Moses v Jobs v Hitler

From Brand Republic: First it was Moses. Then it was Steve Jobs. Each brought a tablet into the world, and judging by the hype surrounding the latter, the iPad is about to deliver salvation of its own...

The visual possibilities of the iPad, if it takes off, were abundantly clear - an attractive, full-colour device that can upload content onto pages in real time via WiFi or, in the case of the more expensive models, via a third-generation mobile phone connection. No wonder, then, that many in London, as well as in San Francisco, believe the iPad will change publishing forever...

Simon Waldman, who heads up digital publishing at Guardian Media Group, says that Apple has made "a significant effort to improve the digital viewing experience", which means publishers will now have to go "above and beyond" their existing website strategy ... However, Waldman warns the effort of designing a product of such quality - for what will remain for a long time a niche-platform - will be expensive and complex.

Few doubt the iPad heralds the prospect of a revolution for the news and magazine business. But with higher development costs and future business models so uncertain, there is no evidence it represents the kind of break that will improve the underlying economics for publishers decisively.


Interesting.

IWOOT #10 iPad Dynabook?

'Some tech mavens believed the new (Apple iPad) device might finally fulfill the promise of the "Dynabook." This is a device conceived four decades ago by the visionary computer pioneer Alan Kay as a prototypical personal computer (this was before Kay actually conceived the first personal computer at the legendary Xerox Palo Alto Research Center). The Dynabook, he wrote in 1972, would be “a tool, a toy, a medium of expression, a source of unending pleasure and delight." It would be a device with which musicians could compose and authors write, teachers teach and children learn. It would offer electronic access to the world's libraries. It would have a high-quality flat screen and a keyboard. It would be less than 4 pounds.

The Apple iPad is 1.5 pounds, but in other ways it still falls short of the Dynabook, especially in the inadequacy of its keyboard. (Though it will accommodate Brushes, an onscreen painting program available on the iPhone.) It's still a device better suited to distributing than to creating content...'
 
Early comment on the Apple iPad launch courtesy of the LA Times

Louboutin + iPhone = Style

Christian Louboutin. Apple iPhone. Style with a capital S.
Enough said?

Win 'em both (on The Sun), of you're desperate.

CL's website is excellent, as you'd expect from the height of style...

An Education (2009)

A coming-of-age story about a teenage girl (beautifully played by Carey Mulligan) in 1960s' suburban London, and how her life changes with the arrival of a suitor nearly twice her age. BAFTA-nominated. Quite captivating in its own way; low-budget, with BBC funding and obviously good PR behind it, but, really, is it that special? 
IMDB 7.7/10 is an accurate assessment, I feel.

The Passenger - animation short

http://chrisj.com.au/thepassenger/

and here's another Passenger:

London snow scenes

A green parakeet, surviving the recent cold spell in Redhill, south London.

From the BBC:

Parakeets are originally from India. So why are they able to survive - and thrive - here?

Bedecked with emerald green feathers and a rose-red beak, the ring-neck parakeet brings a touch of tropical glamour to suburban gardens in London and the South East.

"They actually originate from the foothills of the Himalayas, so they don't need it to be that warm to live comfortably," says Andre Farrar of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds.

Photos: LBC

Convergence is King

It's not hard to name the biggest losers in today's media landscape: newspapers. In 2009, more than 130 U.S. newspapers either closed or moved to online-only publication, typically with skeleton staffs. The big-city daily papers that once defined American journalism have seen their business model collapse as Internet-based competitors commodified news and slashed the cost of advertising.


Newspapers have no problem attracting readers online; the Newspaper Association of America reports that its members' websites draw 74 million unique visitors per month. The problem is figuring out how to make money. Many publishers, of course, would like to start charging for content. But publishers "aren't talking about what kind of [additional] value they are going to give their customers or how they are going to use technology in an innovative way," says Robert Picard, a professor of media economics at Jonkoping University in Sweden and the editor of the Journal of Media Business Studies.


Dow Jones has been able to charge online for the Wall Street Journal, because its specialized content is not easily found elsewhere...


Read the whole article here.

Green Mile (1999)

Green Mile: IMDB 8.3/10 - how come it's taken me 11 years to see this film?

Seriously long (3 hours), good v evil, man v mouse (TomKat's catering got the food credit), great mouse theme from composer Thomas Newman, some good come-uppances, great twists. Great in HD bluray. Different, yet damn good. No numb bum syndrome, either.

The future of newspapers? #2

'At just the moment that newspaper publishers try to charge for their web content, the inky stuff may become a freebie.' First the London Evening Standard, next the Independent? Money talks...

From the BBC Reporters' blogs:
Will Lebedev wreak havoc in British media?

Photo: Alexander Lebedev (L), JR Ewing (R)

Boris Johnson's 'virements'

Courtesy of the Mayor of London Boris Johnson's new initiative to launch a public archive of data and information about London, I learned a new word today:

Virements

Apparently, it's what was required to fund the Story of London in June 2009: 'To approve a budget of £165,000 for the Story of London from the core GLA (greater London Authrity) budget, to make the appropriate budget virements and any other necessary budget adjustments.'

The new, online London Datastore (data.london.gov.uk) is promised to be a 'treasure trove of civic information' about London, launching officially on Jan 29. If you want to see the history of the Mayor's decisions since coming to office or even the population changes in Ealing and the City of London since 1881, it's a useful and sometimes interesting resource. Meanwhile, I'll keep making those virements to try to balance my own books.

The future of newspapers?

The future of newspapers is portable and digital...

Here's the puff from Hearst's new 'Skiff':

The Skiff Reader will feature the Skiff service and digital store, allowing consumers to wirelessly purchase and access a wide variety of newspapers, magazines, books, blogs and other content from multiple publishers. Newspaper and magazine content delivered by Skiff will feature visually appealing layouts, high-resolution graphics, rich typography and dynamic updates, supporting key design qualities that help publications differentiate themselves and attract subscribers and advertisers.

Drive-by shooting

Drive-by shooting. Geddit?


From Eden TV (Sky 532, Virgin 208)

The Times is 225

Happy Birthday to The Times, 225 years old today. 


Article here on Times Online.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year 2010!

More awesome shots can be seen on Flickr here. (OK, so it's 2008, but the fireworks were brilliant again this year.)

Below pic from Getty via Telegraph.co.uk.