Am I a Journalist?

Recently, because of the growing popularity of social media news sources, there has been some debate as to who is a journalist and who is simply a spectator, regurgitating the research and commentary made by the pros. Over the last few weeks, I’ve been following the response to the New York Times original article; “Suit Over Faulty Computers Highlights Dell’s Decline,” published both online and in a print edition on June 28, 2010 and June 29, 2010 respectively. What I have noted is that almost every other online Tech news source, including blogs and mashups have simply been summarizing the work of the New York Times writer, Ashlee Vance who wrote the news breaking article. For example, a brief synopsis on TheStreet.com, written by Ed Oswald, published on June 29, 2010 at 5:09pm doesn’t offer any new information on the story. However, I have to admit that Americans have an attention span that is shortening with every Twitter and Facebook update, and his and other bloggers condensed versions of the New York Times article is a bit easier to digest. This leads me to my first question: does writing an article on a blog that’s based on someone else’s research and sources qualify you as a journalist? My answer is no, it doesn’t. I am not a journalist unless I do my own research, follow my own leads, check my own (and others’) sources, and have more transparency than most of these sites have. Some of these bloggers actually do offer a new perspective or gather more information on stories others start; such as ZDNet’s Michael Krigsman. He added his two cents in an article called "Dell lawsuit: Pattern of deceit," consisting mostly of direct passages from the original Times article, but also included an interview he had with Ira Winkler who is an author, consultant, and an expert for the company A.I.T. who is suing Dell.  Because of his credentials ZDNet is also a subsidiary of CBS Interactive which gives the writers for ZDNet more credibility than an unaffiliated, stand alone blog.


My second question is, while most of us are happy to skim through articles, picking out the news we want to consume, are we missing the complete picture or just creating opinions on half-information and half-truths? I am fully guilty of not wanting to take the time to read a long article full of complicated terminology, riddled with details I don’t care about, but I also recognize that when an article does capture my attention; I am probably responding to an emotional reaction from some of the more interesting headlines. I think one of the reasons that Mashable is so successful, is because their twitter updates and headlines with summary blurbs capture a reader’s attention because they are brief and catchy. Are you also guilty of sifting through the news for something entertaining verses something newsworthy?

Steve Jobs may be keeping it too real

An article from InfoWorld, written by Neil McAllister gives all the reasons why Steve Jobs is wrong when he touts that the PC’s mighty reign is a thing of the past. Jobs has been running his mouth off a lot lately, and I think he might be losing some potential customers. Apple has gone to a lot of trouble to create the sexy image it has today, but when CEO Steve Jobs keeps demeaning everything that isn’t Apple, the brand loses its appeal. Last October I was in the market to buy a new laptop and was really tempted to buy a Mac, but there were too many rumored incompatibility issues with numerous software programs (just look at Mac’s own list), and the fact ESRI doesn’t offer ArcGIS software for any OS other than Windows, it was a no brainer to stick with a PC.  McAllister touches on the key points why PC’s aren’t going anywhere, but if you talk to anyone who is not completely biased about Mac’s or PC’s, they will tell you both systems have their pro’s and con’s.  However, the number one issue I’ve observed is: that if you have a Mac and the world around you doesn’t- you are in for too many workarounds for it to be worth its sweet video & photo editing software. So, if Jobs wants people to keep jumping ship from PC’s to Mac’s, he better start keeping a lid on it, because a Mac’s sleek design and sexy image are about the only things keeping me interested.

HDMI already irrelevant??

So, I was scanning Digg, and found this hilarious article from PhysOrg.com about HDMI cables soon being replaced by fancier cables. I say hilarious because if I don’t let out the occasional cackle at all the new technological advances related to TV’s; I will shrivel up in fetal position with the feeling I’m getting repeatedly kicked in the stomach. I already have a hard enough time pretending to tell the difference between a Blue Ray movie and non, between our 1080p full HD Samsung and our LG which I have no idea what pixel it rates because it doesn’t say on the front of it, and don’t get me started with the act I put on related to the new crap my husband does to his Volvo in order to increase its performance. SO please, can we put a stop to creating incremental adjustments to a TV’s ability to show ALL the cellulite on Kate Gosselin’s thighs??

China's Lost it's Cheap Edge?

Last night I was browsing the online edition of the New York Times (because I’m too cheap to pay for the WSJ online), and I was checking out its tech section which had a big pic of a slightly aloof-looking Chinese factory worker with the headline: “Supply Chain for iPhone Highlights Costs in China,” written by David Barboza. The article was mainly about how Silicone Valley's best took apart Apple's latest iPhone to investigate it's supply chain, briefly glimpsing into the reality of a developing world, well…developing.   This process, not so amazingly, results in higher standards of living and translates into higher production costs. Say you’re a company who sets up a factory in a developing country in order to take advantage of its cheap labor and avoid other annoying problems of developed countries (like health care benefits and stuff). Then, said country starts developing, people get rich (or at least are able to feed their families) and poof! No more cheap labor because: surprise, surprise, developing countries eventually develop.

Opening Post

Hello World! 

This is my first post for my tech blog!  Basically I'm going to be spewing out commentary on anything tech related and giving you my opinion on the latest tech news.