Many happy returns

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This morning’s Observer column…

Tomorrow is the fifth birthday of the Apple iPod, the iconic device which defines our era as distinctively as the Sony Walkman defined the 1980s. One sign of an iconic product is that an entire ecosystem of goods and services evolves around it.

This happened with the Walkman, and it is happening now with the tiny Apple music player.You can buy all kinds of holders and ‘skins’ to protect it from damage; mini- speakers that plug into it; microphones that turn it into a digital audio recorder; small radio transmitters that beam songs to the nearest FM radio; attachments that turn it into a breathalyser; underpants with special iPod-sized pockets and – I kid you not – a customised toilet-roll holder with a charging dock for your precious device while you are, um, otherwise engaged. (Only $99.95 from www.old-fashioned-values.com.)

Seven minutes in Google’s entrance lobby

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There’s a screen in the lobby of the Googleplex which displays a continuous scrolling record of live searches on Google. Video here, courtesy of Robert Scoble. First thing that stuck me: the number of queries in Spanish. Second thought: it’s clearly been censored to take out the er, adult searches.

A Textbook Answer to School Violence

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Truly, you couldn’t make this up…

In the wake of recent school shootings, a candidate for Oklahoma state superintendent of education has announced a bold new proposal to keep kids safe without spending more on school security. Republican Bill Crozier suggests that students can defend themselves from school shooters by using textbooks to stop bullets fired at them. “If elected” he promises that thick used textbooks will be placed at the ready under every school desk.

Crozier recently tested his theory by doing what millions of students only wish they could do: fire round after round into a Calculus and science textbook with an assault rifle and handguns. Even better, he made a home video of his experiment and provided an unedited copy to a local Oklahoma City television station…

I always knew my copy of Samuelson would come in useful sometime.

Google partners with Sun in new power play

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Er, before you go out and buy shares in Sun Microsystems, though, it would be worth checking the Official Google Blog…

Soon we plan to begin installation of 1.6 megawatts of solar photovoltaic panels at our Mountain View campus. This project will be the largest solar installation on any corporate campus in the U.S., and we think it’s one of the largest on any corporate site in the world. The panels will cover the roofs of the four main buildings of the Googleplex, and also those of two additional buildings across the street. There will also be a portion of this installation on new solar panel support structures in a few parking lots. The amount of electricity that will be generated is equivalent to powering about 1,000 average California homes. We’ll use that electricity to power several of our Mountain View office facilities, offsetting approximately 30% of our peak electricity consumption at those buildings…

YouTube’s copyright liabilities

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Here’s something I missed. According to Good Morning Silicon Valley,

Shortly before the acquisition was announced, Vivendi’s Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group and Sony BMG each received a small stake in YouTube as part of content deals with the video sharing company. The three companies collectively stand to receive as much as $50 million from the deal, which will no doubt make them a bit more reticent than they once might have been to pursue copyright-infringement claims against the site.

Shrewd move by Google.

Spoonerism

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Now here’s a really useful gadget — a marmalade spoon. And no, it’s not something left behind by Uri Geller. Quentin produced it the other day when I arrived seeking breakfast (and a sneak preview of his Nokia E61).

At last — a good reason for running Windows!

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Because of my arthritis and occasional worries about RSI, I’ve been wanting to try modern dictation software for a while. (I’d tried earlier generations and found them woefully inadequate.) This arrived the other day, and it’s simply stupendous. In fact it’s positively eerie. to be able to talk naturally to a machine and have it faithfully transcribe what you’re saying. It only required about five minutes’ ‘training’ — though I managed to screw up even that. The program offers you a number of scripts from which to read while it’s getting used to your voice. Choices included JFK’s Inaugural speech, a passage from Alice in Wonderland and Dave Barry’s column on “How Computers Work”. Needless to say, I chose Dave Barry. As a result, the training session took much longer than expected because I kept dissolving into hysterical laughter. The only problem is: Dragon software only runs under Windows. But it’s so good that I’m tempted to install XP on my Mac and run it under Parallels so that I can switch seamlessly from OS X to Dragon and back again. That way, I’m selling only half my soul to the devil.

IT spending continues downward spiral

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Nicholas Carr has been going on about this for a while, so it’s not surprising that he returns to the theme somewhat gleefully. Still, the facts do seem to be supporting his thesis…

It’s become clear that the slowdown in IT spending is not a passing cyclical event but a secular trend, a reflection of a basic change in the way companies view information technology. That fact was underscored last month when Information Week published the latest edition of its annual survey of IT spending among the “InformationWeek 500” – the companies that it identifies as being the most innovative users of IT. The survey reveals not only that IT budgets haven’t jumped since 2003, but that in fact they’ve continued to erode. Between 2003 and 2006, IT spending as a percentage of revenue has on average fallen from 3.66% to 3.21%. Of the 21 industry sectors tracked by Industry Week, only 5 saw in an increase in IT spending as a percentage of sales over the last three years. In absolute terms, IT expenditures have dropped as well, from an average of $353 million in 2003 to $304 million today. Of those shrinking budgets, moreover, the percentage devoted to purchases of new hardware and software slipped from 37% in 2003 to 34.5% today.

Remember, these are the most innovative users of technology, the ones that set the pace for everyone else…