Just a quickie, here: you may have noticed that Hewlett-Packard went a little trigger-happy with the Product Launch Gun today, unveiling over a hundred new products as part of its new "Enjoy more" consumer strategy. Why? Well, apparently it's a "direct response to complex proprietary systems that have led the consumer electronics landscape for years"; HP's triple-digit simultaneous product launch intends "to easily bring digital photos, music, and video to life in new and enriching ways." Hmmm... now just what does that strategy remind us of? Here's a hint: it sounds a lot like "Digital Hub" if you replace the D with an M, reverse the order of just the vowels, turn the words upside down, convert the letters into numbers according to the order of the alphabet, throw away the piece of paper on which you're writing, get a fresh sheet, and write down "Digital Hub" again. (Underneath you can scribble the phrase "ease of use.")

Indeed, the Financial Times reports that HP is pushing "to be seen as the Apple Computer of the PC market." Great. So now we've got Apple trying to be the Sony of the personal computer market and HP trying to be the Apple of the personal computer market. All that's left is for Sony to announce that it aims to become the Hewlett-Packard of the personal computer market (for some reason) and the universe will collapse in upon itself and all existence will cease. Which would be kind of neat to watch, actually, but the coolness factor is more than outweighed by the fact that there'd be no more PEZ.

So here's the thing: according to FT, Hewlett-Packard has "adopted a new design philosophy to develop a broad portfolio of products that are designed to work better together and are easier for consumers to use." It's all about "Rewarding Experiences through Simplified Technology." Of course, the one thing that seems to have largely escaped notice is that embracing simplicity by disgorging over a hundred products in a day like a research and development department with the stomach flu somewhat flies in the face of the whole "simplicity" concept in the first place; it's a forest-trees thing. Apple hasn't had more than a handful of discrete hardware products (nor has it had product names with numbers like "zd7000") since Steve wrenched the company out of the Amelio days and brought it back to basics. But hey, best of luck with that, HP.

As HP CEO Carly Fiorina stated, "Today marks a new beginning for consumers who have been turned off by complicated technology... Our vision is simple: place you, the consumer, at the center of the digital experience by making technology that is simple, fun to use, and works better together." She then excused herself because her black turtleneck was giving her a rash.