Stan Flack, MacCentral Founder, Passes Away
I was saddened to see the news today that Stan Flack, founder of MacCentral and MacMinute, has passed away at the age of 42. I was never extremely close with Stan, but back when I was running Webintosh, we had a competitive yet friendly relationship that lasted a few years.
It seems like another lifetime ago, but in the the 1996-1997 timeframe, the Mac publishing community was very, very fragile and faced an uncertain future. After all, it was strange for a bunch of guys to be hitching their financial well-being on the back of an Apple train that was just about to go off the tracks.
As such, I think it’s safe to say we were scared, yet this new publishing medium was addictive and attractive to us Mac entrepreneurs. The competition amongst MacCentral, Webintosh, MacInTouch, Mac Resource Page and others actually drew us together. We looked out for each other and did what we could to ensure that despite what was going on in Cupertino, we’d have a thriving online community
I even remember talking with Stan and the other Mac publishers about a quasi-official association that would look out for the best interests of our small industry. Now that I think about it, I need to scour my Claris Emailer archives and dig up those threads. I’m sure our naivety would make me smile (and probably cringe a little).
But I digress. Despite our brief and distant interactions, I admired Stan and always looked at him and his work ethic with the utmost respect. He had a strong business mind, an ability to execute to the finest degree and a humble personality. The Mac community has lost a truly great talent. Rest in peace, Stan.
Discover Foam City
Superballs. Paint. Bunnies. Now Foam. Sony unleashed 2,000,000 litres of foam per minute in downtown Miami for its latest television spot. The commercial breaks the “let’s do something uber-creative for the BRAVIA line” and instead promotes the company’s digital cameras and camcorders.
While it certainly evokes more of the “whoah, that’s cool” reaction, how many times can they go back to the well for what amounts to the same concept? What’s next, Sony releases a horde of mosquitoes in Times Square? Or throws buckets of blood out of high-rises?
I’m not sure whether Sony’s planning on doing this or not, but what would be cool is to utilize the “Foam City” experience footage and photos that were taken by consumers during shooting and post the 200 different perspectives online. That would be a killer integration idea.
Why is Blockbuster Bidding for Circuit City?
Let’s assume for a second you’re Blockbuster. For the past several years you’ve been shutting down hundreds of your own retail stores (282 in 2007 to be exact) and getting beat down in your category by Netflix. The smart move would be to spend $1.35 billion for a struggling electronics retailer like Circuit City, right?
VotesPA.com Redesign Live
This past Friday, our team launched the redesign of VotesPA.com, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s online voting resource center.
As I mentioned before, the previous site certainly was not a stand-out in the design or IA department. With the latter, even months after the start of the project, I found myself constantly saying “where is XYZ on the existing site?” Definitely not a good sign for PA voters.
A complete overhaul was obviously in order. We scrapped the previous navigation scheme and focused the new architecture on a system that mimicked the process a voter would go through during the voting process.
For voters with unique needs (ex. you’re a member of the military), we devoted a main homepage module to a simple selector that lets these individuals drill down to the appropriate content in a quick and easy-to-use manner. No more digging.
Elsewhere, we peppered in content about the voting and electoral process, as well as some new tools that will remind you of key dates via email or text message, for instance.
Of course, as with any project, there are certain things we would have liked to do better, but we’re incredibly pleased with the outcome. With such a focus on the April 22 Pennsylvania primary, it’s nice to know the state will have a modern and easy-to-use resource for voters.
Before:
After:
Latest MacHeist Bundle Available
MacHeist is back at it again with a new software bundle. This time they’ve even produced a trailer for the release, which might very well be the first animated marketing spot for a software bundle. Clearly, the profits they’ve netted from past efforts are being spent on even more bells and whistles.
Some will argue that Mac developers are getting the short end of the stick and that Casasanta and crew are reaping all of the profits. That may be the case, but then again, how are they able to generate enough developer interest to put together bundle-after-bundle?
Incredibly Edible Delites®
Need to tell a sweetheart, a best friend, a teacher or a colleague just how special they are? What better way than a FruitFlowers basket? As a guy, flowers don’t cut it for me, but fruit disguised as flowers? I dare someone to buy me the “Out of the Park.”
Engadget Goes for Ugly with Redesign
Just noticed Engadget’s redesign, which I guessed they rolled out in the past week or so. My opinion: awful. I’m all for big photography and white space, but there are much better ways of pulling it of than what Ryan Block and co. have done (for instance, Uncrate). I’ll be sticking with your feed, fellas.
(Be sure to check out the “other weblogs” at the bottom of the page. Someone sure is a big fan of padding.)
Last.fm: Free Music Helping Sell More Music
According to Last.fm, their free-on-demand service, which launched in January, has lead to a 119% increase in CD and download sales through Amazon. Existing users are purchasing 66% more albums and tracks than they did previously did.
American Apparel’s Dov Charney: Sheer Loopiness
American Apparel’s shamelessly provocative ads are nothing compared to the lifestyle and mindset of founder & CEO Dov Charney, who was profiled in this weekend’s WSJ.
A few highlights: he’s called his CFO a “complete loser;” those racy photo shoots are done in the basement of his LA mansion, which is filled with vintage porn; he walks around the factory in his underwear to model new designs; and he’s been sued four times by former employees for sexual harassment.
On that last point, it’s funny to think just what he did to cause those suits, especially when his public stance on HR policies is unabashedly straightforward and to-the-point:
Catching Greg Maddux with your Eyes Closed
How good is Greg Maddux’ accuracy and control? Good enough for San Diego Padres bullpen catcher Ben Risinger to attempt catching a pitch from Maddux with his eyes closed. If you think it’s easy, consider this:
It took three times, but Risinger successfully nabbed one blindly. Impressive indeed.
Before & After: Living Room
Last Saturday I had the first meeting with my realtors to begin the process of selling my house in South Philadelphia. Now that the place is just about finished, I’ve been able to take a step back and see how nicely it’s all come together. I’m in no way a handyman, so I was fortunate that the place mostly required cosmetic work. My goal was to modernize a typical row home by using contemporary colors and furniture. See below for before and after shots of my living room.
(Yes, the previous owners of the place had orange walls. Even better, what you don’t see in the first pic was the Grimace-purple that ran up the entire wall and into the 2nd floor hallway. What a combo.)
Utley Ties Record for Most Plunks
In today’s Phillies win over the Mets, which incidentally ran their winning streak against the Mets to nine games, Chase Utley tied a major league record by getting pegged three times at the plate. He also got nailed in the back another time by an errant throw while running the bases. And here I thought I had a rough day at work.
Apartment Therapy “Small is Cool” Contest
Whether or not you have a small apartment, Apartment Therapy’s annual “Small is Cool” contest opens up a world of inspiration for interior design. The site will be posting new entries everyday through April 25.
Mossberg: No Clue When 3G iPhone is Coming
Don’t you love how everyone and their mother jumped on Mossberg’s 3G iPhone prediction last week? Well, it turns out that he doesn’t have any real dirt and he was simply basing his speculation on the same information that’s been floating around the web. Funny that no one really seemed to ask this question:
Twenty-Five Most Valuable Blogs, According to 24/7 Wall St.
24/7 Wall St.’s dubious attempt at ranking the twenty-five most valuable independently-owned blogs puts MacRumors at number-two with a valuation of $85 million. Are you kidding me? Sure, they’re a Top 200 blog according to Technorati, but there’s no way in hell they’re monetizing their traffic to the tune of $12 million of annual ad revenue, which is what 24/7 Wall St. guesses.
How are they generating these numbers? Well, it’s a very scientific calculation that takes publicly accessible traffic data (via Alexa, Compete and Quantcast) and assigns a made-up CPM that’s based on what advertisers are running banners on each site. This from a site that doles out financial analysis and advice. I can only imagine what their methodology is for picking stocks.
In 24/7 Wall St.’s own words, “the task of valuing the largest blogs is impossible.” As a publisher, if you’re admitting this, then what’s the point in wasting your time compiling such a bogus list?
If I’m wrong and MacRumors is indeed bringing in that kind of cash, I think it’s time to bid farewell to advertising and get back into the Mac world with a site that doesn’t do anything but link to other site’s gossip and hearsay.