Oprah's Favorite Things

Perhaps like you, I could basically care less about Oprah, or even her favorite — or most beloved — things. But I'm trying to be open-minded here. Maybe you're an Oprah fan, or know of one to whom you can pass this link along.

Matter of fact, most of Oprah's Favorite Things are pretty much meaningless, pretentious, arrogant, or even offensive to me. A diamond watch? A Burberry coat and purse? What is this, Forbes? She really knows how to connect with the masses, eh? I was going to take a shot at the omission of her bird-squishing GulfStream private jet, but thought better of it with the realization that most of my heroes in auto racing also have their own private jets.

I must admit, however, that there are actually a few good items on the list, such as the iPod (Yes, I'm obsessed with it.), the Blackberry 7105, and the Sony VAIO® FJ notebook PC.

I must also admit a vague curiosity of Hope in a Jar, and Grace (in a basket). I'm thinking, hmm, maybe Faith in a Junk Drawer, or Charity in a Lawn & Leaf Bag. Whaddaya think? Any investors?

The 100 Best Products of 2005

This is an excellent, comprehensive list of the best techie products of the year, selected and compiled by PC World Magazine.

While I purposefully try to avoid the Flow of Things Trendy (OK, I admit it didn't work with the iPod.), it's nonetheless heartwarming to see a couple of Mark's Favorite Things (Firefox and Gmail) at the top of this extensive list. Being old school, I'm still confused seeing an Apple OS in the #3 spot on a PC World Best Of list. Yeah, Apple's hardware and software are intriguing, but keep Tiger on a Best of the Mac list, wherever that might be. A Mac is not a PC, dammit. (iTunes also made it to #34 on the list, but that's cross-platform so it makes sense.)

(While I'm familiar with some of the winners, I question, for example, how they could have included the HP OfficeJet 7210 multifunction printer — or any HP MFP, for that matter. Excellent and inexpensive hardware, but their software is excessive and painfully problematic for small-business use. Please, PC World: Don't encourage these people.)

PCs and a plethora of peripherals, browser utilities, wireless stuff, websites, software apps, digital cameras, PDAs and even the Vonage VoIP service are among the winners.

Definitely worth some browsing time.

Ebert's Best 10 Movies of 2005

What Best Of list could be reasonably complete without movies? Here are Roger Ebert's picks. Crash (yet another of Oprah's favorites) made the top spot, because "…it tells not simple-minded parables, but textured human stories based on paradoxes." Paradoxes are always fun. Syriana and Munich are #2 and #3, respectively. Junebug is #4 (never heard of it) [Ed. Note: It was fantastic, Mark, richly nuanced, haunting. Truly, even the "golden boy," the prodigal son, can never go home again...] and Brokeback Mountain made the #5 spot.

While I gravitate to B-movies with car chases, toilet humor, and a whole lot of objects blowing up ("These are a few of my favorite things…"), I was surprised that The Constant Gardener didn't make the list. It's a real movie with a real script and real acting. Check out that one again, Roger.

The Best Web 2.0 Software of 2005

Web 2.0 is still Voodoo to me. It sounds reasonable enough, but I just can't quite wrap my brain around the compelling advantages. Oh well, more reading and studying to do (including an upcoming article here on The Blog.)

Dion Hitchcliffe, in his Web 2.0 blog, says, "It's getting towards the end of the year and I'm feeling the need to take stock of where we've actually come with Web 2.0 in the last 12 months. So much has happened in this space recently and a tidal wave of innovative, high-quality software has been released this year. So much in fact, that it's hard to keep track of it all. While many of us talk about Web 2.0 ideas, there's no substitute for pointing to concrete examples. And this also gives credit where credit is due to all the hard-working folks building the next generation of the Web."

So, Hitchcliffe compiled and comments on 11 Web 2.0 specific software in a variety of different areas, from social bookmarking to blog filters and Web-based word processing.

Interesting reading.

Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations in the World

OK, this one's not so light, but it's worth a browse. Manufacturing is alive and well, with such leaders as ABB, Agilent, Alcoa, Eastman Kodak, Heidelberger, HP (!), Intel, Seimens, Toyota, United Technologies, Volkswagen and Volvo achieving Most Sustainable status.

Interestingly, clicking on the Sort by Country selection reveals that Great Britain is apparently leading the world in having the most of the Most Sustainable.

Top 100 Wines 2005

I have a funny relationship with wine. I've been on vineyard tours and to wine tastings, and actually realize that good wine is both art and science. The science of wine is fascinating, but, on the rare occasion that I imbibe, I still prefer vodka. My approach to wine? "The less I like it, the better it is." So far, sadly, this has usually held true.

For our connoisseur readers, however, here's Top 100 Wines 2005 from SFGate.com. Framed with a well-written article, the multiple lists are organized in subcategories of Whites and Reds, of course. Also included is a hearty yet charming article with varietal character, "Five recipes to match the complexities of our 10 favorite wines."

Personally, I'd prefer a Pepsi. But if you enjoy this stuff, have at it.

2005 Foot-in-Mouth Awards

Probably the most humorous of this particular lot are the 2005 Foot-in-Mouth Awards (also referenced earlier this week in an article here on Industrial Market Trends) from Wired magazine.

Topical and smart with a predictable and enjoyable techie twist, the list includes a wide variety of things were said when someone didn't know the mics were on. For example, "The most embarrassing executive antics of the year came early in 2005, as a tone-deaf, stiff white guy stepped up to the stage at the Consumer Electronics Show and joined Aerosmith front man Steven Tyler in a duet." The guy was Intel chairman Craig Barrett. Now that had to be ugly, even for CES.

Intel made the list not once, not twice, but thrice. "You're obviously from France," said by Intel CEO Paul Ottelini. "This zinger deflects criticism when a reporter with an accent asks why Intel is so far behind Advanced Micro Devices on a dual-core server chip. After the laughter subsides, AMD continues to assault Intel's leadership position."

Regarding the recent Wikipedia scandal (covered here, ironically, on Wikipedia), "fake poster" Brian Chase said, "It was done as a joke that went horribly, horribly wrong." Anticlimactic, as the awards piece mentions, but good reading nonetheless.

An excellent collection of whoops moments.


All joking aside, we at Industrial Market Trends thank you for your attention, patience and comments in our still-young blog effort of 2005. We sincerely wish you and yours a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year.