For those bloggers out there that are interested in writing sponsored articles, I would like to share this article with you as This post brought to you by HP.

HP is sponsoring a contest working with PayPerPost related to their previous give away of an HP Camera. Blogging participants can put together the puzzle pieces brought in the form of images (like the one below)

When they have figured out the puzzle and put them all together, if they complete it first, they could win a $1000 blog article post for reassembling the picture from a previous contest where Michelle, another blogger won a HP Photosmart M527 digital camera. There are 48 puzzle pieces all together this is only number 23 so there are lots more to find yet. You too could earn $1000 working to help get the word out about HP Digital Photo Printing solutions and tools.

All you need is a good blog!

(OK, there are a few minimum requirements but anyone can meet them with a little work if you don’t qualify already, you can get there in as little as three months.)

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This might end up being the year that Apple managed to prove that they are just as capable of the poor execution of a media strategy as the next company.  They have been scrambling to deal with a public relations night mare, while attempting to clean up a financial scandal that dates back over half a decade.  The board seems to have been focused on saving Steve Jobs recognizing that Jobs is a key to their success and stock price.

However, its possible that historical actuals do not predict Apple’s future.  Steve Jobs put his name, reputation and possibly his job on the line at MacWorld when he announced the iPhone.  People had been expecting it, predicting it, savoring it, drueling at the mouth for it, and generally swarming like a mob to push Apple into a product and industry that they know little about.  So Jobs did something very atypical.  He followed the que and was allowed to be led into the murky world of vanishing profit margins sometimes known as the cell phone industry.

The fact that he followed as opposed to leading might have been mistake number one.

In the article, Why Apple shouldn’t have announced the iPhone by Karen Haslam, she describes how Apple seems to have failed to make sure the iPhone was ready for market by completing agreements with Cisco and receiving a little known thing in the wireless industry known as FCC Approval.  Thus, Apple essentially telegraphed its punch at MacWorld by telling the world what they would get in 6 months as opposed to delivering a knock out blow and taking the world by storm, like they did in 1984 with the mac and repeated in 2001 with the iPod and later the Nano.

Now, I have previously covered the problems with the iPhone in detail so I won’t redredge that dead horse.  That said its possible that the combined gaffes of telegraphing the punch, pushing a product out before it was ready and following the herd as opposed to leading the herd might be the first signal of the confidence that the markets have in Steve Jobs ability to the run Apple.

Many look at him like he is a golden child, but the world became disenfranchised with him in the late 80’s and they could do it again now.  Its possible that as Jobs ages, he may be losing the juice too.  Maybe instead of grilling Apple over the iPhone and the stock scandal, investors and the board should be grilling the company and Jobs over the lack of a viable succession plan.

The second to last time that Apple put in replacement to head the company, it was a disaster.

Technorati tags: Apple after jobs, flat footed macworld

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Now that Microsoft is soon to end an era of OS building its time to think about new brand names for the Vista replacement. Maybe if Steve Ballmer and Bill Gates head to Aruba for the winter, they will be inspired?

For the rest of us mortals that do not have our own private jets and a few extra billion dollars laying around, we could also find similar inspiration.

Our sponsor vacations.net provided a press release that informs us of their great rates and offers on their aruba all inclusive resort packages.

Maybe you can head down to Aruba with every thing paid for in full and enjoy your self in the sun like Bill Gates without a money care in the world.

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You can’t see it yet, but Vista will be before us very soon.  Microsoft starts their long anticipated release in three days.  It is likely to become a dominant operating system all around the world, but Microsoft does appear to be loosing some ground.

Plus, there are new claims from Microsoft competitors claiming that Vista breaks Anti Trust laws in Europe.  So it is likely that we can expect another long decade of Anti-Trust fights against Microsoft.  At the end of the day, Vista may be a bit of a knock off of Apple’s OS X, and Apple has Leopard launching this spring and summer.  However, there is one thing that Microsoft does very well.

They can get the rest of the world to upgrade and move forward.  It may not be the best or safest or many other things, but people do pick it up move forward with the herd and the herd improves.  Maybe more slowly than those cool Mac kids, but it is an improvement.

Technorati tags: Microsoft Vista, Vista Antitrust claims, three days till vista

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You may not stop the subscription to Wired, The Wall Street Journal or Maxim anytime soon, but Nintendo is hoping that you will catch some news on their new Wii News channel and service that will go through the popular gaming device.

Nintendo is launching the service today that will provide news stories in many different languages but primarily sourced from the Associated Press through the Wii devices.

I guess that leaves the question for all of us, Will Wii read the news more or not?

Technorati tags: Nintendo, Wii, Associated Press, Wii News Service

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