Ged Carroll

Blog

  • 2016 Apple event

    In a now annual ritual its 2016 Apple event held on September 7 left me a lot to reflect on.

    Style

    • The presentation was telling a hard story to an audience that were likely to be underwhelmed. Phil Schiller rather than Tim Cook carried the most difficult parts of the keynote.
    • The piano finish device was an obvious attempt to provide a style angle to the new iPhone and mask the aerial sections. However it is a class action waiting to happen as it will dull over time with micro-scratches
    • The story that the audience was told didn’t feel right. Lets talk about the headphone jack. The double camera only appears in the Plus, so the requirement for room isn’t a credible argument on its own, other vendors have managed to waterproof handsets with headphone jacks. I suspect that Apple isn’t sure that its backing the right horse. Its the least aggressive change they’ve made in a while. The inclusion of an adaptor shows that their user aggression still isn’t as high compared to when they got rid of: SCSI, Apple Desktop Bus (ADB), iPod 30 pin port (still pissed about that one), AppleTalk, floppy disks or optical disk playback and storage – I suspect that they are fearfully waiting to see what the pre-order numbers will be like and they should be. A straw poll of AdAge readers (core Apple user demographic) showed overwhelming disappointment
      AdAge readers on new iPhone
    • There is a lot of really nice features in iOS 10 – I’ve been using it for a while, why didn’t they make more of this and macOS Sierra?

    Substance

    • Innovation in the smartphone category has flattened out. The iPhone 7 provides reasons for laggard iPhone users to upgrade, but nothing for 6 and 6S series users. There are few if any innovations for the likes of Huawei to ape in their new models
    • Innovation in smartwatches has plateaued. Apple is coalescing around fitness and dedicated products are much more cost effective for consumers. In China Xiaomi’s fitness band sells for about £15, for many consumers it would be enough. Fitbit is doing well – Apple’s wrist computer (alongside Samsung Gear etc) looks like a sledgehammer to crack a nut
    • Apple have done nothing to address the latent demand for new laptops amongst consumers (I am still happy with my 13″ Retina MacBook Pro). There was no replacement for the Cinema display (again, I am happy with my current set-up, but where is the pro-user love)
    • Apple abandoned its flirtation with luxury by discontinuing the gold Watch. They are still holding out to be viewed as stylish by doubling down with Hermes and a white ceramic device – it would work on the opposite wrist to a Chanel J12
    • It was curious that Apple moved away from talking about security and privacy; the collaborative document working using iWork which could be seen as a potential attack vector on to the desktop. The Air Pods that sync seamlessly with a device without visible security precautions.  iPhone security was addressed in the James Corden car karaoke skit at the beginning of the show rather than woven through the materials.
    • The speech about the app store was to try and bolster developer support, I suspect that services will shore up the Apple financial numbers over the next 12 months
    • The Nike branded Apple Watch was part of a broader move reposition the Apple Watch 2 as a fitness device and probably the biggest transition of the 2016 Apple event.

    More related content can be found here.

  • Yamato Express + more news

    Yamato Express

    JTB, Panasonic, Yamato eye paperless luggage transport service for tourists | Japan Times – this looks awesome. Yamato Express is a logistics company that will do everything from parcel delivery to helping you to move house. The Yamato Express business philosophy is embodied by our symbol of a mother cat carrying her kitten. Yamato Express look to deliver the same level of care to every customer relationship – and believe in our responsibility to contribute to their customers’ wellbeing and prosperity. I have experienced their service in both Hong Kong and Japan and Yamato Express is a level above UPS, Fedex etc.

    Yamato Delivery
    Yamato Express logo showing a cat carry its kitten. The implication is that they take the same care

    Business

    WSJ City – City of London Office Rents to Slide – if its steep enough, will there be new office opportunities for agencies priced out of West End over past decade or so?

    Culture

    The tables are turning: Now that anyone can be a DJ, is the art form dead? | The Economist – not so sure about this article, Phonica and the like are still doing well on vinyl. Also a good deal of the DJs skill is in programming which is distinctly different from making a good Spotify playlist.

    Tinker, tailor, writer, spy: the many lives of John le Carré, in his own words | The Guardian – always liked Cornwell, this makes me like him more

    Design

    Italy’s Fertility Day posters aren’t just sexist – they’re echoes of a fascist past | The Guardian – regardless, Italy (and other EU countries) have an ageing population that needs to be addressed or planned for

    Calm Technology – reminds me a lot of Dieter Rams principles of design adopted for a digital age

    Ideas

    Mike Jay – Paranoid Android | Literary Review – especially pertinent given my re-reading of Do Androids Dream of Electronic Sleep

    Japan

    Japan’s message to the UK and EU – Japanese ministry of foreign affairs – interesting technical document that highlights how fucked the UK could be, this outlines the red lines that drive Japanese companies out of the country to another EU country instead. Unfortunately it will be too subtle for UK politicians  (PDF) More Japan related posts here.

    Media

    Yes, the News Can Survive the Newspaper – The New York Times – One day many decades hence, when your grandchildren ask you, “Grandma, what was a newspaper?” you can direct them back to Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2016. Because it may well go down as the day the American newspaper as we’ve known it moved out of intensive care and into the palliative wing on its way to the Great Beyond

    The Twilight of Fox News – The Atlantic – interesting demographic cliff challenge, I would imagine that newspapers face a similar if less extreme challenge?

    eBay Receives Positive Results From Branded Podcast | IPG Media Lab – interesting case study on podcast advertising

    Brands Cling to TV Advertising | L2 – because mass reach is 500 times more expensive on digital than on TV

    Retailing

    Amazon.co.uk: Dash Buttons: Kindle Store

    Will Amazon Kill FedEx? | Bloomberg – reminds me of Alibaba in China. The key difference is Amazon’s belief that they will always have the cheapest capital

    Security

    Governments and nation states are now officially training for cyberwarfare: An inside look – TechRepublic – no real surprises given how every product category seems to have a processor and connectivity, but an interesting read

    Software

    PaddlePaddle – Baidu’s open source deep learning code

    Smartphone apps now account for half the time Americans spend online | TechCrunch – interesting data points. More on smartphones here.

    Technology

    Tech Billionaire’s Data Startup C3 IoT Raises $70 Million – Bloomberg – just as the heat is leaving the IoT market and going into fintech, cryptocurrency and blockchain based verification / recording systems

    JK Scheinberg: Apple engineer rejected from job at Apple store Genius Bar – Business Insider – Apple can add ageism in recruitment to its woes

    Details Emerge On China’s 64-Core ARM Chip | NextPlatform – ARM as RISC server processor. ARM is more optimised as a client processor, whilst the power reduction focus is good, this isn’t necessarily the slam dunk that it appears on paper

    Softbank has completed its £24B cash acquisition of ARM Holdings | TechCrunch – expect a big IoT play. I don’t get what SoftBank really bring beyond money.

    Customer Letter – Apple (IE) – relates to EU tax finding against Apple

    Web of no web

    Alcatel’s standalone VR headset is a tough sell | Engadget – really smart product design in terms of weight distribution. I suspect a good deal of the issue is access to compelling content and that consumers have been educated to do everything on/with their smartphone

    Wireless

    Total Recall | CCS Insight – Samsung’s Note 7 battery issue will be forgotten (like Dell and Sony’s laptop battery issues in the past). They will take a bit of a hit on their quarterly results, but business insurance will probably cover it

  • Do Androids Dream of Electronic Sheep? by Philip K Dick and Tony Parker

    Do Androids Dream of Electronic Sheep

    Like many people I was drawn to Do Androids Dream of Electronic Sheep by the film adaptation Blade Runner. I originally read the paperback book and found it less satisfying. It is one of the few cases where cinema did a better job than the source material, even though it veered off from the book.

    I re-read the book after I knew about more about Dick’s amphetamine fuelled life and the paranoia associated with speed underpins the story in plot turns affecting our main character.

    I have now had a good deal of time to read the graphic novel adaptation with some distance from the original book. Time has moved along and I think I would be more receptive to the book today.

    Tony Parker’s adaptation of Do Androids Dream of Electronic Sheep

    Untitled

    Tony Parker has done a really good job of interpreting the original and breathing life into it as a graphic novel. He brings it to life to Dick’s work, in particular the entropy of the environment. In particular the  phenomenon of ‘kipple’ and philosophy of Mercerism which underpins much of the novel. It is a credit to Parker that he managed to keep the visuals distinct from the iconic style of Blade Runner.

    My one criticism of the Parker adaption is that it is an unwieldy book and the  binding comes apart under the weight of the pages. As for the content, I think Parker’s adaption is a great way of taking in Dick’s novel. Do Androids Dream of Electronic Sheep is important for the way it shaped culture and technology. The book foreshadowed cyberpunk culture.  It has been listed as one of the 100 books you need to read (at least according to the Times Educational Supplement). More on Do Androids Dream… here. More book reviews here.

  • Apple Ireland + more things

    Apple, Ireland and the Spanish connection – RTÉ News – interesting article on how the Irish government and Apple may appeal the EU tax ruling. Apple Ireland was one of the first technology companies to set up shop, so it’s symbolism is as important as its economic impact. More on Ireland related topics here.

    modern day pilgramage 2

    Why are we still using lame lithium-ion batteries after so many promising alternatives? | ExtremeTech – which flies in the face of many smart energy grid claims

    Modern Love: The Internet Thinks I’m Still Pregnant – data has its limits

    Samsung is recalling the Galaxy Note 7 smartphone worldwide – Sep. 2, 2016 – right on the edge of IFA

    Apple is going to remove abandoned apps from the App Store | TechCrunch – interesting as from a marketing perspective Apples app store numbers will drop. But its also good from a compatibility point of view. My favourite to do app ZeptoLiner seems to have been abandoned by the Japanese development house who created it. It will be sad to see it go

    Vice shows how not to treat freelancers – Columbia Journalism Review – interesting business model

    This Mathematician Says Big Data Is Causing a ‘Silent Financial Crisis’ | TIME – interesting reading despite the shrill tone

    Social Mobility Commission | Socio-economic diversity in life sciences and investment banking – they needed a report to tell them what everyone knows, many roles are about socio economic background rather than just ability (PDF)

    Historian: China’s Economic Reforms Actually Started During the Cultural Revolution | Asia Society – interesting hypothesis. I certainly think that thinking about it occurred during this time, whilst leaders bided their time. There were also cross border conversations happening with overseas Chinese carpetbaggers businessmen who smuggled key supplies into China and later pioneered overseas investment in the Pearl River delta

    INTERNET: Microsoft in New China Tack with MSN Spin-Off | Young China Business – careful disengagement from the market presumably to cope with the legislative environment as much as anything else

    Researchers Map Locations of 4,669 Servers in Netflix’s Content Delivery Network – IEEE Spectrum – interesting how much of the servers are sitting in ISP network facilities rather than in Internet exchanges where one would expect them to peer

  • Spain – Madrid trip

    Impressions of Spain

    I got to form some initial impressions of Spain. It has been a while since I have travelled and got to spend more than a flying visit. I got to spend some time in Madrid. Madrid sits on a high arid plain that is cold in winter and hot and dry in summer. It has amazing colonial era architecture and one of the best sets of museums in the world.
    Madrid & Toledo

    Spain and recession

    Spain prior to the great recession was a country on the rise. It had invested in modern infrastructure that would shame the UK, from its buses to its high-speed trains. They are all still in place. The trains have airport-style baggage scanners prior to boarding and the buses are curiously devoid of advertising.

    All of the transport system provided digital signage and mobile apps to keep passengers informed and on the move.

    Web of no web

    When you look beyond the processes and systems things start to get more interesting. QRcodes feature on advertising of all sorts. I saw an ‘erotic massage’ service on a traffic light using them on its fly poster. QRcodes also appeared on FMCG brands in railway station adverts. Part of the reason might be handsets in the Spanish market.

    Looking around by what I saw people use on the street, in public transport and shops, the handset environment was very different to the UK. Well-off people had the latest iPhone, everyone else seemed to have a mid-tier Android handset up to four years old. The likely lack of memory in the handset meant that the mobile web is a more viable option than apps.

    There seemed to be a corresponding lack of m-payments a la ApplePay. Adverts for the Huawei P9 were amongst the most prominent ads that I saw running in out-of-home placements, but I only saw Huawei phones in use one, running ordering software in a restaurant. More related content here.