the air

In the past few years, Microsoft has spent billions of dollars to define the Live brand. Recently, Live’s market share has dropped 10 percent and Google has seen its market share rise by almost 22 percent. Current tally numbers put Google at around 51%, Yahoo! at 23%, and Microsoft Live at around 8%. Microsoft Live seems to be suffer from the fact that it has failed to distinguish itself from MSN and other services. It appears that Microsoft is also encouraging the use of its browser to use all Live services. One of the miscalculations that Microsoft seems to have made is its lack of support for competing browsers. Although users can use Firefox and Opera to access Live Mail and other services, they cannot use it for Virtual Earth.

Microsoft has also launched a competitor to Google’s Adsense. Unfortunately for Microsoft, they are having some difficulty gaining traction due to few people knowing about Live and using Live. There has been evidence suggesting that some people are not even aware of Microsoft’s Live search. It would be foolish to assume that Microsoft will throw in the towel due to these shortcomings. Microsoft is notorious for being relentless and pursuing markets until they dominate it. Just take a look at their MSN service. Although MSN is not as popular as Google, it has built up a strong following and is a very capable competitor to Google. Analysts agree that Microsoft has to spend more resources differentiating Live and getting the word out about live. No one really bothers to type in www.live.com into their web browser. However, once Microsoft does gain some traction, they will see Live become a strong competitor to Google and Yahoo!

Source: C|Net Article

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This post is a continuation of my previous post, DRM Is For Suckers

These days companies, such as Microsoft, Adobe, Apple, and many more, tout digital rights management, DRM for short, as the next evolution in software design and approach. DRM is positioned as a platform to license users to access and use intellectual products and circumvent piracy and prevent unauthorized users. However, DRM is simply not just a tool to protect the intellectual works of a company or individual. Rather, it is also, surreptitiously, designed to limit the choices of software or hardware that you may or may not use.

In the coming days, Microsoft will allow the public to finally purchase a license to use the next generation of Windows. However, few people seem to grasp the limitations Vista will have in place to prevent you from using your hardware and applications with ease. The following is a passage from a post I happen to come across:

• If you have recently bought a high-end sound card you may be surprised, since in Windows Vista you won’t be able to play any “protected content” due to the incompatibility of interfaces (S/PDIF).
• Significant loss of quality of the audio may be common due to the need to test every bit of streaming media for the use of “protected content”
• The idea of open-source drivers will be abandoned since the whole DRM thing is based on the fact that the content decrypting takes place in a “black box” and only a few selected corporations may have a look at it. Security through obscurity, that’s what it’s called. Open source stands in complete opposition to this concept.
• Removing any standards from the hardware world is one of the Microsoft goals. According to the Microsoft theory, each device will need to communicate with the operating system in a unique way in order for DRM work as required. This will enforce the incompatibility of the devices, killing the existing interface standards.
• Denial of Service attacks will be a common place. The new era of DoS attacks will be more harmful than ever before. This is connected with the tilt bits introduced in Windows Vista. The malicious code will be able to use the DRM restrictions in any suitable way and the detection of this activity will be almost impossible if not illegal (sic!) thanks to the infamous DMCA act that prohibits the use of any reverse engineering techniques used to either understand or break DRM.
• The stability of the devices will be decreased due to the fact that the devices will not only have to do their job but also “protect” (who? obviously not the user…) against the illegal use of the audio and video streams. This “protection” requires a lot of additional processing power and of course a lot of programmers man days. Who’s gonna pay for that? Of course us — the customers.
• Issuing the specification by Microsoft seems to be the first case in the history when the software producer dictates the hardware producers how their hardware should be designed and work. Seems dangerous, especially when we all realize the intentions of Microsoft.

I cannot seem to understand why Microsoft and other companies would move from a system that allows consumers to freely use their products and services to a system that locks the consumer into only choosing from a select few options. I feel that companies are punishing the consumer out of paranoia. Although piracy is rampant and millions of people have engaged in piracy, there is absolutely no strong positive correlation that suggests that due to piracy, any “affected” industry cannot survive due to the financial losses. In fact, Microsoft seems to pushing this DRM agenda to further force its customers to choose Microsoft products over other alternatives. Granted that many of Microsoft products are the de facto standard all across the globe, there are simply too many reasons why people may prefer to use other products. Rather than encouraging users to choose between functionality and value, Microsoft is intentionally forcing customers to select products and services that are not always cost justified.

Since my experience with Linux, I have become a strong supporter of free and open-source software (OOS). I feel that OOS allows the user to determine what is in his/her best interests while using their computing resources. I also understand that companies want to protect their intellectual products and services. As such, why would they not want to ensure that they can offer the same product or service across the entire board. In other words, if DRM is thought to be effective, why not make it available to users of Windows, MacOS, Linux, and other operating systems? Many of these companies view Linux as a “hacker’s paradise” and deem it to be unfit for DRM. What do you think happens then? People find ways around it and simply use other products. Wouldn’t it make sense for Apple to ensure that their FairPlay technology (the DRM scheme behind iTunes Media Store) is compatible with all operating systems? The dilemma that I ask is, why can’t the operating system be independent of the actual product or services? Why should DRM be tied down to just Windows and Mac?

I’m not advocating the use or non-use of DRM. What I am advocating is to give the user the freedom to choose what he/she wants to do. Why should the user be locked into using a product that is not suitable for them? As a college student, how can I afford to pay almost $200 for Windows when I can barely afford to eat? The pricing that these companies have is so ridiculous that I prefer open-source and free software above all. Although DRM is to reduce piracy, piracy is NOT tied to illicit users. Piracy is due to the high prices, some which are unfair, that companies are charging for their products. Microsoft has designed a system in which you cannot function without Windows. Yet, you are expected to pay high prices just to have permission to use the software. How is that fair?

In the end, DRM is here to stay. Companies will find more attractive ways of using DRM and DRM will eventually become non-intrusive. However, the price the consumer has to pay is for total lack of convenience. My only suggestion is to stick with open-source software as much as possible. Why? With open-source software, you will get functionality and value without breaking the bank. You won’t have access to phone support or, in some cases, even email support, but you do have the support of the entire open-source community. Open source software requires patience and sometimes even some technical knowledge, but it can be a viable alternative to DRM-infected software. And let’s face it, DRM supported software is not always good. Just take a look at how bloated many of the anti-virus applications are, or how “insecure” Windows is. However, never forget, that you have no rights once DRM assimilates you.

Source: DRM, Vista and your rights

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Pfizer is one of the largest pharmaceutical firms in the world. They are the makers of popular products such as Viagra, Lipitor, and Celebrex. Lately, shares of many pharmaceutical companies have been performing poorly and the once thriving industry is now in peril as major reformations and cuts are under-way to make these companies more profitable once again. However, drug prices are not any cheaper, and generic drug manufacturers are making bold statements and aggressive practices to ensure that lower price drugs outsell the brand name alternative. At initial glance this may seem to be a great move on behalf of the consumer, but there is a major catch-22 with this approach.

This article over at The Economist talks about how Pfizer, one of the most conservative companies in the pharmaceutical industry is trying to overcome the down times to become a profit leader in a very competitive market. There are three main reasons why Pfizer and other major pharmaceutical companies are struggling:

1. Generics are squeezing the profit margin
2. Harder and costlier to find and develop new treatments
3. Industry is too focused on marketing and selling, taking away vital funds from research and development

The main problem is that most of these companies, Pfizer included, are vertically integrated. That means, in plain words, they do everything themselves.

The risks have been compounded by vertical integration, reckons Roger Longman of Windhover Information, an industry consultancy. Unlike firms in other businesses, Big Pharma still does most things in-house, from research to manufacturing, sales and distribution. Mr Longman insists that big drugs firms must move towards a “disaggregated” model to focus on a few core areas of competence, such as drug discovery, development or marketing. Many activities can be put out to the growing legion of biotechnology start-up firms, contract research organisations, independent drug-development firms and freelance sales organisations.

Some experts agree that these companies need to focus only in certain areas. For example, they should either do strict marketing or selling or focus on developing new products. We are no longer in an era where medicine will be affordable. Companies such as Pfizer will spend upwards of one billion dollars just to introduce a new pill. The biggest disadvantage is, ultimately, to the consumer. With rising prices, the consumer has to pay more money out of his/her own pocket to get the treatment they need to survive. I think the entire health-care industry has been too focused on profit margins and not enough on the actual patient. Insurance companies are simply sophisticated scam artists that look for every possible way to decline their customers. What is the point of insurance if they are going to actively look for ways to decline you? What is the point of new medicine if the vast majority of people cannot afford the treatment? Drugs that can save lives should be readily available to those who can and cannot afford them. Aesthetic drugs, such as Viagra, merit their high prices because sexual dysfunction is, generally, a non-life threatening issue. Maybe someday we’ll see a world where everyone has equal access to treatment that they need to survive.

Source: Billion Dollar Pills
Printed version (PDF):PDF Version

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It seems like everyone who has a blog powered by WordPress has a list of their best plugins which they are running. I figured that this was high time for me to join in and make my own list. I’m not going to say that you should run these plugins, but I do feel that without these plugins, my blog just wouldn’t work. WordPress is a powerful platform that is extremely easy to use. In fact, many of the plugins listed below require little to know editing of php files. Without further adieu, I proudly present my top 15 WordPress Plugin List (in alphabetical order)

Akismet

This plugin is part of the WordPress installation (assuming you are using 2.0.0 and above). In my opinion, this plugin is a must for any blogger and you have absolutely no reason to turn this plugin off. Although my blog is not extremely popular, I still end up with almost 5 to 10 spam messages to deal with every morning. Luckily, Aksimet is able to capture all of them and I simply have to check all and delete all. If this plugin was not around, you would be seeing dozens of non-relevant comments and a cranky me. To use the Akismet plugin, go to the Plugins section of your Wordpress control panel and click on “activate it”. The plugin requires an API key which you can get for free by signing up for a Wordpress.com account. It really is a painless operation and it will save you so much time and headache.

Brian’s Threaded Comments

Brian’s Threaded Comments is more of an aesthetic plugin that transforms the comments for your posts into a more conversational approach. This plugin pretty much adds a “Reply to” button at the end of every post. Thus, your readers can reply directly to the comment rather than posting a comment and then scrolling down to find if a question or point was answered. I really don’t think this plugin is essential, however, if your readers do like to discuss your posts, you may wish to consider this plugin.

Challenge

The Challenge plugin simply adds a question that the comment poster will have to answer before their comment is posted. This prevents bots and spammers from automatically leaving you non-relevant posts. The plugin allows you to supply your own question or use a random mathematical question. Either way, you don’t want to make your question too hard otherwise legitimate comment posters will be unable to post anything. This plugin is part of my ongoing War Against Spam - which I will write about more in another post. The only gripe I have about this plugin is that if you forget to answer the question or you answered the question incorrectly, then you will be taken to another page that simply points out your fault. However, if you hit the BACK button on your browser, your entire comment has now been erased and it can be extremely frustrating if you had written a lengthy comment. Apparently, John Chow - who is also using this plugin - has developed a fix. I am simply waiting for him to write about the fix and I will implement it as well.

Contact Form ][

The Contact Form ][ (the ][ is supposed to a fancy way of writing the roman numerals for the number 2, II) was one of my first plugins and I use it as the basis for the contact form that is available on this blog. It gives you an abundant list of options to set. You can have all contact mail sent to a particular email address with a custom subject line that you could use to filter using your favorite email client. You can have custom success or error messages once the user has typed up their message and attempts to send it to you. I think it really is a nifty plugin and worth implementing on your own site.

Executable PHP Widget

Since updgrading to a newer version of this theme, I added the execPHP plugin to able to execute php commands from my sidebar widgets. Without it, I would have a tough time ensuring that all my sidebar “boxes” would stay in order and I would spend an insane amount of time doing trivial tasks. This plugin is really for those who know what they are doing in terms of php and stuff. If you are completely unsure of what exactly php is or have absolutely no clue what I am talking about, you may want to stay away from this plugin since it may not really help you out. However, for everyone else, you may wish to consider this plugin if you are using the Sidebar Widgets plugin.

Feedburner Feed Replacement

The Feedburner Feed Replacement plugin ensures that 100% of your feed traffic will go through Feedburner and will give you more accurate readership stats. The nice thing about this plugin is that it will automatically convert all of your existing subscribers from the old feed to the FeedBurner feed. I think this is a great plugin for every blog since it will help you understand how many readers you have and it will consolidate some statistics that you may find useful.

Google Sitemaps

The Google Sitemaps plugin will generate a sitemap for you automatically once you install it. It even creates a sitemap on demand. This plugin helps you to feed this information to Google Webmasters and will help get your blog indexed faster as well. This is a must for any blog that wishes to increase their presence online. Once I had submitted my sitemaps to Google, it took about 6 days before Google indexed my blog. It probably would have taken much longer had I not installed this plugin.

Optimal Title

The Optimal Title plugin is a great SEO tool to include in your blog. If you have noticed, at the very top of your browser you will see your blog title. By default, WordPress shows your blog title followed by the post title. This plugin reverses the order and shows the post title first then the blog title. In other words, instead of The Air << Title Of The Blog Post, it will show Title Of The Blog Post << The Air. I have made a few changes to this code so my title will appear differently. The change I made is available on the plugin author’s homepage. This helps out greatly once your posts are being indexed by Google. I think this plugin is handy for those who want to use SEO tools to help get their blog noticed more and with rankings.

Related Posts

The Related Posts plugin will list other posts by you that are relevant to the current post. You can specify how many posts it will list and how to display them. This is a great way for you to allow your readers to read up on other past posts and expose more of your writings. To see it in action, just look below the dancing penguin. You should see the other two parts I have written so far listed along with some other posts. I think this plugin is also another SEO tool that you can implement on your own blog as well.

Sidebar Widgets

When I first started my blog, I had absolutely no idea what widgets were and I had shown little interest in them. After updating the theme for this blog, I decided to give widgets a try and I installed the Sidebar Widgets plugin. This plugin is made available by the same people who made WordPress and the only requirement is that the theme you are using is widget ready. This plugin allows you to rearrange your sidebar elements to your liking. It literally becomes a drag and drop operation. You don’t have to edit any php file or write any kind of code, thus, making it one of the easiest plugins to use. My blog cannot live without this plugin since it has really allowed me to alter the sidebar layout without spending any time to code.

Smart Update Pinger

The Smart Update Pinger plugin automatically pings the various blog pinging services once you make a new post. There are times when I write posts that I want published on a future date. Once I click the publish button, my blog automatically would ping all the different services. This wasn’t a good idea because I did not have new content posted yet, but the pinging services would think that I added new content and they would update accordingly. This plugin rectifies that error and only sends a ping once I have a new post actually posted. Again, this is a plugin that is great for those who write whenever they have time but publish at a different date. If you ping the services too many times, they will block you because they may think you are “spamming” them. Sometimes I also have to edit posts for clarity or to fix errors. Before, whenever I edited the post and saved, it would ping the services; not a good idea. Now, it only pings when I create new posts not when I edit already posted posts.

Subscribe to Comments

The Subscribe to Comments plugin allows readers to receive notifications of new comments that are posted to an entry. It basically adds a “subscribe to comments via email” checkbox in the comments area. You can simply subscribe to the comments and be kept up to date. I don’t really have a need for this plugin, but I do know that there are times when readers would like to be kept up to date on certain posts’ comments. I mostly added this plugin for readers’ convenience.

Time Zone

Since I live in Chicago, it is imperative that I am aware of Daylight Savings Time. The Time Zone plugin allows my blog to be “aware” of DST and automatically adjust the internal clock once DST occurs. Although I don’t post the actual time I made an entry on my blog, this plugin does allow me to keep track of when I posted my blog by date and time. I use this mostly for internal reasons and it literally is transparent to the reader.

WordPress Database Backup

The WordPress Database Backup plugin is part of the WordPress installation and is an extremely critical plugin. Since starting my blog, I have changed hosting providers and have updated this blog numerous times. Throughout all that, this plugin has proven to be extremely useful since it backups my posts. Once the backup is complete, you can either email the file to yourself or download it. The plugin is very easy to use; just activate and then select “Backup” under “Manage” in your WordPress control panel. John Chow recommends “for security reasons, you should turn off the Plugin after you backed up your database.” I’m not sure what the security risks are, but I figure that if he’s saying it, you should turn it off once you’re done backing up your blog. I usually backup my site once a week and make two copies of the actual backup. One copy I keep on my computer and the other copy I keep on my email server so that it is easily accessible from anywhere in the world.

YouTube Brackets

The YouTube Brackets plugin allows me to embed YouTube videos into my blog. To date, I think I have only posted maybe one or two YouTube videos and I am not a big fan of posting videos on my blog. Honestly, the video quality of many YouTube videos is horrendous and not even worth blogging about. With that said, I use this plugin very rarely, but it does come in handy if the need to post a YouTube video is required.

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This is part III of a series of posts designed to introduce you to me on a more intimate level. It is my intention to help you learn more about me and my views. It will also give you some insight into my own beliefs and what I hope to accomplish through this blog and in life. Please feel free to comment or use the contact form.

Part III of the series introduces you to my corporate beliefs.

• Part I
• Part II

What is wrong with corporate America?

Corporations in America are simply perplexing and perfect examples of failing capitalism. These companies pride themselves on milking the consumer for every last penny and abusing the political system to ensure that no fair market can exist. Before everyone begins to complain about my reasoning, please note that this piece, like many of my posts, is just an opinion. Corporate America suffers from three major things:

• Consumer unfriendliness
• Emphasis on short-term gains
• Penny pinching

Consumer? What Consumer?

When operating a business, I find that it is important to follow three principles in order:

1. Focus on consumer
2. Employee satisfaction
3. Profit

It is imperative for any corporation to cater to the consumer first. All actions that the company takes should be in the interest of the consumer. Why? Without the support of the consumer, how can a business expect to make money? Many corporations in the US tend to give their shareholders more preference than the consumer. This is completely unfair and is definitely not in the best interest of the company. So repeat after me: consumers drive business. Take for example the case of major textbook publishers such as Addison Wesley, McGraw-Hill, and many more. These companies charge severely prohibitive prices for questionable college textbooks and force the average college student to further let themselves slip into debt. What many people do not realize is that the same textbook is available in other countries at lower rates. A book that I had for on my classes retailed at bookstores for about $170 and that same book was available in India for a little under $9. How is that fair to the average American consumer? Why should the American consumer pay higher fees, leading to subsidizing the cost for other students around the world? I can understand that less priviledged students in third world countries could never afford the same rates as American students, but why not charge American students rates that are more favorable? I don’t mind paying, on average, $50 per textbook; compared to $140 per book. I can force myself to see the logic in the pricing, but I cannot agree to that.

Another good example is that of many wireless communication service providers (e.g. Cingular, Sprint, etc.). They try to push so many services onto you, but they fail to offer any reliability. In many situations they force you to sign lengthy contracts while telling you that they do not have to provide service in return. If you have read your service agreement carefully, they reserve the right to drop you as a customer, not guarantee their service, some even go as far as to say that you will not take them to civil or criminal court for any reason. How is that fair to the consumer? Why not give the consumer the right to drop you as a carrier if the service provider fails to live up to their expectations? The main answers to this question and others is simply profit. This will automatically lead me into my next bold point.

Employee satisfaction is a given and many companies excel in this area. Many companies realize that without employees, they have no hope for survival either. The employee is the life and blood of the company. Google does an excellent job of catering to their employees’ needs by serving gourmet meals, allowing them to pursue personal projects on company time, and much more. A decentralized and organic approach has allowed many companies, such as Google, to find creativity, harvest it, and unveil it glamorously. From this approach, we now have GMail and Orkut. I feel much of this area is left up to companies and does not need further elaboration.

My personal favorite is the fact that all these companies are into penny pinching. Cingular has recently raised its on demand per sent SMS rate from $0.10 to $0.15. Why? Only to increase profits and force consumers to sign up for one of their text messaging plans. The worst part is that Verizon Wireless is now moving to copy Cingular’s move. Why not lower the rates to encourage more users to use this feature rather than raise it? I think that if rates were much more favorable, many consumers would at least try to use the new features. Cingular has a habit of only allowing 1 MB of data access to its GPRS/EDGE subscribers. However, T-Mobile charges a flat fee of around six dollars for unlimited data transfer. Why not copy that move? Whatever happened to generosity? All of these companies pretend to be parsimonious but are able to create lavish severance packages for their top executives. Need I go on?

The ballad of quarters

These days, the “job life” expectancy of a CEO is around two years. As such, most of these CEO’s have only eight quarters to prove that they are effective and deserving of another year of service. So what happens? Every CEO is only concerned with quarterly results. That means, they are trying to maximize profit, increase production, increase sales all in one quarter. A side-effect of this grave mis-calculation is a degradation of quality in the company’s product or service. You also lose out on customer satisfaction and loyalty. These days, businesses are competing with firms that have brick-and-mortar stores and those who have only an online presence. For almost any product, there are always alternative stores to go to. If you find that Home Depot is selling your tool at a high price, I challenge you to go online since you will find that same tool for a much lower price. In fact, if you shop around, you might even find that same tool cheaper at another local hardware store. Nevertheless, the CE0’s are willing to sacrifice quality and customer satisfaction so that they can show the Board of Directors that they improved sales and the company has grown. In reality, these CEO’s have abandoned their customers, encouraged lower quality, and are mis-leading their shareholders. And these CEO’s are so talented, that they force the Board to develop lofty severance packages so that if the CEO is fired, he/she can leave with a big sack full of money and laugh in everyone’s faces. This is the world of American Corporations. A sad and pathetic world it is.

A penny saved is a penny earned

I think I have made it very clear that these companies are all about milking the consumer for every singly penny. They raise their rates for no reason, introduce annoying “services” so that the consumer can fork over more cash, and they don’t improve service in any way. For example, Verizon Wireless and other wireless service providers plan on introducing advertisements so that they may offer cheaper services and more content. What is the real reason? These companies have found another route for making more money while sacrificing the consumer. Data services have been slow in acceptance amongst most wireless customers in the US. This is because most consumers don’t realize that the service is even available or they find the price too high to really use. As such, companies want to encourage/force their customers to use these services. In order to do so, they have to lower the rates so that the customer feels like he/she is getting a bargain. What better than to introduce annoying advertisements and offer cheaper rates. What the consumer fails to realize is that the actual phone service will probably not even improve. Companies don’t really care what you think as long as you pay them premium fees for lousy service. Instead of building a strong and healthy customer base, these companies wish to make you pay high fees for absolutely nothing.

Here’s another good example, TiVo. TiVo is DVR that will allow you to record your shows digitally. It functions like a VCR, but without the tape. The company charges you approximately 20 dollars a month to use their system. What do you get? You get a box that will show you more advertisements as you fast forward through recorded advertisements. What the hell is the point of that? Recently, Phillips patented a technology that can disable the remote control of your television set once a commercial is on. How is that not going to annoy customers? Companies like TiVo and Phillips will have you pay for lousy technology and service only to force you to watch annoying adverts that you are trying to fast forward or change. As I have mentioned, too many companies are putting too much emphasis on advertising and not enough strength in content, quality, and service. A very disappointing move.

Fin

Corporations have lost touch with their customers. They are all persevering to milking the consumer for every last penny. Instead of developing quality and service, they strive to increase their profit margin and show bloated numbers to their share-holders and the Board of Directors. Just a few years ago, CEO’s of Enron and other companies were caught doing illegal activities simply because they wanted more money. In case you haven’t figured it out, better numbers every quarter equals bigger bonuses for CEO’s. Some companies are genuinely interested in their consumer and spend a great amount of time ensuring that their products and services meet their needs. Remember Apple? Apple products are priced high, but you also get a product that is of higher quality as well. Some will always argue that Apple actually makes inferior products, puts them in a nice package, and charges a premium. However, you only need to look at iPod sales and Macbook sales to know that Apple is not really making an inferior product. Rather, Apple knows what the consumer wants. The consumer wants to be treated like a king. The consumer is willing to spend big money if they know that the product they get is high in quality and backed by great service. You can also compare a Mercedes dealer with a Cadillac dealer. I remember that at the Mercedes dealer, I was treated with great respect and they made a sincere effort to ensure that I was not pressured into buying a vehicle, but rather that I knew what made a Mercedes a Mercedes. At the Cadillac dealer, the sales staff kept pressuring me to purchase a vehicle without really telling me anything about the car. What do you think happened? I paid more for a Mercedes, but I am also getting higher quality and service. If you dare disagree, bring your Cadillac and I’ll show you my S550. Once you sit in that car, you’ll know what luxury really is. By the way, the S550 is my mom’s car, not exactly mine, but I did do all the negotiating and research. I think that once companies learn about their consumer and design their products and services to cater directly to the consumer, companies will automatically realize higher profits and a strong customer base.

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