Dell Vista Express - Delivered in March!

If you have ordered a Dell PC and purchased it with the intent of having a Vista ready system, as I recently had, you will be shocked to find out what the 'Express Upgrade' to Vista means. I discovered today that not only can I not download and install the upgrade, but Dell won't even ship me the discs until March.

This has to be on the top of my most pathetic business decisions by a technology company. Can you imagine the business team that came up with this decision? "Hey, let's call the upgrade Express and make customers wait two months to recieve it after the order". "Oh yeah, and despite the fact that it could be installed through a download and consumers would love that, let's send it to them in a plastic package with CD's".

Brilliant Dell, what can we expect next?

Rolling Stone on if Gore should run in 08

I have to admit this is a great question. Should Gore run in 08'? The guy was on the mark about a lot of issues (war, climate change, W.)... He's also a lot more experienced than Hillary, Barak or for that matter McCain. I hope he throws his hat into the ring. The debates would be a LOT more interesting.

Dick Cheney says "Hillary won't be president"

The guy whom Senators yesterday asked the question 'was Cheney right about one thing in the lead up and war in Iraq' offers an opinion on Hillary Clinton's prospects as a presidential contender. Given his track record I would have to believe that Hillary has a pretty good shot.

Independent Radio Podcasts

(((Hearing Voices))) is the largest collective of independent radio producers this side of the semi-planet Pluto. We are headquartered in Montana, and reside across the U.S.A. Since 2001 we've produced 250+ stories and specials. We are funded by CPB, NEA and others. There's no real staff here, so we can't accept submissions. But if you’ve something online you want us to hear, send the URL in the email form below.

Move.com vs. Redfin.com debate

Watch this if you would like to see an interesting debate about the direction of commission vs. service based real estate and some insight into how the real estate market is going to be shifting over the next couple of years.

Better than Zillow - Cyberhomes Online Appraisal

This looks better than Zillow and appears to provide better data and higher accuracy for an online comparitive appraisal.

Buying without a realtor and getting money back

For those who are currently shopping for a home, consider this alternative to the traditional approach. Use existing online real estate services and attend open houses to find a home that you feel confident meets your needs. Do your own title search, appraisal by looking at comps and have an inspection performed. Determine the minimum and maximum that you are willing to pay for the house. After these steps if you feel confident about buying the house approach the sellers realtor and tell them that you would like to use their services to buy the house, but you want a 2% commission deducted from your offer. The agent should then recognize that s/he will get a 4% total commission and that it's advantageous. At this point you need to stick to your guns and be happy to walk away if the agent begins to get squirrelly. If you can do this successfully you will be looking at $8000 saved on a $400k home, which is enough to do some significant improvements. It will require that you be pro-active and willing to question "convention".

Harvesting the Collective Intelligence of Social Networks

An interesting article on extending the Digg model of collective guidance to a broader social network. Imagine harnessing and applying the collective hive thinking of Digg to business, politics or entertainment. Hollywood produces a movie based on a collective recommendation or a politicians platform is determined by the collective buzz or a new product includes features which come from what the viral hive has pushed to the surface.

Redfin - A Vulcan Venture

It appears that Redfin.com is offering a very similar offering to the feesible development I've undertaken in the past year. Providing consumers with an alternative to traditional realtors and real-estate. By providing an online set of services which cover most of what traditional realtors provide, the 6% that a seller spends on selling their home with a realtor is eliminated. Paul Allen's Vulcan Ventures is funding this Seattle based startup, which will be interesting to track through 07'.