To the talented visionaries and meticulous implementers who have made possible all of these services and products: you have my appreciation, gratitude, and loyal patronage. Thank you for enabling such a deliciously seamless and omnipresent access to data, media, and overall connectivity which I had dreamed about in the 90′s and early 2000′s. Such access makes doing business (and life) easier, more efficient, and ironically more “untethered” than ever.

Services

Each of these services enable synchronization of data and files between multiple Macs and iOS devices (e.g. iPhones, iPads, iPod Touches). They are what ultimately enable a unified computing environment where data is accessible regardless of the hardware used to access it (iMac at home, iMac at office, MacBook Air laptop, Mac Mini connected to entertainment center, iPhone, iPad, etc.):

• MobileMe – IMAP email and synchronization of contacts, calendar, and more
• Dropbox – seamless, simple, and very efficient file synchronization
• Remember The Milk – task and project management for items unrelated to CRM
• Salesforce – CRM database extraordinaire
• WordPress – hosted version of fantastic, reliable, open-source (FREE) web publishing software
• Simplenote – as implied by its name, this simple text/note synchronizing service enables iOS device and Mac note synchronization in a particularly elegant way, providing a bridge between a native iOS application and plain text file editing on the Mac via Notational Velocity; especially powerful when coupled with Dropbox
• Instapaper – provides caching of the text-based substance of a web page; cleans up “noisy” formatting when reading blogs and web sites and provides for a particularly elegant means of reading numerous articles offline, once synchronized, with iOS apps
• Various Google services: Voice, Reader, Calendar, Contacts, Checkout, Maps, Picasa (for photos)
• Google Voice – unification of multiple phone numbers, including web-based SMS, voicemail, and voicemail transcription
• SpanningSync – synchronizes iCal and Address Book to Google’s calendar and contacts; particularly useful for Google Voice and embedding Google Calendar widgets into dashboards, such as a customized version in Salesforce.com
• YouMail – convenient replacement of standard voice mail of cell phone carrier with visual voice mail app; nearly redundant with use of Google Voice, except for capturing direct calls to original numbers (non-Google Voice); best feature: sending email whenever a call is missed or and includes an attached MP3 file whenever voicemail is left
• Sirius XM Internet radio – coupled with my satellite-based subscription
• AmazonPrime – great discount on shipping and a tremendous time and money saver, as well as being highly convenient
• TripIt – “freemium” service which automatically populates details of one’s trip itinerary simply by forwarding confirmation emails to plans@tripit.com; supremely easy way to organize flight information, hotel and rental car information, and other travel details

OS X applications (for Mac computers)

• Butler – highly efficient way to launch applications, documents, bookmarks, and media from a hotkey stroke
• BetterTouchTool – amazing utility to better make use of multitouch gestures (including taps, clics, and swipes) for both the Magic Mouse and a laptop’s touchpad… gestures the way Apple should have made them available natively
• Radium – simple, elegant access to Internet radio feeds, including SiriusXM
• Caffeine – a handy toggle to prevent display sleep or screen saver from initiating according to normal Energy Saver settings; great when used on a laptop for which presentations are given
• Growl – elegant notification service supported by numerous applications
• TextExpander – handy utility which supports inline expansion of predefined text “snippets”; very useful for inserting time/date stamps, formatted text, etc.
• NetNewsWire – RSS feed reader, synchronizes with Google Reader
• Tweetie and Tweetdeck – preferred Twitter clients
• Notational Velocity – simple, searchable text file aggregator which synchronizes to the Simplenote service
• MarsEdit – fantastic client to edit posts (and now pages, as well!) for blogs
• Voice Mac – extremely handy interface to Google Voice, allowing for dialing from Address Book and sending or receiving SMS directly from one’s computer, complete with access to the service’s history of communications
• Adium – preferred text-only IM client
• Transmit – high-performance file transfer client (including FTP and WebDAV protocols, among others); now includes slick integration into Finder
• PhoneValet – for a desktop connected to a fixed landline telephone, it enables direct-dial and call recording application, coupled with a small USB-based piece of hardware which connects to the phone line in use
• Google Chrome – namely for Google Voice extension allowing click-to-dial of phone links, great for Salesforce.com
• Quicken from Intuit – likely to be replaced in my arsenal by iBank soon, given Intuit’s lack of updating the moribund Quicken for Mac product
• Keynote (from Apple’s iWork) – great presentation tool with superior usability and elegance of transitions compared to PowerPoint
• Pages (from Apple’s iWork) – preferred for simple graphic layout software which capably embeds vector artwork (e.g. postscript format)
• Microsoft Excel (from Microsoft’s Office) – remains the gold standard spreadsheet application for usability and functionality
• Microsoft Word (from Microsoft’s Office) – still the universal word processor, though possibly soon to be overshadowed by Pages or OpenOffice products
• Hulu desktop client – fantastic access to Hulu web content in a native application

iOS apps

Business and Productivity

• Remember The Milk – superior task and project management app, well aligned with the David Allen Getting Things Done (GTD) methodology; synchronizes with the RememberTheMilk.com service with a Pro account for a small annual fee
• Salesforce – great native application which synchronizes with the Salesforce.com service
• Simplenote – simple, clean note taking application with great searching capability; integrates with Simplenote service
• Dropbox – allows access to files and folders synchronized with the Dropbox.com service; in iOS 4.0, it supports opening of files in preferred applications
• GoodReader – fantastic document viewer, with remarkable performance for large file sizes
• iTeleport – amazingly well implemented VNC (Virtual Network Computing) application for controlling a computer remotely; works blazingly fast over one’s LAN and remarkably well over the WAN when coupled with a simple authentication established through iTeleport Connect
• Air Mouse Pro – fantastic remote trackpad and keyboard for controlling a Mac over the LAN (via MobileMouse Server) complete with dedicated, programmable function softkeys for specific applications
• Dragon Dictation – Voice-to-text transcription for copying to clipboard
• TextExpander – synchronizes text snippets with any Mac on its LAN, and is one of the few iOS apps which plays well with others (particularly great when coupled with Simplenote)
• Navigon MobieleNavigator – great turn-by-turn navigation with voice-to-text speech for street names, clear user interface, and integrated Google search for point-of-interest (POI) navigation
• Google Maps (bundled with iOS) – fantastic integration with mass transit or directions for pedestrians; essential when traveling
• Instapaper – aesthetically clean and easy way to access articles cached within the Instapaper service
• Reeder – my preferred iPhone RSS feed reader, which synchronizes with Google Reader
• iPicasso – great utility to batch import multiple photos and videos to one’s [Google] Picasa account
• WordPress – direct access to editing all of my web sites, including easy comment regulation
• RedLaser – scans UPC codes and searches for online as well as nearby vendors for easy price comparison while shopping
• Facebook – easiest way to access the popular service on the iPhone
• Twitter – formerly named Tweetie, it has become the standard iPhone app owned by the Twitter service

Entertainment

• RedEye – universal control of all infrared devices by way of a unit which translates commands over one’s wireless network into an infrared blast stream
• IMDB – essential trivia-locating application to research actors in TV and movies
• iRentMovie – great for managing one’s Netflix queue
• YouTube web app – superior performance compared to the native YouTube app, particularly involving predictive search
• EyeTV – requires hardware and software purchase for Mac to enable both DVR and live TV streaming to one’s iPhone over WiFi or 3G data connections
• Zinio – never buy a printed magazine again
• Kindle and iBooks (bundled in iOS 4+) – never buy a printed book again

The iPad-optimized experience

In my last post, I described the iPad as being “an experiment, at best” in its present incarnation due to shortcomings in the hardware features. Being a natural experimentalist, of course, I ultimately had to cave and participate in the experiment, myself.

While in all specification comparison it is truly and oversized iPod Touch, the physics of the display and larger touch surface do ultimately change the user experience in a way which cannot be properly understood by examining specifications, alone. As with the iPhone, what makes the iPad “magical” is the change in how the user experiences and engages with content, both visually and kinesthetically:

• iTeleport – VNC control with iPad-sized form factor; perhaps one of the best reasons to own an iPad?
• MobileMouse – form factor of the iPad allows for simultaneous use of the iPad’s soft keyboard, touch mouse, and dedicated function/media keys as defined per application; truly a game-changing remote control experience when used with a Mac Mini as part of one’s home entertainment center
• Reeder – a kinesthetically and visually stimulating RSS feed reader which synchronizes to Google Reader
• EyeTV – iPad-sized screen viewing live or recorded TV at will, and all subscription-free. Media FLO/FLO TV never had a chance, even at its inception (who watches live TV, anyway?), and the iPad’s beauty and form factor seals the coffin shut compared to other FLO TV viewing devices
• Netflix – great interface and quality live streaming from Netflix’s limited library in this format; hopefully this grows soon to be a viable competitor to Hulu Plus
• Zinio – as great as the iPhone version is, the iPad experience is drop-dead amazing
• Kindle and iBooks (bundled in iOS 4+) – ditto for Zinio on iPad, only relating to books

Perhaps its original target as a high-end “Kindle killer” with multimedia capability holds sufficient promise to launch the product. In this limited view, there is at least an existing e-reader market, though the iPad is far outside the current market in terms of pricing. By comparison, the iPhone was not a BlackBerry killer when it first launched, and Steve Jobs clearly stated it was not trying to compete in this arena (implying–yet). While sorely lacking in basic smartphone (and even some basic plain-phone) utility at the time, the iPhone was revolutionary as a portable gaming and media device. As such, it flew out the door to the tune of millions of units worldwide.

As an oversized iPod Touch, the iPad is actually better suited than its smaller brother for a number of potential uses: ideal car-computer for telematics and entertainment as a center console and back-of-headrest display, interactive home theater/control remote, countless commercial and industrial custom applications, etc. What surprises me most about the specs of the device is the oversight of the hardware/industrial design which compromises the expansion of use as applications follow on its release. This is particularly surprising since Apple usually nails this aspect and is often regarded, even among its critics, as creating beautifully elegant and minimalistic though functional hardware. Maybe Apple excluded its normal set of “out of the box” thinkers when defining interfaces and constraints at its early high-level design meetings on this one.

The profile of the iPad (i.e. hardware interfaces on the side) should resemble something more like a cross between a MacBook Air and a MacBook Pro. By its form factor, it is unusable as a standard handset or hip-holstered device. It certainly could function as a VOIP softphone, but only utilized as a speakerphone or with a Bluetooth headset. Ergo, the quick-flip mute switch and volume buttons are not needed as they are on the iPhone or iPod Touch. Rather, a simple menu-bar-tap could bring up mute or volume controls.

Similarly, the standard 30-pin docking connector with external SD card adapter makes no sense on the iPad. The tablet should follow more of the MacBook Air philosophy, where external cables and hardwired peripherals are judiciously scorned and eliminated from the device. Besides, with only one 30-pin connector, the full-sized physical keyboard accessory may only dock in portrait mode. What if one wants to type in landscape mode? Fortunately, it sounds like Apple will finally support the bluetooth HID profile to allow for a physically non-tethered keyboard and subsequently allow for use in landscape mode.

Hardware interfaces which would be useful yet are not presently incorporated include:

• Mag safe power connector
• Mini Display port (allowing for DVI as well VGA output; why only include analog video outputs, especially for such a pricey toy?)
• SD card slot (which the iPhone/iPod Touch should also include)
• Integrated camera on front surface (for video chat), similar to all MacBooks

Further, a device which may function as a crossover between an iPod Touch and a laptop must have a multi-threaded OS and a minimum of a 128 GB SSD as an option (matching what’s available with the MacBook Air). The device has 7x the area of an iPod Touch and 15% greater thickness, so printed circuit board (PCB) real estate inside the device should not be a limiting factor for doubling the memory capacity of an iPod Touch at present.

This is clearly part of Apple’s long history of planned obsolescence to keep selling new units and support higher ASPs throughout the life cycle of the product. In six months, bump memory at the highest price point to 128 GB (read, install flash devices in currently unpopulated places on the PCB; simple BOM change and no redesign required). In another six months, add a front-facing camera, and consider rolling in the more sensible elements listed above (industrial/mechanical design change required). In a year after that, bump to 256 GB, spin the custom silicon for higher performance and/or a 20% improvement in battery life, and integrate a 4G modem. Maybe by 2012 they will get it right, at least for my money. For now, the utility of my iPhone matches (and exceeds) that of the iPad for all practical purposes, not to mention its portability.

In the meantime, Apple, please add the Week view for the calendar (as pictured in the iPad marketing photos) to iPhone v3.2 as it should have been in v1.0. Thanks!

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Apple, gadgets, ipad, kindle, technology

While these criteria are relevant to the entrepreneur, they have absolutely no bearing on the interests of the customer. The customer’s sole interest lies in whether his or her purchase yields good value.

Simply stated, value = benefit ÷ cost, or alternatively, everything is relative. A product or service is considered to be a “good deal” or “bad deal” compared to something else. If the derived benefits between two items are similar, then the lower priced item is of greater value. However, if two items yield significantly different benefits (or provide a similar type of benefit but at substantially different magnitudes), then comparing the costs alone between the two is immaterial.

On a recent episode of Top Chef Masters, one of the contestants serves a $5,000 hamburger at his restaurant, and he proudly claimed that they actually sell a number of these plates on a regular basis. By contrast, as evidenced by the government’s recent “Cars for Clunkers” program, this amount of money exceeds the market value of a perfectly functional, albeit aged, automobile. So for this same price point, a market exists for each item even though the provided benefit and scale of pricing for a hamburger versus an automobile are widely disparate. By this illustration, price points alone are nearly irrelevant unless dealing with commodities, in which there is little to no differentiation in benefit provided for a given product or service and competition is primarily driven by price alone.

Given the economies of scale available to large businesses or franchise models, the small business owner will likely find it much easier to compete through clearly differentiated benefits in lieu of low-margin commodities in order to provide a high level of value to customers. A commonly used term for concisely identifying this aspect of a product or service is a unique sales (or value) proposition, or USP/UVP. In the current economy, there may be a knee-jerk reaction to move toward a commdity-scale pricing based on the perception that a product or service is dropping in value as consumers use more discretion when spending. Is this actually a rational move?

Keeping the value equation above in mind, products or services whose benefits are clearly known and articulated among competitors remain of good value even if discretionary spending dollars are more scarce. After all, how does the state of any external economic condition affect the benefit offered by a product or service which has a timeless quality and solves a basic problem for people? Highly beneficial products and services have relatively inelastic demand, which essentially means they are price insensitive for a fixed supply.

The challenge for the entrepreneur is to be particularly clear on communicating the key benefits, uniqueness, and differentiating elements of one’s product or service. In doing so, one essentially avoids having any real competition in the marketplace and rather serves a niche by providing something which is simply unavailable elsewhere in the same way (scarcity) and thereby generates great value for customers. This method lends to having a recession-tolerant business which is sustainable through the cyclical nature of any given market.

Perhaps this verdict not surprising, since each device has its pros and cons and the widespread adoption of each are evidenced by the significant market share captured by each vendor. What requires a bit more under-the-hood analysis, however, is an evaluation of how well the devices actually perform as business tools and communication devices, more than simply comparing aesthetic preferences or brand loyalty.

Using any tool or technology requires some learning curve to master, and since both devices are currently available in the U.S. only through AT&T, a network performance/availability and pricing plan discussion between the two is a non-issue. What matters most to a small business owner (and admitted technophile) is practicality, features, and performance.

My primary reason for upgrading to the BlackBerry Bold from Research in Motion (RIM) in the beginning of 2009 was to make use of reliable 3G-data tethering, a nearly indispensable tool for those of us who need Internet access with our laptops and do not wish to add a separate data plan or the ever-so-20th-century USB modem dongle. When Apple announced its 3.0 version of software, as well as some hardware enhancements in its latest iPhone 3GS device, I finally considered the device to be entering the realm of what I would consider usable as a proper business tool. Despite being a huge fan of Apple products and owner of multiple Mac computers and iPods, I have resisted the iPhone since its inception as it has paled in comparison to the functionality of BlackBerry devices as business tools. Now having finally jumped on the iPhone bandwagon a few weeks ago, I have identified strengths of each platform in both architecture as well as native and third-party applications.

Architectural advantages of the BlackBerry Bold

A smartphone is, first and foremost, a phone. As such, any comparison of features such as design, applications, and usability all yield priority to functioning as an voice communicator. Comparing devices side-by-side (again, using same network in the same location), the Bold has superior audio quality using the headset directly, and in particular, when using the speakerphone. RIM’s audio design team raised an already high bar for audio performance with the Curve to an even higher standard with the Bold.

With any phone these days, communication is now frequently expected to take on written forms, such as sending/receiving text messages (SMS), email, and instant messaging (IM). The Bold’s keyboard is extraordinarily comfortable and is the best thumb-typing experience I have enjoyed to date (including Palm devices and definitely the iPhone). While I am quite impressed with the iPhone’s error correcting mechanism, it simply cannot rival the kinesthetic feedback offered by physical keys, and it is particularly ineffective at error correction when dealing with proper nouns, numbers, and symbols. I found it ironic in Steve Jobs’s initial announcement of the original iPhone two when he voiced contempt for the “cheap, plastic keys” used in other phones as being a hindrance to elegance and usability. Would these be a similar hindrance as the “cheap, plastic keys” which comprise their complete line of desktop and laptop computers? After all, if touch-screen keyboards were truly more efficient for data entry, we would all be using full-sized touch keyboards by now.

Having a physical keyboard also provides a wide number of single-press shortcuts to applications as well as assignable press-and-hold speed dial functionality for contacts. This translates to potentially over 100 single-touch operations which can be launched from the home screen (compared to the iPhone’s 20 icons per page, including the bottom dock). Further, hotkey functionality is designed into many BlackBerry applications along with context-menu features (via the trackball click) and full-menu features (via the dedicated menu button sporting the BlackBerry logo). This allows for access to a wide range of actions within an application with a one-or-two thumbclick reach.

What’s also great about the BlackBerry is the spell checking while typing feature, where an unobtrusive underline for a potentially misspelled word is identified and may be corrected by a quick trackball-initiated click to select a proper spelling. On the topic of the trackball (a BlackBerry hallmark since the Pearl), this mechanism is extraordinarily efficient for edit text (cursor placement) and copying/pasting. As such, any task which involves typing is a far easier, more efficient, and more accurate task on the Bold than the iPhone. On top of the kinesthetic physical advantage, the Bold offers an impressive autotext feature which allows for the addition of custom abbreviations (ala software like TextExpander) to further expedite typing tasks for common words and phrases.

Other advantages of the BlackBerry is that its operating system (OS) is a multi-threaded architecture, meaning that more than one application may be executed concurrently. This is particularly helpful when launching a web page in the browser, snapping back to BlackBerry Messenger or the email client to fire a response or copy some information, then jumping back to the browser to find that the page rendering has continue to load fully in the background. The BlackBerry is also highly configurable to a great level of detail regarding user options and profiles, and 3G data tethering via USB or Bluetooth and multimedia messaging service (MMS) actually work with AT&T’s service. Further, BlackBerry devices include media cards and provide an extremely handy automount feature when connected to a computer to facilitate file transfer to/from the media cards or internal memory from a computer. In using my phone as a primary business line, I also find great use in having a swappable battery which I have on-hand to maintain a full charge on-the-go. Given the fantastic support for Google application synchronization, having “cloud sync” of calendars and contacts is easy (and free) even for us non-Exchange users.

Architectural advantages of the iPhone

The iPhone clearly shines in two areas: anything involving pure reading or passive viewing, and having a flexible software development kit (SDK) for application development. Having incorporated MobileMe cloud synchronization was a huge feature when introduced (one I was awaiting since the original iPhone release) and elevates the status of both the device and the MobileMe service as true business-class tools (giving credence to Apple’s clever tagline, “Exchange for the rest of us.”). Visual Voicemail is a nice feature as a phone, but is certainly not a game-changing attribute.

Superior BlackBerry applications

BlackBerry Messenger is a great application which stands apart from other instant messaging (IM) clients, though it is restricted only to BlackBerry users. Using email within its underlying proprietary protocol, it easily allows for group chats and eliminates the 140-character limits of short messaging service (SMS). Further, in the realm of messaging, the BlackBerry OS provides a very clean integration of all messaging applications from supporting applications including emails, SMS/texts, Facebook, Google Talk/AIM, BlackBerry Messenger, and the like. It cleanly does so by aggregating incoming messages or active chats (if configured accordingly) to appear in the main message window, along with a small icon for the corresponding application. Along this line, it would be great to see a Twitter client incorporate this same functionality with direct messages.

As for other native personal information management (PIM) applications, the BlackBerry is very strong with its built-in calendar (week view, built-in task reminders), tasks, and memo applications. With AT&T, the Telenav software is very well integrated, providing accurate routing and point-of-interest assistance via speaking, typing, or selecting “Drive To…” within a link from contact or calendar event.

Other third-party applications which are of great use on the BlackBerry (and have superior functionality than the corresponding iPhone versions, if they even exist) are

• Vlingo (including the ability to create a “note to self” as or memo/task)
• Salesforce.com
• BBNotePad for editing text files within internal memory or on a media card
• Bluetooth keyboard driver for Universal Freedom portable keyboard

Superior iPhone applications:

Hands down, Safari Mobile is the best smartphone browser on the market. Its user interface, speed, accuracy of rendering, and automatic synchronization of bookmarks via MobileMe, is fantastic. What is surprising is that after two years of development, however, it still lacks support for Flash animation, as well as a simple ‘find text in page’ function which is only a shortcut keystroke away (by typing the letter ‘f’) in the BlackBerry mobile browser.

Similar to web browsing, reading HTML email on the iPhone is a dream. A very practical and important business advantage over the BlackBerry email client is having direct access to all of my IMAP mailboxes, something which RIM will likely never implement on BlackBerry devices given their desire to sell BES/BIS servers.

Other third-party applications which are of great use on the iPhone (and have greater functionality than the corresponding iPhone versions, if they even exist) are

• iPod/media player functionality: While the BlackBerry has a media player and it is easy to transfer to/from a memory card, the iTunes integration for media synchronization is top-notch, as are the iPod and Photos applications on the iPhone.
• Application store: The availability, user interface, speed, and push notification of updates for installed applications provide for a far superior experience in this are on the iPhone.
• The fantastic Remember the Milk (RTM) task/project management application which synchronizes with its corresponding online service provides a much more flexible way to view, sort, and interact with tasks compared to the BlackBerry’s native Tasks application.
• 1Password
• Tweetdeck
• YouTube
• FlightTrack
• iRentMovie for Netflix account/queue management
• HP42s calculator (yes, I still have an affinity for geeky calculators even after leaving the engineering world by trade)

Strange iPhone omissions

Despite now being on OS version 3.x after finally supporting such basic mainline features as copy/paste, Bluetooth tethering, and MMS, I am still amazed that a number of similarly “basic” functions are still missing from the iPhone OS and its bundled applications. Most, if not all, of these functions are supported by competitive handsets, and a number of them have been available for years in non-smartphone devices (i.e. regular phones):

• No Bluetooth object exchange (OBEX) profile support (allowing transfer of objects/files such as contacts, photos, or other files to other devices with the same capability
• Calendar
  • No week view
  • Cannot change calendar assignments (colors) for an existing event
  • Cannot tap-dial phone number listed as location
• Contacts
  • Cannot assign a new contact to an existing group
  • Cannot create/edit contact groups
• Safari Mobile: cannot find text within a web page (within Safari mobile)
• Cannot assign ringtones by contact group
• Cannot automount phone memory as an external disk (even though iDisk is now available)
• Voice recording via Bluetooth headset

In summary, the iPhone is great pocket-sized, connected computer and media viewer providing a flexible platform for custom application development. The BlackBerry’s place as an industry leading workhorse amd high-quality personal communicator remains well justified, not only in providing the common-sense expected features of a business tool but in providing a fair amount of personal/entertainment features, as well. Since most of the omissions and deficiencies of each platform noted above are software-releated, it will be interesting to see if either Apple or RIM will take note to improve their already great devices and remain highly attractive in the increasingly competitive smartphone market.

As a fair amount of my business is conducted on the move, and especially given that my local transportation is usually via motorcycle, having a compact and ultra-portable office is highly important. Establishing a tool flow which is lightweight both physically and logically allows me to work in a manner which is both fun and efficient. To date, the following are my favorite hardware and software tools of the trade:

Hardware and accessories

• MacBook Air
• Apple Bluetooth wireless keyboard – great for giving presentations when the laptop is connected to a projector
• Apple Magic Mouse
• Targus Bluetooth presenter for Mac
• Tumi Alpha laptop sleeve
• iPhone 3GS
• Plantronics Discovery 975 Bluetooth headset (for phone conversations)
• LG HBS-250 Bluetooth stereo headset (primarily for listening to media, though functional for quick phone conversations)
• Satechi rechargeable battery extender pack
• Freedom Universal Bluetooth keyboard – great companion for the now-external-keyboard-friendly iOS 4.0
• Mini USB hub for travel charging
• Zip-linq cables for compactly connecting to various USB devices
• Tumi backpacks for their stylish, practically designed, and rugged products to tote around all of the above, especially via motorcycle
• Dual-usb cigarette-lighter-adapter (CLA) for charging USB devices while driving
• OWC external hard drive (320 GB, USB 2.0 bus-powered)

Technorati Tags: gadgets, productivity, tech tools, Mac

Whatever the reason, those who brush their teeth daily do so consciously or unconsciously and typically do not offer this activity as an excuse for why they could not complete some other task (i.e. “I could not complete my homework because I had to brush my teeth last night”). Are there any other disciplines which, like brushing your teeth, may be keeping you from accomplishing anything else of great meaning in your life?

As David Allen says, “…it really isn’t about managing time.” The key issue is really about managing oneself, which is ultimately a matter of personal responsibility: “the opportunity or ability to act independently and make decisions without authorization.” I am, indeed, a fan of Mr. Allen’s Getting Things Done, which offers a practical set of guidelines to implement a system for managing workflow and information as it flies into our lives, with the aim of better allowing us to make decisions and act in ways which are best aligned with our goals, life purpose, areas of responsibility, and personal/professional relationships.

One of the easiest ways for us to jettison personal responsibility is to throw out the excuse “I’m too busy” or “I don’t have the time” to do certain things, whether it be to exercise, to learn a new hobby, to manage our finances, to earn a degree, etc. In many cases, this mindset is akin to a victim mentality where one is powerless to respond in a desired fashion to circumstances which are out of one’s control. The first step toward moving out of this mentality is to recognize that there is always a choice in how to react to circumstances which are not in one’s control, where the response to these circumstances is what ultimately determines the outcome which we experience.

For the sake of gaining perspective on the availability of time, here’s a brief itemization of how an average working adult may spend their hours in a given week:

Many people do not spend 2 hours per day eating and another 2 hours per day commuting, so this example may be a bit overly pessimistic on average. As a baseline, however, this breakdown shows that even with a dedicated 4 hours per day allocated to family/entertainment and “miscellaneous” time, there are still another 20 hours remaining in a week! What are we doing with all of this time? We all spend the same amount of time in a week somehow. The interesting question is to determine whether this time is allocated consciously (toward a desired outcome) or rather subconsciously (often in reaction to external or otherwise undesirable demands).

In actuality, this scarcity or resource management issue relating to time applies similarly to money, where some may offer the excuse “I don’t have the money to…” (fill in the blank with any number of activities: join a gym, take a class, go on vacation, save for retirement, put a child through college, pay for gas, buy a new car, buy health insurance, go to a seminar, etc.). Sound familiar? A good first step toward shifting away from this time and money scarcity consciousness is to take ownership of the fact that we are all making choices with how spend these resources. Begin with a simple self-talk exercise, and start monitoring how many times you find yourself saying any of the following phrases:

• “I don’t have enough time to…”
• “I’m too busy to…”
• “I cannot afford to…”
• “I don’t have the money to…”

Make a note of the desired item which is currently not being engaged in (due to time) or purchased (due to money) and for each instance replace any of the above phrases with “I choose to prioritize [item of chosen priority] over… [item of lack].” For example, “I choose to prioritize paying my mortgage over taking a cruise this month.” This statement implies that paying my mortgage is of higher priority than buying a cruise ticket, even though it’s possible that there are other expenses which I could forego or delay if the cruise were really a great priority to me. This clarifies that the issue is really not about having the money, per se, as it is my use of the money which I have being applied toward items which are of greater value to me. Another example for the time scenario might be “I choose to prioritize spending an hour at the gym exercising over watching an hour of television today.” This does not mean that I cannot watch any television today, but it requires that I watch one hour less of television than I may have otherwise in order to take care of my body through exercise, assuming that I make no other adjustments to time spent on such activities as those listed above.

This simple change of phrasing will help to highlight areas where time or money is being spent which may or may not be at all in alignment with our pre-stated goals. This also tends to prompt more conscious decision-making so that resources (time, energy, and/or money) are prioritized to feed those goals or outcomes which we have previously intended to have or to achieve.

As a practical example, I have a friend who recently has taken up learning to play golf. While I do not play the game myself, I can certainly understand why one would enjoy playing the game (being in the company of friends, enjoying the beautiful weather outside, getting a modest amount of physical activity, relishing a sense of accomplishment in improving one’s game or being in friendly competition with others). Taking up this hobby does come with its costs in terms of money (equipment, apparel, green fees or club memberships) and time. I understand that a typical game of playing 18 holes will consume roughly 7-8 hours within a day, and many who enjoy the game look to play at least one day per week.

Ironically, this friend recently mentioned having no time to take on any new activities in her life, being a single mother with a full-time job who is looking to change careers and build a private practice in massage therapy. Further, she mentioned being financially challenged by the prospect of potentially being forced into early retirement by her employer in a couple of years and she is afraid that her new practice may not provide an adequate income for her at that time. Do I berate my friend for choosing to pick up golf as a hobby? Of course not. However, it does appear that her stated goals/concerns are not clearly prioritized by how she’s spending this additional time on a new hobby. If money were really a primary concern, why is she choosing to spend it on golf clubs and green fees? If her time were fully booked as a full-time mother, employee, and builder of a new career, how could she magically carve out 7-8 hours per week for a new hobby?

In mentoring individuals how to build a part-time business from home, I give people a daily recommended regime (basically a business “workout schedule”) which advises them to spend, on average, 7 focused hours per week in order to build a profitable business which, over 3-4 years, may provide a residual income stream in excess of the national household median income. Those who spend this time productively and consistently generate real income for their efforts. Those who do not prioritize the time for these activities, of course, do not experience the financial benefits and remain stuck in the cycle of reaping what they have already been sowing (and probably have a laundry list of excuses as to why they are not able to achieve their goals).

The practice of incorporating a discipline to spend relatively small but consistent amounts of time and effort to achieve large results over time is anything but innovative. Spending only 20 minutes per day engaging in aerobic exercise will produce significant cardiovascular and endorphin benefits over time, far more than spending 4 hours one Saturday per month trying to catch up with a high-intensity workout. Brushing one’s teeth for 5 minutes twice daily will yield far more pleasant dentist visits than a marathon session of teeth brushing undertaken only once just before a checkup. As Jim Rohn says, “Discipline is the glue that binds inspiration to achievement.” What disciplines might you consider incorporating to help you experience that which truly inspires you?

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habits for success, personal development, discipline,
time management

• MobileMe (WAN sync), carrying Apple’s clever tag line of being “Exchange for the rest of us”
• Attachment view of iWork & Office ’97 docs
• Integrated GPS

While I give kudos to Apple for these most welcome additions (especially offering WAN sync to MobileMe), I am still quite disappointed by the lack of a removable battery and some form of expandable storage (via either MMC or microSD card) in the hardware, particularly as the latter would allow for doubling the available memory. Minimally, one would expect the iPhone 3G to match the highest memory capacity of the current iPod Touch (32 GB), but alas, the initial offering will only provide up to 16 GB. As disappointing as these shortcomings are, I have even greater concerns regarding what was not mentioned by Mr. Jobs’s keynote address in terms of software support available in v2.0.

My hope is that neglecting to mention the following “new” features is a tacit admission of guilt that they are only finding their way into v2.0 software a full year after the device’s initial release. Considering that they have been supported for years on even the most aging smartphone platforms (such as those running the Palm OS) and many non-smartphones, it is ridiculous for the iPhone to continue excluding these basic features. Considering that my requested feature set is not unique, it begs the question: Is the iPhone development team actually reading any of the many iPhone blogs which express disappointment at these missing “baseline” features?

• Adequate Bluetooth profile support
  • Dialup Networking (DUN) via 3G/EDGE – allowing a laptop to use the phone as a modem (which may by explicitly disabled by wireless carriers)
  • Object Exchange (OBEX) – allowing push/pull of objects (e.g. contacts, media files)
  • Advanced Audio Distribution Profile (A2DP) – allowing the local broadcasting of stereo audio to compliant wireless stereo headphones or to a car stereo
  • Hands-free Profile (HFK) with voice dial via Bluetooth
  • Human Interface Device (HID) – allowing external I/O devices to control the iPhone (e.g. keyboard, mouse)

  • Serial Port Profile (SPP) – … and any other higher level support which would allow for interoperation with BluePhone Elite
  • Audio/Video Remote Control Profile (AVRCP) – allowing control of media devices via software such as Salling Clicker
• Global copy/paste functionality
• Global search functionality across all applications’ databases (e.g. Spotlight for iPhone)
• Native portrait/landscape mode for all applications
• Virtual Hard Disk Drive (HDD) mode – the ability to transfer files to/from the iPhone via usb or as an attached network storage device
• Video recording
• Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS)

Additional third-party applications I would like to see released for the iPhone, assuming Apple will not incorporate them as native applications, include:

• Yojimbo by Bare Bones Software (including sync with MobileMe)
• Voice dial (potentially supported by VoiceSignal, which already has some demos in the works)
• Call recording
• Voice memo

If the above list does not quietly make its way into the v2.0 release, I will continue to stick with my trusty Blackberry Curve, or possibly jump to the Blackberry Bold, assuming Bluetooth Dialup Networking is fully supported in order to gain 3G connectivity from my laptop. Visual voice mail, great mobile browsing, and rich mobile email aside, how long must we wait for the iPhone to incorporate some of these most basic phone and smartphone features?

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3G, Blackberry, gadgets, iPhone, smartphone comparison

For those who have some exposure to the industry either directly or indirectly, perception tends to fall on one of two opposite ends of the spectrum: they either know someone who is making more money than seems rationally feasible/legal, or they know someone who has racked up a garage full of product and never made a dime from their business. In reality, there are people in each category, as well as a significant, nondescript middle-class segment which comprises the “full-time” established networkers that earn, on average, nearly twice the national median annual household income (at least for those affiliated with my corporate partner).

If only I had been properly approached with the concept of network marketing while I was an undergraduate student, I may have reconsidered my choice of profession at an earlier age. After all, the average full-time compensation of network marketers cited above is far greater than that of electrical engineers, even while EEs command among the highest salaries of new graduates with either Bachelor’s or Master’s degrees. Of course, compensation is not the sole determining factor in selecting a career, but it was a significant consideration for a pragmatic student such as myself (and a widely touted selling point for the curriculum by faculty in the EE department).

Ironically, I was exposed to network marketing as a freshman in college by an acquaintance from high school, though unfortunately he was poorly trained in how to conduct his business. “Randy” was a senior when I as a freshman, and we had both played in orchestra together while in high school. I remember one day receiving a call from him out of the blue; we had not been in contact since he graduated from high school nearly four years earlier. He mentioned having “something to run by me,” and I happily accepted his request to stop by as I thought it would be great to reconnect with someone from high school, especially since I had not yet established a large number of friends in college.

Randy arrived at my dorm room within a few minutes, sat down in a chair on the other side of my cramped quarters, and began our brief conversation with the phrase, “Where do you see yourself in five years?” My reply was, “Is this an ________ pitch?” (referring to one of the most recognizable company names in the MLM industry). His response was, “How did you know?” and I indicated that it sounded like a pitch for that company, even though I had never been approached by someone with that company or in the industry before. He left my dorm room, obviously discouraged, and I never heard from him again. In reflection, I’m not sure how I could even have made a connection between his approach and his particular company, much less the industry, since I had no education or background in the subject. Apparently I had tapped into some collective consciousness that somehow equated agenda-driven, inauthentic communication with MLM, even though I had no real understanding of the business model.

Regardless of how my preconception was formed, the approach taken by Randy stood as a barrier of communication between two old acquaintances who otherwise could have not only reconnected personally but may have formed a precocious business alliance. Individuals who utilize Randy’s approach when addressing any individual, regardless of intention or industry, are likely to encounter a similar response when they have not first connected meaningfully with another individual. This approach also does nothing to help overcome the objection some may have regarding network marketing as a scam or otherwise over-hyped pitch.

Certainly, there is no shortage of fraudulent scams in place today. Scams have always existed and probably always will, especially since technology can facilitate their reaching even more people with greater ease now than ever before. I receive a half-dozen or more of these duplicitous emails each week, among the more recent looking to capitalize on the stimulus package administered by the IRS. While many intelligent people can readily separate the wheat from the chaff, an otherwise healthy dose of skepticism can sometimes hamper one’s ability to reasonably evaluate a new idea or concept if it does not match a prior paradigm or belief system. Consider how the measurable effects of global warming have been ignored for decades simply because many people live in places where they still experience snow in the winter and conclude that global warming is nonsense simply because cold winters still exist! Unfortunately, a similar leap of irrationality is sometimes drawn between network marketing and fraudulent operations such as a pyramid scheme or Ponzi scheme. While there are much more detailed explanations of this distinction available, I offer a nutshell version below:

• Pyramid scheme: promise of profit gained for recruiting other individuals into the scheme (at a cost) without moving any products or services as a legitimate business
• MLM: identical to any traditional company except in how it chooses to market its products or services

A network marketing or MLM company advertises its product or service through a network of entrepreneurs who market the company’s products/services via word-of-mouth. These people earn commissions based on their effectiveness in moving the company’s products and services to customers through their own teams of affiliates, as opposed to more traditional advertising methods (e.g. celebrity endorsements, national TV or print ad campaigns, etc.). Those whose marketing efforts generate the most product sales make the most money, not those who “started at the top.” It’s a simple concept, but it is unpopular with the excuse-prone who would rather blame the model rather than be accountable for their own failings as entrepreneurs.

Simply stated, network marketers are paid for moving product and teaching others how to do the same, with the greatest financial reward resulting from their effectiveness in the latter. In this business, one’s ability to teach and work in collaboration with others is far more lucrative than one’s skill as a point-of-sale professional. As networkers, we are mentored and, in turn, grow to be mentors of others who also want to build their own businesses. We are rewarded when we are able to help others achieve success as they define at their own scale, whether this equates to “mad money,” supplemental income to help pay household bills, or ultimately a means to replace one’s job.

Do I believe network marketing is a good fit for everyone? Absolutely not. Neither is engineering, holistic health, performing arts, investment banking, or any other professional career. Simply because starting a business in this industry can be done on a shoestring budget, with no formal education, and with no prior related experience, it does not imply one will be successful at it or find it to his/her liking.

Success in this industry is most probable for one who is teachable (i.e. adopts a “beginner’s mind”), has a desire to teach/coach/mentor/connect with other people, and commits to taking effective, daily action to grow his/her business. Results are not instantaneous but rather the fruition of committing to a process over time. This aspect is no different from that which is required to achieve a meaningful outcome in any lasting endeavor of value: earning a degree, obtaining/maintaining personal fitness, gaining experience and higher levels of responsibility in a corporate structure, building lasting personal relationships, etc. The difference with network marketing, however, is that building this business to maturity may be done in a part-time fashion (as opposed to being a full-time student or employee) and it yields ongoing fruit for this cumulative effort (residual income). This is in sharp contrast to merely developing the skill necessary to continue trading time/labor for a pay check (linear income), even if at a higher hourly rate when having obtained specialized training or education.

Having started my networking business 2.5 years ago, I am grateful for the mentors who have helped me build it to a level which has paid me weekly, residual commissions for more than a year now. In turn, I look forward to continue helping others with a similar desire to learn/teach the same. Furthermore, the business and interpersonal skills I have learned from this venture have greatly facilitated the expansion of my private practice as a therapeutic bodyworker, as well as serving as an educator in holistic health. Hopefully this provides some perspective to those who are evaluating the industry of network marketing with a healthy dose of skepticism and wonder not only, “Is this legal/ethical?” but for most people, “Can I do this?”

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network marketing,
mlm,
business coaching,
mentorship,
pyramid scheme

Wrong. In fact, spending a few minutes online reading about its features (or the lack thereof) along with 5 minutes of hands-on experience in an Apple retail store last summer was more than enough to convince me that the iPhone was not even close to serving my needs. Perhaps my needs are different than others who would buy an iPhone over an iPod Touch. I can understand the appeal of the latter: a wide-screen, multitouch, gorgeous multimedia appliance with Wi-Fi which further extends an already popular (and profitable) product line.

If the iPhone is to be an iPod Touch plus a revolutionary phone, I would expect it to incorporate (at a minimum) the standard set of basic cellphone features which have been commonplace for years in much less expensive, low-end devices. In fact, as a high-end phone (as determined by its price point) coupled with a revolutionary user interface, I would also expect it to incorporate all of the basic Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) or smartphone capabilities which have been around for more than 10 years. After all, PDA functions are just software, an aspect of which the iPhone has claimed to be king.

When Steve Jobs first introduced the iPhone in his keynote address, he praised Research In Motion (RIM) and its Blackberry devices for holding 40% of the smartphone market share and clearly differentiated the iPhone as a non-competitor to this group. All of this has changed less than a year later, as the highly anticipated iPhone v2.0 is rumored to compete directly with the Blackberry devices by offering 3G (higher bandwidth) data capability and push-email support. While these new capabilities are great (especially the faster data rates), the iPhone still lacks a number of other significant features which leave it far short from competing with the Blackberry devices (and even among the aging Palm devices) as a functional business tool.

In nearly a decade as a heavy PDA user I have been loyal to the Palm operating system, even after sampling various incarnations of Windows Mobile throughout its evolution. Since the PalmPilot(TM) debuted in 1997, the Palm OS has offered an intuitive, elegant, and efficient Personal Information Management (PIM) system to organize one’s personal and professional data (e.g. contacts, calendars, tasks, and notes). Everything in this magic handheld device was capable of synchronizing with a computer, making major additions/updates to this mobile database very easy. While Palm has maintained the simplicity and consistency in the look and feel of its OS over the past decade, it has unfortunately done so to a point of its own undoing. Rumored overhauls of its OS (possibly to indicate a renaissance within the company, as OS X provided for Apple) failed to materialize, with the company focusing on repackaging a very aged OS into new plastics with slightly smaller form factors. This lack of innovation in performance and user experience over the past several years has caught up with Palm, and it has been proverbially lapped by its competitors.

Ultimately I switched from my 2-year-old Palm Treo 680 to a Blackberry Curve earlier this year as the Treo simply became unusable as a mission-critical business tool. I found myself having to hard-reset the Treo many times per day, and I became very frustrated with the slow response of the device to user input in navigating screens, dialing, etc. Sadly, I knew it was time to look for an alternative device which would be reliable, even though I had been a Palm loyalist for years.

The only other operating system in a portable device which I had not personally experienced (despite its tremendous popularity) was the Blackberry, so I set out to see if this would provide a viable alternative to the Palm in my usage model. Within a very short period of time after purchasing the Curve, I found it to provide an exceptionally stable and satisfying experience in nearly every aspect, except for the stability with which it functions as a wireless modem for a laptop via Bluetooth Dialup Networking (BT DUN).

In the table below, I compare my experience with the Treo 680, the Blackberry Curve, and the iPhone, rating the raw capability of each device in performing various functions on a scale from 0 to 10 (0 = feature does not exist, 10 = ideal implementation). To identify the best device for my usage model, I multiplied the capability rating of each device for a given feature by the relative importance of that feature to yield a weighted score. This allows me to decouple a device’s particular capability from the practical usefulness of that function. Certainly, each user will have his/her own priority rating for features, as well as individual ratings for how well each task is performed by a given device. My priorities are geared toward serving a small-business professional who has full control over his/her IT gear and values performance, reliability, and efficiency in supporting business functions (while also appreciating a great user experience).

Weighted feature comparison of Treo 680, Blackberry Curve, and iPhone

 
From the total weighted scores above, the Blackberry Curve provides the best overall user experience given the priority weighting and the corresponding capabilities for the above functions. In its current state, the iPhone needs to add many basic phone and smartphone features to yield a score which rivals the Curve according to these criteria. It would be nice for v2.0 (perhaps labeled an ‘iPhone Pro’ to be consistent with Apple’s laptop branding differentiation) to incorporate these practical functions and really give Blackberry some significant competition among business users.

Other wishes

Since Apple has opened up third-party development by rolling out its Software Development Kit (SDK), there is a potential for non-Apple developers to fill in some of the smartphone-related missing pieces from the table above. However, there are a number of core services which can only be provided by Apple in the form of software support. Here are a few other items on my iPhone v2.0 wishlist (though I know there are many others with a nice anthology here):

• Global copy/paste functionality
• Global search functionality across all applications’ databases (e.g. Spotlight for iPhone)
• Add hyperlinks to dial phone numbers directly from within calendar/tasks/notes
• Contact exchange via Bluetooth (OBEX profile)
• Bluetooth and LAN sync to local computer
• .Mac sync (via LAN/WAN)

Technorati Tags:
iPhone, Blackberry, Treo, smartphone comparison, gadgets, 3G

A recent meta-analysis (involving almost 100 clinical trials and more than 250,000 individuals) reviewed mortality risk reduction from both statin drugs and omega-3 fatty acids. The results were impressive: statins reduced overall mortality risk by 13%, while omega-3 fatty acids reduced it by a dramatic 23%.

A review published in the April 11, 2005 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine analyzed the effects of various lipid-lowering regimens on overall mortality and mortality from coronary heart disease. Researchers reviewed 97 clinical trials that included 137,140 men and women receiving treatment and 138,976 control subjects. This analysis compared the mortality risk associated with diet, lipid-lowering drugs, omega-3 fatty acids (commonly found in fish oils), and niacin.

Statins (a class of lipid-lowering drugs) and omega-3 fatty acids significantly lowered both overall and coronary heart disease mortality risk during the trial periods. When compared to controls, overall mortality risk was reduced 13 percent by statin drugs and 23 percent by omega-3 fatty acids. When the risk of mortality from heart disease alone was examined, the use of statin drugs and omega-3 fatty acids were found to lower the risk by 22 and 32 percent, respectively.

Since omega-3 fatty acids did not reduce cholesterol levels significantly, researchers suggest that protection against heart arrhythmias, in addition to known anti-inflammatory properties, may be responsible for the reduction in mortality risk. Arch Intern Med. 2005 Apr 11;165(7):725-30

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Nutrition, Supplements, Omega-3 fatty acids

As newer laptop models began to emerge from the talented team in Cupertino, however, I was a bit disenchanted in not seeing an updated version of my 12″ Powerbook. I began dreaming of an ultra-lightweight, yet fully featured, version of this laptop to come about with greater power in a similar, if not even more portable, version. I knew I certainly wasn’t alone in this desire, as there had been many speculative posts on rumor boards indicating the same desire and/or anticipation of such a product.

Naturally, when I saw the announcement of Apple’s MacBook Air (MBA), I was elated. In watching Steve Jobs’s keynote address introducing the product, it seemed that Apple had been listening to all of my telepathic messages indicating exactly what I wanted in my dream 12″-Powerbook replacement: full-sized keyboard, improved display, reasonable power for the package, good battery life, and very light weight (i.e. backpack friendly–a must for me, as I use a motorcycle as my preferred form of transportation). What has surprised me since I had preordered my machine in January is the number of bloggers/reviewers who have regarded the MacBook Air only to serve a “niche” market and to be unsuitable as a sole or primary computer. While I am fortunate enough to make use of several computers at home, I fail to see why the MacBook Air would not be sufficient for most people even as a primary computer. As such, I’m providing my own hands-on review here, being a very satisfied owner after 3 months of daily usage. Disclaimer: I have no financial interest in promoting the MacBook Air or any other Apple products, but as a self-admitted technophile I derive great pleasure from using tools which increase the fun and efficiency with which I build and operate my businesses.

Why I love the MacBook Air

Before I begin addressing the commonly cited compromises of the computer, it seems appropriate to mention a bit about why I consider this to be my favorite laptop to date (my fourth, in total, and my second Apple laptop). First, it’s obviously thin and lightweight. Who wouldn’t enjoy a lightweight laptop? People buy laptops because they are portable (as opposed to springing for a larger-display wielding desktop models), so making a laptop as lightweight and thin as possible most capably meets this need.

One of my personal favorite uses of the MacBook Air is to enjoy my outdoor home office instead of being relegated to my indoor home office. The beautiful LED-backlit, “instant-on” display is crisp and clear with great visibility outdoors–far superior to that of my old Powerbook. The full-size keyboard is a must, for me, to spend any reasonable amount of time at the keys. Battery life is reasonable (I get 4-5 hours on a charge depending on backlight intensity, radio usage, etc.) and the Wi-fi antenna/radio performance offers great improvement in range and the higher bandwidth of 802.11n. From a mechanical and industrial design perspective, I am thoroughly impressed with the robust hinge and clasp-less closure… as simple and beautiful to view as it is functional. Last but not least is the large multi-touch trackpad, which has me so spoiled that when I transfer to work on either of my desktops I find myself yearning for the 3-finger page-turn or back/forward gesture frequently.

OK, enough with the obvious “coolness” which is expected of the MacBook Air. That alone does not justify the $1,800+ cost of the machine, especially for pragmatic small-business owners and other professionals. Business utility comes first, which is the reason I am still holding onto my Blackberry Curve until the iPhone (v2.0?) incorporates its business and high-end phone functionality, and I’m not referring to “push-email”… but that topic is another post all to itself. So what exactly are all of these compromises or “lacking features” in the MBA which the average person cannot live without?

The MacBook Air’s design trade-offs

No built-in optical drive

For individuals who are considering using a MacBook Air as their sole computer, I advise springing for the $99 USB-based Superdrive to allow for importing CDs into iTunes, installing software, watching DVDs, etc. For those who have at least one other computer with an optical drive, however, I personally see no need for buying MBA’s external Superdrive. I’ve performed remote software installations over a home network prior to the introduction of Apple’s “Remote Disc” feature introduced with the MBA, so that’s really nothing newsworthy. Further, an intelligent way to make legal backup copies of software installers is to make image files of them via Apple’s Disk Utility (included with OS X) with the touch of a button. These image files may then be mounted and installed directly over a network or via an attached USB hard drive.

No firewire port

Some Apple users are tied to Firewire devices as they have legacy peripherals which only have this interface (instead of USB). Many users, however, do not need Firewire nor would they even know if this feature were missing. It is true that Firewire-400 offers better performance (average throughput) than USB 2.0 due to nature of its protocol, but this difference is not by an order of magnitude. By contrast, most peripheral devices adopt USB as the standard (including Apple, having migrated its iPods away from Firewire-400 interfaces to USB 2.0), and even video cameras have since begun to migrate away from Firewire to USB.

It only has one USB port

One of my preferred methods of reducing cable weight/clutter when traveling is to charge as many devices (e.g. phone, bluetooth headset, iPod, etc.) as possible through a USB hub. Granted, having only one USB port on the MBA requires the use of an external hub to accommodate more than one device concurrently, as well as a power supply for this external hub if it is sourcing current to many peripherals. This requirement is no different with the MBA than with my old Powerbook, however, which only had 2 USB ports. As such, I agree with Apple that if more than 1 USB port is necessary (particularly given the proliferation of Bluetooth-capable external keyboards, mice, remotes, etc.), one may as well plug in one of the widely available ultra-portable USB hubs to support multiple USB peripherals.

“Small” (80 GB) hard drive

As media usage increases, the need for hard drive capacity grows considerably. As such, an 80-GB drive may not sound like much, but neither is a 160- to 300-GB capacity if it is to serve as a primary library for music, photos, and videos. My iPod Classic packs a solid 160 GB (the same size as the internal drive for my dual-G5 Power Mac), so I’ve long ago required the use of external drives for media and backup storage. So what’s the complaint about this capacity on the MacBook Air? I personally use a very portable, USB-bus-powered 320-GB drive to hold media, to serve as an image backup (via Time Machine), and to contain the virtual machine image which allows me run Windows applications via VMware Fusion.

“Slow” performance

I’m one who appreciates high-performance machinery and gadgets, and my expectation of a laptop certainly would not escape this scrutiny. Despite the limited number of configurations available for the highly integrated MBA, however, 2 GB of RAM is far from a “low-end” specification. In fact, it’s 0.5 GB more memory than exists in my dual-G5 desktop. Although the 1.8 GB Intel Core 2 duo processor inarguably renders this platform to be less than ideal for highly compute-intensive tasks (e.g. multimedia editing, encoding/decoding large files), it is very well suited for standard business and productivity tasks (e.g. email, Internet browsing, database design, giving presentations, etc.). As such, I see no reason why it would not provide more than sufficient performance for the average business user. It is certainly a performance upgrade from my 12″ Powerbook G4.

No removable battery

I personally have never carried a spare battery with my old 12″ Powerbook G4, and I only replaced its battery once after ~3 years’ time, which seems reasonable for any battery (having a finite cycle life of charge/discharge). Those who fly frequently and are in the air longer than 4-5 hours at a stretch without sufficient layover time for recharging would legitimately have a valid complaint against the MBA, as it does not offer a swappable, external battery. In my experience, only having flown domestically so far, I have never used an extra, swappable battery so this is not a meaningful requirement to me.

In closing…

To be sure, any given product can never be all things to all people, and the MacBook Air is no exception here. That said, I believe that its stylish, lightweight, robust, and ergonomically friendly design would appeal to most folks who are looking for a portable computer, and given its mid-level price point, it may just literally redefine the “standard” expectation of a laptop for the majority of portable computer users.

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gadgets,
MacBook Air, laptop review

Many times I’ve heard Tim speak of being focused on your prospect (or one could easily substitute your client, customer, spouse, etc. here–basically anyone with whom you are engaged in conversation), and I’ve always consciously held this in my mind not to be distracted by other people or events in my surrounding when communicating one-on-one. Despite my intellectual understanding of this, however, I gained an even greater understanding of this simply by being in Tim’s presence.

For the mere 3 to 4 minutes in which we spoke while a line of other eager fans of Tim’s stood nearby awaiting him to sign a book or CD, his attention was focused 100% on me for the entire duration of our conversation. It seemed as if there were a cocoon-like environment created around just the two of us in what was an otherwise VERY noisy entryway to a ballroom filled with people, booths, and activities. I felt as if Tim had all the time in the world to really listen to, understand, process, and give a response to my questions. I know this sounds like a very simple process (and is one he speaks of time and again in his own training materials), but to have experienced his embodiment of this in-person has truly deepened my appreciation of and sensitivity to the profound impact this has on another human being. Thanks again, Tim, for helping me to gain yet another level of understanding through your example… one which serves to enrich both my professional and personal life.

A recent article published in the British Journal of Nutrition summarizes the roles of selected vitamins and trace elements in immune function.

Adequate intakes of micronutrients are required for the immune system to function efficiently. Micronutrient deficiency suppresses immunity by affecting antibody responses, leading to imbalances in the immune system. This situation increases susceptibility to infections, which increases disease and death risk. In addition, infections aggravate micronutrient deficiencies by reducing nutrient intake, increasing losses, and interfering with utilization by altering metabolic pathways. Inadequate intakes of micronutrients are common in people with eating disorders, smokers (active and passive), individuals with chronic alcohol abuse, certain diseases, during pregnancy and lactation, and in the elderly.

Micronutrients contribute to the body’s natural defenses on three levels by supporting physical barriers (skin/mucosa), cellular immunity and antibody production. Vitamins A, C, E and the mineral zinc assist in enhancing the skin barrier function. The vitamins A, B6, B12, C, D, E and folic acid and the minerals iron, zinc, copper and selenium work in synergy to support the protective activities of the immune cells. Finally, all these micronutrients, with the exception of vitamin C and iron, are essential for the production of antibodies. Overall, inadequate intake and status of these vitamins and minerals may lead to a suppressed immune system, which increases the risk of infections and aggravates malnutrition. Therefore, supplementation with a multivitamin/mineral that includes these micronutrients can support the body’s natural defense system by enhancing all three levels of immunity.

Br J Nutr. 2007 Oct;98 Suppl 1:S29-35.

A study of 4,700 adults showed that despite the increased popularity of low- carbohydrate diets, almost one-third of Americans’ calories are coming from ‘empty calorie’ foods such as sweets and desserts, soft drinks, and alcoholic beverages. Salty snacks and fruit-flavored drinks make up another five percent. Lead researcher Gladys Block, a professor of epidemiology and public health nutrition at University of California, Berkeley, used data from a U.S. government survey called the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. She analyzed the answers of participants interviewed in 1999 and 2000 who were asked to report all the foods they ate in the previous 24 hours.

“We know people are eating a lot of junk food, but to have almost one-third of Americans’ calories coming from those categories is a shocker. It’s no wonder there’s an obesity epidemic in this country,” Block said in a statement.

Sodas contributed 7.1 percent of the total calories eaten. Sweets topped the list, followed by hamburgers, pizza, and potato chips. By contrast, fruits and vegetables made up only about 10 percent of calories in the diet.

“It’s important to emphasize that sweets, desserts, snacks, and alcohol are contributing calories without providing vitamins and minerals,” said Block.

“You can actually be obese and still be undernourished with regard to important nutrients. We shouldn’t be telling people to eat less – we should be telling people to eat differently.”

Block G. Journal of Food Composition and Analysis. Volume 17, June-August 2004, 439-447.

The savings in personal income tax are particularly profound when a portion of one’s home also functions as a place business, since the overhead of having a roof over one’s head is an expense which all must incur anyway, and having a means to legitimately convert a portion of these living/operating costs as deductible business expenses can really add up to significant tax savings.

There are a number of different industries and business models which may be reasonably run from home, especially in today’s age of ubiquitous e-commerce and efficient delivery systems. A few of the benefits in running a business from home include:

• Little to no overhead cost
• Zero travel/commute time to one’s home office
• Increased time flexibility
• Ability to employ children tax-free up to the standard deduction amount
• Reduction of personal tax liability through migrating a percentage of personal expenses to legitimate business deductions

The latter is an extremely valuable benefit of which many are unaware and is available to all home-business entrepreneurs. The key requirement is having a sufficient system of recordkeeping (tax journal) which must be maintained regularly in the course of running one’s home business. One of my favorite authors and speakers on the subject is Sandy Botkin of the Tax Reduction Institute.

So, how does one select an appropriate business model, particularly if one is only looking to run his or her business part-time?
Even more so, how does one grow a business part-time which can ultimately be nurtured to provide an income stream which may replace, or even exceed, the income which is earned from a current full-time job? The short video below profiles a number of individuals who have done just that by using the same corporate partner that I have in building such a residual income stream.

As with any undertaking of value, this industry is not unique from others in the sense that a learning curve is involved with acquiring new skills. This aspect is accompanied by its own set of challenges, frustrations, and hard work––just as with any other endeavor which yields great rewards. The resulting financial, interpersonal, and self-development benefits which are achieved through this process, however, are second to none.

May you experience prosperity in all aspects of your life as you encourage others to share in the same.