Hi-Def Radio One Step Closer

2,500 stations have now signed on to broadcast digital radio signals from their ground towers using this new standard.

This is radio's response to XM and Sirrus satellite radio. The only problem is that HD radio will require new equipment, just like satellite radio. And they still have the issue of limitations on broadcasting using ground towers.

Here's a snippet of the release:

The company charged with developing the standard for digital radio in the United States said on Wednesday it has struck deals to convert another 2,000 stations nationwide to its format.

The industry-backed iBiquity Digital Corp. said the new AM and FM outlets would bring the total number of stations broadcasting in the digital standard, called HD Radio, to 2,500 across the country.

HD Radio, the traditional broadcast radio business's answer to satellite, promises CD-quality audio without static or hiss, along with supplemental data services like song information and traffic reports.

Read the full story here.

-aB

Where's Gump Been?

Well, I took the month of December off. From blogging, that is. No posts at all. It was nice. I had withdrawl, but I am back.

And it's good to be back on GumpRants.com. 2005 means more blogs on lots of different topics. We covered a lot of ground in 2004, and we'll cover even more in 2005. Topics like:

• Blogging and the Blogosphere
  (it's like looking at a reflection of a mirror in another mirror...)
• Viral Marketing
• Gadgets, Electronics & Technology
• Apple and Steve Jobs and what's NeXT (pun intended)
• The Videogame Industry
  (especially online gaming and how it's becomming an new marketing arena for reaching teens AND adults)
• Cars
  (especially fast ones, expensive ones or ones with cool technology)
• News from the Wierd
• Advertising, Marketing & Public Relations
• The Internet
• Digital Photography
• Digital Filmmaking
• Wireless Advances
• and more

It's good to be back. I missed you guys.

-aB

You Can Say Cheese But Don't Smile...

The State Department is banning smiling from passport photos, as it creates an "unnatural expression that distorts natural features." Snippet from the AP story at MyWay.com:

Smiling "distorts other facial features, for example your eyes, so you're supposed to have a neutral expression. ... The most neutral face is the most desirable standard for any type of identification," said Angela Aggeler, spokeswoman for the State Department's Bureau of Consular Affairs, which handles travel-document guidelines.

New passport photos with folks showing their BriteSmile pearly whites are already being rejected. In fact, that makes me think of a great publicity stunt for all of those teeth whitening products. I smell a petition or other publicity gimmick coming on...

Read the full AP story here.

-aB

Microsoft Takes On Google

Microsoft yesterday launched a beta version of the new MSN Search tool, located at http://beta.search.msn.com.

Generally, it looks a lot like Google with the home page simplicity, and results pages are laid out in a smiliar format as well.

The tool still primarily relies on Yahoo Search technology, so you'll see very, very similar results to using Yahoo. This likely won't change until sometime in 2005.

Here's a snippet from Microsoft's release:

MSN today debuted a beta version of its new MSN® Search service, providing consumers with more useful answers to their questions and more control over their search experience, which results in faster access to the information they are seeking online. The new MSN Search is designed to reduce the time and effort required by consumers to find information online by offering one of the largest, most up-to-date selections of information and a new class of powerful, customizable search tools.

SeattlePI.com has a good story on MSN Search, and includes thoughts from the WSJ's Walt Mossberg and several other reporters. Here's a snippet of Mossberg's comments:

Today, Microsoft is due to unveil its long-awaited new Web search service, and the product bears all the hallmarks of the feisty, upstart side of the company. I've been testing this new version of the company's MSN search service, and, while it isn't yet as good as Google, the search leader Microsoft is targeting, it shows all the signs of becoming a very serious challenger.

Read the entire story here.

Time will tell if Microsoft can win the search war. This is the first serious volley against Google. As search starts to mean more about a combination of what's on the Internet as well as what's on your hard drive, the fight will become much more interesting.

Don't think so? Just take a look at Google Desktop, their application for including local searches (i.e. your hard drive) with traditional, Internet searches. This was Google's preemptive strike against Microsoft and acknowledgement that local search is gonna be key.

-aB

I'm Laughing. How Long Until This Is True?

I'm afraid that it is already true.

I've actually caught myself in conversations with friends saying, "Well, as I wrote about on my blog a few weeks back..." I'm scaring myself. I'm just one sick puppy.

This cartoon comes to us from the Cincinatti Enquirer and illustrator Jim Borgman.

Thanks to NatterjackPR.com and Kevin Dugan's PRBlog for the link.

-aB

Now This I Like

XM Satellite Radio is set to announce next week a "wearable" Walkman-like device that can pick up XM's digital satellite radio signals. Snippet from CNN:

A spokesman for Washington, D.C.-based XM declined to comment beyond saying a major product announcement was planned for Oct. 26 in New York with automotive parts and consumer electronics products maker, Delphi Corp.

"XMSR is also likely to announce its wearable device next week. There is a good shot this 'Walkman' type device, in the near term, will differentiate XM's hardware from Sirius," a rival satellite radio system, said Kit Spring, analyst with Stifel, Nicolaus in a note for investors.

Now, this is super-cool and the type of thing that I would be interested in. I've always been interested in XM (and Sirrus), but the units weren't portable and difficult to carry from one place to another.

You have to assume that both XM and Sirrus are trying to work with Apple on a iPod/XM/TiVo combination appliance. Now, that would be cool.

Read the story on CNN here.

-aB

Great Presidential Election Poll Site

There are a lot of presidential polls out there - Zogby, ABC/Washington Post, CNN/USA Today/Gallop, FOX, etc. I personally get confused by all of them, and which news organiztion or research firm is sponsoring each one.

RealClearPolitics.com does a good job of showing all of the latest results of all of the polls on one page. It also shows trending data for the past several months and an aggregate/average of all of the latest poll data.

Good site, if you're into polls. Personally, I don't know how accurate they are. I think the election in two weeks will be decided solely on voter turnout - and which party is able to get more voters to the polls.

-aB

Sports Bar Owners' Worst Nightmare

TV-B-Gone is a little keychain-sized remote control that can turn off virtually any television. Press it's button, and it will turn off any of 209 brands of televisions within sight distance of its infrared eye.

Today's Wired does a story on Mitch Altman, the inventor of the TV-B-Gone who invented it to "improve conversation." Snippet:

"I was always squandering my time, energy and creativity on something that was at best benign," he said, in the suddenly quiet aisle at Best Buy. "I was always trying to get people to do something good. Some people do something for the disabled or something. But that's not really my thing, so I did this."

The idea for TV-B-Gone was born at a restaurant in the early 1990s, when Altman and his friends kept paying attention to a TV in the corner, not to one another. They chatted about how to turn off all televisions, and he wondered if it would be possible to string together a series of "power" commands.

Check out the story here.

Check out the TV-B-Gone here.

-aB

So, What Is Viral Marketing?

The new Viral + Buzz Marketing Association has put out a manifesto outlining what I think is a pretty good (albeit somewhat arrogant) definition of viral marketing and general tactics and strategies viral marketers should utilize. Here's a snippet:

We believe that network-enhanced word of mouth has a critical role to play in the future of integrated marketing communications. Marketers need to offer content in the media and through one-to-one connections that the recipients themselves choose to propagate to those that they deem appropriate, thereby eliminating irrelevant, untimely and (as a consequence) annoying marketing messages.

I've said it before that I think viral marketing is about to experience some controversy of its own, and it seems that organizations like the VBMA understand this. This industry needs some rules and standards to help mitigate the inevitable controversy that will hit us soon.

Check out the manifesto here.

-aB

Wi-Fi Where It's Needed

Wired has a story today on the WanderPod, a large, yet portable satellite trailer device that can be set up anywhere to allow people wireless internet access. Applications include traveling events, diaster recovery and military applications, though I bet the U.S. Military already has something quite like this.

It's a great idea, and inventor Dennis Stacey said it was just an idea in his head a month ago. Just a few weeks later, they have a working prototype - and rolled it out at the SpaceShipOne landing a few weeks ago.

Neat.

-aB

Mark Cuban Interview About Blogging

Mark Cuban, the founder of Broadcast.com and now billionaire owner of the Dallas Mavericks does a cover story interview with the Online Journalism Review.

In the interview, Mark talks about how he's using his blog to strike back at people who tick him off. That list includes Donald Trump, members of the NBA and several lucky journalists. Snippet:

The media has always known that the power of the word can be immense. With one paragraph, execs and businesses can be impacted significantly. Blogs create a balance. Now if a blog is well read, or read by those in the media who are looking for any chance to swipe at their competitors, a smartly written blog can turn the tables.

I think this new checks-and-balances scenario will make media much stronger. Look at the controversy over whether Bush's records were forged or not. It's bloggers vs CBS. That's a great example of the power and value of blogging.

Cuban has always been very opinionated and controversial. That's why I like him. He also acquired Jason Terry, one of my favorite Atlanta Falcons players.

And he gets blogs, and the idea that they can be used effectively to create dialogue with media (and consumers) and sometimes share a side of stories that some reporters don't cover.

Good read. Enjoy.

-aB

Great Article on Narrowcasting

I think the concept of narrowcasting has a huge future. As the number of information and entertainment outlets increase, we'll see more and more niche players serving up niche content.

Think about it this way - the channels are going to desperately need content to fill their programming schedule. At the same time, consumers are going to expect more and more niche programming.

Digital cable has brought us hundreds of different stations, all catering to a different audience. So too have DVDs and now downloadable music. Niches that may have not been catered to in the past because of limited shelf/slotting space at the local record or movie store now have many more choices.

Read the Wired story here.

-aB

It Is the Dawn of the Age of the Amateur

An article from the October edition of FastCompany.com talks about the "Amateur Revolution" taking place. It discusses everything from Rap music, to Linux to astronomy to The Sims all being driven by Pro-Ams, or professional amateurs.

Rap started on the street, as an alternative to the music fare of the big labels. Linux is "open source" programming, the true definition of Pro-Am. The Sims game would have been a modest hit by itself, but became the best selling game of all time because it opened up opportunities for Pro-Ams, or KEY INFLUENCERS to participate and create content that other Sims players could share.

My thought? "Open Source" is the output of Pro-Ams.

The article is a good one. Read the online version of the article here.

Journalism is going through the exact same transformation right now. I was surprised that the article's author, Istvan Banyai, didn't mention it, especially since it is impacting his livelihood - journalism.

Blogs are written by the same type of folks featured in this article - Pro-Ams. These amateurs are passionate and committed, sometimes more so than their full professional counterparts.

Taking this whole theory one step further, what is the economical impact of it all? What if everything in the "creative arts" (journalism, computing, etc.) and science becomes infiltrated by Pro-Ams? Will this commoditize everything? Pro-Ams are usually not compensated for their efforts. What will this do to those who make a living in these areas? Will it drive them to increase the quality of their product? Or will it cause resentment and frustration? Interesting thought.

-aB

When A Hummer Is Just Too Practical

Got six tons to haul? Want to be different from your neighbors down the street? Don't want to compromise on the puny-sized Hummer H2?

Got $115,000 to blow?

The International Truck CXT Pickup might be for you. It weighs in at a svelte 14,500 pounds and is over 21 feet long. Perfect for those commutes to the grocery and soccer practice.

Thankfully, it has a 70 gallon diesel fuel tank, so you only have to fill it up every few days.

-aB

But He Used His Turn Signal To Pull Over

Minnesota's Samuel Tilley got a speeding ticket.

He was travelling 205 mph. That's a buck-forty over the speed limit of 65 on U.S. Highway 61. Tilley was feeling a bit of a breeze as he achieved this speed on his Honda 1000 crotch rocket.

The ticket will cost Tilley $215, which is about $1.54 per mile per hour over. Dollar for dollar, that's a lot of speed for the money. What a bargain, until Sam's insurance company finds out about this little event.

Check out a copy of the ticket on The Smoking Gun.

-aB

Can You Trust Online Poker?

Here is an interesting story about "poker bots," automated computer programs that could be playing against you in an online poker room near you. Snippet from the MSNBC.com story:

Widespread use of bots capable of beating your average player would pose a significant problem for the red-hot online poker sector, which has grown exponentially in recent years and is expected to top the $1 billion revenue mark this year. Without some way of verifying the identity – and humanity – of players, the business could be significantly undercut.

Hard to believe, but online poker is now a $1 billion industry, thanks in part to reality television and the celebrity poker tournament TV shows. What made for VERY cheap television programming (what's cheaper than setting up some lights and a few cameras around a card table) has now created a new industry.

What' perplexes me is that a few weeks ago, I wanted to buy some decent poker chips for my friendly in-person poker games. It was almost next to impossible to find a store in Atlanta that sold them. HELLO - stores need to make "poker" hay while the sun shines.

Read the full story here.

P.S. Finally bought this set of poker chips from Brookstone. Very cool.

-aB

The Sun Is Setting on Network News

Much has been written about the demise of traditional network news. The cable network Fox News beat ratings for not only the other cable nets, but also the "big three/four" network broadcasts during the Republican National Convention. Cable news had never beat out the network news before. Ever.

Certainly, this Dan Rather story isn't exactly helping build credibility, respect and viewership for network news, either.

James Pinkerton has a good editorial in Newsday today entitled, "As Rather Goes, So Does Network News." Pinkerton feels that Rather should resign, and gives many good points and precedants for this.

He also talks about the new ways that people are getting their news. Snippet:

So the "de-massification" of the media has been ongoing-and will keep going. In the '90s, Internet-based news-most notably the Drudge Report, which burst on the scene in 1998 by breaking the Monica Lewinsky story-proved that the "new media" could blow past older media. And now we have even newer media: the bloggers, the folks at home in their pajamas who collectively broke the "Rathergate" story.

Read the column here.

-aB

The Advent of Breaking News Blogs

With the speed and relative low cost at which people can set up blogs, as well as register new URLs, it just makes sense that we're going to start seeing blogs on very specific, narrow topics that are also very timely.

Take a blog that went live on Saturday. Rathergate.com discusses the controversy regarding the authenticity of military documents used in Dan Rather's 60 Minutes story from a week and a half ago.

It's very much a grassroots effort (sharing a conservative point of view), with frequently updated blog content as well as a petition tool to enable Anti-Rather readers to share their displeasure with CBS and local affiliates.

The interesting thing about this blog is that it was set up to basically discuss one topic/issue. While there are hundreds (if not thousands) of blogs talking about "Rathergate," this is the only one I know of that is focusing exclusively on this topic, and one that has a specific URL (www.rathergate.com) to prove it.

Much has been written about the Dan Rather forged memo story over the past week, especially in the blogosphere. The power of bloggers to not only write about breaking news, but to affect it is significant. Bloggers' interactions with traditional journalists on this story (and many others during this presidential campaign are changing the entire news gathering process.

How will this story, as well as the blogger-journalist interactions during this entire presidental election, affect the news business? This is going to be interesting.

-aB

Superman and Locks...

Superman and Bic pens have something in common - they both don't mix well with Kryptonite. It seems as though the non-writing end of a Bic pen can be used to open U-Shaped steel bike locks, made by companies such as Kryptonite. Snippet:

The U-shaped steel bike locks that cyclists have relied on for years to keep thieves at bay just had a gigantic hole blown through their reputation, as bike lock maker Kryptonite scrambled to reassure customers that it is working on a solution.

Kryptonite Locks issued a press release on Friday announcing a pretty unprecendented swap program. They're going to share more details of this upgrade/swap on Wednesday afternoon.

The same "Bic pen lock trick" is discussed on dozens of Web sites with details on how it can be used to open vending machines, gas pumps, bike locks, security systems and generally anything that uses a cylinder/tubular lock.

How much you want to bet that someone will demand that Bic change their product design? How much you want to bet that Bic will be sued with claims saying they're liable for designing, manufacturing and selling a product that can be used for theft?

Just wait - it won't take some lawyer long...

-aB

1999 Wasn't That Long Ago

This is a picture of the Google.com "server farm" way back in 1999. Yep, that's all it took to run what is now the most popular search page (and Web site) in the world.

See more pictures of the vast computer network, with running commentary at Archive.org.

-aB