Monday, October 20, 2008

Thursday, October 9, 2008

Hitting the scalability barrier, latest example: Top Gear Australia

You really should read Joel On Software. Because sometimes, it is not about software, it's about understanding some basic, some might say trivial, things that might sound obvious until it's too late.

In his article called 'Big Macs vs. The Naked Chef' written seven years ago Joel have explained why attempts to 'clone' a success by putting it down to a set of rules, and then making someone else follow them as automatically as possible are bound to fail. It sounds trivial until you actually see someone trying to do it. Obviously, the producers of Top Gear Australia never read that article, just as most of other TV producers engaged in a trendy show format trade.

Personally, I am not a big car fan. I can not nearly afford any of the fancy vehicles that are "reviewed" on Top Gear, not by a long shot. Needless to say, I could not care less whether a Lamborghini Murcielago Roadster goes from 0 to 60 in 3.8 seconds or in a century because chances are I will never see one in my lifetime. Then why, would you ask, I watch the Top Gear and enjoy it so much?

Because of the crew and the style and the production quality and the uniqueness and the humor and the uncompromising quality of every little thing they do in each episode. The hosts of the show, Jeremy, Richard and James, have developed an outstanding chemistry, and have perfected their distinct personal style which make the show very enjoyable even for someone who does not know the difference between a super charger and a turbo charger and will probably use neither in his life.

Why would anyone even think of creating another show, just like Top Gear, with the same studio, the same crowd and the same Stig, in Australia but with three completely different hosts. Do they really think it could be successful, just because of the similar camera work and decorations?

Some say, that attempt to clone Jeremy Clarkson has gone out of control, and that Stig is in fact a Finnish rapper. All we know, there is still only one "Top" Gear out there.

Monday, October 6, 2008

Power of Context

A useful feature for any cell phone, in my opinion, would be the possibility of automatically presenting contextual information during the call.

Recently I had to call some agency, and during the conversation dig up some account numbers and identification details that were stored inside the phone notes and I thought, why isn't it possible to attach some remarks or notes to the contact and be able to instantly retrieve them during the call.

Call it the "Context Notes"

Saturday, October 4, 2008

Down The Rabbit Hole: Part VI - Free Your Mind

I have been busy, reading quite a lot about Nokia lately, however, in the meantime the world did not stand still. Just recently, right after the dust settled on the Google phone launch, Nokia rolled out its answer to the iPhone, the Nokia 5800.

Coming almost two years later, the 5800 may indeed exceed the iPhone in some qualities and it may be even more attractive in some markets, but this is just beyond the point. Which is that it represents absolutely no innovation whatsoever. Nothing can disguise this simple fact.

I also disagree that we are witnessing a major platform shift. If Apple would call the iPhone operating system OS X Mobile we would all have a flashback moment. While it is true that mobile browsing has been made really possible for the first time with the iPhone, and now with Android, it is far from representing a major change in computing overall. Don't get me wrong, it will become extremely popular but it will not intriduce a significant global change in the existing technological ecosystem.

Many sources refer to Nokia as number one cell phone company in the world, due to its market share. A company with such potential should not waste time lagging behind their new, unlikely, competitor trying to beat him on his own playing field. Not all users want the iPhone, or any smart phone for that matter. They need a phone, and not a multimedia device with phone function.

In next posts I will elaborate on some plans Nokia has for the future, but let me just say, they are indeed pretty futuristic. As if designing a good phone was so desperately boring and unnecessary. I beleive it is not boring, and is definitely very necessary. All you need to do is free your mind, however difficult this could be. This is what I expect from number one.