i wait all year for this time.

what, you ask, thanksgiving?

well, yeah.  but not exactly...

see, 4 years ago, david rothman of teleread.com -- who's
affectionately known as "the idiot" by david moynihan --
made me a little bet, and every year at this time i revisit it.

david, like his best buddy jon noring, had repeated for years
that "within 5 years, we will have cheap high-quality screens,
and e-reader-machines will be readily available for just $50."

well, along about 2001, i started pointed out to jon noring that
he had been spouting that line for 5 years already, all without
his big "prediction" ever coming true.  finally, after a few years
of that, noring finally stopped spewing that particular untruth.

but rothman never got the message, and kept on babbling
his insane prediction.  i called him on it, repeatedly, such as:
>   http://www.teleread.org/blog/2005/11/29/you-can-buy-the-mit-100-laptop-for-200/

rothman responded, in november of 2005, with:
>   Folks, tune in a year from now, and we’ll see who’s right.
>   The MIT Media Lab has suffered its share of debacles,
>   but I’d bet my money on it in this case

so i took rothman up on the offer, even extending out the bet.
i said that if there were a $50 e-book machine within 5 years,
i would buy it for him, or -- if he preferred -- a tofu turkey...

so every year, around this time, i "check back" to laugh at him.

2006 came and went, and i was right.  2007 and 2008 as well.
now it's 2009, and there's no $50 e-book-machine out there.

so, after checking back for 4 straight years, i'm _still_ right...

rothman's crystal ball is severely cracked.  it always has been.
that people listen to the man is a testament to their stupidity.
tech-wise, he couldn't punch his way out of a wet paper bag...

and has david learned anything?  nope.  he's still just as stupid
as ever, still acting like a cheap machine is "around the corner",
still using his blog to trumpet up whatever bucket of gullibility
a screen-technology p.r. person is willing to type up for him...

meanwhile...

my bet that it would take until 2011 to hit an inexpensive
price-point is looking to be accurate as the years roll by.
key to it is if/when the pixel qi screen attains its promise.

but now in 2009?  well, david, you were wrong, i was right.

at any rate, have a very lovely thanksgiving, everyone...
even you -- david -- and i hope that crow tastes good.

-bowerbird