Tag: Apple

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Business Technology

The Paralysis of Choice in Linux

One thing I’ve often said is that choosing to go with the Apple ecosystem affords me the ability to narrow down my technology choices. Many times people see this as a problem instead of a solution.

However, the flip side of that is the Linux ecosystem where choice is not just the name of the game, it is what you have to be aware of and prepared for from the onset of even trying to play.

Alright, done with that metaphor.

Recently I’ve changed roles at work from being primarily a webmaster and technician to systems administrator and network engineer. While I used Linux extensively before, now I am administering all of the servers on campus which puts me in contact with Linux every single day … often for multiple hours at a time.

It is fun, but at the same time quite harrowing. Here is a list of the Linux distributions currently being used here:

  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4
  • Red hat Enterprise Linux 5
  • CentOS 6
  • Ubuntu Server 8.04 LTS
  • Ubuntu Server 11.04
  • Ubuntu Server 10.04 LTS
  • Ubuntu Server 12.04 LTS
  • Ubuntu Server 13.04
  • Ubuntu Desktop 10.04 LTS

That’s a good number. Granted, there are many similarities between them, each version brings just a small changes which can easily accumulate with time. The difference between administering an Ubuntu Server 8.04 LTS and Ubuntu Server 12.04 LTS is quite drastic … and I’m already looking forward to April of 2014 for the next LTS release.

The thing is that you have a lot of choice and your skills can transfer quite easily to each distribution that you sometimes can over think things. I know I do. I spend too much time thinking about what I could be using instead of just moving ahead with working on what needs to be done.

For me, that’s the real takeaway. Adding choice in for the same of choice sometimes can cause cognitive overhead that we are not even aware of. Making a decision, as arbitrary as it can seem, can sometimes be refreshing because it allows you to narrow down your choices so that you spend less time thinking about what could be used and more time thinking about what needs to be done.

What’s the downside?

Obviously, you don’t want to limit your choices to the point where you won’t even consider another possibility in the future if the needs dictate you do so. Closing off choices when they are obviously better isn’t going to do you any good. That’s the negative end of what I am talking about.

However, lightening the cognitive load and speeding up the process of “getting things done” by narrowing down your choices might not be such a bad thing.

On my end, I’m going to be taking a hard look at trying to standardize around as few Linux distributions as possible (SUSE Linux Enterprise is also in the mix because of our relationship with Novell). How successful will I be? I’m not sure, but it will be fun to try.

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Technology

A Potential Cheaper iPhone

So many caveats for this one I can’t even begin to list them all.

This entire post is based on a rumor from Mac Rumors where they took some “spy shots” of the casings for a new, cheaper iPhone and then paid someone to create a 3D model and then some “spy shots” of that 3D model.

Here you go:

Low Cost iPhoneSo, you have that. I don’t know if this is going to be released by Apple or anything similar, but I’m going to run with it anyway because there are some interesting reasons why Apple would release a second, cheaper iPhone now as compared to the past.

It boils down to four things for me:

  1. The Screen Problem
  2. The Connector Problem
  3. The LTE Problem
  4. The iOS 7 Problem

I’ll take them one at a time and try to outline why the “Low Cost” iPhone would make sense now as compared to the past.

The Screen Problem

The lineup, as it sits right now, is split between 4-inch and 3.5-inch devices (I include the iPod touch here as well). Half of the lineup is 4-inch (iPod touch and iPhone 5) and half is 3.5-inch (iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S).

If Apple would keep with its currently “plan” as it has been implemented in the past, you’d end up with a lineup that is three-quarter 4-inch (iPod touch, iPhone 5, and [probably] iPhone 5S) and one-quarter 3.5-inch (iPhone 4S). That really leaves that one iPhone out there on the edges.

It also would leave Apple trying to source screens at the 3.5-inch size for a single device. They didn’t even do that when they introduced the 4-inch size between the iPhone 5 and higher-end iPod touch were announced at the same time.

So, from a logistics standpoint, maybe it would make more sense for Apple to switch to a lower-cost iPhone with a 4-inch screen so that they would be able to eliminate the need for a smaller screen for a low volume product.

The Connector Problem

See the above but switch out the size of the screen for the type of connector (30-pin and Lightning).

I would imagine that this would also harken the end of the iPad 2 sticking around, or maybe a lower-cost iPad 2-ish product with a Lightning connector would be released as well. Apple wants to push ahead with this as quickly as possible, so eliminating the last three products they currently sell new in one move would be nothing but a net gain for the company.

Truth be told, the Lightning connector is such a huge win for consumers (forgetting that you need to buy new peripherals) that I could see Apple wanting to push it ahead as quickly as possible. It would also just make the whole lineup look better at the store with everything iPod touch, iPhone, and iPad having a Lightning cable attached.

The LTE Problem

LTE is big business right now as all four of the major carriers in the United States are upgrading their networks with Verizon way out ahead. If Apple continues with the past, you’ll have your lowest-cost iPhone (more than likely the 4S) without LTE, and that could be perceived as a negative.

However, releasing a lower-cost iPhone would allow them to offer the entire lineup with LTE from top-to-bottom. That would be good for Apple and good for the brand.

The iOS 7 Problem

My speculation would be that the lower-cost iPhone would include the A6 and not the A5 that would be found in the iPhone 4S. That would give it similar performance to the iPhone 5/iPod touch 5G … which is a bid deal for something like iOS 7 where the GPU performance is going to be key for people to have a good experience.

The blurring, the transparency, parallax, physics engine … you name it and it is going to require some horsepower to render at 60 fps (Apple’s stated goal). We already know Apple is shooting for the iPhone 4 with iOS 7 with a subset of those technologies included. While the iPhone 4S’s A5 was a big step up from the iPhone 4’s A4, it would be even better to have the A6 in there.

More power is better.

Conclusion

While I don’t know what Apple is going to do (obviously), I could see them releasing this lower-cost iPhone now because of the above reasons. I don’t care about colors, the case would be made of plastic and I would imagine the camera would be similar to what is currently in the iPod touch. Increase the thickness a little bit and I would imagine you can shave around $100 off of the iPhone 5 price (I’m just guessing here, I really have no idea) … and you hit your lower price point without losing any margin.

The best part? I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend such a phone to my family. It would “hit all of the high points” for me and also be the cheaper option. Offering LTE, an A6, 4-inch screen, and Lightning would make it a must-have phone while I would tell anyone to seriously consider an iPhone 5 otherwise.

So, there is my speculation. I now feel dirty.

 

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Technology

WWDC’s Big Reveal

No, it was not iOS 7, OS X Mavericks, or even the Mac Pro.

I’m definitely excited about all three of those and Apple will undoubtedly be revealing more hardware and software to come. That much is certain. Apple seems to be set on a once-a-year update cycle for most of their project line and the fall of this year is going to be exciting to see.

However, the biggest, most important reveal during WWDC is that Apple is here to stay and that the current leadership team is ready to go with the future of the company … whatever that might be.

leadershipIt was late October 2012 that Apple posted this press release to their PR site which announced a rather large organizational shift for the company. The title for the press release is typical euphemism, but it boiled down to Scott Forstall and John Browett leaving and the duties being split between a number of other members. Most importantly it removed the barriers, at the leadership level, between OS X and iOS by putting Craig Federighi in charge of the software for both and putting Jony Ive in charge of design for all of Apple.

That was less than eight months ago.

I can’t imagine that trying to ship a major version of both iOS and OS X while also ushering through a Mac Pro redesign and who knows what else that is coming down the pipeline got any easier after that.

But they announced all of that at WWDC 2013 and the rest of the year is going to be a lot of fun as well. Their keynote was fun and loose (probably the loosest one they’ve had since Steve died) and it was the first time that Apple, as a company, came out swinging in a long time.

It was refreshing, and it was the big reveal of WWDC. Everything else is secondary (and subject to change).

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Technology

Various Thoughts on iOS 7

I really don’t have any of my own, but here is some reading from others if you are interested in which way I am thinking right now:

I think those four articles, mashed together, would just about sum up my thoughts right now. Of course,  Apple has a ton of work to do to get it ready for launch, but I’m having fun taking a peek at what is to come.

Categories
Technology

WWDC 2013 Keynote in Brief

The Wirecutter has a good overview of all of the news from the WWDC 2013 Keynote. If you are interested in the news … head over there and read it. There was a lot covered.

I’m, obviously, excited. However, I don’t have experience with anything announced so I won’t really put down my opinions on this blog until I get to play with something.

However, from what I have been reading and seeing from WWDC, there is a lot more that is to come and a lot of really fun things. OS X Server looks to be getting a pretty decent update, especially for development teams.