10 Random Thoughts On 12-17-08

There's a Springfield, MA newspaper sports reporter by the name of Gary Brown who writes a weekly column titled "Hitting To All Fields". In the column he lists his random thoughts for the past week. I've always enjoyed Gary's writing and they say imitation is the best form of flattery..... If this format works - it may become a regular Wednesday thing for me:

Wondering who Obama will select as Kevin Martin's FCC chair replacement.

WHAT.... no Steve Jobs at MacWorld 2009 ?

And double WHAT.... no more Apple at MacWorld after 2009 ?

Wondering how those Walmart iPhones will sell.

Some are saying (myself included) broadband access is a human right. Others disagree.

Been hearing the term "social shopping" used this holiday season as if it is something new. Isn't it what we've always referred to as "word of mouth"?

Can the Patriots pull the playoffs off in the next couple of weeks?

It's been a disgusting political and financial week in our country - the rest of the world must be laughing pretty hard at us.

The Feb 18 Analog to Digital Mandated TV Conversion is looking like it might get messy for people who are still watching over-the-air. I'll be writing more on this soon.

Early this morning my blog passed the 100,000 visitor mark for 2008!!!

Happy Holidays and thanks for reading!

Why Verizon Rejected the iPhone

Most realize Verizon had the first shot at the iPhone and many have been scratching their heads (Why didn't Verizon take it?) since the January Macworld iPhone announcement. The Register has an interesting post here. The piece quotes Verizon Communications president and chief operating officer Denny Strigl as follows:

"The iPhone product is something we are happy we aren't the first to market with."

It looks like the deal killers for Verizon were Apple's demands for call revenue sharing, the control of distribution channels and also customer service. The Register also quotes another Verizon vice president, Jim Gerace:

"We said no. We have nothing bad to say about the Apple iPhone. We just couldn't reach
a deal that was mutually beneficial."

According the The Register - Cingular claims this deal was cut two years ago when the iPhone was just a mock-up.

I'm going to stick my neck out and predict an announcement soon by Microsoft and Verizon......