McDonalds Had To Close?

Well not all of them but the one I went to this morning did. This morning I realized that our dependence on technology may be out of control.

On my way into the office, I decided to make a stop at my local McD's and grab a sausage biscuit, minus egg of course due to my allergy to eggs (but that's a different story). Anyway, I sat in the drive through waiting for someone to speak to me from the little brown post but no one ever came. I waited, what I considered a significant amount of time (about a minute) and decided to drive up to the window to see what the highly trained McStaff was engaged in. They were all huddled together behind the counter looking at the register with a "what do we do" look on their faces.

Just then, they all raised their heads in relief and noticed that I was parked outside the magic food window staring in at them. One of the employees came and opened the window. I said "no one would talk to me at the post." She replied, "yes I know, we have been closed for the last couple of hours. Our computers went down."

Me (in astonishment) - "Your computers went down so you had to cease business operation until you could restart them?

Her (indignant) - "Yup"

Fortunately I was able to place my order as the system had just been returned to normal working condition. But Seriously, how did people order a burger, fries and a Coke before computers. It must not have been possible right? This was the message I gleaned from the McKids today.

Instead of serving customers and WRITING down the order and either giving the paper to the cooks OR just hollering at the meat jockeys, cafe style, they chose to shut the entire place down. Maybe there is some kind of McPolicy that I don't know about or some protocol that dictates that they shut down. God forbid you have to add the total of the check with out the use of a calculator or a cash register. There are plenty of restaurants that still use the paper, handwritten checks out there. Granted, not many, but they do exist.

I am not to sure what to make of all this. Today I witnessed 2 things. Dependence on technology and the younger generation's inability to adapt to anything other outside the strict confines of their current skill set.

Where are we headed in the future? Are we doomed? Your thoughts?

 

The Google PC For Only $200.00?

Well here's something new. According to PCWorld, the new, low price pointed gPC goes on sale at WalMart today. The budget model desktop is running off a mix of Open Source software like OpenOffice, Ubuntu Linux , and certain Google Applications. Use of these software applications is the reason that PC maker, Everex, was able to keep the price so low.

But what about the hardware you ask? It doesn't seem to shabby. The package consists of a "1.5GHz Via C7-D processor, Via UniChrome Pro IGP graphics core, and comes equipped with 512MB of memory, an 80GB hard drive, a DVD-ROM/CD-RW combo drive, and has built-in Ethernet." Now I am sure that most of the components are integrated and I wouldn't be surprised if you weren't able to upgrade it, but it is a great entry level computer for a baby booming first timer or even children.

Ramon McLeod from PCWorld goes on to say - "...the real secret sauce is a software suite that begins with what the company calls its "gOS," which turns out to be a customized Ubuntu Linux kernel. The software bundle includes open source desktop applications highlighted by OpenOffice, GIMP photo software, the Xing DVD and video player, and Rhythmbox music management software.

Additionally, the PC's user interface includes icons pointing to popular Google applications such as Documents and Spreadsheets, Calendar, News, and Maps. Also pre-installed is the Firefox web browser, Meebo IM, and Skype."

This is a pretty exciting development in the PC world. To think, that I paid over $2200.00 for my first Cybermax 233 computer with a 1G hard drive. AND I had to buy a printer seperately.

This really opens the doors for individuals who were previously unable to afford a computer. There are 2 things I will be watching. Total sales of the gPC and reliability of the new box. It will be interesting for sure.

Coupled with speculation about the new Google Phone, I wonder if this has anything to do with with the $700 Google stock price?

 

The New Apple OS

Apple® today announced that Mac OS® X Leopard will go on sale Friday, October 26 at 6:00 p.m. at Apple's retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers, and that Apple's online store is now accepting pre-orders.

“Leopard, the sixth major release of Mac OS X, is the best upgrade we’ve ever released,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “And everyone gets the ‘Ultimate’ version, packed with all the new innovative features, for just $129.”

Yeah yeah yeah, OK. This is fine and dandy but have you guys seen the new keyboard from Apple? And yes it is just called "the keyboard." No fancy name like the iBoard or the iType. Just "keyboard."

I'm not a mac user but I am going to head out and grab one of them at my earliest convenience.

 

The Commodore 64

Do you have some vague recollection of this tan little gem? When I was a kid, I had one with a 300 baud modem and dual 5.25" floppy drives hooked to a TV in my room. With that modem, you could visit bulletin boards, the predecessor to websites, and chat or download some files. This thing was truly a high tech home computer in 1983.

According to the 2001 edition of Guinness book of Records, there were 30 million units sold between 1982 and 1993 making it the best selling computer of all time. The company reigned as the king computer maker for most of the 80's and eventually filed bankruptcy in 1994.

The biggest contributor to the success of the C64 was the price point that allowed millions of people from a broad demographic to 0wn one. Extremely reliable and completely expandable, you could own a C64 for around $200.00. Games and software were readily available are are still available today, all you need is a C64 emulator. The legacy of the C64 still lives on in a tiny display dedicated to it at the Smithsonian.

Just a little bit of computing nostalgia to brighten your day.

 

How Many Computers?

Forrester Research has reported that there will be over 1 billion personal computers in use by the end of 2008. 186 Million of which will have high speed Internet. It is estimated that 2 billion PCs will be in use by 2015. Still say you don't need a website?

I wonder how yellow page and newspaper publishers are preparing themselves for the death of their traditional media?

 

Microsoft's Vista Doesn't Play Well With Others

Apparently there is an issue with Microsoft's new OS. It does not allow you to search with anything other than their own search tool. Google, having a similar tool, began complaining about this feature last year.

According to Google spokesman, Ricardo Reyes as reported on seattlepi.com, "The search boxes built throughout Vista are hard-wired to Microsoft's own desktop search product, with no way for users to choose an alternate provider from these visible search access points. Likewise, Vista makes it impractical to turn off Microsoft's search index."

Some prosecutors believe that this violates the Microsoft anti-trust decision 5 years ago. The crew at Google obviously agrees.

Microsoft spokesman was quoted saying, "Although we don't believe we're obliged to make these changes under the consent decree, we certainly are willing to make an effort to address these issues and make additional changes to Vista."

I may be ignorant and not know the entire story behind Microsoft and the anti-trust settlements, but part of me says, just leave Microsoft alone. If you want to build a business that eventually transforms into a huge empire and have a product that everyone wants, I say fine. But what do I know. Your thoughts?