Jul 15, 2010
Jul 13, 2010
Trust comes from Simplicity
This is a great post by Alex Payne
"Simplicity in Hardware and in Software
Trust comes, in part, from simplicity. When something is simple, it's possible to understand it in fullness. When you understand a thing, you can trust it. Simplicity and modern computing are at conceptual odds, however."
...moreJul 7, 2010
The Origin of Apple's Design
You can clearly see the similarities of the design philosophy for both companies since Jon Ives follows Dieter Ram's ten commandments of design.
More on Dieter Rams:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dieter_Rams
Jul 6, 2010
Design is how it works
If design is how something works, as Jobs says, then good design is something that works well."Most people make the mistake of thinking design is what it looks like… People think it's this veneer – that the designers are handed this box and told, 'Make it look good!' That's not what we think design is. It's not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works."
Jun 29, 2010
Good design is
Good design is innovative.
Good design makes a product useful.
Good design is aesthetic.
Good design makes a product understandable.
Good design is unobtrusive.
Good design is honest.
Good design is long-lasting.
Good design is thorough down to the last detail.
Good design is environmentally friendly.
Good design is as little design as possible
By http://designmuseum.org/design/dieter-rams
Bezos on Amazon 5 years from now
Bezos: I would hope people would say that Amazon is earth's most customer-centric company, and that we work backwards from customers. Many companies sort of look at what their skills are and they work forward from their skills. They say this is what we're good at, and this is what we'll do. It's a very different approach from saying here is what our customers need, and we will learn whatever skills we need.
Read the Interview at Forbes
All men dream, but not equally
Challenge in framing the problem statement
- The greatest challenge to any thinker is stating the problem in a way that will allow a solution.
Why?
Delivering product and service that is culturally desirable, technically feasible and makes business sense.
Interaction Designer, Communicator, Programmer, Problem Solver...
Know the problem
In order to provide good solution, we need to know the problem.
What painful problems are our user's experiencing? Most of the time, these problems are mundane and obvious.
We focus too much on the new and not enough on the now
In our attempt to wow our clients we tend to show something new the and shiny instead of solving a problem now....
In order to create a great user experience, we need to focus on the things now.
Jun 23, 2010
Unbreakable Glass for breakable iPhone and iPad
Jun 14, 2010
Pendulum
Ray Ozzie takes on the issue of centralization versus decentralization, control versus empowerment
"What really does disappoint me is that we as technology users keep forgetting the lessons we learn; we've got very short memories. For example - issues of centralization versus decentralization, control versus empowerment. There's a pendulum that appears to keep swinging back and forth, and we keep polarizing the issue, when in fact we should have learned that both are necessary.
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Then the Web happened, and suddenly — largely driven by lower deployment and maintenance costs — the browser is the answer to every question, whether it makes sense or not. Centralized control and lock-down becomes pervasive, as users lose control of their tools for reasons that are, in fact, quite sensible in many ways.
But then users start placing rogue WiFi access points on corporate networks. They use USB memory devices, smart phones and cameras to carry around documents and presentations. They post confidential information to public Web mail accounts to transfer files, because firewall security is so tight. They start bringing their personal home laptops into work and into meetings "so they can get work done".
The same edge-versus-center tension has happened in the realm of business solutions. The greatest amount of value that Lotus Notes ever provided, besides the email infrastructure, was as a rapid application development platform that people at the edge of the organization - in a business unit - could use to whip up an application that solved their problem instantly. Just-in-time, disposable solutions. As Notes was more embraced as central infrastructure, IT buyers demanded that end-user design capabilities be re-shaped to target the needs of professional developers. Notes environments became "locked down", and people closest to the needs lost their ability to do "self-service" solution development. With Groove, we've brought that back.
Some problems are best solved centrally, others are best addressed locally. Enterprises have needs at the center; people and business units have needs at the edge. The smart CIO embraces both and understands how to weave the two together appropriately within their own environment."
http://www.gartner.com/research/fellows/asset_115813_1176.jsp
Ray Ozzie's Has a Great Insight in Mobile technology
"Notification and awareness is one of the most interesting uses of wireless devices that has yet to emerge. We're moving into a world of pervasive awareness, where you can control the publishing of awareness of your location, "projecting" to others your interruptability and the modes of communications that you find the most useful at the moment. For example — when you're driving and have your hands on the wheel, you'd rather suggest to others that they call you rather than "texting" or emailing you. Or maybe they should just let you concentrate.
Projecting your interruptability to others might be really easy if we integrated our handheld wireless devices with our varied communication services. Take, for example, the phone. Why isn't it possible — without navigating a million menus — to slip a little button on the side to select one of four desired presence or interruptability states, customized to you: I'm in a meeting; I'm available to my "intimates"; I'm available for any interruptions; or "do not disturb". This state could be easily published by your wireless operator, through Web Services, to the on-line buddy list of your IM or email programs, or directly to other people's phones. "
http://www.gartner.com/research/fellows/asset_115813_1176.jsp
Jun 12, 2010
Minimalist's computer
"What I have found is that the iPad has in fact become what I have come to think of as my everywhere else machine. In other words, when I am sitting at my desk, in my home office, I use my Macbook. Everywhere else, the living room, the den, at a client, at a coffee shop — I use the iPad. This means I use it quite a lot but there are certainly some things I wait to do on my Macbook (web development stuff for instance). That said, this is more a limit of available apps then the iPad itself. Most of what I do, which constitutes writing, browsing, social networks, and email, can easily be done on the iPad (and in some cases it's even better). My Macbook rarely leaves the desk."
http://minimalmac.com/post/683822206/the-everywhere-else-machine
I have to agree with this quote that most people don't need a PC or laptop which requires you to sit down on a desk to use for the 90+% of their day to day needs. All you need a something similar to an iPAD.
Walt Mossberg also said that 80% of user's computer's need can be done in an iPad.
SpaceX Success versus Korean Rocket Explosion
This is just a great comparison on two different ways and methodologies of building rockets. One uses the old methodology while the other is a fresh approach in a solving a problem.
A US company called Space X Falcon 9 Successfully launched without NASA's help.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science_and_environment/10209704.stm
Korean Rocket Explosion point fingers to Russian firm
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/southkorea/7817257/South-Korean-rocket-explodes-after-take-off.html
If you work for the Korean Space Agency, which approach would you take?
Jun 11, 2010
Sinofsky memo to Ballmer
"We need to decide what we will do and do that well and 100% and not just do a little of everything."
iOS Sales Stats
Now here's the iPhone. In 2007 sales were $630 million. In 2008, $6.7 billion. In 2009, $13 billion. This year sales will hit $21.5 billion and in 2011 they will be $27.5 billion. On top of that, the iPad will contribute $3.1 billion in 2010, $8.2 billion in 2011.
APPLE iPHONE SALES BY YEAR
APPLE iPHONE SALES BY YEAR
2007: 3,704,000
2008: 13,675,000
2009: 25,105,000
2010 to date: 8,752,000
Apr 8, 2010
Why xbox killed ps2 and zune has'nt killed the ipod?
“The big difference between Xbox and Zune was the customer target.With Zune, we didn’t know who we were building it for. With Xbox, we knew
those guys. Hell, we were those guys.”— Xbox team member
as articled in Businessweek:
http://www.businessweek.com/innovate/content/mar2009/id2009034_766385_page_2.htm
"Why was Microsoft able to create such a compelling video game system only to churn out a mediocre portable music player? The competitive context was the same. The research was similar. The design and engineering resources brought to the challenge were significant in both cases. What makes a company deliver a bravura performance one day and fall flat the next? Empathy. As one member of the team confided: "The biggest challenge with Zune was trying to figure out who we were building it for. With Xbox, we knew those guys. Hell, we were those guys."
Empathy results in Business Growth
Here's my takeaway on a must read book written by Dev Patnaik on Empathy:
"A company needs to be connected to its customer:
And then, when it comes time to revise the company billing policies, that guy
realizes that there’s one way to change the system that might really help customers out and another that might totally enrage them."
"People Have Empathy By Nature. Companies Have to Work at It
These folks don’t realize that their business is actually out in the world—
in the stores where people buy their products, and in the homes where they live their lives."
"
This isn’t about market research. It’s not about Voice of the Customer. It’s about
strategy and culture, and getting everybody to focus on what’s really important. Stop trying to ask customers what they want. Start walking in their shoes.
At Nike, everyone who works on a shoe is a runner themselves. That way, even if the market research isn’t great, the shoe ends up being good because the designers have a gut sense for what other runners are looking for."
"In the early 1990s, IBM (IBM) was in crisis. The organization had laid off thousands of employees as its profit and revenue fell for the first time ever. By the time Lou Gerstner was installed as CEO, just about everyone believed his job would be to divide Big Blue into a dozen Baby Blues. Everyone except Gerstner, who believed his customers needed IBM to be one company. Gerstner launched Operation Bear Hug, sending his top 250 managers to visit at least five customers each. Through those meetings, the leadership of IBM began to see how important their work was—and to understand the changes they could make to add value for their customers. Over time, Bear Hug helped IBM redefine itself as a solutions provider. In less than two years, Gerstner brought IBM back into the black, and the company went on to chart seven years of double-digit revenue growth and profitability. Today, Big Blue's growth engine runs on empathy."
Project Strategist and Innovation
Project Strategist and Innovation: Define the problem, set goals, engage the users, gain insights and solve problems iteratively within a set time frame.