Updating

I'm a big fan of streaming media, and subscribe to both Netflix and Hulu. Nearly every device we have in the house can stream Netflix videos now, and many can also stream Hulu.

However, I've noticed a recent phenomenon has been making it difficult to watch content when I want. The other day, I went to watch Netflix on my TV, which has a Netflix app built in. Instead, I get this:

Well, crap. How about my PS3 downstairs, connected to my projector?

Hmm... How about the XBox360?

Uhhh, no. I don't. I want to watch something right now. Forget it. I'll just watch on my laptop.

I give up. I'm reading a book.

Mobile App Notification Overload

This short post is to share a solution I've come up with to an overload of notifications and a relatively short supply of battery power.

I love apps, social media, reading updates and getting news. Managing all these on the latest generations of smartphones can be tricky though. It is easy, even with just a few apps installed, to become buried in updates and notifications, all vying for your attention. Clutter on your phone is only the beginning of the issues, however.

When you have a fancy Samsung Galaxy Nexus like mine, crashes and reboots could be an issue. All those notifications you might depend on are gone once the phone reboots. What if you choose to read your twitter updates, and then get interrupted by a phone call, or need to check a more important notification? Again, you've lost your reminder that you have new items to check. Then there is the quickly draining battery as five, ten or maybe twenty or more apps are using your 3G/4G connection to check for new updates.

Perhaps one of the biggest issues is just general stress and anxiety that can result from a growing list of items and many people's need to empty that list.

I thought, it would be ideal to consolidate all these updates into one list. One list that I could check at my leisure. As soon as I thought it, I realized the solution was right in front of me: email. For many of these notifications, I'm already receiving emails, duplicating the effort to notify me and grab my attention. Here's the solution I came up with that's worked well for two weeks so far:

Step 1: Turn on email notification for everything you want to be alerted to. For me, this included Facebook, Twitter DMs, Replies and Retweets, LinkedIn, text messaging (via Google Voice), calendar reminders (via Google Calendar), weather alerts, Google+, and many more. This mostly had to be done through the web interface for these services.

Step 2: Turn OFF device notifications for all the services listed in Step 1.

Step 3: Some people may want to create some email rules, tagging or other system to categorize this new influx of emails, if the volume of messages is large, or interferes with normal email use. Perhaps just have one label/category for all notifications. Personally, I let them all pour into my inbox, and as soon as I've take action on an item, I delete the email.

Step 4: Enjoy longer battery life on your phone, and (mostly) one stream for all your notifications.

Example Scenario

Someone replies to a tweet I posted.

1. I read an email notification on my phone that I received a reply on Twitter, and I want to reply back.
2. I open my mobile Twitter client, reply back and close the Twitter client.
3. I delete the email.

Have you had similar issues? Have you come up with a different approach to handle this same situation? Let me know in the comments, I'd like to hear about how you handle it!

What the iPhone and Playstation have in Common

There's wrong, and then there's WRONG.

Note, I'm pulling a story out of ancient history for this post (ancient history = 6 years ago in this case). This is not hot off the presses, like some of the stories I post on my security blog. This one is all posterity.

There are industry analysts, and then there are writers that pretend to be. In case you are afraid you're confusing the two, here's an older example to help you spot the difference.

Apple should pull the plug on the iPhone <-- NOT an analyst.

Now, it is easy to point and laugh now that the iPhone is the best selling single model of smartphone on the planet, but consider what we knew then.

Don't Sell These, Apple! You'll be sorry!

Those of us that had closely watched Apple's rise from the ashes of the mid-nineties knew better. Mr. Dvorak should have also. Back when 3rd party licensing diluted the brand, and a lack of vision was dragging the company and its products into obscurity, the Newton and its' small but loyal following were the only ray of hope in those days.

Steve Jobs came back in 1997, and the company's transformation occurred almost overnight, in relative terms. By 2006, when this article was posted, Apple had already returned to profitability, and most importantly, had already stepped outside the personal computer. They had sold almost 100 million iPods by this point.

During the Chicago Bulls' 90's winning streak, did Phil put Jordan on the bench because he had a crazy plan or idea? Right.

Was it so hard to see in 2006 that the iPhone was a small step away from an iPod? Sure, the iPod hit the scene in the infancy of the portable music player industry, and Dvorak's argument is that the phone/smartphone markets were already crowded. His argument focuses on Apple's ability to make profit on hardware. The business model he (and others) failed to see had already succeeded in the video game console industry.

Gamble, or sure thing?
We know the truth now, but back then...

Starting with the Playstation 2 in 2000, Sony took a risk in selling advanced gaming hardware at a loss. In other words, it cost Sony more to build a PS2 than they sold it for. This was a calculated risk, based on the knowledge that licensing fees from game developers should help make up the difference, and that the market price of components would quickly drop over the next year or two. Sony again made this gamble with the PS3, with some estimates setting the manufacturing cost at over $1000 per unit that sold for $600 apiece. This was less of a gamble, as the PS2 was an enormous hit, and after 12 years, is still on the retail market. That's incredible staying power for an electronic device in this age. The truth of the matter is that, if the product is successful, profit will be made on software and hardware for the majority of the device's lifecycle. Sony has been making profits on every PS2 and PS3 made for years now. Apple makes hundreds of dollars on every iPhone sold, on top of 30% of every app sold.

Apple was making the same "gamble". It wasn't a gamble though - Apple already knew it had a healthy fire burning, and the iPhone was a near-guarantee to stoke the blaze higher than ever before. At the time of Dvorak's article, it wasn't yet clear that Apple was banking on the iPhone's App Store (again, software, not hardware) being the big money maker. What we did know at this time was that Apple could do no wrong. Their product ideas, with the exception of the cube, had all been successful, and their one non-PC gamble was the most successful of all. There was every reason to expect another non-PC revolution with the iPhone. With the media player market already in the bag, Apple knew what they were doing, knew how to make a mobile device, and knew how to sell it.

And they did. Sorry, John.

UPDATE: A pre-iPhone release Bloomberg story has been making the rounds. Its author comes to similar conclusions to Dvorak's, though for different reasons.

Travel Notes: Of Birds and Teeth

One of my favorite things about travelling is walking in an unfamiliar place. I think it is the best way to really get a feel for a place. The sights, sounds and smells just can't be experienced the same way from a car.

Today, I'm engaging in a ritual that I only get to enjoy twice a year. I have an appointment with my dentist.

Twice a year, I drive all the way out to Fountain City to get my teeth cleaned. In Knoxville with the generous number of dentists per square mile we have, driving 30 or 40 minutes just for a cleaning is a bit much, so I created a little ritual to make it worth my while.

I show up to get my teeth cleaned by my dental hygienist (who happens to be a dead ringer for Kristen Bell) shortly before lunch. My dentist's office happens to be located right on the edge of what most people call "the duck pond", though it is formally called "Fountain City Lake". If I have no cavities, or other issues, I schedule my next appointment, head outside and walk past my car. A single block of businesses separate the duck pond from the public library and Fountain City Park. After short stroll, I arrive at the Creamery Park Grille.

I have lunch and an ice cream to go. By the time I wander around the duck pond, dodge some hungry geese and arrive back at my car, my ice cream is gone and I'm relaxed, happy and ready to head back to work. You chose a good location for your office, Dr. Sterling.

Even if you don't need your teeth cleaned, it is a great place to take a walk, get some ice cream or let the kids blow off some energy in the park.

P.S. The birds bite.

A New Age of Business and Manufacturing

We're entering an age where anyone with a good idea and some marketing savvy can their product made and business off the ground nearly overnight. Kickstarter, for one, has helped some amazing products go from idea to reality in under a year.

The common problem I've been seeing is not been exposure for these new companies and products, it has been scaling to meet the demand. Interest in a new product or company can go from zero to pandemonium in a matter of days or even hours. In the last week, alone I've seen this happen twice.

Raspberry Pi, is a small DIY computer similar to Arduino, but designed and marketed toward a different user base. Instead of interest building gradually like the Arduino, it exploded as soon as a finished product was announced, due to incredibly affordable pricing. At $35, everyone wants a piece of the action.

Dollar Shave Club recently announced their new monthly shaving supply service, complete with a funny video designed to go viral.

The problem is, I'm interested in both, but I can't get either. The initial lot of a few thousand Raspberry Pi boards sold out in a few hours, and the Dollar Shave Club video's "viralness" has guaranteed an unusable website for now, maybe even for a few more days. It is unfortunate to succeed so completely in generating interest and sales, but then be unable to fulfill them.

I'm no expert in sales and marketing, but I'm sure there is a sizable chunk of spontaneous purchases lost forever when the product isn't available for purchase at the height of its viral popularity. I suspect that a large number of sales of these products depend on the fact that it is popular. Half the reason people are buying is for the right to say "I was one of the first", or "I've been a _____ user since day one". There is definitely a perception of cool when you are the first person you know with the new gadget or service everyone is talking about.

From what I've seen, the ability to rapidly scale upwards is available, but business need to take advantage of it. For manufacturing, companies turn to China to do anything quickly. That's why the Raspberry Pi isn't made anywhere else. For services that rely on a website to do business, there are hosting services that will allow you to ramp up resources dynamically as you need them, and only pay for what you use.

In other words, small startups can plan for success without spending a ton of money up front.

I've made myself some reminders to check out Raspberry Pi and Dollar Shave Club again when they might be available, but I'm not sure I'll still want them then. By then, some new hot ideas might have my attention instead.