Dubinsky Pens a Good Luck Letter to Palm
Donna Dubinsky, the former CEO and co-founder of Palm and Handspring, (now CEO of Numenta) has published an opinion article in the Silicon Valley paper, Mercury News. The piece entitled: The seven lives of Palm computing gives a good history lesson on the many corporate transfers and maneuvers over the course of its nearly 20 year lifetime and wishes the firm well with its new stewards. Dubinsky also gives a good overview of many of Palm Inc.'s accomplishments with a nod to Palm's product culture.
A great product culture requires an ability to reject conventional wisdom. Time and time again, Palm thought deeply about the right trade-offs for users. When Palm created the Palm V, for example, it made the battery not removable to create a thinner and more beautiful product, a highly controversial decision at the time. The product was wildly successful.
A great product culture also tolerates failure. Palm always developed both evolutionary products — safe products with additional features sought by customers — and revolutionary products, riskier products that might require a few iterations before success. It took three generations of the Treo to create a huge hit.
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RE: Quotes
By Scott Anthony - Go back and look at what happened to CD sales from 1996 to 2001. Or check out newspaper company revenues from 1996 to 2005. Or Kodak's film sales during the 1990s. Or Blockbuster's revenues in the early part of the 2000s. Or Digital Equipment Corporation's revenues in the 1980s. And on and on and on. In the early days of transformation, market leaders tend not to feel deep pain. The transformation takes root away from the mainstream, or in a seemingly non-connected market. It's not yet good enough for mainstream markets. Or, the overall increase in consumption acts as a "rising tide" that lifts the boats in the mainstream market. This makes it easy for executives to say, "I get what you are talking about. But my business is healthy! It's all overblown." It's only after the not-good-enough transformation gets better that a "Big Switch" begins. And when that magic tipping point hits, the switch accelerates rapidly. The lesson for executives is that it's important to look beyond revenue or basic market share data to determine whether or not a would-be disruption is a legitimate threat. If the U.S. Postal Service had measured its market share of "pieces of communication" (which, it very well might have) it would have noticed sharp share declines even as its revenue was increasing. Similarly, while Digital Equipment Corp. might have felt great that its revenues went up from $3 billion to $11 billion during the 1980s, that growth paled in comparison to the explosive growth in the personal computer market.
"Success is a lousy teacher. It seduces smart people into thinking they can't lose." - Bill Gates
"Death can come swiftly to a market leader. By the time you have lost the positive-feedback cycle it's often too late to change what you've been doing, and all of the elements of a negative spiral come into play." - Bill Gates, "The Road Ahead", Chapter 3
"In this business, by the time you realize you're in trouble, it's too late to save yourself. Unless you're running scared all the time, you're gone." - Bill Gates
RE: Quotes
Last week saw the launch of the first phone based on Google's open-source Android platform. But Mr Ballmer said an open-source solution would not be attractive to phone manufacturers, and predicted that Windows Mobile phones would stay ahead of Blackberry, Apple's iPhone and Google Android in the smartphone market. "You've got to remember Android is version one....and it looks like version one," he said. "They've got one handset maker, we've got 55. They're available through one operator, we've got 175."
"There will always be a company that replaces you. At some point your BlackSwan competitor will appear and they will kick your ass. Their product will be better or more interesting or just better marketed than yours, and it also will be free. They will be Facebook to your Myspace, or Myspace to your Friendster or Google to your Yahoo. You get the point. Someone out there with a better idea will raise a bunch of money, give it away for free, build scale and charge less to reach the audience. Or will be differentiated enough, and important enough to the audience to maybe even charge more. Who knows. But they will kick your ass and you will be in trouble." – Mark Cuban
RE: Quotes
Know what you don't know.
RE: Quotes
Wet moats were problematic as they tended to saturate the soil under castle walls and destabilize them.
Even a dried up moat is still a moat, and has its own uses.
(And yes, I read too much history.)
--
PalmPilot Pro (1997) -> III (1998) -> Vx (1999) -> m500 (2001) -> m515 (2002) -> Tx (2007) -> HTC Aria
RE: Quotes
I just learned today that Nokia has killed Maemo. They should have done that after my review of the 770, over two years ago. After all the effort they put into it, it was still a circa-1990s piece of crap. They've closed their NYC store. While Apple has created two new ones.
Microsoft is rife with politics, everyone jockeying to be next in line after Ballmer is fired or drops dead of a screaming-induced heart attack. Everyone there is concerned about their corporate position -- not creating products. They are poisoning themselves. Even after *Bill Gates himself* wrote a scathing email about how bad some of MS's software was, things never changed for the better. And now they never will.
RE: Quotes
Moats are temporary. They eventually dry up. And when they do exist they are already priced in.
Oh really? Then why does Coca-Cola sell more sugar water than value brands that come in 3 liter jugs? Why does P&G sell the most scented detergent? Why do people buy Tylenol over the generic Acetaminophen that costs half the price?
Yes, moats are priced in. Apple has a market cap second to Exxon-Mobil.
RE: Quotes
predicting winners is a fool's game. especially in the fast changing world of technology.
today's winners are often tomorrow's losers. and sometimes vice versa. what looks so obviously right today ends up being so obviously wrong in the future.
someday when you are older you'll be humbled by the sudden realization and rude awakening that you really don't know it all and you're not as bright as you thought you were.
RE: Quotes
Citing market cap as a measure of anything -- especially with the sham accounting of companies like Enron -- is sheer desperation.
Someday Apple will fall too. Just like Nokia. Just like Sony.
But for now, this:
Preview the New MobileMe Calendar Beta
http://www.apple.com/mobileme/news/2010/07/preview-the-new-mobileme-calendar-beta.html
If I *have* to use a frikkin Cloud Calendar, I'd trust mobile.me over Google any damned day.
RE: Quotes
Microsoft is BURNT toast
Amid layoffs, Microsofties reveal further turmoil in Redmond
http://blog.seattlepi.com/microsoft/archives/213808.asp
NOW do you see why HP bought webOS? You don't think HP has had *firsthand* knowledge of how screwed-up MS has been and continues to be? How many times has HP requested something for its customers and MS not delivered? How many times has HP encountered bugs and requested fixes and been ignored by MS? While at the same time MS demands price-gouging fees and exclusivity.
This is the environment Bill Gates has built. It is totally austistic and inward-looking, just like him. It's a perfect reflection of his mental map.
Microsoft is not toast.
Microsoft is BURNT toast.
There is no Steve Jobs with taste and expertise and vision to swoop in and save it.
RE: Microsoft is BURNT toast
RE: Microsoft is BURNT toast
http://www.droidforums.net/gallery/data/513/android_eating_apple.jpg
(i do kinda like that little droid though ;)
Gary
Tech Center Labs
www.talestuff.com
www.iTalentProductions.com
RE: Microsoft is BURNT toast
http://mikecane.tumblr.com/post/781682971/in-new-york-city-everything-turns-into-art
RE: Microsoft is BURNT toast
www.phandroid.com / www.androidforums.com
Pilot 1000->Pilot 5000->PalmPilot Pro->IIIe->Vx->m505->T|T->T|T2->T|C->T|T3->T|T5->Zodiac 2->TX->Verizon Treo 700P->Verizon Treo 755p->Verizon Moto Droid + Verizon Palm Centro
RE: Microsoft is BURNT toast
Sharp Wizard->Palm IIIx->Casio EM-500->Dell Axim x5->Sprint Mogul->Sprint Palm Pre->prodigal son trying to find his way home
RE: Microsoft is BURNT toast
http://www.androidpolice.com/
http://www.goodandevo.net/
Sharp Wizard->Palm IIIx->Casio EM-500->Dell Axim x5->Sprint Mogul->Sprint Treo Pro->Sprint Palm Pre->Sprint EVO
RE: Microsoft is BURNT toast
http://www.italentproductions.com/android.html
Tech Center Labs
www.talestuff.com
www.iTalentProductions.com
RE: Microsoft is BURNT toast
Have a nice day!
Pilot 1000->Pilot 5000->Pilot Pro->IIIe->IIIc->M500->M505->M515->TC->T3->T5->Treo 650P->Treo 700P->Droid>Pre Plus
RE: Microsoft is BURNT toast
BTW, I now need some Android advice. Need a site or two or three that lists the *best* software for Android. Especially need info on PDF (eBook software I know all about). Is there software for handling photos (aside from the crappy Google software)? Any blogging clients (aside from WordPress, which I know about)?
RE: Microsoft is BURNT toast
Con - were you looking for something like this to play your Dr. Who episodes?
http://androidcommunity.com/rockplayerbase-player-avi-mkv-divx-and-rmvb-for-android-20100615/
RE: Microsoft is BURNT toast
Wasn't this brought up before? Two people tested it on an Archos 5 It and said it was too buggy. And Doctor Who is over until Xmas.
Still, I'll bookmark this. And have asked someone else to try it on a different Android device.
Now WTF about PDF? And Twitter? And a blogging client? And photos?
RE: Microsoft is BURNT toast
Adobe has had a native Android PDF viewer out for, oh, 2 months or so now. However, that's not necessary b/c on the Motorola & HTC models that I am familiar with, QuickOffice is bundled for doc & PDF viewing. I also purchased Docs to Go Pro for my Droid and can use that as well. It's kinda ironic to see such "agreeable" pricing from Dataviz after YEARS of them sticking it to WinMob & Palm OS users for overpriced registrations, pointless upgrades, and draconian "download protection" schemes.
The official Twitter Android app has also been available for months (via the Market, so Archos Android users are kinda/sorta SOL):
http://blog.twitter.com/2010/04/twitter-for-android-robots-like-to.html
There are numerous other unofficial solutions available.
Blogging client, I'm not aware of. I have no need for that kind of stuff on a smartphone.
However, for photo editing here's a decent list:
http://mashable.com/2010/05/16/android-photo-apps/
(though FxCamera is the only on there that I've tried)
For photo viewing, any of the HTC Sense devices have a great gallery app bundled. In fact, every device I've seen short of the Moto Droid handles photo viewing without a hitch. Despite my best efforts, my Droid chokes on anything more than 100 or so thumbnails. It's the fault of the shitty Cooliris Gallery app in 2.1 Not only is it slower than molasses in winter, it downgrades the photos to 16-bit color depth. And it doesn't show recently-taken pictures for several hours unless you "trick" it. And it frequently locks up or fails to display more than a handful of photos. The original Android 2.0.1 barebones viewer was awesome, fast, and was totally sufficient. I'm hoping this is fixed in FroYo (2.2) SOON. If not, I'm going to be really pissed.
Any other Android recommendations you need?
Pilot 1000->Pilot 5000->PalmPilot Pro->IIIe->Vx->m505->T|T->T|T2->T|C->T|T3->T|T5->Zodiac 2->TX->Verizon Treo 700P->Verizon Treo 755p->Verizon Moto Droid + Verizon Palm Centro
RE: Microsoft is BURNT toast
Have a nice day!
Pilot 1000->Pilot 5000->Pilot Pro->IIIe->IIIc->M500->M505->M515->TC->T3->T5->Treo 650P->Treo 700P->Droid>Pre Plus
RE: Microsoft is BURNT toast
I'd forgotten Adobe dared to do PDF for Android. It's probably Teh Suck. Any others?
Gekko, showing his prowess with that EVO keyboard, punts.
RE: Microsoft is BURNT toast
Note my comment early in my response that mentions having specific access to the Android Market....something the Archos tablets do not officially have as of this writing, AFAIK.
I am sure you could scrape up an .apk file from *somewhere*, of course
Also, I would like to humbly point out that the only worthwhile implementation of Android right now is on SMARTPHONES. The current crop of "barely beta" Android-based tablets & netbooks leaves much to be desired. In fact, I'd even say that ANYTHING running Android 1.x is an obsolete stone-age relic from the graveyard Gekko just mentioned. Android 2.2 is the ONLY worthwhile place to be at this point in time, from a speed/stability/bugfix standpoint. And it (FroYo) still leaves MUCH to be desired as far as the telephony stack, PIMs, stock apps, non-Gmail email, UI etc.
Pilot 1000->Pilot 5000->PalmPilot Pro->IIIe->Vx->m505->T|T->T|T2->T|C->T|T3->T|T5->Zodiac 2->TX->Verizon Treo 700P->Verizon Treo 755p->Verizon Moto Droid + Verizon Palm Centro
RE: Microsoft is BURNT toast
RE: Microsoft is BURNT toast
If there are any feature-laden, non-phone Android 2.x (non-beta, non-hacked) tablets out there currently shipping, please let me know of their existence!
Pilot 1000->Pilot 5000->PalmPilot Pro->IIIe->Vx->m505->T|T->T|T2->T|C->T|T3->T|T5->Zodiac 2->TX->Verizon Treo 700P->Verizon Treo 755p->Verizon Moto Droid + Verizon Palm Centro
RE: Microsoft is BURNT toast
In the meantime, you Android fanboiz can go have a drool over the impractical wet dreams of another fanboi:
http://designfabulous.blogspot.com/2010/07/htc-1.html
Funky website. Click on an image to get ALL the images.
RE: Microsoft is BURNT toast
Out Of Nowhere, The iPad Has A Real Competitor
http://ipadtest.wordpress.com/2010/07/12/out-of-nowhere-the-ipad-has-a-real-competitor/
RE: Microsoft is BURNT toast
Have a nice day!
Pilot 1000->Pilot 5000->Pilot Pro->IIIe->IIIc->M500->M505->M515->TC->T3->T5->Treo 650P->Treo 700P->Droid>Pre Plus
RE: Microsoft is BURNT toast
RE: Microsoft is BURNT toast
The greater issue is the proximity sensor bug!
RE: Microsoft is BURNT toast
As for the prox sensor, I've still seen no admission of that.
And some people are still squawking about battery life too.
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Quotes
"Sooner or later, something fundamental in your business world will change." – Andrew Grove
"A strategic inflection point is a time in the life of a business when its fundamentals are about to change. That change can mean an opportunity to rise to new heights. But it may just as likely signal the beginning of the end. Strategic inflection points can be caused by technological change but they are more than technological change. They can be caused by competitors but they are more than just competition. They are full-scale changes in the way business is conducted, so that simply adopting new technology or fighting the competition as you used to may be insufficient. They build up force so insidiously that you may have a hard time even putting a finger on what has changed, yet you know that something has. Let's not mince words: A strategic inflection point can be deadly when unattended to. Companies that begin a decline as a result of its changes rarely recover their previous greatness. But strategic inflection points do not always lead to disaster. When the way business is being conducted changes, it creates opportunities for players who are adept at operating in the new way. This can apply to newcomers or to incumbents, for whom a strategic inflection point may mean an opportunity for a new period of growth." - Andy Grove