jamezmosley

Apple want to build a new campus in their US hometown of Cupertino, California. Being Apple they don’t want to build just any old building, they want to build the best office in the world. So who better to send to the local town planning meeting to present the plans than CEO Steve Jobs. An interesting point in his presentation is the assertion that by building their own power plant on-site they can generate electricty more cheaply and cleaner than using the grid. They plan to power the site from their own plant and use the grid as the backup power source.

The announcement of the tie-up between Nokia and Microsoft seemed a bit low key and it’s only today that’s I’ve taken a closer look at what the two companies have agreed to. Nokia has agreed to ditch it’s Symbian operating system on it’s smartphones and replace it with Windows Phone 7. This is big news on two fronts. Firstly it’s a big departure for Nokia and is evidence of a big change in the boardroom. Mainly though I see this as a big boost for Windows Phone and Microsoft’s big opportunity to claw back market share from Google and Apple. I’m a big fan of the iPhone, not because it’s the best device (it’s not) but because it’s iTunes based ecosystem is the most complete and easiest to use. Nokia and Microsoft recognise this and claim together they can deliver a superior product to Apple. Together they certainly have the ingredients. This could be a significant milestone on the evolution of mobile.

This week when packing for some winter sun I debated which pieces of tech to put in my case. The hotel website indicated each room had a CD player and so I trusted that in this day an age that would mean it also had a iPod connector. I was wrong, and there isn’t a CD player, instead each room has a Mac Mini connected to a flat screen TV with a wireless keyboard. Initially I was very impressed but now I’m wishing I’d packed my iPod docking station. There is some “shell” software installed on the Mini that allows you to play music from your iPod. Simply connecting it and using iTunes does not work, you can see and manage your music but you can’t play tracks stored on the device. This is a limitation of iTunes not the set-up in my hotel room. The software on the Mini will allow you to play from your iPod, except for some reason it does not work with my “Classic” which is a annoying as this is the one containing my entire music collection. It will work with my iPhone and Nano though and as I also packed the MacBook I’m able to transfer what I want onto one of these. However the bigger problem is the Mini is not authorised to play the music I’ve bought from iTunes which in my case is rather a lot of the stuff I want to listen to. It does give you the option to authorise the Mini which works fine but there is another problem. At midnight the unit reboots to remove any files I may have transferred to it. I haven’t so that’s not a problem, except that it also removes any record that I authorised it to play my iTunes music a few hours earlier. This means I can’t unauthorise it and therefore I’ve wasted one of my “iTunes lives”. Of course I could just unauthorise it before midnight but I’m on holiday which means by then I’ve had too much sun, drunk too much fizz and red wine and therefore can’t find the Mini let alone drive it! Nice piece of tech but next time I’ll pack the docking station.

Some of us may enjoy what we do for a living, some of us don’t. Some people love it, here’s one…

Apple have released their new MacBook Air and it’s a beautiful piece of design. I wouldn’t buy one because for a few hundred pounds more I could have the large screen and kick-ass performance of a 15 inch MacBook Pro but the Air is still gorgeous. But the real reason for this post was just an excuse to publish this amusing take on the Air’s price found via one of my favourite blogs on the internet.

Has Jenson Button just made his biggest career mistake so far? Let’s face it, he’s not got a great reputation in this regard. On face value his move to McLaren makes no sense. He’s just won the world championship with a team for who he has driven at for several years. They have the best team principle in the business, fantastic facilities and has just been bought by Mercedes who despite what they may say publicly about cost cutting are not going to penny pinch.

In place of Brawn / Mercedes Jenson has opted to join Lewis Hamilton’s team. Jenson is very fast and I’m sure on a good day with a perfectly balanced McLaren he is capable of beating Lewis in a straight fight. But how many days like that will he enjoy in a single season? Jenson is one of those drivers who when the car is in the sweet-spot is sublime, but when it’s not he struggles. Look at the 2nd half of this season and the relative performance of his team mate. Lewis on the other hand has a reputation for being able to drive a barge fast.

Of course the full truth of why Jenson opted to leave Brawn has not been made clear. I’m sure Mercedes were not keen to keep him. They want a German number one. Jenson as the world champion would be the focus of the press. If he wins back to back titles it will because of Jenson, if he loses in 2010 it will be because Mercedes took over Brawn. Whatever happens the year would be more about Jenson and less about the new German Mercedes team.

But Jenson had the option to stay (at least so we are told) so why jump ship now? Why not wait a year, see how Mercedes works out and take time to find the right berth for 2011. Webber’s seat at Red Bull is up and other good drives may become available. Jenson may have felt that there is a McLaren option now that won’t be around in a year’s time. The big risk he faces is Lewis beats him and cements his position as McLaren’s number 1. How valuable will Jenson be then in the driver market?

I hope I’m proved wrong, I really do, but I think Jenson has just triggered the decline of his career.

Smartphone’s and eBook readers have attracted a lot of press in recent weeks. The iPhone is now available on multiple providers in the UK, the previous exclusive provider (o2) is suggesting they will unlock phones at the end of their contact. O2 has responded to loosing the exclusive iPhone deal by grabbing one for the Palm Pre. In the US Verzion wireless is about to launch the Motorola Droid which some pundits believe could be the first real challenger to the iPhone. Personally I think the Palm Pre is pretty good but the iTunes ecosystem will keep Apple in the number one spot for a while yet. Oh, and just in case the Droid doesn’t cut it for Verizon the rumours are they will offer the iPhone in 2010 as well.

eBooks also seem to be gaining in popularity with Sony upgrading their models. Bookstore giant Barnes & Noble have announced their own device to tie-in to their online bookstore network (trying to do an iTunes with books) and of course Amazon who are trying to do the same as Barnes & Noble have released their Kindle outside of the US.

This is all very interesting but for me there is one rumoured new device that eclipses all these other announcements – Apple’s much anticipated tablet. This could be as big a game changer as the iPhone was to the smartphone market. Many press columns are commenting on rumours that Apple is working with content providers (book, magazine, newspaper and online publishers) to design “content” for their new device. Reading a newspaper is not an engaging experience on a Kindle, expect the Apple experience to be significantly better. But what excites me most about the Apple rumours are the patent filings that suggest they are looking make a step change in the user experience. They did it with the iPhone, sure everyone has copied Apple but when the iPhone first came out there was nothing on the market that came close to the UI experience, an experience we just expect today. Remember Tom Cruise in Minority Report manipulating documents and images on a glass wall….. I can’t wait for Apple’s tablet!

http://mashable.com/2009/11/12/apple-tablet-patent/

http://www.engadget.com/2008/08/29/apple-patent-filings-detail-touchscreen-tablet

Holiday reading

Having recently returned from holiday I thought I’d share what I was reading while laying by the pool.

The Long Tail -  Mandatory reading for anyone working with the internet and a great insight into how it has transformed our economy and culture. Those of you with a dislike for Stock, Aitkin & Waterman will understand why they existed and why we won’t have to endure them in the future.
Here comes everybody - another must read about how the internet and “web 2.0″ applications have made group action a world changing possibility. Read the book and join the revolution.
For Crying Out Loud – I love Clarkson’s books. He’s controversial, he lacks political correctness and sometimes he perhaps oversteps the mark but mostly he speaks common sense and is a very entertaining read. This book is less about the motor car and more about the general stupidity of many aspects of modern life. Don’t read if you are easily offended

So BMW’s Formula 1 exit seems to be shock, bombshell, surprise to the press. Not really sure why that is? It’s been clear for a while now that the cost of playing in F1 has got totally out of control and while the FIA’s (aka Max “mr spanky” mosley – NO RELATION) tactics to bring spending under control have been “questionable” there is no hiding the need for it to happen.

BMW does not need F1. I can say this with some authority because I drive a BMW and I can honestly say that their participation or success in F1 has no bearing on my purchase decisions. Fernando Alonso’s 2 world titles did not temp me to look at Renault, Kimi’s title did not influence my desire to own a Ferrari (I’ve wanted one since I learned to say “car”) and Hamilton’s world title has done nothing to persuade me that Mercedes is a brand you consider only when you retire.

I’m also engineering savvy enough to know that very little F1 tech means much for road cars today. The FIA and car companies can tell us (and shareholders) why it’s valuable but I’m not that gullible. Sure Renault’s pioneering of turbo’s brought sports car performance to the family hatchback and I’m sure engine management boffins have learnt a few things about performance versus fuel efficiency but semi-auto-paddle-shift gearboxes in road cars are awful and if I ever buy a car with a carbon fiber monocoque I’ll let you know how effective the crash protection is if I ever smash it into armco at 200 mph, but until then I’m not seeing much benefit.

So…Honda has gone. Toyota has sunk a tonne of money into not winning, has declared it’s first losses ever and quite frankly needs to get out of F1. Is anyone not going to buy a well priced, very reliable family car because their F1 team isn’t running around at the back of the field anymore?

The concorde agreement needs to be signed soon and that brings a 2012 commitment, time to cut loose I think. With Honda, BMW, Toyota gone why would Renault or Mercedes stay? Renault don’t compete with Merc, they have no other competition in F1  and the CEO is known not to like motor racing. I think they are on a sticky wicket.

Mercedes might stay, they perhaps need F1 to make the brand appeal to a younger generation and they are a big engine supplier. In fact engine tech is about the only area that F1 makes sense for road cars. Shame we have such a tight freeze on engine changes, without that perhaps the manufactures could go back to the model the worked so well for F1 in the 90′s. Just a thought…