January 24th, 2009 by Kevin A. Barnes
It was 25 years ago today (January 24, 1984) that Apple unveiled the first Macintosh personal computer.
On that day a quarter century ago, Steve Jobs stood in front of a crowd of early Apple faithful and literally let the Mac out of the bag. Macintosh Model M0001 may look nostalgic by today’s standards, but in 1984 it was the most polished, most powerful, most user-friendly, best looking and among the lightest computers on the planet. (Hmmm. Sounds like the 2009 Macs ...)
As my friends and family know, I’ve been a strong Apple supporter since even before the Mac was introduced, so Mac’s 25th is an ideal excuse to wax poetic about my many Apple memories. Read the rest of this entry »
Categories: Business, Innovation/Creativity, Technology | Tags: apple, mac, newton, steve jobs
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January 20th, 2009 by Kevin A. Barnes
Google announced today that it is ending it’s Print Ads program which packaged and sold advertising space in over 800 U.S. newspapers. Apparently the program, which started in 2006, hasn’t lived up to expectations for generating revenue. Read the rest of this entry »
Categories: Business, Marketing, The Future | Tags: advertising, Google, journalism, The New York Times
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January 18th, 2009 by Kevin A. Barnes
The Krishmatics are online! (Or at least someone has started a MySpace band page for them.) Who are the Krishmatics?
The Krishmatics were one of the best fake Krishna bands to come out of Milwaukee in the early 1980s. Known for such hits as “Krishna Beach” and “My Guru’s Mantra (Used to be Mine),” the group quickly became a favorite in Milwaukee’s punk and Hindi music scenes. Read the rest of this entry »
Categories: Milwaukee, Music |
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January 17th, 2009 by Kevin A. Barnes
(Note: This post contains no spoilers. Read on without fear!)
Like many science fiction fans, I make good natured attempts to avoid spoilers for major books, movies and TV series that hold the promise of occasionally surprising me. In this age of recycled plots and unending remakes, it is truly refreshing to read or watch something and experience actual surprise when something transpires that you didn’t foresee.
One example of this is the current Battlestar Galactica series on the SciFi Channel. The show consistently strives to catch viewers off guard with plot twists and revelations, and it frequently succeeds in that effort. For nearly a year, fans have wondered and debated who the show would reveal to be the final Cylon*. The plot mystery grew into 2008 and 2009’s version of “Who shot JR?” So during the episode that finally reveals the identity of that final Cylon, why would SciFi Channel broadcast commercials that blatantly gave away the secret, in essence ruining the secret contained at the end of the episode? Read the rest of this entry »
Categories: Marketing, Science Fiction | Tags: Dallas, final Cylon, Ron Moore
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January 11th, 2009 by Kevin
This past week, Mike Griffin announced he is stepping down on January 20 as NASA chief administrator, the politically appointed post that runs America’s space agency. As the Obama transition team accelerates its search for Griffin’s successor, here’s my modest proposal for the next head of NASA: Kevin A. Barnes (yes, me!).
Control your laughter for just a minute. I may have statistically about 0.00% chance of being appointed, but this is a good opportunity to examine the skills, experience and personality that NASA needs right now in its chief administrator in order to succeed: Read the rest of this entry »
Categories: Science, Space Exploration, The Future | Tags: Alan Stern, Barack Obama, Charles Kennel, NASA, Sally Ride, Scott Hubbard, transition team, Wesley Huntress
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