Developers: Windows Linux Subsystem is a Viable Alternative

Update: Thanks to readers from HN and Microsoft; please continue the discussion on HN. To summarize this post,

I challenge an intrepid, influential developer from Facebook, Google or Amazon to attempt to replicate their development workflow -- code, build, debug -- on Windows using native Linux tools, and post their findings. If Gabe's (from Penny Arcade) experience is anything to go by, the Windows support team is hungry and will do whatever they can to fix any issues that prevent this captive audience from executing their workflow efficiently.

The first MacBook Pros are arriving at the doorsteps of their eager owners. And the reviews are markedly tepid, nay "meh". This piece on qz.com does a good job with capturing what reviewers are saying about Apple's marquee portable computer.

To Quartz's credit, the next link they present to the reader covers Windows laptops that might tickle your fancy if you feel disenfranchised by Apple. Apple has, like is its wont, left the door ajar for Microsoft, but they know they are untouchable. Despite the design and manufacturing strides that Windows laptop makers -- Microsoft included -- have made in the last few years, they cannot replicate Apple's status as the coveted laptop for "makers"; creative professionals and software developers.

A crease is beginning to appear post the last MacBook Pro announcement. The first contingent -- the creatives -- are already disgruntled, and have gone public with their sometimes extreme disappointment with Apple. It's the second contingent that's been relatively quiet so far, and this cadre of MacBook portable users fills Apple's coffers a great deal, without getting much love from analysts and bean counters. Developers who use MacBook Pros today rely on the Unix underpinnings of macOS and the Linux-inspired toolchain that translates almost 1:1 from Linux to macOS. Yes, there are differences and annoyances due to vagaries of macOS attributable to either the fact that it isn't a true BSD or an obscure broken API (e.g., the "poll" implementation). Developers overcome these shortcomings by modifying their workflow slightly, but for the most part, they *strongly prefer* MacBook XXX machines over Windows because of built-in support for their daily workflow.

Enter the Linux Subsystem on Windows 10! Now, there is a legitimate competitor to Apple for native  Linux toolchain support on a "usable", "laptop ready", consumer-oriented operating system.

To give you a sense of how user-friendly the Linux subsystem on Windows 10 is, here is what my friend did to get ViM on his Windows 10 laptop:

user@windows-x1:~$ sudo apt-get install vim
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree
Reading state information... Done
...
Preparing to unpack .../vim_2%3a7.4.052-1ubuntu3_amd64.deb ...
...
Setting up vim (2:7.4.052-1ubuntu3) ...
...
update-alternatives: using /usr/bin/vim.basic to provide /usr/bin/ex (ex) in auto mode

After which he typed this:

user@windows-x1:~$ vim

BOOM! Yes, he installed ViM on his Windows machine using `apt` without installing anything else. The native `bash` support in the Linux subsystem for Windows makes this possible, including unraveling dependencies.

If all Unix utilities work as is on Windows -- cat, awk, grep, sed, etc. -- without recompilation, then this is the last straw that can break the Apple Camel's back. To translate this; all your bash scripts, and associated automation, will work out of the box in Windows. To make this more interesting, this is not a price sensitive market -- employers pay top dollar for developer laptops. Therefore, the ASP of Windows laptops increases, thereby enabling Microsoft to sell their own line of laptops and convertibles at higher price-points (ergo, higher profits). In other words, Windows is *finally ready* to capitalize on the opportunity afforded by the negative reaction to Apple's new MacBook Pro lineup.

The missing piece for Windows 10 is street cred. Which is where this post comes in: I challenge an intrepid, influential developer from Facebook, Google or Amazon to attempt to replicate their development workflow -- code, build, debug -- on Windows using native Linux tools, and post their findings. If Gabe's (from Penny Arcade) experience is anything to go by, the Windows support team is hungry and will do whatever they can to fix any issues that prevent this captive audience from executing their workflow efficiently. Maybe Windows 10 is not there yet, but it's only a matter of time. More choices are better for developers, everywhere.

You want to get Apple's attention. I cannot think of a better way to do it than voting with your wallets...

Finding a Footing

The last 10-days, bookended by Apple's "Hello Again" event and a truly successful Digital acquisition kickoff meeting, have flown by.

Immediately post Apple's event, the Internet caught fire. The iPhone launch, specifically the removal of the headphone jack, had already incensed the Apple faithful. The MacBook Pro's launch fanned these flames and whipped everyone into a frenzy. The most vocal of the critical bunch were the professionals and creatives. They feel most disenfranchised by Apple, and I don't really blame them. Their use case is extremely niche: 32-GB of RAM, very high-end graphics, UNIX-like OS. Their loyalty to Apple thus far has been unflinching. This might change with the launch of the Microsoft Surface Studio.

Yes, I referred to a Microsoft product. Many a story has been published that describes Microsoft as "cool", and that products like the surface have forced a volte face in people's perspectives on Microsoft. A role reversal has occurred, and Apple needs to stanch the bleeding before it's too late.

The announcements and my experience with the new products has shaken my belief in Apple. The haptic engine driven Home button the iPhone has lower usability than the old Home button. The UX changes in iOS have forced users to change their workflow. Force touch still doesn't work well. The MacBook Pro's TouchBar is going to take some getting used to. These annoyances, not issue enough on their own, are tantamount to "death by a thousand cuts". This is very un-Apple-esque; usability of their products is the stuff of legend, and enables Apple to command a price premium.  With this edge dulled, not only will Apple have to reduce the ASP of their products, it opens the door for competitors to fill the void.

How did customers respond? They ordered the new MacBook Pro so much that the pre-orders broke all previous records. Weren't customers reading all the negative press and reviews? Don't customers care about all the things that the technology press cares about? No and No. I wrote about this widening chasm :here:

Like Apple, I had my own potential moment of reckoning this past week. Since starting at GE this January, I have completed a number of assignments, but this week was the first opportunity to cement my role in GE's vaunted M&A group. GE has grown through acquisitions for the last 100-odd years, and the Digital division has been busy with identifying companies to acquire to shore up its capabilities. I have been selected to own delivering outcomes and manage all integration related activities for one such Digital acquisition.

McKinsey and BCG posit that success of a complex undertaking such as an acquisition is predicated on a strong kickoff and planning session prior to implementation. This week marked the first planning session for the acquisition I am to manage, and the stakes were high. I spent three weeks coordinating, planning and building content for the 2-day kickoff. Despite the preparation and prior experience, I was nervous on Wednesday night. A lot was riding on how I ran this workshop...

To say I hit a home-run (the Cubs just won the World Series; baseball is fresh in my mind) would be an under-statement. I hit it out of the park! Every attendee complimented me on how I orchestrated the session, facilitated decision making, and kept discussions moving along when they were at risk of falling off the rails. One attendee said that this came naturally to me; I want to take a moment to thank my leadership team at Deloitte Consulting for honing this innate capability of mine. Peter Vanderslice and Rajeev Ronanki gave me the opportunities and coaching that have taken my skills to the next level. Thank you!

No trip to Seattle is complete without tennis with Tim. Over the years, our friendship has blossomed, with each interaction making the next easier and more relaxed. Tim is both zen and pessimistic, and his advice has made me a more strategic player at the "Game of Life". We played indoors today, and hitting tennis balls again was electrifying. I have worked hard on my mobility, breathing control and patience, and the results are starting to show on the court. Tater tots and burgers after a hard 75-minutes on the courts was the perfect denouement of a long 10-day story.

The Huskies and Seahawks play critical games this weekend. I am going to kick back, read and take a much needed break this weekend. To more phases like these in the future...

Great career advice, courtesy HN

Often times, there are real nuggets in the comments section of a story posted on HN. I have, like my cohort who read HN, started reading comments first to determine whether the article is worth reading. While this doesn't give the requisite traffic to the source website and ends up taking up a lot more time than if I read the article, folks chiming in on the discussion have amazed me with their insights.

Here is the comment, pasted verbatim (thanks to braythwayt):

If you are sincerely interested in quashing abuse, and if the risk of being laid off does not frighten you, forget about the numbers and let’s talk about quashing abuse.

Twitter gets extremely mixed reviews from people who are the targets of abuse, and I believe I am putting that conservatively. So, what I would ask is not whether they are going to lay me off because they run out of money, but whether I am going to quit because when I get inside, I discover that they are not going to actually do much about it.

If Twitter has had a come-to-jesus moment about abuse, and there are no structural obstacles to doing something about abuse, this could be a job where you will one day look back and say, “I was part of the team that turned the corner on Twitter’s biggest problem. I made a difference.”

On the other hand, if Twitter doesn’t have quashing abuse in its cultural DNA, or if there are deep structural obstacles to quashing abuse, then you may discover that you cannot actually make a difference. That can be soul-crushing if you are passionate about the work.

I am not making a claim one way or the other about where Twitter is with this, I’m just suggesting that if you are motivated by making a difference, the biggest thing to figure out is whether you will actually be able to make a difference.
IMO, this matters more than the financial risk.

Note, not all commenters are this articulate. There is no dearth of trolls on HN. That's just the nature of online discourse.

Apple & Aluminium

Greg Koenig, the creator of Atomic Delights gave me goose bumps in his piece on Apple, Aluminium and whether the next iPhone will be all ceramic:

At peak production, Apple is manufacturing roughly 1 million iPhones per day. More importantly, every single one of those phones is sculpted to 10 micron tolerances, from a single block of aluminum, as is every Mac, iPad, Watch and many of the accessories. It is difficult to convey to folks without a manufacturing background how insane this is, but let me try.

He goes on to say (emphasis mine)...

A central pillar of Jony Ive's design philosophy is honesty of materials. It is one of those flowery phrases that I think gets glossed over most of the time, but we've seen Apple really evolve the entire aesthetic of the hardware lineup around it. 

...

What makes this product honest is that it isn't bullshit when Apple says the iPhone is "made from 7000 series aluminum." For almost every other big brand consumer products company, your "aluminum" phone would rally just be an applique, a veneer, a pretty cover on bog standard plastic guts. Yes, that phone would work just fine (again, Glock), but it wouldn't be honest.

With an iPhone, the very heart of the device's design and function is this single component. Like a Formula 1 car, this is a monocoque that serves as both the external shell and the internal structure. It isn't a case, or an enclosure - it is a chassis.

This last paragraph, the comparison to the monocoque of a Formula-1 car, drove the point home in the most articulate and emphatic way possible. The greatest Formula-1 drivers, Aryton Senna being one, trust this monocoque implicitly. They would be lost without the stability and flexibility it affords them on the race track.

I never gave much thought to the chassis that houses my precious iPhone; I will now.

Should Apple give iCloud Storage away, a la Google?

Google and Amazon have consistently moved the needle forward when it comes to Cloud-based services. Apple, on the other hand, is a laggard; its services are plagued by outages and poor performance. Microsoft is an after-thought.

There was a time when all providers charged for personal file storage -- some did it directly, others not so much. Here are starting options with pricing from the Big-4:

1. Amazon "bundles" unlimited photo storage with Amazon Prime ($99 a year, $10.99 a month)
2. Microsoft has a free 5-GB tier, $1.99 a month for 50-GB (plan details here)
3. Google had a free 15-GB tier for all document types
4. Apple has a free 5-GB tier; for $0.99 a month, you get 50-GB

Google has upended the market with its announcement on October 4. Vlad Savov writing for TheVerge:

Endless cloud storage. Google will allow free unlimited storage for full-resolution images and videos shot with the Pixel. That's much like the standard Google Photos backup ability, but takes off the size limit and compression, even on 4K video shot with the new phone.

You read that right: unlimited, free storage, no strings attached (photos will be scanned for metadata to serve you better ads, of course).

Thomas Ricker, wriring for TheVerge feels like he is getting a raw deal:

I’m feeling like a chump after yesterday’s Google event. I currently pay Apple $2.99 each month in return for 200GB of iCloud storage — space mostly allocated to my iCloud Photos library. But my free space recently dropped to zero after upgrading all my devices to iOS 10 and macOS Sierra.

He goes on (emphasis mine) ...

Dropbox comes close to Apple’s exorbitant pricing model but Dropbox is in the business of selling cloud storage. Even then, 1TB Dropbox Pro subscriptions cost $99.99 per year. Just think about that for a second; Apple charges more than Dropbox even though iCloud storage is a fundamental requirement for the features Apple promotes to help drive hardware sales.

This is such a US-centric view. China is Apple's biggest market, and iCloud Storage related revenue in that region isn't even broken out, it's that miniscule.

He proceeds to then make this bold assertion:

It’s bad enough that iCloud’s storage pricing hurts Apple’s most loyal customers — people who want to synchronize their data across multiple iOS, macOS, tvOS, and watchOS devices and then share it with like-minded friends and family. But the pricing also inhibits new customers from experiencing Apple devices to their fullest potential because the owners are reluctant to pay for something they were told was free.

The fact that iCloud is charging its users and Google isn't (but only for Photos), is this an unfair, even deceptive, practice by Apple? Are Apple users in crisis because iCloud usage comes with a price tag, and if they choose not to pay up they have to live with hampered functionality?

Short answer: a resounding NO.

For the average user -- me included -- the $0.99/month, 50-GB storage tier suffices. I haven't turned on macOS Sierra's iCloud Drive Sync feature. But even if I did, Google's FREE UNLIMITED storage for PICTURES wouldn't have helped me. I have more than PICTURES on my computer! If I turned this on, the next tier, $2.99 for 200-GB would be plenty. Yes, plenty.

This story, my avid readers, underscores my point that "there is a growing chasm between the tech press and users".

Yahoo keeps the hits coming!

All this time, I have been a staunch advocate of Yahoo vs. Google when it comes to privacy and security. The last month has shown me how shaky the ground is on which I stand vis-a-vis Yahoo. First there was news that data for 500-million Yahoo accounts was compromised:

Yahoo has confirmed that a data breach from 2014 hit 500 million users, allowing hackers access to sensitive information, including poorly encrypted passwords.
A press release from Yahoo confirms the news, and follows reports earlier today that Yahoo was set to confirm the breach. If true, stealing the user credentials from 500 million users would be one of the largest hacks ever to hit a US company.

And now, this (quoting BGR):

Intelligence agencies wanted Yahoo to scan all Yahoo Mail emails looking for a specific signature. Apparently, agents of a foreign terrorist organization were communicating using Yahoo “with a method that involved a ‘highly unique’ identifier or signature.” The investigators did not know what email accounts were used, so they needed Yahoo’s help to discover them.

Not a good coda for Marissa Mayer's tenure at Yahoo.

Trump's Vision of America

Gwynn Guilford and Annalisa Merelli writing for Quartz:

Whatever his logic, we now know more about the Republican candidate’s vision for the country. “Law and order” will wield its power arbitrarily, accountable to neither fact nor law. In Trump’s America, people of color will be kept “safe” by police that are required to be suspicious of them—and they’ll no longer have the Constitution to protect their rights.

That this person might win the Presidency and has such radical views on law enforcement make for a spine-chilling prospect for all people of color.

The Oakland Files

The move to Oakland has been quite an adventure. It has been about a week since Puneet and I found our way to our slice of heaven in the Bay Area. The journey was long and circuitous, meandering through Hampton Boulevard in Norfolk to Brookside Way in University Place, and we lost and found a number of things along the way. New friendships were forged, relationships were mended, and cherished possessions that had been part of our lives were bid goodbye. Such is the nature of moves: you gain some things and you lose others.

Of the things no longer with me, I do miss my BMW the most. Attachment is hard to rationalize, even harder to manage, especially when the thing in question is no longer with you. I am happy that my prized possession is in the care of someone who will preserve it to the best of their ability. It’s all about finding silver linings in situations, isn’t it…

After a long hiatus, I got on the tennis court last afternoon. The last six or so months in Norfolk, January through the end of June, helped me regain some of the lost fitness during my years at Deloitte. Tennis was a constant in my life, and I made a number of friends on the tennis courts, chief among them being Dr. Rich Ciavarra. Him and I played almost every day, for hours on end. Let me tell you something about this rare gentleman: He is 72-years old, but has the resolve and fitness of a 40-year old man. When playing with Rich, I couldn’t help but reminisce about the hours spent on the badminton court with my dad. Now that I think back to all the hours playing tennis, I attribute my desire to relive that time on the court with my Pops to be the reason for why I enjoyed tennis with Rich so much. It was as if he was a proxy for my Pops. Only time will tell if I will find someone in Oakland who is as passionate and available to play tennis as he was. Cest la Vie.

Oakland is a very bike friendly city, so I have put my newly fixed up bike to good use this past week, much to the dismay of my “poor” buttocks! My bike has a very stiff seat, so I did some research and bought a new one from Amazon finally; it arrives on Thursday. Guess what it is called: Planet Bike “ARS”! They should have added an “e” at the end, lower case and nondescript, of course! :) I cannot wait to install it on my bike when it arrives and do a test ride.

There is another side to Oakland though, and it hit me in the face a few days ago. I went looking for tennis courts on Tuesday evening after work. No car here, so I got on my trusty but painful bike, and rode around town for about 90-minutes. Unfortunately, I struck out at three spots, and I have lost faith in the veracity of information provided by a website Google ranks really highly: http://tennismaps.com. I first rode to a college, Laney College, because it supposedly had 8-courts in good condition. Reality: the courts had been razed to make way for a new building. Tennis courts, the first casualty of urbanization and increased student enrollment. Down but not out, I rode next to a park with 3-courts, but miscreants had stolen the nets! The nets! What does one do with tennis court nets?!

Not one to quit, or not know when to quit, I decided to try a third recommended location. After riding about 4-miles through a neighborhood that seemed to get seedier with every passing block, I finally reached the park. Much to my dismay, the park was rundown; weeds were everywhere, there were huge cracks in the asphalt and the basketball court, the basketball rims were sans nets, and the air was heavy with a noxious cocktail of spices and weed. A shirtless man was throwing a baseball at a tree, screaming incoherently every few seconds.

In isolation, none of these sights would cause alarm. In their entirety though, they made me shudder. I made an executive decision and turned around immediately. To not panic was the hardest, but I somehow managed to stay calm and transfer as much energy to my pedaling feet as I could. I weaved through a street that had a number of gentlemen sitting on their tailgate catching up on the day’s events while cat-calling passers-by. I rode past homeless people living under the freeway bridge in abject squalor. I didn’t let these sights unsettle my focus. About 10-minutes later, I was back in familiar territory, on the “right” side of the freeway corridor. Relieved to have made it this far, I paused to wonder about the circumstances—commercial, political, sociological—that had resulted in such a stark disparity between two sides of the same city. The heaviness of the thoughts dragged me down, and while I moved on to lighter thoughts once I got home, I do think that the widening chasm between the haves and the have-nots must be bridged if we are to avert an upcoming reckoning. It’s a matter of finding a way at the grass roots level, and building on up.

The Growing Chasm between the Tech Press and Users

Us technology folks (fans, users, critics and developers) are living in a time when there is no dearth of tech news. As you would expect, Apple is covered in great depth and breadth by the Technology Press. As a shareholder and Apple device owner, the feverish (borderline fanatical) coverage of Apple minutiae is a blessing and a curse: Apple stock moves based on Tech press sentiment as opposed to fundamentals. The flip side is that I am perennially aware of new features, product releases, growth potential, and a constant stream of rumors and theories on what Apple will do next. I read the following every day:

• Hacker News
• QZ
• WSJ
• AppleInsider
• BGR
• The Verge

I will occasionally browse through the Daring Fireball feed to which I am subscribed. Therefore, I consider myself to be a curious and informed reader. Since I am now purely a consumer/user of technology, I am increasingly interested in coverage that speaks to the "User" as opposed to the "Technologist" perspective when it comes to new product announcements and launches, both hardware and software.

One of my favorite writers covering Technology is Mr. David Pogue. Mr. Walt Mossberg is a close second. I like their style because they inject humor and whimsy into what is an otherwise dull (think of the color beige) subject. Mr. Pogue, in particular,  leverages his knack for making silly and ironic videos to showcase new devices and products, thereby demonstrating to users how he uses a new product or feature as opposed to mere prose. Their focus is the user, and how technology enables users to accomplish a discrete set of goals.

Unlike these two writers, a large percentage of the Technology press these days has shifted the locus of their coverage away from users and on to what technology can and should enable in the future. This contingent of the press seems to want a death match, a zero sum game almost, between the technology Titans  – Facebook, Google, Amazon and Apple. Stripes and street cred are won or lost based on who predicts the winner of the next round correctly. The frenzied press coverage comes at us consumers in all formats 24x7: print, social media feeds, audio and video. This has to be a good thing, right? Increasingly, I don't think so!

Alas, the Tech Press, like Film Critics, have lost touch with consumers of technology. Most users with whom I have spoken don't even leverage 10% of the functionality in their current devices across all SKUs (mobile, tablet, laptop). They feel increasingly overwhelmed by what is available on the market, and are extremely skittish about Web-based/Cloud services. One such gentleman has four degrees, one being a PhD! When I asked him how he felt about more technology, he said he had enough to keep him busy. My wife and her family? The same response (except her 24-year old brother, of course). These folks could care less with the future of technology; they are struggling to keep up with what's already available!

Only one of the news outlets that I read balances the "User" with the "Technologist"; it is The Boy Genius Report. The writers do their best to showcase how users can make the most of Technology, regardless of vendor. Their practical articles mixed in with the chief editor's prognostications, compliments and diatribes strike a good balance without coming off as preachy, dour and heavy-handed.

The rest of the Technology Press should consider a similar approach or risk alienating a large reader group that can neither appreciate nor abide news that always makes it seem like nothing is good enough.

The 3P Theorem for Optimizing Distributed User-centric Services

There has been a lot of talk on Distributed, User-centric Web Services enabled by Artificial Intelligence lately. The fierce rivalry between Google, Facebook, Microsoft and Apple has shifted to this new playground, and Apple is lagging behind the competition. Facebook, Google and Microsoft (to some extent) each have a treasure trove of data gathered from users of their purported "free" services. They use this data to build deeply integrated, contextually rich services for users that enable use cases that blow Apple's current crop of services out of the water. While this lack of richness and specificity of context has been Apple's Achilles heel, I like that Apple doesn't mine my personal data to further its corporate goals. How can Apple make progress to even compete with its rivals?

After having looked at the myriad reasons as to why Apple hasn't been able to compete where upstarts like Snapchat and WhatsApp have excelled, I synthesized my findings into a theorem that I call the 3P theorem.

 

Introducing the 3P Theorem

When designing and optimizing massively distributed services, companies have to balance three key considerations:

1. Performance and contextual richness

2. Price

3. Privacy

The 3P theorem states that only any 2 of these 3 considerations can be maximized/optimized when building distributed, user-centric services. This theorem for governing user-centric services optimization is akin to the CAP storage optimization theorem. 

Using the theorem, let's score Apple's rivals, shall we. 

A. In the Red Corner: Facebook and Google.

1. Performance and contextual richness: A 

2. Price: Free: A 

3. Privacy: D

B. In the Blue Corner: Apple 

1. Performance and contextual richness: C 

2. Price: Free tier (higher usage incurs costs): B

3. Privacy: A

As you can see, Apple has taken the alternative approach of sacrificing contextual richness for the sake of upholding user privacy while maintaining an almost free price for all its services. Users like me like me prefer that stance, but I am, as many would say, a dying breed. Millennials, for example, have grown up with Facebook, Snapchat and Google, and couldn't care less what is done with their data as long as they continue to get free access to services. 

For Apple to get a leg up on its rivals then, it needs to increase the contextual richness and purported performance of its services. Something has got to give then, and neither scenario bodes well for Apple. 

1. Charge for services: This proposal is DOA. Few will pay for services that rivals are offering for free. Besides, overcoming technology inertia is one of the most difficult things to do these days.

2. Soften stance on user privacy: While this seems like the most obvious solution, and yesterday's announcement on Differential Privacy indicates that Apple recognizes the need to gather data to tune their AI algorithms, it is a slippery slope. All along, Apple has differentiated itself by claiming that they truly don't mine user data; everything is unequivocally done on the device.

This is a very interesting space that will develop significantly over the next 6-9 months. To compete, especially in the nascent wearables space, Apple has to deliver smarter services to its users, enable sharing and social features, and create recurring revenue streams that offset sagging device sales. As of this writing, I am long AAPL, and recognize the headwinds that can slow them down. But, headwinds are simply decelerators; they aren't show-stoppers. The AAPL show will go on...

Peak Apple Isn't Upon Us

Yesterday was a red letter day for many followers of Apple's software and hardware. Developers, users and financial analysts alike listened with bated breath as Apple's top brass took turns introducing new features and incremental improvements to all its core software platforms:

1. Mobile: iOS

2. Wearable: watchOS

3. Traditional Computing: macOS (new moniker for Mac OS X)

4. Living Room: tvOS

As you can imagine, the announcement was received very differently by its two core sets of constituents: 

1. Users

2. The Press: Financial and Technical

Let me present both view-points to you:

Perspective 1: Users

From a user's standpoint, this was a great announcement. Almost all the changes announced during the keynote seemed logical and much needed enhancements to all platforms. Let's take my household for example: we have 3-iPhones, 3-iPads, 3 MacBooks, 1 iMac, and an AppleTV soon. All my devices will be better integrated, work faster, use on-device storage better (can I get a whoop-whoop for AppleFS), and last longer on the same charge. 

Additionally, the degree of change introduced yesterday varied from platform to platform. This made a lot of sense to me as a user. The most mature, macOS got a few key enhancements and a new name but not much else. Contrast that with watchOS, which got a complete overhaul! For the nascent Apple Watch platform, i.e. watchOS, I share the popular viewpoint that the device was released prematurely. watchOS was just not ready last year! Had the release version of watchOS been as capable and "full term" as the one announced last morning, the Apple Watch wouldn't have been "still born". The device's sales haven't been stellar; dare I say they have been lackluster. Apple actually dropped the price of the device less than a year after it was a year-old. This was an unprecedented move: Apple doesn't really reduce the price of a device until either a carrier decides to subsidize the device's price (in the case of the original iPhone) or it releases a new model (all device releases thus far). We have now learned of a third circumstance in which they reduce prices: pragmatism.

To summarize: Hurrah for users!

Perspective 2: The Press

In the 24-some hours since the announcement, the Technology press has been inundated with Apple doom and gloom type articles. Daring Fireball's @gruber notwithstanding, most of Apple's ardent supporters have said that the company is more into "renovation than innovation" these days. This is no different a tune from that sung since the passing of Steve Jobs. Apple under Tim Cook has been accused of improving as opposed to innovating, incrementally at that. Another accusation routinely leveled at the company has been that it has lost its edge, its mojo. They don't know how "Apple can get its groove back". Hardware-software integration and overall software usability, once Apple's crown jewel, has also come under attack of late. Popular blogger Marco Arment's now widely quoted post from last month alludes to Apple having missed the boat when it comes to Artificial Intelligence services as compared to rivals Google, Facebook and Microsoft. Ouch!

The collective press that covers Apple, as you might have figured, doesn't have the same concerns as us users. They look to Apple for leadership in every market segment, and want Apple to continue to grow their sphere of influence to encompass more domains, more devices, more users, more services, more, more... Unfortunately, Apple isn't delivering like the press wants them to; arguably speaking, they haven't delivered for a while now. Therefore, the press does what it does best: Turn on their darling in the quest for more clicks, more ads, more readership.

Is there a middle ground?

The press's expectations are so absurdly high that they are not achievable. Apple can do no right at the present moment; and while there is some truth to their prognostications of doom, I would characterize Apple's current phase of one of consolidation as opposed to feverish growth. Apple is becoming more and more like Microsoft, acting like a Blue Chip company, and shareholders should rejoice. Unfortunately, the press construes delivering value to be mutually exclusive with being charismatic. And Apple is definitely delivering value.

The broader issue here is that 2 out of the 4-platforms, i.e. 50%, have reached a level of maturity that makes it hard to truly "shock and awe" the pundits. Users will continue to buy and use these devices, but they aren't expecting significant changes at this point in their lifecycle. Take me for example: A Luddite by no means. But, even I seem to like things the way they are, and my platform lock-in is almost irreversible. While I welcome efficiency and usability gains, I would be extremely frustrated if I were faced with the proposition of reacclimatizing myself with a wholly redesigned macOS or iOS.

So, we are at an impasse.

The Path Forward

What we really need is a new interaction paradigm. The Apple Watch is the first salvo but it missed the mark. I am going on a limb here, but something like a hybrid of the watch with a Leap Motion type screen that presents a 1-way viewable hologram with which we can interact would make us rethink how we use devices to stay connected with our networks - personal and professional. Shifting the locus of the discussion to a whole new platform will allow Apple (and other companies) to put the established platforms on a continuous improvement cycle as opposed to the current pressure chamber created by lofty expectations.

Hiring Tip: 5-Characteristics of Good Team Members

A key aspect of creating and managing a team is finding the right folks. I have been on good teams and bad ones, and for a while I couldn't figure out why things just didn't work out sometimes. I attributed the lack of cohesion mostly to my personal failings and personality quirks; experience has made me wiser - it wasn't just me.

There are two characteristics that all good teams on which I have been have in common:
1. A management team that is empathetic and cares about the growth of its people;
2. People with domain expertise and an intangible "joie de vivre"

Tons of ink has been spilled on what makes for a great management team. Even more on how to become even better than great at managing teams. I won't attempt to better the work of the good professors at Harvard Business School. Instead, I am going to demystify the "intangible" by sharing a simple rule with you that I call the "Vowels Rule":

A: Accountable
E: Energetic; relentless
I: Intelligent
O: Outcome focused
U: Upstanding and trustworthy

There you have it; my very own rule! As the hiring manager, devise questions and scenarios for your screening/interview process that gauge your prospective team member using these five (5) yardsticks.

Had I known this when I started out in 2001, I might have made better career moves. More importantly, had I known what to look for, I would have consistently hired people on my team with these intangible qualities, increasing my teams' cohesion. It's all good though; I am in a great spot now. Knowing is everything... Q.E.D.

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There is another key aspect of career development and growth that wanted to share with you. The pundits say your career is driven mostly by your capabilities. They are wrong. Your career is more a product of how your boss both perceives and goes to bat for you than anything else. More on that in my next post.

Impressing Asian parents is an NP Hard problem

To quote Economist intern, Adnan Sarwar, on why you probably don't need an MBA:

Do it because you want to.
I was trying to please Asian parents. I had failed them in my teens by not getting into medical school, and instead joining the army. You cannot impress Asian parents. Unhappiness is their default. And honestly, I believe they enjoy it. My mother has berated me for over twenty years for not getting an arranged marriage. She never tires of it. I call home to tell her how my job at The Economist is going and there it is—that painful pause, hear it?—and then “When are you going to get married?” If I did get married, my mother would be unimpressed by my choice. If she chose my wife, she would be unimpressed that I was not yet Lakshmi Mittal. My mother is unrelenting.

Which is to say: remember, you do not need an MBA. Only do it if you want to. Food and water are needs; an MBA is an expensive want. Like a Rolex. And that didn't impress my mother either.

I agree with Adnan's assertion, for the most part. Indian parents, moms in particular, can be very difficult to please. The key to overcoming that insurmountable issue is to decouple your sense of self worth from your mom's approval. In a weird twist, once your mom realizes that you are past her judgment, she will stop judging you.

The Power of a Positive Mindset

What follow are excerpts from a great article on QZ (http://qz.com), which collectively indicate that a positive mindset is key to overcoming adverse circumstances:

Crum’s work has shown that mindsets significantly influence both our physical and mental health in areas as diverse as exercise, stress and diet.

As I look back at the last few years in Men's tennis, the ascendency of Novak Djokovic can be attributed squarely to his self belief and positive mindset. He believes he can win every match he plays, and with a few positive results his belief gets reinforced, thereby creating a virtuous cycle.

Back to the article:

Back on the US East Coast for the holidays, the chill in the air and the early nightfall already had some of my friends and family grumbling. But I was able to convince at least some of them to find what they love about winter and lean into it; looking at winter as an opportunity rather than a burden can help people enjoy all that the season has to offer.

I pointed out that Norwegians embrace the idea of koselig, or “coziness” – that making the conscious effort to light candles and fires, drink warm beverages and snuggle under blankets can be enjoyable and relaxing.

And taking the time to bundle up and get outside even in the worst weather can help you feel like winter isn’t limiting your opportunities for recreation. Norwegians have a saying that “there’s no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing,” which typifies their ingrained belief that being active is part of a happy life – and, especially, a happy winter."

Read the entire story here: https://theconversation.com/a-small-norwegian-city-might-hold-the-answer-to-beating-the-winter-blues-51852