Wednesday, July 23, 2008

CherryPal News

CherryPal is getting more attention: an article from EE Times, quoting much of what I understood from the CherryPal event earlier this month.

Much blather and misunderstanding on SlashDot after referencing the above EE article. If you enjoy rants from people who can't be bothered to either read the original article in full or who have immediate reactions to other posts, this is for you.

People who actually want answers can now go to the CherryPal website, where a good FAQ and succinct, non-geeky answers are posted. (I consider them intelligent and reasonable questions, since many of them were just what my husband the technical writer and my son the software engineer have been raising.)

The official CherryPal website is now open for business. Here's the front page news:

CherryPal™ is trying to change the world one computer at a time. We’ve created the most affordable, easiest to use and greenest desktop computer available.

The CherryPal desktop is a tiny PC designed with the user in mind. It does all the things you do every day: surf the web, keep in touch with your friends, listen to iTunes, watch videos, word processing, presentations and spreadsheets, all without the hassle of a traditional PC. It only uses 2 watts of power, lasts 10 years and has 80 percent fewer parts. There’s no software or upgrades to install, no risk of viruses, and no operating system to deal with and free 24/7 support – all for just $249. We’ve created the most affordable, easiest-to-use and greenest desktop computer available.

The price is now $249, rather than the $199 targeted earlier. Probably a prudent move since costs are so volatile currently. And still an amazing bargain.

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

How I Became a Brand Angel

It began, innocently enough, with CraigsList.
I was perusing the "etcetera" writer jobs, and saw a listing that intrigued me for a company I'd not heard of called CherryPal, so I googled them. No hype, just some swell concept ads. A green computer coming August 4th. The job: using social media online to tell others about this new computer. Compensation: free computer and small honorarium for each computer sold to someone using your promotion code.
Well, that's a different business model, I thought. Deal me in. So my application is in the mail, and I'm thinking ... where am I going to set it up?