[normhead]

Country Joe McDonald. I had the original 'single' of that, an add-on to an issue of RAG BABY magazine circa 1965. My stepbrother broke it, the swine...

I sang along at Woodstock, after helping out with the FIsh Cheer.

Those were such different times... hard to explain to kids these days. They talk about the rebellion and "freedom", I remember the two friends who lived just down the street who died in Viet Nam. The good times were very good, but the bad times totally sucked.

[RioRico]

Those were such different times... hard to explain to kids these days. They talk about the rebellion and "freedom", I remember the two friends who lived just down the street who died in Viet Nam. The good times were very good, but the bad times totally sucked.

I volunteered for US Army at the end of that war. I had friends who died there, and surviving mates whose minds were destroyed there. And all because of a bogus 'Gulf of Tonkin" frame-up. I advise my younger kin to get their excitement elsewhere than the military.

[Eulogy]

I recall reading that Blackberries are mandatory in USA government and for those manipulating it.

Probably has something to do with that fact that no one has bothered trying to hack such a low tech cell phone?

[8540tomg]

Hey guys quit picking on RIM.

I've got a lot of friends who work there.

Tom G

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Last edited by 8540tomg; 06-01-2012 at 07:45 PM. Reason: typo

[eddie1960]

Het guys quit picking on RIM.

I've got a lot of friends who work there.

Tom G

One friend I have his company is very reliant on Rim (he owns a small Advertising shop), fortunately he has been branching out

it's an ugly scene right now

Wonder if there is anything to the rumour of a possible Facebook purchase of RIM

[derekmadge]

It's hard for me to comment on the Blackberry as camera except that I don't think any smart phone will never supplant the extension of a photographer's mind and body good gear can be.

But I'd like to pass on a couple of comments about BB. I don't own or need one but I live & work in Waterloo, home of RIM and I know the impact BB's fall is about to have on my city and region and some friends. I believe their marketing has been insufficient and spotty... well, always. They were not sure they should go after the youth/consumer market. Maybe they should not have, but stayed a solid, smaller company with a core of professional and government clients. I have been thinking lately they should spin off a consumer division with lower cost/quality devices (really marketing more than engineering) and compete with the flood of whiz bang apps and "see what my phone can do" special effects. And keep going with the serious,dropable, rock solid security of the business/gov't devices and service. It may be too late now.

Much of the decline has been of their own doing, resting on their (deserved) laurels, but they did start the momentum. Just like we love to watch celebrities fall, there is a perverse pleasure taken by many, in this business and tech "star" falling; much of the decline has been a self fulfilling prophecy.

I know one of the RIM engineers who tells me that their quality control tests surpass ALL competitors. Yes, there are duds but when you ship millions of units, there will be duds. Sampling rate is high - at least on initial shipments... I don't know if that continues thorugh the life of the product or not...and tests are stringent. The low number of apps many people whined about at the start of the Playbook marketing vs Ipad's apps was true- but they started with more apps on Day 1 than Ipad did, one their Day 1. There are now apps for almost anything most people could want (and many, many more you likely don't!)

Mike Lazaridis, I have met several times through my work and while he is unlikely to recall my name now, I am very impressed with the man. He and his wife have donated many millions of dollars to a local university, and to the Nanotechnology research program and building there, and to the Perimieter Institute. I'm sure there are other causes they have supported strongly. This has all been out of their personal bank accounts, not the company. They know how much the community has given them and they have given nth-fold back. Jim Balsillie has created and funded the School for International Governance, again, in this community. I have never met him though my son has - bagged his groceries,lol- but I imagine he has also been generous. It is not just about the money or the share price with these people. It's also about vision and quality. Marketing and sex appeal?...hmmmm.

The company needs restructuring and the new management team is obviously doing this, mostly behind the scenes, and I doubt it will be pretty. But in as unbiased a judgment as I can offer, the product is good- the company is bloated and I suspect I will soon have many unemployed neighbours- but the new boss, Prem Watsa, CEO of Fairfax Financial is highly skilled in high roller business. RIM just posted its first ever operating loss. First ever. If Apple can be pulled out of the ashes, BB could too. It's not guaranteed of course, but it would be a shame if this good company got washed away, taking thousands of jobs and an international (where they are doing well,BTW) presence with it.

[derekmadge]

Probably has something to do with that fact that no one has bothered trying to hack such a low tech cell phone?

Quite the opposite- the BB could be set up to provide 99.9% (assuming nothing is unhackable given time and money) secure communication. Sadly, less democratic and freedom respecting governments around the world have demanded at least some pull back of that security so they can spy on their citizens easier, and in exchange, allow BB to continue doing business. The security encryption and the fact taht messsages are not stored on a server is why the US president uses it.

[eddie1960]

I'll agree on the product, they are built like tanks compared to most smartphones. My last blackberry survived 4 years of falling down stairs, getting knocked off my belt to a concrete floor etc.....
Only reason I didn't stay with blackberries is when that one died i wanted to move to the touch screen one that had just came out and it was backordered for a month. I should have waited the next phone (HTC) lasted less than a year and was replaced twice, then I went to an Iphone which was pretty nice but got stolen after a year, i currently have a crappy samsung that I will dump the minute i qualify for an upgrade (it's been replaced twice as well)
I may go back to a BB but more likely it will be an iPhone 4s since i no longer work at a job that requires me to have a BB
As a business tool I think the BB is far superior. email on touch screens is a PITA

[eddie1960]

Quite the opposite- the BB could be set up to provide 99.9% (assuming nothing is unhackable given time and money) secure communication. Sadly, less democratic and freedom respecting governments around the world have demanded at least some pull back of that security so they can spy on their citizens easier, and in exchange, allow BB to continue doing business. The security encryption and the fact taht messages are not stored on a server is why the US president uses it.

exactly nothing has touched BB security yet. I think they should think about licensing the system to grow revenue

[DeadJohn]

Overall, the BB hardware is sturdy, but the touchpads and trackballs were a recurring problem for me at work. The small controllers got increasingly "jumpy" over time and made it difficult to accurately move the cursor. For my latest BB model I went with the touchscreen and it's held up better. I make a lot more typos now but that encourages me to be brief.

[séamuis]

blackberry is still huge in the philippines. but then so is nokia. I handled a Bold 9900 in Manila recently, and I have to say, its one hell of a nice phone.

[derekmadge]

exactly nothing has touched BB security yet. I think they should think about licensing the system to grow revenue

I know there was talk about that- I don't know if they are going ahead with it.

On a slightly related item, RIM just won yet another lawsuit against them for patent infringement. There are companies that buy every patent they can then try to prove another cashrich company "stole" the patent they just bought. Sometimes they make money and sometimes they do not but they are vultures and RIM , Apple, Kodak have all had to deal with those vultures.

[RioRico]

On a slightly related item, RIM just won yet another lawsuit against them for patent infringement. There are companies that buy every patent they can then try to prove another cashrich company "stole" the patent they just bought. Sometimes they make money and sometimes they do not but they are vultures and RIM , Apple, Kodak have all had to deal with those vultures.

Going a bit OT (but hay, it's my thread!) -- I'll predict that the current dysfunctional IP system will implode -- hopefully, fairly soon, so it can be rebuilt sooner than later. I can't envisage the scenario of such an implosion, but we just can't go on like this! Patents were devised to protect material expressions of useful ideas, and software is not material. IP (patents and copyrights) were devised to provide protection for LIMITED periods, to give developers a certain time to exploit their work, yet provoke them to keep on developing yet more useful stuff, rather than living on past glory. The current system stultifies innovation. It must die. It WILL die. But when?

[JimJohnson]

Getting back to the in-camea "photo collage" technique (regardless which phone manufacturer introduces it), at the same time this is happening have you noticed how many shows on television rely on high-speed cameras so we don't miss THE event? I think there will be a big market for cameras that consistently produce "happy" shots, even if they are a slight distortion of reality (we fake a moment in time that didn't really exist). But I think the most prized photographs will continue to be those that capture a moment in time that did exist.