Found this today that more eloquently states one of the points I was trying to make the other day. This is from the Motley Fool Investment site the link is provided below:

Yes, RIM is once again the market leader. NPD Group reports that the BlackBerry Curve outsold the iPhone during the first quarter. What Rick isn't telling you is that Research In Motion benefited from garage-sale tactics that boosted its numbers. Verizon (NYSE: VZ) offered Curve shoppers a "buy one, get one free" promotion in Q1.

More telling, I think, is that the BlackBerry Storm, a would-be iPhone killer, was nothing of the sort. The Storm was third behind the iPhone on NPD's list. RIM's BlackBerry Pearl ranked fourth, while T-Mobile's Android-powered G1 placed fifth.

And while we're talking numbers, let's set the record straight when it comes to the iPhone. While it's true that iPhone unit sales fell sequentially, revenue improved 22% over the same period. Year over year, iPhone unit sales doubled and revenue quadrupled.

http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2009/05/06/im-still-bullish-on-apple.aspx

I have been following the news articles around the Blackberry mobile device sales beating out the iphone in first quarter. First off I I really don't care what the results are honestly, it doesn't affect me either way. However, I am really getting tired of what I would consider is poor reporting. Here is a quote from the article:

"Verizon Wireless' aggressive marketing of the BlackBerry Storm, and its buy-one-get-one BlackBerry promotion to its large customer base, contributed to RIM capturing three of the top five positions (in U.S. smartphone sales)," NPD's Ross Rubin said in a statement. "The more familiar, and less expensive, Curve benefited from these giveaways and was able to leapfrog the iPhone, due to its broader availability on the four major U.S. national carriers."
The results reverse a trend that at one point last year had the iPhone outselling all Blackberries combined.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/tech_guide/2009/05/05/2009-05-05_blackberry_curve_outselling_iphone.html#ixzz0EgvTnkRN&B

How about a few facts about the iPhone. For instance, is there anyone out there that doesn't not know that Apple is getting ready to release a new model.  I personally know of a handful of people that would buy an iPhone right now, if it weren't for the fact that the release dates is so close. Then there are the people that will never buy an iPhone from AT&T because of bad experiences with the company, meaning its doing amazingly well given the fact that one retailer has exclusive selling rights. Most have to wait or dump their contract to get one.

The Blackberry Storm and Curve are the most recent devices available, plus their apps store was released earlier this year, which created buzz.

In my opinion Blackberry had to do something, as there is a big shake up coming to the smart phone market this summer. The Palm Pre device is looming, with a lot marketing hype. (can you tell I am not convinced, not one report I have read has supplied a good reason as to why it is a better option to the other smartphones, just hype! Someone needs a head slap on the price too!) The Apple iPhone is poised for some major changes, new OS version, new hardware, and possible changes to the app store. Lastly there is the Android device from T-Moble, which is generating interest based on it open development platform.

RIM should be happy about Q1 as the only Quarter it will beat any other device this year in sales. The competition is about to heat up all summer long,

I have owned my Mac Mini less than a week and I am shutting down my Windows PC without worry of missing it.. This little thing is just amazing. At 6.5" x 6.5" x 2" it takes up almost no room at all on my desk. doesn't make a sound while running other than an occasional buzz of the DVD drive upon wake up.

I plugged in my monitor, keyboard, and Logitech trackball,  turned on the power and watched as it came right up as if everything had been plugged in since day one. No installing of devices, just up and running.

 It wasn't all roses though, I plugged in my Western Digital hard drive to transfer my itunes account and Crash! - (kernel panic)
Its funny that all I heard from people is that Mac's never crash but some how within less than 24 hours mine did!

All things considered though I have to admit it is very easy it is to use. Installing applications is almost laughable. The first time I installed an app I thought there must be more to it than that!

I was reading someone's blog the other day and a comment was made about the Mac vs PC advertisements. He said that he DVR's every show he watches and fast forwards though the commercials, except when he runs across a Mac ad. Instead he stops, rewinds and watch it, he even admitted that he didn't own a Mac! I had to laugh because I do the same thing, but now I can watch them and laugh as an owner!

Happy Birthday Superdog!  She was dressed up for Halloween last year, she loves the kids! ....um..well the treats too!

In honor of both St. Patrick's Day and the Media preview of the iphone 3.0 OS, I have found this stop motion video clip of the Chicago River being dyed green, to share from Anthony Stewart Photography.

 http://tinyurl.com/cwm2gm

He has even provided the means to download and put on your iphone! Just hover over the picture and a box will pop out, choose "save movie" and choose ipod/DVD. Save the file to your desktop, then open itunes and drag the file into itunes, then sync your iphone.

Enjoy, its very well done! If you like it, don't forget to leave a comment on his website.

Normally I don't comment on advertising, and I hate to beat a dead horse. I thought it was ironic however, that I was listening to a talk radio show about the importance of advertising during economic downturns. The idea is that continued advertising keeps the product fresh in the consumers mind. It also instills confidence in the company as they continue to keep their presence known.

Around the same time a flurry of activity started up in the Lotus community (http://planetlotus.org) about Lotus Notes and the continued lack of advertising for the product. While many believe it is a superior product to Exchange and Sharepoint, its getting harder to get that message through to people these days.

After doing a little searching on the Internet I was able to find this article which is very interesting reading:
http://mdurwin.wordpress.com/2008/11/03/now-is-not-the-time-to-skimp-on-advertising-and-marketing/

At the conclusion of the article it states:

"As far as the end of the question as to what distinguished the companies that did well during the Depression? They were the companies that kept their name in front of the public and created brand name recognition even during the worst of times."

Is the Lotus brand suffering do to lack of advertising? The community seems pretty adamant about it!  Only time will tell.

I am at the mall this weekend and about to get on the down escalator, and there is this sign.

Who exactly is this for?

I wasn't aware there were that many "escalator drivers" shopping in the mall. I didn't see anyone with bare feet trudging through the snow on the way into the mall either, it is still winter!

I have seen less restrictions on rides at Disney World!