I like Marker Felt

Yes I admit it. There seems to be a certain kind of design snobbery that has reared its' head loudly against Marker Felt, a common Apple font used in Notes. To this cohort, it's ugly. Being forced to stare at it day after day is an assault on the senses.

I like it. It creates a visual separation between email and notes. And it makes things just a little bit more casual. There I said it.

Living abroad

Every experience has an impact – some large and some small. Living in a new city tends to be one of those experiences. I've lived in a lot of places – SF, NY, LA and London being the major ones. They have all made an impact on me as a person. But the experience that I think really changed the course of my life is my two years in London.

As two years go, they weren't particularly fun. Sure I went out a lot and explored facets of my personality that I hadn't explored to date. But I was always poor and cold. I didn't earn a lot, didn't eat a lot, and didn't buy a lot. By the end, I was the skinniest I have ever been in my life.

But the major plus was I met the most extraordinary people. I broke many hearts and had mine broken repeatedly. I walked often because London's then transit and traffic problems often left one just short of one's destination. I held my head up high and drank in the cultural stew that is that city. Whenever I meet an British person, there is a period in their lives that I know.

I didn't realize how fearless one comes across by living abroad, even for a brief period of time. I just took it as something one does to be molded by life. It is not an easy experience. While many Americans should travel, many don't. It's not really affordable in a country as vast as the US; you have to work hard to exhaust this country. I've been all over this country and it's a fascinating place but after a while I pine for something that looks and acts different enough to observe more carefully.

If you have any chance whatsoever, live abroad. Your life, your friends, your career and your outlook will all change. Hopefully for the better.

San Francisco vs. New York

People like to compare NY and SF and having lived in both, I actually think they are more similar than most people give them credit. It's just that New York is the larger of the two and so gets pulled up to the ranks of London, Paris, Tokyo and Los Angeles.

Three years ago, there was an excellent post that compared New York neighborhoods to San Francisco ones. While some of the equivalencies felt a little forced, I thought many of them were spot on, e.g. Park Slope = Noe Valley. I would compare the gay Polk Street corridor to the West Village, especially Christopher Street but that's all I would really change.

There was quite a bit of disdain for this exercise, with many exclamations that no where in New York could possibly be compared to rinky-dink San Francisco because it's soooo much bigger. This supposition is not quite true.

People tend to forget that MANHATTAN is relatively small in terms of RESIDENT population – only about 1.5 million people live there. The parts that most people refer to – south of 125th – would be more comparable to San Francisco. People perceive Manhattan to be larger than it is because every day over 8 MILLION people commute into the enormous midtown and downtown business districts from all over the metro area. If Manhattan were set up solely for its' resident population, the scale of the city would be smaller than it is. San Francisco’s workday population merely doubles the city’s size and it’s concentrated in the Financial District and SoMa.

Another thing is both Brooklyn and Queens dwarf Manhattan in terms of population. They each top out at over 2 million with Brooklyn being the largest of the two at 2.5 million. With that in mind, Brooklyn is more comparable to the entire urban East Bay shoreline before the tunnels vs. just Oakland.

Apple v. Google

The geeks are going crazy over the recent Apple sly backhand of Google by restricting manufacturers of hardware or software platforms from obtaining analytics from AdMob advertising. For those who don't know, AdMob places text ads in applications that devs use to earn advertising revenue and help pay for development. This new rule is directed at Google, of course, because they just acquired AdMob. The cries of indignation have been amusing:

Anti-trust violations! Anti-competitive practices! Evil empire! If Microsoft did this...!

If you want to hate Apple, go ahead and hate them. But hate them for valid reasons, not spin disguised as a reason.

As I have posted on several blogs, there's a simple reason why Apple did this Google. Apple blocked Google from harvesting sensitive information about Apple's customer base. Pure and simple.

What people don't realize is AdMob is able to capture quite a lot of information about iPhone/iPod Touch/iPad users through advertising, such as user ID, location, demographics, time spent in app, and other apps on the device. In fact, AdMob has been able to discern new device specifications based on the network presence of equipment in testing. It captures all of this data to serve up more effective advertising but it can also be used to provide a competitor with valuable usage and equipment data.

Why would Apple hand over sensitive behavioral information to a competitor? No smart company would do that.

Apple has no problem with AdMob. Its' presence has underwritten free/low-cost apps in the App Store. But now that AdMob is part of Google, this data treasure-trove has to be turned off. That's why Apple created iAd – to offer developers a means to continue to offer free/low-cost advertising without the risk of sensitive information falling into the wrong hands.

Of course Google/AdMob is angry; they make a lot more money off the iOS platform which has far greater market share than Android devices. I'm sure they could have made a lot more by selling integrated advertising – desktop and mobile alike. But to paint Apple as Godzilla trampling the rights of users, developers and advertisers alike is hyperbole. You don't give your enemies the keys to your castle. User data is one of those keys.

I do want to address the Microsoft angle. Whether we like it or not, Apple has proven to be a far better steward of privacy than most people give it credit. Private browsing has been part of Safari for a long time, before it was fashionable. Unlike other phones, the GPS function in iPhones is off by default and users must explicitly provide permission to turn it on. Things such as viruses and other information harvesting bugs occur far less frequently on the Apple platform. Apple hasn't sold its' customer list' to millions of spammers nor does it change its' privacy rules every few months. Microsoft has made and continues to make so many security gaffes, one would look askance at promises to 'keep information private.' Google has made a number of well-publized errors – Google Buzz, Wifi location harvesting etc. I'm glad Apple takes security seriously.

So let the moaners moan. I'm sure the FTC will find that Apple has done nothing wrong. AdMob isn't banned; they are simply restricted from harvesting sensitive data. I don't mind.

Another day, another agency

Mitsubishi selects 180/LA in Santa Monica for creative duties. It will be interesting to see what they come up with that hasn't been done in the past.

Font Joy - Sirba

Reminds me of Stone Serif with a little more weight to it.

Hat tip [Typography Unlimited]

iPhone 4

Is it as revolutionary as the first one? No. Is it a vast revolution from the 3GS? No. Is it awesome? Yes.

There are three things that I'm most looking forward to with this new iPhone.

1. Sharper screen. I think this will make reading a much more enjoyable experience.
2. Improved camera. Flash is probably the most important addition here but I'm also looking forward to the improved resolution, clarity and the dual lens. HD recording doesn't hurt.
3. Three-way Gyroscope. Finally the iPhone will have the hardware that will make games like Super Monkey Ball an enjoyable experience.

There are many (many) people who will dismiss these improvements as things that have been available on other platforms. Very true. But there's no arguing with Apple's installed base. And developer base. Once devs optimize their software for the improved hardware, there's no telling what could come about.

Beautiful lounge

I haven't posted much furniture lately. Here's a lounge chair that I really like, constructed from recycled and certified sustainable wood. The designer is Paolo Alves for Marcenaria.

Hat tip [Trendir]

Packaging - the unsung hero

I love Method. I use their bathroom and cleaning wipes and their hand soaps. I haven't strayed from my beloved Tide to try their relatively new laundry detergent but I may give it a shot. I love their commitment to the environment, their light natural scents, and most of all, their efficacy.

One of the directors of industrial design at Method wrote a great article for dieline, a packaging blog that I follow and have cited here from time to time. So many companies treat packaging as that thing that you bung the product into before getting it out the door. Method took the opposite tack, creating a breath of fresh air on crowded drug store and supermarket shelves all over the country. I suggest you read Joshua Handy's article. His point is that packaging is often created by 'best practice,' which leads to duplicating all the wrong things and throwing out the good stuff.

To me the money quote is:

My experience has taught me that effective packaging has three dimensions that need to be equally considered: Beauty, Functionality and Responsibility. Traditional “best practice” emphasizes the functional aspect over all others, which is why most packaging is ugly both aesthetically and environmentally.

Great read.

Crowd sourcing = committee thinking?

Call me crazy but I always thought that committee thinking was a bad thing. It tends to lead to weak advertising and uninspired product development. Agencies and partners have been railing against 'the committee' for years.

So it's a bit odd to hear companies going 'ga-ga' over crowd-sourcing – or as I like to call it, letting consumers dictate your product or creative strategy because you have run out of ideas.

I know there are a lot of smart people out there that do not work in the marketing communications field. Harnessing their brains is to be encouraged. But if 'the crowd' is the idea, then it's not a sustainable one. Are clients willing to pay their ad agencies to manage their accounts if every major ad is outsourced to 'the crowd?' What about product development?

I fear crowd-sourcing is going to go the way of the customization craze. Brands everywhere tossed consumers a bone under the guise of 'having it their way,' such as changing the color of one's yogurt. The reality is infinite options and economies of scale tend to be fight against one another.

Before I come off as a total grump, crowd-sourcing has a role in certain spheres, such as refining concepts or troubleshooting. But there comes a point when it's simply 'committee thinking' with a fancy 'web 2.0' name.

Working on a paper

So I'm finished with the paper. Now I'm working on an article. Hence the amount of time it's taking to post on behavioral economics. It's an interesting exercise. If I do this for every paper, it will take forever. On the flip side, I'm analyzing this paper quite rigorously. I'm looking forward to the end product. I have a sense I know what it will be but it's form is still hazy.

Natural integration

What I like most about this stool design concept is the integration of both the manufactured and the natural.

Hat tip [Industrial Design Served]

Behavior Economics and Purchasing Behavior

It all started with an article in Admap. February 2010 to be exact. I'm getting hooked on Behavioral Economics (BE). I guess it shouldn't be that much of a surprise. It's the merger between two of my passions – psychology and economics. I'm glad that the planning community is getting on board. In reality, planners have been thinking this way from the start of the discipline – mapping consumer behavior to the purchase process, capturing 'shortcuts' that consumers use, and exploring what preconceived notions are triggered along the way.

BE entered popular culture with the publication of 'Freakeconomics,' a book I have not recently started. There have been a number of articles in the NY Times that incorporate BE in their analysis, largely in light of the current financial crisis and the behavior of the markets. David Brooks mentioned it in the midst of the Wall Street melt-down in this article dated October 29, 2008. John Tierney talks about 'Saver's Remorse' in this blog post from March 23, 2009.

My interest piqued, I decided to explore the discipline from the source. For that, I'm grateful to MIT and their OpenCourseware. I'm currently auditing – I guess you could call it that – their Behavioral Economics and Finance class that was taught by Prof. Xavier Gabaix in 2004. It's only now that textbooks are appearing for the discipline so much of the reading is centered on original academic papers that ushered in the discipline. As part of this process, I'd like to share some insights from one paper that I'm reading; it helps me grasp the material better. The first paper is by Daniel Kahneman, "Maps of Bounded Rationality: Psychology for Behavioral Economics" that was published in the American Economic Review (December 2003).

In this article, Kahneman acknowledges that people are "not accustomed to thinking hard' and rely upon snap judgements unless they are forced to do otherwise. One example would be laundry detergent; many people use what their Mom's use and rarely question their choice unless circumstance warrants it, some of those being the need to save money, improve efficacy, brand availability at the store they shop etc. This behavior flies in the face of economic theory, which treats purchases are rational beings that ruthlessly evaluates every purchase. In reality we do both.

There are two systems of thought that we use to make it through the day. System 1 is what I would call 'auto pilot' or intution. It's automatic, effortless, habitual and often difficult to control. The other is System 2, which is rational, slow, and deliberate. System 1 generates impressions of the attributes of objects of perception and thought. System 2 is involved in all judgements calculated rationally, whether they are expressed or not.

It's often interesting to see where the two meet and which gets activated first. One example would be the purchase of a car. We have that list of things we are looking for in a vehicle – number of doors, zero-to-60 speed, cargo space, etc. In the dealer showroom, many a buyer has been romanced by something zoomy, sleek, stylish, and completely impractical. Sports cars would not exist without System 1.

Key to research and purchasing behavior is the accessibility of these judgements. Some attributes are more accessible than others in both perception and judgments. The term 'natural assessments' are those that are routinely and automatically produced by the perceptual system, System 1. Things that influence System 1 are called precepts and include size, distance, loudness, similarity, casual propensity, "surpringingness" and mood.

Using familiar precepts, the dominant 'private label' strategy has traditionally been to be to mimic competitor established brands as closely as possible; it's just like your favorite brand but cheaper. Walgreen's is a master of this, to my frustration on many occasions. Their NY competitor, Duane Reade, took a very different tack – creating a private label brand that capitalized on their NY roots and pared it with a reductionist style popular with Apple aficionados. Judging by the number of Apple products on NY streets, cafes, and restaurants, it was a wise pairing aesthetically. It will be interesting to see if the new Walgreens retains their brand mimicry or embraces Duane Reade's style.

One point that made the most impact on me as a researcher is the concept that for many, assessments are quite binary – good or bad. These assessments are carried out split second and then reevaluated if additional data warrants. So often we ask consumers to evaluate things on the basis of a scale – zero to ten or zero to five – when in most people's minds, it's simply good or bad. Rationalizing why happens later. The scale exercise taps into System 2 but System 1 is where the decision is initially made. Using this insight,I plan to be more insistent in capturing the 'good/bad' first.

The last point for today is about familiarity and its' importance in System 1. Someone with greater category experience relies upon their intuition (system 1) in greater amounts than those with less experience. Kahneman mentions that doubt is a System 2 process. That makes sense because being familiar with your own insecurity is a conscious and rational process. The research process that consumers undertake when approaching a new category – e.g. shopping for a flat-screen television – is a desire to feed System 2 and minimize errors with System 1 or intuitive decisions. You feel better about choosing that sexy flat-screen design or that brand when you have done your homework.

Based on this one could argue that the primary job for most new product introductions needs to be seeding doubt, activating System 2. Without it, consumers remain in default mode and that mode leaves little room for something new. That doubt need not be rational. It could be something like – this product is sexier.

I'll have more from this paper next week.

this is what I want to do with an iPad

Read journal articles and mark them up. There are apps that get close but not to the Holy Grail just yet. I hope someone cracks it. I would love iBooks to have more robust annotate features. I appreciate that with the Kindle software but they don't go far enough.

[Note: seems as though iBlogger doesn't allow attachments, e.g. photos. I always found it an awkward piece of software.]

[Posted with iBlogger from my iPhone]

Christina Aguilera Bionic Press Conference (Part 1)

I got the link to this video from a gossipy site that took Christina Aguilera for complaining that someone on the set was coughing during her interview.

That was interesting enough but what REALLY intrigued me started at about the 4:34 mark. There she talks about the creative process, one that is surprisingly visual considering she's a music artist.

If you have been in a focus group, you probably have done a collage exercise – tearing words and pictures from magazines with the goal of describing the 'mood' of a brand, person or product. Well Christina does that for her recordings. She tears pictures and the like from magazines, creates mood boards and then takes them to her producers to impart the 'feel' of the song that she's trying to achieve.

I can't say I am a fan of Christina but I do have more respect for her as an artist knowing the work she puts into every release.

Font Joy - mister jun font

I love this font. It has such presence.

mister jun font: ""

The decline of interest in travel

I'm old enough to remember when airlines served free food, free drinks, and service with a smile. Truth be told, I used to be a bit of a plane spotter. I think my interest in design started with an interest in airline livery. I would comb through the phone book and check out all the airline ads. I miss the livery and logos of People Express, Air Florida, Braniff, BOAC (British Overseas Airways Corp) and so on. I'd pour through books on aircraft, military and civilian.

Now my interest in planes and livery is waning as the travel experience becomes more about removing service than enhancing it. Airlines are moving to non-reclining seats, less distance between those seats, charging for even one checked bag, and even charging for carry ons. It's hard to respect companies that move in lock-step in the 'nickel and dime' games.

USA Today has a pretty good blog on air travel and one of the comments to an article about non-recling seats on Spirit made me think. I can't find the comment right now but the person said s/he was a former plane/airline enthusiast and is no longer interested in following the industry any more due to its' behavior.

When an industry loses its' enthusiasts, you know it's in serious trouble. I can't wait for the next step in long-distance travel to reveal itself because I know I'm sick of this one.

Cultural anthropology

As some of you may know, I've been toying with the idea of grad school. I say toying because I'm still unsure what exactly I want to study. To date, it's been a choice between a traditional MBA and cultural anthropology. But lately I've been considering a relatively new field called behavioral economics. I was an econ major in college and so it would build upon what I learned oh those many years ago.

Anyways, I've started reading some books and papers about both social science fields. I started a classic from the godfather of anthropology in the U.S. called Anthropology and Modern Life [Amazon link] from Franz Boas. He went on establish cultural anthropology at Columbia, one of my target schools. He was also the one that brought empirical discipline to the field. It's amazing that some of the concepts that we take for granted now – e.g. location plays as large a role in values and and even physical development as ethnicity – were 'out there' back then. I'll report back as I spend more time with the tome.

As a side note, you can buy the book on Amazon but it's also available as a public domain book if you have a good eReader, such as Stanza on the iPhone and iBooks on the iPad.

House Hunters International is the best travel show in America

I have to confess that I am obsessed with that show. If you ever wanted to know what it would be like to live in a foreign country, watch this show. The show, hosted by Suzanne Whang on HGTV, travels throughout the world and shows you the house hunt of a particular hetero or homo couple, and the occasional single.

The locations are what keep me coming back – Malaga, St. Johns, Belize, Buenos Aires, Panama, the Greek Coast, Berlin, Edinburgh, Hong Kong, Tel Aviv, Fez etc. The areas are usually charming and are where most people would want to live.

It also doesn't hold back; there are trade-offs, sometimes significant ones. But I think that's what I like most about seeing places like Fez (squat toilets), Tel Aviv (bomb shelters in the apartment) and Hong Kong (so tiny).

It's also a peek into the culture. What is a kitchen? How much privacy can be expected? Where do people put their clothes? What items unite the global Ikea culture?

Finally the people looking for property are fun to watch. Their ages run the gamut – retirees, budding families, empty nesters, and even single people looking for their first place. But being the human behavior geek, it's the dynamic between the couples that I find fascinating. How much of partnership is it?

Great show.

Standing up

I am thrilled with the iPad but one criticism is that it's not light. You can't hold it in one hand and use it for any length of time.

I don't know about you but I'm tired of sitting down when I interact with a device.

I love the idea you have seen in some commercials lately ― people pointing to air while they walk down the street, surrounded by a forcefield of digital knowledge.

I'm not saying I'm thrilled to actually do it. Seems a little odd pointing to random places on the street. But then again everyone would be doing it, if iPhone adoption in NY sets any precedence.

Standing up allows you to interact and still move about without looking down and missing what is around you. In this country, we should be standing more and sitting less.

What do you wish technology would enable you to do?

One button madness

So the new iPhone software is coming this summer. It has everything that most people have wanted since the beginning, starting with multi-tasking. Overall it looks like an amazing upgrade and I can't wait to install it on my phone.

I do have one issue with the way it is implemented. Double-clicking the button bring up a tray at the bottom that shows up to seven apps that one has running at the time. Problem is that double-clicking was previously used to pull up either the phone or the iPod functions. What happens to that keystroke now? Is it contextual?

In a way, this is similar to a UI change that occurred one maybe two generations of software in the past. In order to quit an app, one pressed the home button for a long time. That shortcut was changed to a more cumbersome holding of the power button etc.

I love Apples one-button/minimal button ruthlessness but sometimes I think it gets in the way of what they are trying to achieve – ease of use. Remapping keystrokes only serves to frustrate users and lengthen the learning curve. Apple gets away with it sometimes but they should know better.

App design

In the previous post I mentioned one apps that annoyed me and one app that didn't.

A common complaint that I have with the apps out today is a giddiness with the size. Case in point, the Reuters app. They want to provide as much information within the frame as possible so they have stacks of rotating panels that can be unpredictable to navigate. There's just too much sliding and flipping overall. I don't think that format would work on a piece of paper, on television or on the computer screen. When looking at the iPad, you can't approach it from a tech point of view.

I think the Cool Hunting developed with BBH is the exact opposite. Cool Hunting is in effect a magazine. They balance the content by dedicating one block to each topic and each block has a headline and a striking visual. All of the main topics of the day can be seen at a glance. Inside each story is a cool stream of pictures above. The copy block has a strong presence and is easy to read. Tags and icons of related content appear to the right, just like the blog, but it feels as natural as on a glossy page.

It's not surprising media companies got it right. Many of them had iPads under lock and key so they got to experience what it could do first hand. Only now are other developers getting on board. I imagine things will improve.

Thoughts on the iPad four days in

So its been a few days with the iPad in my possession. A few thoughts.

The keyboard is better than I expected it to be and I've changed my mind as to its' usefulness. It's certainly better than the iPhone keyboard in terms of room and ease of use but not quite a regular keyboard. I still find the awkward placement of punctuation a problem but it hasn't stopped me from getting work done. Overall a good compromise. And there will always be compromises.

The gaming experience is infinitely better. I always found the small screen on the iPhone a hindrance for involved games like Sims. I can't wait to see how EA translates the experience. Or other games I play with some frequency – Eliss and Monopoly being the most eagerly awaited. Real Racing is incredibly lifelike. The speakers manage to vibrate the device in your hand and it's quite realistic.

My favorite applications so far are: NYT (news), BBC (news), Flight Control (game), GoodReader (PDF reader), the Weather Channel app, and Cool Hunting (blogzine). Each of these apps have translated the experience in an appropriate and engaging manner. Reuters is also great but I find the layout a little awkward. More on that and Cool Hunting in the next post.

I know that the iPad is about entertainment but I find myself working on it more. Part of the reason is I have so much reading that I need to do and I do enjoy reading on it. But also because I find the experience more interesting than with my desktop. As I mentioned before, I was looking forward to the reduced distractions of my laptop and desktop. If you are like me, you are emailing, IMing, writing, surfing all at once. I have been in multitask land for so long working on the iPad almost feels backward. But I enjoy not having the system alerts over this, that and the other thing. It's like 'Full Screen' in the Mac version of Pages, basically taking away all the noise of the system. As someone best put it, and I will source it later, is the device transforms itself in a way that the iPhone does not. When you run an app, it takes over the entire large screen. You are focused. It is great.

Update – source found: Tidbits writer Adam Engst said "In contrast, the iPad becomes the app you're using. That's part of the magic."

I have been working in Pages and Numbers these last few days. Keep in mind that I have been using these applications as my work apps for months now; they replace Office 75% of the time. I find the iPad versions very intuitive, familiar and quick. In Pages, I like the isolation the device allows. It's very much like writing on a notepad, which I'm sure is intentional. Most of the functions are just a couple taps away. But you can really just write.

Numbers has a much more steep learning curve, thanks to pretty complex touch commands. I have had to check out help and see how to do basic things like make columns wider or even select the entire column. The feature I thought I would like most – specialized keyboards for data entry – I find annoying. Having multiple keyboards for data entry functions is great but it can be slow moving from one to the next. I'd really like a way to put the functions I use most on one page. Right now it really can take a lot of taps and trial and error to get cells to do what you want.

The more I spend time with the iPad, the more I understand what Apple is trying to do. The tagline is – the most magical and revolutionary product at an unbelievable price. When I watched the launch Jobs presentation, it annoyed me how often each speaker said 'magical' or some other hyperbole. It just didn't seem that big of a deal since so many of us are familiar with the iPhone/iPod Touch, warts and all. But it's really one of those things you just need to experience in person. I think it's starting to grow into that tagline a lot better than I expected.

-- Post From My iPad (edited on the MacBook)

Damned if they do

It's amazing that people berate Apple for working to ensure that their customers have the best experience possible on devices bearing the Apple name.

• They work with the best suppliers in the business and are ruthless in their judgement of quality. Horrible!
• They don't deliver features – both the technology and user experience – that haven't been optimized to work as best they can. Scoundrels!
• They try to shield their users from extraneous nonsense. Bastards!

Apple does not always succeed but success is highly subjective. Every company in the world would kill to have Apple's reputation and loyal customer base. That doesn't happen by 'sheepishly' spitting out garbage. It comes from respecting the people for whom you make products and working hard to avoid putting out crap.

The endless devotion to stats/benchmarks remove the user experience from the equation, which it shouldn't. If my computer/ phone/ device is difficult to use, I don't care how fast it is because there's only one speed I see – full stop.

That's something GM didn't realize until it was too late. Microsoft is learning that now. One day I'm sure Apple will misstep and allegiance will move on to another company. But for now Apple is the one to beat.

iPad thoughts

The initial euphoria has worn off and now it's down to business. Specifically – does the iPad justify the money I just spent on it? Definitely yes with a small no.

Yes because it's gorgeous, easy to use, and behaves quite differently from what I imagined. Some of that is the system itself and some of that is the nature of the applications. No because there are some limitations that need to be solved. But I know these limitations won't be around for long.

Gorgeous is not a word one typically uses for technology. But on the iPad, like so many other Apple products, the shoe fits. It's a beautiful well-made shoe. When you hold it in your hands, you feel as though you are holding the future. The iPhone was the only other time I felt like that about a piece of technology. The screen is large and bright. For those with the recent MacBookPro line, it's like Apple ripped off the screen and put it in your hand. For me that is just what the doctor ordered. The interface is smooth and responsive. Things snap to your command. It's almost overwhelming in its' efficiency.

I think the critics who labeled it 'just a large iPhone' need to sit down with the device. There is no way that the same application can and should behave the same way on the two devices. Therefore, even though there are similarities, the additional real estate and new UI conventions force a different user experience.

I bought the iPad as primarily a reading device and it is quite adept in that function. Having it on your lap in either landscape or portrait feels intuitive and comfortable. It's usable in even direct sunlight, although details do wash out. Surfing the web is like experiencing it anew. In portrait, you can see the entire page, which is really what the designer intended.

The lack of Flash is frustrating as so many sites are dependent on that technology. But as I've said before, I've never been a big fan of it and I don't play a lot of games or non-YouTube video. I imagine the web will be a different place in a few months once the impact of all three major Apple devices driving the way we interact online.

Now the not so great stuff.

Right now, there are a lot of clumsy apps on the iPad. I salute some developers for embracing the concept and developing applications that fit very well. The media applications are the best at this – New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and GQ are the ones I've interacted with so far and am very impressed.

But it's painful to use non-optimized or ill thought out applications. What makes sense on an iPhone feels awkward and restraining on an iPad. I imagine every developer will be modifying his or her app soon because one does not want to cede loyalty to the competition.

One major difference is the iPad allows for more direct file swapping and some developers haven't modified their app with that in mind. To that end, I haven't seen an elegant solution for the main reason I purchased my iPad – interacting with large PDFs in a fashion more akin to printing it out and marking it up. I'll be watching the App Store closely.

This is the perfect opportunity to raise the application price point as an issue. iPhone apps are almost throw-away in cost. Yes that adds up but you can pull in a lot of great applications for under $20, try them out and toss the ones that don't work for you. iPad applications are more expensive, making each purchase a more considered one. I think there should be a trial period associated with every application. That will raise standards and make the purchase experience as rewarding as on the iPhone. Tossing $5 for something that doesn't work for you is annoying.

For more than just a few emails, I think the on-screen keyboard is too unconventional. There aren't enough punctuation marks on the main keyboard, forcing one into a menu tree. I could excuse this on the iPhone because of the limited space. On the iPad it is stupid and slows down what could be a decent typing experience. Dear Apple – punctuation is more than just an extra button; it is part of the structure of a language. Please adjust the keyboard accordingly.

One question I have gotten a lot in the time that I've owned this device is – can it replace a laptop. Yes, eventually.

Some of what one already does on one's laptop can be done on the iPad, with a lot more fun and a lot more grace. With an external keyboard, writing is a joy. It's a lot easier to read and edit one's writing in portrait mode, which is more akin to the printed page. As I've said before, the lack of multi-tasking is not a problem for me. There are fewer distractions than on a laptop, which makes one more productive. Interacting with the web, which is what most of us do on our laptops, is so much more enjoyable, lack of Flash notwithstanding. And the application UI is easy to use or thyet very powerful. I see a lot of very powerful applications coming online in the next few months. Hopefully they will challenge how we use our laptops and desktops and eventually cede the floor to tablet computing.

All that being said, it's not there yet. We are still dependent on our laptops and desktops for content that can not be elegantly shared if it is housed solely on the iPad. The Apple iTunes bottleneck does grate in a way that it doesn't on the iPhone. I can see why there has been so much wailing on the part of critics because it seems as though this device is wrapped in a plastic bubble that you can't pop. Additionally, the iPad is a different computing paradigm and I think developers need time to experience it and adjust their applications accordingly.

Is it worth it to buy it now? Maybe. I certainly love it. It's 90% of what I've been looking for in a device. I'm a mobile professional and am the perfect target for the MacBook Air. I didn't bite because while it was gorgeous to look, its' utility was too limited for the price. In fact, I think the iPad is a better MacBook Air. It's more portable and does many of the same tasks – surfing the web, listening to music, watching video, and writing – as well if not better. I think the iPhone OS has a lot of room to grow. I'm really looking forward to OS 4.0, which is rumored to go live in the coming months.

The iPad is a magical device. Some of its' magic will take time to unfold but I don't doubt that it will happen. It will change computing in the same way that the iPhone changed phones. I for one am very very pleased.

Future of Magazines

Magazines are the primary reasons I got into communications. I love video but the printed page is a thing of beauty to me. I took classes in editorial design and layout at the School of Visual Arts in my younger days and it made a lasting impression on how I consume the medium.

Since the advent of the website and online news, my magazine consumption has dropped dramatically. There was a time that I would go to the newsstand and spend upwards of $100 on magazines. I did so because I enjoyed the magazine experience – great photos, smart writing, interesting callouts, the incorporation of interesting and eye-catching advertising – all in an easy to carry form. With the advent of the internet, magazines became too static. The only magazines that I read now tend to be timely – the Economist, BusinessWeek – or rely upon the printed page heavily, titles like Car & Driver and design titles like Metropolis. These publications have great websites but their physical presence is too gorgeous to pass up.

That's why I'm so excited about the iPad. It has the potential to return editorial design to its' rightful place as an art form but bolstered with the benefits of dynamic content. I must admit that I have been disappointed in the translation of the magazine to the iPhone/iPod Touch. I like them in principal but the compromise is always too great. GQ is a perfect example. Great effort but one just can't see the clothes well enough to substitute for the large format pictures the magazine allows.

I look forward to seeing how publications adapt to this device. I'm encouraged by the newspapers' first efforts, based on what I see. But it's publications like GQ, Vanity Fair, Metropolis and Architectural Digest that will push the envelope of content. The journey begins on April 3rd, 2010.

Active panels

Love this! An active panel that one can change. I'm sure a large LCD would be awesome away.

Hat tip: Industrial Design Served

Quote of the day re: Apple vs. Microsoft

"Apple is like a great soprano; you go and listen and even if she misses a note you criticize. Microsoft is like Susan Boyles; you're shocked when you hear something great." Gohkam @ Engadget

Congrats Ford

Autoblog posted a Bloomberg survey showing that Ford tops Toyota in public opinion. I'm not surprised. Of all of the domestic makes, I've been partial to Ford. Let me rephrase that – my family has been partial to Fords. We have always found their interiors to be infinitely better than GM and Chrysler, their engines more robust and efficient, and their styling modern yet restrained. Of the three, they were the only ones who didn't accept a government bailout.

The new Taurus looks great but being ensconced in NYC, I have no idea if it's gaining momentum with the public as seen on the roads. I hope so. Ford's a great company run by people who seem to know what they are doing. Shocking, that.

[Hat tip: Autoblog]

Alexander McQueen RIP

This blog has been far more technology focused in the last few months. I'm not sure why since I've been as interested in all of the other topics that I have written about in the past – fashion, cars, architecture etc.

I've decided to pay homage to Alexander McQueen. I've always found his work to be intriguing. He managed to capture the zeitgeist coupled with impeccable tailoring. I will miss his vision. I imagine working on his final collection was difficult for him emotionally. Seeing pictures of it and the motifs he used – the afterlife – clearly this was a man who wanted to leave this earth and go into the next. It's ironic because he managed to foretell the future with his vision.

Thanks to Gilt Groupe, I own an Alexander McQueen overcoat. It's not very warm so it's really doesn't do the job that I wanted it to do. But it looks stunning. I will treasure it until I reach the place where he is now. RIP McQueen.

Photo credit: Catwalking.com via NYT

Consumed

It's almost here. Next week around this time, I expect to have an iPad in my hot little hands. I am so excited, I can hardly think.

With the iPad, Apple will have finally delivered the 'third leg' of my wants/needs. If they stopped now, I would be happy. Of course they won't, which is fantastic. But the iPad is something I've been waiting for for a long time.

When Microsoft came out with the Tablet PC, I thought – that's it, the laptop is dead and long live the tablet. It's a pity that Tablet PCs have never really caught on because the concept is compelling. Tablet PCs stumbled for three reasons – price, technology, implementation. Most TabletPCs cost the same as regular laptops – the high end ones. That limited the market. The technology also doomed the format. They were too heavy, too bulky, and had poor performing batteries. For a device to be used on the go, all of these were impractical compromises. The final one – implementation – falls squarely on Microsoft's shoulders. They did nothing to truly push the format and make it easy to develop customized software that took advantage of the form. They delivered the OS but it's all about the software. The only true success is OneNote, which every tablet user loves.

Apple has done what Apple does – take a complex category and make it simple. The iPad is going to be a huge success. I can't wait.

iPhone needs to change? Blasphemy!

As you know, I'm a huge fan of the iPhone. It's single-handedly changed the way I interact with the internet and with others. It's a fantastic machine.

But with the advent of Android and the Nexus One/Droid, I've feeling a little frustrated. Some of these frustrations I've vented here before – specifically the lack of a decent integrated to-do functionality.

Read this Macworld article that evaluates the Nexus One from an iPhone user's perspective. I really enjoyed it. I think the main thing that I want is widgets. I hate having to open up an app just to get the weather. It's probably something I do most often and it's quite frustrating. In fact, I think a lot of information can be more readily accessed and the current model is ill-prepared to do so. I hope things will change with the next release.

What a haul!

Is there anything safe from YouTube?

The latest wave of videos are called 'haul' videos. Do a search for a few. Basically, young women speaking to the camera showing off the latest stuff they just bought at the mall, OMG!

I'm trying to be cynical but there's something about it that I really like.

Let's face it. Buying stuff is no fun if you can't share. How many of us go shopping on our own, come home and have no one to parade the latest shoes, bags and coats we charged? It doesn't have to be clothes and accessories. If you are into gadgets, it could be your latest phone, latest app etc. With a haul video, you can show it off to everyone regardless of whether or not they are your true friends. And make new ones.

Isn't that what the net is all about?

I'm going to have to get in on the action next time I go shopping.

Importance of Facebook

I had a birthday party last Saturday. I won't say which one.

I did something that I did not think I would ever do. The entire invitation was through Facebook – the people I invited as well as the details. However, there are a few people that I know that are not on Facebook. Shocking yes. When I ran into them, I realized that hadn't invited them to the party. I felt awful and worked on rectifying the situation in the way I knew how – I had to friend them.

I ran into this article today on Andrew Sullivan's blog basically saying that if you aren't on Facebook, there's a good chance you don't exist today. In my mind, that was certainly the case. I'm not sure if it's a sad state of the times or just the reality of living in today's socially networked world.

Toyota becomes GM

I have to say this even though I know it won't be popular. I've never been a fan of Toyota. I've considered them 'another GM' for quite some time. To me the cars were too bland, the user base aging and category breadth confusing and unpredictable. When they started to go for volume sales and market share, I knew something would crack. Al Reis talks about this in

The automotive industry is a tough one, particularly in this country where it requires a significant investment to build and run an auto dealership. Every one of them needs to be a car palace. In order to recoup that investment, in theory one needs volume. Like housing, that's how the industry has been run for ages.

I wonder if it's going to become an unsustainable model. I wonder if dealerships can be more efficient if they became virtual or at least virtualize elements of their operation in order to be competitive. I'll be watching the industry to see.

Build your own car

Early in the life of this blog, I mentioned one concept that whose time I thought would – mass market custom automobiles. And why not? We are an individual society and there are those who have always bristled at owning something the masses also own – be that for reasons of individual expression or elitism. Funny how those two words work together.

I have finally seen one of the first products to address this. Trexa is a company offering an electric drivetrain for $16k. On that platform, one is able to design and build any variation. I can't wait to see the designs this allows. There's no steering wheel so the entire car could be driven using buttons and levers, if one so chooses.

I have a good mind to design a few myself and see how much it would cost.

Hat tip: Gizmodo

The Third Way

I read this interesting Engadget article about the gap in experience between the laptop and the phone; which did a good job of summarizing the strength of the iPad. I'd love to compare video between the iPad and other Tablets, which I'm sure will be made with abandon when the device is released.

iPad critics: If you are basing your opinion on what you have read or photographs, you are missing a key data point as to why this device is a quantum leap in how we interact with technology. You really have to watch how the device responds in different states to see why its' iPhone core is ideal. Through Apple's example, everything has been optimized for what is a very different interactive experience – e.g. the Address Book, Photos, and iBooks. The competition has ability to recreate the specs and maybe even throw in better ones. They can't replicate the overall user experience.

Let's use the NYT website as a control, which they did in the keynote. Just compare what it's like to interact with NYT website vs. iPhone app vs. iPad app [link to YouTube of NYT iPad app]. Same content, vastly different user experiences. Those who complain that it's not a laptop are too focused on a desktop experience. Let's face it. Laptops have not significantly changed how we interact with the desktop; they simply took it off the desk.

Most importantly, laptops can't be used standing up; balancing and typing does not work. If you are standing up or in a place without a table, a phone is a better fit. Powerful phones – such as the iPhone but also Droid and the Pre – are great in that they can be used with one hand. But they are too small for certain tasks.

So that's why Apple started with the iPhone OS. It's optimized for the one-finger and one hand; adjusting it for more than one hand and more than one finger is a lot easier than distilling the desktop experience and allowing non-optimized content to slip through the cracks. Improper content ruins the user experience. That's what happened to the TabletPC and PCs in general. Owning a Tablet Windows is great but it's rare to find applications optimized for the Tablet, aside from the excellent One Note. More importantly, developing for Tablet PCs is not as profitable because the user base is relatively small compared to the non-touch users. The expense and the design of the current crop also make TabletPCs less attractive.

Apple delivered the first Tablet priced for the what is really all markets. I do believe that there is a vast audience of people who do not have PCs now will opt for that one because it does what they need it to do.

But Apple has other tools at its disposal. It has the experience and reputation for creating gold-standard mobile devices, gold standard user experiences, gold standard shopping experiences, and a gold standard content delivery mechanisms. It really doesn't matter what they nah-sayers think. Think of all those iPod, iPad, MacBook/Pros and iMacs out there that need to be bought, serviced, wrapped and accessorized.

Apple has the power to sell the iPad to its' customer base one-on-one directly through its stores. And it will.

Belly dancing

Got to watch some amazing belly dancing last night at my friend's art opening. His name is James Frederick Rose and he's pretty cool.

More iPad thoughts

I've become more and more excited about the iPad the more I think about it and the more I read about it. Why? I think it's an entirely new paradigm and will change the way we read and the way we collaborate.

I want to address one thing. One of the loudest criticism of the device is that it's an overgrown iPhone. You people are missing the point entirely. That similarity is part of the business strategy.

Which platform has more developers and more users – Mac OS X or the iPhone? Which platform has more similarities to the iPad? There are far more iPhone developers than OS X developers and they already know how to create software that takes advantage of a touch interface.

Now onto why I think it's a new paradigm in reading and collaborating.

Reading first. It begins with a newsflash; I read more than just books. I read articles, presentations, transcripts, and even my own writing. I spend the majority of my time on my laptop reading. I love my Kindle but it has limited utility for me, which is why I find myself taking it fewer and fewer places. It's a form factor that begs for other types of content than just books but it's hard to use it that way. I used it to load it up with interview transcripts. I stopped because when you are dealing with 25 to 30 project interviews, it becomes laborious to manage. That means it's back to the laptop.

I hear complaints that it's hard to read on an LED screen. I don't know about you but I spend most of my workday reading on my laptop. I don't see how it's going to be all that different. Even when I read a lot of books, I rarely read all day. I read for a couple of hours and then I did something else. I don't think I'm all that unique in that behavior.

I know the iPad's lack of multitasking is getting panned but I think it's a good thing. It's hard to read on one's laptop without getting a barrage of stimuli – email, IM, and that 'oh I forgot I need to.' So I'm looking forward to interacting with all of my reading material in an easy to use, easy to annotate format with fewer distractions than my laptop.

Onto collaboration. Let's face it; the personal computer is personal and individual. Someone needs to own the keyboard and mouse/trackpad regardless of the screen size.

Imagine being about to work on a presentation or view a website and being able to have two people interact with it equally. There's no more 'click there... no there.' The other person can just point at what they really want to see. No more misunderstood directions or awkward passing the computer or keyboard back and forth. Working with other people becomes a lot more natural since the iPad will be more of a shared tool than the domain of one person. In the world of work and education, it will be huge.

The iPad is not an iPhone. Its' size means it will be something entirely different, even if it appears familiar. This device will revolutionize the way we interact with information. Nah-sayers just don't realize it yet. I can't wait to get my hands on it.

iPad. Jack of all devices.

I'm not sure why that came to mind. I've only now had the chance to really catch up with the iPad announcement.

Disappointed and excited. About the same way I felt about the iPhone 2.0.

I think it was impossible for Apple to really deliver everything on everyone's wish list and you can see that on the gadget blogs. Yes I am annoyed about the lack of multitasking, no camera and the weight — a tad heavier than I would like.

But I'm writing this post on my phone and I know how I would use the iPad. Sometimes I just don't want to use my laptop, usually when it comes to reading. Case in point, I get a lot of PDF's that I have no real way to read comfortably. On the iPhone it's too small and I get annoyed. Printing it out is fine for a few pages but it's not a true solution for a book. It's cumbersome to read on a laptop due to the page orientation. I've actually turned my laptop sideways a few times but that never lasts. For books, magazines and PDF's this thing is a blessing.

LOTS of people will say there are many solutions out there that would do this. That's true. But there's always a compromise. To me, Tablet PC's are too heavy and the battery life has really been awful. And the interface was never designed to be functional without a stylus or a keyboard. Both areas are getting better but they have a long way to go.

I have more thoughts but I want to think some more. I'm excited and frustrated. But that's a good thing with Apple. They make you think.

[Posted with iBlogger from my iPhone]

GQ on the iPhone

Yes that's the front cover of the GQ app for the iPhone. Looks very much like Maxim.

So I'm testing it out. I must say it's interesting. To be honest, I think I prefer getting my magazine content this way. I find it easier to read on the go. When I travel around NY, I rarely bring books with me anymore. I just try to do as much on my phone as I can.

One thing I don't like is GQ is pushing their print subscription hard. I wonder why. I would easily purchase a subscription to the iPhone app and not have to worry about the paper. Plus it appears there is content that is not in the app and I am reminded of that fact constantly.

Otherwise it's a good app. Entertaining. Looking forward to traveling with it.

Baba and the current manufacturing model

Samsung recently came out with – or announced – Baba, an operating system that they will use to 'smarten' their devices and reduce their dependency on the likes of Microsoft and Google.

This made me think for a moment. Is the software/hardware model that Microsoft built and perfect irrevocably broken? Sure Windows 7 has redeemed Microsoft but other parts of the Windows platform has not done well. Windows Mobile/Embedded is being replaced with Androids in areas that Microsoft thought they had the right to win. Even Google has put their own skin in the game, albeit with a well-known hardware partner.

When it comes to mindshare and influence, isn't it better to own the entire ecosystem? What is the benefit of sharing the spotlight with others?

Waiting for the other shoe to drop

jkontherun.com is one of my favorite gadget sites not because it's a spec-a-thon like Gizmodo and Engadget can be but because it's written from a user perspective. He talks about gadgets that he actually uses in his day-to-day life and I find that perspective more credible than the 'we used it for a week and here's what we think.'

He has been in Vegas for CES this year and he had an interesting quote re: the iSlate or whatever Apple will announce.

It is clear that the months of rumors about the Apple tablet have gotten a lot of companies concerned. The conversations I had off the record with reps at several companies indicated that it is expected that Apple will bring something unexpected to market with its tablet, and that has many competitors concerned. Thus the race to get slates to market before Apple does is considered important.

I do think being first-to-market is not going to help them. The iPod wasn't the first MP3 device and actually had specs that appeared underpowered when compared to the competition. It was the total package that clinched its' success. I think the iSlate is going to be the same thing. It's not the form factor that people will be talking about; it's going to be the total package.

Apps, good for what ails ya?

iPhone, myPhone
Originally uploaded by JNad

CES news is out and I've never seen so many devices begging for developer love.

From large companies to rinky-dink ones, it appears every device moving forward will have applications, and by extension, app stores. It would be great if it weren't kinda silly.

It seems as though the dominant wisdom is that it is the App Store that made the iPhone. That's wrong-headed thinking.

Apple built the App Store on top of a very large iPhone/iPod Touch user base drawn to an outstanding product. There were millions of both devices in the hands of consumers before Apple released the SDK. When it was released, developers jumped on it. Who wouldn't want to write something for an installed base in the millions? The potential market was just too large to ignore.

So for companies hoping that an App Store/Apps will save your product, I think the question that needs to be answered first is – what makes this product so exciting that consumers chomp at the bit to get their hands on it? If the answer is 'very little' or if the answer contains reams of specs that the average consumer doesn't care about, no amount of app-age will help you.

Slates without prices

Happy New Year everyone. Hope you had a fun time. I did. Mostly.

CES is on and it seems as the the 'slate' is THE form factor. What I have found to be most interesting is everyone's making the announcement – knowing that Apple's slate is likely right around the corner – but no one has any firm release dates or even price tags. I find this interesting, to say the least.

I think it's also interesting that Apple is choosing to wait out the storm. Shrewd move on their part. There's just too much noise and a lot of it is very interesting, I must add.