Economics/Geekonomics

How Services Make Hardware More Valuable

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So I'm using my Netflix disc in my Wii and am pretty impressed with it.  Great picture, runs smooth.  Controls are a bit weird, because it's a mix of standard metaphor and Wii control.  Overall it's pretty good.

I'm also using the Wii for the first time since I got tired of No More Heroes II.  This makes me think about some of the upcoming games for the Wii, and how now the Wii has this service and others, and . . .

Then I realize that I'm viewing my Wii differently because of one release.  This is something you, the progeek, will be facing: services change the value of media devices, and there's a lot of people out there offering services.

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Realignment Not Recovery

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I think I'm going to stop talking about economic recovery from the Great Recession because it won't happen.  What will happen is Re-Alignment.

Whenever there's a downturn, recession, economic shift, etc. we always hear about how there will be a "Recovery."  Recovery, as far as I can tell when that word is thrown around casually, means that everything will Go Back To Normal.  It'll all be like it was before whatever nasty economic business happened.

One can argue that many of the past economic recoveries were not exactly returns-to-normal.  That is agreed, but I think that the aftermath of this Great Recession won't even be something you can describe as a return to normal.

It's going to be a Re-Alighment.  What will come out of this economic mess is not going to be the world we were used to.  It's going to be something else.  You may recognize the pieces of the economy to come, but not always the way they're arranged

Career-wise, you'll want to be ready.

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Frustration Friday: Cult Misses

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You'll notice that though I talk economics in this blog, I am careful around the subject of politics.  In some cases, where politics intersects economics (which really is in most cases), I also am cautious about what I discuss.

So for a moment let me throw some caution to the wind and watch it blow away.

I'd like to discuss my caution.

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