Read A Paper Lately?

When was the last time you held a newspaper in your hands? I mean, held it to…read? I’m not talking about using a paper to blot us some spill in your garage, or to train the puppy, or to keep that spray paint from getting all over the place.

I’m guessing you haven’t really read a newspaper in the past two or three months. If so, you’re not alone. By most – if not all – measures – the U.S. newspaper business is dying. Except for a few major players, newspapers are bleeding money and ink all over.

The contrarian in this doomsday scenario is, most notably, The Wall Street Journal – which, by the way, has the very best newspaper app for Apple’s iPad (I wonder if the WSJ owner, media savvy Robert Murdoch, has any Apple stock?).  I’ll predict here that the WSJ will succeed, long-term, as an entity. They’ve leveraged their content all over the place, and even have the audacity to (gasp) charge customers to read their columnists and features.

Most of the print industry, though, will probably go under or just fade away slowly to irrelevance…IF it doesn’t take its cues from Mr. Murdoch and go digital.

Sample data points from a recent study the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development show the dire circumstances of the American newspaper business, especially when compared to other countries:

• Fewer than half of all adults in the United States regularly read newspapers in 2008, compared with 96 percent in Iceland.
• Advertising contributed 87 percent of newspapers’ revenues in the United States, compared with 53 percent in Germany, 50 percent in Britain and 35 percent in Japan.

In light of such stats, I wondered how much longer the industry can survive here in the U.S.

Some industry veterans are decidely pessimistic about the viability of newspapers. Here’s a site for laid off journalists to offer their “parting words” of wisdom about the biz. There’s even a website where you can donate to…

• advance the search for a support system for the kind of serious public interest reporting that our democracy requires, and that is now so threatened.

Wow.

These thoughts were prompted by some news reports, and also by my need to renew my subscription to…The Wall Street Journal. Yeah, the print edition. I am one of the few people I know of who still read a newspaper – an actual PAPER – every day.  Started this daily routine when I was about ten years-old. Not quite ready to stop reading a paper.

Are you?

Apple’s Success…or Pending Decline?

Apple is in the news a lot these days, and the new iPhone will be unveiled in just.  But what is the company’s future? Will it continue its meteoric climb as a consumer products leader? Has Apple reached its apex and now destined to slip away to competitors like Google and Amazon?

Here’s a piece in Financial Times suggesting that Apple is here to stay – citing the fact that the company is now worth more than long-time adversary Microsoft. Apple has been declared the largest tech company, and the coming days of new products and innovation might well continue that domination. Yesterday’s news that MS had re-organized its gadgets division didn’t do anything to make one think otherwise.

Still…how can Sir Steve keep it up? Over in the Wall Street Journal, an observation was made that Apple could be sealing its own fate by remaining committed to the “closed system” of tightly managing all software and hardware integration. This obsession with defining the user experience could well mean that Google’s Andriod phone OS, for instance, will one day rule the smart-pone seas. That licensed Android system means a multitude of manufacturers – resulting in a multitude of hardware options. And that is reminiscent of what happened when Steve Jobs decided to keep Apple’s OS to itself…allowing the competing MS operating system,

And I recently read a columnist who said Apple stock, in his opinion, is a “strong buy.”

I don’t own Apple stock. I DO own many Apple gadgets. And I like them all very much. But I’ll admit that the coming days seem a bit troubling to me. A friend with an Android phone showed it off, and I was impressed. With the release of MS Vista, it seems Microsoft is finally getting the hang of making their OS markedly better.

Something tells me that “the jury is still out,” that Apple will be around for quite some time, and that the coming days of technology and electronics will only bring improved products at lower prices.

Sure as the sun shines.

Er, as I type that last sentence, I notice it is raining, even though the sun is still shining.

Hmmm.

Two Kins, Two Strikes?

Microsoft’s new mobile devices, Kin One and Kin Two, are aimed right at the lucrative teen segment of cell phone users. With a stylish design and some interesting new features, one reviewer was smitten. After reading, I’ll admit that I started to think Microsoft had made a winner, or at the least, a contender, in mobile technology. Long battery life, cloud connection as a standard feature, cool little shape.

Other critics, though, were more…critical, citing poor software and expensive monthly plans as reasons to overlook these offerings. OK, so maybe they’re not looking as good as I thought.

Still, hats off to Microsoft for being bold and trying.

I’m guessing though, that the company will not get the traction of this phone, or this one, or this one, or…

Ah, the fickle public, the growing list of technical abilities needed to capture the attention of busy geeks, and the high bar set by the iPhone. And I have to wonder: Where will mobile devices be in five years?

No Cash, No Worries

I don’t carry much cash. In fact, right now I have $1 in my wallet, and that’s it. I don’t visit ATMs with any frequency, either. I’ve just been a credit card carrying consumer (say that fast five times…). In a break from the majority, however, we pay off our cards every month. So I don’t think I’m abusing credit. I’m certainly not overspending my cash!

If you’re at all like me, here’s something that may be of interest to you: the trend toward using phones to pay for services and purchases. With the advent of the smart phone, it is easier for stores – and consumers – to use a mobile device for a transaction.

My last trip to the Apple Store bore this out. When I had the software I needed, I asked where to pay. The friendly-guy-in-the-cool-t-shirt looked at me with a smirk. “Right here,” he said, as he pulled out his iPhone, I gave him my Mastercard, he swiped it on a little attachment to his phone, and we were done in about 40 seconds.

“Cool,” I thought.

Read this to learn more about the cashless — and cash machine-less — future. It’ll be here very quickly.

Why I Didn’t Buy An iPad

Despite the guy’s insistence, I didn’t seriously consider an iPad. I was at the Apple Store a few weeks ago, explaining that I wanted the low-end MacBook for some writing projects. I didn’t want to spend a lot of money on capabilities I didn’t need, just let met me have some music playing while I type.

“Have you considered the iPad?” Well, no, I replied. “You ought to.” And he proceeded to tell me the cost and weight advantages of the new device. Since it wasn’t out yet, though, he couldn’t be sure about some of the specs, and since I couldn’t hold it or try it out, I told him I’d pass.

A few days later, I was on the phone with a rep from the online Apple Store. I had tried to purchase a refurb’d MacBook, in my price range, and with the portability I desired. Unfortunately, the transaction didn’t go through – I suspect I had two (or three) browser tabs opened at the store, and that such a tactic prevented the site from accepting my purchase.  I explained that I liked the price on that entry-level MacBook, and the gentleman kindly offered to call me when that particular model, now sold out, is back in stock (I’m still waiting on that call). He then suggested that “maybe an iPad is what you need.” With only a couple of weeks until the launch of the iPad, perhaps it would make sense to pre-order one, it sounds like a perfect solution to my pricing concerns.

“No,” I replied, “I don’t think the small screen and the awkwardness of lugging a keyboard around and the limited capabilities of the iPad are for me. Besides, I need something now, and I’m not inclined to wait another few weeks.”

After that second exchange, I realized that the company has been – rightly, and I don’t fault Apple for this – rallying the sales team around the new device. And why not? The profit margins on the iPad are surely quite decent, and for Mr. Jobs to stay the prophet that he is, Apple has to sell a lot of iPads so the “change-the-world-I’ve-got-an-iPad” mentality is inescapable. Apple wants – needs – us to be unable to imagine life with iPad. So, press the potential buyer, pitch this as the perfect item, and appeal to their (low) price as a way to meet my needs AND save money.

Look, I like Apple products a lot, and have for years. We have a bunch of Macs and iPods in our family. In fact, a couple of months ago my dad who is 79, surprised us all by buying a new 24 inch iMac (and now he has a better computer than me!). But I know what I need – repeat, need, and it ain’t an iPad. As seductive as the hype and ads and speculation have been, I just thought it through and decided I would not be happy owning an iPad, especially in light of these specific projects. And, having been an early adopter on a couple of other Macs, I’ve learned that waiting a year will always…always….always…save me money and get me a better Apple product. That’s how it has worked on computers, iPods and iPhones.

So despite my previous post about getting an iPad, I’ve decided to wait on the thing. Maybe next year.

BTW, if you are unpersuaded by my thoughts here, read this piece over at Fast Company that outlines some good reasons to wait on that iPad purchase.

And if you already have an iPad, check this out and see if you are really irritating people with your iPad love.

A Lot Of Radio

I saw this factoid and thought it was pretty interesting.

According to a story in Themusicvoid.com, Pandora’s managers recently said that Americans listen to about 20 hours of music a week and radio listening accounts for 17 of those hours.

If true, the iPod hasn’t (yet) killed radio, not even a little.

Where Will Tablets (And Pads) Take Us?

I remember the Newton, Apple’s infamous first attempt at a ultra-portable, hand-held computing. It was not altogether a bad idea, although it wasn’t integrated or compelling enough to win over a large base of users. Alas, Newton is now (and frankly, has been for a long time) a relic.

What might have been Newton’s domain, the medical world, has now been populated by tablet computers running various Microsoft operating systems. My own physician uses a Fujitsu )?) tablet to track my physical data-points, and can update things easily with a few touches of the stylus. Not elegant, but good enough. If only Apple had seen this niche and gone for it with some seriousness. Oh well.

More recently, netbooks have made advances in business and personal use, although I know only a handful of folks who use their handful of netbook to…check email and look at the web as they travel. I don’t know of anyone who raves about their netbook. Nobody who likes it half as much as their laptop. In fact, netbooks seem tethered, if you will, to laptops. Min-laptops. Cute little laptops. Cheap laptops. But not a serious computer, or a replacement for laptop, or for that matter, a replacement for even a smart phone. Caught in the in-between world, that’s where netbooks seem to be in life.

And smartphones are..well, phones that do more. I love my iPhone. I have friends who love their Blackberries. And some industry pundits (here, here and here, for instance) are suggesting that Palm is going to die, if it isn’t already in its final gasps. Still, my middle-aged eyes need reading glasses to see my contacts and email. Sorry, but the screen on that thing is just a tad too small for my taste. Not that I want it any bigger. No, I like putting it into my pocket, and I like its interface, and I like its apps, and so much more about my smartphone. But that’s a phone, not a replacement for a standard computer.

Which leads us to…the possible future of computing, that new category that many want to establish, but which will likely be won (at least initially) by the Apple iPad. (BTW, I hate the name, but I love the concept). What will the iPad do that makes for something really new, and as Steve Jobs suggests, “magical?” Why, just about anything and everything! Surf, watch videos, read books, and eventually, make calls via Skype using that built-in camera (oh wait, that’s not until next year’s iPad). For a more reasoned assessment of what it’ll do, read this perspective to see where iPad – and some other bold offerings like Google’s Chrome – will take computing in the coming years. Eventually, suggests author Steven Levy, the desktop computer I’m using to type this post, and the GUI with which you are reading it, will be gone. “Dead, deceased, it has gone to meet its maker,” as John Cleese might say.

And, by the way, no offense to Microsoft, but many think they’ll remain stuck to the cash-generating Windows model of computing until the very end. Maybe, maybe not. But it is difficult to envision a future with Windows 10, don’t you think?

So, where will tablets lead us? Hard to say. But it surely seems to be a promising future. Fun, even. That is, if these things deliver even half of what Genie Steve promises.

So far, Levy’s argument for the death of GUI seems credible and yet…maybe I’m not ready to give up that laptop. I like its powerful processing and elegant and all-encompassing “all in one portable box” design.

Just in case, though, I’m thinking of getting a pad, er, tablet, sooner rather than later. I’ll admit I’m intrigued. It’ll take a bit of getting used to, and I may pay a price for being an early adopter. Perhaps I’ll find it all pretty shallow, as empty as cotton candy at the county fair. But at least I’ll have a head start on the future.

How Media Consumption Is Changing

With the introduction of the iPad, Apple is signaling a new phase in how the media world will work. There are certainly things about the new device that lack “wow” power, but there’s something going on here that signals where Apple is going, and why we should pay attention. Consumers, not manufacturing companies, are driving the media revolution, and this is yet another technology that will affect our media buying and consumption habits.

It is obvious that Sony’s eReader, Amazon’s Kindle, and now the B&N Nook all have their merits. They make it easy to carry a lot of books and to read multiple titles any time a person wants. They all have an ability to download various books, at various prices and in various formats.

To date, though, none of them does other media very well. You can’t listen to radio, surf the web or watch video on their E-Ink gray scale screens, nor would you want to. This is where the iPad will instantly make itself more appealing to many people. One device that does…one thing? Not gonna survive. These days, how many people have a cell phone that just makes calls? Or who has an MP3 player that just plays songs? So, by limiting their functionality to books, a dying medium (I hate typing that, but its a fact that fewer people are reading – and buying books, so let’s just live with it, okay?), the current offering of “readers” will find itself looking for an audience while mainstream culture goes with the flashy, color-screened, multi-functional iPad.

Read a book? Sure, anyone can carry around a small tablet-sized screen on which to read – all these devices can do that. That’s easy.

Carry around a business book AND a “guilty pleasure” fiction, too? Yep, the “readers” can do that.

Read the local “newspaper” while I listen to some classical music I downloaded? No, can’t do that on the “readers.” They do text really well, but not much else.

Interrupt my reading so I can check e-Bay for that item I was bidding on? No, sorry, the “readers” can’t do that. You’ll need to have a better tablet for online use – these things are for…reading.

Finish that video I started online last night before I begin studying my textbook for that upcoming quiz? Don’t think Sony can help me do that with their “reader” (despite the fact that Sony makes some gorgeous televisions these days).

Take a break from my book to in order a photo book of pictures from my trip – so it is waiting for me when I return from this trip? Um, I’ll need something more than a “reader.”

I’ll admit that these are all nice, hypothetical examples of how the “reader” will want to be replaced by something more. They don’t necessarily describe your life and how you operate – yet.

By making the iPad a multi-media device, Apple has tapped into where many of us are at – living in a fast-paced, media-saturated world. Apple is correctly seeing that if you  do one thing really well, you’ll likely be obsolete very soon (this is why the iPhone is so popular. It does many things well. Not everything perfectly, but it has enough of the capabilities that I want, and delivers them well, so that I’m finding it hard to imagine life without such a smart “phone.”).

The truth is, we want more more more from our technology, and we want to do do do things anytime, all the time. Apple may have made a big mistake here, that is possible. My guess, though, is that in a few years the iPad, and its various permutations and the inevitable competitors, will change how we do books – and every other media, too.

iTablet’s “Wow Factor”

Like many other techies, I’m really interested in the expected announcement about the Apple iTablet, or iPad, or iWhatever.

There’s great speculation about the size and capabilities of the new device, which I’d anticipate to be a game-changer for portable computing. Just as the iPod changed our music listening habits, and the iPhone changed the way we access our media, the folks at Apple must surely have an intent for how the iTablet should change…something. But what?

Here’s an intriguing look at how the iTablet could reinvigorate (resuscitate?) printed media…and forever changing how we “read” magazines and newspapers. What do you think? If the iTab – and other similar devices – can deliver something like this, would you want one?

UPDATE: Link to some specs and sales projections (10 million in the first year?!).

Can Newspapers Be Saved?

Over at the Tribune, former radio genius Randy Michaels has a new role, taking the helm as CEO from Sam Zell. Michaels has demonstrated he knows how to run a huge radio company, but it remains to be seen just how he can take the Tribune Company, which is trying to come out of bankruptcy – a rather embarrassing decline for the “World’s Greatest Newspaper.” How will the company make enough to fund the staff-intensive and printing/distribution infrastructure that has been newspapers?

And, related, the largest newspaper publisher in Europe suggests that there should be a payment system for news that we find on the Internet – so that link you follow from Google to a news piece could cost you. Monetizing the news departments of major daily newspapers might save them. If – and it is a BIG “IF” – folks like you and me will pay for that which has to this point been free.

And then I think about Chris Anderson, who argues that “Free is better.” In fact, he pushes for a free-for-all web, where free makes sense – even economic sense. I’m not sure that applies to newspapers, though.  Can Michaels turn around the Tribune with a free model? I rather doubt it. Will you pay for news that someone, somewhere, will offer for nothing? I don’t think so.

I’m not sure newspapers are going to make it. That’s a big deal to me. I’ve been reading papers on a daily basis since I was 10. Confession: I started reading…the Tribune. Every day I’d read it, after my Dad finished, of course. Now I get the Wall Street Journal, and consume as much as possible every day. Sometimes my kids read an article or two. But now the Journal is starting to charge for its web content. And I’m not paying for that, not while it is delivered to my door every day.

Can newspapers be saved? I hope so.