trends

The Analysts’ Freemium Nightmare

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I'm starting to pity economists, beyond the whole "how did so many of you morons miss the economy melting down" thing.  I'm feeling bad for them because they've got to try and analyze a lot of crazy trends in the actual working parts of the world economy, and things are changing rapidly and are far more distributed.

Last column I speculated on the various facets of Freemium (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freemium) that I feel need to be further explored and understood.  I'm quite enthused about the model and feels it holds great promise.

Now assuming Freemium is the wave of the future, as opposed to a tiny splash in the big ocean  of pricing models that lies on the shores of weird economic metaphors, there are going to be changes in more than just how we sell and buy.  There will be changes in how people analyze economic information, from understanding sales, to evaluating the performance of an industry.

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Why Retro Games Are More Than Just ‘Here To Stay’

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On my Android phone (yes, I finally got one) I'm playing an old-school JPRG/Legend of Zelda type game  and 80's shooter homage.

On the Kindle you can play old-school text adventures.

It seems our more advanced mobile technology is putting old school gaming back in people's hands (mostly literally).  Yes, now with the technology of the 21st century you can go back and play games just like you did 30 years ago.  I say this without an intense sense of irony because it's actually a trend with multiple factors we progeeks want to keep track of because it's more than retro – it's cultural and technical.

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A Geek Walks Into a Verizon Store . . .

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So I walk into the Verizon store recently to get a new phone (Android, what else?).  This does sound like the beginning of a joke, but as opposed to doing "a geek walks into a store" joke, let me instead hold forth on what I learned from going there.  The Verizon stores, if you've been paying attention, have been changing, and I think we're seeing some trends in consumer electronics that they illustrate.

Anyway, so there I am in the Verizon store and there's some changes, a slicker look, and a helpful gentleman with a tablet he uses for data, credit cards, and sales.  I'm sure that you're thinking what I thought.

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