Obama's plan to Pull out troops

One of the main topics all over the newspaper and tv today was how Obama plans to get the troops out of Iraq. Now as most of us remember one of the main differences during the presidential raises was that Obama wanted the troops out a.s.a.p. which raised a lot of questions to Americans as far as if that was the best move or now. With his address being made in NC and being from a military family I took a strong interest in his speech. I am happy to learn that the troops will be pulled out of Iraq and not as quickly as people thought but the way he is handling it is better overall. We have spent too much time in Iraq, too much money and risked too many lives. Pulling out the troops within the next year will allow the military to finish the purpose for going to that country in the first place. I feel that the troops need to be home and they have done their time in Iraq. But is what we first went there completely finished? Have we captured the men that plotted the 9/11 attacks? If we pull out our troops will that show signs of weakness and will open us up for more terrorist attacks? Many of questions begin to arise especially with the talks of closing Guantanamo Bay and what may happen to some of the prisoners there. Many people questions our involvement in this war in the first place. i feel that America could not just sit back and let terrorist destroy the landmarks and peoples lives like they did and let it go unnoticed. However i do feel that it is time to pull out troops. One of my main concerns is the fact that the President will be withdrawing several thousands troops but leaving some to tie up the lose ends. Will that put those military people in danger?

With the economy the way it is, we do not need to be spending money fighting a war. I do not agree with a lot of Obama's views on the military such as cutting housing, medical and other benefits to military families, but i do feel that an end to this war is long overdue. With the shortage of jobs that we have now and with bringing home all the troops that are fighting the war with it create an even bigger job shortage? Many questions still need to be figured out, but all I know is as of August 2010 many welcome home banners should be flying high.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/26/washington/26troops.html?scp=6&sq=Obama&st=cse

MySpace

After looking through different articles in the New York Times, i found this one very appealing. There is a photo of an older gentleman and it is one of the creators of MySpace. To my surprise the guy looked a lot older then i would have imagined. He has created such a large communication portal mainly for what started off for younger people. In this article it discusses how his father always influenced him to think outside the box, and with the creation of MySpace i think he did. MySpace came around in a time when technology was on the rise. And he was able to create a product in an area that had a gap. At the time most people had telephones for communication and some professionals had profiles for business, etc but there wasn't a place to go and allow you to be able to almost create yourself on a profile and share it with the world. His part Tom Anderson (we all know him as Tom), have worked hard it creating and keeping up one of the leading Internet communication sites.

I remember when i got my MySpace account and how i would spend hours and hours adding songs, changing the background, the profile information and adding pictures. I was so addicted that a few times i had to cancel my account because it was distracting me so much that i wasn't dong my school work. I wanted to update my profile all the time, and then check out my friends profiles to see what they adding to theirs. it was INSANE the amount of time that was spent on MySpace. As most good companies do, MySpace grew rapidly, then it got to the point where it was running slow, and creeping people were on their and they were always doing maintenance for the site. It began to get very annoying, then started my Facebook account. I now check facebook my than myspace. Recently i watched a movie where they discussed how Myspace was the new bootycall, and that you have to check so many portals when you are trying to get in touch with people. We all have several email account, Myspace, facebook, texting,etc. Like it was stated in the movie in order to update your image you don't go get your hair done, you update your profile. We are such a techno world where everything is online. I am interested to see how the creators of Myspace or someone else will take communication to the next level in the future.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/22/jobs/22boss.html?_r=1

Microsoft to Open Retail Stores

When I first read this Highlight in the New York Times, I was thinking what in the world is Microsoft doing? As bad as economic times are right now Microsoft is going to begin designing and opening several retail stores. They hired an executive from Wal-Mart to oversee the project. The stores will offer their products such as Zunes, Xboxs and software as well as technical support.
My first response to opening these stores was how are they going to compete with Apple? Apple has such a variety of products and has done an amazing job with the design and overall feel of their retail stores. When you go to an Apple store its an experience. Is Microsoft going to be able to compete with that? They are a very successful company but not one that I can imagine being entertaining and eventful when visiting their store. Another key point was hiring an executive from Wal-Mart. Why? The company is very successful but definitely is not known for their amazing floor layouts or creative displays. I am interested to see how he will be able to take the knowledge and experience and transfer it to Microsoft. I do think that a Microsoft store has a chance of being successful if designed and managed correctly. They are some people who need help understanding new advances in computer systems. If they had an area for help and training i think it would influence more people to learn and be more familiar with everything that a computer can do. I will be interested to see where they choose to place the Microsoft store based off of the demographics and what the stores will offer. I found it very interesting that they were considering bringing back the little paperclip that used to pop up for Microsoft help and placing the character in the stores. I think it's a creative move not necessarily a successful move. I will be interested to follow up on this article and see what advances in the line of the products that they will carry and what types of services the stores will offer. They will definitely have major competition with Apple.

http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/02/13/will-clippy-be-a-greeter-at-microsofts-new-stores/?scp=1&sq=microsoft%20window%20shopping&st=cse

Hilary Duff with DKNY

It has recently been released that Hilary Diff will be pairing with the jeans company DKNY to create her own line of clothing. There will be a select amount of garments created based off of the stars' personal style preferences. It was not yet discussed about the pricing of the garments and as to which stores would carry the styles. She is making a move in the footsteps of other celebrities such as Justin Timberlake, Sarah Jessica Parker, Pete Wentz, etc that have taken their fame and tied it together with fashion.

This is a positive for most celebs that branch out, however some just lend their name without truly backing the company while other take full charge with designs. Hilary is in the direct target of another designer Taylor Swift. Both celebrities will be targeting the same age group and the same style of the consumers. Hilary Duff is established in many ways through television, movies, and singing. Now fashion designing will be added to her resume. I think that this is a positive business move for her. If priced and designed right it could open up several other doors for her in the future. What I find appealing is that most of her styles are designed to be versatile so that consumers truly get their money out of their purchase. With the economy in the slump that it is currently in, any help from designers is greatly appreciated from both younger consumers and parents. Hilary's designs each can be worn at least two different ways in addition to pairing them other with other garments. For example the jeans can be worn with a skinny belt or regular belt and it has belt loops to fit both. Your belt width can change the style of your outfit, other items include several styles of sweaters and jeans. I will be interested to follow up and see how successful the line will be when it hits stores in late Fall. However I am a little optimistic seeing that to my age group I don't feel like she appeals to us as much as she does a younger generation. Even though her age is roughly the same as mine, her music videos are becoming more mature, the majority of her work has been targeted to a younger crowd. Only her designs will tell who her true consumers will be.