In a recently-released TED video, author Simon Sinek explains what he sees as the secret to Apple’s success and makes a case for the real reason the company is so innovative–even though it has “the same access to the same talent, the same agencies, the same consultants, the same media.”
I’d hate to see the math on what DirecTV really costs, based on how many channels/programs I watch each month. And I thought I wouldn’t live to see a) cable/sat unbundle programming or b) a serious alternative. But maybe I was wrong.
“Apple is eliciting tentative interest from some networks in its proposal to offer a TV subscription package via the Internet. Theoretically, customers would be able to tune in online, allowing them to cancel their cable or satellite subscriptions.
Broadband Internet subscriptions to TV networks could potentially destabilize the bedrock of the television business, which relies on subscribers paying for dozens of bundled channels.
The blog All Things D reported last month that Apple was proposing a $30-a-month supplement to its iTunes service to the networks. The networks would receive monthly payments from Apple.”
Rest of the story is here.
While we’re getting more and more information online without ever visiting a website (at least the home page), I think this is going to be an increasingly important question.
Before getting an iPhone, I really didn’t worry that much about how the websites I worked on looked on a mobile device. That was a mistake.
I did give it some thought as I moved smays.com from Typepad to WordPress and chose a theme that displayed reasonably well on a small screen.
We might be nearing the end of my Breakfast Reading Evolutionary Cycle. And it’s an iPhone propped up against a napkin dispenser.
Wonder how many of these there are now? Started in 2006. The three new ones are Customer Care, Elimination and PC Choice Chat (above). I love that they didn’t bother put with mic cord or phone cords. If you’d like to make these stop… get a Mac.
I’m not sure, but believe the DJ feature is new with the latest version of iTunes. @georgekopp played with it for just a few minutes on Saturday at the Coffee Zone and if I understood his explanation, it works likes this.
If Taisir is playing music (through the Zone ceiling speakers) from iTunes on his laptop and that laptop is on the Coffee Zone wifi network, I can see his play list from my laptop (or my iPhone) and “request” a song from his list. That song would then be moved up in the queue.
You can see how this could quickly get out of hand. An Elvis nut could take over the play list. Perhaps iTunes DJ gives you some control over that. Maybe a limit to 3 requests or something.
But it looks like fun way to add some interactivity to the morning coffee experience. Stay tuned.
My father and Barb's father suffered from Alzheimer's Disease and died from related illnesses. But I am no kind of expert on the disease. Please keep that in mind as you follow along with this post.
I checked the iPhone apps store and didn't find anything like what I'm going to try to describe. Probably a good reason for that. And the application I'm imagining would be targeted at those in the early and mid stages of the disease. And if they refused to keep the phone with them or couldn't remember to take it, game over. But let's assume they're on board.
The iPhone app would launch whenever the phone was turned on. It would be programmed with information about the patient (for lack of a better term).
The map would have pins for the patient's favorites spots (corner market, hair salon, friends, etc). If they clicked on one of the pins, a small bubble would appear with the person photo and some info about them. A video link would play a short video clip ("Hello, Mrs. Johnson. Steve Mays here. Looking forward to your next visit.") and, of course a phone number to call the person.
The patient and family would decide on a radius that covered most of the places they were likely to go. Let's say 20 miles. If they go outside that radius, the phone wakes up and a familiar (?) voice says something along the lines of: "Hi, mom. It's me, Janice. Please give me a call. Just hit the green button.")
This repeats a couple of times and if ignored, the iPhone begins calling family and –if necessary– the authorities.
My father would go to morning coffee and on the way home make a wrong turn and just get confused about where he was. With an app like this he could have turned it on (maybe by just shaking it?) and seen the blue pin for where he is and the red pin for home. Or just say, "Help" or "I'm lost" and get assistance.
And before you point out "if they can't work the Tivo…" Remember I'm talking about people who grew up with mobile phones and –eventually– iPhones. We're gonna be freaked if we don't have the things in bath robes.
If this already exists, send me a link. I'd love to see it. If you have ideas for features I didn't think of, share those in the comments.
And if you are some brilliant young app developer and can make this thing a reality. You've got my blessing. You might even donate porcedes to Alzheimers Assocaition.
I only have 2,300 photos on my laptop, which has become my default computer. The other kids I play with have many, many more than that. But I don’t know how I’d keep up with a couple of thousand photos without iPhoto. I’m not saying it’s the best way to manage your images, only that it’s the best for me. And the new version includes two new features that I really like.
Faces attempts to “recognize” the people in your your photos and group them. This little video tour ‘splains it better than I can but after playing with this for an hour or two, I’m reminded that people (and places) are the way I think about my photos.
Sure, I could go through 2,000+ and tag photos of Barb. But I’d never get around to it. iPhoto 09 pretty much does it for you (with a little help).
I’ll talk about Places in a later post.
Of all the things I enjoy doing on the computer, messing with images (still and video) has to be near the top of the list. You’ve heard me and others talk about how the Mac –or, more accurately, the software running on a Mac– makes working with media easier and more fun.
Today at Macworld, Apple made a number of announcements, as they do every year, including a new version of iLife, the suite of applications for working with photos, movies, music, etc.
The brief video tours of iPhoto and iMovie illustrate why we Mac users get so excited we pee our pants. My copy is on the way.
Steve Jobs gets a fair share of the credit for the cool products Apple produces. The company is also extremely efficient and well operated and much of the credit for that goes to Chief Operating Officer Steve Cook. For a look behind the scenes of the well-oiled machine that is Apple, check out this article in the November issue of Fortune. The following excerpt will get you started:
“Tim cook arrived at Apple in 1998 from Compaq Computer. He was a 16-year computer-industry veteran – he’d worked for IBM (IBM, Fortune 500) for 12 of those years – with a mandate to clean up the atrocious state of Apple’s manufacturing, distribution, and supply apparatus. One day back then, he convened a meeting with his team, and the discussion turned to a particular problem in Asia.
“This is really bad,” Cook told the group. “Someone should be in China driving this.” Thirty minutes into that meeting Cook looked at Sabih Khan, a key operations executive, and abruptly asked, without a trace of emotion, “Why are you still here?”
Khan, who remains one of Cook’s top lieutenants to this day, immediately stood up, drove to San Francisco International Airport, and, without a change of clothes, booked a flight to China with no return date, according to people familiar with the episode. The story is vintage Cook: demanding and unemotional.”