Category: Apple Computers

Think Different: Apple Computers

Very old (1984) but still pertinent.

Here’s to the crazy ones.
The misfits.
The rebels.
The troublemakers.
The round pegs in the square holes.
The ones who see things differently.
They’re not fond of rules.
And they have no respect for the status quo.
You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them.
About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them.
Because they change things.
They push the human race forward.
And while some see them as the crazy ones,
We see genius.
Because the people who are crazy enough to think
they can change the world,
Are the ones who do.

And here is the complete text of the advert

Here’s to the crazy ones.
The misfits.
The rebels.
The troublemakers.
The round pegs in the square holes.
The ones who see things differently.
They’re not fond of rules.
And they have no respect for the status quo.
You can praise them, disagree with them, quote them, disbelieve them, glorify or vilify them.
About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them.
Because they change things.
They invent.
They imagine.
They heal.
They explore.
They create.
They inspire.
They push the human race forward.
Maybe they have to be crazy.
How else can you stare at an empty canvas and see a work of art?
Or sit in silence and hear a song that’s never been written?
Or gaze at a red planet and see a laboratory on wheels?

We make tools for these kinds of people.
While some see them as the crazy ones, we see genius.

Because the people who are crazy enough to think
they can change the world, are the ones who do.

Source: Archive.org

I especially like “The Round Pegs in Square Holes”.

Your iPod is the beginning. Discover the rest.

I bought the iPod few months back and I registered it on their website.

Few days back, I got this mailer from them and obviously it made me happy that I own an Apple product. I might or might not buy the iMac but I am happy that someone out there cares (even though it’s an automated, unmonitored mailbox)

Your iPod is the beginning. Discover the rest.

Marketing at its very best. Hats off to Steve Jobs and team. There are few observations.

Customization. The mailer could have addressed me with my name.

Value. Some kind of discount (even 5%) on purchase.

Time bound offer. Buy within next 30 days and get a discount.

Spreading the word. Send this to your friends and help them get discounts.

The Takeaways
Q: Why would someone register a product on the website?
ME: Because Apple offered a free no-questions asked tech support for a year.
Apple: They get to collect data about users and preferences. In some cases it also helps them to check on piracy and smuggled items.

Q: Was registering hard? Was it fun?
ME: No, just enter the ipod serial number, enter your email address and that’s about it. Any customer initiated activity should be simple, fun and fast.
Apple: They just needed to make a simple small form where you are not asked useless questions unless they know a user. First time interaction should be fun, easy and simple.

Q: Was the actual support as good as they promised?
ME: Had problems with the ipod. They exchanged it without even asking a question.
Apple: Another way to keep customers happy.

Related Links
Shankar on Steve Jobs

Marketing Apple

Marketing Apple is about 5 pages long pdf that talks about things that have worked at Apple. I respect that company for all those wonderful marketing ideas and how they create hype before a product is even launched. I think its an interesting read for any one looking out for marketing ideas and new products.
 
However I disagree with one of the observations. Point 2 says "Never be First to Market".
 
I strongly disagree. Ok Apple was never first to market but that doesnt mean being first to market would not work. Todays world is like a flush. The first player comes and customers flock the way water rushes when the plug is pulled. And to complete the analogy, once a customer is hooked, the switching costs are too high to let any customer go. Once you enroll at MDI, you can not tihnk about enorolling at a better BSchool – cos you have paid so much and any other BSchool is only marginally better.
 
They could have talked about solving a problem easier and better and faster. iPod worked becuase it was part cult and it solved the problem of moving around with music better than any other player in the market (check out iPod launch videos on youtube).
 
So basically create something that is attractive, easy for cusotmers to join and has high switching cost for customers.
 
I more or less agree with the other observations.
 
Any comments … ?
 
P.S.: Talking is way too easy. Getting an idea and opening an enterprise is way too difficult 🙁

Biking and Music

Picture this ..
Thursday
7 AM (in the morning ;p)
A Kawasaki Bajaj Caliber Croma WITH DISK BRAKES
An iPod
A biker
Empty Roads of Chennai

I was listening to Dil Deewana from Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa. The song has been shot on SRK and Deepak Tijori. I am on the bike and I can almost see myself doing things that SRK does in the song. Pavlov … ?

By the way, Apple announced sale of their 100 millionth ipod on April 9.

And now picture this ..
Thursday
8 AM (in the morning ;p)
100 empty chairs
100 turned off monitors
A sleeping guard
And this place is my office !

iWant iPod iAgain

I just bought an iPod Nano. Its not even a couple of month, an all new iPod nano is in the market. Needless to say, I want it. I think I would sell the one I have and get the new one.

Happens quite often with me. The moment I buy something, there is an announcement about a better deal. If only I would have delayed the purchase by a couple of months, I would have been able to lay my hands onto a new one. Anyways I have been taught by one of my professors that a decision made under available information should not be criticized in view of new information.

iGot iPod

I finally joined the revolution about three years too late. Ever since I heard about it, I wanted to get on. I could not because of obvious economic reasons. I finally got it from my August salary (June, July). I am talking about iPod.

I bought an iPod Nano 2 GB today. I could have got a 1GB, 4GB, iPod video also but I ended up buying this one. I was told to buy a Creative Zen Nano, an iRiver a Mobiblu and a host of other things. No one realized I did not want to buy an mp3 player. I wanted to buy an iPod. Period. Dot. Full stop.

Ok here is something interesting that happened. I plugged in my iPod to my ThinkPad R51 and woot … the laptop turned off. And it won’t start again. I had to physically reset the battery to get the laptop on. I realized that there was a problem with the USB port I was connecting my iPod to. When I tried connecting the mouse to that port, even the mouse wasn’t working. I don’t really know if this is a problem with all the laptops or the USB version is old or what. I need to find out. I am handicapped without a mouse and with only two ports on my laptop, it would be hard to charge the iPod and use the computer without a mouse.

Coming back to the iPod, the sound quality rocks. Whoever said the sound quality is not good, they can go and jump off the face of a cliff or something. The sound of an iPod is the next best thing to real sound. I am not saying iPod is the ultimate sound machine. There would be better gizmos and devices but there it no denying the fact that iPod rocks.

And yet another cake smearing on my “techie” face. I bought the iPod, charged it, loaded music on it, had all the fun in the world but when I wanted to finally shut it down, I could not find a turn off button. I got real anxious when I realized there has to be a thing called the help file or the manual. And yes now I know how to turn it off. 🙂

Open Letter to the People of the World

I do not have a Million Dollar Homepage where I could sell pixels, I don’t have One Red Paper Clip which I could trade, I don’t have a soul that I could auction on the web, I don’t have any pets called Toby that I could threaten to kill, I don’t know how to run an adsense fraud and make millions sitting at home … but I do know one thing. I want an iPod !

This is an open appeal to the people of the world (going by the stats, world consists of two visitors I have on this blog) – Please donate me an ipod. All I am asking for is just one ipod 1 GB shuffle – nothing more and nothing less. And if you can not donate, get me one if you are coming from US. I checked on amazon, one iPod Shuffle 1GB is only $99 in US. I could have bought it here but It is not available here. They say its out of stock. And according to ebay, if it was available, it would be atleast Rs. 7000.

If there is humanity, if there is god in the world and angels in the heaven and satan in hell, if there are enough millionaires left around, if there are flights connecting India and US, please please get me an ipod. I have a friend who is supposed to give me a gift upto the value of Rs. 3333. And thats my budget 😀

Jonathan Ive – My Hero !

After quite some time now I have had an oppurtunity to call someone My Hero! Jonathan Ive is the Senior Vice President of Industrial Design at Apple. Yes the company that can boast of names such as Steve Wozniak, Guy Kawasaki and Steve Jobs. I am sure there are more names to the list but I have heard of only these three people.

So what’s so great about this Ive guy? To start with he is credited with the mind behind the designs like G4, G5, iPod, iMac. I mean wow. I always thought that these were cool looking boys toys and the company has put in a lot of money and mind and time to design these. I never thought that all the designs could have come from the team led by one person, one mind, Jonathan Ive.

So what do I know about Jonathan now? He is Sr.VP at Apple. He is said to be one of the key people in the entire history of Apple. His design on iMac in 1998 saved the company from ruts.

Most importanly, I firmly believe that design is as powerful medium of expression as is speech/words. Simplicity makes a lot of sense …