus on the fact that the average person can’t tell the difference between retina and non-retina displays. Just as you’re about to say, “why would I buy a Kindle Fire?” they hit you with this:
See for yourself:
Why is the Fire better? Price alone is a major reason at $200 cheaper than an equivalent iPad. Amazon emphasizes the features that the general public can understand, screen and price.
Microsoft, It’s Time
Microsoft should step up and start advertising on features more. Windows Phone is doing this with the Smoked By commercials. They really should be running those around the clock in tandem with the new switcher ads. As they continue their transition into this new era of mobile [link to prev article], this becomes all the more important.
I heard a guy telling a story at work one day about how he used his Surface at a coffee shop and someone walked up to him and said, “Is that the tablet that clicks?” Incidents like this show that Microsoft is getting the word out. But people don’t quite know why the Surface is better. I had a conversation with a friend about Surface and why he should consider buying one, and his response was, “I already own a tablet to surf the Internet with”. When I told him why the Surface is not just a tablet, his perception completely changed.
This situation underscores the reality that people just aren’t aware what Surface actually is and how much more it is than just a tablet. If Microsoft can get this message out by focusing on features against competing devices like the iPad, people will continue to be confused. Even though Surface Pro is not even in the same computing category of an iPad, to the general user, it is.
Microsoft’s marketing is pretty good these days, but a slight change could result in a lot more sales of its mobile devices and really put it on the road towards dominating the next phase of mobile computing.
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West Wing Week: 05/10/13 or “I Dare You to Do Better”
This week, the President made his fourth trip to Mexico, continued on to Costa Rica, spoke to the graduating class of 2013 at The Ohio State University, hosted the new President of South Korea, discussed hurricane preparedness, and kicked off a series of Middle Class Jobs & Opportunity Tour in the Lone Star State.
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Key Apple partner boosts workforce by 40% to prep for low-cost iPhone production
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Chancellor Block comments on Laboratory of Neuro Imaging
Chancellor Gene Block issued this statement on May 9, 2013.UCLA’s Laboratory of Neuro Imaging (LONI) has been an international pioneer in enhancing the understanding of human brain structure and function. I am proud of UCLA’s role in supporting the lab’s many positive impacts so, naturally, I was disappointed to learn that the lab plans to end its affiliation with the campus. I want to stress, though, that the exceptional drive and ingenuity of our faculty, staff and students and the quality of our research infrastructure ensures our continued strength, especially in the field of neuroscience. UCLA is among the world’s great research enterprises, testing boundaries and producing new knowledge on a daily basis, and the departure of one lab will not diminish our impact. -
Sen. McCain pushes new legislation to dismantle cable bundles
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AT&T No Contract: Mobile Giant Joins The No-Contract Revolution
AT&T has announced the launch of their own no-contract mobile provider. The new subsidiary, Aio Wireless, is launching this week in three markets – Houston, Orlando, and Tampa, with a nationwide rollout planned over the course of the next year.
Aio Wireless will offer customers a variety of plans ranging in price from $40 to $70 per month, as well as a $15 per month tablet plan. The basic plan is available only for feature phones (i.e., not smartphones) and gets you unlimited talk, texting, and data. Of course, this is AT&T, so “unlimited” doesn’t actually mean unlimited when it comes to data. Under this plan your data connection is throttled after 250MB of use. The intermediate plan, dubbed Aio Smart (as in, smartphone) is much the same as the basic plan, except now your data connection gets throttled after 2GB of use. For $70 the Aio Pro plan will get you a whopping 7 GB of data usage per month before you get throttled. The $15 per month tablet plan gets you a paltry 250MB of data before you get throttled.
As with other no-contract providers, you are free to either bring your own phone to Aio Wireless, or purchase one of the models they have available. Their smartphone selection is decent but fairly iPhone heavy (they have at least two models of every iPhone since the iPhone 4), and light on high-powered Android devices. Of course, since there’s no monthly contract, you pay full price for any phone you buy through Aio.
There’s no information yet on which markets Aio will be reaching and when. Much will depend on how popular the service proves in Tampa, Orlando, and Houston. Given the recent popularity of no-contract mobile providers, though, it seems likely that Aio will be sticking around for awhile