If you’ve ever wondered exactly what I mean when I talk about innovation, feel free to take a gander at my other two blogs, both of which pertain to the subject. This stuff has a huge influence on my thinking about Apple, so it might help you understand where I’m coming from a bit more.
The first blog, Better than New, is one I run with a friend. It’s basically like what we do here, but as it pertains to design, innovation, cultural needs, stuff like that. It’s newer but way more frequently updated.
The second, Pattern Linguist, is a misguided attempt to blog the complete history of the field of innovation as we know it today. It takes a long time to research, and I tend to be thoughtful instead of snarky here. Still, there’s ample fodder at both. Check ’em out!
I snapped this photo walking home through Union Square the other night. It was a huge Volkswagen outdoor advertisement on a pillar, and someone decided to let the German carmaker know who runs San Francisco. It can only be Apple.
Mr. Hopkinson’s Computer is, well, a computer that sings cover versions of The Stone Roses, Radiohead and Portishead. You’d think it would be dreadful, but the machine really knocks it out. The computer sounds like a falsetto Stephen Hawking, and it really works, especially singing The Stone Roses’ Fools Gold. Check out the MySpace page.
After all, we know Apple has started fake rumors in the past just to flush out leakers. Could the Steve now be applying this logic to his own employees? Regarding yesterday’s Apple news [Engadget]
John Mayer never ceases to irritate. Much as I love Steve Jobs and Apple, their insistence on putting the soft-rock crooner on the stage whenever they roll out a new product always grates. At this January’s iPhone introduction, the rumor was that Paul and Ringo would take the stage to kick off Beatles music on the iTunes Store, but we got John Mayer yet again.
And now, to what purports to be his own blog, Mayer has allegedly announced that he has an advance copy of RIM’s BlackBerry Curve, a direct iPhone competitor with a similar feature set, if implemented in a less-exciting way. In Benedict Arnold’s own words:
Just got an advance of the Blackberry Curve… I guess you could say I’m ahead of the… Nevermind.
lights will guide you home…
But never back to Cupertino. Who’s with me? No more Steve-notes for Mr. Mayer?
Though Apple still won’t acknowledge rumors that it’s about to make a serious video gaming play beyond iPod games, a third party has stepped in and shown that the AppleTV is ready for games now. It’s called Omelette, and it’s basically just Bejeweled. But hey, it works, right? Counterstrike is definitely going to be next.
Via Ars Technica.
Silicon Valley makes no sense. In January, Apple and Google got so close that the rumor mills buzzed with word that they would form an alliance with Sun to take on Microsoft…again. Yesterday, Sun made some pretty big announcements: They rolled out JavaFX development platform, which truly promises to deliver on the dream of “write once, run everywhere” that the company has promised since it launched Java more than a decade ago, and that always means more opportunity for apps to come to the Mac.
On the other hand, they showed off a mobile phone platform that will try to compete with Apple’s iPhone by, you know, LOOKING EXACTLY LIKE AN iPHONE, but across manufacturers and at a cheap price. While I think Apple’s ability to make data syncing a snap is the real competitive advantage of the iPhone and that the company’s implementation of multitouch will be better than anyone else’s, I still think other companies aren’t out for the count yet. Sun might be making the platform for that competition. And the Valley is still buzzing on word that Google might release its own phone. So why are Apple, Google and Sun best buds one moment and worst enemies the next?
As if to counter the high quality of “Choose a Vista” and the other two official “Get a Mac” ads rolled out yesterday, two rather poor and underdone unreleased ads have trickled to the web. And they’re dire, making lame jokes about drivers and viruses. Let’s just hope these literally came from the cutting-room floor, shall we?
The more I try to cantankerously deny my love for Apple’s “Get a Mac” ad campaign, the more they manage to win me over. The best of a new crop posted Monday night is “Choose a Vista,” which features John “PC” Hodgman spinning a game wheel to select a version of Vista. Cries of “Big Operating System! Big Operating System! Daddy needs an upgrade!” Will stay with me for a long time. The other ads, “Genius” and “The Party’s Over” are after the jump.
Apple owns the discourse around design and innovation these days. Everyone wants to be like Steve Jobs, and everyone wants to invent the new iPod. People also want to be Google, but being Google seems to be a lot harder, and the founders aren’t terribly charismatic, so Apple gets a lot more attention regardless.
As a result, and because of the world I live in at my day job, I get into a lot of discussions about the role of design strategy and the value of innovation. Specifically, that understanding what people really need is the best way to create new products, services and businesses that will really connect with people.
All of which is a preface to encourage you to check out a comment of mine that BusinessWeek Innovation honcho Bruce Nussbaum highlighted into a blog post over there. It was at the end of a business day, so I think I might sound a little more snarky than I meant to:
YouTube’s actual future is far from certain, and Second Life will surely be passed by another player, as it superceded The Sims, which superceded a lot of MUDDs and the like. Bill Moggridge even asked, “What is the YouTube of design?”
And I have to say, I don’t particularly care. YouTube, Second Life, Flickr, Vlogs, blogs, they’re all different solutions trying to meet some very core needs of people, whether they know it or not. And needs outlast solutions. I won’t perform a straight-up needs analysis on these sites, but they definitely come from wanting to express oneself creatively, connect with other people, feel famous or even lead a different life, as in the case of Lonely Girl 15 and some others.
By the time we start analyzing a solution, the next way to meet the needs it addresses is already underway. We’re going to miss the most important opportunities unless we see beyond the fun and exciting solution we hold in our hands.
Persuasive tech, if you’re scratching your head right now, is any technology that attempts to persuade its user to do something differently. This includes smoking cessation aids, political attitude adjusters, fitness motivators, with the Nike + iPod Sport Kit obviously being the latter.
Conrad and I are putting a stake in the ground: Persuasive Technologies Should Be Boring.
Anyway, I thought you might want to know. We’ll be posting our paper on the subject to the Web in the next few days, so I’ll hook you up when the time comes.
I’m somewhat speechless. They call it the GIPod200. I think we’re running out of product categories that aren’t directly compatible with the iPod. GEORGE FOREMAN
Hey there, college seniors! Looking for a great first job in beautiful Austin, Texas? Know a lot about phones and iPods? Apple is looking for you! Yes, the signs are out that the iPhone is really almost here: Apple is hiring iPhone tech support representatives, and you could get in on the ground floor. It looks like a typical tech support job for Apple, but I found this quite funny:
Preferred Qualifications:
“¢ Experience with Microsoft applications such as Office or Outlook
“¢ Ability to navigate in the Windows environment –œ such as getting basic system information, explorer navigation “¢ Basic understanding of hardware configurations –œ such as USB vs. Firewire
“¢ Knowledge of Device manager –œ( Knowing when something is connected/mounted) “¢ Knowledge of program files and system files in Windows
“¢ Experience with troubleshooting external devices in Windows “¢ Understanding specific media file types used by iTunes/iPod/iPhone –œ AAC, Mp3, Wav, mpeg4 “¢ Basic installation and removal of application in Windows.
“¢ Experience with iTunes in Windows
“¢ Must act independently and be self-motivated
“¢ Excellent interpersonal skills
“¢ Must act independently and be self-motivated
“¢ Ability to work in dynamic situations
Now, one interpretation of the bolded line items is that Apple recognizes that many, if not most of its iPhone customers will be Windows users, not Mac people. I prefer to believe that Apple understands that Windows users won’t be able to figure out how to troubleshoot their own problems. The Mac folks will be fine. Please note, by the way: It’s doubly important to act independently and be self-motivated for this job!
The international spin-offs of Apple’s Get a Mac ad campaign are quite wonderful. The newest UK spot, “Posse,” is an all-new spot created specifically for the UK market — the others have copied U.S. ads. I’m really quite partial to it, if only because I adore Mitchell and Webb. I love the real shame on the faces of the MS Office folks as they refuse to come home. It’s awkward, just like “Peep Show” was. Click through the jump to watch the YouTube version.
More from our Greek friend Anthony (see below). Not only is Anthony’s house in Athens filled with Macs, his wife Christine made him some Mac knitwear to wow Athens with.
Above is his handmade waistcoat featuring the famous Apple logo. Below is Anthony’s Mac sweater with the Happy Mac on the front and Sad Mac at back.
Ladies and gentleman, I think we’ve reached a new peak for an iPod case that hides your digital media device as something much less desirable. Meet the Gama-Go Pack-O-Smokes Mp3 case, perfect for use in rough neighborhoods where it’s more important to look like a crazy person listening to your cigarettes than like a rich kid with an iPod.
It takes a lot to surprise me in the iPod accessory market these days. The new DLO Jam Jacket managed it. Amid a sea of seriously generic cases, the company came up with a good way to manage the headphone cord of standard iPod headsets. And it’s not ugly! That alone puts it ahead of 70 percent of iPod cases.
On the downside it, appears to only work with 30GB models, not the full 80. But it’s only $20, so it would be hard to go wrong at the price, anyway. DLO | Jam Jacket with Cord Management
Via iLounge
Apple is better at presenting its product launches than anyone else. Which is why it’s so funny when things go slightly wrong. Eastern Illinois University student Laura K Fennema uploaded this quick snapshot from the National Association of Broadcasters conference, where Apple’s Final Cut Studio 2 banner began to melt and come off in strips.
Hilarious. And, wouldn’t you know it, Apple’s video rivals Avid are the ones who helped get the clip posted. I doubt it will do anything about the charge of Final Cut Server, though…
“The Mac over the last 20 years has been an innovation in what some people today call “personal media aggregation” or “digital lifestyle aggregation”. Slowly but surely, the Mac became the control center for my life — all aspects of my life, including work, hobbies, socializing, family activities, travel… There is no part of my life that is not in some way coordinated by email, posted on a calendar, described in documents, shown in photos, visualized in graphics, demonstrated by video, and accompanied by sound… on my Mac. This evolution of personal computing is still led by Apple as the company introduces media players and home systems.”
