Engineering Politics » apple

Lot’s of stuff going on…

TigercatTomorrow — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 03:00:51 +0000

Been some busy months in my life that have kept me from posting. My brother was in a life-threatening cycling injury in the US, I’ve had a two week work trip to China, all the while trying to keep the family happy…but enough of all that…experiences that could fill a blog on them alone. But from now on I’ll try to keep going with some regular commentary on the world of engineering.

As I end this post–one comment, Apple did mess up with their antenna design. Oh well, we all make mistakes every now and then.

New Apple Toy

TigercatTomorrow — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 03:54:49 +0000

BTW, I finally broke down and got an Apple product. I believe we overpayed for an Apple iPod nano (my wife liked the colours, and the availability of docking speaker systems), but I am getting into it. The docking is great, and my exploration of iTunes and the iTunes store has added to the experience. Everything is set up to be so easy–I can see why people like it!

Back to the overpaying, I must admit there were many other options with the same or better technical specifications (I like the idea of an FM receiver) such as the Zune, Sansa, and Sony-Ericsson models. They must be able to get away with it because of their name, and the positive reviews of the whole ecosystem.

Does this now make me the member of some sort-of Apple cult? Or just a happy user that will still buy non-Apple products? I would say I’m the latter right now.

Japanese Innovation

TigercatTomorrow — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 03:37:44 +0000

Continuing on the Apple/innovation theme, here is an interesting article from Newsweek about some of Japan’s high tech companies. Interesting thoughts, although I would like to see them corroborated by some other stories.

Aricle here

Any opinions from any people from Japan?

TechOnline Blog on Innovation

TigercatTomorrow — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 03:13:18 +0000

My colleague Patrick Mannion has written an interesting blog on innovation–especially topical with the introduction of the iPhone. He raises quite a lot of interesting points and has an excellent interview with Andrew Hargadon, the director of the Center for Entrepreneurship and the Energy Efficiency Center at the University of California, Davis.

Check it out here: TechOnline Blog

Why Apple?? (continued)

TigercatTomorrow — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 19:55:28 +0000

Wonderful responses to my original post about why I should consider Apple products, and general comments about Apple. I had two follow-up questions that sprang (is that a word?) to mind.

Is the extra price attached to an Apple product worth the premium?

Why does Apple not sell their Macs through Best Buy or some other big retailer?

Thoughts?

Why Apple?

TigercatTomorrow — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 19:43:21 +0000

As we have just finished waiting 5 hours waiting (it rained for part of the time) to get an iPhone from the Rogers store in Ottawa, I wonder again—what’s the fuss about Apple?

Click this link for a video of me and fellow TechOnline Analyst Allan Yogasingam waiting for an iPhone.

I personally have an iRiver digital music player, use a Samsung phone, own a Toshiba laptop, and download my digital music from Spiral Frog (and sometimes buy the odd CD). No Apple there.

Maybe I am a little too old fashioned in certain respects. I use the phone I have for talking to people. I am also starting to use text messaging when in a loud (or very quiet) environment. I am intrigued by smart phones as a way to surf the internet and receive emails, so I might get one eventually. Will it be Apple? Maybe–maybe not.

I view consumer electronics as a tool to help me do things, not necessarily as a fashion accessory. But in saying that, I do have colleagues who are engineers and just love Apple for the functionality, not just the form. Apple is easier to use, and (I’ve been told) breaks down far less. A Mac supposedly unlocks the user’s creative potential with good utilities for video and audio. To counteract that, there seems to be so much more freeware available for the windows environment. Many people are developing for that platform, which helps create a diversified group of software to choose from.

Now, I’m not saying I’m a Microsoft fan–far from it—but it does the job for me right now. I have frustrations with the odd blue screen of death and other issues, but I am considering Linux instead of going to all the way to a Mac.

All this leaves me with some conversation starters.

Why does Apple get all the buzz?

Does Apple make technically superior products?

Is Apple particularly innovative?

Or, is it just easier to use?

Overall, does Apple create a much better user experience?

Please let me know your thoughts on Apple as a technology company. Also, please suggest to me which Apple product I should try first, as I try to discover the famous Apple experience that several of my colleagues talk about.