There’s an excellent article over on BusinessWeek online penned by Bruce Nussbaum. For those of you who’ve read some of my comments here and on his blog entries, you know I give him no quarter. As someone effectively speaking for the Industrial Design community, I’m very keen to ensure that my opinion as a member of that community is voiced… especially when I find fault with the messenger’s blog entry.

So when I tell you to go read his article (Link), you know my nose isn’t turning brown. The real question now is: will what those CEO’s learned in Davos make a dent? Just look at the trouble Kodak is having trying to transition to the New World Economic and Technological Order (see BW’s story on them – Link). Okay, to be fair, they got off to a late start, but that really is part of the problem, isn’t it? Times aren’t just a-changing, they’re changing a-fast.

So, assuming those CEO’s did “get it”, will what they learned have any kind of ripple effect and spread to other companies in the world? I don’t know how many CEO’s were in Davos, but I suspect it was less than a drop in the bucket. All you can do I suppose is wait and see. Me? I’m too busy splashing in my own little pool, dreaming up corporation-killing ideas and posting them in the same ocean.

The other day I commented over on the Mashable site that I’d read about a sub-$10k rp device … or 3D scanner. I couldn’t remember which. More I think about it, the more it seems I was recalling a scanner. Not that it matters now. The new opening price point is… get this … US $2,495. Don’t believe me? Go see for yourself (Link).

It’s going to be a wild and crazy year at this pace.

via Core77

Over the past week while watching for defacers (the upgrade seems to have helped … for now) I’ve been keeping a file of some interesting hits and curious visitors to this blog. Some things I logged because they were just plain funny (btw, 70.170.78.221, did you ever find that “skin+texture+penis” you spent a couple days hunting for?). So anyway, I happen to be looking through the log just now and caught this from Host: 66.150.244.152: googlealert.com Link.

Shades of a couple earlier posts (Link 1 and Link 2), eh? It’s not like a search for their company name on this blog points to only that one post. A simple search gets plenty of entries. And I’ve never seen Google Alert as a referral before now, and as I’ve mentioned previously, I monitor quite closely. So what gives? Busy “monitoring your professional interests online”? Gotta “Safeguard Your Reputation”? Look, why not just put my blog on your favorites and use comments?

The sad part is that I once sent them a confidential email with information that might have been of use to them. Next time I will undoubtedly think twice.

For all those who are nervous about Google’s tentacles, I may not be nervous, but I do understand.

For anyone who laughed (*cough* Sterling *cough*) and for those who understand (*cough* Marissa Ann Mayer *cough*), take a look at some of the parts that Vik Olliver recently put on display at LinuxConf Australasia 2006. He’s well beyond the toys (Link).

Read his RepRap blog entry (Link) and follow along as this project starts merging with virtual world content creation. PLM vendors take note.

{Image Copyright © Vik Olliver}

It’s interesting to see how corporations are dealing with increasing consumer control. In the few cases I’ve noticed, they seem to be operating through a second party; a “buffer”. Whether that’s for legitimate reasons of outsourcing expertise, or clandestine reasons of outsourcing blame, I’m unsure. Perhaps that will become more clear as I pay more attention.

Anyway, to get caught up, read an earlier entry of mine on Burger King (Link) which is, for all intensive purposes and strictly in my opinion, apparently letting the crazies loose and perhaps even encouraging the creation of BK-branded pseudo-porn to help market their *gag* product (it’s hard to tell what they’re really doing since – as mentioned – they appear to have an outsourced “buffer”… I believe).

And to see why I’m mentioning this all now, go read my earlier post(s) on Disney (Link) and then read about the “hide or otherwise remove” letter from what appears to be – in my opinion – the 800-lb corporate gorilla’s lapmonkey making overtures of pending actions to control their master’s corporate image over on Water Cooler Games (Link).

Appears as if the fireworks have begun, folks. Keep an eye out for Tinkerbell… she might (I said MIGHT) now be sporting leather bondage gear and spikes. O.o, where do I sign up? {This is a joke, boys. Calm down.}

{Note to corporate legal beagles, I’ve italicized areas in this post which I hope will satisfy you; please don’t send me letters and please don’t sue me.}

{Note to readers, if I suddenly disappear from the face of the earth, please call Agent Jack Bauer … oh wait … the car companies pwn him. Damn. I’m screwed.}

via Clickable Culture {blame him, guys!}