Wordperfect had a virtual monopoly on word processing in big firms that used DOS. Then Windows arrived and the folks at Wordperfect didn't feel the need to hurry in porting themselves to the new platform. They had achieved lock-in after all, and why support Microsoft?

In less than a year, they were toast.

When the game machine platform of choice switches from Sony to xBox to Nintendo, etc., the list of bestelling games change and new companies become dominant.

When the platform for music shifted from record stores to iTunes, the power shifted too, and many labels were crushed.

Again and again the same rules apply. In fact, they always do. When the platform changes, the deck gets shuffled.

Think this only applies to software?

The platform for healthcare changed from independent doctor's offices and small practices to hospitals and hmos.

The platform for TV changed from airwaves to wires (so HBO and ESPN win, NBC loses).

The platform for cars is changing from gas engines to alternatives.

And the platform for books is changing (fast!) to e-books and readers. Just published today: the Vook multimedia production of Unleashing the Ideavirus. The price will increase to $5 in two weeks, but right now it's 99 cents. It runs on the web and on your iphone (and the iPad on April 3rd.)

Here's the thing: Vook abridged it, built it, filmed it and distributed it in less than ninety days. They have a software application that they can use again and again for other titles. They've organized themselves to be profitable at a profit margin that few big book publishers can match.

Once again, the platform changes. Insiders become outsiders and new opportunities abound.

As every browser may require different prefixes for the CSS3 properties, this tool makes it so easy by providing them all with an editable & well-commented way where the output can be seen instantly.

Currently, it helps you write the rules for: border-radius, box-shadow, linear-gradients, rotation & @font-face. Some other transforms like skew & scale will be added soon.

For some transforms, that Internet Explorer can support via IE filters, they are mentioned too.

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Google’s translation services are making the news this week with improvements to a smartphone app which now attempts to translate voices rather than text (hopefully more accurately than in our illustration.)

The app, titled Google Translate (which is also the name of the firm’s website translation tool), is designed for users visiting a foreign country. Instead of resorting to phrasebooks or online dictionaries, the idea is to simply ask the person you are conversing with to talk into the phone. The app then attempts to recognize what has been said and then “speaks” an English translation. It can also work in reverse, translating your speech into a foreign language.

Although the app already existed and could handle text, this is the first time it has worked with speech. At the moment it can handle speech in English, Mandarin (the most common language in China) and Japanese, though other languages including German are in the works. According to the Los Angeles Times, the speech feature “works surprisingly well for translating basic phrases”.

As we noted last year, NEC is working on a similar service which involves the user wearing special spectacles, meaning that as well as hearing the translation, they can see the words as subtitles. That’s not likely to reach as wide an audience though: the spectacles, which are currently designed for making it easier for technicians to see pages from repair manuals without using their hands, cost more than $2,500 and won’t have the translation feature until next year.

The Google app improvements follow on from the announcement last week that a translation feature is to be built directly into the Chrome browser. Users visiting a webpage marked in a language other than English (or whichever language they have set as default) will be offered a one click button to see the page translated.

It uses the same technology as the Google Translate service, but doesn’t require any cut-and-pasting of either the text or the URL. The service is based around a database of 20 million words worth of United Nations documents. That’s particularly reliable as those documents have been officially translated into six languages by expert UN translators. The service has also used documents from the European Parliament on a similar basis.

(Picture courtesy of Flickr user Xiaming.)

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It is built with PHP-MySQL & can be integrated into websites with JavaScript (like Google Analytics) or PHP.

For  the given period, the application can display:

• the number of visitors/pageviews
• referrer URLs, domains
• search terms
• browsers, OSs, countries, screen sizes

There is also a "paths" feature that shows a user's browsing path page-by-page.

You may be asking, "why to use SlimStat instead of Google Analytics?" The best answer would be "live stats".

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Tron Legacy is a 3D high-tech adventure set in a digital world that’s unlike anything ever captured on the big screen. Sam Flynn (Garrett Hedlund), the tech-savvy 27-year-old son of Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges), looks into his father’s disappearance and finds himself pulled into the same world of fierce programs and gladiatorial games where his father has been living for 25 years. Along with Kevin’s loyal confidant (Olivia Wilde), father and son embark on a life-and-death journey across a visually-stunning cyber universe that has become far more advanced and exceedingly dangerous.

Tron Legacy will hit theaters on December 17th, 2010 in both Disney Digital 3D and IMAX 3D.

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Mental Floss has a brilliant overview of one of my favorite memes: the Bayeux Tapestry meme. I first came across the Bayaux Tapestry in college, and then I had no idea it held such hilarious possibility when brought to the Internet masses. I remember seeing a humorous take on the Bayeux on Fark years ago, and likely found it far funnier than most people, having studied it (medievalism win!). Still, Mental Floss’s article is pitch perfect.

Some quick facts about the Bayeux Tapestry:

- It measures 70 meters/230 feet long

- It was completed in the 1070s, likely within a decade of the Norman Invasion.

- It depicts the Norman Invasion of England, as well as other political events leading up to it

- Technically it’s embroidered cloth, not a tapestry. A tapestry is woven together as one piece, whereas an embroidery is embellished on top of cloth.

- The piece is chronological and reads much like a long comic book. Figures appear and reappear during the progress of the narrative throughout.

- While no one is certain who commissioned the work itself–possibilities include Bishop Odo, William the Conqueror’s brother; Queen Matilda, William’s wife; and Edith of Wessex–it’s generally accepted to be the work of renowned Anglo-Saxon seamsters.

- The thread is wool, the cloth is tabby-woven linen. The now-famous color pattern includes many local dyes, according to Wikipedia, in “shades of terracotta or russet, blue-green, dull gold, olive green, and blue, with small amounts of dark blue or black and sage green.”

- Haley’s comet makes an appearance, helping to date the piece, not to mention adding a sense of foreboding to the story.

- It is written in Latin, with Anglo-Saxon flavor here and there.

- A handful of mysteries surround the piece, not to mention theories explaining its true purpose. There are missing panels (making up about 7 yards of lost material) and panels near impossible to decipher, including one of a clergyman beating a woman. Throughout the cloth are marginalia, symbols and descriptions which are still difficult for historians to understand. Some have posited that there are underlying anti-Norman messages throughout, as well. Medieval conspiracy theories, ftw!

And now for the funny. As Mental Floss points out, you can even make your own at the Historic Tale Construction Kit, which may be my favorite new site.

[via Mental Floss, Wikipedia]

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There’s a wonderful European-style market and bakery in the Oak Lawn area of Dallas. They serve everything from made-to-order salads and sandwiches to chef-prepared, ready-to-eat meals.

But what I love most about the place is the sign on the door when you leave. It’s classic.

The sign doesn’t read “Please Come Again” or “Thank You for Your Business” or some other typical exit sign platitude.

It says . . .

“See you tomorrow.”

That kind of confidence is compelling and downright sexy. Sure, a fantastic product, service, or experience is the starting point from which confidence comes, but too many people play it scared and safe even when what they offer is truly great.

I’m not talking about arrogance. Arrogance is an indication of fear, not assurance.

Too many people, however, approach copywriting from a defensive mindset. You’re already back on your heels from the start, instead of proudly sharing your excellence with the people who can benefit most from it.

After all, if you’re not confident in your product or service, why should anyone else be? Confidence is a strong attractor because it assures people they’re making the right choice.

So, check out these tips for confident writing.

And we’ll see you tomorrow.

About the Author: Brian Clark is founder of Copyblogger and wants you to know that Thesis + Scribe = SEO Made Simple. Get more from Brian on Twitter.

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