Apple finally released its long-awaited iOS update to iPhone and iPad users on Wednesday, October 12 at exactly 10:00 a.m. PST (just as users furiously hammered their iTunes 5.0 “Update” button). Below is the list of changes that accompanied the 700+ MB iPhone update:
Excited. Empowered. Confident. That’s how I felt when the Amazon package arrived containing our new Drobo S video storage array and controller card. Coupled with two speedy 3 TB Seagate Barracuda XT SATA 6 hard drives (also known as SATA III), this was going to be a metal box of pure badassery. How did it turn out? If you’re impatient, skip down to the review. Otherwise, grab some popcorn…
Broadcast all over social media and even sent to customers via email, Netflix spilled its plans to quietly spin off its DVD division into a self-contained subsidiary known as Qwikster. In doing so, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings is pushing forward a strategy to shield its cutting-edge media streaming business from a quickly graying DVD market.
Though Hastings didn’t explicitly mention this, it’s obvious that tracking, shipping, and handling physical discs is a big financial burden to Netflix. And once customers start abandoning DVDs with momentum, Qwikster price hikes will undoubtedly occur to balance costs (although many will remain latched on to DVDs the same way some folks are inexplicably married to AOL). In theory, these price hikes would not affect Netflix streaming-only customers, and Qwikster can eventually disappear at its own pace, similar to a dying leaf falling off a tree. The trunk simply says, “meh.”
I’ll drink to thatWhat better way to spend a Wednesday evening after work than with high-energy industry peers, downing wine, great food, and networking among professionals? A diverse and peppy crowd of marketing, public relations, and media types came together on August 24, 2011, at Proper Gastro Pub in PETCO Park for Wine Wednesday, a follow-up event to the annual San Diego Social Media Symposium.
Nuffer, Smith, Tucker —a prominent and highly social public relations firm —hosted the event on behalf of Word of Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA), a non-profit dedicated to “advancing and advocating the discipline of credible word of mouth marketing.” Wine Wednesdays are part of a series of WOMMA social gatherings intended to bring together industry folk to share ideas and have a generally awesome time talking —in person!
Now before this turns into a long-winded press release, let me stop myself and get to the good points. After attendees had a chance to mingle and enjoy a first round of wine, NST President Bill Trumpfheller presented the keynote. Some major highlights:
Ever since Geekbrief.TV host Cali Lewis demo’d the very simple-to-use Data Robotics Drobo ($499 MSRP) storage system as it was introduced in early 2008 at Macworld Expo San Francisco, I’ve followed the product’s evolution cycle with great curiosity. Imagine for a moment a self-managing high-speed data array with simplified RAID-like qualities, all in a handsome, compact enclosure– AND easier to use than an iPod Shuffle! Does the Drobo actually deliver all this awesome-sauce? Well, for the most part yes, at least in this first chapter of my product review– I’ll explain later. Note: At the time of this writing, Data Robotics has unveiled the big brother to the Drobo line: The eight-bay, rack-ready DroboPro.
