Branding 102- say it out loud, at least once....

Querido amigos!

Round 2 in my rant about branding. Today's topic presents a conundrum; If you already know that- deep down- you are really bad at branding- wouldn't it be better to just give up at branding altogether?

Maybe that is the conclusion that Fujitsu has reached- for today. In the Formula-1 microprocessor wars, Intel is the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world. Along comes Fujitsu who just built a CPU that can do 2 1/5 laps around the fastest Intel chip- and still beat it to the finish line.

Yes, the World's Fastest CPU. Shatters Intel's speed record by 250%. So, what is it called?

Um.... (Long pause....)

"Venus" - yep, the world's fastest, next-best gizmo is named after the Goddess of love, beauty and fertility??? Alas, I must confess my very Western narrow-minded ignorance, but really, doesn't a kick-ass product deserve a kick-ass name?

Oh, maybe they were going for SEXY...

Wait, I get it now!
* The CPU clusters will be called "Mounds of Venus"!
* The service level agreements can be called "Aphrodite"! Brilliant!!!
* The Low-End, entry level servers would be what the Greeks called:
- - Venus Kallipygos ("Venus with the pretty bottom"),

I bow deeply to greatness in branding,

Mike

but....

p.s.

Of course, Japanese doesn't have a "V" in any of their syllabary or symbolic alphabets - so they have to pronounce it with a "B". So, it comes out as "BEEnasu" - which is the twin character of "PEEnasu." For the first five years of my marriage, that is how my lovely wife pronounced "Peanut Butter" - I thought it was cute, until our baby girl started saying it too. It took real effort to stop them from saying "PEEnasu Baatta" in public. They are cured now, but I fear that Fujitsu is terminal...

Fujitsu develops world's fastest processor

Associated Press, 05.13.09 -- Japanese computer maker Fujitsu Ltd. said Wednesday that it has successfully developed the world's fastest supercomputer processing unit with more than twice the speed of the current leader. A new central processing unit, or CPU, prototype successfully computed at 128 billion times per second - beating the current record, held by Intel Corp. ( INTC - news - people ), by 2.5 times, company spokesman Masao Sakamoto said.
http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2009/05/13/ap6416385.html

The company shrunk the size of each central circuit, thus doubling the number of circuits per chip, he said. The prototype is also energy-efficient and was able to cut power consumption to one-third of the conventional Fujitsu model.

Fujitsu aims to put the new CPU, with a code name "Venus," into practical application in supercomputers "within several years," Sakamoto said.

Computer makers, including IBM Corp. ( IBM - news - people ), Cray ( CRAY - news - people ) Inc. and Intel, have been competing to develop a faster CPU.


--
Mike Beirne
MaidoAri - Network Public Relations
mike@maidoari.info

 

Mirai no Speech

 

Scenes from Tachibana New Year 2009 - The Year of the Ox

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- for Naomi, the Ox

Happy Holiday from the Beirnes

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Happy Father's Day, Dad

"Look there, up in the sky... Is that a bird, or a plane? No, wait- it's SuperDad!"

Happy Father's Day, Dad!

Hope you are well this Father's Day. Down here in San Jose, we just finished the school year- both regular school- on Thursday- and Japanese school, yesterday.

Naomi and Teresa did great in school (again) this year. Naomi is at the top of her class and Teresa IS the top of her class. (She did so well in public high school this year that we had to teach her mother that the phrase "Four Point Oh!" means a perfect score - or all "A"s on your report card. She kept it up the whole year- including the college level Japanese course she is taking. (Yes, she got better grades than the college kids in her class- what a show off!)


The ladies have two weeks off before they go to Japan for the summer. Naomi will be going to school in Japan again- this will be her last year to take part in elementary school in Japan. Their grandparents in Japan are very excited that they will be visiting soon.

Next year will bring big changes, I think. Like her sister, Naomi wants to move to a bigger public school, so we enrolled her in the nearby middle school, called Castellero. They have a great music program and some of Naomi's friends from Japanese school go there. The school is closer to home, so the commute will be much easier.

Moreover, Mayumi will not have to work in exchange for tuition anymore. This finally allows Mayumi to exercise her Green Card, which we just renewed because she/we have been in the U.S. for ten years. (Can you believe it?) I took the day off on Tuesday and we went to the Federal office together to finish the paperwork, take her picture and fingerprints for her new Green Card. All went smoothly, so we don't have any worries about their summer travel plans.

She is still working on the application, but it looks like Mayumi will be going back into teaching next year. She contacted the "official" Japanese school in the area to see if they need teachers for next year. Yes- they do- and they were very happy to hear that she is a certified teacher in Japan. Her qualifications are far better than most of the people working there, so she should get hired there easily. It should be so much better than now- instead of working every afternoon , Mayumi would work a full day on Saturdays, with an occasional meeting / training during the week. The girls will continue their "informal" Japanese school on Saturdays next year, as it is probably the last year for Teresa. It will keep us busy on Saturdays, but will give Mayumi most of the week off. She will start earning a "real" income as a teacher, so that will help our finances a lot.

I don't know when/if I will be visiting Washington this summer. We have a couple of big announcements over the next two weeks that may affect my job. I might have to go to New York or even Tokyo for meetings soon. I'd love to be able to go to Japan - on the company's tab- and work in a visit with Mayumi's family. The good news from the Tokudomi family is that Mayumi's younger brother, Atsunobu, is engaged to get married. (Her youngest brother, Takashi, who visited Seattle long ago- has been married for some time, but we thought that the older brother, Atsunobu, was a dedicated bachelor.) They have tried for years to hook him up with a bride, to no avail. He finally met the right woman- "all by himself" - and they plan to get married in the Fall. Needless to say, the Tokudomi clan is very happy now.

Speaking of happy- we hope that you have a happy Father's Day. I will call you soon, but in case I miss you, we wanted to say that we love you, Dad.

Love you, Dad (and you too, Susie!)

- Mike, Mayumi, Teresa & Naomi



p.s. This is me recently with my "first daughter" - Jessa Derania.
Jessa is Peter's daughter, who I lived with during Law School.
I used to babysit Jessa for Peter and Jill, while I was studying.
Don't know if the law books that I used to read to her had any
influence, but she is now a PHD candidate at Tulane University
in New Orleans. Am as proud of her as my own girls and was
so very happy that she called when she was going through the
area and we had a chance to meet at the San Jose train station,
if only for a short time.

Happy, Ratty New Year

Don't tell anyone, but the love of my life is a rat.

Well, maybe Mayumi is a mouse, but she is
definitely a rodent....

That being said- Merry Christmas and
Happy New Year 2008!

Mike, the Rat and the Kids

Give and Get this Holiday Season

As our children get older, we get dumber and they get smarter. Am not sure why or how that happens, but it definitely does happen. When a 10 year old tells you at the breakfast table that she doesn't need Christmas presents and that it would be better to give things or money to people who really need it- well, even Dad gets it.

So, we looked into it. I also had a chance encounter with one of my favorite projects in the world... First, thanks to Larry Magid for his column in the Mercury News- we thought it was a great idea:

Tech File: Sites help small investments make social impact

MICROLOANS A NEW WAY TO INVEST

By Larry Magid

Article Launched: 10/29/2007 01:36:31 AM PDT

An investment adviser suggested I diversify my portfolio with international holdings. But instead of buying an international mutual fund, I went to microplace.com to make a small investment in a group of Ghanaian businesses and thanks to kiva.org I now have an interest in a Bolivian pig farm.
http://www.mercurynews.com/search/ci_7310562?IADID=Search-www.mercurynews.com-www.mercurynews.com

Both of the girls think this is a cool thing and we agreed that it would be a good way to invest their savings to help the world. ( See, I told you they were getting smarter than us! ) Well, Dad isn't slacking completely- he recently hooked up with one of the coolest gigs in the PR world, the gentleman who promotes the One Laptop Per Child initiative, SJ Klein. I got to play with the little green machine that our good friend Hector Ruiz and guiding guru Nicholas Negroponte has championed. It is a true paradigm shift.

This little thing CAN and - with our help- change the world for the better. So, as you think about what new gadget you want to give or get this holiday season, pause please, for just a moment and think about what you could give AND get. You can invest your money to help the developing world and/or you can buy a really cool laptop (yes, they DO have the handcrank and footcrank accessories) and one of those cool laptops will go to some child who REALLY needs the gift of such technology. Just seven days left in the campaign, so give the gift of giving early.

MB

http://www.laptopgiving.org/en/index.php

One learning child. One connected child. One laptop at a time.

The mission of One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) is to empower the children of developing countries to learn by providing one connected laptop to every school-age child. In order to accomplish our goal, we need people who believe in what we’re doing and want to help make education for the world’s children a priority, not a privilege. Between November 12 and November 26, OLPC is offering a Give One Get One program in the United States and Canada. During this time, you can donate the revolutionary XO laptop to a child in a developing nation, and also receive one for the child in your life in recognition of your contribution.