It seems that Apple has saturated the iphone market. The uptake overseas was limited, as expected, since there are better, more equipped and cheaper devices exist there. AT&T’s market share increased, but only as far as their network covers. In steps Verizon, which has the other 85+ million subscribers that Apple needs to continue producing revenue.
The issue here is that Apple needs Verizon more than Verizon needs Apple. The Blackberry line outsold the iPhone in the first quarter of this year, which is a surprise given the poor rollout of the device. Further, Verizon already has v-cast, which is a direct competitor to iTunes.
For me, I want better phones and the subsidies that other providers give to their subscribers; Verizon doesn’t subsidize their phones nor are their phone/data plans comparable in price. However, my phone reliabily works. But it really shouldn’t be a trade-off; in the end, the customer loses. In any event, we’ll see how this year progresses. The repercussions could be far reaching if Apple needs to make concessions; iTunes gave into the music industry’s demands for tier pricing, and now the pricing is more favorable on Amazon than iTunes. Why Amazon gets an easier ride than Apple is a bit mystifying.
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I’ve gotten to the point that I don’t like coming into work. Maybe I need an extended holiday, or maybe I need to expand my horizons, I don’t know. But, I do know that I’m getting close to the three year mark, which means JCAHO will be here soon. Still hasn’t motivated me out of my funk, though.
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I remember a time when I was outside every waking minute when the weather was good; I saw friends on a daily basis and I was generally not pressed for time to do anything. I picked up hobbies at my leisure, I learned and read as I saw fit… it was nice.
Obviously, being outside every waking minute doesn’t work when you have to earn a living; it bothers me that we went two years without seeing Ilana – how does two years fly by like that? how have we not driven to Boston to visit?; I have to schedule hobbies and within those hobbies I have to micromanage and set low expectations. I’m still ‘reading’ the know-it-all, which is shameful because it’s a *good* book but I can’t fit time to do it…
It’s gotten to the point that I need motivation to do something leisurely. And it’s at this point I realize that something has gone horribly wrong but I don’t know what. Nora goes to bed at a reasonable hour, so what is it exactly?
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I did find a site for random chat; it turns out that I’m not 20 anymore. This is all fine and good; there are a lot of people older than me who are idiots (Kevin Federline is 31) and there are quite a few people that are younger than me that I find inspiring, but the populace as a whole doesn’t think this way. For some reason I believed that I could enjoy my twenties, but somewhere between 26 and now I’m no longer part of the twenties crowd. Does that make sense? I didn’t think twenty-eight was old until being told that it was old. Now I’ve gone off to some corner feeling like a random and creepy leper.
This sort of thing has really thrown my worldview askew.
The big issue is that I don’t want to embarass my child. No, it’s true. Before, it was ok when it was just me; it was slightly less ok when I am with Lisa; now, it’s not ok at all. That one scene in “About a Boy”, where the mother is badgering the kid to say I love you, and he does, but it makes him the center of ridicule – yeah that, I don’t want to do that to Nora. So, I’m trying to figure out what’s right and what isn’t.
I’m seeing it with Jaya. Her wit is no longer ascerbic; heck, she doesn’t really make all that many jokes anymore. Is it her environment or is it a conscious decision to acquiesce to her situation? I think it’s both. For me, I’ve decided that I wasn’t really paying attention to my environment and I made a conscious decision not to conform.
But I want to do right by Nora, especially now that she understands so much of the world. The thought has crossed my mind to trade my car for something less ostentatious; put away the video games until Nora and for any future children can play, be a bit more diligent about my dress and be mindful of all social interactions. Something like the re-education of Winston Smith, maybe. Minus the government. A cynic might suggest that society would be the government in this case, but if it’s the nature of the world, isn’t it better to conform? If I’ve spent the last 20 some years being a non-conformist and it’s only served to alienate, anger or annoy even friends, shouldn’t it be a sign to switch gears?
I’m still trying to find the line. What is socially acceptable humor? What’s the socially accepted response? What are the socially accepted opinions? I’ve deferred to not saying anything at all or going ‘bland’ while I figure it out. Obviously, there was a time when I didn’t care so much; I expected people to be as ebullient and opinionated as I am. Turns out, not so, to the detriment of Lisa and Nora. So, ‘the re-education of me’ continues.
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There are a surprising number of people running at night. Ideally, I’d ride the bike in the morning and run at night, but I love those extra few minutes of sleep…
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