DailySpotlight

I really like the symbolic meaning and the impact of this photo... Don't you? Obama is really creating an incredible hope movement and not only in the USA. Like many people I believe in him, I believe in his honesty and his willingness to seriously take the bull by the horns. If the current polls say the truth, Obama is more and more close to the white house, but the current situation is so explosive that he will have to implement quickly radical and maybe unpopular measures. I do think that the next presidency will be the most difficult one after the two Roosevelt administrations (1933-1945). But like billions of people around the world I believe in you, and your promises, Mr Obama. So please do not disappoint us...

Credits : Joe Crimmings, Flickr, CCL

As everybody knows, except those who live on a planet outside of the solar system, this month it's the european football cup, la "Eurocopa" in Spanish. I am not going to talk about the elimination of France, but about the enthusiasm aroused in Spain by the Spanish national team.

It is pretty awesome to see how the Spanish are so proud and passionated by the european adventure of their national team. Everybody here, except maybe some Catalans ;-), are behind the Luís Aragones' team. Even the foreigners like me support this really endearing squad ; maybe because we know if they win we are probably going to live a very, very huge and unforgettable party.

To demonstrate you how big is the euphoria about this team and its successful journey, I want to introduce to you this serie of advertisements currently broadcasted to support the Spain football team, by the TV channel Cuatro - which got the rights to broadcast the "Eurocopa" matches. Obviously they spent a lot of money to produce these sophisticated commercials which give the feeling that the Spanish national football team is invincible. Even the slogan of this commercial campaign, "¡Podemos!" - which means "We Can!"- is very powerful and catchy. To sum-up what I think about them, just one word : Impressive!!! Now just enjoy them.

Recently I applied to the Fnac store in Valencia in order to get a part-time job, because an ERASMUS year in a foreign country cost a lot. When you have to pay back your first student loan and really want to take advantage of your life in Spain, you have to seriously look for a job.

The first thing I have to admit is that I appreciated the fact that it was not necessary to write a cover letter. In Spain some things seem more direct and less formal; in this case it was a nice surprise, because I do think that the CV is the most important element when you apply for a job, mainly for a student job. Don't you think?

To my mind, the cover letter is a stylistic composition which lost its significance since most people copy and paste quotes from examples found on internet, type it on a computer, and just make some variations depending on the company they send it to. What matters more if an employer wants to know more about an applicant, it is not the job interview? During an interview there is no trick, you have to be real and show what you are worth.

That is what I think I did or at least I tried to do, in Spanish, when they interviewed me. In fact, the lady in charge of human resources called me just 3 or 4 weeks after I brought my CV to the store. I was agreeably surprised and really excited; my profile and my background obviously had captured her attention and she wanted to interview me the day after for a shop-assistant position in the computer department. Once I came back home I prepared the meeting with my flat mate during almost one hour. It was my first job interview in Spanish, to work for a company I like and to get a position in the department I wanted; I had to take it seriously.

Finally everything was ok. I was on time, very well dressed (maybe too much), enthusiastic and I did my best. Unfortunately there was only one vacant position, and a lot of other applicants that spoke Spanish much better than me. I was a bit disappointed but it was a very good experience. Despite the language barrier I stayed quite confident and I managed to express my motivation. This job examination encouraged me to work much harder to improve my Spanish, mainly for professional use. Which will be the following interview? Perhaps it could be next month with a HR responsible from Rural Caja, a big Spanish bank. We will see…

You already know the man, and you already know about his struggles , I just want to say that it’s a pity he died so soon and mainly in such a violent way, because he was a real symbol of hope for several million people who used to be treated inhumanly for centuries. MLK was inspiring, not only for black people but also for those who really wanted to live in a fairer society, more peaceful, more respectful of human rights and more positive. When this hope bringer disappeared, the only lit fire which was sufficiently convincing and charismatic to make them believe in a better future, it was a disaster that nothing or no one could fix or recover. A drama which still has tragic consequences today. Since MLK, none US leader has managed to give America so much hope and confidence in a better future. No one, until today…

According to a recent higher-education survey, from the investment bank Morgan Stanley, 40% of college students think that their next computer will be a Mac. 40%! Yes sir! Once they end their studies and start working they will contribute to increase the market shares of Apple and its “influence” advocating the brand in their entourage. Apple, which in February 2008 became the first laptop supplier in the very lucrative education Market, has for the first time surpassed Dell in terms of laptop sales and this is clearly a sign that Apple is definitely back in the race. Furthermore, Apple has managed to build a cool image, become a strong and powerful brand and create a big community of loyal customers, the so called Mac users. They started with the iPod phenomenon and its “halo” effect*, then the iPhone and finally it managed to convert a lot of “switchers” who were previously PC users and who now could not imagine going back. As the proverb says, “When you go Mac, you never go back”!

Morgan Stanley: 40% of college students plan to buy Macs

For those who don't know this week's most important news surrounding Apple, let me quickly sum it up. Apple announced on thursday, march 6th the forthcoming availability of the Software Development Kit (SDK) for their famous and revolutionary iPhone. Planned to be released this summer (in june 2008), this very awaited breakthrough has seriously shaken not only developpers and the Apple fan community, but also all the entire computer industry and beyond...

Ineed what Apple has anounced sounds like a Mascletá during the fallas in Valencia:-) They have just dropped a bomb which is going to make the iPhone a new and successful development platform, such is the enthusiasm which has aroused this announcement. But they also created a lot of anxiety at their principal competitors (RIM (Blackberry), Microsoft (Windows Mobile), Sony-Ericsson and Nokia) and they even managed to find new rivals like Nintendo for example.

First and foremost the Apple SDK seems very simple, quick and easy to understand for a developer I mean :-) It seems so simple that even I would like to learn how to code just to create my own software for the iPhone. Most of the developers who had the opportunity to work with this SDK have claimed that it is possible to create a game or a pretty good software within a few days.

Secondly, with more than 4 millioN iPhoneS sold in hardly one year and 24% of the share market on the US smartphone market, just behind the Blackberry (41%), the iPhone is already a seductive platform for the developers ; indeed the number of potential customers is now already significant. So Apple doesn't have to conviNCE the developpers, they are already convinced and were expecting the opening of this new market. Thus, since thursday a lot of big softwares and video gamE companies have annouced that they are working on brand new softs for the iPhone. Among them are SEGA, Electronic Arts (Fifa, Need for Speed), Sun, AOL, etc. Futhermore for the first time, Apple has publicly used the expression "video games console" for describing one of its products. So they have now officialy entered on the mobile video game console market ; I'm not sure Nintendo appreciate that.

Thirdly, thanks to the next firmware update, Apple is finally going to implement in their amazing smartphone all the professional features (like the push email) which the iPhone missed up to now and which stopS the "Jesus phone" being a real blackberry killer. They even bought a Activesync licence from...Microsoft! Times are changing... I already know that a lot of executives were waiting for that to get their iPhone. Now Apple has granted their wishes.

Apple has just opened the door to an unlimited number of possibilities, that is the most exciting thing about this SDK : everything becomeS theoretically possible with the iPhone now. Besides It's not exaggerated to consider the SDK announcement as a new beginning or even as a rebirth for the iPhone. And you should know that not only the SDK uses almost the same roots and the same basis as Mac OS X, but to use it you have to install it on a Mac... this is again a good strategy to spread the Apple technology and develop the Mac development to its full potential. Obviously, Apple is definitely different from the rest of the computer industry, the only one which can engender so much expectation and desire. Thanks Apple :-)

First and foremost I want to thank my mother for the strict but efficient education she gave me. I'm from quite a modest family, my mother and my step father don't have an elevated social status but they did all they were able to do to teach me how to be a gentleman. I'm really very proud of that because thanks to these social skills I can mingle and meet people from all social backgrounds without ever feeling like an outcast. But when I meet unpolite people I can not stand them. Specially when these people are supposed to be from a higher social background and believe they are superior to me just because of that.

I don't like meeting the kind of smug people who think they are so much better than other people that they don't even have to be polite or show respect for others. Few days ago I sat on the plane close to an old couple. During the trip they used to asked a lot of things to the stewards (cofee, help, food, information, etc.) but I heard just one time "thank you" and never "please", never!

Howeverthese simple words are so easy to learn and so easy to use. Generally people learn them in their first years of childhood, and they are fundamental to live in any society. Futhermore the funny thing about that anecdote, is that some days later I came across a childish tv program called "les melodilous". The moral of the episode I watched was about politeness, and this cartoon for kids resume my thought in few words : "Please and Thank you are the keywords to manage your life and find new friends..." What cute and true it is!

It's interesting to see how some hardships and some choices we have made or will make can deeply change our lifes for ever. I'm not really comfortable with the idea of destiny ; I prefer to believe we all have the possibility to make of our lifes what we want them to be. It would be despairing if we could not influence anything about our existence. But I do consider that we should have faith in what we really want to do and what we really want to be. If you are confindent and you trust in your projects and your expectations, even if nobody takes you seriously, never mind ; work hard to do what you LIKE. I do think the worst thing about life is having regrets, so as Steve Jobs said in his emotional speech adressed on 12th June 2005 to the graduated students of Stanford, "Stay hungry. Stay foolish".

Listening or reading this text you will be able to better understand why and how Steve Jobs became what he is today ; the charismatic CEO of one of the most innovative and succesful companies of the Silicon valley.

I am honored to be with you today at your commencement from one of the finest universities in the world. I never graduated from college. Truth be told, this is the closest I've ever gotten to a college graduation. Today I want to tell you three stories from my life. That's it. No big deal. Just three stories.

The first story is about connecting the dots.

I dropped out of Reed College after the first 6 months, but then stayed around as a drop-in for another 18 months or so before I really quit. So why did I drop out?

It started before I was born. My biological mother was a young, unwed college graduate student, and she decided to put me up for adoption. She felt very strongly that I should be adopted by college graduates, so everything was all set for me to be adopted at birth by a lawyer and his wife. Except that when I popped out they decided at the last minute that they really wanted a girl. So my parents, who were on a waiting list, got a call in the middle of the night asking: "We have an unexpected baby boy; do you want him?" They said: "Of course." My biological mother later found out that my mother had never graduated from college and that my father had never graduated from high school. She refused to sign the final adoption papers. She only relented a few months later when my parents promised that I would someday go to college.

In 2007, Steve jobs, the Apple CEO, wrote an open letter about the record industry issues (Thoughts on music, February 6, 2007). His conclusion was pragmatic and rather audacious at this time. To struggle efficiently piracy and sustain the growth of online music sales it's necessary to "abolish DRM entirely".

This prophetic statement has been followed (some months after) with the lauching of iTunes Plus consists in selling songs from EMI's catalog (one of the big 4 labels) without any DRM. This first step was a real success and had to make the other big labels think more again about a necessary new strategy.

This year the dream of a "world where every online store sells DRM-free" is about to come true. Indeed, all the big four (WARNER, UNIVERSAL, EMI and very recently SONY-BMG) have decided to abolish gradually the technical restrictions which bother the digital & legal music market.

However this (r)evolution is going to achieve without the visionary Steve Jobs and his famous iTunes store. Probably bored by the arrogant leadership of Apple on the digital music market, three of the big four labels (Warner, Universal & EMI - to a lesser extent) have decided to go without iTunes store to experiment the sale of DRM-free music encoded in open licensable formats (MP3).

So, they choose an iTunes challenger to launch their new strategy, the first real competitor which would able to threaten its share market. Its name is : Amazon Mp3. So, after so many attempts, 2008 could be the year when the Apple iTunes store could lose its monopoly. The famous entertainment online store (high tech and media store) has got almost everything to manage to shatter the music business of Apple.

3 millions songs without DRM in its catalog (when iTunes offers 6 millions songs but "only" 2 millions DRM-free), encoded in MP3, the most popular digital audio format compatible with all music players (whereas Apple has chosen AAC ; better audio quality but "almost" only compatible with the iPod), at a very competitive prices : from 89 cents a song and from $5.99 to $9.99 for most albums. Isn't interesting?

Update : Amazon Mp3 starts to sell songs from Sony-BMG this month. Bad time for iTunes, but this is an excellent thing for customers.

If you want discover other online shops which sell DRM-free music at good prices or even totally free, take a look to the following challengers :

Airtist

E-music

7 digital

Death of DRM Could Weaken iTunes, Boost iPod

Sony BMG Plans to Drop DRM

Sony official press release

Itunes Store : La concurrence s'organise