May 2009 Archives

What do these two products have in common? Aspects of awesomeness.

I recently purchased a 2GB "mini clip" MP3 player from eBay. The photos on eBay make it pretty obvious that they have copied the design of the iPod Shuffle, and technology wise there really isn't much that couldn't be easily replicated by any Chinese tech factory. So I took a punt, paid my AU$16.40 and within a week had my new toy in hand. I've listened to a few songs and an hour of podcasts through it and so far so good.

For a week's worth of coffee, or two regular lunches by Sydney prices, I have an MP3 player I can jog with (and keep in mind a chunk of the cost went into the postage from Hong Kong). Its less than a quarter of the price of the iPod Shuffle with, as far as I can tell, the same functionality. Best of all, I scored a free Hello Kitty bag. That makes this totally awesome.

Now to MelbourneIT's new* Domain Certificates.

At first look it seems like the most ridiculous product idea, completely devoid of any function. However it has elements of total awesomeness when you look at it from the vendor's perspective.

I would presume that most reactions would fall into two categories. Group A, the clueless (and hopefully the minority), will lap it up and happily display their shiny new Domain Certificate at their place of business. Group B, where I stand, will heap scorn upon it but send the link on to their friends for group mockage -- that's certainly how I came upon this.

So from MelbourneIT's perspective its awesome. Group A are going to buy this crazy product at presumably insane profit margins, and Group B are going to provide free marketing. Its like the perfect product.

*- UPDATE 4 September 2015. MelbourneIT reached out to let me know the link was broken. Apparently they discontinued this awesome product. :(

As I am packing and moving I'm finding all sorts of accumulated garbage. I discovered my fortune as predicted in 2003 by the Oracle of Tosho-gu shrine at Nikko, Japan.

It says I will have Slightly Good Luck.

Don't be proud of yourself and look down upon others, from which to refrain is endurance of intelligence.

THE TEACHING IMPLIES:
Be careful not to boast too much of your ability, or to look down upon others. Always keep company with modesty and live in harmony with your neighbors and colleagues. Don't quarrel with others. Be patient enough to wait for good luck to come.

THE TEACHING IS REVERENTLY INTERPRETED AS TO GIVE THE FOLLOWING GUIDANCES:

ON THE MATTER OF

• WISHES: You must be modest, and then you will have your desired realized.
  
• AWAITED PERSONS: He (She) will be late, but will come without fail.
  
• MISSING PROPERTY: Search for it carefully, and you will find it out.
  
• TRAVELING: No trouble.
  
• BUSINESS: Don't think only of the present.
  
• COMPANY: Don't boast too much of yourself.
  
• DIRECTION: North is good in all aspects.
  
• GAME OF CHANCE: It will take long before you win a game.
  
• EMPLOYMENT: You had better give it up.
  
• RESIDENCE: Move to the northern part of the present house.
  
• BIRTH: No trouble. A boy will be born.
  
• DISEASE: You will get well.
  
• MARRIAGE PROPOSAL: Your pure heart will clear your doubt, and you will be happy.
  
• MONEY: Everybody does not go as well as desired.
  

I'm not really a horoscopes / superstitious kind of guy but its good advice nonetheless.

During my tenure at Yahoo! I was fortunate to have travelled to quite a few countries on business. Wanting to avoid ridiculous hotel phone rates I signed up for SkypeOut. I think I put in around $20 in 2002 and I still have $14 credit today.

Every 6 months or so I get an email from Skype along the lines of "30 days to save your credit". Skype has a policy of expiring unused credit after 180 days but you can extend this for another 180 days as long as you make some sort of transaction on your account.

Whilst it would be great if you could just keep the credit around forever I can see that from an accounting perspective this does raise various issues over a long enough period of time. In lieu of never expiring credit I think Skype does a good job of notifying users about the expiry, and explaining why its necessary from their point of view.

The what:

It appears that you haven't used any of your Skype Credit for quite a while. Your balance expires if you haven't used it for 180 days in a row. You have 30 days left to take action to keep your credit.

How to avoid it:

Simple, do any of the following and your Skype Credit balance will be extended for another 180 days:

- Call any phone (landline or mobile) - even if the call lasts for just one second.
- Send an SMS message direct from Skype.
- Purchase a personal online number or subscription.

The why:

Unfortunately, if you don't use your remaining credit, it will expire to comply with normal business accounting rules.

And what they do to help you avoid losing your credit:

We don't want you to lose your credit, so we send reminder emails 30 days, 7 days and 72 hours before your credit expires.