At the airport in London this morning just before getting on my flight back, I read John Batelle’s epic complaint about his usability problems with Apple software. That got me thinking about my 30 years of experience with a wide variety of software systems. And there seems to be an ironclad pattern: successful new systems start out simple and easy to use. Just two cases in point: the early web and the early iPhone (note that I am not saying “beautiful” or “elegant,” as the early web was anyth...

At the airport in London this morning just before getting on my flight back, I read John Batelle’s epic complaint about his usability problems with Apple software. That got me thinking about my 30 years of experience with a wide variety of software systems. And there seems to be an ironclad pattern: successful new systems start out simple and easy to use. Just two cases in point: the early web and the early iPhone (note that I am not saying “beautiful” or “elegant,” as the early web was anyth...

If there was any doubt, the iPad is a huge winner for Apple with 7.3 million units shipped in the last quarter. Casual observation from flying a fair bit has made that obvious over the last few months. You can’t walk through a packed air plane (and they are mostly packed these days) without seeing a ton of iPads. Most people are watching movies on theirs, some play games and very few do anything else (some email, some web browsing). What one doesn’t see at all – so far – are Android tablets. ...

If there was any doubt, the iPad is a huge winner for Apple with 7.3 million units shipped in the last quarter. Casual observation from flying a fair bit has made that obvious over the last few months. You can’t walk through a packed air plane (and they are mostly packed these days) without seeing a ton of iPads. Most people are watching movies on theirs, some play games and very few do anything else (some email, some web browsing). What one doesn’t see at all – so far – are Android tablets. ...

Google buying Motorola is a strong defensive move against both Microsoft and Apple on two fronts: patents and user experience. Apple is vertically integrated and Microsoft controls Nokia (without having had to buy it). Between that and having filed or acquired a lot of patents, these two pose formidable threats to Android. Buying Motorola lets Google fight both of these threats in one go. As Larry Page’s blog post makes clear, Motorola has a huge trove of mobile IP, having invented the first ...

Google buying Motorola is a strong defensive move against both Microsoft and Apple on two fronts: patents and user experience. Apple is vertically integrated and Microsoft controls Nokia (without having had to buy it). Between that and having filed or acquired a lot of patents, these two pose formidable threats to Android. Buying Motorola lets Google fight both of these threats in one go. As Larry Page’s blog post makes clear, Motorola has a huge trove of mobile IP, having invented the first ...

Apple app store subscription policy is a clear case of overreaching. I have written before about how I don’t think the 30% take rate for Apple is justified or sustainable. Extending that pricing to an ongoing relationship is particularly problematic. The argument – made by no less than Jobs himself – that Apple should be entitled to a 30% cut for a “new subscriber” seems to suggest that these subscribers simply would not exist without Apple. While true that Apple has built a hugely innovative...

Apple app store subscription policy is a clear case of overreaching. I have written before about how I don’t think the 30% take rate for Apple is justified or sustainable. Extending that pricing to an ongoing relationship is particularly problematic. The argument – made by no less than Jobs himself – that Apple should be entitled to a 30% cut for a “new subscriber” seems to suggest that these subscribers simply would not exist without Apple. While true that Apple has built a hugely innovative...

How do you boil a frog? Slowly. Apparently the same is true for endusers and even software developers. That at least is what Apple seems to believe. And while this has been debunked for frogs (they do jump out as the water gets too warm), it’s not clear that the same is true for humans. We seem all too willing to trade off having a shiny device for accepting ever more restrictions on what we can do with that device. I wonder how long it will take before people realize how much they are losing...

How do you boil a frog? Slowly. Apparently the same is true for endusers and even software developers. That at least is what Apple seems to believe. And while this has been debunked for frogs (they do jump out as the water gets too warm), it’s not clear that the same is true for humans. We seem all too willing to trade off having a shiny device for accepting ever more restrictions on what we can do with that device. I wonder how long it will take before people realize how much they are losing...

It’s been about 3.5 years since I bought my current MacBook. That’s usually when I start thinking about what to buy next. I like to own the same machine for at least three and possibly four years and so historically I have spent a bit more money and then not a lot of time switching and fiddling. But as I think about the next laptop I am beginning to rethink my strategy for a number of reasons. First, I am using less and less “desktop” software on my laptop. Really the only thing that I run co...

It’s been about 3.5 years since I bought my current MacBook. That’s usually when I start thinking about what to buy next. I like to own the same machine for at least three and possibly four years and so historically I have spent a bit more money and then not a lot of time switching and fiddling. But as I think about the next laptop I am beginning to rethink my strategy for a number of reasons. First, I am using less and less “desktop” software on my laptop. Really the only thing that I run co...

Fred’s blog post today is about how new and powerful HTML5 apps are emerging, giving the new Kindle Cloud Reader as an example. The Cloud Reader is also an example of something else: if you tax a system too much people will find ways to work around it. This is highly relevant to anyone running or starting a marketplace. You can’t be greedy! (Sorry, Gordon). I had written a while back – in the context of eBook pricing – how Apple’s take rate of 30% was significantly too high. The Kindle Cloud ...

Fred’s blog post today is about how new and powerful HTML5 apps are emerging, giving the new Kindle Cloud Reader as an example. The Cloud Reader is also an example of something else: if you tax a system too much people will find ways to work around it. This is highly relevant to anyone running or starting a marketplace. You can’t be greedy! (Sorry, Gordon). I had written a while back – in the context of eBook pricing – how Apple’s take rate of 30% was significantly too high. The Kindle Cloud ...

These are without a doubt Apple’s glory years. The company has a stellar range of consumer products including the block busters: iPad2, iPhone4 (soon 4S), and MacBook Air. Our household alone has at least half a dozen pricey Apple devices. And still I don’t think it will last. By that I don’t mean that Apple will somehow run into trouble overnight but rather that it faces twin challenges that will likely significantly reduce its influence over time: price and software. People writing about sm...

These are without a doubt Apple’s glory years. The company has a stellar range of consumer products including the block busters: iPad2, iPhone4 (soon 4S), and MacBook Air. Our household alone has at least half a dozen pricey Apple devices. And still I don’t think it will last. By that I don’t mean that Apple will somehow run into trouble overnight but rather that it faces twin challenges that will likely significantly reduce its influence over time: price and software. People writing about sm...

It’s hard to be bearish on a company that has had a run as amazing as Apple and a hugely successful launch of a new product. But there are two reasons that lead me to question where things will go from here: The first reason is Apple’s approach to software. I already blogged last Friday about how hard it is to maintain simplicity. But there is a bigger issue: Apple is only creating software for their own devices. Yes they have iTunes for Windows but I am talking primarily about mobile apps. I...

It’s hard to be bearish on a company that has had a run as amazing as Apple and a hugely successful launch of a new product. But there are two reasons that lead me to question where things will go from here: The first reason is Apple’s approach to software. I already blogged last Friday about how hard it is to maintain simplicity. But there is a bigger issue: Apple is only creating software for their own devices. Yes they have iTunes for Windows but I am talking primarily about mobile apps. I...

It feels a bit strange now that I wrote a post yesterday morning about “Apple’s Glory Years,” not realizing that in the evening I would see the news that Steve Jobs had passed away. There have been many excellent tributes and I read a lot of them last night (collected here on delicious) with one of my favorites being Walt Mossberg’s piece. Like many others, I found myself deeply moved by the passing of someone I had never met in person. That is despite the fact that my feelings about Steve Jo...

It feels a bit strange now that I wrote a post yesterday morning about “Apple’s Glory Years,” not realizing that in the evening I would see the news that Steve Jobs had passed away. There have been many excellent tributes and I read a lot of them last night (collected here on delicious) with one of my favorites being Walt Mossberg’s piece. Like many others, I found myself deeply moved by the passing of someone I had never met in person. That is despite the fact that my feelings about Steve Jo...