Business Week recently pointed out, in an article linked from Sandy Carter’s SOA blog, that IBM now makes more profit from software than services, which had been our mainstay for a number of years now. I’m not 100% clear on the details (it’s not often I get to look at the big book o’ accounts), but it’s good to know that we in IBM Software Group are doing good for the company’s bottom line.

I’ve just booked my ticket for Bill Clinton’s leadership seminar next Tuesday. Although my politics don’t align that well with his, I’ve nevertheless long thought he’s an intelligent man, and look forward to hearing what he has to say. David Millward from the Telegraph has also written about this.

Media, and methods for consuming them, could be divided into three categories, according to the degree that they allow control over the rate of flow of information into your brain:

Allow No Control

• Theatre

• Cinema

• Live Radio

• Live TV

Allow Some Control (Pauseable, Restartable)

• Watching a film at home (VHS, DVD)

• Podcast

• Radio over Internet

• TV over Internet

Allow Flexible Control

• Reading - books, the web, etc.

The list is hardly comprehensive, I’ve just listed some of those with which I’m more familiar. There is of course some wiggle room. For example, some DVD players allow films to be slowed down/speeded up, although dramatically changing the speed ruins the experience. Also, of course, you can record TV programmes for later viewing.

Another day, another film about heroin. But Christiane F is no Trainspotting. This film is the true story of Christiane, a 14-year girl in Berlin in the mid-70s, who turns to prostitution to fund her growing ‘H’ habit. Gritty and dirty, the film portrays 70s Berlin as one might expect - as an environment drenched with drugs and dotted with VW Beetles. The blunt effects and the realism of the cinematography support the story well. David Bowie provides an excellent soundtrack for the movie, including a German-language version of Heroes.

I’m currently podcast-less, due to the continued incompetence of PlusNet, and so am reading Milton Friedman’s Capitalism and Freedom (at Richard’s suggestion). So far it’s an excellent book, and everything I expected.

It’s interesting how the power of the market might surprise even Friedman himself, however - given that the book was originally written in 1962. On page 30 Friedman discusses the use of tolls on roads, and how they are ineffective in the general case, because of the high costs of administering them on most roads. This is an example of a ’neighborhood effect’, one of only two types of market failure he identifies. From this, the implication is that a petrol tax is an effective solution.

After euroGel 2006, which was truly a ‘good’ experience for me, Mark Hurst has announced that euroGel is coming back to Copenhagen in 2007. I’ve just booked my ticket, and as a previous attendee, I’ve got a 20% discount, so the price was only USD $480. I’m allowed to share this discount (which is only valid until this Friday, 22nd September) with friends and colleagues, so if you’re interested, let me know and I’ll send you the link. You can sign up at the regular price here.

Trainspotting is from the oh-so-cool Pulp Fiction mold, the late-90s cult film that’s too popular to be a cult. I think this turned me off it first time round, and so I avoided it. But having seen it now, it does have some appeal, despite the largely unpleasant storyline and one genuinely shocking scene. The film walks a tightrope between promoting heroin use as acceptable (although never normal, never glamorous), and showing the downside. But it does have the guts to point out that heroin feels great - 1000 times better than an orgasm can’t be that bad, right? The consensual, liberal attitude of the film has appeal.

I think it’s safe to say that DVD is now the distribution medium of choice for films (and TV programmes, etc.), rather than VHS. Most high street shops, whether selling or renting, stock DVDs in greater quantities than VHS, and some don’t stock VHS at all. This is also true of most online retailers.

But is anyone else surprised at how quickly this change has occurred? Technically speaking, DVDs aren’t that compelling. Sure, they have some advantages: the quality is better, they last longer, they are random-access. But are they that much better? Is the change entirely demand-side driven? Or are there good reasons for distributors to encourage the switch to DVD?

Alien: Nerve-racking, small, polished, gory, and a classic.

Aliens: Exciting, large, loud, glossy, and militaristic.

Alien 3: Awkward, bizarre, surprising, religious, and closeted.

Alien: Resurrection: Laughable, patchy, graphical, vague, and French.

My ADSL at home is currently broken. Unfortunately I’m with PlusNet, who don’t seem to care too much about their customers: I have had to run the gauntlet of poorly thought-out automated phone systems, long waits to speak to a human being, and support websites that don’t cut to the chase.

It’s an interesting illustration of how much I’ve come to rely on this communication mechanism, however. I’ve already had several instances over the past few days where I’ve tried to use my network connection on instinct - for example, looking up train times last night - before remembering it’s not there. I’m really not sure how healthy this is. Of course, a fast, always-on network connection is useful. But perhaps I shouldn’t rely on its presence as much as I do. What are your experiences of this? Do you feel uncomfortable when part of your connection to the modern world is broken?