Filed under: Text, Utilities, Linux, Productivity, Freeware, Unix

One of the longest ongoing debates in the productivity/Getting Things Done crowd is about which app works ideal for keeping tasks in order. Different factions support everything from power tools like OmniFocus to good old pen and paper. Apparently, though, some people miss classic command-line productivity apps like Lotus Agenda. If you’re running a Unix-like OS, and you need a solid GTD system, you might find Beeswax, a free, Agenda-inspired app, worth a look.

It’s a tiny tricky to explain how this works, so you might need to check it out for yourself, but we’ll do our best. Basically, you have to-do items, and you’ve categories. If you assign sub-items to an item — you know, something that takes multiple steps to do — it’s treated like a category. Items can be assigned to multiple categories, so everything is flexible. If you’re someone who hates anything that requires a mouse, this is right up your alley.

[via 43Folders]

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Filed under: Utilities, Macintosh, Productivity, Apple, Microsoft

One of the only features some of us here like about Windows is that you can alt-ctrl-del and look at the open tasks and programs running at any given time.

It’s nice to know what’s sucking up all of your memory (pr0n) and what’s bogging down your processor (DVD burning).

Sloth for Mac OS X shows us exactly what’s running, Windows style.

You can see which application is running which process, reveal the directory it’s running out of, and kill it off if you want. If you’re super geeky and/or bored you can even look at the IP and Unix sockets to see what application is connecting to the interwebs at any given time.

This is a really handy dandy tool, and the source is available too for monkeying…er, slothing around.

One of the superior parts about Sloth is that it’s a Cocoa app, and runs nice and slick on your Mac.

[via chris pirillo]

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Filed under: Press releases, Marketing and advertising, Clear Channel Commun (CCU), Media World, Politics

It’s no secret that Speak Radio host extraordinaire Rush Limbaugh has revolutionized the substitute media. With his new contract, it appears that Rush is once again on the cutting edge of societal evolution, and has once again laid down the gauntlet that he is light years ahead of his competition. What’s so incredible is that in an era when traditional media is having all kinds of problems, whether it’s declining newspaper sales, or declining ratings for the nightly news, the man who sits behind the golden EIB microphone is forging ahead as if nothing is happening.

According to a press release, Limbaugh has signed a long-term contract extension:

Advertiser and affiliate demand is at an all-time high for Mr. Limbaugh. President of Premiere Radio Networks Charlie Rahilly stated, “The Rush Limbaugh Show enjoys an unprecedented platform of radio affiliates. Plus, advertisers harness the intensity of listener engagement — no one’s ‘word of mouth’ about a product or service delivers more impact than Mr. Limbaugh does. The Premiere team is proud to partner with Mr. Limbaugh deep into the next decade.”

The Drudge Report is reporting that the contract will pay him in excess of a whopping $400 million!

Earnings now pace him ahead of the annual salaries for network news anchors: Katie Couric, Brian Williams, Charlie Gibson and Diane Sawyer - combined!

How this will effect the stock of Clear Channel (NYSE: CCU) who, along with Premier radio syndicate Limbaugh’s show, is anyone’s guess. My hunch, though, is that it will do just fine. Clearly, for Clear Channel Rush is a money making machine. His popularity continues to surge, so it seems that while they are spending a whole lot of money, they’ll more than make it up in revenue that the show produces.

Love him or hate him, and I am in the love him camp, there’s no disputing the impact that Rush has ands continues to have on both politics and the media.

Aaron Katsman is the lead Portfolio Manager and Managing Director of America Israel Investment Associates, LLC. and Senior Editor of IsraelNewsletter.com. DISCLOSURE: Writer’s fund has no position in any stock mentioned, as of 7/2/08.

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Filed under: Products and services, Consumer experience, Apple Inc (AAPL), Marketing and advertising, Nokia Corp. (NOK)

Reuters reports this day that Nokia Corp. (NYSE: NOK) has signed up Warner Music Group Corp. (NYSE: WMG) to its “Comes with Music” phone service and music store. Nokia is the world’s top phone manufacturer and will be making a direct challenge to Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL)’s iTunes Store, according to numerous reports. The “Comes with Music” service is the first from a phone manufacturer to “push heavily into content” and “differs from other packages on the market as users can keep all the music they’ve downloaded” while in yearly contracts with Nokia.

WMG executives granted the music company to join up with Nokia since the service “is the first global initiative to fundamentally align the interests of music companies with telecommunications companies.” Nokia already secured the support of fellow music companies Universal Music Group and Sony BMG Music Entertainment in April, and “Comes with Music” launches later this year. Reuters speculates that the agreements with three of the top four music companies (EMI Group has not signed up yet) will “help Nokia attract smaller music companies and challenge the dominant pay-per-track sales model for digital music.” Last year, download sales totaled $2.9 billion; if the 146 million Nokia phones had featured “Comes with Music”, those sales would have surpassed the digital market.

Record labels have consistently looked for new methods to challenge Apple’s grip on the music industry, and subscription models like “Comes with Music” may finally provide that challenge. Subscription models give the music industry more shares per download since users typically are not allowed to keep tracks downloaded during the subscription. “Comes with Music” is betting against that model since users will be granted to keep music downloaded, and Nokia and the record companies are no doubt hoping that dynamic will keep those consumers renewing contracts with the service. Reportedly, the subscription for “Comes with Music” will only cost $20 per phone, which on a yearly basis wouldn’t be too pricey for unlimited downloads.

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Filed under: Products and services, Consumer experience, Apple Inc (AAPL), Marketing and advertising, Nokia Corp. (NOK)

Reuters reports this day that Nokia Corp. (NYSE: NOK) has signed up Warner Music Group Corp. (NYSE: WMG) to its “Comes with Music” phone service and music store. Nokia is the world’s top phone manufacturer and will be making a direct challenge to Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL)’s iTunes Store, according to numerous reports. The “Comes with Music” service is the first from a phone manufacturer to “push heavily into content” and “differs from other packages on the market as users can keep all the music they have downloaded” while in yearly contracts with Nokia.

WMG executives granted the music company to join up with Nokia since the service “is the first global initiative to fundamentally align the interests of music companies with telecommunications companies.” Nokia already secured the support of fellow music companies Universal Music Group and Sony BMG Music Entertainment in April, and “Comes with Music” launches later this year. Reuters speculates that the agreements with three of the top four music companies (EMI Group has not signed up yet) will “help Nokia attract smaller music companies and challenge the dominant pay-per-track sales model for digital music.” Last year, download sales totaled $2.9 billion; if the 146 million Nokia phones had featured “Comes with Music”, those sales would have surpassed the digital market.

Record labels have consistently looked for new methods to challenge Apple’s grip on the music industry, and subscription models like “Comes with Music” might finally provide that challenge. Subscription models give the music industry more shares per download since users typically are not granted to keep tracks downloaded during the subscription. “Comes with Music” is betting against that model since users will be granted to keep music downloaded, and Nokia and the record companies are no doubt hoping that dynamic will keep those consumers renewing contracts with the service. Reportedly, the subscription for “Comes with Music” will only cost $20 per phone, which on a yearly basis would not be too costly for unlimited downloads.

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Filed under: World wide web, Google (GOOG), Marketing and advertising, News Corp’B’ (NWS), Media World

Seth MacFarlane is the genius behind News Corp.’s (NYSE: NWS) Family Guy animated television series. But why should News Corp. have all the fun programming cool content? That’s apparently what Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) was thinking when it signed up Seth MacFarlane to produce a series of short animated clips for the Google Content Network.

According to The New York Times, MacFarlane has created something called Seth MacFarlane’s Cavalcade of Cartoon Comedy. Tiny two-minute clips will be distributed to various websites that key in on the youthful male demographic which loves Family Guy. When users click on the clips, they’ll perhaps see an ad before the thing starts or some sort of banner attached to it. They might also simply see the name of the presenting sponsor before watching. Google will split monies generated by the ads with MacFarlane, the website that features the clip, and Media Rights Capital, the entity which sells the inventory.

I love the idea of the Google Content Network and I think that, over time, it should be a great success, but as with any novel platform, it all comes down to the word in the middle — content. Google will live and die by the quality of the content because, although lesser-quality stuff might still find an audience in other mediums, the internet has such intense competition for eyeballs that have minuscule attention spans. If the clips don’t grab the viewer right away, then the ad inventory won’t be as valuable to the buyers.

Granted, MacFarlane’s name is going to bring in a lot of surfing eyeballs, but I’d have to believe that, in the back of Google’s corporate mind, they are counting on acquiring innovative content from less established talent that won’t demand as much compensation and/or budget expenditures as MacFarlane will. Google, after all, believes wholeheartedly in the power of the unknown to drive shareholder value since it paid a lot of money for YouTube. I concede, though, that a massive brand name will act as a needed catalyst for the platform.

MacFarlane will have a lot of his followers watching this series when it debuts in a couple months, but I do have to state that the example clip mentioned in the article centering on mad cow disease didn’t sound too funny to me. Hopefully it’s just an example of something that needs to be seen to be enjoyed. Whatever happens, I think Google’s foray into these kinds of content-development deals and novel advertising platforms will pay dividends down the road, and I think Google should definitely look for unknowns to help program the space.

Disclosure: I don’t own any company mentioned; positions can change at any time.

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