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Post PC retrospective

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 10:33:13 -0500

Post PC retrospective:

Thoughtful, detailed analysis of the “Post-PC” iPad world

Quora: Why are Software Project Estimates often off by a factor of 2-3x ?

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 09:41:27 -0500

Quora: Why are Software Project Estimates often off by a factor of 2-3x ?

The Tale of Fernforest and Petro Dale

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 11:00:27 -0500

The Tale of Fernforest and Petro Dale:

An enchanting fable about Hollywood and Silicon Valley

Control Freak

Fri, 18 Nov 2011 23:05:46 -0500

Control Freak:

The future will likely hold many surprises for computer control (mind control anyone? biotic implants?) but one thing that for certain is that whatever comes next will likely only take off if it is elegant in a way we didn’t anticipate, and useful in ways we can’t imagine.

Samsung See, Samsung Do: The Case of the Apple Copycat

Mon, 07 Nov 2011 08:54:54 -0500

Samsung See, Samsung Do: The Case of the Apple Copycat :

“At the end of the day, I wonder if Samsung is doing a good job copying, or a great job stealing?”

Difference Engine: Luddite Legacy

Sun, 06 Nov 2011 11:17:32 -0500

Difference Engine: Luddite Legacy:

AN APOCRYPHAL tale is told about Henry Ford II showing Walter Reuther, the veteran leader of the United Automobile Workers, around a newly automated car plant. “Walter, how are you going to get those robots to pay your union dues,” gibed the boss of Ford Motor Company. Without skipping a beat, Reuther replied, “Henry, how are you going to get them to buy your cars?”

RIM, Stop Following the Leader

Sun, 06 Nov 2011 09:33:15 -0500

RIM, Stop Following the Leader:

RIM has done a lot for the smartphone industry, including being the pioneers of push messaging, but now it seems like their time is up, and it’s time for them to move on.

The Career Arc: Eddie Murphy

Fri, 04 Nov 2011 18:39:31 -0400

The Career Arc: Eddie Murphy:

“Why doesn’t everyone ever point out that Eddie (Murphy) is the most successful comedian ever, by any calculation … and really, it’s not even close? That he’s one of the best stand-ups ever? That, before Eddie, only white actors were considered sure things at the box office? That Eddie made more money making kids’ movies than anyone ever? Doesn’t this seem … I don’t know … relevant?”

Android update woes visualized

Thu, 27 Oct 2011 09:39:01 -0400

Android update woes visualized:

“7 of the 18 Android phones never ran a current version of the OS.
12 of 18 only ran a current version of the OS for a matter of weeks or less.”

Long Term vs Short Term Thinking Pt 1 - Hypberbolic Time Discounting

Mon, 24 Oct 2011 16:09:00 -0400

Sometimes it’s hard to make decisions about the future with a clear head. Life is full of opportunities to make trade-offs between short term and long term pain/gain. The closer the short-term, and the farther the long-term, the better your chances of making a short-sighted decision. This kind of thinking is well-understood in behavioural psychology, and they even have a term for it: hyperbolic time discounting. The further an event is from you, the more you discount the anticipated effects of that event, with a strong bias to favouring things that are happening very soon.

What does this mean in practice? Well consider the classic example, something which may have affected a large portion of the “99%” who are currently occupying Wall Street. If you need a TV today, but you also need to retire comfortably 20 years from now, its easy to discount the importance of an event 20 years in the future and buy that TV instead of saving for retirement. Compound decisions like that over a number of years and when that 20^th year arrives, there may be some difficulties.

But this phenomenon is hardly restricted to just money. Most students can attest to how far away a mid-term seems compared to hanging out with friends. Until of course the midterm shows up and now maybe playing Frisbee in the quad seems less important than it did at the time. Hyperbolic time discounting can happen anywhere and everywhere, and its consequences are usually a lot of regret, and some self-reproach since it was usually avoidable.

But what can we do to combat this terrible force? Well they say that knowing is half the battle, and knowing that hyperbolic time discounting exists can help us fight back. But knowing is only half the battle, and the fighting half is no easy thing. Recognizing the role of hyperbolic time discounting in your decisions can help you make better ones, but it still requires some tough action to be taken. So the next time you’re tempted to pick up a donut instead of picking up a weight, or to play one more game of Sodoku instead of finishing that big report, just remember that time is not on your side, and tomorrow will definitely come.

Caught in the Google Nexus

Mon, 24 Oct 2011 12:49:55 -0400

Caught in the Google Nexus:

“The best Android phones available are probably going be the hardest to find, and the least promoted in phone stores. Thanks to Google’s partners, the most open version of their open OS is the one you’re least likely to see.”

Graphical Overview of Apple's Q3 results

Wed, 19 Oct 2011 11:48:39 -0400

Graphical Overview of Apple's Q3 results

Siri, The Final Frontier

Mon, 17 Oct 2011 09:23:15 -0400

Siri, The Final Frontier :

” Is it hyperbole to put Siri on the same level as the graphical user interface, or multi-touch? It might seem so, but Siri brings us strikingly close to the future promised in Apple’s Knowledge Navigator video from 1987, which was strangely enough, set in 2011”

Dennis Ritchie: The Shoulders Steve Jobs Stood On

Fri, 14 Oct 2011 17:11:53 -0400

Dennis Ritchie: The Shoulders Steve Jobs Stood On:

“The tributes to Dennis Ritchie won’t match the river of praise that spilled out over the web after the death of Steve Jobs. But they should.”

Techcrunch iPhone 4S Reveiew

Tue, 11 Oct 2011 22:35:20 -0400

Techcrunch iPhone 4S Reveiew:

“ Apple focused on the other thing they do best: refining already great products to make them better. The iPhone 4 was a great product. The best smartphone ever made. Now it cedes that title to the iPhone 4S.”

Steve Jobs: Nothing to Lose

Mon, 10 Oct 2011 14:02:23 -0400

Steve Jobs: Nothing to Lose:

A fitting tribute to a great man.

Steve Jobs - Greatness Personified

Wed, 05 Oct 2011 21:44:49 -0400

Steve Jobs - Greatness Personified:

When I wrote this it wasn’t meant to be a eulogy…

Why 4S is Good Enough For Me

Tue, 04 Oct 2011 16:24:00 -0400

There may soon be blood in the streets over the lack of an iPhone 5. The ThisIsMyNext crew (soon to be the Verge) went on record before the Apple event saying that they would be “extremely dissapointed” if Apple announced an iPhone 4S and nothing else. Other tech pundits seem to be dissapointed (even if they still plan to get the phone) with what Apple has put on offer. I think that they are missing the point, and I’ll tell you why.

A Rose In Any Other Casing
Apple could literally have taken the exact same phone, put it in a new case made of some other material, called it an iPhone 5, and most of the dissapointed masses would have been satisfied. The upgrades in the iPhone 4S are substantial, and are a marked improvement over the iPhone 4. While Apple may have signalled that they’re not ready to call this a next generation device, the spec bump alone is remarkable, and will make a big difference in day-to-day use for anyone with this phone. And since the design of the iPhone 4 is breathtaking already, why change what ain’t broke? *

Its the Software Stupid
Apple’s big differentiator has always been software. There are tons of Android phones with better specs than the iPhone 4, but Apple creates a better experience through tighly integrated hardware, and exceptional software. iOS 5 is the biggest update to the operating system since it was released. With that many changes to the sofware, a big hardware change isn’t needed to make this a remarkable improvement to an already great device.

Why Mess with Success?
The iPhone 4 is 15 months old and is still the best selling smartphone in the world. Something tells me that people are pretty happy with it as it is. With that much success in the market, obviously Apple didn’t see a pressing need to really mess with a winning formula. For all the pundits who claim to hate this development, I’m guessing there are 100 happy everyday consumers who will rush to get this as soon as possible.

I mean it comes with a Butler!
Apple’s awesome new assistant feature seems worth the price of admission all by itself. This is taking us one step closer to the world of Star Trek computing. With the iPhone, iPad, as great touchscreen experiences and now this excellent method of interacting through voice, you gotta figure there are some seroius Trekkies up in Cupertino. And who wants to bet on how long it’ll take for the assistant feature to show up in OS X?

So What I’m saying is
I like the iPhone 4S. I was decidedly *not* excited about the prospect of a Teaardrop shaped iPhone 5. A slightly bigger screen might have been nice, but not at the expense of text clarity, or compatibility with all those existing iPhone accessories. I’m gonna try and get this on day one, and no matter what number Apple has at the end of the name, this is a great (i)Phone.

*Except of course for that antenna issue which seems to have been addressed, even if it wasn’t that bad to begin with.

Ready, Aim, Kindle Fire!

Mon, 03 Oct 2011 10:38:36 -0400

Ready, Aim, Kindle Fire!:

Amazon has charged headlong into the tablet wars, and their opening shot is an impressive one. All kinds of tablet goodness, all for the low, low price of $199.

The forever recession (and the coming revolution)

Fri, 30 Sep 2011 08:54:03 -0400

The forever recession (and the coming revolution) :

“Why do we believe that jobs where we are paid really good money to do work that can be systemized, written in a manual and/or exported are going to come back ever?”