|
By : Jon Peddie (Aug 2003)
Hey! Where are we? In order
to recover from the fiasco that was Siggraph 2002 in San Antonio, the
Siggraph Conference group cut back on a day of the conference, workers,
and signage. Also, longtime stalwarts like SGI and Sun failed to have
a booth on the floor. However, the conference felt pretty lively with
new exhibitors, papers, and a crowd still in love with graphics.
By : Jon Peddie (Jun 2003)
A
software bug is an expensive mistake that can cost a company developing
the software and/or its users hundreds of thousands of dollars to remedy.
That's nothing in light of the worldwide economic costs of the SARS
virus. The first-order effects (thousands of sick people and hundreds
of deaths), the second-order effects (thousands losing their jobs in
the travel and associated—i.e., conferences—industries, already
in a weakened state, manufacturing losses due to factories in Asia being
closed or operating with less staff, etc.), the third-order effects
(costs of combatting the virus, health care facilities and personnel,
etc.), and the fourth-order effects (loss of tax revenue, and of subsequent
consumer spending).
By : Jon Peddie (Jun 2003)
The consumer market is where the growth is today, so stop irri-tating
the consumers and give them what they want—affordable entertainment
PCs, desktop and mobile.
By : Jon Peddie (Jun 2003)
In
1999, when we finished our landmark Digital Entertainment Box (DEB)
study, I came to the conclusion that television is the center of the
universe. Ever since then, like King Arthur's knights, I've searched
for an alternate truth and found none. The Holy Grail is TV; we love
it, hate it, can't live without it; it has been the most transforming
thing in the world; it has brought the world to the world. The second
or third most transforming thing (ignoring WOMDs) was and is the PC.
This is where people spend most of their time. And, contrary to the
desires of the employers, the world continues to operate and things
happen and there is news, and stories, and sports, and stuff of interest
and importance to know about.
By : Jon Peddie (Apr 2003)
Going
to Cebit wouldn't be half the fun if it weren't for the astonishing
and strange things one gets to see there. Space simply does not permit
showing all the wacky, wonderful, and weird things that people display
at this mega conference. Here then, with that apology, are a few of
my favorites.
By : Jon Peddie (Mar 2003)
The messages for Cebit this year are pretty much the same. The
big issues are Wireless Networking for fun and profit, Recordable
DVD for fun and profit, phones for all, and cameras everywhere.
Security, of course, was a major theme, and if we werenÕt all
already scared to death, companies peddling security were out
there telling people that the viruses and worms weÕve been battling
are nothing compared to the mothers of all worms that are on their
way—unless, of course, we pony up the bucks for their software.
By : Jon Peddie (Oct 2002)
It seems like a good time to reflect on the year past. If you
look at the stock trends for the year and project them forward,
the JPR graphics index goes to zero February 7, 2003, and the Dow
Jones Industrial Index goes to zero some time in 2005, which of
course is ridiculous and merely exemplifies the absurdity of using
history to predict the future—you can’t drive a car forward by looking
in the rear-view mirror. But, you can, hopefully, learn a few lessons
about what to avoid in the future—who hasn’t said, “If only I could
do it over?” And what engineer hasn’t been able to make version
two much better than version one? So there are historical lessons
to pay attention to.
By : Jon Peddie (Jun 2002)
Taipei is an amazing place, full of contradictions
and surprises. The place is haven for taxi users. There are more
taxis in Taipei than all of China, Korea and Alaska combined. Well,
probably not, but who knows how many taxis are in China? No one,
right? Well, no one knows how many are in Taipei, either. No, of
course someone knows: the person who issues licenses, but he doesn’t
speak English, so I couldn’t find out. But let me tell you,
there’s a lot, I mean a really whole lot. In fact it’s
a joke in Taipei: Can you look down any street for more than a minute
and not see a taxi? The answer is no, no you can’t.
| |||||||||
