How long does it last?
How long does it last?
What is it with men? They seem obsessed with mobile phone battery life.
Hardly a week goes by without some guy in a lift ogling my iPhone 4 and chirping, “are you happy with it?” and then usually before I can barely finish grinning like a kid on Christmas day, the second chirp is hurled, “I heard the battery life is bad. How long do you last?”
That’s like asking how far your credit card goes. It depends how many times you swipe it, and for how much. Come on guys, this is basic arithmetic and logic.
When I answer, “well, about 24 hours, depends how much I use it”, I usually get a pitiful look, as if to say, “shame you poor man, mine lasts 3 days”. Why on earth would I want my phone battery to last that long?
Here’s the rub dudes - we’re living in a modern city, there are power sockets just about every 10 paces - we’re not living in the middle of the Kalahari! Plug in, recharge, it’s not so bad. And if you can’t bare to be without your phone while it’s charging, do it while you sleep.
And no, women never ask this question.
Mobile web stats in South Africa
The numbers:
42m mobile subscribers.
31m web-enabled phones.
15m people browsing the mobile web.
That’s a big audience. And huge potential too.
Are you a Maven?
Someone CC’d me on an email a few weeks ago where they were introducing me to an acquaintence. He said I was a maven. A what, I thought?
Wikipedia says: “A maven (also mavin) is a trusted expert in a particular field, who seeks to pass knowledge on to others. The word maven comes from the Hebrew, via Yiddish, and means one who understands, based on an accumulation of knowledge.”
Oh! Nice. Actually I had come across the term in Malcolm Gladwell’s book, The Tipping Point, but somehow I’d lost its full meaning: I’d stopped at the “trusted expert” bit, and completely forgotten about the “passing knowledge on” bit.
This has really got me thinking: what am I passing on, and to whom?
And with my business hat on - am I passing it on with or without a fee? Am I passing on too much? Too little?
Which bits of knowledge do you pass on freely, and which bits are worth charging for?
If you don’t charge for it, it probably won’t be valued. Worst of all, if I don’t charge for it, I won’t value it, and then I’ll just give it away, and the recipient probably won’t value it as much (as if they had paid for it). It’s a fine balance between the two options.
You’re an expert in something - maybe many things. Are you a trusted expert? How do you develop that trust? And lastly, on what basis do you pass on your expertise?
Google's Profit Up 37 Percent In 1Q As Revenue Hits $5 Billion
Hardly a week goes by without me having to explain to some (usually well-educated) business person just exactly how Google makes money!
Seriously folks, these guys think Google is a weird internet fad thingy that still “doesn’t make any money, because I have never paid them”, or sometimes I get the, “I know Google sells ads, but I never click on them, so I am sure no-one else does” line.
Dammit folks, it no-one else did, where do you think they generated revenue that climbed 23 percent to 6.78 billion dollars!?
Come on guys it’s 2010 already, wakey wakey.
Source: The Huffington Post
Africa will soon be awash with bandwidth
Take a look at the thickness of the lines. The thin black line is the SAT3 undersea cable that South Africa has been reliant on for years. See how it’s dwarfed by the capacity of the new cables. Nice, nice, nice.
I have always maintained, that there are 3 things in life that there’s never enough of (or said another way - you’ll use all you get): money, parmesan cheese and bandwidth.
The WACS cable makes the funky new Seacom cable look skinny! Bring it on.
Source: manypossibilities.net
My 10 Crazy Apple iSlate Predictions (Take 2)
A few weeks ago I published my 10 Crazy Apple iSlate Predictions
Well, 12 hours ago it launched. This is how I faired:
1. It actually exists.
Yes, bingo.
2. It runs both Mac apps and iPhone apps.
Well… does iWork count as half a point? OK, no.
3. It’s waterproof. Yep, reading in the bath is a reality.
OK, I was out on a limb here. However, I bet you some accessory manufacurer will ship a waterproof cover before the year is out.
4. You can download and read any e-zine in full colour, unlike the Kindle, etc. (Think the whole Apple ecosytem strategy here, folks. Remember, iPod plus iTunes, iPhone plus apps. Now it’ll be iSlate plus books, movies, magazines, presentations.)
Yes, bingo.
5. It does voice calls, like a phone.
OK, Apple is not all together clear on this. The 3G version has a SIM card, plus the device has speakers and a microphone, so I am guessing calls are a go… but they don’t explicitely say so. Let’s be safe and say it’s data only. So it’s a no then. Second thoughts - if you use the Skype app or Google Voice you can score a yes ;-)
6. It’s also a TV.
Well, kinda. Using the adapter accessory or H.264. Half a point.
7. It can run with or without a SIM card.
Yes, bingo.
8. You can connect it to an external monitor or data projector.
Yes, bingo.
9. It has awesome sound quality for watching movies.
Yes, bingo.
10. It will be seen as both a business tool and a tool for students (think iTunesU).
Yes, bingo.
11. Bonus point: It’s not actually called the iSlate.
Yes, bingo. iPad it is.
Oh, and off course all the obvious things like wifi, 3G+, multi-touch, OLED screens, etc, etc.
Bingo, bingo, bingo.
My list of predictions is not based on science, research or even insider knowledge (of which I have none). It’s based on some wild imaginings I have been having about this mystical device.
I wonder what my prediction score will be, out of 11?
I tally 7 and a half out of 11, if you count my half point.
My 10 Crazy Apple iSlate Predictions
My 10 Crazy Apple iSlate Predictions
1. It actually exists.
2. It runs both Mac apps and iPhone apps.
3. It’s waterproof. Yep, reading in the bath is a reality.
4. You can download and read any e-zine in full colour, unlike the Kindle, etc. (Think the whole Apple ecosytem strategy here, folks. Remember, iPod plus iTunes, iPhone plus apps. Now it’ll be iSlate plus books, movies, magazines, presentations.)
5. It does voice calls, like a phone.
6. It’s also a TV.
7. It can run with or without a SIM card.
8. You can connect it to an external monitor or data projector.
9. It has awesome sound quality for watching movies.
10. It will be seen as both a business tool and a tool for students (think iTunesU).
11. Bonus point: It’s not actually called the iSlate.
Oh, and off course all the obvious things like wifi, 3G+, multi-touch, OLED screens, etc, etc.
My list of predictions is not based on science, research or even insider knowledge (of which I have none). It’s based on some wild imaginings I have been having about this mystical device.
I wonder what my prediction score will be, out of 11?
Deal in Microsoft-EU browser war
“Microsoft reaches agreement with European Union anti-trust regulators to allow European users a choice of browsers.” So says this BBC article.
OK, guys, enough already! Honestly, does it really matter who wins any more? Browser wars, shmowser wars. It’s not like you can’t download any browser you want. Usually for free too - except Opera! Ironic how they are one of the challengers in this case.
On the Windows platform there must be a dozen browsers to choose from. On Mac maybe 3, on Linux maybe 3 or 4. Yeah I know Microsoft was a bit of a bully 10 years ago about all this, but now browser democracy has meant people pick the one they want. It’s over folks, nothing to see here, move along mow.
By the way, did you hear about some EU policy-maker who insisted Microsoft ship Windows 7 without Internet Explorer at all? Picture the scene: Fritz buys Windows 7, rushes home to install it. He can’t wait to hop on the net to download his preferred browser of choice, so he fires up the browser… er… wait, there isn’t one. Tricky, huh?!
Cool iPhone Accessory
Whilst buying a new iPod the other day at an Apple dealership**, I discovered a cool iPhone stand. Griffin’s website describes it as: an “Acoustic Amplifier for iPhone”
Actually, I was looking for a dock for easy drop-in-yank-out charging. But the AirCurve won me over - not only is it a beautifully designed stand, it has a surprising function: an acoustic amplifier. It never needs batteries or adapters.
It’s got an engineered waveguide ”horn’ that collects the sound from the iPhone’s somewhat tinny speaker, and amplifies it by about 10 decibels and projects it into the room. I wouldn’t call it hi-fi, but it’s pretty acceptable. (And looks stunning)
** Disclosure: one of our clients
OK, let’s Twitter your weight. Feel better?
Some tech things I just don’t get. Like this very cool bathroom scale.
It’s beautifully designed, it’s digital, has built-in wi-fi so it can send your weight to your router and upload it to a secure online weight tracking service. That all sounds perfect for geeks like me who like to track things.
But their latest new feature just has me wondering: Tweet your weight. I mean, really, who would want this? Is this just tech for tech’s sake?
Picture the scene: Woman walks into bathroom, sees the scale and avoids stepping on it in case she’s picked up weight. Scale fail. Or she steps on it because she’s feeling confident that she’s lost some and waits for the reading… eeek… she’s 1kg up… quick take the batteries out of the scale… unplug the router… unplug the internet… switch off the power… a mad scramble as the faithful device delivers the message to the whole world via Twitter.
Here’s a sample Tweet: http://twitter.com/Withings/status/5563892617
Their website: Withings - Withings - The WiFi Scale
Source: withings.com
The realtime web is here, now.
At just after 5pm I tweeted this tweet:
Twitter / Steve Mathew: Google Chrome OS To Launch
At 5:19pm a Google Alert (http://www.google.com/alerts) pops up in my inbox alerting me to my tweet.
No big deal? OK, get this: This means that in the 18 minutes in between, Google indexed my Twitter account (and all 79 million other Twitter feeds) found something new; indexed it into their search DB (try searching for this - it’s there!); then their Google Alerts service picked up the new entry in the Google search DB; scanned the list of alerts I and others have; found a match on “steve mathew” and fired an email message to me!
All this in less time it could take you to 
make a good cappuccino and drink it. And while it was doing this for me, it was doing it for millions of other folks too.
Did I mention, none of that cost me a cent?
Source: twitter.com
Cafe World game hits 10 million users in just a week
Amazingly they’re up to 15 million already - the fastest growing game ever. (Confession, I haven’t yet played it, and probably wont’.) But just because I don’t play games on Facebook, doesn’t mean half the FB universe doesn’t!
Seems like these guys look set to make $200m in revenue this year. The game designer, Zynga, employ over 500 people. Yes folks, games are big business.
Zynga’s Cafe World game hits 10 million users in just a week | VentureBeat
Source: venturebeat.com
Coffee, Pinotage? Coffee Pinotage!
This post may read like a product endorsement. It is.
Tonight some kind person thrust a glass of Barista Pinotage into my hand. I put up little resistance (read: begged). My first glass of the night was, red, unknown. Not bad, but blurred into the mental archives labelled: unmemorable. This 2nd glass of Pinotage though was, well, blog-worthy.
If you’ve not had the pleasure of sampling a Diemersfontein Pinotage you’ve still got some wine sampling to do. The first time I had a glass (or 3) of this much fabled “coffee” wine was a cold winter’s evening at a good friend’s house and a slab of Lindt 80%. If the thought of eating (dark) chocolate with wine doesn’t grab you, I’m not surprised. I was blown away. Those deep chocolate flavours in that Pinotage are teased out by the Lindt. The wine snobs seem to pooh-pooh the idea - and I have previously fought back (see comments)
Meanwhile, back to the Barista Pinotage I had tonight. Apparently it was hand-crafted by the same wine-maker, Bertus “Starbucks” Fourie, who cooked up the original coffee Diemersfontein Pinotage. And boy has he upped his game (IMHO). It’s a rich, strong flavourful blend with a delicious chocolate aroma and after-taste. Judging by my “Platteresque” poetic post, the alcohol levels were on the high side too. Yum.
10 Reasons to love Google Wave
article by Steve Mathew
There’s so much hype over Google Wave and now some critism is also starting to surface. So a colleague (and fellow Google Wave fan) and I compiled a quick list of 10 things to be happy about Google Wave.
1. It’s actually “live”
2. It’s free
3. It’s Google
4. I have an account :-)
5. It’s html 5
6. It’s XMPP
7. It’s realtime - all info is updated to the second (character by character, as you type)
8. It works like a conversation - structured or unstructured
9. Docs can be shared - in fact almost anything can be shared
10. Works on iPhone and Android
11. Nothing to “install” - it’s in the cloud so just grab a browser wherever you are
Wait, that’s 11! OK, 1 more: potentially works offline because of Google Gears
So folks, back off, this thing is only 2 weeks old. It’s new tech and it has warts and all. Nobody promised it will be perfect on launch day. In fact, they launched it to get input on how to perfect it. See that big BETA sticker? So relax, settle down kids, no-one’s going to get hurt here.
I wonder how many nay-saying commentators on the side of the field have actually shipped code that scales to millions of users?
“Given enough coffee, I could rule the world.”
I spotted this quote on the side of a coffee machine at a client’s office. Actually I’ve seen it often over the last few years of going there. Which got me thinking: it’s a good quote, works for the brand of coffee and even has humour. Heck, the idea even resonates with me, especially after a few strong cups!
So why was it bothering me last week when I saw it again? I think it has something to do with brand laziness.
Someone at the agency or the coffee company liked it for it’s humour and signed it off. But unlike a good timeless wise quotatation - humour, especially when you see it daily and extended over a 2 year period just isn’t funny anymore. Would it have been better to use a timeless quote, or to skip the humour, or to skip the quote altogether?
But the designer (or the client) would have insisted on “putting something” on the side of the machine. So it’s either some squiggles, or a logo, or a stock photo of a happy couple drinking coffee. Or a quote :-)
You can see how the brand laziness creeps in right from the get-go. Then it dates. And changing it is costly. And it dates some more. And if you leave it up long enough, eventually it’s like wallpaper, not noticed. Perfect, no complaints.
What would Apple put on the side of an iCoffee machine?
Yes, I thought so too.
