I started off writing a post about how I wanted Windows Phone 7 on a tablet, then today I saw this.
Microsoft: Where's your $199 Windows Tablet?
I spent many months last year on the Windows Phone 7 Backstage Forum. It was created by MS shortly after they announced WP7 back in February 2010 and became largely irrelevant after the release in November.
One of the things we discussed was the possibility of putting Windows Phone 7 on tablets. This led, especially after the introduction of the iPad, to a differentiation between a tablet, which ran a smartphone style OS, and a slate, which ran a desktop level OS.
From the moment I saw the first videos of WP7, I became excited about the idea of Windows Tablet 7 (my own name). Metro on a tablet seemed like such an obvious idea that I was actually surprised when MS announced that there would no such thing.
I agree that MS is missing a trick right now. Many of the cheaper 7" tablets are 800x480, which means that Mango could run on them without alteration. Simply remove the phone icon from the start screen and you are all set to go.
I am excited about Windows 8 on tablets, but what I really want on a tablet is the simplicity of the way that Mango handles Office and email. I neither want nor need a full Office suite on a tablet. I love the fact that my contacts come in immediately from Windows Live when I start up my phone and I really don't want to have to park a full version of Office on my tablet to get the same email and office experience that I get on my phone.
By restricting the Mango tablet to 800x480 for now, and expanding it later when they expand the resolution for smartphones, I think they would have some tremendous traction against the iPad in the consumer market. Later, Windows 8 comes out and blows all the large tablets right out of the water in the business sector.
Microsoft has managed to be a very usable app ecosystem for WP7 in a very short time. I know they can do it again, but by the middle of next year, the iPad, Kindle Fire, and Nook Tablet, not to mention all the other Android Tablets, are going to have a huge lead, and fighting an uphill battle in two different mobile markets may be very tough.
I think Microsoft could gain significant $$ rewards in the short term, and when Windows 8 comes out, these people will already be well entrenched in a Microsoft ecosystem.
Friday, November 11, 2011
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Gamers...no matter the game
Many of my thought experiments start with something presented by someone else. This time it was on Kotaku, a gaming blog site.
The Hardcore Gaming Myth
I find the biggest difference in gamers...as opposed to games...is in the goals behind why you play, and it doesn't really matter what the game is. I have seen it myself, both in a Martial Art I participate in, and in an online game I played for several years. I had a friend describe it to me in a cycling club that he was part of.
Humans are competitive, and it is natural for us to turn almost any endeavor into a competition, but not all people are driven to compete. So, here you have the difference, what is the goal or participation? Do you play to win, or do you play to enjoy yourself? The problem arises when people with these two different goals intermingle in the same environment.
In my friend's cycling club, he encountered both types. Some of the members were racers or at least wannabe racers, and others were there for the love of cycling, and had no wish to compete. The problem that my friend saw was that the intensity of the competitive cyclists tended to be a big turn off for new enjoyment cyclists. Literally, it scared them off, because they just wanted to get out occasionally and ride, while the competitive cyclists wanted everyone to agree to ride several times a week, and long rides, and try for certain time goals.
This discussion came up because of my participation in Armored Combat in the Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA). My friend was also in the SCA (still is, as a matter of fact). At that time, we had a small group of very competitive, very driven fighters, and we were trying to find more opponents. Having different people to fight not only makes the practice more enjoyable, but it also helps in not developing bad habits. The intensity with which we fought could have the effect of driving off new fighters, at least that was my friend's contention, and after a time, I came to see his point.
Now, in neither of these examples, nor others that could be provided should it be assumed that those who play to win don't enjoy themselves, nor, that those who play for fun don't like to win. What would be more correct is to say that who play to win don't enjoy themselves as much if they aren't competing and those who play for fun don't have to win to have fun. Both agree that winning is more fun than losing.
I primarily play RPGs. I very much like playing out the storylines, and exploring the character choices. I spent many years playing Neverwinter Nights (NWN) on Persistent Worlds (PWs). While there, I found a distinct dichotomy among the players. Casual and Hardcore isn't really adequate to this situation, because it was all people who were spending 5-20 hours a week playing, and generally in blocks of at least a couple of hours at a time.
One term used negatively for one camp was Powergamers. These players were definitely hardcore about the game, they spent time studying various character builds in order to learn how to make the strongest builds. They could tell you exactly what they were going to do with the build from the first time they played. They reveled in player-versus-player confrontations.
The other camp preferred the Role-Playing aspects of the game. They preferred to let the story that their character played out to influence (possibly even control) their character build. Often, these players did not seek player-versus-player confrontations.
Now, it isn't that the Powergamers were unwilling to role-play, in fact many of them were quite excellent at the role-play elements of the game, but their characters had to be very powerful, and they used that to push other players around from time to time, all the while claiming that this was the appropriate role-play for that character.
They were competition/goal/victory oriented in their gaming, while the second group was not.
The author brought up basketball. Ever participated in pick-up games, and run across someone who only cared about making the perfect shot? They weren't driven to win. To them it was almost like performance art, and as long as they made that perfect shot, they didn't really care who won or lost.
Some people need to win to have, others don't, participation, the action, not the result is the goal. To me that is the fundamental difference between gamers, whether the game is basketball, golf, or computer games.
The Hardcore Gaming Myth
I find the biggest difference in gamers...as opposed to games...is in the goals behind why you play, and it doesn't really matter what the game is. I have seen it myself, both in a Martial Art I participate in, and in an online game I played for several years. I had a friend describe it to me in a cycling club that he was part of.
Humans are competitive, and it is natural for us to turn almost any endeavor into a competition, but not all people are driven to compete. So, here you have the difference, what is the goal or participation? Do you play to win, or do you play to enjoy yourself? The problem arises when people with these two different goals intermingle in the same environment.
In my friend's cycling club, he encountered both types. Some of the members were racers or at least wannabe racers, and others were there for the love of cycling, and had no wish to compete. The problem that my friend saw was that the intensity of the competitive cyclists tended to be a big turn off for new enjoyment cyclists. Literally, it scared them off, because they just wanted to get out occasionally and ride, while the competitive cyclists wanted everyone to agree to ride several times a week, and long rides, and try for certain time goals.
This discussion came up because of my participation in Armored Combat in the Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA). My friend was also in the SCA (still is, as a matter of fact). At that time, we had a small group of very competitive, very driven fighters, and we were trying to find more opponents. Having different people to fight not only makes the practice more enjoyable, but it also helps in not developing bad habits. The intensity with which we fought could have the effect of driving off new fighters, at least that was my friend's contention, and after a time, I came to see his point.
Now, in neither of these examples, nor others that could be provided should it be assumed that those who play to win don't enjoy themselves, nor, that those who play for fun don't like to win. What would be more correct is to say that who play to win don't enjoy themselves as much if they aren't competing and those who play for fun don't have to win to have fun. Both agree that winning is more fun than losing.
I primarily play RPGs. I very much like playing out the storylines, and exploring the character choices. I spent many years playing Neverwinter Nights (NWN) on Persistent Worlds (PWs). While there, I found a distinct dichotomy among the players. Casual and Hardcore isn't really adequate to this situation, because it was all people who were spending 5-20 hours a week playing, and generally in blocks of at least a couple of hours at a time.
One term used negatively for one camp was Powergamers. These players were definitely hardcore about the game, they spent time studying various character builds in order to learn how to make the strongest builds. They could tell you exactly what they were going to do with the build from the first time they played. They reveled in player-versus-player confrontations.
The other camp preferred the Role-Playing aspects of the game. They preferred to let the story that their character played out to influence (possibly even control) their character build. Often, these players did not seek player-versus-player confrontations.
Now, it isn't that the Powergamers were unwilling to role-play, in fact many of them were quite excellent at the role-play elements of the game, but their characters had to be very powerful, and they used that to push other players around from time to time, all the while claiming that this was the appropriate role-play for that character.
They were competition/goal/victory oriented in their gaming, while the second group was not.
The author brought up basketball. Ever participated in pick-up games, and run across someone who only cared about making the perfect shot? They weren't driven to win. To them it was almost like performance art, and as long as they made that perfect shot, they didn't really care who won or lost.
Some people need to win to have, others don't, participation, the action, not the result is the goal. To me that is the fundamental difference between gamers, whether the game is basketball, golf, or computer games.
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Why Apple Succeeds
I've been reading a lot about tablets for several years now. I soak up every piece of tech news I can find on them, and as much of the analysis as I can stomach. The tablet market is much more exciting than it was a year ago, and in case you haven't read it here before, I am not an Apple fan.
But, it is hard to argue with their success. There is lots of analysis of why Apple succeeds while the others...don't succeed as well as Apple. Each of the pundits has some valid points, but I think they are failing to see the larger picture. It is this larger picture that I want to look at.
First, let me make my bold statement.
Apple succeeds because it does everything better than everyone else.
Okay, that might be a bit much, but if it isn't the absolute truth, it is still largely true, and I think you will agree when I outline the various areas I think are important below. First, the least important element.
Software - OS
I know there are people who think that iOS is the greatest thing since sliced bread, but I don't buy it. With Android beating, or nearly so (depending on who you ask), the iPhone, it is pretty obvious that a lot of people like Android as an OS, and every review I hear of Android tablets speaks about how well the OS works...well, at least Android - Honeycomb. The reviewers like it, it appears the public likes it, but it still gets outsold, at least on tablets by iOS. I will explain why below, but I have to call the OS a draw.
Software - Apps
Again, I hear Apple and the Fanboys shouting about the numbers of apps for the iPad, but with the growing number of Android apps, this is largely irrelevant. How many Fart apps do you need? There are so many apps that do the same thing that if you numbered apps by the unique tasks that can be performed with apps, it would probably reduce the number by 80%. I will give Apple a slight edge here, but only slight.
Hardware
Apple does make a pretty machine, whether it is the MacBook Air, the iPad or the iPhone. It carries on right down to the tiny Nano. Each product quickly attains iconic status. It is hard to estimate how important this is, and the only downside for Apple (all companies wish for such a downside) is that their product names are becoming the generic names for their segments. Articles that talk about smartphones have titles like "Why You Should Hate Your iPhone." This iconic sense comes into play when you shop, because often your choice is Apple or the other guy, Mac or Windows, iPhone or Android, iPad or the other guys. We'll come back to this idea again, but the point is that if Apple hardware does beat everyone else in each category, it matches them. Image is important, and the image projected by the actual products is incredibly strong. Advantage Apple.
Advertising
Apple gets it. That is all there is to it and I really hate to admit it. Apple ads sell products, but also push brand. The ads are simple, but the message is crystal clear. I haven't even seen any other company mount the kind of ad campaigns that Apple has. No one matches the simple message of Apple. Apple appeals to your senses. They appeal to your emotions. Apple ads do not appeal to your reason. They don't say "You should buy Apple because..."
This is what we believe
We will always
They show you what you can do with the product. Now my focus right now is on tablets, and these ads are incredible. They don't say anything about why the iPad is better than a Galaxy Tab or a Xoom. In some ways these ads might give you the idea that there are no other tablets, which is an idea that Apple would very much like you have. The image put forward by the ads is just as strong as the image of the products when you hold them in your hands. No one else even comes close, right now. There was a time when Microsoft was doing ads this good for Windows, and for Office, and some of the ads for Windows Phone 7 were very strong. Other companies can you do this, but no one is, especially in the tablet sector. Advantage Apple.
In Store
Now, first we need to talk about the advantage of the Apple store. No competitor in the tablet market has stores. Heck, I don't think any of their competitors in the PC market have their own stores. You walk into an Apple Store, and you don't see its competitors. Just like in the ads, you might imagine that the iPad is the only tablet on the market.
But, it continues into some retail locations. Here is Austin, Texas we have a Frys Electronics store, big place, electronics superstore. If you walk to the back of that store, you find a large area filled with PCs. Rows of desktops and rows of portables...all Windows. Toshiba sits side by side, often literally cheek by jowl, with HP, Acer, Fujitsu, Sony. A few get the prime end locations, but mostly it is a computer meat market. But, no Apples. There are no Apples crammed into this vast sea of PCs.
No, Apple has its own space, separated from all the others. The tables are different, the lighting is different. The Desktops and laptops don't sit crammed side by side, no, they are given space to spread out, and down on one end of this happy Apple-land, the iPad...well, actually, I think I remember seeing two of them out on display, with plenty of space around them, the ultra-slinky Macbook Airs just next door and none of that Windows riff-raff to spoil your experience.
Happy Apple Land
I like the sound of that.
Stop and think about the huge advantage that gives Apple. There's no HP laptop next to that Macbook, flaunting its lower price at you, making you stop and think that maybe a Windows PC is a better buy. No, nothing but Apples. Your choices aren't HP, Samsung, or Apple, your choices are 11" Air, or 13", or maybe an iPad is all you need.
And where are the rest of the tablets? This is where the story gets dirty. You walk out of Happy Apple Land, across the sea of Windows PCs and there, against the wall are the other tablets. They have a three shelf display, near eye level and maybe as much as ten feet of wall space. Happy Apple Land is a table nearly twenty feet long for two iPads, three or four laptops, and another three or four desktops. Sad Dingy Tablet Land is ten feet of shelves, and there are about a dozen tablets stuffed into this area, between the eReaders and the portable accessories. If three people try to look at the tablets at the same time it feels cramped.
Now, I checked back, and it isn't quite that bad. Several of the...other...tablets have the end of one of the long PC tables. They are still crammed in together, Acer, Asus, Fujitsu, Toshiba. There are about 5 tablets crammed into a space about three feet wide on two levels. Not much space, and all competing directly with each other.
Back more than ten years ago, I remember hearing that Microsoft was paying retailers, like CompUSA, by the foot of shelf space devoted to Windows and Office. This led to gleaming racks of Microsoft products as far as the eye could see...and a few irate articles in the press.
I feel sure that something like that is going on at Frys. Now, don't get me wrong, I am not blaming Frys. They are in business to sell product. It does not really matter what that product is, iPad or Android, it is all the same to them, as long as they make the sale.
Best Buy was better. The iPad got the prime location on the end cap, but just around the corner, and clearly in view from the end cap are the rest of the tablets. Also, Best Buy doesn't have them crammed into a tiny space. Best Buy has all the tablets spread out and well lit. Of course, I did notice one advantage for the iPad. At all electronics stores, the tablets, laptops and other items that can be picked up are tethered to the tables. This is understandable, they are portable items and would get carried off. Even if they didn't make it out of the store, they would end up all over the store. But, there was a difference at Best Buy with how they were tethered.
All of the Android tablets had this huge, heavy domed anchor glued onto the back. It was at least a couple of inches wide and three inches long and domed out at least an inch from the back of the tablet. This makes it virtually impossible to tell what the tablets were going to be like when you got them home. The weight is off, and you cannot try to hold them by the back. In fact, the most comfortable way to hold these tablets is by putting that dome in the palm of your hand. Not really conducive to knowing what it will be like when you get it home.
And, this is even worse for the 7" tablets. You cannot hold them in portrait orientation resting across your hand, which to me seems like the logical and comfortable way to hold it.
Buying a Tablet
Now, I was going to talk up the ease and beauty of the Apple website when it comes to buying an iPad, because I felt sure it would be easy, but at the moment of my writing, August 17, 2011, 3:45pm CDT, something is wrong on the site. From apple.com it takes three clicks to get to the page where you select your iPad, and that is where the site fails. There are six choices, 16, 32 or 64GB and Black or White. Only one, 64GB Black takes you further into the purchase process. The rest leave you with a Page not found message. If they aren't in stock, they could at least tell you. I will check it again later.
Well, I did try again later, and it takes seven clicks to reach the checkout stage.
Dell? Five clicks
Samsung? Five clicks
Okay, so they aren't winning on the website front, but I think you can see the enormous advantage that Apple has at every phase of the process. Everyone talks about the advantage that Apple has because they make both software and hardware, but Apple has gone even further. I believe that Apple is controlling the entire experience. How it looks. How it feels. How you use it. How you get apps. How it looks in the store. They control everything, right up until the moment you buy it, and even beyond, because while I hear horror stories about Apple Tech Support, what I heard is nothing worse than I hear from anyone else, and overall I would judge their Tech Support to be a little better, at least from the rumors and reports.
No one else matches Apple, because no one else controls every part of the customer/user experience the way Apple does. Microsoft just sells software. Samsung sells hardware to retailers, and the retailers don't care what is sold, as long as they make the sale. Samsung? Apple? Toshiba? Who cares?
I don't like Apple. I don't like the smug attitude of the company. I don't like the smug attitude of the fanboys. I don't like the closed ecosystem. I don't like the lack of choice. But, I have to admit that Apple does a lot of things right, which is why they are enjoying phenomenal success.
But, it is hard to argue with their success. There is lots of analysis of why Apple succeeds while the others...don't succeed as well as Apple. Each of the pundits has some valid points, but I think they are failing to see the larger picture. It is this larger picture that I want to look at.
First, let me make my bold statement.
Apple succeeds because it does everything better than everyone else.
Okay, that might be a bit much, but if it isn't the absolute truth, it is still largely true, and I think you will agree when I outline the various areas I think are important below. First, the least important element.
Software - OS
I know there are people who think that iOS is the greatest thing since sliced bread, but I don't buy it. With Android beating, or nearly so (depending on who you ask), the iPhone, it is pretty obvious that a lot of people like Android as an OS, and every review I hear of Android tablets speaks about how well the OS works...well, at least Android - Honeycomb. The reviewers like it, it appears the public likes it, but it still gets outsold, at least on tablets by iOS. I will explain why below, but I have to call the OS a draw.
Software - Apps
Again, I hear Apple and the Fanboys shouting about the numbers of apps for the iPad, but with the growing number of Android apps, this is largely irrelevant. How many Fart apps do you need? There are so many apps that do the same thing that if you numbered apps by the unique tasks that can be performed with apps, it would probably reduce the number by 80%. I will give Apple a slight edge here, but only slight.
Hardware
Apple does make a pretty machine, whether it is the MacBook Air, the iPad or the iPhone. It carries on right down to the tiny Nano. Each product quickly attains iconic status. It is hard to estimate how important this is, and the only downside for Apple (all companies wish for such a downside) is that their product names are becoming the generic names for their segments. Articles that talk about smartphones have titles like "Why You Should Hate Your iPhone." This iconic sense comes into play when you shop, because often your choice is Apple or the other guy, Mac or Windows, iPhone or Android, iPad or the other guys. We'll come back to this idea again, but the point is that if Apple hardware does beat everyone else in each category, it matches them. Image is important, and the image projected by the actual products is incredibly strong. Advantage Apple.
Advertising
Apple gets it. That is all there is to it and I really hate to admit it. Apple ads sell products, but also push brand. The ads are simple, but the message is crystal clear. I haven't even seen any other company mount the kind of ad campaigns that Apple has. No one matches the simple message of Apple. Apple appeals to your senses. They appeal to your emotions. Apple ads do not appeal to your reason. They don't say "You should buy Apple because..."
This is what we believe
We will always
They show you what you can do with the product. Now my focus right now is on tablets, and these ads are incredible. They don't say anything about why the iPad is better than a Galaxy Tab or a Xoom. In some ways these ads might give you the idea that there are no other tablets, which is an idea that Apple would very much like you have. The image put forward by the ads is just as strong as the image of the products when you hold them in your hands. No one else even comes close, right now. There was a time when Microsoft was doing ads this good for Windows, and for Office, and some of the ads for Windows Phone 7 were very strong. Other companies can you do this, but no one is, especially in the tablet sector. Advantage Apple.
In Store
Now, first we need to talk about the advantage of the Apple store. No competitor in the tablet market has stores. Heck, I don't think any of their competitors in the PC market have their own stores. You walk into an Apple Store, and you don't see its competitors. Just like in the ads, you might imagine that the iPad is the only tablet on the market.
But, it continues into some retail locations. Here is Austin, Texas we have a Frys Electronics store, big place, electronics superstore. If you walk to the back of that store, you find a large area filled with PCs. Rows of desktops and rows of portables...all Windows. Toshiba sits side by side, often literally cheek by jowl, with HP, Acer, Fujitsu, Sony. A few get the prime end locations, but mostly it is a computer meat market. But, no Apples. There are no Apples crammed into this vast sea of PCs.
No, Apple has its own space, separated from all the others. The tables are different, the lighting is different. The Desktops and laptops don't sit crammed side by side, no, they are given space to spread out, and down on one end of this happy Apple-land, the iPad...well, actually, I think I remember seeing two of them out on display, with plenty of space around them, the ultra-slinky Macbook Airs just next door and none of that Windows riff-raff to spoil your experience.
Happy Apple Land
I like the sound of that.
Stop and think about the huge advantage that gives Apple. There's no HP laptop next to that Macbook, flaunting its lower price at you, making you stop and think that maybe a Windows PC is a better buy. No, nothing but Apples. Your choices aren't HP, Samsung, or Apple, your choices are 11" Air, or 13", or maybe an iPad is all you need.
And where are the rest of the tablets? This is where the story gets dirty. You walk out of Happy Apple Land, across the sea of Windows PCs and there, against the wall are the other tablets. They have a three shelf display, near eye level and maybe as much as ten feet of wall space. Happy Apple Land is a table nearly twenty feet long for two iPads, three or four laptops, and another three or four desktops. Sad Dingy Tablet Land is ten feet of shelves, and there are about a dozen tablets stuffed into this area, between the eReaders and the portable accessories. If three people try to look at the tablets at the same time it feels cramped.
Now, I checked back, and it isn't quite that bad. Several of the...other...tablets have the end of one of the long PC tables. They are still crammed in together, Acer, Asus, Fujitsu, Toshiba. There are about 5 tablets crammed into a space about three feet wide on two levels. Not much space, and all competing directly with each other.
Back more than ten years ago, I remember hearing that Microsoft was paying retailers, like CompUSA, by the foot of shelf space devoted to Windows and Office. This led to gleaming racks of Microsoft products as far as the eye could see...and a few irate articles in the press.
I feel sure that something like that is going on at Frys. Now, don't get me wrong, I am not blaming Frys. They are in business to sell product. It does not really matter what that product is, iPad or Android, it is all the same to them, as long as they make the sale.
Best Buy was better. The iPad got the prime location on the end cap, but just around the corner, and clearly in view from the end cap are the rest of the tablets. Also, Best Buy doesn't have them crammed into a tiny space. Best Buy has all the tablets spread out and well lit. Of course, I did notice one advantage for the iPad. At all electronics stores, the tablets, laptops and other items that can be picked up are tethered to the tables. This is understandable, they are portable items and would get carried off. Even if they didn't make it out of the store, they would end up all over the store. But, there was a difference at Best Buy with how they were tethered.
All of the Android tablets had this huge, heavy domed anchor glued onto the back. It was at least a couple of inches wide and three inches long and domed out at least an inch from the back of the tablet. This makes it virtually impossible to tell what the tablets were going to be like when you got them home. The weight is off, and you cannot try to hold them by the back. In fact, the most comfortable way to hold these tablets is by putting that dome in the palm of your hand. Not really conducive to knowing what it will be like when you get it home.
And, this is even worse for the 7" tablets. You cannot hold them in portrait orientation resting across your hand, which to me seems like the logical and comfortable way to hold it.
Buying a Tablet
Now, I was going to talk up the ease and beauty of the Apple website when it comes to buying an iPad, because I felt sure it would be easy, but at the moment of my writing, August 17, 2011, 3:45pm CDT, something is wrong on the site. From apple.com it takes three clicks to get to the page where you select your iPad, and that is where the site fails. There are six choices, 16, 32 or 64GB and Black or White. Only one, 64GB Black takes you further into the purchase process. The rest leave you with a Page not found message. If they aren't in stock, they could at least tell you. I will check it again later.
Well, I did try again later, and it takes seven clicks to reach the checkout stage.
Dell? Five clicks
Samsung? Five clicks
Okay, so they aren't winning on the website front, but I think you can see the enormous advantage that Apple has at every phase of the process. Everyone talks about the advantage that Apple has because they make both software and hardware, but Apple has gone even further. I believe that Apple is controlling the entire experience. How it looks. How it feels. How you use it. How you get apps. How it looks in the store. They control everything, right up until the moment you buy it, and even beyond, because while I hear horror stories about Apple Tech Support, what I heard is nothing worse than I hear from anyone else, and overall I would judge their Tech Support to be a little better, at least from the rumors and reports.
No one else matches Apple, because no one else controls every part of the customer/user experience the way Apple does. Microsoft just sells software. Samsung sells hardware to retailers, and the retailers don't care what is sold, as long as they make the sale. Samsung? Apple? Toshiba? Who cares?
I don't like Apple. I don't like the smug attitude of the company. I don't like the smug attitude of the fanboys. I don't like the closed ecosystem. I don't like the lack of choice. But, I have to admit that Apple does a lot of things right, which is why they are enjoying phenomenal success.
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Ian Fleming
Many years ago, I heard that Ian Fleming sold the titles of the James Bond novels to the movies, but not the plotlines. I never really had any reason to doubt it, but I always wanted to check. When I started looking around for free eBooks, I found that none of his titles were available, which isn't too surprising, they were only written 50 years ago...roughly speaking. So, I started to look around for copies to buy, and to my surprise that was harder than it ought to be. Well, I could buy them, but in hardback. It seems that the copyrights have been renewed despite the fact that the man died in 1964. But, my local library came to my rescue, and debunked the myth that I have repeated over and over again since I first heard it some decades ago.
First I found the collection of short stories, Quantum of Solace (Penguin Books, 2008). This collection includes Titles that have been used in 5 of the movies, From a View to a Kill, For Your Eyes Only, Quantum of Solace, Octopussy, The Living Daylights. Based on these five short stories, you could almost believe that the titles had been used without the plotlines, but even that would not be entirely correct.
From a View to a Kill, Octopussy and Quantum of Solace are nothing like the movies, and Quantum of Solace is barely a James Bond story at all. It is a story being told to James Bond while waiting for a boring party to end.
But, For Your Eyes Only and Risico together pretty much cover the plot of the movie, For Your Eyes Only. There are some added elements, but it is basically the same plot line.
Also, in a funny twist, the story Property of a Lady is used during the movie Octopussy, though it is only really one scene.
Now, all this made my suspicious, so I went looking for more. First, I read Thunderball (MJF Books, copyright 1961). Well, I definitely was lied to long ago. The plot of Thunderball the novel is pretty much identical to Thunderball the movie. I would have to watch the movie again to be sure, but it is very much like I remember it.
Also, despite being 50 years old, the novel stands up very well. It is fast paced, as one would expect, and gets just a little confusing at the end, which also matches my memories of the movie. The underwater fight scene is very confusing. It also has a rather touching ending that seems a little out of place for James Bond, but that is because so much of my concept of Bond is based on the movies. Also, there is an unlikely heroine, in Domino, who basically saves Bond at the end. This is much like the movie, except that the final scenes in the novel are underwater, not on the hydrofoil.
It was good, and well worth the read. I am looking forward to Goldfinger next.
And props to the Austin Public Library for carrying them.
First I found the collection of short stories, Quantum of Solace (Penguin Books, 2008). This collection includes Titles that have been used in 5 of the movies, From a View to a Kill, For Your Eyes Only, Quantum of Solace, Octopussy, The Living Daylights. Based on these five short stories, you could almost believe that the titles had been used without the plotlines, but even that would not be entirely correct.
From a View to a Kill, Octopussy and Quantum of Solace are nothing like the movies, and Quantum of Solace is barely a James Bond story at all. It is a story being told to James Bond while waiting for a boring party to end.
But, For Your Eyes Only and Risico together pretty much cover the plot of the movie, For Your Eyes Only. There are some added elements, but it is basically the same plot line.
Also, in a funny twist, the story Property of a Lady is used during the movie Octopussy, though it is only really one scene.
Now, all this made my suspicious, so I went looking for more. First, I read Thunderball (MJF Books, copyright 1961). Well, I definitely was lied to long ago. The plot of Thunderball the novel is pretty much identical to Thunderball the movie. I would have to watch the movie again to be sure, but it is very much like I remember it.
Also, despite being 50 years old, the novel stands up very well. It is fast paced, as one would expect, and gets just a little confusing at the end, which also matches my memories of the movie. The underwater fight scene is very confusing. It also has a rather touching ending that seems a little out of place for James Bond, but that is because so much of my concept of Bond is based on the movies. Also, there is an unlikely heroine, in Domino, who basically saves Bond at the end. This is much like the movie, except that the final scenes in the novel are underwater, not on the hydrofoil.
It was good, and well worth the read. I am looking forward to Goldfinger next.
And props to the Austin Public Library for carrying them.
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Free eBooks
I have finally found the true use for my old Samsung Q1U...an eReader.
I tried several software readers, but I didn't really like them until I tried Kindle. The Kindle Reader works with the touch screen. I tried the Nook software Reader, but it has a pair of arrows you have to click and it pretty much requires me to use a stylus, which is annoying while reading. I also use Calibre, but I hate the reader included with Calibre, but it lets me convert ePub to Mobi format, which Kindle will read.
I've hunted around on both Amazon and Barnes and Noble, and they offer pretty much the same books, so there isn't much to pick between them, but the ease of turning pages on an old, non-gesture touchscreen made the decision for me.
I don't have a huge budget for books...something which annoys my son no end...and so far I have only paid for one publication, and that was an issue of Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine about a year ago. But, that doesn't mean I don't have anything to read.
First, Amazon offers a lot of free books. They are mostly older, so called classics, but there are some interesting titles. You've seen me write about PG Wodehouse and you can find many of his books there...in fact, probably more than you can in your local bookstore. I downloaded all the Sherlock Holmes stories, which is a big find for me. If you are a fan of Jane Austen (I'm not) you can find almost everything she has ever written.
For more old, out of copyright books, there are many sites. The most recent I have been using is manybooks.net http://www.manybooks.net/. You can find a lot of old Science Fiction stories there from the 20s to the 50s and a few even beyond that.
For a bit more contemporary Science Fiction, you can try the Baen Free Library http://www.baen.com/library/. They have lots of novels from contemporary authors. Usually, these are the first few books from new authors who are trying to build a following, but I found several there that are pretty good.
So, if you have a new eReader and you cannot afford to fill it up, there are plenty of resources out there.
I tried several software readers, but I didn't really like them until I tried Kindle. The Kindle Reader works with the touch screen. I tried the Nook software Reader, but it has a pair of arrows you have to click and it pretty much requires me to use a stylus, which is annoying while reading. I also use Calibre, but I hate the reader included with Calibre, but it lets me convert ePub to Mobi format, which Kindle will read.
I've hunted around on both Amazon and Barnes and Noble, and they offer pretty much the same books, so there isn't much to pick between them, but the ease of turning pages on an old, non-gesture touchscreen made the decision for me.
I don't have a huge budget for books...something which annoys my son no end...and so far I have only paid for one publication, and that was an issue of Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine about a year ago. But, that doesn't mean I don't have anything to read.
First, Amazon offers a lot of free books. They are mostly older, so called classics, but there are some interesting titles. You've seen me write about PG Wodehouse and you can find many of his books there...in fact, probably more than you can in your local bookstore. I downloaded all the Sherlock Holmes stories, which is a big find for me. If you are a fan of Jane Austen (I'm not) you can find almost everything she has ever written.
For more old, out of copyright books, there are many sites. The most recent I have been using is manybooks.net http://www.manybooks.net/. You can find a lot of old Science Fiction stories there from the 20s to the 50s and a few even beyond that.
For a bit more contemporary Science Fiction, you can try the Baen Free Library http://www.baen.com/library/. They have lots of novels from contemporary authors. Usually, these are the first few books from new authors who are trying to build a following, but I found several there that are pretty good.
So, if you have a new eReader and you cannot afford to fill it up, there are plenty of resources out there.
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Thought Convergence
This post represents some convergence in my own thinking. I've been reading articles on Tech Republic and ZDNet a lot lately and several of them have started me to thinking. Personally, I am in love with tablets. This isn't something new for me, I was in love with tablets long before the iPad brought the whole concept out into the open. It started many years ago when I saw a Windows Tablet that I think ran Windows 98...it may even have been 95.
Since then, I have looked at tablets with screens from 5 to 13 inches, and Operating Systems from Windows (desktop) to Windows CE, to custom Linux based systems. I probably would have bought one or more of them if I had the money, but I never did...and still don't.
Tablets Are For People Who Hate Computers
This article was one of the spurs of my thoughts, but I don't think he quite gets it. The article could as easily have been titled...
Tablets Are For People Who Don't Get Computers
or
Tablets Are For People Who Aren't Smart Enough For Computers
...if he'd wanted to be mean.
But, whether he changed the title or not, the author still managed to miss the true lesson of the iPad's popularity.
Most people don't need the computing power of a PC.
The modern PC is an incredibly versatile and powerful tool. No Tablet running a smartphone OS can match it. Apple and Google brag about the number of apps available for their Operating Systems, but with a PC, whether Mac or Windows, the number of apps aren't padded by hundreds of fart apps. You can do just about anything with a PC, from record directly from your guitar to creating and publishing magazines. You can calculate a trajectory to take you to the moon, or play fast paced games with incredible graphics with people on the other side of the world.
Many of those things you could also do with a tablet, but why would you? For most of those tasks, a tablet is a mediocre tool at best, with only one advantage, portability.
So, where is all this leading?
Utopian Convergence of PC and Mobile, How Far Away is it?
Here's another article from Tech Republic that got me to thinking. Part of that thinking came out in my last post. There are too many things that I lose if I give up my PC. Yes, I gain a certain amount of convenience if I go to a tablet, but I lose my keyboard and my big monitor. I'll leave out my third reason why the PC won't die soon, because I am referring to my personal computing, not work computing.
Convergence, not tablets will be the cause of the end of the PC era as we have known it....except that it will still be personal computing, so the PC era won't end. Here is what I imagine, 3 devices working as one.
Your phone becomes your one connection to the greater world. It is still a phone, and it will have all the functions of a smartphone, but it will also act as your modem for all the other devices. Maybe your tablet has its own data connection, but the cellphone carriers need to realize that people cannot afford to pay for a data connection for every device, they need one plan that covers many devices, so your cellphone plan covers the data for your tablet...wirelessly, not by making your phone a WiFi hotspot, but because it wirelessly connects as a modem to your tablet. You can't really use both at the same time, so why not one data plan for both.
But, it doesn't end there. When you get home, you dock your tablet, though ideally, this too would be wireless, but that dock isn't just a connect to a keyboard. Your dock includes more, and might even have its own processor. It definitely needs a big monitor and a big hard drive...after all, it is part of your home entertainment system. You dock your tablet beside your 20"+ monitor and it becomes a second monitor on this larger system, and your phone is still your modem. It might even have a docking socket of its own.
This goes beyond networking. I am not talking about 3 devices that talk to each other, I am talking about three devices that act as one. With the possible exception of the large hard drive in the dock, you see the same thing on all the devices. They are hooked up to your TV, and when you go sit on the couch, you use either the phone or the tablet as the remote, because what you have on your TV is sort of running on the phone too.
At this point, I am up to four displays on this system, the phone, the tablet, the desktop monitor and the TV....and why not? Your phone doesn't control your TV, it is part of the same system. One display (TV) is showing the latest episode of True Blood, and another (phone) is showing the controls. Everything works together because there is only one computer.
That's my dream.
Since then, I have looked at tablets with screens from 5 to 13 inches, and Operating Systems from Windows (desktop) to Windows CE, to custom Linux based systems. I probably would have bought one or more of them if I had the money, but I never did...and still don't.
Tablets Are For People Who Hate Computers
This article was one of the spurs of my thoughts, but I don't think he quite gets it. The article could as easily have been titled...
Tablets Are For People Who Don't Get Computers
or
Tablets Are For People Who Aren't Smart Enough For Computers
...if he'd wanted to be mean.
But, whether he changed the title or not, the author still managed to miss the true lesson of the iPad's popularity.
Most people don't need the computing power of a PC.
The modern PC is an incredibly versatile and powerful tool. No Tablet running a smartphone OS can match it. Apple and Google brag about the number of apps available for their Operating Systems, but with a PC, whether Mac or Windows, the number of apps aren't padded by hundreds of fart apps. You can do just about anything with a PC, from record directly from your guitar to creating and publishing magazines. You can calculate a trajectory to take you to the moon, or play fast paced games with incredible graphics with people on the other side of the world.
Many of those things you could also do with a tablet, but why would you? For most of those tasks, a tablet is a mediocre tool at best, with only one advantage, portability.
So, where is all this leading?
Utopian Convergence of PC and Mobile, How Far Away is it?
Here's another article from Tech Republic that got me to thinking. Part of that thinking came out in my last post. There are too many things that I lose if I give up my PC. Yes, I gain a certain amount of convenience if I go to a tablet, but I lose my keyboard and my big monitor. I'll leave out my third reason why the PC won't die soon, because I am referring to my personal computing, not work computing.
Convergence, not tablets will be the cause of the end of the PC era as we have known it....except that it will still be personal computing, so the PC era won't end. Here is what I imagine, 3 devices working as one.
Your phone becomes your one connection to the greater world. It is still a phone, and it will have all the functions of a smartphone, but it will also act as your modem for all the other devices. Maybe your tablet has its own data connection, but the cellphone carriers need to realize that people cannot afford to pay for a data connection for every device, they need one plan that covers many devices, so your cellphone plan covers the data for your tablet...wirelessly, not by making your phone a WiFi hotspot, but because it wirelessly connects as a modem to your tablet. You can't really use both at the same time, so why not one data plan for both.
But, it doesn't end there. When you get home, you dock your tablet, though ideally, this too would be wireless, but that dock isn't just a connect to a keyboard. Your dock includes more, and might even have its own processor. It definitely needs a big monitor and a big hard drive...after all, it is part of your home entertainment system. You dock your tablet beside your 20"+ monitor and it becomes a second monitor on this larger system, and your phone is still your modem. It might even have a docking socket of its own.
This goes beyond networking. I am not talking about 3 devices that talk to each other, I am talking about three devices that act as one. With the possible exception of the large hard drive in the dock, you see the same thing on all the devices. They are hooked up to your TV, and when you go sit on the couch, you use either the phone or the tablet as the remote, because what you have on your TV is sort of running on the phone too.
At this point, I am up to four displays on this system, the phone, the tablet, the desktop monitor and the TV....and why not? Your phone doesn't control your TV, it is part of the same system. One display (TV) is showing the latest episode of True Blood, and another (phone) is showing the controls. Everything works together because there is only one computer.
That's my dream.
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Post-PC??? BS!!
Steve Jobs said some months ago that we were in the beginning of the Post-PC era. And of course, since Steve Jobs said it, the messiah of technology, it has been repeated over and over again by one Apple loving pundit after another. Well, it's all BS.
Steve Jobs is trying to sell iPads. He believes we are in the Post-PC era, because he wants us to believe it, and buy an iPad. The problem is that despite the millions of iPads sold, the device is still defined by what it doesn't do more than what is does do. The things it does, it does very well, and for many people that is enough, but there are so many things that it doesn't do.
And don't go thinking that Android on Tablets will solve the problems, because it won't. It has virtually all of the problems of the iPad, except that you can install the programs you want instead of the ones Apples thinks you should have.
So, why are you going to keep your PC for a while longer, despite the words of the Prophet Jobs?
- Keyboards
Yep, we still need to type more than 140 characters at a time...at least occasionally. Now, yes, you can dock your iPad or use a keyboard with your Android Tablet, but if you have to do that to be productive, then what is the point of a tablet? - Monitors
I don't know about you, but I am not giving up the 21" monitor on my desktop, or the 15" LCD on my portable for a 9.7" LCD. At least not for everything. That dinky LCD makes the tablet more portable, but when I sit down at home, I want size. Maybe I'm alone in that, but I don't think so. And yes, you can hook up a monitor to some of the tablet docks, but is that really the answer with the present state of tablets?
When one of these tablet docks will put my tablet directly beside my monitor so that I can use them together as a dual monitor set up, then we might have something. But, that also starts to sound a lot more like a PC. - Work
I don't know about your employer, but mine just bought new PCs and knowing the way my state agency goes, it will be years before we get to replace them, and I just have a hard time believing that they will be replaced with tablets...especially ones that don't have keyboards unless docked.
Employers don't want the majority of their employees running around with portables. At Dell you had to make a special case to get a portable, and basically prove that you would be using it on the move...often. Employers want their peons right where they can find them, and that means chained to their desks by means of their PCs.
To me, these three reasons are telling enough to show that the PC will be around for at least another 10 years. Will tablets keep selling? Undoubtedly. The small form factor will allow us to carry them, and the ease of use will continue to attract those who don't have the smarts or inclination to master the PC.
Windows 8 is showing the way. The PC, both Windows and Mac, must simplify, but Windows is trying to bridge the gap, not between tablets and PCs as some suggest, but between the simple interface of the smartphone/tablet, and the power of a PC. I could have added a fourth to the list above, content creation. Drawing, Photoshoping, writing, editing video, these and much more may be possible on the next generation of tablets (more likely two or three), but the small screen, and the need to use your finger are going to hinder precise tasks, and the lack of a keyboard already makes writing impossible. I could never have written this essay on a tablet.
So, let's get over this idea that the PC is on its way out. You and I both will be using PCs in one form or another for years to come. We may spent less time working at a desktop. We may replace our portables, or use them less often, but the PC will still be there.
And, I have not even touched on the argument that tablets are still PCs and still part of the same ecosystem, and therefore a tablet dominated world is still just a minor variation on the PC era.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)