For all of you who were wondering what happened last week, my wife and I went to Albuquerque on Friday to visit friends. They took us to the Balloon Festival over the weekend. It was my first, ahem, Glodeo. That’s when the balloons, at sunset, are tethered and they spend a hour all pretty much lighting the burners at once, on and off. It’s amazing.

Albuquerque Balloon Festival, Glodeo, Copyright © 2011 John Martellaro 

Back to our regularly scheduled broadcast.

Microsoft has been unable to stem the tide of defections from IE. It seems that Chrome, despite privacy concerns, continues to take big bites out of IE’s market share. The question is, is there any action that Microsoft can take to stop the slide? This kind of crap certainly isn’t going to work. The problem may just be that Microsoft agenda, by necessity, and the idea that IE just isn’t cool anymore may override the technical facts. If that turns out to be the case, it’s a stern lesson from Borg space.

On another Microsoft track, the company is trying to be innovative with Windows 8, and I’ll grant them some credit. When I reviewed Win8, I had some positive things to day, but I wondered about the human UI principles in the new Start page. It appears now that Microsoft is continuing to look at that Start page, and here’s an article that explores the company’s thinking in more detail. You know what’s amazing? Microsoft is staying out of court with Apple with Windows Phone 7. You have to like that.

So far, I have remained allergic to Facebook and Google+. For Google+, it’s interesting to see whether the service is so compelling and safe, that senior Google executives are embracing it. So here’s the verdict: “If Google’s Management Doesn’t Use Google+, Then Why Should You?” I surmise you also won’t find too many Apple executives on Goggle+. So here’s something to ponder. Think like an executive.

I think I referenced this fabulous video in an article last week, but it’s worth linking to again. It’s one of those classic Hitler spoofs — and one of the very best. I can’t remember when I laughed so hard. (Two warnings: R-rated, and for the Saturday morning readers, DO NOT have a mouth full of coffee when you watch this.) “Hitler Doesn’t like the iPhone 4S.”

Boatloads have been written about the iPhone 4S vs. 5 issue, but one item that has escaped notice is contract timing. It wasn’t lost on Henry Blodget, however. It just goes to show that 1) Apple is smarter than we are, 2) There’s always something going on behind the scenes that the blogger guy living in his mom’s basement didn’t think about. “Okay, Now I Get It: Here’s Why Apple Launched The iPhone 4S Instead Of The iPhone 5.”

It’s one thing to be savvy about iOS from a user’s perspective, but to really understand Apple and it’s technologies, you have to go one step deeper and understand some of the developer issues. Here’s one for you. It’s technical, but you’ll be a better person for having read Marco (Instapaper) Arment’s analysis of the iOS cleaning process.

Felt good, didn’t it?

All too often, we read about business deals that make one scratch the head. WTF? However, here’s one where the situation was so transparent, even a highschool kid would have steered clear of the Hulu temptress dance. “Why Hulu’s Owners Couldn’t Find A Buyer.” Obvious, yes. But oh, so satisfying.

Have you ever thought that you could set an alarm on an Android smartphone, do everything right, and still miss the wakeup alarm? That’s exactly what happened to this fellow, and the story he tells is, well, telling. It’s simply titled: “The Speaker.” You’ll love it.

Along those lines, remember when the very first notebook computers arrived and the keyboard was at the very front? Then Apple figured out the problem and the solution. Every single PC maker followed like an embarrassed sheep. Is Apple the only company that knows what the frak it’s doing?

Finally, in case you missed it, here’s a neat article that showcases seven “hidden” features of iOS 5. I suppose the section title, “Custom Vibrations” may catch your eye, especially if you’re a Beach Boys fan. Okay, I’m falling off a cliff on memory lane here. Signing off.