News media outlets are heralding Ribbit’s goal to “be the platform company for Voice 2.0 applications.” Countless articles in mainstream news media and posts in blog media have appeared, written by individuals with a solid command of exactly what Ribbit is all about. Om Malik, writing for GIGAOM, sums it up: “…what they have done is built their own Class 5 softswitch and back-end infrastructure and married it to front-end technologies like Flash and Flex from Adobe Systems (ADBE).” Okay, if you say so.

The company calls itself, “Silicon Valley’s first phone company.” Chief Executive Officer Ted Griggs comes across as a really nice guy on a promotional video. The video will probably challenge the attention deficit Web readers are known for. Griggs basically talks about the company and what the technology means.  But the video is about as lively as a lint brush. There’s a photo of a guy in a suit on the front page of the Ribbit Web site. He’s in a Zen state of mind. Who is he supposed to be speaking to? Even a developer wouldn’t relate to this guy. Your average person, to get excited about this product, needs to know in flat English what Ribbit is going to do for us and what it will cost.

A page on the company’s Web site does give consumers an idea of what to expect. You’ll be able to: make calls through your computer so you have a phone wherever you have an internet connection, read your voicemails so audio playback is no longer a necessity, play your messages in any order so you decide the order of importance, and access your messages on the go from any phone through a smart voicemail interface.

A New York Times headline asked, “Would you buy a telephone from a company named Ribbit?” Most of us would if we get a unique service at reasonable cost. I actually think the name can be an asset—frogs are cute and there’s a lot of creative leeway in those little amphibians. Think about what GEICO does with a gecko who talks like an Aussie and has better manners than most of us. You have to wonder what kind of accent a Ribbit-promoting frog might speak with, in between ribbits.

Meanwhile, developers are positive. According to the Ribbit Web site, more than 600 have joined the development community to date,  located throughout the world in over 65 countries, including the U.S., Europe, Brazil, China, and India. Time will tell whether future marketing efforts will succeed with consumers—maybe we’ll see a Valley girl frog offering up a designer beer, ‘ribbiting’ with zest, selling us on a new phone service in the process.

 

Talk computers with a group of wired types, and one fact will become evident. Fans of the Mac swear by the product with fervor normally found at a tent revival in a small town where religion is a passion rather than a pastime. The journalists and graphic artists I know are especially fond of Mac, and these professionals sing the praises of that product so consistently I’m thinking of going that route when my current PC goes wherever a PC goes once its purpose becomes irrelevant.

The Christmas ad touting the Mac over the standard PC is a model of subliminal and direct messaging. For one thing, the Mac fan looks the part, down to the baggy jeans and sparse hair tufts on his chin. The PC fan fits the bill—a run of the mill management type in a tie and khakis, who buys into his product without question—brainwashing comes to mind.

The ad carries a message in low-key style typical of a company that makes a quiet no-frills statement and who has carved a niche for itself by offering less not more only in the messaging style. The humor can be appreciated—even Santa (not thinned down here for political correctness, but shown in jolly fat elf mode) casts a doubtful eye at the PC fan as he breaks the rhythm of the popular Christmas song. Making a strong suggestion without alienating or viciously bashing the competition—that’s a Mac trademark, and it works well in this Apple commercial, especially with Santa the central figure who, by directing a simple glance full of meaning, apparently agrees with the geek. In other words, what’s good for Santa should be good for us.

The Bourne Ultimatum DVD hit the market Tuesday, and the trailer promises more of the same from Matt Damon. Bourne’s character is so resilient if you could bottle his secret for survival you could make at least a million bucks. The TV spot snipped from the trailer reminds us we are privy to the inside scoop on the most dangerous unofficial government agent alive, opening with the statement, “Jason Bourne is at large in New York City.” The tone of that statement is as solemn as a dirge.

For those not already hooked on the Bourne franchise, this trailer won’t do a lot to entice. While the hand to hand combat scenes have the right levels of smacking and thumping sounds and shots, there’s not much going that hasn’t gone before. The possible exception comes when Bourne uses a hardcover book as a weapon, ramming it horizontally against an assailant’s neck—a bonus self-defense tip if you fear a home invasion.

The trailer does sum up the lead character in a brief scene when Damon as Webb/Bourne declares, “They can’t stop me.” His character, always as dry as an accountant five minutes before the annual tax filing deadline, is perfectly captured with that statement delivered in a casual manner, and in the resigned attitude reflected in his body language as he eases from his chair in a room defined in black and white tones.

I have to admit the trailer works a little like a poem here—the compact nature of the video equals the book equals the franchise. Bourne rather expands in the mind as a result, if you’ve seen even one of the movies in this series.

Fans will certainly love another installment on DVD, and I think the trailer is basically preaching to this choir. If you’re a Bourne newcomer, this clip doesn’t offer anything different than typical neo-Rambo clashes courtesy of a brooding leading man who despite assassin Carlos the Jackal’s pursuit, lives to fight another day. In Publisher’s Weekly, a review of the Robert Ludlum novel that inspired the movie noted, “This is formula writing that delivers even less than its meager performance.” The same might be said of the trailer and maybe the DVD as well. Catch the complete trailer at The Bourne Ultimatum Web site.