A couple of days ago, I posted a story called "Why does the media love Apple and trash Dell." In an honest attempt (really) to explain a gap between the reality and perception of Dell's tech support, I somehow managed to denigrate the noble profession of news reporting and blogging.

What I was trying to say was that the media - as an industry - generally covers what will get them the most eyeballs, since that's how the companies (not the individuals, mind you) get paid by advertisers.

Of course, I never meant to imply that the industry as a whole or individual writers sacrifice integrity for eyeballs. I've had a long, long relationship with the media and that's simply not the case. ...]]> http://www.cnet.com/8301-13555_1-9944825-34.html?part=rss&tag=feed&subj=TrainWreck Thu, 15 May 2008 13:05:00 GMT Steve Tobak http://www.cnet.com/8301-13555_1-9941240-34.html?part=rss&tag=feed&subj=TrainWreck

I'm not a big fan of surveys, so I don't quote them often. But a recent Consumer Reports survey about PC manufacturers listed Apple as No. 1 in tech support, with Lenovo second, Dell third, and HP dead last. I should also say that Dell came in second in desktops.

I thought the headline should be "Survey says leading PC maker HP dead last in tech support." But that's not what happened. The media hailed Apple, trashed Dell, and gave HP a pass.

Horror stories about Dell's support are all over the blogosphere. Why is that? I mean, why does the media give Dell such a hard time?

Because perception is reality. But aside from being a pithy statement, what does that really mean? ...]]> http://www.cnet.com/8301-13555_1-9941240-34.html?part=rss&tag=feed&subj=TrainWreck Tue, 13 May 2008 13:05:00 GMT Steve Tobak http://www.cnet.com/8301-13555_1-9941241-34.html?part=rss&tag=feed&subj=TrainWreck

After years of heated debate and lobbying, the Patent Reform Act of 2007, which passed in the U.S. House of Representatives and was scheduled for a Senate vote this session, has been taken off the Senate's calendar. It can be revived, but its momentum has effectively fizzled.

Apparently, the Senate has better things to do with its time.

At this point, I don't wish to rehash the issues of, or my viewpoint on, the Patent Reform Act. Besides, as I've said, both sides in the debate were after only their own self-interests. Such is life in a capitalist society. (I think that's a good thing.)

What does fascinate me, though, are the strange alliances the debate over patent reform created. The Coalition for Patent Fairness--a group of more than 150 high-tech and financial-services companies that included Adobe Systems, Apple, Cisco Systems, eBay, Google, Hewlett-Packard, Intel, Lenovo, Microsoft, News Corp., Oracle, SAP, Time Warner, and virtually all the big banks--supported and lobbied heavily for the bill.

Maybe I'm missing something, but I don't believe I've ever seen a negotiation handled, with all due respect, as dysfunctionally and amateurishly as the way Yahoo has handled its negotiation with Microsoft.

Saturday's shenanigans seemed more like a reality television show than two industry giants sitting down to negotiate a deal.

Steve Ballmer

(Credit: Microsoft)

Unfortunately, negotiating with Microsoft is not a job for amateurs. There was a time when the two companies were more-or-less evenly positioned in this dual, but that time has come and gone. The weekend's activities have left Microsoft holding all the cards. ...]]> http://www.cnet.com/8301-13555_1-9937564-34.html?part=rss&tag=feed&subj=TrainWreck Wed, 07 May 2008 16:03:00 GMT Steve Tobak http://www.cnet.com/8301-13555_1-9935369-34.html?part=rss&tag=feed&subj=TrainWreck Sun's business model does not work and it hasn't worked for a long time. Moreover, open source, MySQL, StorageTek, and SaaS (software as a service) will not fix it. Here's why, but first, a little background.

My interest in Sun began in 1999 when I had dinner with Mel Friedman, then president of Sun's microelectronics group. He was looking for a marketing VP and I was looking for a job.

At the time, Sun had essentially one customer for its UltraSparc chips, and that was Sun. I assumed the company wanted to take its chips into the merchant market, thus the interest in me. That, as it turns out, was an erroneous assumption.

What's that, you have a question for me? Why am I asking these inane questions?

Because, when people ask us how we're doing, we respond automatically. I'm fine, we're fine, everything's fine. After all, if we engaged everyone in a rant about the gory truth, nothing would ever get done.

But it doesn't stop there. We don't even engage ourselves in a dialogue about the gory truth, and for much the same reason. We're too busy "living."

The truth is that seemingly simple questions can actually be pretty loaded, so loaded that we'd sometimes rather not know the answer. We have all these sayings about leaving well enough alone. Why upset the apple cart? Why open a can of worms? Don't fix it if it isn't broken. ...]]> http://www.cnet.com/8301-13555_1-9932053-34.html?part=rss&tag=feed&subj=TrainWreck Wed, 30 Apr 2008 13:05:00 GMT Steve Tobak http://www.cnet.com/8301-13555_1-9929881-34.html?part=rss&tag=feed&subj=TrainWreck Question: How did the Borg--the not-so-lovable cyborgs in Star Trek--get to be that way?

Answer: it all started with Bluetooth headsets.

I see more and more people walking around with Bluetooth headsets lodged behind their ears every day. Most states are passing hands-free laws for drivers. Even my technophobe wife wants one.

I could be wrong, but I think it's only a matter of time before some enterprising startup comes up with an implantable device. ...]]> http://www.cnet.com/8301-13555_1-9929881-34.html?part=rss&tag=feed&subj=TrainWreck Mon, 28 Apr 2008 13:05:00 GMT Steve Tobak http://www.cnet.com/8301-13555_1-9928578-34.html?part=rss&tag=feed&subj=TrainWreck

Fear is a human emotion. It's part of our survival mechanism--the adrenaline fight or flight response. In ancient times when a caveman felt fear, he ran and hid or readied himself for battle. Those who paid attention to their fear survived; those who didn't, well, let's just say their descendants probably aren't around to read this.

Having courage does not mean ignoring fear. It means facing fear head-on and doing the right thing anyway. At least that's my definition. If you fail to face fear and act appropriately you're not necessarily a coward, but you're not the best you can be either.

The most successful people on the planet are the ones who face the cold, hard truth of reality and act accordingly. They don't surround themselves with "yes men" and they don't view the world through rose-colored glasses. ...]]> http://www.cnet.com/8301-13555_1-9928578-34.html?part=rss&tag=feed&subj=TrainWreck Fri, 25 Apr 2008 13:05:00 GMT Steve Tobak http://www.cnet.com/8301-13555_1-9926038-34.html?part=rss&tag=feed&subj=TrainWreck

Compaq Portable II, c. 1986

Believe it or not, my high-tech career began using punch cards and card readers to enter data into an IBM mainframe computer. When we got keyboards and monitors, we used them to enter what we called "card images."

As a chip designer in the '80s, I used GE Calma, Apollo, Daisy, Valid, and Mentor workstations. I had to know a whole smorgasbord of platforms and operating systems. I don't know how I did it. Guess I had a lot more brain cells back then.

After describing a particularly exciting consulting opportunity, a friend called me "lucky." That got me thinking: Is he right? Is luck a component in business success, or is it all about knowledge and experience. And if luck does play a role, how important is it? Can it be influenced, or is that taboo by definition?

To answer those questions I first did a little research. The Merriam-Webster online dictionary defines luck as "a: a force that brings good fortune or adversity, or b: the events or circumstances that operate for or against an individual."

Gee, "luck" sounds a lot like "competition" to me. ...]]> http://www.cnet.com/8301-13555_1-9924057-34.html?part=rss&tag=feed&subj=TrainWreck Mon, 21 Apr 2008 15:57:00 GMT Steve Tobak