Lotzothoughtz

This is going to be short.

The Roanoke Arts Festival that was planned and bankrolled by the city was an abysmal failure with most venues not even selling half of their tickets.  However in true Roanoke fashion the City Manager Darlene Burcham and the City Council are already hot on their heels to plan the next one.  Of course we get the usual excuses as to why it wasn’t a success, not enough advertising, kinda thrown together, no youth oriented shows.  All the the usual BS with the City trying to cover their butts while they waste our tax dollars on one more useless festival that is used simply to mask the fact that City leaders never accomplish anything of consequence.

Your tax dollars at work folks, well spent?  Eh I don’t know so.

I’ve decided I’m going to share with the world whatever album is on rampant rotation on my media player each week.  So on to the first installment…..

This week’s Album of the Week is:

From Under the Cork Tree

Fallout Boy

Not in terms of search market share (yet) but in terms of rolling out an centralized, personalize Health Management system.  You probably heard about and saw the screen shots of the much ballyhooed Google Health, a product that has never seen the light of day - even one of Google’s eternal Betas.  Microsoft has beaten them to the punch with HealthVault, which is pretty much what it sounds like, a super secure site in which you record your medical history, maintain records, and link them up with other people in your family as well as being able to share it with selected people (Say your doctor).

While it is still in beta HealthVault clearly shows you it wants to be to health what Microsoft Money is to your budget.  If your doctor uses e-prescriptions, it can track those, it can receive faxed copies of your data to store online, you can of course directly input data, you can hook it up with third party machines and their companies to record and monitor your health information (think heart rate monitor), and of course from within its interface you can search for health related sites, articles, well you get the idea.  MS’s HealthVault seeks to be your centralized place for your health care history and health information in general.

It’s not good that Microsoft got this product out before Google managed to get Google Health out, I think it might be a portent of things to come.  Microsoft’s Live Search is moving quickly, producing Google-like beta projects on the side, while increasingly trying to refine their search features.  Microsoft has money and by extension money, I hate to say it but Google might be underestimating MS.  However Google tends to be much more nimble than Microsoft but so far it’s success at Microsoft’s expense has simply been because Microsoft has been slow to react taking its time to study it’s new web-based competition.  Ultimately I think it’s going to be a draw between the two.

If you are a young professional, under 29, living in Roanoke it’s a bit discouraging to say the least.  Yeah, ok old people don’t get your panties in a twist as you almost always do when I bring this up.  But you are old and all of Roanoke is geared towards you, I don’t expect you to understand what I am talking about.  Although I invite you to try.

Imagine not working with a single person within three years of your age, imagine going to a coffee shop and not finding anyone close to your age and demographic, o and better yet imagine you live in a place whose "nightlife" is geared towards the old and sedate or the recently young (29+) who still think they’re cool frat guys and so go to Corned Beef to hit on their female counterparts.  Yeah…fun…eh not so much.

On top of that add the layer of the general flight from Roanoke with the newly "rich" people moving out of the city and into the County/Salem.  So this leaves you with an aging population as well as with a disproportionate level of poor families; hmm that certainly sounds like the definition of a declining area.  Know what, Roanoke fits that description.

I hate to say it, I really do, because ultimately I like Roanoke.  Despite its many flaws, it’s ridiculously useless City Council, the old hag of a City Manager, and the general misdirection of the last 20 years.  But Roanoke is in decline and I’m sure you remember from college what that means….no, really?  Don’t tell me you didn’t take Urban & Metro Politics in college. Eh don’t worry about it most people don’t, although classes that explain and show how a city/metro area works, evolves and lives should be required for those who work for local governments.  For those of you who don’t know what Roanoke’s decline means long term here it is: badness for the next 15-20 years.

If the decline continues you can expect to see declining property values citywide, with that comes more neglected or ill kept housing, with that comes crime, with that comes hard times for the working class and poorer people because like it or not criminals often target them because of access to them and the people’s access to retribution (i.e. trust/mistrust of police in some cases, or just financial ability to pursue court).  Of course all of this is worst case scenario, and you know that never happens to cities like ours, right?

Roanoke is not in a good position right now, if it were a product I’d say its losing market share to more aggressive products which, in this case, are nearby cities and counties.  What’s worse is that the leadership of Roanoke doesn’t seem to get it, they don’t see the flight of the young as something bad, they don’t realize the full extend of the long-term damage of losing people fresh out of college that run from here faster than immigrants from the border.  Things need to change or else Roanoke will end up nothing but a shell of its former self.

Since none of the posts I’m working on are done, I’ll just post a pic of my dog.

Happy Friday.

So, what have we learned from Microsoft’s announcement regarding the new Zune media players?

1. Microsoft isn’t going after Apple just yet, rather they are going after it’s main competitors: Sandisk, Creative, and Sony.  See MS  wants to pick off the little guys first by offering up devices with just enough extras to steer people over to the Zune.
2. Microsoft can make pretty things.
3. They listened to their users, the new feature list sounds like the wish list of every Zune user: Wireless Sync, Podcast abilities,
4. Enhanced Zune to Zune wireless sharing, they’ve changed the rules now you can keep a shared song on your Zune for up to three plays but it wont vanish after three days it will stay indefinitely as long as the three plays aren’t met.
5. Integration with TV show recorded on your Windows Vista Media center.
6. Improved UI and desktop software.

Watch, this is Microsoft ramping itself up.   The next version of the Zune will go after Apple, which I think it could be argued is on a somewhat slippery slope as of late.

As anticipated MS announced their new Zune media players last night, to be release in November.  The update includes an 80 gig HDD player and a 4 and 8 gig flash based player (they’re the little ones in the pic).  Additionally the Zune Marketplace will be updated as will the Zune’s interface, even the original Zune’s will receive the redesigned interface.  In a bit to tie together the Zune’s "social" aspects MS is also creating a social network for Zune users. 

More on all of this later today when I umm…oh yeah get home from work.

Tomorrow Microsoft is rumored to make a "big" announcement for it’s Zune division, the release of the 2nd generation Zune media players.  Today the FCC leaked some blueprint sketches of some of the new devices.  The sketches show the long anticipated flash based Zune offering up the player in 4 and 8 gigs, nothing spectacular but typical capacities for entry level players.  These devices will retain the Wifi abilities that were so disappointing in the original Zune players.  Microsoft will also release a new HDD based player probably at 80 gigs bringing the HDD model into line with what is now the industry standard capacity for HDD players.  Granted all of this is based on rumor, buzz, and the FCC

Aside from a slightly redesigned Zune MS will release a 2.1 update to the Zune Firmware, here is where I hope they make the most ripples.  O and all UI/Firmware updates better also be applied to the 1st generation Zunes.

Here’s what I want in an improvement to the firmware:

• Ability to put videos in folders (or albums) just like you can pictures and of course music.
• Eh maybe some games?  Like the iPod, just some silly little Tetris deal?
• Wifi Zune Marketplace?  Meaning I could buy music on the fly that would be nice.
• Enhanced wifi abilities.  I know I can’t be the first one to want to be able to get on the web with my media player.  And I do realize this feature is not likely at all to be on the device .  I’m not asking iPod Touch/Safari level browsing but wouldn’t it be awesome if MS used its new mobile browser to give the Zune a basic web surfing ability at free Wifi spots?

Aside from that Microsoft better update their Zune Marketplace to include DRM-free music as well as a video store, I mean come on what’s the point of having that big ‘ole screen if you can’t easily (I stress easily) buy music videos, TV shows, and movies.

I can’t wait to see what Microsoft reveals tonight and/or tomorrow.

No, I’m not crazy, I’m testing out a new program to write, save, and publish my blog with.

I’ll let you know what’s up with a review shortly.