Finally Home

The flight was actually pretty cool. The movie was "Pursuit of Happyness" with Will Smith. I grabbed some snacks (Combo's & Swedish Fish) and was prepared to ask for two of those little cups of ice with Coke. You know, those cups are like the size of two dixie cups and they pack 'em full of ice so you never get too much actual liquid. And, with Combo's it's gotta be Coke so I asked if it was ok if I had to of their miniature drinks. They said sure and handed over two CANS of Coke and two of those miniature drink glasses filled with ice at no additional charge. Great, right? Well, then I had to go to the bathroom right when the movie ended with the rest of the plane. :-p

I woke up this morning realizing I have no car (at the folks) and ache all over. I feel like I played a soccer tourney for a week in Blaine or something. Even the palms of my hands hurt, go figure. Hopefully, since it's gorgeous outside, I'll be able to get out and grab some shots and relax a bit. Not move much. I'll leave the cleaning and catching up until tomorrow.

Tonight I've got a "going away" party for an Apple employee (who also works at my day job with me). Funny to have a going away party for someone who I never worked with at one job, yet work everyday with (and sit across from) at another job.


For all you Rapidweaver users out there wondering what the heck is going on, I'll hopefully make that quite clear in the days to come! Thanks again!

- Jay

Last Day in Las Vegas!

Last night was fun even though I passed out for three hours. I think my allergies and sinuses are just getting the best of me down here. It is really dusty.....

Chris and I headed down to the Final Cut Pro party but it was pretty lame at first so we went out to eat at Orchid again. Great beef tenderloin and service. I love that they give you a hot washcloth when you sit down. Feels great after being on the floor talking to people all day. After dinner we headed back to the party and got to see Walter Murch talk for about two hours. Very interesting guy even though he has such a dry delivery (or is it his voice?). I learned a lot and got a kick out of hanging out with all these editors from around the world. Fun stuff.

After the party, most of the guys were going to get some drinks or something and I just headed back. It was after midnight at this point so I didn't feel like such a wet blanket. When I got back to the hotel I started watching a movie on my laptop but fell instantly asleep instead. Woke up enough to close the laptop and put it on the floor before Chris got back later that night.

Ok, I think I better download a couple shots or go shoot some more! It's going to be a bit nuts carrying all my gear down to the Convention Center and then making a mad dash to the airport tonight. Wish me luck!!!

Love you!
Jay

Day Three

Apparently there is a Final Cut Pro Users Group (FCPUG) meeting tonight here in the Venetian that is supposed to be pretty huge. Apple is presenting along with a few other companies. I was told it's all a front for a cash bar or something but it would still be good to hob-nob with the FCPUG down here and the other pro's and engineers before I take off.

Tomorrow is going to be tight and I won't have time to update this site. I'll be up in the am to take a final shot here and there of Vegas and the show then off to my last shift on the floor and off to catch my flight at 6:30 pm. Lindsay (right?) will be picking me up at 11:30 pm (CST) and I believe I will sleep and stay in bed until the following Monday. Ugh.

I've had a blast so far, I really have but it's been extremely exhausting. I've learned so much and really want to be back in the video production world again. Apple, once again, not only makes it easier to accomplish well designed productions but also inspires you along the way. But I just can't wait to get home! Love you guys!!!

- Jay

Day Two

After my 8 am to 1:30 pm shift I was able to catch a couple of the free Apple classes on the other new software they announced. I even got to catch a special one hour training on editing a movie by Walter Murch, an Academy Award winning editor who's done the editing and sound design for The Godfather, Cold Mountain, Jarhead and many more feature films. So many movies under this guys belt it's hard to remember them all. Great experience. I did take some shots but I'm just beat tonight and will get them together tomorrow night.

Chris, my roommate down here and friend from Creative Training, taught me how to play craps tonight! HA! It was fun to learn and I even won some cash.... at first. :-P Don't worry, when it was all said and done I had lost $10 playing craps after playing/watching for about 90 minutes. It was fun but I'm just not a gambler and never will be. Fun to learn and watch though, now that I know what's going on. That's enough of that for me, though (don't worry dad). :-p

Love you all and miss you guys!!! -Jay

Day One

All in all, it's been a blast so far and a great learning experience. I worked this afternoon from noon to 6. The next two days I'll be working the morning sessions and I'm hoping to catch some of the training classes that Apple is putting on for the entire Studio sweet. We'll see if I'll get to do that as it's a bit insane to get into those classes. They open the floor around 9 am and people literally run to the booth to sign up for the classes that day. Wish me luck!

It was such a long day today, as soon as we got back we grabbed some quick food then came up to the hotel room to relax for a bit. It's about 8:30 right now and we're thinking of going down and hitting the casino or something. I'm really not a club guy or a gambling person so, yea, Vegas just isn't me. It's strange but proves how boring and lame I really am. :-p

Hope all is well! -Jay

Live! From Las Vegas! It's NAB 2007!

The first place we hit was the Ballagio's buffet. At $38 it's a bit pricey but we get a nice daily allowance from Apple for food and travel. Plus, it was worth it. That's about all I did the first night I was here as Sunday ended up being a very. long. day.

Training went from 7 am until 6 pm but great announcements by Apple really made the day go by fast. I got to meet some Apple engineers as well as the voice behind my favorite software training offered by Ripple Training. It was pretty amazing to be around such talented people. Plus, each of the Apple workers (Creatives) are amazing and totally beyond me in their geek factor. I'm really looking forward to learning a lot about the whole production world. I really feel like I want to get back into it again!

Well, I'm off to breakfast with Chris, hopefully at some overpriced buffet then off to work the booth! Hopefully I'll update more (and get this site on newending.com) soon!

Love and miss everyone! - Jay

Getting Ready for NAB

I'm taking Friday off to make sure I know everything there is to know about Soundtrack as that's the booth I'll be at. If you wanna stop by and look for me, I'll be the skinny guy with short hair and a ninja posed picture on my Apple badge. A whole week in Vegas, I should have a ton of shots to show you guys when I get back!

Can Anyone Save Packard Bell?

This reprint is from Scott Kelby, Mac Today Magazine (now Mac Design), Mar/Apr 2001





The other day, while reading another article designed to scare the pants off potential Apple customers and/or shareholders, I started wondering what life would be like if I somehow got a writing gig at a PC magazine. Besides having to wear the dorky-looking outfit, wire-rimmed glasses, and pocket protector, I'm certain that during my first day on the job I'd be handed a secret dossier that would include the closely guarded manual of rules for writing any article that mentions Apple Computer. It would include certain guidelines to follow, like "Any good news on Apple must be followed by the word 'but' and then a direct reference to either: (a) their small market share, (b) any quarterly loss in the past five years, or (c) Microsoft's dominance.



This manual provides PC-worshipping journalists with guidelines for "selective reporting" where only damaging facts and figures about Apple are allowed. The latest amendment to their manual is how they should refer to the Macintosh operating system. It must always be referred to as "outdated." And even though Windows 95 tries to emulate the Macintosh operating system, it must never, under any circumstances, be referred to as outdated. That would be blasphemy.



The more I thought about it, the more I realized that the Macintosh press needs a similar manual for writing about PC manufacturers. With that in mind, I decided to write a few news blurbs on some of the PC manufacturers so they'd get a little feel of that "selective reporting" from a Macintosh point of view.







CAN ANYONE SAVE PACKARD BELL? Heavy competition and unexpectedly low holiday sales are taking their toll on some PC manufacturers and Packard Bell, once a shining star among PC clone makers, has fallen on hard times. The beleaguered company is struggling amidst rumors of bankruptcy, suffering a dwindling market share, and staggering from being rated at the bottom of the heap for consumer loyalty (when polled earlier this year, less than 35% of Packard Bell owners would buy another Packard Bell). The public may be asking, "Can anyone save Packard Bell?" A recent article detailing Packard Bell's woes in the December 30 issue of Business Week magazine noted that "Many experienced consumers shied away from Packard Bell, citing its reputation for shoddy quality and indifferent service and support."



That same article noted that Packard Bell "has watched its sales and market share slowly slide since last January." It pointed out that in the first ten months of '96 alone, Packard Bell had already lost 8% of their market share. In a business where market share is everything, a dramatic drop like this could spell doom. Couple this with lagging sales (they fell $1 billion short of their sales estimate) and a widely heldperception of shoddy quality and poor customer support, we can't imagine a scenario where they'll be able to survive in the long haul. Packard Bell, unlike rival Apple computer, which won the J.D. Power & Associates award for overall customer satisfaction and has over 27 million fiercely loyal customers, has quite an uphill battle to survive. And if they don't survive will anybody really care__or will they just buy a cheap PC clone from somebody else?

In a business where market share is everything, a dramatic drop like this could spell doom.

CAN ANYBODY SAVE GATEWAY 2000? Recent television advertisements by upstart PC clone maker Gateway 2000 have raised serious questions about the company's future. The advertisements point to sales figures of only one million units, whereas rival computer maker Apple Computer had sales figures of nearly four times that amount in the same time span. This would put Gateway 2000's market share below 1.75% which, as any industry analyst would tell you, means instant death in the highly competitive PC clone market. With sales of only 1 million, it seems clear that Gateway 2000 has four times the problems of Apple Computer. Which brings us to the question, "Can anybody save Gateway 2000?" Of course, if Gateway doesn't survive there's always IBM.



CAN ANYTHING SAVE IBM? After surviving the largest single-quarter loss in the history of business, IBM, once the leader in personal computers, has seen its market share fall well behind industry rivals like Compaq and Apple Computer. IBM, once the dominant PC maker, has seen its position erode as PC clone makers and Apple Computer have seized the lion's share of the desktop PC market. And their fiasco with OS/2 is better forgotten. One bright spot in IBM's personal computing efforts is the success of the PowerPC chip, developed in a joint effort by IBM, Motorola, and Apple Computer, which is currently the fastest personal computer chip on the market, speeding past competitor Intel's fastest offerings.



CAN ANYTHING STOP APPLE? After stunning the computer industry by bouncing back to profitability from a $750-million quarterly loss earlier in the year, Apple Computer just posted a comparatively modest $120-million loss for its most recent quarter. The loss, which occurred during what has been called one of the weakest fourth quarters for computer retailers in years, is a far cry from Apple's problems of last year when the board was forced to oust then-CEO Michael Spindler. In fact, a significant part of Apple's recent loss was caused by the fact that high consumer demand for Apple's new 1400 series PowerBook computer created a massive backlog of orders. Although analysts have predicted Apple's demise every year since 1984, they're consistently wrong.



Although Apple does face some challenges, clearly there are many companies that would envy Apple's position as the nation's fourth largest personal computer maker, with over $1.8 billion cash in the bank, sales of nearly four million units a year, a $200 million backlog of orders for new units, and the number one ranking in consumer loyalty in the industry. I guess the 27,000,000 Apple enthusiasts are just glad they didn't buy a Packard Bell.



-------- UPDATE ---------



Apple has nearly $5 billion in the bank, has a commanding lead in portable music players, world wide revenue up an average of 26% and has had their stock price almost hit $70 (currently at $62.97). There are a lot more stats then that out there I could post here... But I'm lazy. Plus, the mainstream media outlets are doing a fine job these days letting people know how successfull and trend setting Apple is these days. :-)

First iPods, Now Computers: Apples Are In

Following iPod Craze and Concerns About PCs Crashing, More Students Buy Macs



By Owen Hearey

Columbia Spectator Online



September 22, 2004





When Jordan Ledy, CC '08, went shopping for a new computer, it took a little prodding from his mother for him to consider a Macintosh.



He'd used Windows-based computers for much of his life, and he was a little concerned about leaving the PC world. But now, after having his new Apple Powerbook for little over a month, he's enthusiastically joined the bandwagon.

"Macs are the shit," Ledy said. "They're the easiest to use and Apple's interface is just so slick. [By comparison] XP looks like Fisher-Price." Ledy isn't the only one who's fallen in love with Apple. According to market tracker IDC, in 2003 Apple sold 193,000 Macs to people in colleges and universities, a jump of 17.7% over the previous year. If you only consider laptops, the computer of choice for most new college students, Apple sales to higher education grew by 58.5% in the same period.

For many students, the decision to get a Mac is about one thing: music. Ever since Apple released it's industry-standard iPod, audiophiles have been joining the Mac crowd in droves.



Even though Apple enabled iPods for PCs last year, there is some evidence that iPods are functioning as a "gateway product" for consumers to switch from PC to Mac.



In an effort to catalyze this effect, Apple introduced a $200 iPod rebate over the summer for students who purchased an Apple laptop. At the Columbia University Apple Store, that effectively brings down the entry-level iPod's price to $69. Students can still take advantage of Apple's "Cram And Jam" rebate until September 25th.



Among the other possible reasons for the rise in sales is ease-of-use. Macs' Unix-based system software is much more stable and less prone to crashing than PCs' Windows software, many say. The sales surge comes at a time when Microsoft is scrambling to react to increasingly frequent and damaging virus attacks. For many computer users, the difficulty of switching to a new operating system is made up for by the safety and ease of the Apple environment.



"With PCs I always had problems with compatibility," says Dana Balitzer, CC '08. "I haven't had those problems with Macs. It doesn't breakdown."



Furthermore, for most laptops, Macs are comparatively priced or even cheaper than their competitors. Currently, both Apple and Dell offer discounts to Columbia students for computer purchases. With the discounts factored in, a standard 14" Apple iBook laptop with a 1Ghz G4 processor, 40GB hard drive and a CD-RW/DVD-ROM drive costs $1200. A comparable Dell Latitude costs $1730.



"It was far cheaper than the equivalent [PC]," said Deborah Beim, CC '08, who debated whether to get a Mac or a PC over the summer. "Everybody who I talked to said they were far easier to use."



For people in certain professional fields, however, there may not be a choice between platforms. Macs are widely known for being the premier platform for individuals in the arts, especially those involved in graphic design. Conversely, PCs are known to have an edge in data processing and programming. However, for the wide majority, including most students, it's merely a question of preference.



Despite Apple's growing popularity, the company still holds only a 3.7 percent market share in the overall personal computer market. The "Wintel Empire", it seems, is a little harder to break down than limited successes on college campuses might suggest. Brett Chung, SEAS '07, is one student who wasn't swayed by Apple.



"I considered buying a Mac, but I don't know it as well as the PC. I stuck with the more familiar computer," he said.

The Mac is a Harsh Mistress

We can never go back and change the past, but we can start now to create a new ending!

I was asked for advice today from someone who was apprehensive about buying a new Mac, and wanted to know my opinion. This, of course, is sort of like going up to Dick Cheney and saying ?You know, I?m not sure about that Iraq thing. What do you think??



Microsoft, ladies and gentlemen, is a cheap whore. She lives on the fringes of the law, but there?s no getting rid of her because she fulfils a certain need in our society. People want what she is selling.



There?s a certain painted-on mystique to her, of course. We?ve all been indoctrinated with the propaganda, the hooker with the heart of gold, the disturbingly wide-mouthed Pretty Woman. When you find her, though, beneath the paint she?s really quite plain. You take what you need from her, but reluctantly and because you have no alternative. You get what you want, but she is almost peripheral to the act.



Apple is a lover.



From the moment you meet her, you know that she wants you to be happy. She wants to be a part of your life, and you can?t help but be drawn into wanting to be a part of hers. She is beautiful and elegant in ways that the layers of paint on the Microsoft street-walker can only desperately try to imitate.



I have bought more software for my Mac than I ever did for my Windows PCs, most of it shareware. Is it really that much higher quality? Or am I buying her presents?



There is one danger, though. So long as you are careful to protect yourself from infection, Microsoft can not hurt you. Microsoft is a transaction, and if the transaction goes sour, you?re only out of pocket. When your lover hurts you, she can break our heart.



And Apple, for all her charm and grace, is notoriously thoughtless at times: scratch the surface of the Internet and you?ll find a string of bitter, abandoned ex-?s who still curse her name.



And yes, this is possibly the most disturbing post I?ve ever written.



(See also: And Linux is your psychotic ex?)



[REPRINTED FROM: The Fishbowl]