Apple - Masters of Suspense

I have to admit that Apple has mastered the marketing psychology of holding customers in suspense.   I think its proven fact that an experience is enjoyed the more you delay or anticipate its occurrence.   This is exactly what Apple is doing with the introduction of the iPad and establishing the pre-orders.   Customers waited almost a month for the WiFi version and I have now waited more than a month for the WiFi 3G model which is not expected to arrive until late April.  

The trick to Apple's magic is the introduction of occasional press releases or "leaks" regarding timing of deliveries to allow anticipation to build further.   Regardless of how well the device will operate, once obtained anyone who waits 6-8 weeks for delivery will proudly use, showoff and display the device.    The brand loyalty is enhanced. 

One more week! 

Where have all the IP Addresses gone?

I was reading today in the May Issue of MacLife that all the IP addresses will be used up in less than two years.   The current IPv4 system apparently only has 4 billion IP addresses available for use.  (Note: I calculated 8.97 billion but it's likely I don't know exactly how the system works.)  The Internet Protocol addresses are the unique identifiers for our computers that allow us to connect with each other over networks.   So where did all these addresses go?   I can never find my IP address when I need it so maybe they all just got lost (that was humor.)

According to article, IPv6 will be heading our way allowing for 340 trillion,trillion,trillion IP addresses.  That is a big number and I suspect it will be a long time before those can be used up.   The transition will not be easy.   Bottom line for the article was that it looked like a new business opportunity for network consultants and they will be hard to find when the time comes around.   Is this going to be the next Y2K?

Do you need help in Statistics Class?

If you are taking a business statistics class the following links might be a life saver for you.

1. Mathwizz.com - Hypothesis Testing
2. NIST Statistics Handbook
3. Statsoft Electronic Statistics Textbook
4. Vasser College - Online Textbook
5. Table of Critical Values of T
6. Online Statistical Tables

Not a great deal of help but maybe something here will make the light's go on!

Earthquakes are Up?

After seeing today's news about yet another earthquake, this time in China, I was beginning to wonder about if the frequency of earthquakes is up?   The answer is no.    According to the USGS there are about 152 magnitude 6 or above quakes per year across the globe.  This amounts to about one every second or third day.  Dave Schumaker at The Geology News Blog has already done the statistics.  

Facial Recognition: iPhoto '09

I am certain there have been plenty of reviews on iPhoto '09 - Apple's photo viewing and slide show software. I discovered this weekend the FACES feature of this program and am really impressed at how successful the software is at facial recognition of photos as you upload it into the program. Once you tag a face with a name the software ingeniously goes out and finds similar faces making recommendations for you to confirm. The more you confirm the better the recommendations get. Of course there are some errors or false positives, but it is uncanny that even in the false positives there are similar features in many of the faces. When finished you have your entire family and friends organized neatly into groups for viewing. iPhoto has so many good features, I am not sure why I had waited so long to use it. My motivation was the purchase of Apple TV which allowed the slide shows on TV. Apples system of syncing devices such as iPod, iPad, iPhone, Apple TV and Mac's really had great utility for users interested in simple systems that just plain work.