However, I ended up buying "Inheritance" by Christopher Paoloni from Kobo eBooks. I was surprised that I hadn't heard of them before but that appears to be doing a great job. The site is Kobo Ebooks. It's a platform neutral book site complete with apps for every major tablet, smartphone and computer system. I downloaded it to my iPad 2 and my Samsung Galaxy S smart phone. It kept my book synched between both devices. My only complaint is that it seemed to take a lot of energy from the iPad on account that it continually synches and thus requires a near constant wifi connection. I'm sure they'll work that out soon enough. And they too take PayPal. But what makes them different is that they are trying to add a social element to book reading.

Just think about it, you can get clarification on a passage, or discuss the deeper meaning of a chapter with members of the community. Plus it keeps track of your personal reading statistics. I would not be surprised to see authors having direct conversations with readers as this technology grows up.

In general, I think it's a really great concept but it has its work cut out for it if they are going to be successful given the powerful competition: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and iTunes. I think in order for Kobo to be successful, they are going to have to get the word out and quickly. With the right marketing plan and perhaps first book discounts, they may be able to obtain the critical mass that would be required to make it a success.  At any rate, I highly recommend that you check it out. The software was easy enough to download, install and use.

They have or are building distribution centers all over the country. They have invested millions and employed thousands. Why would they do this?

The most obvious reason is that they are trying to blur the lines between traditional retailing and online retailing. As the world's largest pure ecommerce company, their stiffest competition comes from the store that is within driving distance. Brick and Mortar customers don't have to wait, they can touch and feel the product and they can use it that same day. How do you overcome this as a 100% online retailer. You do this in one of two ways.

1- You minimize the time it takes to get items into customers' hands. They've done a great job with this. Amazon's Prime program allows 2-day shipping from their distribution centers anywhere in the continental USA for a reasonable annual fee. The next logical step is to find a way to offer SAME DAY DELIVERY. Given how many distribution centers that Amazon has built, it wouldn't be a very hard thing for them to offer same day delivery on select merchandise. I predict this will be something they launch in 2012.

2- The other way for online companies to compete with bricks and mortars is to become one. Yes, that's right, how difficult is it to imagine that Amazon would shy away from creating physical warehouse-type retail locations? If nothing else, it could be a liquidation arm for merchandise that comes back from customers. At some point, this may even be essential for Amazon to maintain its top position. As proof of this, all you need to do is look at the companies that are growing significantly and those that are spending significant amounts of cash on online advertising. Take a look at Target and Walmart. These companies have a keen understanding of what it takes to be successful in retailing and advertising is one of those pillars.They spend millions on online advertising. And if you can order online and pick it up in-store, why would you order from Amazon and wait for it to be delivered?

I expect that we'll see same day delivery in 2012 and bricks and mortar by Amazon in 2013 or 2014.

I may have been able to mitigate the damages if I had used the rel="nofollow" in the link html. In other words, I should have entered links like this (I've since updated it so we'll see how long it takes until I have a Google importance rank):

<a href="linkehere.com> rel="nofollow">link anchor text</a>

The above link looks like this on the page:

link anchor text

Had I included the "no follow" tag, it would have told Google that theses are primarily for my users and not meant to be sold to would-be advertisers.

One might argue that it may have been simply an algorithm change at Google and not something that I did. The counter argument is with the other sites that I manage-- they did NOT go down in their Google importance rank.

Fortunately, some of my most popular posts still receive a significant amount of traffic so I'm not sure what the real value of a Google rank is these days.

Moral of the story- keep a "learning" site like this so you don't kill a major site.

3/24/11 UPDATE

It looks like after I put in the No Follow tags, my site regained an importance rank of 3.

The short answer is Ease of Use. The user interface is second to none not only in the mobile phone market but I would venture to say it’s better than almost any other portable electronic device. But this really is a multi-faceted question that deserves more than a simple answer.

The adoption rate has been very successful because “it just works”. My luddite-mother-in-law was able to use the phone without much more than an introduction on how the multi-touch system works. Being a true geek, I usually get bored with new devices after a month or two. But that’s not the case with the iPhone because there are so many cool apps. The fact that Apple opened its platform to 3^rd party developers has proven to be a real boon as developers have built and customers have adopted custom software designed to do anything and everything. As Apple says, “there’s an app for that”.

That being said, I don’t think consumer adoption rate should be the only factor when considering its success. Apple didn’t make the iPhone just to make people happy, they made it to make money. There are a few things that have led to significant profits from Apple. The first is the total integration between iTunes and the iPhone. I can be on the road and buy a song, an application, or an audio book to keep me entertained. This represents millions of dollars in ongoing revenue.

The second was the structure of the relationship with AT&T. Apple has been able to keep the price high as a result of the exclusive contract even though AT&T's service level is TERRIBLE. AT&T gives a portion of the monthly service revenue to Apple which is higher than it would have been in a non-exclusive agreement. In addition, had it been available to other networks, there would have been considerable pricing pressure on the device itself to compete for subscribers. I believe that when the exclusive contract expires, Apple will come out with a newer, cooler version of the iPhone (maybe one that does video conferencing) that will be the envy of all current iPhone users and non-iphone users alike. I would expect Apple to sell the new device through a single exclusive carrier with a significant premium attached to it while allowing all carriers to offer the 3G iPhone.

Now it's time to put your DVD collection on to your iPhone or iPod. Video takes A TON of space so be sure and be selective with your choices.

The easy answer is for you to purchase QuickTime Pro. It will do it all for you for about $29.

However, if you want to do it for free, go to this website to learn how it's done: Converting DVD movies for the iPod or iPhone.

In either case, you should be prepared to spend a lot of time because video is time intensive.

Don't get me wrong, I am really, really, good at using PCs. In fact, I can take them apart and put them back together. I can fix software problems, I can do about anything imaginable on a PC. That is one of the reasons I was reluctant to try a Mac. As strange as it might seem, I'm actually not too worried that I don't know much about how to use a Mac as well as a PC. A good example of how I'm not as good on a Mac as on a PC is the whole file organization system. I haven't figured it out on my Mac yet so every time I download a file it ends up on my desktop. If someone has found a short video on how to navigate and organize files using Mac, send me a link PLEASE!

I think there is a silent migration going on from PC users to Mac users. Maybe it's the horrible Windows Vista or maybe it's the really funny Mac commercials with the "PC Guy" and the "Mac Guy". (As an aside, I heard that at Mac orientation they have a video introduction from the "PC Guy"-- can you imagine- the PC guy going into details about Mac- it's just too funny!). At any rate, I have to admit, I really hate Vista and the new version of Office is even worse! I can't seem to find my way around. I figured that if I'm going to have to learn a new system, why not consider Mac?

I've got to question the leadership at Microsoft. Why aren't they running "Training" ads on how to use Vista? If I were them, I would be running ads adnausium showing people why Vista is better than XP. As it is, they're very likely to have a mutiny on their hands. It seems like the vast majority of PC users haven't upgraded to Vista and many companies won't support it either.

My friend provides PC and networking support for small companies. Even he is impressed by Macs-- but for different reasons. He says that Macs are just faster. He buys macs and puts Windows on them (go figure).

Maybe another reason I like using my Mac at home is because it's kind of held up as a bit of a "cooler" computer than a PC. I thought it was just a notion perpetuated by snobby designers and writers who wanted to stand out from "normal" people. I'm sure there is some of that but Mac just seems to work. I have a Mac book. I'm not sure which one but I bought it about a year ago if that helps you figure it out. It's white and just works.

Now that Windows 7 is just starting to come out, we'll see how that goes over. So far I've heard really good things.

1- The glowing apple on the cover
Okay, I know this is just the "sizzle that sells" but it is pretty cool. It's one of those things that makes you think "hmmm, maybe there is something different about Mac" or it could just be the gadget guy in me that thinks it's neat.

2- I love the power plug
This is one of those things I didn't realize could be cool but it is. I just get the end of the power cord next to the area it goes on the computer and "Slurp" it sucks it in. It seems to have magnets that keep it in place. But if I pull my macbook away from the cord, it pops right out-- no problems! How cool is that?

3- WiFi seems to work really well
It found my wireless network as soon as I turned it on. Not only that but it again seems faster than my PC. In fact, I had to turn off a setting in Vista just to make my wireless network more reliable. The ironic thing about that is the feature I turned off was supposed to ensure my network was faster.

4- The Dashboard is really handy
I like having a calculator and calendar at my fingertips. It saves me the time of trying to find it on my PC.

5- Battery Life is Really Good
I'm not sure how long it goes but it seems longer than my PC. And all I have to do is close my lid and it goes to sleep and saves the battery for days and days. Plus the power cord itself is pretty neat-- it can be shortened or expanded. Finally, the bottom of the laptop has a button you can push that illuminates a battery meter showing you how much life is left without having to turn your computer on-- Gotcha PC-- you don't have anything like that do you

But to be fair to my PC roots, one thing that I have found annoying is the buzzing sound coming from my Mac. It's like an annoying florescent light sound. If this isn't normal, please tell me so I can take it back to Apple before my warranty expires.

All in all, I wouldn't tell people that I'm a "Mac" guy yet but I've got to admit, being a closet Mac user has made me feel cooler.