We get to join the rest of the East Coast in enjoying the “Great Snow of 2010″ (and no, it’s not a statement on the political climate.) I chose to share our experiences in a short video.
Enjoy.
Once again we can’t turn on a news reader on the internet without be reminded of the Great Steve (not me–Jobs) and how he always has the “right sense” for business. In addition to his design sense, and ability to time the introduction of products perfectly, many often credit him with “saving” the music industry by making music affordable at just 99 cents per song.
But could he have lost his touch? Could Steve Jobs and Apple not only missed it this time, but could they be responsible for bringing down a whole nascent industry with them?
On the heels of the introduction of the Apple iPad (and their announcement that books would cost between $13 and $15) we saw an emboldened Macmillan publishing house pressing their case against Amazon. For a brief moment Amazon seemed to be fighting the good fight for consumers, and went so far as to ban direct sales of Macmillan books.
Macmillan was simply “acting out” what Steve Jobs told to Walt Mossberg when he said that the prices would end up being the same (between Apple and Amazon), because the publishers are not happy (with Amazon) and are going to pull their books from there. It appears that Steve Jobs is doing the work of the Publishers, pushing the price points up, rather than down. Rather than being a champion of the individual, does this make Steve Jobs simply a big business “hack?”
The bottom line here really is that Amazon knew 2 years ago what Steve Jobs should know now. Verso Direct has conducted a book buyers behavioral study/survey, in which they discover that the magic price-point for digital books seems to be right at $9.99. According to the article “Amazon Flanks…” when Verso presented their study and broke down their findings, they reported that 3 out of 5 people will consider buying an ebook at or below $9.99. Raise the price, and that drops to 1 out of 5.
The article then goes on to identify the real “winners” as pirates.
Is it possible that, in his rush to kill Amazon, Steve Jobs may have instead spell the death of eBooks?1
- There are many other thoughts here, including the differences between music and books. I will discuss these over the next few weeks. ↩
First, it was Apple’s delay in approving apps that was a problem. Then Apple actually started removing (oops, “failing to approve”) the Google Voice app. Do we see another App Store war coming with the Kindle App? Read the rest of this entry »
I have seen all the mock-ups, and the “leaked” images, and various speculations, and what strikes as interesting is how uncreative so many folks seem to be. Digging back to my blog entry from March 2006 you will see an idea of what many thought (1 year in advance) a new, all glass, iPod Video would look like Note they assumed the interface would just “virtualize” the wheel.
Jump forward nearly 4 years and many MegaDecibles of hype later, and you can see the lack of creativity still abounds. Most prognosticators are predicting “a larger iPhone” with some of the images shown (purportedly “legitimate from inside sources”) showing exactly the same layout–to include a speaker where there is currently an ear piece.
Give me a break. We won’t have to hold this up to our ears so why should Apple be captive to that design?
I see no reason for the device to look “like a larger iPhone” except in the broad brushes of Steve Job’s design Ken. Remember, Jobs likes simplicity, and we were “told” after the release of the iPhone that he wasn’t happy with the concessions they had to make for the few buttons that exist on the iPhone.
What can we expect to see? (and check back in 16 hours for my Mea Culpa.)
- All Glass Front
- Touch Interface
- No buttons on the front
- In fact, no buttons. Except power.
- Pencil thin
- limited physical connections, if any. Yup, no Firewire, no USB. Maybe not even an iPod connector. WiFi/3G only.
- Power connector? (can you say “no–inductive charging?”)
So, if the rumored names are true, expect exactly that-a slate. A blank slate.
My thoughts? Apple will surprise us again. And that should be no surprise.
My apologies, I have fallen behind on cross-posting the podcast. To be sure to get the LATEST podcast episodes of “Real Tech for Real People” visit http://getthenext.com, or simply click on the subscribe link below.
Tech Tutoring, Apple Ruminations, Google Nexus, Weekly Picks, and more…
Click here to listen to Real Tech 20
Click here to subscribe via iTunes
Stories:
- Initial sales of Google Nexus 1 Phone: 20k in first week….shocking, or not?
- Rumors of 4G iphones circulating.
- Magic Jack uses “femtocell” technology.
- Nintendo finally gets NetFlix on the Wii.
- Matt Brady joins to discuss how Cumberland Valley HS is teaming with Microsoft.
PHOTO TIP: With DSLR (and most digital cameras) changing your resolution can change your photo speed.
PICKS OF THE WEEK:
Steve: Blueant z9i BT earpiece
Tony: Mirafiber Ultimate Cloth: http://www.southerncarparts.com/ultimate-cloth-p-712.html
Courtney: http://blog.louisgray.com/2010/01/abuzz-launches-social-media-search.html (techie) & a bit easier http://www.dimdim.com/
Past Picks of the Week now available at: http://tinyurl.com/RTPicks
websites to visit:
http://getthenext.com
http://theprofessornotes.com
Show Voicemail: 814.808-JOE1 (814.808.5631)
Tony is: tony.pittman@gmail.com or twitter.com/tonypittman
Steve is: scmprofessor@gmail.com or twitter.com/scmprofessor and he blogs at http://theprofessornotes.com
Guest, Courtney Engel is http://courtneyengle.com and @courtneyengle on Twitter
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
My apologies, I have fallen behind on cross-posting the podcast. To be sure to get the LATEST podcast episodes of “Real Tech for Real People” visit http://getthenext.com, or simply click on the subscribe link below.
CES 2010, MagicJack, New iPhone possible, Google Nexus miscalculation, The eReader boom, Our weekly picks.
Click here to listen to Real Tech 19
Click here to subscribe via iTunes
STORIES:
- CES: Is the Consumer Electronics Show still relevant?
- Magic Jack uses “femtocell” technology
- Hot off the rumor mill: New iPhone by April?
- More Phone Conversations. Google Nexus leaves customers “sour”
- Ereader boom “kindles” a variety of options
PICKS OF THE WEEK:
Steve: Keurig Coffee Maker
Tony: Google Voice + POTS = low cost home office solution.
Chris: iPhone Explorer
Stevier: Nike+iPod Nike+iPod
Past Picks of the Week now available at: http://tinyurl.com/RTPicks
Show Voicemail: 814.808-JOE1 (814.808.5631)
Tony is: tony.pittman@gmail.com or twitter.com/tonypittman
Steve is: scmprofessor@gmail.com or twitter.com/scmprofessor and he blogs at http://theprofessornotes.com
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
UPDATE: I had to update the video, editing out someone who requested to not be included in the video. There is no truth to the rumor that he (or she) is part of the witness protection program.
Matthew made the big decision today. He went back and forth, considering a Droid from Verizon, or upgrading his iPhone to a 3Gs. (If you follow @scmprofessor or @spreadhdgfx on twitter you know the questions we were asking.)
After much consideration, he decided on the 3Gs. Part of the decision was based on the fact that AT&T agreed to waive the activation fee. This was no small thing–Verizon was willing to wave it if we switched to them, so it made AT&T competitive.
We did learn one other interesting tidbit–AT&T will be getting their own Motorola Android-based phone, as well as their own rebranded HTC Hero (again, Android based.) later this year. While waiting until March (or later) wasn’t going to meet Matt’s immediate need (remember his video about the damaged 1st Gen iPhone), this is good news for those of us leaving AT&T to get to a Droid.
(On the other hand, if the Droid is a viable alternative to the iPhone, so that you can leave AT&T, well, that’s a different story.)
My brother shared with me a very humorous story, about UPS apparently confabulating a story about his son (5 y.o. at the time) apparently calling UPS to tell them to return a shipment to sender. My brother writes:
A birthday present for our soon to be 6 year old son was being delivered by UPS. Initially their site said (according to my mother-in-law) that it had been delivered on our porch on Thursday. When my wife called UPS on Friday to say that it was not delivered she was told, “Mack Brady called and requested it be returned to sender.” My wife pointed out that Mack Brady was 5 years old and expecting that box to contain lots of LEGOs from his grandparents. He was unlikely to make the call much less request that the package be returned to sender.
It was delivered 5 days (3 business days) later.
I find this experience very interesting as we seek to learn valuable service delivery, supply chain, and life lessons. Read the rest of this entry »
As we drive the route to and from State College, PA along Rt 322 we pass this rock formation, cut recently as they expanded the road. This is a nice view, and I am sure we won’t get to enjoy it for too many more years before erosion takes it’s toll.
(I am currently teaching a Service Operations Management course for our MBA program, and part of the requirements for the course is for students to blog weekly on service experiences they have had, and relate and assess that experience as it directly relates to the recent chapters covered in class. In that spirit, I am offering some of my recent service experiences on my blog.)
My wife is an insulin dependent diabetic, and has been using the Medtronic “pump” for several years now. In addition, she has the “continuous glucose monitoring” (CGM) sensors, that talk with the pump, and allow her to get information far more quickly about changes in her glucose levels. 1
As part of that treatment regimen she has to order supplies on a regular basis. Of course, these supplies are only available from the manufacturer. Our insurance company picks up the tab for much of the supply cost, and as part of the typical healthcare regimen, we pay our portion of the bill as well. I typically call Medtronic, or at least their billing contractor, and make the payment over the phone with a credit card.
In December I called, and quickly dispatched with the task, paying the balance owed on the bill, and writing down the confirmation number. Then, in January, we received another bill, for the next set of supplies received, and I called back. This time, they told me I owed for the new supplies, and that I still owed the (now late) payment for the prior supplies.
Here is where things could have gone terribly wrong, with accusations, recriminations, and the like being passed back and forth. But instead, things went terribly RIGHT. (um… is that possible?)
I dug around, and found my copy of the previous bill, with the confirmation number written on there (in traditional, Air Force “Memo for Record” fashion. Old habits die hard.) I read the customer service representative the number, and she looked it up. And then she gasped! “I was the person who took the payment!”
She immediately sprang into action, verifying that they had, indeed, taken my call on that day, and that I had indeed paid my bill. She went to her supervisor whom I was told was “as we speak” taking the paperwork to the accounting office to straighten them out. We then proceeded to take care of the rest of the business, and process the payment for the balance owed.
At the end of the call, I asked if she wouldn’t mind sharing her name with me, just in case I had any other issues. She was very gracious and agreed to that.
So, Esther, thank you for your gracious and attentive support to your customers. It is very appreciated!
- I will say, the ability to get near-realtime bio feedback is a tremendous boon to diabetic care. More on that at another time… ↩
