Newton Magic

As part of my larger efforts to clear out my Office and reduce clutter (which is turning more like shuffling clutter to other parts of the house) I came across a couple of Newton
Message Pads from the mid-90s including the fabulous Newton 2100.

On a whim, I popped in 4 AA batteries and hit the power switch… Brrrring, she came to life with the familiar Newton trill and even more amazing woke up with all her data intact. Yep; everything. All my calendar entries from 1997, my contacts, every application installed and working just fine and all my scribbled notes. All exactly the way I left it so many years. What a stunning example of elegant technology and engineering. Newton was flawed in many ways but in many others, no product on the market has ever matched her elegance, style and techno-wizardry.

Historical note; Newton shortly after its release was lampooned in a famous series of Doonesbury cartoons which led to Steve Capps wife conspiring with Gary Trudeau to create the famous egg freckles Easter egg.

The intellectual avocado-colored kitchen appliance

The biggest competition to Microsoft on the desktop is not Linux or any other product. It’s past Microsoft products and to some degree future ones that are the real threat. XP is what Microsoft needs to worry about with Windows 7, not Mac OS or Linux.

Windows 95 finally added a GUI to Windows that was workable. Win2k and XP refined that usability with the stability of the NT kernel. I am still not sure where the overall value of Windows 7 will come into play. I was reminded of a comment in Douglas Coupland’s Microserfs, where one of the characters says somrthing along the lines of “The current GUI desktop metaphor is the intellectual avocado-colored kitchen appliance of the 21st century.” AMEN.

Adding UI tweaks and glitzy effects doesn’t change the mix that much. It’s not just about simplicity or even reliability. Show me some new things that will empower us in new ways and I’ll buy. Show me cool new apps that take advantage of the OS and can’t be had anyplace else (there was exactly one app that required Vista to use until it was killed. Bonus points if you know what it was) Otherwise, what we have today might just be good enough. Even more interesting is the window of opportunity for Apple that has a real alternative platform to Windows to gain market share while Windows 7 comes to market.

Microsoft needs a more compelling OS story and soon.

Off Road Lessons

It’s been a busy summer for folks who cover the tech industry and I’m off the road the road for a week or two. Some quick thoughts;

1. My iPod lasts the entire plane flight from NY to the west coast and is the perfect size. Any less would not due and more would not be necessary. Vendors who continue to attempt competing products should reconsider unless there’s some way to really differentiate.

2. I fly Continental a lot. Mostly because Newark is a Hub and flying out of Newark saves me the hassle of shlepping to JFK or LaGuardia. In the course of an average year I fly over a 100,000 miles with them. I only have two requests, a bulkhead aisle set (to accommodate my 6′’4”” frame) and a fruit plate. I never get either unless I put a ridiculous amount of effort in. They recently priced a fare out to San Francisco for my next trip at $2,000. Jet Blue will cost me $300 for the same trip. I probably won’t get a bulkhead aisle or a fruit plate on Jet Blue but at least I won’t feel like an idiot either.

3. Marriott hotels have free high speed internet access and several power outlets at the in room desk. W Hotels charge you $15 a day for the privilege and have one outlet. But they do have a heavenly bed.

4. A Starbuck’s Mocha is a wonderful travel companion. Peet’s is still my favorite coffee if I can find it. Fortunately there’s a Peet’s across the street from the Westin on Market St. in SF (which isn’t really on Market St.) and there’s one at SFO.

5. Watching Casablanca on the flight home on your laptop is far more enjoyable at 1:00am than watching “whatever Continental has been showing for this month” for the 10th time.

6. Some companies forbid their employees to have dinner with analysts unless they have gone through analyst training (presumably to avoid any of our analyst Jedi-Mind Tricks). To my dinner companions over the last month, your secrets are safe with me and let’s do it again soon.

Oh, and if I have to sit on the runway for two hours after you close the door and prior to take-off, i do not think of it as an on time departure!