As news of Tower Records bankruptcy spread, music fans lamented the demise of one of the few large music stores. Yet after reading this article on MSNBC it’s not difficult to see why Tower and other music stores can’t make it in the age of digital music. Tower’s “going out of business” sale means current CDs were marked down 10% from $18.99 to $17.09 yet that same album was available for $9.99 on iTunes or about a buck and half on AllofMp3. Add the growing selection of CDs available to Costco, Best Buy, Wal-Mart and Target that usually cost $5 to $7 less per CD and it’s not hard to see why the old music store has become a relic we’ll tell our kids about. And personally, I’d be pretty bummed out if I drove across town to visit any “going out of business” store and the items were marked down a measly 10%. Big fricking deal.

Whenever I’d visit San Francisco or New York I’d seek out the huge Tower or Virgin Records and browse their selection and explore new kinds of music at the listening stations. I’ll certainly miss being able to do that if all the record stores disappear.

Yes, it’s good to be the kings.

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I spent $100 on a set of Bose Companion 2 Series II Multimedia speakers about three months ago. They worked well on Kim’s computer and gave us no problems until the last few days when they would turn on and off. Since the speakers were so new I figured the problem must be with the older Creative brand soundcard. I tested the speakers on my system and had the same problems. I could wiggle the powercord and the sound would come back but not for long.

I’d normally buy anything to do with computers at Fry’s or NewEgg but neither had this model of speaker in stock so I bought them online from a company I don’t recall.

I have a set of Logitech Z-2300 that just rock. Lesson learned. I’m done with Bose and will probably go with Creative for Logitech when I replace these crappy Bose.

Michael Robertson has written an interesting article about DRM’d music and Microsoft’s upcoming Zune mp3 player. Thank goodness for Allofmp3.com. The only DRM’d audio I buy is an audiobook here and there from iTunes. I won’t purchase DRM’d music.
“Microsoft made a corporate decision to abandon their previous technology called “Plays for Sure” and turn it into “Screwed for Sure”. Anyone who purchased music from Rhapsody, Napster, Buy.com, Wal-mart, BuyMusic, etc. will discover that music is unplayable. (Of course iTunes music won’t play either because Apple doesn’t play nicely with others.) You’ll be required to re-purchase that music or go without”

Link to full article 

When did higher end retailers start carrying my bag around the counter? I noticed this last weekend at Nordstrom when bought some shoes for the kids. I paid for the shoes and the lady put the receipt in the bag and walked around the counter to hand me the bag. And it’s not just on larger or heavier purchases. It must be a store-wide policy because I also purchased some Clinique soap which fit in a small bag. Sure enough, the lady didn’t hand it over the counter to me. She walked around to hand me a very small bag.

Why do some restaurants allow their host/hostess to wear nose or lip rings? Seems like you’d want the first person your customers meet to be clean and conservatively dressed. Visit Mama’s Mexican Kitchen in Belltown (Seattle) to see this taken to extremes. The shredded beef taco doesn’t sound so tasty with the image of your multiple facial piercings still fresh in my mind.

Why do most of the employees at Target look like they are under 25 and those at Wal-mart look over 55? I can’t get in line at Target without hearing two young checkers talk about the latest movie, date or unfair weekend schedule.

Notice how Lowes stores are clean, well-lit and have clear signs on each isle while Home Depot feels just the opposite? Lowes seems to cater to the consumer while Home Depot feels like it’s catering to the contractor.

How I’m treated when I return an item at your store will directly determine if I shop at your store again. Whether I’m treated well or poorly, I’m going to tell my friends, family and coworkers. And maybe some fellow bloggers.

Those self-service postage stations at the Post Office that weigh packages and spit out postage when I feed it my credit card are awesome. Add more!

When I’m at a restaurant and I don’t order a drink, please don’t roll your eyes and assume I’m a cheapskate chump because I just want a glass of water. Really, I’m just trying to give up soda loaded with sugar. You’ll still get a 20%+ tip if you treat me well.

Why does it seem like I can’t watch a new TV series without hearing a John Mayer tune? I’m not complaining but when did he reach saturation status?

I’ve asked myself this questions many times and at various companies I’ve worked for. I’ve helped build software with little to no consideration for the users. But at my current company I’m going out of my way to speak up for the users. Sometimes it goes over well and othertimes not so well. But it won’t stop me because we will go out of business if we don’t create products and services with the user in mind.

Kathy Sierra’s post just nails it home in her usual concise manner:

“If I attend one more tech company meeting where NOBODY talks about the users/customers (or at least not a positive one), I’m throwing myself out the window of this trailer. Think long and hard right now about some of the company meetings you’ve attended where the entire effen meeting is about everything but what’s good for the users. We talk about deliverables and budgets and TPS reports and why we all need to help keep the refrigerator clean and how “upper management” has a new policy and why filling out those timesheets really helps the company and how we didn’t make our numbers last quarter and how somebody is taking more than their share on Bagel Morning Wednesdays and, oh yeah, don’t forget the team-building workshop next Tuesday. Until talking about the users/customers/members/clients becomes the most important thing, we’re going nowhere good”

So this begs the question: Who at your company is going to bat for your users? If you can’t think of anyone, your company could be in trouble.

I remember the first time I heard the song. I was a sophomore in high school and had borrowed Pink Floyd’s, “The Wall” album from a friend on the baseball team. I listened to Comfortably Numb over and over not knowing there was another song on the album that would become my favorite song.

Finally, I decided to play the album all the way through. When this song finally came on I immediately loved it, and it’s been my favorite song ever since. The song? Mother. Link to live version on YouTube.

[audio:mother.mp3]

Amazon is one of my favorite places to shop online. They have a great selection of products, fast shipping and good service. But imagine walking into Nordstrom and seeing a display rack full of sunglasses and not being able to purchase most of them. That’s what it feels like lately at Amazon. Here’s a screenshot of what I’m talking about. I did a search for sunglasses and only two of the first nine on the page are available. Why show me a long list of items that I CAN’T purchase? This isn’t reaching down deep into the search results either. This is the first page of results listed. I expect better from the online retailer that’s supposed to be the benchmark for everyone else. How about adding a filter for “Show me only items that I can buy today”?
Link to search results at Amazon

Sometimes I feel like the companies who design and create the packaging for DVDs have never tried to open one their own before. What constitutes “good enough” when it comes to sealing a new DVD such as the Curious George DVD I bought for my kids tonight? How many lines of defense must I go through in order to watch the DVD and, when I finally get it open, will I have enough time to actually watch the movie? These are the questions I ask myself as I make my way through several layers of protection in order to get to a $15 DVD.

First there’s the paper wrapper that slides off quite easily. Now the more difficult jobs arise as I try to pry up an end to the very tight, probably heated on clear plastic wrapper. There’s no end to pull or small edge to grab and rip across like they put on packs of gum. I usually pry an end up with my teeth, scissors or pen, none of which work very well. Once I get the outside wrapper off I always try to open the case. Once again I’m reminded it’s not supposed to be that easy as I notice three sides of the case are sealed tight with a clear, four inch tape. If I thought the outside wrapper was tough to pry up, this clear tape is nearly impossible to remove unless you have very strong fingernails. This is when I pull out the scissors again and try to stab it open. This usually just rips holes in the DVD cover yet seldom gets rid of the tape which has taken my DVD hostage with no rescue in sight.

Eventually the fight for the movie ends and I claim victory. And if time permits, I might even have time to watch the movie.

I passed this strange sign while walking through Belltown today. It’s hard to tell from this low quality, no skill picture I took of it, but it’s quite large. It’s also in an area of town you’d not expect such a sign, as there is no school closeby.

It is quite the clever sign, but it feels like someone at the city sign division (if such a thing exists) has a sense of humor. The flying books and the sprawling guy and gal are a nice artistic touch. “Think of the Impact” just sounds a bit morbid too.