Is it wrong for me to snicker a little when I read about the recent iOS 5 upgrade failures? Maybe. But, only a little wrong.
According to this article in the Washington Post, a number of Apple users have reported that when they tried to upgrade to iOS5, their phones and tablets have been wiped, gotten stuck in Recovery mode, or have just plain turned into useless hunks of plastic and circuits. Again, I snicker.
I have a BlackBerry. I love my BlackBerry (as I've said repeatedly). Never has my BlackBerry quit on me or worse during an upgrade. My BlackBerry is a rock.
And, to those BB users who are cursing over the outage caused by faulty hardware (it happens to the best of us), please grow up. Go to the iPhone if you want to. I guarantee you'll be back again for more BB action soon (I've seen that evolution plenty of times).
And, if you don't want to receive back messages at 3am, try turning your phone off. It's that big red button on your phone that I'm sure you use far too infrequently.
2011-10-10
Netflix changes direction...again
Netflix will not be splitting their DVD and streaming services in two after all. Smart.
According to this New York Times article, Netflix today reversed their decision to spin off their DVD service to the lame-named Qwikster.
I didn't comment about the original proposal when it was first announced, as it seemed every single Netflix user did on the Netflix blog, simply because I was waiting to see how long the proposal would last. As I predicted, not long.
Logic and sanity has prevailed, and everything on Netflix's site will remain the same. DVD queue, streaming queue, ridiculous rate hike - the whole deal.
Perhaps before they start trying to jettison their DVD service, they should nail down some new(er) movie and TV releases for the streaming service. That might actually make business sense.
According to this New York Times article, Netflix today reversed their decision to spin off their DVD service to the lame-named Qwikster.
I didn't comment about the original proposal when it was first announced, as it seemed every single Netflix user did on the Netflix blog, simply because I was waiting to see how long the proposal would last. As I predicted, not long.
Logic and sanity has prevailed, and everything on Netflix's site will remain the same. DVD queue, streaming queue, ridiculous rate hike - the whole deal.
Perhaps before they start trying to jettison their DVD service, they should nail down some new(er) movie and TV releases for the streaming service. That might actually make business sense.
2011-10-09
Farewell to Steve Jobs
Back at the beginning of last month, I commented on Steve Jobs's stepping down from his position as CEO of Apple in late August. I'm not sure anyone who was not a member of Jobs's inner circle could have imagined that less than two months later, we would hear the announcement that Jobs had died. I know I certainly didn't, even though I expressed concern for his health in that earlier post.
I think he removed himself from the public eye and returned again so many times that we just assumed he would continue this pattern for several more years to come - receding into the shadows, only to emerge again when Apple needed him most.
Steve Jobs passed away this past Wednesday, at age 56, but I've held off posting anything about his passing until now, due to the barrage of other coverage of this news. I thought today was a good time to throw my own thoughts out there, now that the media whirlwind over Jobs's passing has subsided, if only a bit.
I've never been a big fan of Apple products. That is a given, and a fact I've been quite upfront about to anyone who asks (and even some who don't), and this has been the case since the PC versus Mac war started long ago. With this in mind, however, I will say that it is not personal - I have no beef with the quality of the merchandise or Steve Jobs as a person. It's more the Mac devotees and their often hard line support of the products at any cost that bothers me. I also didn't approve of Jobs's handling of the dropped call issues with the iPhone or the wall that was put up between Apple and its computer users who reported that there was a virus running around on their systems. But, these are issues for another discussion.
I believe that Jobs always believed he was doing the right thing for Apple product users when he endlessly demanded the very best and beyond from his product developers. Those times when he rabidly defended the company against its critics, I believe he was fueled by a need to give nothing less than his all for the company he helped to build and then rebuild and reshape. No one will ever be able to say that Steve Jobs wasn't passionate about the company, the products, and the people he loved most.
I also believe that the loss of Steve Jobs is a loss of a particular genius in innovation. Steve Jobs refueled a lot of aspects of the computer and entertainment industry. However you may feel about Apple products, the innovation that Jobs poured into them has kept the other facets of the industry, from Microsoft to Google to Facebook to Amazon, honest and alert. None of these companies could take one moment to rest, because Steve Jobs and the Apple products would always be at the lead or nipping at their heels from behind.
Perhaps now the leaders of the industry can take a moment to pause and catch their breath, but I for one hope that they don't pause for too long, and I hope that Tim Cook is able to preserve Steve Jobs's need for product perfection and continued innovation. Otherwise, without Jobs, the computer industry may get lazy, and we will all suffer for it.
I think he removed himself from the public eye and returned again so many times that we just assumed he would continue this pattern for several more years to come - receding into the shadows, only to emerge again when Apple needed him most.
Steve Jobs passed away this past Wednesday, at age 56, but I've held off posting anything about his passing until now, due to the barrage of other coverage of this news. I thought today was a good time to throw my own thoughts out there, now that the media whirlwind over Jobs's passing has subsided, if only a bit.
I've never been a big fan of Apple products. That is a given, and a fact I've been quite upfront about to anyone who asks (and even some who don't), and this has been the case since the PC versus Mac war started long ago. With this in mind, however, I will say that it is not personal - I have no beef with the quality of the merchandise or Steve Jobs as a person. It's more the Mac devotees and their often hard line support of the products at any cost that bothers me. I also didn't approve of Jobs's handling of the dropped call issues with the iPhone or the wall that was put up between Apple and its computer users who reported that there was a virus running around on their systems. But, these are issues for another discussion.
I believe that Jobs always believed he was doing the right thing for Apple product users when he endlessly demanded the very best and beyond from his product developers. Those times when he rabidly defended the company against its critics, I believe he was fueled by a need to give nothing less than his all for the company he helped to build and then rebuild and reshape. No one will ever be able to say that Steve Jobs wasn't passionate about the company, the products, and the people he loved most.
I also believe that the loss of Steve Jobs is a loss of a particular genius in innovation. Steve Jobs refueled a lot of aspects of the computer and entertainment industry. However you may feel about Apple products, the innovation that Jobs poured into them has kept the other facets of the industry, from Microsoft to Google to Facebook to Amazon, honest and alert. None of these companies could take one moment to rest, because Steve Jobs and the Apple products would always be at the lead or nipping at their heels from behind.
Perhaps now the leaders of the industry can take a moment to pause and catch their breath, but I for one hope that they don't pause for too long, and I hope that Tim Cook is able to preserve Steve Jobs's need for product perfection and continued innovation. Otherwise, without Jobs, the computer industry may get lazy, and we will all suffer for it.
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