It was a truly black Friday for Microsoft last week. As in devoid of the light from Surface screens.
Over at Fortune 2.0, Philip Elmer-DeWitt reports Apple sold 11 iPads per hour versus zero Microsoft Surface tablets at the Mall of America in Minneapolis.
Microsoft continues to show its DNA as a company knowing how to sell to businesses, not to people.
Then again, it seems even that business edge is fading.
Influencer: VW Beetle ad, 1960 by Doyle Dane Bernbach
Influenced: Toyota Land Cruiser ad, 1970
Land Cruiser ad via Le Container
Brilliant Ted Talk by professional skateboarder Rodney Mullen on how context shapes content.
via 37Signals
I just downloaded and started playing around with the new Nokia Maps application, Here, for iOS (via Jim Darymple).
I can’t yet vouch for how much better or worse the accuracy of the maps data is compared to Apple’s own Maps app, but on sheer software quality alone there’s a world of difference. What I mean is Here feels like crap. Transitions are choppy, the color palette is cold (blue and grey?) and almost every time I tap to zoom in a level of detail all the tiles flicker while they re-render. Weird.
The experience seems to be consistently jerky on both my iPhone 4 and my iPad 2. If I didn’t know better I might attribute the choppy behavior to hardware deficiency, but since I’ve been using the native, iOS Maps app for over a month now, I know this can’t be the reason. Just compare the difference in Human Experience between the two and feel how much smoother Apple’s Maps app is.
Also, what’s the thinking (or lack thereof) behind the Here logo skewed at a 45 degree angle with the leg of the ‘h’ cut off?
The whole experience is leaving a bad taste in my OS.
Words taken from a post by Jonathan Moore (via parislemon)
via The Atlantic
Influencer
Dyson Cyclone Upright
Influenced
Hoover WindTunnel Air Upright
The Hole is one of the oddest New York-related stories I’ve ever heard.
Like most of the reviews I’ve read, Jakob Nielsen thinks Windows 8 sucks. I don’t agree with all his points, but he makes some solid points against the user interface of 8.
Then again, he also concludes his review saying he’s a fan of the ribbon in Office.
You should have kept that last part to yourself, Jakob.
Update: I also love how he has to qualify his review by saying he doesn’t hate Microsoft and he’s not an Apple fan boy. Like it’s impossible to be a Microsoft user but not be a fan of Windows 8.
via TCC
