News and Analysis

So What’s Next For Apple?

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We here at the fan-to-pro group have a mailing list we discuss things on, including tweets, news, etc.  This came partially from my discussion on what’s next for Apple.

And namely, I’m not entirely sure – because it’s hard to know where anything goes next.

Look, Apple was successful.  They defined markets and products.  They defined designs.  They’re being imitated.  They’ve done well – but as we all know, there’s always the question of “what’s next” which is kind of hard when you’ve come as far as they have.

Except I think the question applies to a lot of technology companies.

Where does anyone go from here?

  • The norm is portable phones that are small computers.
  • The norm is tablets that are flat slates of computing power.
  • The norm is slick and powerful laptops.
  • The norm is portable music, portable books, portable video – portable everything.

So we’ve all got a lot of powerful stuff that does all sorts of things out of SF films and technophilic fantasies.  Hell, I’ll say we’re further along technically than I’d ever dreamed 10 years ago.  The problem is I’m not sure what’s next for any company.

Television?  Gaming consoles?  Being subsumed into other devices.  Social media is established.  Until we start implanting things it seems we’ve hit a great pinnacle of This Stuff Is Awesome.

So what’s next for Apple?  Hell, what’s next for any technology company?

For those of us who can figure it out it’s a fantastic career advantage, or a chance to even found a business.  It’s just we won’t always know when we’re right until it’s too late . . .

– Steven Savage

Steven Savage is a Geek 2.0 writer, speaker, blogger, and job coach.  He blogs on careers at http://www.fantopro.com/, nerd and geek culture at http://www.nerdcaliber.com/, and does a site of creative tools at http://www.seventhsanctum.com/. He can be reached at https://www.stevensavage.com/.

 

Digging In The Big Pile Of Predictions

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Bonnie brought something to my attention recently, a lovely blog post (http://www.kickerstudio.com/blog/2009/02/atts-you-will-ads-15-years-later/) on how an AT&T add over 15 years old predicted a lot of our current technologies.  It’s well worth a read because it will make you think.

As soon as I heard about the article I thought about other predictions that I’ve seen made over the years and indeed decades, and the predictions I’d made.  For instance I recall some two decades ago when I first saw electronic publishing for professional journals, predicted how that would be the future, and pretty much promptly forgot about it (and had one of my co-workers point it out).

It probably doesn’t take much for us to dig up all sorts of old attempts to predict the future, from fiction to sober analysis, from wild theories to drunken wisdom.  Looking at this AT&T add, looking at my own attempts, I’d like to propose something.

As we know predicting the future is helpful, as we know looking at trends is important.  For professional geeks like us it’s part of our careers as well.

So let me humbly suggest that we may want to look back on the huge heap of predictions in our past to see what we can learn.  If an AT&T ad relegated to obscurity can predict so much, what are we missing?

I don’t suggest this sarcastically or casually.  I myself learn a lot about the effect of internet technology by examining the effect of print and literacy on cultures centuries old.  I find at times that distance helps us predict easier, gives us clearer perspective, and gives us some separation from current events that may cloud our vision.

So what’s your favorite predictions of the past that surprised you?  Old ideas forgotten or not thought of for awhile?  What old lessons are new?

For me:

  1. I recall from reading a book on printing in China centuries ago that noted how language changed to fit printing – which reminds me a lot about how language change in the internet age. (the same reading also was insightful on how specialist skillets affect technology).
  2. Star Trek’s PADDs.  They were just iPads basically.  The resemblance is creepy, amusing, and insightful.  It also told us something about what we wanted, but it took the iPad to remind us we wanted it.

Now, when you look at these predictions, what do they tell you about the economy and your career . . .

– Steven Savage

Steven Savage is a Geek 2.0 writer, speaker, blogger, and job coach.  He blogs on careers at http://www.fantopro.com/, nerd and geek culture at http://www.nerdcaliber.com/, and does a site of creative tools at http://www.seventhsanctum.com/. He can be reached at https://www.stevensavage.com/.

Nintendo Versus Everyone

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Some of the new announcements of the Wii U make sense (video streaming), some are a bit odd (Yes, Bayonetta 2, because hey my Mom would love it), some are cool (I am digging the pseudo-tablet) and putting it all together paints a heady picture as the folks at Kotaku found out.

I look at the Wii U strategy and it seems to be focused on:

  • Being a media device much like the X-box has become.
  • Signing a lot of diverse and odd gaming titles.
  • Making up for lost time by having better internet integration.
  • Seriously pushing it’s unusual (and costly) controller.

That’s when I realized that Nintendo has become Sony and is throwing everything at the wall and seeing what sticks.  However they’re doing it in a more . . . precise  . . . manner than Sony.

The Wii U is going to be a media box – and a media box with an interesting peripheral.  The latter may not be the only sales point but considering the Wii’s rep this may be the media box that less-hardcore gamers purchase.  My mother was practically ready to buy a Wii, the Wii U is even more promising.

The Wii U introduces an odd extra control structure with the Pad – one reminiscent of iPad integration and Android Phone integration with other devices.  Nintendo is making a tighter device integration play, and if you don’t think the future DS is going to tie into this or evolve from this, you’re not paying attention.

Nintendo is making up for lost time with assorted internet and social media integration.  This plays well with the Nintendo reputation for accessibility, and connects with the media options.  They just took making up for lost time and took it farther.

So the Wii U is a giant load of everything – but a precise one at that.  I think it gives Nintendo a good market since it’s got a date, it’s got things people want, and it’s got a decent price range ($299-$350).

And it has the usual Nintendo trademark of Being Talked about.  Because I and others are doing it – they got our attention.  Again.

Sure, this will face competition in time, but for now I think Nintendo caught the news cycle, and they caught it with a nice piece of technology.  So game developers pay attention, and see what they do here because if they’re playing catch-up you might have a chance to be caught up .  . .

– Steven Savage

Steven Savage is a Geek 2.0 writer, speaker, blogger, and job coach.  He blogs on careers at http://www.fantopro.com/, nerd and geek culture at http://www.nerdcaliber.com/, and does a site of creative tools at http://www.seventhsanctum.com/. He can be reached at https://www.stevensavage.com/.