The Joss Group

Streaming TV

I have a cold. The kind that turns your brains to mush. But, before the full force of the cold set in I set up an old TV and an old laptop in my bedroom so I could stream TV from various online sources and services. I was going to get another box from my satellite TV provider for this TV (got a new one for the family room for Christmas and the old one moved into the bedroom), but the company wanted to charge me for the box, charge me a bunch of money for the service, and said someone would have to come to my home to do the installation. Say what? I said no. Between cables I already had and a $7.99 investment in HuluPlus, I took care of it.

You know the trend of people abandoning their landlines for cell phones or services like Skype or Google Voice? And the trend of people eschewing boxed software for online/Cloud software? Well, here is another trend (losing or reducing cable and satellite TV services for online viewing) that will only get bigger and bigger. My brain may be addled by fever, but I can still recognize a tsunami when I see one.

Kodak to Declare Chapter 11 Bankruptcy?

Rumors have been swirling about Kodak possibly resorting to a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing as the company's stock price went well below a dollar last week. If you are interested in more than just the surface details of what is going on with Kodak and why, we will be talking about this issue on this blog as events unfold. Meanwhile, I got a lot out of reading what a former Kodak executive had to say on this possibility. Click here to read about it.

If I Could Change the World: No One Would Use the Word "Exploding" Again...

Except when referring to a bomb or some other real-world, real life, explosion. You know the kind of thing I mean--stuff gets ripped apart by force, blown to bits, strewn all about. When that kind of thing happens, it is fine to say "explode" and any grammatical tense version or part of speech version of that word.

But other than that--please, do not use it. I saw it again in a listserve post, a woman was saying a online bulletin board was exploding with posts from parents. Really? What she was trying to convey was that many parents had posted about a particular topic. Obviously, it was a controversial topic, otherwise she would have chosen a gentler, kinder way of recording her observation about the number of posts.

And you see the word everywhere, once you begin to look. I have to edit it out of articles writers turn in for the Seybold Report. Paid, published writers who have written for publication for years are using it, including some I pay.

Sad, really, when you think about it. What does it say about our video game-obsessed, 24/7 news cycle culture when we use such a powerful word to convey trivialties.

So, now you know why I remove it and rewrite the sentence to convey the real thought behind the word.

Amazon Bypasses Publishers, Cuts Deals Directly with Authors

Well, I suppose I could have predicted this, had I thought about it a bit. Amazon is cutting publishing deals directly with authors. Cut out the middleman--the publisher, in this case, and you can put together a better deal for the content creator and the distributor. Amazon has set up its own publishing house--well, book acquisition house--and is courting authors. Even some big names are signing up. This is a trend of the future.

The New York Times has done a nice job of reporting on this. To read the article, click here.

RIP Steve Jobs, We Will Miss You

Steve Jobs passed away on October 5 at the age of 56. Everyone at the Joss Group and the Seybold Report feels the loss very deeply. Such a loss, but such a tremendous legacy...

We welcome your comments and remembrances about Steve Jobs. Please tell us about how his work and passion have affected your life as a graphic arts professional. Or, perhaps you remember seeing him speak at a Seybold Seminars event. No story or comment is too long or too short.

To participate, please visit our Seybold Report Web site and look for the post pegged at the top. Click on the comments link to read prior comments or to post your own.

Click here to be taken to the Seybold Report Web site.

The Font of Truth

I was reading one of those mainstream espionage thrillers the other day, a potboiler without a doubt. I like potboilers because you can read along and get the fun of seeing text and not really have to pay attention. I tripped over one line, though, in which a character described a source as not exactly a "font of truth."

Of course, this is an example of where book publishers have cut back on proofreading and so mistakes like this are not caught often enough (careful, Molly, glass houses and all that). The author must have meant "fount of truth," a phrase tortured enough as is. But, that aside, the phrase "font of truth" has amused me ever since.

I found myself musing what an actual font of truth would look like. Would it have serifs, I wondered? Or would sans serif be more in keeping with the idea of verity? Would it be available only in bold? Etc. Etc.

Next on my reading list is Just My Type by Simon Garfield, a book I am reviewing for the next issue of the Seybold Report. I wonder if I will find tales of fonts of truth and deception inside the covers of that book.

Wishing Steve Jobs All the Best

I have mentioned Steve Jobs on this blog before, and, sadly, am doing it again today. Yesterday Apple announced Steve Jobs has resigned his role of CEO and will continue on with Apple as Chairman of the Board. Immediately blather started pouring forth on what was probably millions of online chat venues--speculations about why he made the move, his health, and the future of Apple.

Supposedly, the full text of his resignation letter got out on the Web, and it says, in part, "I have always said if there ever came a day when I could no longer meet my duties and expectations as Apple’s CEO, I would be the first to let you know. Unfortunately, that day has come."

I doubt the text is authentic--hope not because it sounds like an unwelcome harbinger to me.

I have to admit I got really irate at one post "out there" on the Web--just blasted the person--which is not my normal style. The person had agreed this was probably sad news and said, yes, Jobs had contributed a lot, but then followed that up by saying something along the lines of there are a lot of bright, young 25 year olds out there who could do just the same kind of thing.

Uh, no.

Now, I am not BFF with Steve Jobs. I met him years ago when I worked for the company that then owned the Seybold Report and Seybold Seminars. He faithfully attended and spoke at Seybold shows and conferences for years and was a solid supporter of our efforts (wish Apple would subscribe now that I own the Seybold Report).

He was always exemplary, always enthusiastic and on point, and always brilliant. He, IMHO, used that vision and enthusiasm to single handedly change the graphic arts industry for the better time and again.

So, no. There is not another Steve Jobs waiting in the wings out there somewhere, and we are not ready to say good-bye just yet.

Get better, Steve!

Definition of a Job

As might be expected, descriptions of the doings of Evil Bosses and crazy work situations pop up from time to time on my college alumni listserve.

You can depend on a Bryn Mawr graduate to have something pithy to say about just about anything, especially us older ones. Here's what one 1963 graduate and former IBMer (now retired) had to say during such a discussion (she credits her father as the source): "If I could get someone to pay me for doing exactly what I wanted to do it wouldn't be a job."

Amen. And exactly what I needed to hear in these dregs of summer. Being self-employed, I do feel I am the best boss I have ever had, but even I have to do things I'd rather not do sometimes.

I wonder if we could adapt this slogan to work with teens? How about, "If you could get someone to give you a degree for doing exactly what you wanted, it wouldn't be an education."

I like it.

Goodbye American Printer

American Printer magazine, published by Penton Media, will close up shop with the August issue, ending 128 years of publication. Editor Katherine O'Brien posted a goodbye note on the publication's Web site last Friday after the August issue published.

I am always sad to hear about an industry publication closing up shop, but this one has been around a long time. Wish I had to money to buy it and see what the Joss Group could do with it.

 

Peeked at Survey Results

So, we are doing this survey of publishers to see who is involved in multi-channel publishing. We are going to run the survey for a while yet (if you have not participated, please do and please tell your friends.

Link to survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/SeyboldReportMultiChannelJuly2011

I have peeked at the early results, and I find them fascinating! Not going to run the surprise, though. I have been surprised at some of the results--but not at others. Certainly giving me--as Editor and Publisher of the Seybold Report--a lot of food for thought.

Stay tuned!