Steve Balmer: "We should launch a new search engine because our other two failed miserably." Bill Gates: "Bingo!" Marketing: "Bingo is too long. Let's drop the "o" and call it Bing."
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Although I use an iMac at work and own an iPod, I'm not a rabid fan of Apple or a constant critic of Windows. As someone who came of computing age in the days of DOS, the majority of my computer experience has been connected to Microsoft. For the most part, I like it. I should add I also own stock in MSFT (but that's another story). With the arrival of Windows NT and 2000 and XP, Microsoft has made vast improvements in its OS. Even so, I'm a bit perplexed by their most recent entry into the search world. The interface itself is OK -- although I could do without the city background. But why call it Bing? The name is odd and doesn't seem catchy. Although Google is an odd word itself, it has the ability to become a verb I guess you could say "I'm Binging it"…
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As person who traffics in words for a living, I'm interested in how people use words and what that reveals about them. I fielded a call at Blue Have today and the customer says, "You only have eight products on your site." First of all, I know we have more than eight items -- many more -- because I personally created most of them. So what causes a person to exaggerate with such a low (and specific) number? Why pull the number eight out of a hat and not seven or eleven? So when I replied by saying, "Sir, we have many more than that" his response was: "I know but I don't like any of them." Which raises the question: why not just start with that since that was the obvious issue? Words. Interesting, revealing words.
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Our girls had friends over to swim today and I had the opportunity to enjoy good conversation with the dad of the other two girls. He's a deep thinker who is well-read on a variety of topics and has an ability to weave multiple threads together into one coherent paragraph. I enjoy our conversations because I know they are going to cause me to think about something I haven't thought about before -- or to look at something in a different way. Our conversation ranged from politics to economics to theology, often blending them into the same topic. Good conversation not only helps to pass the time, it helps to expand the mind. Christ-followers ought to be among the most well-read folks around. And not just reading books that reinforce an existing belief or position. We need to read books that challenge and stretch us. We (especially pastors) need to…
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