My life in PCs

A few days ago I wrote a nostalgia-tinged piece tracing my life through mobile phones - some 15 years now of device use and ownership. It got me thinking that tracing my life through actual computers would be a far harder game - partly because it's over a longer period of time, and partly because … Continue reading My life in PCs

808 State

My 808th blog post (how did that happen?) seems a fitting time to pay tribute to the finest piece of hardware that I have ever owned: the Roland TR-808 Rhythm Machine. Back in my teenage years, I got really into the world of electronic music. Hip hop was my genre of choice for much of … Continue reading 808 State

#newsjacking incremental improvement

Apologies to anyone who follows my Twitter feed yesterday. I had a bit of a moment, inspired by a talk I saw Jon Burkhart give at Silicon Beach on the subject of newsjacking. Jon talked about how there is an opportunity to use popular news events to change the story through social channels, and there … Continue reading #newsjacking incremental improvement

My mobile life

All of this talk about Nokia as made me reflect on my own history of mobile phone usage, which for the most part has been with Nokia devices over the years. I acquired my first mobile back in 1997, I think, and shortly after made my first blogging appearance on the much missed Blind Stupid … Continue reading My mobile life

Crap Tech Industry Metaphors: 4. Rockstars

The term "Rockstar" is used a lot in the tech industry. "Rockstar" developers; "Rockstar" CEOs; "Rockstar" Games (oh - actually I'll let that one off. They've been quite successful.) What a load of baloney. Rockstar is a metaphor to indicate what, exactly? Petulance? Arrogance? An inability to work creatively with others? Bad personal hygiene? Cocaine … Continue reading Crap Tech Industry Metaphors: 4. Rockstars

What if Microsoft bought Ford?

  With all of the recent news, an interesting idea came up at dinner a couple of nights ago in conversation with Gordon Young, the editor of The Drum. As Microsoft makes its moves into the world of devices and services, what other acquisitions might make sense? What, for example, if they bought Ford? The … Continue reading What if Microsoft bought Ford?

The smart watch challenge

So the hoo-har about smart watches begins in earnest with the launch of Samsung's Gear. But here's an interesting social factor that might stand in the way of mass adoption... Whilst it bizarrely appears to have become socially acceptable to whip out a smart phone mid-conversation these days, looking at your watch has a much … Continue reading The smart watch challenge

Trending down

News came out last week that the analyst group IDC have yet again dropped their forecast for the future sales of laptop and desktop PCs, so that they are now predicting that sales of new devices will remain essentially flat for the next 4-5 years. As The Guardian put it - the PC boom is over. … Continue reading Trending down