Comments on: Sources of inspiration for 2010

By: hackele

hackele — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 13:54:35 +0000

Outsiders do not always do the “right” thing. And if outsider is big enough to have its creation widely praised and adopted (sometimes beyond the creator's intention), it can do more harm than good.

By: jakelevine

jakelevine — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 08:28:20 +0000

Great post Joseph. Your comment on Chrome OS - "let alone with a radical new vision that does a lot *less* than the status quo" - calls to mind Christensen's definition of disruptive technologies: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disruptive_technology (see Low End Disruption)

It's hard to imagine that the average user needs 1TB of hard drive space and 8GB RAM. While a cloud OS might well undershoot the needs of a professional video editor, it could provide *just enough* for the main stream market, at an unbeatable price point, and with the additional benefits you allude to above (durability, portability, persistence).

By: Joseph Smarr

Joseph Smarr — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 15:06:45 +0000

I'm very impressed with the quality of netflix streaming. It's almost always HD, and it almost never jitters or shows artifacts, and the initial buffering is also very quick. And given that we don't get HD over cable where I live, ironically netflix is often superior quality to what I can get over real TV!

By: jp

jp — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 11:22:58 +0000

Do you like Netflix HD? I'd love to get the streaming from Netflix, but last time I checked they were not streaming 5.1 audio tracks A friend of mine tried the streaming and told me he was disappointed by the quality, but I don't think he was using HD.

By: Joseph Smarr

Joseph Smarr — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 04:39:12 +0000

Fair point, Apple certainly fits my definition over the past several years (both for iPhone and iPod/iTunes), though I don't think they've done anything radical in the last year, which was the time period I was considering for this post. At the same time, Apple's new-found market share and their tight/opaque control over their app store is cause for concern for innovators, and justifiably so. It's why both Palm and Google can compete partly by being more open, which you won't be surprised to learn is a strategy I agree with and commend.

By: Greg

Greg — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 03:56:47 +0000

I have to take issue with this sentence, “Both Palm Pre and Android … are up against fierce competition from Apple and the old-world mobile establishment…”. I think it's very disingenuous to lump Apple with the “old world mobile” companies. Not to mention that you didn't even include Apple/iPhone as an example of “insanely talented outsiders changing the world by just working really hard and doing great stuff”.

Furthermore, Palm is hardly an outsider to the mobile phone industry and Google does not manufacture any hardware. I'm not sure if Google actually designed the Nexus One, or they left the details to HTC, who manufactures it, but they certainly aren't solely responsible for it as Apple is the iPhone.

I certainly don't contend that Google and Palm haven't accomplished impressive things with their phones, but whether you like them or not, you should give Apple the credit it deserves for, at the very least, putting smartphones and mobile apps into the hands of the masses.

By: Joseph Smarr

Joseph Smarr — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 03:51:35 +0000

Tom-I agree that not all of these “outsiders” are starving artists with no track record (except perhaps for Gaga), but they're definitely still *outsiders* in the fields they're tackling now, to an extent that's easy to underestimate. Sure, Cameron and Google have done great things in the past and made lots of money, but they're also both constantly challenging the status quo and doing things their peers say are crazy and foolish. It takes courage of your convictions when everyone around you is telling you that you're crazy, and IMO it's worthy of celebration when people stick to their guns and prove everyone wrong with wild success through hard work and excellent execution, regardless of how successful those players have been in the past.

By: Tom Coates

Tom Coates — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 03:41:15 +0000

While I completely agree with your general point, and definitely look at people like FourSquare in the same light, I'm afraid I don't share your enthusiasm about most of the others. Google is a company with over 10,000 employees and currently a license to print money. Do I think it's a good thing that they decide to spend a vast amount of that money to go into direct competition with Firefox? No, I'm not sure I do think that's a good thing, and it's certainly not a victory for the little guy. Similarly Android. Do I think that it's a triumph for an outsider or a big move for one of the world's largest and most financially solvent technology companies? And Avatar? I mean, he made a huge money-spinning film, I'll agree, but he's also the producer of the largest grossing film of all time, and a number of other huge movies, and was funded by the major studio system. I don't see this a source for inspiration, particularly. I don't think see these things as good narratives for the little guy, the outsider or whatever. Honestly, if it's a triumph for anyone, it's for marketing! Because I can't see how else you can argue that a company like Google with a market cap of 190 Billion Dollars is an 'inspirational outsider'!

I'm really sorry to be negative about this. God knows I think we should be celebrating innovation and outsiders, and pointing to the huge effects the right ideas can have, but I just can't find myself getting teary eyed for the James Cameron or Google 'underdogs'...