Starbucks Moral Dilemma

So in the beginning of January Starbucks sent out a card in the newspaper that entitles the bearer to a $2 tea drink after 2 pm everyday though the end of February. Only thing is due to a glitch in their system this card has turned into a free tea drink after 2 pm everyday through the end of February card. Is it moral to keep using it? Should I send Starbucks a check for $6 (I've had 3 freebies so far)? Is Starbucks a big heartless corporation that couldn't care less if one college kid is cashing in on their dime? Am I allowed to stop in every Starbucks I pass after 2 and cash in? Feel free to weigh in.

Dani's Summer Job Watch: 2008 Edition!!!

Well it's that time of year again. That's right I'm looking for a summer job again. This year's search started off with a bang when I sent an email out to the jewish-boston email list. I quickly received back 5 emails from the same person each more sketchy then the last:

email #1

HEY I WORK AT A LAW OFFICE

I LOVE IT

OI AM 25 FEMALE MASS

ok but there is no need to yell at me!

email #2

U SIOUND REALLY SMART

I WORK AT A LAW OFFICE

I AM A LEGAL ASSISTANT!

I LIVE IN NEWTON

LETS CHAT

MAYBE CAN HELP U

well at least we're down to a normal font size now.

email #3

brandies agood school!

ermail me back

Wait who is bran and how did he die? I also don't have ermail.

email #4

where u liove

email #5

call mwe we can talk

id like to help

617 46 6549

well a full phone number would help.

Looks like this spring is going to be just as frustrating as springs past. If you can help me out let me know.

Side Rant

-Something that puzzled me: The local Aquarium is advertising a "Celebrate Seafood Dinner Series". Isn't that the equivalent of the zoo having a monkey burger extravaganza?

Link Love

Apparently about a year ago my post about my encounter with Barney Frank got linked to from Universal Hub. For those of you who don't know Universal Hub is like the headquarters of the Boston blogging world so it's pretty significant that I got linked by them. Too bad I only realized this a year after it happened so I can't really milk it for what it was worth. Oh well, at least it explains all the hate comments I got about that post. For those who are curious you can find their mention of me here.


Side Rants

-Dani's summer job watch 2007! Welcome back! In this year's installment so far the leading candidate is working at Milk St. and taking some classes on the side. However I'd much rather get a job with a law firm or something similar. So if anyone out there has any leads let me know. Also on the radar is Kunatah trying to bribe me back with a scholarship and a one month job at a law firm but that isn't gonna happen most likely.

-You can now find my facebook shares continently on the sidebar of my blog now! I post to that much more frequently so check that for what near stuff I've found on the web (or stolen from Avishai).------------->

-I'm selling out and sticking ads on my blog. Once my application is passed they'll start showing up. Click on them and I make money!

Apple's Greatest Boondoggle

As many techies already know, Apple has unveiled their newest product, iPhone, amongst great fanfare. The word iPhone has most Apple-nuts foaming at the mouth. While it certainly looks pretty and I would graciously accept one as a gift if someone got me one, I would like to explain why the iPhone will be one of Apple's greatest boondoggles since the Newton and will set the stage for the great Apple bubble to finally pop.

First off let's explain what exactly the iPhone is. Apple wants the iPhone to be your brand new all in one device. They want it to be your iPod, your phone, and your Blackberry all at the same time. Not a bad concept but in order for it to work it must do all three reasonably well. In order to accomplish this Apple has decided that the iPhone will run OS X. This set off a major red flag in my head especially after watching the demo. There is no way that thing is running the full version of OS X. Calling this a full version of OS X is like calling Windows Mobile the full version of Windows. I really doubt that iPhone will allow you to just load any 3rd party app onto that thing, let alone run it properly. If I don't like safari will I just be able to install firefox? Probably not becuase judging by Steve Jobs' demo the version of safari he uses looks highly modified from the full version as much as he claims it isn't. I really don't see Apple supporting 3rd party apps as well as the Palm OS does.

Before I go on and to silence the Apple lovers out there I want to point out what I think are the features that set the iPhone apart from everything else out there. The things that Apple has done right are their media management and playback features and the wireless internet feature. The version of safari they have on the iPhone is a genuine browser unlike anything else on the market. To this I say bravo (though will it be able to use plug-ins like flash, adobe, and quicktime remains be seen). Most web browsers on smartphones are pitiful and end up butchering all but the simplest websites. The media features essentially take what everyone loves about the iPod interface and converts it for multi-touch use.

The next heavily touted feature of the iPhone is the revolutionary new input method it employs. They call it "multi-touch". It's essentially a touch screen just like you've seen on palms for years but it's designed to use your fingers. Somehow that's supposed to be more accurate then using a stylus. Jobs notes that one of the "flaws" of most smart phones is the plastic buttons that are stuck there and can't change and for that reason the iPhone essentially has no buttons. You will use the touchscreen for everything! This includes typing e-mails. Somehow using a small touchscreen with your fingers to type e-mails is a great improvement in accuracy and speed over using the tiny keyboards that you currently see on smartphones. I'll believe that when I see it Jobsy. I want to see some WPM studies done on this claim.

Another problem with the device is the fact that it only holds 4-8 GBs. Now if you use this thing for everything apple says you can such as movies, music and all your favorite OS X apps 4-8 GBs is nothing! The smallest regular iPod holds 30 GBs. Not to mention the fact that like the iPod there is no way to expand this through any sort of media cards so you're stuck with the amount of memory that comes on the thing when you buy it.

Apple's other problem is their choice of mobile provider they've teamed up with to release this. They decided to go with Cingular since they have the most subscribers. I think that this is a huge mistake. Cingular doesn't really have much of a 3G network to speak of so the internet on the iPhone will crawl unless you are using a wi-fi connection. And even if they did have a 3G network the iPhone doesn't support them so you'd be SOL. The more natural partners should have been Verizon Wireless and Sprint both of which have extensive 3G networks capable of broadband speeds wherever you are.

All these critiques may seem small and petty but now I will explain why this will be Apple's greatest boondoggle ever. It's so simple when you think of it. The problem is this device has no natural market!!! I have no idea who Apple plans to sell this thing too. The average joe on the street doesn't need a device that can do all of this. And the price tag on it of $499 for 4 GB and $599 for 8 GB will take all but the most die hard Apple junkies out of the personal user market.

This brings me to the other major market for cell phones and that is business users. These are the people who usually buy these feature laden "smartphones". For these guys the major selling point should be the iPhones ability to handle and send e-mail. I really doubt that it will be easier or faster to send e-mails on this thing then it is on a Blackberry or Treo. I have a hard time believing that multi-touch will be easier to use for typing up e-mails then your standard thumb keyboard. The other sticking point is I don't think many businesses will shell out the money for one of their employees to get one of these things. Most businesses have no reason to buy their employees a phone that has so many media features. All these iPod media features blur the line between this being a serious work device and a tech toy and I think that many companies will balk at getting their employees a phone that's more expensive then the other smartphones out on the market just so they can watch movies on it in their spare time. And when you really boil it down most smartphones on the market can do all the things the iPhone can. Sure they don't look as pretty doing it but they get the job done.

So now that we've essentially eliminated the personal user market and the business user market, who the heck does Apple plan on selling this thing to? Only the most hardcore and wealthy users will bother to shell out for one of these things. It is for this reason that the iPhone will be a failed product and will bring down Apple which has invested so much in this products success. I would just like to be on record as the first to say "told you so!"

Side Rants

-Vacation is almost over. I go back to school next Sunday.

-I'm going to Israel for February break (18th to the 26th). More details later.

-In case you haven't noticed I've updated to the new version of blogger. If you haven't done it yet I highly recommend that you do. It's so much easier to manage your layout and the new archive on the side is nifty too.

Million Bucks

Ever write what you thought was a really lousy paper and you hoped that you could maybe pull off a B? And then you get it back and you get an A-. Don’t you just feel like a million bucks after that? I know I do.

Side Rants

-How about those J!-E!-T!-S! JETS! JETS! JETS!!!!? To quote espn.com’s page 2 “Bill Belichick still without a Super Bowl title since Eric Mangini left”

-Alright I’m soliciting donations again to bring Yesodei’s reigning alumni president back to his alma matar.  If you raise enough to fly me in I’ll waive my speaking fees.

Crazy Uncle Dani's Rant

As of 6:30 this morning I am now officially crazy uncle Dani. My sister in law Elana gave birth to a healthy baby boy. The bris will be next week friday morning in Skokie.

Side Rants

-I just wanted to welcome my good friend from yeshiva Matthew Karlin to the blogging world (or blogosphere but I really hate that word). You can find his blog over here. Of course he gets some link loving over on the right side.

The Jewish Hogsmeade

So tonight the camp went to Woodburne which is like Hogesmeade from Harry Potter except it’s for Jews not wizards. There a whole bunch of random Jewish shops. There’s a bakery, a grocery, two pizza places, and of course a kosher Chinese place. What caught my eye was the eye glasses store that advertised that they had Chasidish frames.


Intrigued I walk in and ask what Chasidish frames are. They show me a pair of boxy black and white frames. I ask “what makes them Chasidish? Do they make your eyes go to heaven? Do they block out Pritzus (inappropriate things, i.e.: women!)?” To which I got the disappointing answer of “no they just like them.” Oh well.

Side Rants

-Look at me! I’m posting twice in a month! Dani’s Rant is back in business!

-Visited TMR this past Tuesday. They were ready to offer me a job on the spot as a trek leader/climbing staff guy. Maybe next year if I can somehow work out the kosher food issues. Amazingly it pays better then my current job even though my current place charges 3X as much to send a kid here!

-I just realized that I completly forgot about my Dani's Rant 1 year aniversery on May 2nd. In celebration take a look back at some of your favorite Dani's Rant posts. I'm taking nominations for favortie post. I think my favorites are: Fantasy Poskim, Lipman at the Bat, and I Visited a Brothel... (and all I got was...).