Today

Thoughts on Apple Tablet Disruption

2010-01-04T04:32:00.000-08:00

This will likely be the year that Apple unveils a tablet-based PC. Nothing innovative in that - Microsoft has had Tablet XP and Vista for years and Scoble used to schill those as well.

The big problem with the Apple tablet right now is that it will almost be impossible to live up to the hype. After all, based on the hype, the tablet will have to:

a) be thin enough to make the Mac Air feel heavy
b) be connected to any GSM network
c) include proper video conferencing to effectively destroy Skype and other options
d) wirelessly sync with iPhones, AppleTV
oh yeah and,
e) completely and single-handedly change world and create a brand new business for thousands of developers

That's not too hard, is it? Unless you listen to Paul Carr, in which case, you also need to make it bend. My original comments

Seriously though, there is one bigger issue, I foresee, that developers need to pay attention to.

Since the tablet will use a similar form factor (as reported right now) as an iPhone/iPod Touch, the tablet will likely support existing iPhone apps. So unless "full screen tablet apps" cost more than regular apps, Apple will need to change the entire pricing model for existing tablet style applications. When someone built an application for the Windows XP Tablet, it would be priced just like an existing Windows based application, so about $200-300. I'll use MindManager as an example. It costs $295. The iPhone version of it costs $7.99.

It will have to hit a lot of users to match the original price.

Apple revolutionized music pricing with iTunes and even though the tablet may change the print or publishing industry (which Apple already did back in 1986), how it affects regular apps could become critical.

Apple certainly doesn't mind being disruptive - in fact, it's built its reputation on it. Changing the tablet/publishing pricing model would effectively show that a tablet isn't the same as a regular PC and therefore it should be priced differently. But the iPhone has also changed how people perceive apps. Why pay $200 for a GPS when you get the same results with Google on your iPhone? Why pay for traffic subscription services when you get it for free with the INRIX app?

How and when this perception moves into the business application world could cause some major disruption.

Thank You

2009-11-11T03:04:00.001-08:00

On every day, we are thankful for our freedom. Thank You. To all of the veterans, of every nation, everywhere, who have given us that freedom.

Handyman Recommendations (not): Around the Home Handyman Services

2009-09-28T09:57:00.001-07:00

(something I don't usually do here is comment on individual businesses or go on non-technical tirades. This is an exception to the rule - so if you're looking for tech comments, please ignore).

On a personal note, I can appreciate people can't work for free these days. It's tough - but any company who offers a one-year guarantee for their work should not be charging for problems with existing work (new work, yes - but work that they originally did? Absolutely not).

We have used Around the Home handyman services, owned by Norm Richter (Norman) for two separate pieces of work: roofing and flooring. The roofing job was done extremely well and on budget.

The flooring job was a mixed bag. We were originally quoted about $1600 for a kitchen and mudroom renovation. Since we were paying by the hour, it was expected to go higher. The final tally was over $3000. Originally expected to take 3-4 days, it was over a week. Time was ADDED to the bill that was never received until we forced the issue as noted below.

The initial tiling looked great - but had some problems that were evident 3 days after the job was completed. This is where the problems began.

There was a crack in one of the tiles and several holes in grout around the floor. The biggest problem however is the supposed one year guarantee. FOUR months after we initially called and reported the problem, Norm finally came around to fix things, saw and reviewed the problems with the tiles and grout. The next day, they only fixed the tile (and replaced another) but did not correct the grout problems, blaming us. Keep in mind this was FOUR months after we tried to get them to come in.

Subsequent follow-ups was that he couldn't do the work for free (even though it was part of the original work) and that we should have used an insurance company's tilers to fix the grout that was caused by his work. He then subsequently blamed our floor.

I wish they had told us up front that they could NOT do the job properly.

Needless to say, I would NOT recommend them for any flooring work.

Happy Birthday Aksel!

2008-05-01T04:59:00.001-07:00

Today is the birthday of Aksel Meister, my wife's father, who died tragically in a mining accident in 1963.

His legacy is one of strength and conviction and searching - something we were able to complete a few years ago when we were able to finally meet his sisters and brothers in Estonia, a family we knew very little of.

So today, we remember and celebrate a life gone too soon but one that reverberates still today.

A life of sacrifice

RIP Ken Murphy

2008-04-30T03:09:00.001-07:00

Today I learned that fellow Canadian and FoxPro MVP Ken Murphy had passed away over the weekend.

Ken was a very generous soul who participated enthusiastically and vigorously in the Foxite web sites. This is a big loss for the FoxPro community.

He will be missed. Best wishes to his family.

Pea Soup and Filet Mignon on Calabrese Bread

2008-02-23T10:00:00.001-08:00

V-Day dinner

2008-02-14T18:00:00.000-08:00

Chicken Pastry

2008-01-01T08:07:00.000-08:00

Found the bell from Arizona
Scanned More Tallinn
Cleaned furnace room
took down tree
ripped Let it be naked finally
discovered another track on the second cd (cool)