Tag Archives: apple

“In preparation for CES, we optimized our network in Las Vegas…. Our network engineers on site continue to take steps to optimize our network as needed for the large number of mobile broadband customers at CES.”

—The Washington Post

I can’t begin to comment on how stupid I think this is. Optimizing is the wrong action to take.

Thoughts on Apple’s WWDC 2009 Keynote

Serial,
  • Bertrand Serlet’s accent is too strong for a keynote.
  • Bertrand advanced to the slide with Snow Leopard’s price before he said the price out loud. He did that several times. He should have said the price as he put it on screen, not before.
  • The guy who did demos for Bertrand had his back to the crowd. Demonstrators never did that before, they were always facing to the side.
  • None of the presenters handled applause very well. They either weren’t prepared for it or waited for it and it never came.
  • I loved the reaction when Scott said “support for MMS is coming later this summer on AT&T.” Everyone understood that AT&T was the bad guy.
  • Why did everyone laugh when Scott said Safari?

There’s not a lot of management at Apple—only about six layers between any employee and Jobs. So if Apple begins with Steve Jobs’s experience of technology, it ends with its employees’ experience of Steve Jobs. “You might go awhile without seeing him,” says a former software engineer. “But you are constantly aware of his presence. You are constantly aware that what you’re doing will either please or displease him. I mean, he might not know who you are. But there’s no question that he knows what you do. And what you’re doing. And whether he likes it or not.“

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Emotional Design… presents scientific evidence that attractive thing work better. Since being happy broadens our thought processes and facilitates creative thinking, attractive products that make us happy can improve our ability to use them. In effect, they work better because we work better.

—Ambient Findability (p. 56)

Apple Rumors

Serial

I wonder if the folks at Apple monitor the press that they get in the days leading up to a new product announcement to find ways to reduce the information leakage. There are always rumors, but they seem to be increasingly accurate as of late. I can’t imagine that Apple takes kindly to having their grand announcements spoiled, so I wonder if they debrief after an event and make plans to be more secretive next time.