Chausse.org

My apologies for the lack of posts lately, but the past month or so has been a very crazy time for me, in the best possible sense.  Unfortunately, I have not been able to discuss what’s been going on until now (for reasons which will become immediately obvious.)

Without further ado, I’d like to announce that I have just accepted the role of  Web Director at Harmonix. Harmonix, for those who don’t know, is the game company that developed Rock Band, as well as Guitar Hero and Guitar Hero 2 (plus the cool iPod game Phase, amongst other cool stuff).  I’ll be leading the team responsible for RockBand.com, as well as anything else Harmonix does on the web.

I am thrilled beyond belief to have been offered this opportunity.  Not only does this role truly encompass my extremely diverse range of professional interests, it has also reinvigorated my somewhat dormant loves of both video games and rock music, long buried under the twin pressures of work and raising a family.  Now that I can legitimately play video games in the name of "research," I have no excuse for growing up.

I begin the job on April 14th, at which point you probably won’t hear much from me on this site for a while -initially because I’ll be swamped with getting my head around my new duties, but I will also need to give some serious thought to my personal web presence.  It’s not like I’ve been elected pope or anything, but this is a role that will likely attract a lot of attention.  Rock Band has sold over 1,000,000 copies and, as an employee of Harmonix, I’ll also be working for MTV and Viacom.  While Chausse.org has always been a personal site that "does not represent the opinions of my employer," I’ve never worked for such a high profile employer.  I’d hate for one of my snarky comments to be misinterpreted by the wrong person and end up on the front page of CNET or something.  Anyway, Chausse.org will likely still be here for a good long time, just give me some time to figure out if any changes are in order.

Meanwhile, strap on plastic guitar, fire up your favorite video game system, and rock out.  I’ll see you on RockBand.com.

Filed under General 4 Comments »

If you have an older Intel Mac and decided to get a shiny new aluminum Apple keyboard, AND you use Boot Camp, you’re in for a bit of disappointment (as I was).  Without any official acknowledgement from Apple, older Macs are NOT entirely compatible with their fancy new keyboard, as they do not send power to it at boot time.  What does this mean? Well, it means you cannot hold down the Option key to switch boot disks.  You also can’t hold down the “C” key to boot from CD in time of crisis.

I went to the Genius Bar with this problem, and they admitted this problem and had pretty much nothing to offer me, except to let me return the keyboard, if I had my receipt.  Thanks, guys.  I guess the ultra-minimalist keyboard packaging doesn’t give you much room for a “Not actually compatible with all Macs, use at own risk” warning.

Of course, one workaround is to always use “Startup Disk” (or the “Boot Camp” Control Panel option on the Windows side), but a fat lot of good that will do you if you bollox your Windows installation, and can’t even get it to boot (which happened to me, and started this whole adventure).  Another workaround is to grab an old keyboard out of my garage and use that whenever you need to change startup disks.  But I don’t really want you rooting around in my garage.

Anyway, enough cursing the darkness.  Here’s your candle: Somewhere in this thread on the Apple forums, a simple workaround is offered: You can use the Apple Remote to switch boot disks! Just aim at the box, hold down the Menu button while booting, and voila:  Wireless boot disk selecting magic.

Filed under General 1 Comment »

Remember the Commodore 64, the best selling computer of all time? Remember how cheap it was? $200 when its competitors were 5-10 times as expensive? Well, there’s a great story in this free Play Value podcast about the history of Commodore. 

Apparently, founder Jack Tramiel was such a ruthless businessman, obsessed with vertical integration, he drove prices into the basement using this clever little trick:

1. Buy parts in bulk from a small company on credit
2. Neglect to pay the company for the parts
3. Wait for the company to nearly go bankrupt
4. Buy out the company dirt cheap
5. Forgive their own debts
6. Rinse, repeat.

Pure, unadulterated, evil business genius!

Filed under General 2 Comments »

in a handstand…
on the horns…
on a goat…
on a can…
on a tightrope…

Happy weekend, friends.

Filed under General No Comments »

I randomly stumbled onto Sphinn.com and was about to write a snarky blog post (or at least a tweet) about it being yet another unpronounceable Web 2.0 site name.  Then I hung around for a bit and realized it was actually a pretty informative site.  Basically, it’s a Digg clone devoted to online marketing content.  Now, since 99.999% of “internet marketing” content is total crap, this is actually a pretty useful service, and I’ll be visiting frequently.

And it’s not that hard to pronounce… Just like “sphinx” without the “x”, I guess.

Filed under General No Comments »

I came across this joke on a “Joke of the Day” feed I subscribe to and, while funny enough on its own, it struck me that there had to be a hidden marketing “moral” in there somewhere. After thinking about it for a second, I realized what it is… Read my punchline after the joke.

A wise old gentleman retired and purchased a modest home near a junior high school. He spent the first few weeks of his retirement in peace and contentment. Then a new school year began. The very next afternoon three young boys, full of youthful, after-school enthusiasm, came down his street, beating merrily on every trash can they encountered. The crashing percussion continued day after day, until finally the wise old man decided it was time to take some action.

The next afternoon, he walked out to meet the young percussionists as they banged their way down the street. Stopping them, he said, “You kids are a lot of fun. I like to see you express your exuberance like that. In fact, I used to do the same thing when I was your age. Will you do me a favor? I’ll give you each a dollar if you’ll promise to come around every day and do your thing.” The kids were elated and continued to do a bang-up job on the trashcans.

After a few days, the old-timer greeted the kids again, but this time he had a sad smile on his face. “This recession’s really putting a big dent in my income,” he told them. “From now on, I’ll only be able to pay you 50 cents to beat on the cans.” The noisemakers were obviously displeased, but they accepted his offer and continued their afternoon ruckus. A few days later, the wily retiree approached them again as they drummed their way down the street. “Look,” he said, “I haven’t received my Social Security check yet, so I’m not going to be able to give you more than 25 cents. Will that be okay?” “A freakin’ quarter?” the drum leader exclaimed. “If you think we’re going to waste our time, beating these cans around for a quarter, you’re nuts! No way, dude. We quit!” And the old man enjoyed peace and serenity for the rest of his days.

This is exactly how “Consumer Generated Media” is going to die.

Filed under General No Comments »