Category: Amazon

Is Accessibility About to Overtake Ownership?

March 29, 2011March 29, 2011 Bob Caswell 4 Comments

Greetings from the sky! I’m writing this on my flight back to Seattle from Boston and noticed that the tech-news-o-sphere is all abuzz about Amazon’s new cloud music products recently announced. In a nutshell, Amazon automatically now is giving its MP3 customers accessibility to their music anytime and in any place via an online digital media locker (“cloud drive”) and an online music “cloud player”.

My predication is that this is the beginning of consumers (mass consumers, not just early adopters) migrating from an ownership mentality to an accessibility mentality. Here’s what I mean:

Amazon, Apple, Internet, Media, Music, Tech News

No Thank You, Radiohead, Please Sell Where I Shop

March 6, 2011 Bob Caswell 2 Comments

First, a quick recap on Radiohead’s place in the world of digital distribution experimentation:

In 2007, Radiohead decides to release their album “In Rainbows” exclusively on Radiohead.com with a unique “choose your own price” model. You pick how much you pay (free being an option), and you then can download the album. Next, comScore releases numbers from the Radiohead experiment, which suggest that most of us are cheapskates and freeloaders.

Amazon, Internet, Media, Music, Shopping

Defining Success of [Tech] Companies

July 17, 2010July 18, 2010 Bob Caswell 3 Comments

Let’s face it: we all love making comparisons. It’s an easy way to simplify a point. The problem, though, lies in the implicit assumptions and interpretations that go along with a comparison. Meaning, as soon as you make your comparison, it’s as if you’re holding all else equal while at the same time elevating your comparison to a higher level of credibility as compared to any of the unspoken alternative comparisons involving the two things you’re comparing.

Amazon, Apple, Google, Internet, Microsoft, Tech News

Why Warner Bros. Swapping HD DVDs for Blu-ray Discs Won’t Work

April 22, 2009April 22, 2009 Bob Caswell 2 Comments

HD-DVD vs. Blu-ray Warner Brothers had come up with a slick promotion to get some much needed buzz around Blu-ray. My consensus: great idea but flawed execution. Here’s how it works (and why it won’t work):

You send in the cover art sleeve (keep the disc) and the UPC from your HD DVD movies. And for $4.95 per movie, plus $6.95 S&H per order, you’ll be sent back brand new Blu-ray copies of any movies you have in HD DVD. There are a few restrictions (only 1 copy per movie and only up to 25 movies per household) but nothing really that prohibitive.

Amazon, Internet, Media, Netflix, Shopping, Sony, Tech News

When will I be able to tweak my ice cream like my PC gaming graphics?

February 1, 2009February 1, 2009 Bob Caswell 6 Comments

This week I found myself in the frozen section browsing for ice cream. I’m not even sure how I ended up there and why ice cream, but my subconscious was apparently way ahead of me. Once my conscious kicked in, the comparing started.

There’s, of course, plenty to choose from if you’re in the mood for flavors that put the ice cream in the running for world record of highest calorie density food. My personal favorite in this category: Ben & Jerry’s Half Baked Fudge Brownie & Cookie Dough. So good!

Amazon, Gaming, Internet, Just For Fun

HD DVDs are going away. But should you buy Blu-ray?

November 16, 2008November 17, 2008 Bob Caswell 9 Comments

The first half of my title is taken straight from the title of an email I received from Netflix a couple days ago (see end of post for text of the email). In short, as of December 15, 2008, Netflix will no longer carry HD DVDs. Around the same time I got this email, coincidentally, a friend of mine sent me an email about an online sale offering $2 HD DVD movies.

Amazon, Media, Netflix, Shopping, Sony, Tech News

My First Time Using Craigslist

September 10, 2008 Bob Caswell 28 Comments

Somehow I missed the Craigslist memo. It could have something to do with the fact that I haven’t used even eBay for a while. (I used to be on eBay quite a bit but gave it up a few years ago when Amazon proved to be a worthy replacement with much less hassle.) But we recently moved and found ourselves with a couple of items needing a new home due to space constraints in our new place. Namely: a Yamaha electronic keyboard and a spare fold-a-bed.

So I signed up for Craigslist and posted these items online. Here’s what I found:

Amazon, Internet, Shopping, Web 2.0

Best Buy vs. Amazon for Printer Shopping

September 1, 2008September 16, 2008 Bob Caswell 2 Comments

So my HP G85 all-in-one printer/scanner/copier/fax died after nearly five years. Truth be told, though, I had been printer window shopping earlier this summer and was planning on replacing it relatively soon. At the time, I had tentatively decided on HP’s Photosmart C7280 all-in-one. It has everything my G85 had but is smaller, faster, and better (more features). You gotta love technology.

Amazon, Gadgets, Shopping