Apple’s Siri personal assistant has been in development for 10 years.
Apple doesn’t let app developers use the word “beta” for iPhone apps.
And the company spends millions on — and make billions from — the advertising of their “beta” product specifically.
Given these facts, is it disingenuous, unfair, inconsistent, hypocritical and inaccurate for Apple to continue calling Siri “beta”?
Apple made a “dent in the universe” with its 1984 Super Bowl ad for the upcoming Macintosh.
At least that was Steve Jobs’ intention, according to the opening scene of The Pirates of Silicon Valley.
Whether all this universe denting was just Jobs’ reality distortion field or an actual change in human culture depends on your corporate loyalties, or lack thereof.
Any debate over the cultural impact of the Macintosh really boils down to how much of the graphical user interface revolution was determined or influenced by Apple, and how much of it would have happened regardless.
Because there’s no question that the shift from command-line computing to WIMP computing (windows, icons, menus and pointing-devices) radically changed the world, leading, for example, to the web, which is the dominant WIMP interface to the formerly command-line Internet.
WIMP computing also enabled powerful new tools for software programming, design (of everything), animation and a bazillion other things.
WIMP computing, and to some extent the Macintosh itself, really did make a dent in the universe, but not in the way most people imagine.
For some reason, Apple released a 128GB iPad this morning. And a lot of people are scratching their heads over it.
It’s not that a 128GB iPad is an unwelcome thing, of course. More storage for apps, movies and music is always a good thing… except, if it’s just a matter of soldering in a couple of 64GB NAND modules instead of a couple of 32GB NAND modules, why the heck didn’t Apple release a 128GB iPad when they refreshed the iPad in October?
In other words, why now? Why announce it today, on a sleepy Tuesday morning at the tail-end of January? And who is this thing for, anyway?
I’ve got a theory.
Everything is amazing and nobody is happy.
When comedian Louis C.K. famously expressed that notion on Conan, he was making a commentary on the public’s instantly acquired sense of entitlement when confronted with new technology.
His observations are also applicable to the assumptions underlying nearly all the stuff you read about consumer electronics by bloggers, journalists and financial analysts.
The gnashing of teeth and ripping of hair over with everything Apple these days is a perfect example.
Apple has “stumbled lately.” That’s the overwhelming consensus coming from the press, blogosphere and Wall Street recently.
Demand for the iPad and iPhone is dropping, we’re told, and Apple isn’t doing interesting or exciting things anymore.
Here’s what’s going on.
My name is Mike and I’m a digital nomad. “Hi, Mike!”
A digital nomad is simply a person whose work is location-independent because of mobile technology and the Internet.
Location independence doesn’t mean travel. If you choose to work from home, but could travel if you wanted to, you’re still a digital nomad taking advantage of your ability to choose.
I’ve been a digital nomad for about a decade, and during that time I’ve lived abroad briefly while working.
Before I converted to all-Apple, all the time — and before Apple launched the App Store, the iPad and had Apple Stores all over the place — the experience of living abroad while working was hard, limited and isolating.
But since Apple became the “New Apple,’ and since I switched to Apple products — and also since a host of great online services came online — digital nomad living abroad has become easy, empowering and highly connected.
When you open a new iPhone and boot it up for the first time, you’ll notice that Apple has already installed a bunch of apps for you.
It’s a great idea, because it lets you use apps right out of the box. Even the newest, most confused user can tap on an app icon and start trying various things.
Here’s the problem: Most users don’t replace the default apps with third-party alternatives. They mostly use the apps that came with the phone.
And this is why Apple should stop making apps: The default Apple-made apps are giving iPhone users a second-rate experience.
How would you radically improve the iPad? You’d give it more powerful processing, enabling more powerful apps.
How would you improve the 27-inch iMac? You’d make it 37 inches.
How would you create an Apple desktop computer for business? You’d make it work like an iPad, but double as a boardroom device for presentations and video conferencing.
And how would you improve TV and make it Applish? You’d build in a computer, Apple TV-like functions and give it a remote.
If you think about it, these obvious improvements are not moving these four product lines away from each other, but toward each other — resulting in a single super product that does it all.
What if Apple’s next iPad, iMac, business PC and TV set are all one iDevice?
Some pundits are predicting, and others are advocating, that Apple launch an iPhone that’s much cheaper than the current iPhone in order to keep up with Android phone sales.
This is crazy talk.
Apple doesn’t need a cheaper iPhone. They need a more expensive one — much more expensive. Here’s why.
Microsoft is looking for a handout.
Microsoft told AllThingsD this week that the company has insisted that Apple lower its 30 percent cut for Office 365 subscriptions sold through Microsoft Office for iOS.
Microsoft probably assumes that since they have such an iron grip on the office suite market — in most industries, you’re essentially required to use office, or at least share Office-compatible files — that they’re “special,” and deserve a better deal than tiny software and app companies that aren’t massively profitable corporations.
I think that not only should Apple stick to its current position of saying no to this request, they should go further. Much further. They should try to replace Microsoft Office as the de facto standard for Office software with iWork — to kill Office as the global standard.
The late Apple founder and CEO Steve Jobs used to talk a lot about “changing the world.” And he did. But what has Apple done for the world lately?
I’ve got a great new way for Apple to truly make the world a truly better place: Kill Microsoft Office.
First I’m going to tell you why Microsoft Office deserves to die. Then I’m going to tell you how Apple could do it.
Speaking to NBC talking head Brian Williams this week, Apple CEO Tim Cook said: “When I go into my living room and turn on the TV, I feel like I have gone backwards in time by 20 to 30 years.”
Cook went on to upgrade Apple’s efforts in television from a “hobby” to “an area of intense interest.”
These cryptic comments support what Steve Jobs’s biographer, Walter Isaacson, told an interviewer, which is that Jobs said off the record that he wanted to “reinvent” TV, that Apple had “licked” the problems associated with said reinvention, and that Apple’s solution would liberate TV viewers once and for all from “all these complicated remote controls.”
If you want to tease predictive meaning out of these two Apple CEO statements, the key is in what each of them said and to whom and why.
iPhone cases come in all shapes, sizes and purposes. This has been the case, so to speak, since iPhones first hit the market in 2007.
But the somewhat recent explosion in crowd-funding iPhone case projects has radicalized the available offerings.
Some cases offer aesthetics. Others focus on protecting the phone. Still others extend battery life.
One phone, for example, does it all. The AQUA TEK S for iPhone, a Kickstarter project that has already far exceeded its fundraising goal, makes your phone water-proof, shock-proof, dust-proof and, the piece de resistance, die-proof — it has a solar panel to charge to charge the phone!
One of the coolest or craziest categories of iPhone case, depending on your perspective, is the kind that provide personal self defense. These cases turn iPhones into a deadly weapons.
And almost all these phones do at least one other useful function besides self defense.
So why is an iPhone case a good place to build self defense? It’s simple: You carry your phone everywhere. So anything you want to make sure you have all the time no matter what, you need to attach it to the phone. So if you want to always have a way to defend yourself, build that defense into the iPhone case and you’ll always be prepared.
Don’t try to take these cases on an airplane, though. None of these cases is likely to make it past airport security.
Here are the five best iPhone cases for self defense:
Siri, Apple’s voice-based virtual assistant is a mixed bag of good things and bad. And Siri faces an increasing competition in the market, especially from Google.
I believe Siri is probably the single most important feature Apple offers for three future Apple devices. In fact, I think Apple is betting the entire company on Siri.
And that’s why they’ve got to fix it.
Everybody loves the Woz.
And what’s not to love? Steve Wozniak is a one-of-a-kind genius who invented the personal computer. He’s a millionaire who spends his money having fun, rather than trying to control the world. He’s a practical joker. He’s an iconoclast. And he’s a nerd’s nerd and a geek’s geek who believes in technology and the power of change.
But even the biggest Woz fan has to admit: The man loves the spotlight.
And the main way he grabs it is by saying what nobody expects him to say.
Apple’s current “hobby” — also known as Apple TV — doesn’t tell us much about Apple’s future plans for the living room.
It’s a good product under the right circumstances. But five years from now, living rooms are going to be transformed by all-encompassing systems that turn TVs into video phones, gaming systems, home automation control centers and artificial intelligence assistants.
Does Apple have what it takes to compete in the living room?
Steve Jobs was a Buddhist, a religion founded on the concept of the impermanence of all things.
And everything is impermanent. Especially Apple products.
A lot of users complain about Apple’s everything-is-temporary philosophy. But I think Apple will increasingly embrace it — and even launch a social network whose main feature is the deletion of your posts.
And just like that, the old Apple is dead, and a new Apple is born. I believe you’ll see massive changes to Apple products by next summer.
Apple had to re-create its products to correct a recent string of failures, including the catastrophic Maps debacle and the ongoing train wrecks that are Siri and skeuomorphic design.
Here’s why putting Jonathan Ive in charge of software design was an insanely great idea.
(Picture courtesy of Eyevine)
Now that Google has unveiled its Trifecta of Nexus devices, I can’t help but feel underwhelmed. I can’t exactly pin-point why I feel this way, but alas, I do. Perhaps my perception of what a Nexus device should represent has become misguided. I’m not sure when I began to expect more than just a Vanilla experience, but the latest batch of Nexus devices has knocked me back to the reality that “Nexus” means nothing more than having an untainted Android OS with certain end-user freedoms and timely updates.
Microsoft, Nintendo, Sony, Google and all the big-screen TV makers want to own the the all-purpose living room entertainment system of tomorrow.
Smart TV systems, which will incorporate movies-on-demand, gaming, web surfing, videoconferencing, home automation and more (even TV shows!) are likely to become the next big opportunity for content-driven platform companies.
But is time running out for Apple to make its move?
The surprising answer is: No, not really. Apple’s got plenty of time. And there’s no need for Apple to make a TV set, either.
Here’s why.
The iPad Mini was announced today, and frankly, it missed the mark. The iPad Mini will simply have no effect on non-Apple users. Apple needed to go $299 or less to make the iPad Mini seep into consumers heads and play devil’s advocate. At $329, that simply isn’t going to happen.
A few days after the iPhone 5 was released to the public – just a few weeks ago – people started commenting on how thin and light it was. “You really have to pick it up and feel it in your hands,” was a common thread of these comments. Sure, it looked amazing: but it felt amazing too.
Today’s announcements are a direct continuation of the theme that began with the iPhone 5, and set the tone for the next generation of Apple hardware. From now on, Apple’s message is clear: “No-one does thin like we do.”
Apple’s Maps app is a bomb. A stinker. A sign of the company’s impending doom at the hands of Tim Cook, the CEO who replaced the irreplaceable Steve Jobs.
Landmarks are in the wrong place. Roads are missing. The 3D Flyover view looks like a collapsed sponge cake. There are no directions for buses, bikes or pedestrians. Entire cities are marked as hospitals, the Golden Gate Bridge is in the wrong place, and even Apple’s own retail stores can’t be found. It’s such an embarrasment, Tim Cook apologized for its suckiness.
But if you live in San Francisco, the Maps app rocks. I’ve been using Maps for weeks and I’ve fallen in love with it. I use it even if I’m *not* using it, just to watch the gorgeous 3D display unfold as I’m driving around.
Apple’s Maps app is by far the best maps sofware around. Tim Cook is a wussy. You’d love Maps too — if you lived in a geography where it works.
The Apple iPhone has become the poster child for the problems of Chinese and American labor.
One strain of conventional wisdom goes that while rich, entitled Western elites whine and complain over trivial issues like maps and purple haze on screens, abused, exploited Chinese factory workers slave away to make those iPhones in unsafe factories and under exploitative conditions.
The iPhone represents the shafting of the Chinese worker.
Another strain of conventional wisdom goes that greedy Apple (and other companies) ships factory jobs overseas to China, where Chinese factory workers get all the jobs, and American workers are left in the unemployment line.
The iPhone represents the shafting of the American worker.
Here’s an idea. Let’s stop accepting these brain-dead caricatures, and insist on the truth about iPhones, factories and workers.
Another year, another iPhone. Since 2007, Apple has been churning these gadgets out like it’s a bodily function. Each iPhone is undeniably better than the last, although sometimes not in every respect.
iPhone fans always say it’s the best phone because it has the best overall user experience, best out-of-box experience, best industrial design, best selection of apps and a few other things perceived as being “best.”
But the iPhone itself is not the best thing about the iPhone platform. It’s the universe of crazy customization and expansion products that support the iPhone.
This is a guest post by Ken Segall, a Silicon Valley advertising executive who worked closely with Steve Jobs. Among other things, Segall put that little “i” in front of the iMac and helped develop Apple’s famous Think Different ad campaign. Segall is author of Insanely Simple, a very readable insightful account of what makes Apple tick.
Last time Apple went heavy on advertising in a sporting event, it didn’t exactly end well.
But let us not speak of the Genius anymore. All traces of that campaign have been hidden from our sight.
Now the baseball playoffs are here. And once again, Apple has made a very expensive media buy. This time, it’s blanketing the games with the new iPhone 5 ads.
But look. Someone else has moved into the neighborhood. Samsung showed up for the playoffs with equal force, in the form of its Galaxy S III ads. You know — the ones that make fun of the lost souls who line up to buy an iPhone, when they could just as easily have a much cooler Samsung phone.
