Droid Still Does?

There has been a lot of talk about the iPhone’s arrival in Verizon stores and how it will be a game changer relative to Verizon’s investment in Android phones (via their “Droid Does” campaigns). But as Dan Lyons (of Fake Steve Jobs fame) openly questions, is iPhone too late to the Verizon game here?   A clear benefit of Android is its flexibilty and the ability for the user to have more control of the experince, while Apple’s iPhone is a very rigid and controlling experience, where Apple (or Steve Jobs) is almost dictating what the user wants and needs:

The iPhone is like omakase, the style of sushi where the chef chooses what you’re going to eat, and might even tell you how to eat it—no wasabi allowed on this, no soy sauce allowed on that. Definitely no California rolls.

That’s the way Apple has always been.  One of Apple’s big failures 15-20 years ago in the PC “wars” was the fact that it would not cede control over its licensing and distribution…and on that war, it got its ass kicked by Microsoft from a market share perspective (Yes, Apple’s products are more profitable per user but that’s a story for anther post).  We’re actualy seeing signs of this scenario repeat itself with Android surpassing iOS in terms of installed devices and market share .

The game is much different now with Applications, Mobile, Social Networks and, most importantly, the clear shift of power and conversation to the customer through the Internet and self publishing tools.  You could argue that Apple’s “rigid” approach is a metaphor for the old school marketing approach, where the “brand” talked to the customer as opposed to talking with the customer.

No doubt that Android has its flaws, while Apple has some amazing features and benefits.  And there is no way to avoid the fact of their recent success and valuation in the marketplace. But to me, it will be very interesting to see if people will be willing to let Apple dictate the experience so rigidly with something so personal as your personal mobile device.  Combine this with Apple’s recent announcement that they will be taking 30% of all subscription revenues and its impact on publishers’ iOS content and service offerings, and you really have to step back and wonder how this will all play out

Jefferson’s Library Books

A significant collection of Thomas Jefferson’s library has been discovered at Washington University of St. Louis Library.

Those books were dispersed after Jefferson’s heirs reluctantly decided to sell them at auction in 1829 to pay off Jefferson’s debts; auction catalogs survive, but not a record of who bought the books. The retirement collection is the least known of Jefferson’s libraries and one in which classics were represented in disproportionately greater numbers than politics and the law. He cataloged all 1,600 books according to “the faculties of the human mind,” like memory, reason and imagination, and then classified them further. Many were in French or Italian.

“Currently Monticello and the University of Virginia have the largest concentrations of books from the retirement library,” said Kevin J. Hayes, an English professor at the University of Central Oklahoma and the author of “The Road to Monticello: The Life and Mind of Thomas Jefferson.” “This new find would put Washington University among them. The question I would like to answer is: Do they contain any marginalia? Sometimes Jefferson wrote in his books; his marginalia would enhance both the scholarly and the cultural value of the books immeasurably.”

A total of about 28 titles in 74 volumes were found in the library.  Not to be snarky, but isn’t the role of the library to catalog and know what books are in their collection?  A great find but kinda surprising that they have never been discovered until now.  Just makes you wonder what other hidden treasures are out there in plain sight?

I was down at Monticello back in November with my family. The existing collection of books in the home’s library was pretty amazing and really reinforced Jefferson’s obsession with books, reading and learning.  I look forward to hearing what interesting insights and details are discovered after researchers have had the chance to look through the collection

via NYTimes.com

Have A Coke And A Smile

The folks at This American Life appear to have stumbled upon the original recipe for Coca Cola. What I want to know is their motivation and resources to dig up the original 1979 article from the Atlanta Journal Constitution that they used as the basis for the story.

Who knows how legit this is. Of course, Coke is denying everything and saying its not the “go to market” formula for the iconic soft drink.

iPad Playbooks in the NFL

CNET reported over the weekend that NFL teams like the Dallas Cowboys are considering replacing the “traditional” paper playbooks and the massive index cards coaches use to call plays with iPads or similar digital tablets.

In a lot of ways, this is exactly what tablets are meant for: easy access to data via wireless networks, high-quality photos, and portability. And from a coach’s or player’s perspective, imagine being able to quickly sort through a large set of plays, look at them in a stylish graphical presentation, see animations of them in action, and more–or to download a photo of the last play seconds later.

From a geek perspective, I think this is a super cool idea and could really be beneficial to teams – consider when they need to look up plays quickly, or check out a photo of a formation the opposition just ran. I think the hang up is that athletes and coaches are supremely superstitious animals. They like their routines, they find comfort in knowing their system so they don’t have to worry about anything else other than the game and its elements. I think there is a place for tablets on the NFL sideline, and other pro sports sidelines for that matter, but I think its going to be a bigger U/X transition than is anticipated. And thats saying nothing about the security issues that need to be factored in and managed.

via CNET News