January 9, 2013
Kickstarter in 2012 ∞
The company put together a little slideshow of the high points from last year. Some fascinating numbers.
How fast could you travel across the U.S. in the 1800s? ∞
And you think delays traveling today are bad.
Matias intros Mini Tactile Pro keyboard, Tactile Pro 4
Hot on the heels of their recently-introduced Laptop Pro, mechanical keyboard maker Matias on Wednesday took the wraps off two new Mac-compatible keyboard offerings – the latest revision to their venerable Tactile Pro series and the new Tactile Mini. The Tactile Pro 4 ships today for $150 while the Mini Tactile Pro will cost $130 when it goes on sale in February.
Both keyboards share common design elements – mechanical keyswitches manufactured by ALPS and Mac-standard layouts, with sculpted, laser-etched keys printed with symbols accessible using Option and Shift-Option key combinations. They also sport three USB 2.0 ports to attach additional peripherals. Both are made in white plastic.
Matias likens the keyfeel of the Tactile Pro keyboard to Apple’s legendary Extended Keyboard, considered by many Apple enthusiasts to be the best keyboard Apple ever made. Mechanical keyswitches are louder than the ones found on today’s Apple laptops and with Mac desktop machines, but they offer better accuracy and a more precise tactile response than those other keyboards.
The Tactile Pro 4 is a full-sized keyboard equipped with navigation keys and a numeric keypad. Unlike its predecessor, the Tactile Pro sports function keys mapped to Apple-standard capabilities like screen brightness, volume, iTunes and more.
The Mini Tactile Pro sports the same keyfeel as its big brother, but in a smaller package. It’s a tenkeyless layout (it eschews a numeric keypad), but it maintains page up, page down and arrow keys, as well as a forward delete key.
Website usability tests ∞
In one of the first usability tests I ever did, I met a lovely old lady who could not use a mouse. She kept lifting it in the air and pointing at the screen, speaking words of encouragement to the cursor. At the end of the test I got absolutely nothing, but she did think I was a “lovely boy” who should meet her granddaughter. Very quickly I learned the value of setting very clear criteria for participant recruitment.
That’s classic. Thankfully Damian Rees offers some tips to improve your results.
Strangest job titles ∞
You have to admit being a “Freelance sperm donor” is unique.
Da Vinci Rock Man ∞
Rock on Da Vinci.
App design trends for 2013 ∞
Great article from Gannon Burgett.
Happy sixth anniversary, iPhone
Six years ago today Apple unveiled the iPhone (though it wouldn’t be available to buy until that summer). The device has had a profoundly transformative effect not only on Apple but on the entire mobile phone industry.
Hard to believe it’s only been six years.
Android developers get RIMmed ∞
The matter came to light when one developer said he’d received a request for support from someone who’d purchased the BB version of his app, despite the fact that he’d created no such version.
Oh RIM.
Creative block ∞
Creative block, writers block or whatever you call it, is a terrible thing to overcome. It’s that point when your mind will just not think, not let any ideas or words through this giant wall it’s erected in your mind. Stacey Kole offers some ideas on how to get around it.
Walmart, Straight Talk Wireless to offer iPhone 4 and 5
Walmart and Straight Talk Wireless have announced plans to offer both the iPhone 4 and iPhone 5 to Straight Talk customers for $449 and $649 respectively. The phones should hit Walmart stores next week, beginning January 11, 2013.
As you may have gleaned, the price of the iPhones is unsubsidized – buyers are paying the full price for an unlocked phone, as there’s no long-term service contract involved. Straight Talk Wireless, a joint venture between mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) Tracfone and Walmart, offers iPhone users pre-paid contract-free plans starting at $45 per month. If that price sounds steep for the average Walmart customer, the company is offering a special no-interest fixed-monthly financing offer using the Walmart Credit Card, for $25 a month.
Straight Talk already offers simple phones, feature phones and Android-based smartphones for its customers, but this marks the first time it’s offered its own iPhone. The iPhones Straight Talk will offer are CDMA models (Straight Talk operates on both CDMA and GSM networks.)
Straight Talk Wireless also offers users a “BYOD” (Bring Your Own Device) plan that enables them to use an existing GSM-equipped iPhone on their network. [Editor’s note: In fact, just yesterday I resurrected my AT&T iPhone 4 for my wife to use via Straight Talk. I’ll post more after we’ve had a chance to see how well it works.] A Walmart spokesperson confirmed for The Loop that the Straight Talk iPhones will operate without some of the limitations imposed on BYOD users (On BYOD iPhones, Visual Voicemail isn’t supported; MMS doesn’t work unless you jailbreak the phone, though SMS works without issue).
For $449 users get an 8GB iPhone 4 in either black or white, and for $649 users can get a 16GB iPhone 5 in their choice of black or white.
[7:47 AM: Added information about network and feature support]
How RCA lost the LCD ∞
What a fascinating story.
Microsoft’s distorted reality field ∞
Kind of the opposite of Steve Jobs’ reality distortion field.
T-Mobile boss comes out swinging against AT&T and Verizon ∞
Chris Welch, The Verge:
AT&T drew particular criticism, with Legere — like so many others before him — labeling Ma Bell’s network as “crap” in New York City. Verizon didn’t come out unscathed either, with Legere joking, “the way they covered those dust bowl states with LTE I think is admirable.” Shared data plans also came under fire. “A 5-gigabyte, 10-device shared data plan, when Joe Schmoe Jr. starts to watch porn on his phone, isn’t gonna work.” And even after crediting Verizon’s network as “beautiful,” he concluded “they’re not the cool company.”
That’s great. I’ll be more impressed when T-Mobile’s coverage in my area isn’t spotty as hell.
T-Mobile plans to sell the iPhone this year. The company is also doing away with phone subsidies, requiring users to pay the full price of their new phone up front, but allowing them more flexibility to end service without paying huge early termination fees.
Valve boss talks Steam Box, more ∞
T.C. Sottek for The Verge:
We just sat down for a rare and wide-ranging interview with Valve CEO Gabe Newell, who opened up to The Verge with details about the company’s upcoming “Steam Box” gaming hardware, the future of the Steam digital distribution platform, and even gaming itself. For starters, Valve isn’t just attacking the living room; the Steam Box will be designed to work across multiple screens in the home using networking standards like Miracast, ideally allowing users to effortlessly transition between rooms and monitors to enjoy gaming and other content. But Valve’s goal isn’t just to put a box into everyone’s living room, it’s to help build an ecosystem of content developers — including the gamers themselves.
An interesting interview with the ever-influential and visionary Gabe Newell. He offers up details about what Steam is planning with its own hardware. Some Mac press have repeated a line that he threw out about Steve Jobs being hostile to games, but it’s a one-off and really irrelevant to the larger issues that he tackled. If you’re a gamer and what Valve is doing with Steam interests you, make sure to take a gander.
January 8, 2013
Book stores foster ebook sales ∞
A fascinating premise, but I don’t get it. If we are shopping online more than ever, why go to a book store to see what we want to buy online?
Netflix Super HD ∞
Netflix Super HD requires an internet connection with at least 5Mb/s download. Not all devices can play Super HD. Super HD is only available via Internet Providers that are part of the Open Connect network.
Hulu’s Original and Exclusive Series ∞
In less than two years, Hulu has distributed 25 Hulu Original and Exclusive Series, offering viewers distinctive premium programming that can’t be seen anywhere else from top creative talent and 2013 is gearing up to be another great year for exclusive and original programming on Hulu. It’s a thrill to share what we have planned, including a new slate of Original and Exclusive Series that’s chock full of superheroes-in-training, rogue French cops, high-energy mascots and more. All shows will be available on free Hulu.com and the Hulu Plus subscription service.
This is the type of content I like to see services like Hulu work on. Exclusive, original, well done content. That’s worth paying for.
Qualcomm’s nightmare keynote ∞
I’ve never seen anything like this before. Never.
CocoaConf ∞
Dave Klein posted some dates on the 2013 CocoaConf Spring Tour. They have several cities already lined up.
Fender Select Series 2013 ∞
Fender Select series guitars and basses combine more than six decades of Fender experience and expertise with a wealth of high-end features and elegant design options for discerning musicians everywhere.
I must have one of the Strats.
Delivering innovation vs delivering products
A company’s ability to manufacture products using CNC burn tables and sell them worldwide is not the same as having the power to deliver innovation to a market. Apple has proven over the last few decades that it innovates, while many of its competitors are satisfied with building products based on that innovation.
There is nothing wrong with being a company that sees a product and wants to compete with it. Companies have made billions of dollars copying from its competitors and it’s a proven strategy.
Using a 3D scanning service can also help a great deal as it allows you to easily reverse engineer competitor products, I have used the service from https://physicaldigital.com/services/3d-scanning/ and it’s been brilliant so have a look into that if you need a quality 3D scanning service.
However, the ability to manufacture shouldn’t be confused with a company’s desire to affect change by offering new designs and a different way of doing things. In other words, innovating.
The Mac
Over the last 15 years Apple has literally innovated itself out of being close to bankruptcy to being the richest company in the world. It did so by improving the way we interact with the products we use most and offering a rich, attractive design. Apple recognized that products don’t have to be utilitarian “beige boxes” — they can be elegant and functional. They can be something we can be proud to own.
The modern version of this mindset really started with the iMac. Until then, PCs were a mass of wires and confusion, but Apple wanted to make the process simple and the end result tasteful. Out of the box, the iMac was setup by plugging it in and connecting the keyboard. Anyone could do it and millions did.
Apple did the same thing over and over again in the years following the introduction of the iMac. Even things like the Apple Remote is elegant and completely different from other remotes on the market. That design sense went into their software products, from iLife, iWork and the company’s pro applications.
They continued to innovate the computer industry with products like the MacBook Pro. It’s not just another laptop, it’s the material its made out of, the shape of the casing and the technologies it contains. Just look at how many copycat products came from HP, Dell and others.
The Big Three
However, Apple saved its most innovative designs for its mobile products. The iPod, iPhone and iPad are not only the company’s most successful products, they changed their respective industries forever.
They did that with a brilliant combination of functionality and design that no company had brought to the market before or since1. Of course, Apple didn’t invent those markets — there were music players, phones and tablets around before Apple, but it was Apple’s design that made the market what we know today.
Take a look at music players before the iPod. They only held a few songs and while popular, they were nothing compared to the popularity of the iPod that could hold a thousand songs. It wasn’t long before everyone was trying to copy the iPod and piggy back on Apple’s success.
The same thing happened with the iPhone and iOS. Even Google switched gears, taking Android from a copy of RIM’s BlackBerry OS to mimic the functionality of iOS. The iPhone changed the phone industry forever. Everything released since then was built on the innovations that Apple brought to market with that original iPhone.
Apple had one more design surprise up its sleeve — the iPad. Microsoft and its partners had been producing tablet computers for the better part of a decade by the time the iPad came out. They were heavy, clunky and didn’t work very well.
The iPad was sleek and designed for mobile use. It had apps that could be purchased specifically for that device and you can do almost anything you wanted to on that device.
The market’s response? Copy it as quickly as possible and get it to market. The same response that competitors had to the iPod, iPhone and Macs that came before it.
Innovation
I believe that Apple has been successful in innovating these markets because of a fundamental difference in the way they approach a new product. Apple sets out to solve a problem through design, and hardware and software innovations.
While Apple has delivered more innovation to more markets than most, it is important to realize that not every product released is going to be a design or innovative breakthrough.
Innovation is always followed by iterative upgrades to a product. There may be some design changes, added features and other small changes before another innovative change is made.
This is what a lot of analysts get so wrong. Analysts are quick to label a new Apple product as not being innovative, but they don’t even mention innovation with competitors products because they don’t expect anything from them.
Apple designs its products to work, from a software and hardware design perspective, not to be like something a competitor has released.
It’s important to use the right payroll solutions company Singapore to eliminate mistakes in the payroll process. If there are too many payroll errors, you’ll lose employee trust.
Innovative companies and the copycats
There have been some wonderfully innovative companies throughout many industries. We all have our favorites. Sadly, many of them have lost their way over the last decade or so. Sony comes to mind as one of those companies.
Two companies that really led their industries, but have fallen badly are RIM and Microsoft. The latest releases of products from both companies seem to have missed badly in the market2. It seems that both of these companies just seemed to give up a number of years ago, perhaps being a bit too comfortable with their lead.
Then you are left with companies like Samsung, HTC3 and that ilk. They have made successful businesses from copying other company’s products and getting them to market quickly. You only have to look at Samsung’s 85-inch TV to see how ugly its designs are without someone like Apple to copy from.
Every company has a place, but it’s important to remember the difference between innovating an industry and simply delivering a product.
Companies are still basically copying the design and functionality of these products. ↩
With the exception of the Xbox, which is a great product. ↩
Given HTC’s latest quarterly numbers, maybe they aren’t so successful. ↩
Baking cookies on the Internet ∞
Candace Hammond for the Cape Cod Times:
Carrie-Lee and Matt Touhey, owners of the Cape Cod Cookie Co. have a sweet deal for cookie lovers: Help them grow their business and get cookies.
The Touheys have gone to Indiegogo to get capital to grow their business from a home operation to a commercial bakery.
I know Carrie-Lee because we’re both Cape Cod residents and run in the same social circle, and I tried her cookies early on, back before the Cape Cod Cookie Company was a full-time endeavor for her. They’re outstanding. If you’d like to back a really cool small business with a great product, check out their Indiegogo page.
Dallas Stars smack down the Cowboys ∞
A social media smack down.
Letter from David Bowie in 1970 ∞
In November of 1970, a month after signing a five-year publishing deal with Chrysalis Music, 24-year-old David Bowie wrote the following letter to Bob Grace, the man who signed him, and briefly filled him in on his life so far.
Mapping Apple’s international iPhone and iPad rollouts ∞
Graham Spencer has done a terrific job with his “mapping” series on MacStories.
The trouble with CES press conference day ∞
Rob Pegoraro:
You then watch a parade of executives bantering on about the company’s hopes and dreams and showing off their upcoming wares, which is good and useful–but from the cheap seats, you see no more detail than you’d get from watching video offsite. And except for Sony’s presser, which takes place in its exhibit area at the Las Vegas Convention Center, you rarely get any hands-on time with the new hardware either.
Rob does a good job of summing up the problem with press conference day. I always found CES so big that it was almost impossible to cover. In fact, it’s big enough that even press conferences don’t help reporters like they do at other events.
F. Scott Fitzgerald on the secret of great writing ∞
Maria Popova has some great letters from F. Scott Fitzgerald.
Bobby Orr memoirs coming in October ∞
Orr, who has always been reluctant to talk about his many triumphs and has never spoken publicly about his personal relationships, even when they made their way into the headlines, promises to set the record straight on his remarkable life story. While the memoir will include chapters reflecting on the incomparable career of a beloved sports statesman it will also feature the candid thoughts of a man who once lost nearly everything to the treachery of his best friend, then reinvented himself and found renewed success.
I can’t wait to read this.