Perhaps this is a good thing for the proverbial mother-in-law computer. It’s cheap up front, it runs linux that looks like windows, it comes with gobs of apps and connectivity, and has a subscriber service that does network backup of personal files.

In addition, it is touted as “green” and is certainly low power consumption. If it breaks in the first three years they will send a replacement unit at no charge.

For a $99 start and $155/yr subscription over three years you’ve got $563, or basically the cost of a Mac Mini.

Billie reintroduced an idea today that grabbed our interest. We have been doing our IT department dinners every couple of months but haven’t really leveraged our connections with the Zingerman’s businesses. What we’d like to do is work with the Zingerman’s businesses and build on current promotions of food  (such as Australian month) to craft our IT dinner and then we’d blog about it afterwards and share with the world our enthusiasms - further promoting the food!

Apple released the next, faster generation of MacBooks today. The new Books are available with a 2.0GHz or 2.16GHz processors (as opposed to the previous 1.86GHz and 2.0GHz) and come stocked with 1GB of RAM instead of 512MB. Hard drive size has also been increased from 60GB to 80GB with options for 120GB and 160GB drives. A dual-layer Super Drive is also available and comes stocked in the black MacBooks.

Nothing but good news here: the new MacBooks are faster but still the same price (starting at $1099) and the price of the previous generation will likely be reduced on Apple’s refurb site. We’ve been huge fans of the MacBooks since they came out, and with improvements like these I’m sure we’ll remain big fans.

Russell Simmons, known as a hip-hop media mogul, has written a book, “Do You!”, that focuses on Laws that he has discovered in his life that “access the power in you to achieve happiness and success.” We’re talking one of those books that goes through and illustrates basic laws of the universe with personal stories and thoughtful prose.

What I found particular interesting about Russell’s book is that he comes from a cultural background that I have no familiarity with and that his laws are many of the ones I live with and that I believe Zingerman’s does a good job communicating to staff. What really worked for me is that he comes from a position of humility and allows that people will come with different experiences.

I’d recommend this book for anyone who wants to think entrepreneurally (is that a word?) or even take control of their lives. It’s good advice written in an accessible and lively way.

Apple Computer and Zingerman’s: It’s All About the Customer

“…Zingerman’s has grown in a deliberate but purposeful way, expanding in areas where it can control the customer experience. It doesn’t franchise. It doesn’t lend its name to stuff that is not home-grown. It treats its brand like a rare and valuable jewel, pulling it out and sharing it only when its safe and only at appropriate times. It now has a thriving mail-order business. It can control how items are packaged, the presentation, and the consistency of quality of the items delivered. It also opened a restaurant in Ann Arbor, again a venue where they can control the customer experience front-to-back. I am a stickler for customer service. I am willing to pay a premium for excellent service, and get very, very irritated if I am asked to pay a premium price but the service doesn’t hold up its end. When I walk into Zingerman’s I always have a smile on my face because I know that I will get first-class, friendly, intelligent and informed service, every time. Zero variation…”

More here: “Information Arbitrage: Apple Computer and Zingerman’s: It’s All About the Customer”

NYTimes article: “A Corner Deli With International Appeal”

“…Why is Sun joining the Mac porting project? If you look around at conferences and airport lounges, you will notice that more and more people are using Apple notebooks these days. Apple has a significant market share in the desktop space. We are supporting this port because of the interest and activity of the community wanting this port…”

http://blogs.sun.com/GullFOSS/entry/sun_microsystems_engineering_joins_porting

Dell will be shipping PCs with Linux preinstalled again. This time it’s one of our favorite distros: Ubuntu. Checkout the interview with Ubuntu founder, Mark Shuttleworth.