Xerox it out

I’ve often wondered what would the world be without xerox. Most of my college days went by as i thrived on copies for nearly everything for study material. In fact not just college, photo copies have become an imperative for nearly any walk of life.

Just got married? Bring copies of several documents for registration. Applying for a loan? A whole bunch of copies required. Similarly for admissions, job applications, setting up your society / telephone / electricity bill. Its the copies that get carried along with any official documentation. For a company that eventually became a household name when it comes to photo copies, Xerox has come a long way. Or not.

Back in the late 70’s Xerox PARC was one of the most innovative companies. To the extent that Steve Jobs had been to their facilities back in the day to explore what they were doing. Jobs had people in the team who were working on software and hardware and they eventually picked up ideas for their computers too. Maybe Jobs stole (er. was inspired by) some of the ideas there. Apparently that’s what lead to the mouse being created. Legend has it that Jobs said that if Xerox PARC was to build, innovate and leverage the work they were doing then they could have been bigger than most tech giants at this time.

Whether that worked out to their benefit or not, they did for sure break the barrier by becoming the first name that comes to mind when it comes to copies. Given the number of applications that require a xerox copy and the numerous number of times their machines as used, I don’t think they lost either!

[Book Review] Dogfight: How Apple and Google Went to War and Started a Revolution

The long drawn Apple vs Google argument is totally fleshed out in this book. Though i had read the Jobs biography by Walter Isaacson & I’m feeling lucky by Douglas Edwards, this read had more comparative facts to offer. It starts with Apple to point out that through iTunes, Apple controls almost 25% of all music purchased. They also have a sizable share in the $18 billion video market. Fact is that Apple spent nearly $150 mn in building the first iPhone. The initial parts of the book talk about how the employees were burnt out working 60-80 hour weeks continuously for two years & kept resigning only to join back in a day. It was such a high secret project even within Apple’s headquarters that there were secret walls built overnight to keep the entire thing a secret from its own employees. The first phone that Jobs unveiled was actually a prototype & the team had no clue how they were going to keep up with shipment orders in 2 months!

Google had a different approach in contrast. I think this was the best way they could keep services free. This is because Google would release a product when it was 80% finished. Like any Google service or product it would be free with a constant feedback loop from the users. That’s how they gained insight in to the later 20% of the product to build in the finishing touches. It’s also critical to know that since the products were free, user expectations were not high & therefore you wouldn’t see an outrage on the scale of Apple Maps or Antenna issues the way Apple had to face.

Its remarkable to see the way employees from both companies kept playing musical chairs with companies in the Silicon Valley at that time. Andy Rubin, the guy who worked on Android was an ex-Microsoft employee. Even before Google bought Motorola, Apple had a partnership with Motorola for iPods back in 2004. Some prominent Apple employees who quit to start their own companies eventually made big to only sell-off their company to Google. A good example of this is Nest. Fights between the corporations such as Yahoo! & Google for Adwords have been covered well, in addition to the big Apple vs Samsung trial and the Microsoft anti-trust campaign against Google. A good part of the book also covers the role Eric Schmidt had to play since he was at Google & the board of Apple at the same time (he was not a part of most iPhone meetings).

The last part of the book has a futuristic take on who is going to win the platform war. An interesting point to note is that Google, Amazon, Microsoft, Facebook & Netflix are sitting on a cash pile of $300 bn which is enough to buy all the media houses & broadcast networks. With changing media consumption patters and device preferences, this battle is just getting heated up for now. As for me, i will say this a great and insightful read. Ditch the articles you’ve been reading & deep dive in to this book. For all you know, it will give you more facts & perspective to fuel your arguments!

 

5 Reasons why i shifted back to iOS from Android

Yes, i’ve got the iPhone 5S and most of the observations stem from my usage of the phone over a week. Now you may well know the average phone junkie around you will be caught up in a grueling debate of which platform to choose. iOS / Android / Windows / Blackberry. Ok, lets leave the last one. You see, i was there too. My smartphone journey started with a Blackberry. Now, i didn’t quite like the feeling of being stuck in dinosaur years in the face of technology and made the shift to iOS. 6 months down, i shifted to Android and now i’m back to iOS. Pray, you ask why? Here it goes:

1. iOS7: The colors. I mean this is vivid. Its like Apple’s on an acid trip and everything looks colorful. Not just that, the notifications and controls are so much more easier. I used to chuckle over the ease of changing settings on my S3 in the initial days, but iOS7 just hit the pain point with the controls made easy.

2. Stability: DON’T get me started on the number of times my S3 crashed. Talk about random restarts, apps crashed and went boom in my face. I can’t even count the number of times i would have my phone freeze when i wanted to take a picture or just after taking one, trying to see how it looked. With my 5S, that’s a story of the past.

3. LAG: That’s in caps cause that’s what pinched and pricked me all along. Why samsung why would you load a phone with touchwiz? I mean where’s the darn value add? Everytime i had to pickup the phone to call, it would take 8 holy seconds for my contacts to show. Free Memory? Did that. Factory reset? Check. Go to android developer settings and change parameters. Figured out and did that. No help.

4. Customization: Now this is what you don’t get in iOS. But, once you’re done with those inane customizations and wallpaper updates, how frequently do you actually go back and keep changing. In fact, as you become busier or most accustomed to your device, you rarely change the display. If you’re on the otherside, then well you really are sorted in life to have so much time on your hands.

5. Security: No matter how much we bleat or brag about the closed OS that Apple has to offer, it no doubt keeps your phone secure. Also what can beat Touch ID? I mean the entire user experience is revamped in the 5S. App purchases and phone unlock are so much simpler now. All i need to do is add a fingerprint.

The typical android geek would love to root phones and try out different tricks and its oh, so open! But i have my reservations now and would rather prefer a stable, reliable and minimalist device as compared to the phablets and the shenanigans. Plus, the camera with the two tone flash? It beats everything on the market hands down. So yes, when it comes to android i could rattle on about how large the screen actually turned out for me in the S3 and the little benefit it seemed to offer. Plus battery issues and what not. Things are sorted and streamlined in iOS. So yes, this shift back has been simpler than i thought and i’m back to worship Apple’s holy grail of tech.

Tim Cook reflecting on Steve Jobs 2nd Death Anniv.

Steve Jobs has truly been a phenomenon that shook not just technology but the marketing and advertising world as well. I must admit that i have always been fascinated by his leadership style and he is known as a charismatic leader anyways. If you have read the biography by Walter Isaacson, then you would have heard of Steve’s “Reality Distortion Field”. Simply explained this was a way in which Steve would push his team members to achieve what they thought was ridiculous or at times not feasible as well. That’s also a reason why employees at Apple continue to surprise not just themselves but the markets as well till the time Steve was there rolling out innovative products. Here’s a tribute video employees at Apple made on his first death anniversary.

Coming to the second death anniversary (05th Oct. 2013), Tim Cook has sent out an email internally to mark what Steve meant to everyone and how they should dedicate themselves to the work he loved:

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Team-

Tomorrow marks the second anniversary of Steve’s death. I hope everyone will reflect on what he meant to all of us and to the world. Steve was an amazing human being and left the world a better place.I think of him often and find enormous strength in memories of his friendship, vision and leadership. He left behind a company that only he could have built and his spirit will forever be the foundation of Apple. We will continue to honor his memory by dedicating ourselves to the work he loved so much. There is no higher tribute to his memory. I know that he would be proud of all of you.

Best,

Tim

*Sourced from 9to5Mac

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I feel that Steve had this unique capability to marry the arts, culture, technology and science in a unique way and present the end product in the most simplest form to the end user. Maybe a little to simple for someone like me. But, any Apple product comes with an interface so user friendly that you don’t need a user manual at the end of the day. Now that’s proving the utility value that comes with the product. No wonder people using the iPhone tend to spend longer time on their devices and are most likely to declare that you can call them or text back on their iPhone. As Jonathan “Jony” Ive puts it, this indicates how seamless and easy to use the products are. As for the ex-COO, Tim Cook was known to be majorly quiet with a fixed gaze during meetings. If anything, I’m sure the team with Cook, Ive and Frederighi will continue to innovate, “Think Different” and provide products that will keep people lining outside stores for weeks together and achieve record sales as they carry the delicious Apple in to the future.

*Image Source: Businessinsider.com