Microsoft, the cool kid

Windows Phone 8 start screens

The title of this post is something I could not have imagined to say just few years back. But things change, and the technology sector for sure is constantly evolving. I believe things can change dramatically either by innovation or pressure from the competition. In Microsoft's case I think both are prominent.

In the last few years Apple has been growing so fast that everyone else seems to be the underdogs now.  Despite having a small share in the PC market throughout it's history, Apple now dominates the tablet market which many think is the way of the future, "post-PC era" as it's called. Apple's innovation (and overwhelming success) in the tablet and phone market has been the major wake up call for Microsoft.

The Surface tablet from Microsoft. Drool-worthy.

I think they've gotten the message and now, and are taking big and fast moves to change their own identity. With Windows 8, Windows Phone 8 and the Surface tablets Microsoft is making their debut as the cool corporation, dumbing the boring, gray old face we've all gotten used to. There is doubt over how Windows 8 will succeed on the dektop/laptop market. But for tablets, it is fantastic. And by bringing their very own tablet to the game, Microsoft clearly states they are serious about it.

So, next fall will be interesting. With Windows products as cool and elegant as Apple's, will Microsoft be able to push it big time into the tablet and phone market? Hard to tell, but when I saw the Surface tablets with their bright, vibrant keyboards/covers, stylish metal chassis and Metro tiles running on it's screen, I was WOW and basically ready to buy. Quite an achievement for Microsoft, a company a regular Apple guy like me so much loathed not so long time ago.

Steve Jobs biography

I'm not a bookworm sort of guy at all. In fact, I rarely read any printed material, but the official biography of Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson was something I absolutely had to read. It took me some while to read this massive book, but it was totally worth it.

I must say the first half of the book was far more interesting than the second half. I think this is because of two things: firstly, in the beginning Steve Jobs, Wozniak, Gates and all the other legends of Silicon Valley were inventing the 21st century. It felt to me that so much more exciting stuff happened in the first decades of Apple. Second reason is that I simply remembered some of the stuff in the latter part of the book (I've been Apple user since 1991). Of course the extra details from more recent Apple history were interesting, but still, it's more about the development process of some of Apple's core products of today, rather than the birth of the characters or the tech sector as a whole.

The book didn't reveal anything extremely surprising about Jobs, I knew he was a really, REALLY difficult person. But a genius. Many mock Apple and Jobs, saying that he didn't invent anything since the technical innovations were already existing. But the book depicts well how Jobs visioned HOW the technology should be used in convenient way for the users. Perhaps the biggest news from the book for me was the bizarre diets and other obsessions Jobs had.

I am no book critic, but f you are even a bit interested in technology and IT-history, Jobs, Woz, Gates, Microsoft, Google, Apple or anything related, I think you should read this book!

Storage in the Cloud

These days when Internet connections are fast and everywhere, saving data on local hard drive is rapidly becoming obsolete. Many applications are already running on external servers rather than on the user's computer as well. It's a very fascinating scene - it gives the freedom to save data/apps in one place but use it anywhere, on multiple devices from desktop computers to phones.

"Cloud" services as such aren't entirely a new thing, however. I'd imagine e.g. Picasa Web Albums can be counted as one and I've been using it for years. But it's been a very specific service. Today, there are fully functional web-apps, vast amount of services but also plain and simple cloud storages, They've been around for some time too, but now their use among regular users are exploding, thanks to the extremely user-friendly interfaces (e.g. Dropbox) and system level integration in Mac OS X (iCloud) and upcoming Windows 8 OSes (SkyDrive).

I don't have experience from iCloud (even though I use a Mac), but I've been getting familiar with SkyDrive since I use it a lot on my phone. In fact, I am slowly moving away from physically connecting the phone to my Mac to transfer images and videos, I simply save them from my phone to my SkyDrive folders and they're safe there even if something happened to my phone. SkyDrive actually has automatic image back-up from the phone, but I don't use that (I want to trash bad pics immediately). Same functionality is in iCloud backing up your docs, apps, music, pics etc. automatically. So even if your back-up hard drive was destroyer along with your device, the stuff will still be safe on servers far away, and you can fetch the stuff back. Pretty cool!

Left: SkyDrive app on Windows Phone 7.5. Right: Dropbox icon in Mac OS X.

My version of OS X cannot run SkyDrive application so I can't tell about that, but browsing through the files and folders and uploading stuff is pretty convenient through web browser as well. Dropbox, on the other hand is fantastically integrated into OS X desktop itself, it appears as if it was a local folder. Just drag and drop files and they'll synch into cloud! Ready for you to use on different platforms whenever necessary.

So if you're thinking about getting a back-up hard drive or a new USB-memory stick, think again, they might not be necessary at all! Most of the big players in tech industry are now offering some sort of cloud storages/services, mostly for free! You should check them out.

Update: Google Drive went official today so it joins the competition of the largest Cloud storages. Engadget has put up a nice comparison table
 

Links:

SkyDrive from Microsoft
Dropbox
iCloud from Apple
Google Drive from Google

Thinking Differently

Here's my geek history in brief. Enjoy! =)

My greatest nerd/teenage years were around the time when Apple ran it's famous "Think Different" campaign. Late 90's were probably the peak of my Apple fanhood as well. But it all began much earlier.

It was in 1991 when my mom bought the first computer to our household. It was her work machine, but naturally the rest of the family got to try it. The computer was Macintosh LC and I still remember my first comment being something like "I'm never going to learn how to use this". How wrong was I =)

It wasn't long 'till I was indeed the nerd/tech support guy in our family. I also loved creating drawings with KidPix, animation/first multimedia applications with HyperCard etc. etc. I always tried to tell my friends how great, easy to use and cool system Mac was, but only got mocked in return. In that aspect, "Think Different" suited me well amid all my pro-PC/Windows friends. Naturally, I thought of Windows as the pure evil itself.

After Steve Jobs returned to Apple he basically rocked the grey IT-industry with the candy colored and beautifully designed iMacs. I think the move to consumer electronics with iPod was the point when "regular" people also started to give Apple a try (Graphics design/Ad companies had always been the core Apple users before).

Meanwhile, in the early 2000's I also got my first phones from the Finnish national pride, Nokia. Their devices were greatly popular, I guess because they were easy to use, stabile and well-built. Much like Apple's computers.

So there I was, happy, to finally see Apple bloom, while using my iMac and sending SMSes with my Nokia (Windows was still something I never ever wanted to use).

Then, in 2007 came the iPhone that truly changed the game. I was probably the first one ready to jump over to Apple's vision of a mobile device. And just like me, millions of others saw it as the future and Nokia's descent began. Nokia has been in trouble since and Apple has been making more money than ever. But I am not so happy.

The reason? I think it's because Apple has lost it's underdog pioneer status, and (as a result?) it's innovative speed seems to be falling behind competition. I think this is the exact same reason why Nokia has had troubles. So things do change. I was literally stunned when I first saw what Windows 8 would be all about - I saw the future. Equally delighted I was to see and try Nokia N9 and it's sexy, new design.

This has truly made me think differently. What if  Nokia has gotten it's golden touch back? What if Windows was the pioneering OS now? 

I admit I still love Apple's products, but I refuse not to give a try at something new. I give great respect to Microsoft for having the balls to try something so fresh. Same goes for Nokia. Then there's also Google with Android, who knows what they have in their sleeves? In any case, I look forward to see the gadgets of the near future - and try to keep thinking differently.

All of my cell phones

Yeah, these are all of the phones I have ever owned =) So I guess it's time to get a new one already, huh?

I got my first phone, Nokia 3210 in year 2000, I was so thrilled about my first phone I even made it into a drawing. My second was also a Nokia, 1100 to be exact. Still stickin' to the cheaper models and a black&white screen.

Then, when I heard Apple was making a phone (I'll write another post to explain my history with Apple and technology in general), I knew it would be my first top-notch phone. Sadly, the first iPhone never arrived in Finland, but the 3G did and I bought it immediately.

The iPhone 3G has served me well for over three years so I guess it's already passed it's retirement age. Now then, I'm finally ready to upgrade since the latests smart phones have these things I want:

1) Good camera with HD video recording. I like taking photos, but I am so tired to always carry my large Canon EOS400 or Ixus pocket cam with me, e.g. when traveling. Bad camera and no video rec has been the #1 drag of iPhone 3G.

2) More processing power, enough to run the latest software. I don't think Angry Birds works on iPhone 3G.

3) The "Wow" effect. Or at least something fresh. Everyone has an iPhone these days, and they all look pretty much the same and the main UI is still about static icons. Easy to use? Yes. Innovative? Not anymore.

So, now I am still waiting for that next wow-phone to arrive. It may already be out there, but I have decided to wait for the first Nokia Windows phones to see if they've got that something special I'm looking for.