Rahul Sood's Weblog

Razer takes over where Voodoo left off...

2012-03-25T20:00:00.000-07:00

I wanted to write something about my Razer Blade experience, but instead of going into a typical hardware review, I’d rather talk about the company first.

Lately it’s rare I see something so unique and relevant in PC hardware that I almost had to pinch myself when Razer sent me their new Blade notebook. This is the first time since I left Voodoo that I’ve seen a PC company build something that’s so close to perfect, I’m proud to carry it.

Since leaving HP-Voodoo people look at me cross eyed when I carry something “normal”, and yet when I use a Macbook Pro I feel somewhat guilty. Regardless of where I work, I prefer using Windows – I grew up using it – and even when I use Bootcamp or Parallels on the Mac it’s just not the same as a PC. Razer has presented power users like me an opportunity to get the best of Windows with incredible hardware design. When I pull it out in a meeting the room goes bonkers. ...and I seriously can't wait to see what they have in store for Windows 8.

The Razer Blade is a total departure from anything on the market right now, they have something special and I’m not sure that they themselves fully appreciate it.

Besides the amazing crafstmanship, the quality of materials, unique ID, beautiful packaging, and the fit and finish, the Razer brand is something else. Razer built their brand on a thriving community, they have evangelists all over the world who live and breathe their products very similar to Apple in their early days. People overlook this important ingredient too often, the small community Apple once fostered became a movement that helped make them who they are today.

Razer’s community is made up of hardcore gamers from all over the world; they built their business by creating really interesting gaming accessories for Xbox and PC. Now they’re raising their own bar by creating halo products that pull people higher into their brand ecosystem.

I believe Razer has a chance of creating a similar “Apple-esque” movement in the Windows PC space. Though it will be on a smaller scale, no one should underestimate the power of a thriving ravenous community. There are many strategic plays here, one just has to use their imagination.

What about the Razer Blade?

From the moment you open the outer box you’ll instantly appreciate the construction and beauty of the packaging. The packaging reminds me of the original Voodoo Envy, from the contrasting color tones, to the use of textures and forms vs 4 color print. Razer even went as far as to create a beautiful yet subtle carbon fiber look in the packaging, and they cut a blade-like edge into the box.

It’s so hot you want to display the box on a shelf.

When you lift the cover of the package you’re greeted with your Blade, beautifully wrapped in a cellophane cover. This notebook is exactly the same thickness as a Macbook Pro, it has a slightly wider footprint due to the large interactive touchpad and multi-function keys on the right hand side of the keyboard.

I’d like to do a video blog on it and I will – for now I’ll just say the Razer team did an outstanding job, they didn’t cut corners. They backlit the keyboard, backlit the logo on the back of the lid, kept it thin and light by using the right materials. No fingerprints! The key action is awesome! They used quality hardware throughout – and even included an LED display keyboard and touchpad with some very useful functions. There are a few nitpicks I have, and I shared them with Razer, including the speakers - I wish they were better..but you can't have everything.

Oh my goodness, did I mention the power adapter? It's super thin, super light, hardly noticable. I know I've been out of hardware for a couple of years, but this power adapter is ridiculous, I don't know how they did it.

..and yes it can play Crysis and every other game you can throw at it. I have a pretty loaded Steam account and I've been trying game after game - and I have yet to break this thing. The gaming experience is fantastic, I really love using the Switchblade to record macros and quick browse while I'm in game mode.

So overall is it worth the ~$2800? - *@#! yes it is.

Anyone who compares this to your average “thick-brick-super-hot-loud-laptop-with-faster-hardware” doesn’t have a clue what they’re missing.

I can honestly say if Razer keeps this formula up they have a chance to ignite the PC industry in a way that hasn't been done in years. …and Min if you’re reading this, don’t sell your company to anyone – ever.

If you’re interested in an in-depth review of the hardware, check out Anandtech, they went through this thing with a fine tooth comb.

I'm not gonna lie... this makes me smile!

2012-03-13T08:39:00.002-07:00

I love to see this! ENVY is getting some global love in Korea. In my opinion ENVY is the product that has the best chance of re-igniting anything cool at HP. I hope it continues - they just need to realize that brand is more than just the logo you put on the "box".

I'm not gonna lie, this video makes me smile... :)

First Impressions are Everything...

2012-03-11T14:01:00.000-07:00

Imagine you were dating someone and you walked into his or her apartment for the first time and there was underwear lying around, cat hair, cans, newspapers, books, food, and random papers all over the place.

Does your perception change of this person?
Would you see yourself with this person long term, or would it be a short relationship?
Would you continue to tell stories about this person and the condition of their apartment for some time to come?

Your personal brand is something you carry with you everywhere you go. How you dress, who you hang out with, how you treat people, how organized you are, how well groomed you are, etc. Your personal brand is not about wealth or status, it's just about you and the impression you leave behind.

Now as a company your brand is more than just the logo you place on your product. Your brand, if done right, is the soul of your company, it's the core of your culture, it's the thing your family thinks about when you tell them where you work. It's the emotions created when people walk into your store or visit your website.

Your brand is at the center of everything you do -- and therefore if you truly care about it, you should manage every detail with precision and thought.

In 2006 I was visually and vocally frustrated with the HP website. We were in the middle of integrating our products onto the site, and it was just a super difficult process. We were generally shocked at the number of skues and text on the site - it was super confusing.

Well today I asked my wife to buy a couple of displays from HP's website. She came back about 30 minutes later and said "Shopping on HP's website is like going to a garage sale. Disorganized and messy... its like an episode of Hoarders."

Ouch! It's been six years and it feels like nothing has changed. I hope they people at HP who read this can turn this type of reaction into some constructive insights. Here are a few for you;

What is EPEAT?

Focus your skues on what real people want. You don't need 5000 skues.
Lose the randomness, for example, what is EPEAT?
What is COOLSENSE and who cares?
I notice there are products repeating all over the place.
When you dive into a product there are like 30 pages of accessories that I don't want, would be cool if you shortened that to a focus list of great accessories that add value to your brand.
Your photography should be consistent, beautiful, and thoughtful.
Product names mixed with categories is confusing.
The model numbers are... wow.. I don't have the words.

Granted, HP is not the only one with this problem, there are many companies who don't put enough focus (*or the right focus) on their web presence and/or product presentation. Can you think of other similar online buying experiences?

Companies like Amazon, Apple, and Dell have done a good job of simplying their online buying experience and it likely reflects in their online sales. I would really like to see more PC companies follow the leads of the best in the business - there's nothing wrong with learning from the best.

I still have faith HP will come back and be great again. I'm almost positive Meg Whitman has visted the website, and she's probably as frustrated as my wife is.

The Future Looks Good...

With Windows 8 around the corner there is a glimmer of hope to those of you who want more than what an iPad can offer. The Samsung Series 7 with Windows 8 demonstrates that it is possible, and new hardware is going to really help raise the stakes.

I firmly believe we need more than just a great combination of software and hardware to win the hearts and minds of consumers everywhere. We need companies to find their soul, re-ignite their culture, and manage their brand with real care and attention. We need more founders and people who genuinly care about the place they work to drive this thinking throughout their organization, even if it means losing popularity contests.

Valve SteamBox: Just kidding

2012-03-05T21:05:00.001-07:00

I admire Valve and I love Steam.

What I really like about them is they continue to support PC Gamers, and while so many are running away - Valve is quietly capitalizing. Many retailers are pulling PC games from their shelves, and the numbers on the surface don't look good...but no one really knows how much Valve is making. I would speculate it's somewhere between a shitload and a ton, but make no mistake - Valve is making money hand over fist.

So what's all this hubub about a SteamBox?

Come on, you really think Valve is going to make PCs? I doubt it. I bet they're looking for partners, like Alienware, to design inexpensive PCs to sit in the living room -- they're likely working on a cool accessory and easy-to-use software ecosystem to make PC gaming incredibly fun, immersive, and easy. It would be just like Valve to do something like this, and I bet it will resonate really well with their customers and a broader customer base.

As someone who loves both PC and console games, I look forward to seeing what Valve is up to. I hope they work with Razer, Alienware, and other companies in the space.

Now I just wish they would unlock my stupid account, which has been locked since we moved to the U.S. Come on Valve, it's me really - I promise!

The Razer Blade Cometh

2012-02-28T11:14:00.001-07:00

I have a Razer Blade on the way to my place - I should receive it in the next few days. I've read positive reviews from people who've actually used it, and mixed reviews from people who haven't seen it. First, I want to say I don't believe that Razer intended this to be a mainstream notebook, so all these comparisons to the latest and greatest thick brick from Clevo are seriously pointless.

I can't wait to see it, when I get it I'll be sure to post a complete review.

Toys of the Future

2012-02-13T14:41:00.006-07:00

I was so excited to see the stuff coming out of the 2012 Toy Fair, including the above laser tag guns from Hasbro. These guns dock to your iPod Touch, and they completely change the paradigm of standard Nerf guns bridging the virtual world with physical. Below is a screenshot of what you might see when you first enable the app.

If these don't get your kids off the couch I don't know what will! What do you all think?

Get Inspired

2012-02-10T16:01:00.000-07:00

The barriers for entry to be a developer have never been lower, and the accelerants to help them grow have never been higher.

In the next few years there will be more 5-10 person companies than there have ever been. With manufacturing transitioning overseas and technology growing globally, this seems pretty obvious.

If you are a software engineer and you're good at what you do, then your talents will be in high demand for the foreseeable future. If you're a hardware engineer and you're good at what you do then you're a rare breed, find a way to get inspired and expose your talents.

So if you're wondering what to do when you get out of high school, think about getting into visual design, interaction design, or software engineering. You can always come work for us at Microsoft, we're constantly looking for talented people.

...though remember, it's much easier being an entrepreneur when you're young and can handle the risk than when you're married with children. Tell your parents I said so.

I wonder what my kids will do when they turn 18.

Your Brand is a Living Breathing Entity

2012-02-09T18:09:00.000-07:00

This video is interesting.. although your brand is more than just a brandmark.

Your brand is your soul, it's your culture, it's the intangible emotion that resonates within your customer when they think about your company. It's the emotion that your employees feel when they come to work. It's what your kids think about when they tell their friends where you work.

If you're doing it right, your brand will strike emotions, in different ways, with everyone who comes across it.

I can't say enough about it. There are plenty of examples of brands that resonate, brands with culture and soul. Brands that stand for something. Brands like Apple, Cadillac, Callaway, Ferrari, Starbucks, Twitter, and Xbox all have an identity that people can identify with.

Unfortunately there are plenty more examples of those giant soul-less brands whose founder values have long left, and the soul, culture, and energy have basically evaporated.

I don't know what it is, but you just can't go to school and get a masters degree in marketing and expect to "get it" overnight.

Maybe it's a founder thing, it's something I think about often when I see another "me-too" product come off a line somewhere. It bugs me to see designers emulate without soul or substance, and it's obvious when they do.

....you know who you are you lazy bastards :)

One of the most amazing Autism stories you'll watch...

2011-10-17T20:46:00.001-07:00

I saw this when it first came out, it's truly amazing...!

Ford Raptor Outcome

2011-10-17T17:38:00.020-07:00

Ford Raptor in Satin Black...

Ford came through which is probably a good thing since they not only saved us from buying from a competitor, but the final result seems to be generating some excitement in various truck enthusiast communities. Yes, is such a thing, there are people who are super passionate about this stuff, people just love their trucks!

I normally wouldn't blog about this, but I wanted to follow up on the previous blog about our experience with Ford. Not only did they save a customer, but they retained a fan in me --- and they are generating a bunch of free viral marketing from various forums in the process.

We spent a week or so planning on the final design of the truck, and here is the finished product. The following people deserve props for helping us get to the final outcome;

Jim Walen of Ford of Kirkland
Craig Daitch & Scott Monty of Ford Corporation
Micah Adams from Addictive Desert Designs
Bill Mann from Manns Hitch & Trailer
Blake Siebe from Northwest Auto Salon (check their blog here on the wrap)

I'm also working on plans for an Xbox entertainment system, but I'm not there yet, I need to find some good displays that don't get in the way.

...and here it is!

...and a little video I created...

RIP Steve Jobs

2011-10-05T17:38:00.003-07:00

We lost a great innovator today, one of the greatest innovators of our time. Steve Jobs inspired many, and his work helped to create a ripple effect that will last generations. RIP Steve Jobs, you'll be missed!

Voodoo Lego

2011-10-05T10:19:00.005-07:00

My good friend Mark send me his portfolio of Voodoo products. I love this lego stuff, I wanted to share it with you all. I think he's pretty awesome -

Check out some of his work here!

XBIT Labs Interview

2011-09-06T09:07:00.002-07:00

Xbit Labs did an interview with me the other day. It was a pretty deep Q&A about Voodoo, HP, Palm, webOS, etc.

Rahul Sood: Computing Devices of the New Era Need a Soul

by Anton Shilov

HP's plan to spin off its personal systems group caught everyone by surprise and results of such a move are hard to overestimate. Today we are talking to Rahul Sood, a co-founder of the legendary VoodooPC boutique PC maker and a former employee of HP. We will discuss Voodoo, HP in the past and now as well as the personal computer industry in general.

Our today's interlocutor - Rahul Sood - is a pretty legendary man from the PC industry. Mr. Sood founded VoodooPC, one of the first boutique PC brands in the world, back in 1991, years before many of today's companies that produce high-end hardware or PCs were established.

VoodooPC focused on creation of ultra high-end desktops for gaming or working, but eventually the company started to offer more affordable systems for multimedia to increase its footprint. The firm got acquired back in 2006 by Hewlett-Packard with the aim to leverage the DNA of high-quality Voodoo-branded products onto a wide range of PCs and peripherals.

Unfortunately, not everything went as planned, VoodooPC got dissolved in HP and Mr. Sood decided to leave the company to become a Microsoft employee. But, apparently, HP not only "managed" to absorb Voodoo without leaving a trace, but is also looking forward spinning off its personal systems group (PSG) as a whole. So, today we decided to talk to Rahul Sood to find out, what went wrong with VoodooPC within HP, what problems do PC makers face today and what should a PC company of the new era be like.

Click here for the rest!

Really great article in the WSJ on HP

2011-08-29T10:08:00.004-07:00

I read this great article in the Wall Street Journal, I thought it was worth saving. The situation is truly sad --- but I suppose it's not as sad as a massive Tsunami or natural disaster. Point being, there are more important things in life than money.

"Let's say you were given a year to kill Hewlett-Packard. Here's how you do it:

Fire well-performing CEO Mark Hurd over expense-report irregularities and a juicy sexual-harassment claim that you admit has no merit. Fire four board members, as publicly as possible. Foment a mass exodus of key executives who actually know how to run the giant computer company.

Hire new a CEO from German competitor, SAP, which sells business software, not consumer products. Tell the new CEO, Leo Apotheker, that Mr. Hurd "left H-P in great shape."

Draw public criticism from a major corporate-governance advisory firm, alleging Mr. Apotheker filled board openings with cronies."

click here for the rest...

Former HP Global Gaming Head Rahul Sood Talks About Acquisitions, Brands, And Palm

2011-08-23T20:08:00.004-07:00

This interview was published in TechCrunch today.

Curious to find out the possible thinking behind HP’s recent actions, we began to look at the parallels in past behavior by tech giant HP. The most interesting example comes from VoodooPC, one of the first high-end gaming PCs for the mass market. Led by Rahul Sood, HP bought VoodooPC in 2006 and the last product to come out of that branch was launched in 2009.

In short, we wanted to know if HP really was where good ideas go to die.

Mr. Sood was kind enough to answer a few questions.

My Thoughts on HP Part 1

2011-08-22T14:45:00.013-07:00

When you think of Apple think of the first person that comes to mind. For me it’s Steve Jobs, or perhaps even Jony Ive.

When I think of Microsoft I think of Bill Gates & Steve Ballmer.

When I think of Starbucks, the name Howard Schultz comes to mind.

Amazon, Jeff Bezos…Facebook, Mark Zuckerburg… Ford, Allan Mulally… Dell, Michael Dell…. Google, Larry Page & Sergey Brin…. Dallas Mavericks, Mark Cuban.... KFC, Col. Sanders... McDonalds, Ronald.... you get the idea.

You can talk about strategy and brand all you want, but unless there is a visible face to the company it’ll be hard to find your soul and establish a vision that everyone can rally around.

Sure not all companies with “faces” are on the right track, but in this day and age having a face is one of the most important ingredients to building any successful business. This is why all the new start-ups you see are all about people, being social, and being open.

Before I left HP I asked myself this question. Who is the face of HP? Is it William Hewlett and David Packard? Yes. …but they’re not here anymore. Who is left representing their ideals?

I remember Mark Hurd put it well when he said “HP is really their company (Bill & Dave’s) and I’ve been put here to run it for a while.”

Mark made a point of removing all the pictures of Carly Fiorina from the lobby of each building and left Bill & Dave’s up there. He did not hang his own picture up, which was a sign of humility that many of us appreciated. In fact, I remember Mark discouraged any stories about him in the press at the beginning.

Instead Mark embraced the idea that we could tune HP and live up to the ideals that Bill & Dave believed in. Unfortunately it felt like we got lost somewhere along the way. The “HP Way”, which is a book I read cover to cover, was nowhere to be seen after a few years of cost cutting and restructuring. …but I had to believe that Mark was planning on bringing it back at some point, perhaps it was almost too late.

Whatever the case, no matter how he went down, Mark Hurd believed that Hewlett-Packard needed to remain Hewlett-Packard as one company and should not be broken up. Mark saw the symbiotic connections between the businesses, and believed if we were to optimize them we would ultimately be successful.

HP treated me with the utmost respect, I love the company. There are good people there with good ideas. However, there were times I felt frustrated. HP was a place where if you weren't careful, good ideas would get killed quickly. Ideas that could have changed the company for the better died because of a lack of patience and a lack of vision...and a lack of patience. Did I mention a lack of patience? It got to a point where I felt I was becoming unproductive.

I remember going to an executive retreat, a motivational event, where I stood up and asked a question about brand and experiences --- basically challenging the notion that the HP brand had enough brand elasticity to be all things to everyone. Our leader got up out of his chair, walked on stage, grabbed the microphone from the person I was questioning and he said “you Voodoo guys are too obsessed about brand and experiences. I’ll sell millions of PCs this month regardless of brand…” There were gasps in the room --- and some embarrassing stares afterwards. Totally the wrong venue for this type of question, my bad I guess --- I basically got shot down in public by the man! Oops.

It was then that I realized this might not be the right place for me. I was sort of humiliated, but when I think back I realize – he was 100% right. I was obsessed about brand and experiences. I still am… Of course brand is just a piece of it -- but you need a clear vision that people can rally around, a great product, a sound business model... and the rest will come... and it’s truly unfortunate that they haven’t figured out such fundamental challenges at HP.

Everyone on the outside is bashing Leo and the board for the most recent move. Though I’m not sure it was an easy decision for them. I understand that sometimes to fix a disease you need to cut off a limb. Unfortunately I think they’re cutting off more than one limb, and they are missing the synergies required to successfully operate a profitable enterprise + consumer model. Though HP has separate divisions, the company is very much dependent on each other.

You can’t simply cut off one head and grow another, you’ll bleed out.

You can absolutely fix dysfunctional organizations without breaking them apart. Such a move requires strong leadership (empowered leaders), a believable vision, and a strategy that resonates.

I’m going to write a follow up article on the idea of a spinoff, what it means. I’ll also share what I believe HP needs to do to bring back the soul that Bill & Dave created, bring back real innovation, and command the respect they once had. Lest we forget that HP was an icon in the valley, they still are. Bill & Dave were like royalty back in the day!

I will close by saying this… It’s 2011… If I was running PSG I’d check my suit and tie at the door – and roll up my sleeves. PSG desperately needs to empower vision at the top. They should think about installing creative design principles and Big D design thinking into the organization. There’s plenty of vision at HP, they just need to pull it together in a way that doesn’t solely involve rows and columns.

HP still has a chance to transform the organization into something great again.I really wish them well as they attempt to figure out this incredibly complex problem.

Ford Customer Service is Awesome...

2011-08-19T19:15:00.006-07:00

A few days ago I wrote a blog on my weird experience buying a truck.

I went to Ford's website and configured the truck I wanted and printed the config with the MSRP. I then proceeded to call a couple of dealers since I have zero time to go shopping for cars. Well the rest of the story is here, needless to say I wasn't happy with the outcome.

In any case, after Twittering that I offered to buy a Ford at MSRP and the dealer declined I received a number of messages from multiple people from Ford. They all seemed genuinely concerned, and they immediately put together a plan of action to help me.

Ford put me in touch with the person in charge of the Northwest, and followed up along the way. They asked for a couple of days before I made any decisions and I agreed. In the meantime a GM dealer in my area contacted me with an offer on a really nice GM truck.

I received an email from Jim Walen, owner of Ford of Kirkland, followed by a personal phone call last night. He's a great guy, and he spent a good hour going over the differences between the GM and the Ford. He offered to get back to me in the morning with a couple of options.

Today he called after sending the email with the details and I was just about to go to the GM dealer to check out their truck, and he convinced me otherwise. I got a Ford Raptor exactly as I wanted.

So the bottom line is Ford came through. Craig Daitch, Scott Monty, and Christie Chornoma all from Ford corporate went way beyond my expectations to help out. Jim Walen and Raleigh Fouch from Ford of Kirkland were quick to respond and very reasonable.

Funny enough the dealer who offered to sell me the car at 5k over MSRP texted me this morning and offered to sell me one at MSRP. I'm not sure where that came from, but it was too late - and really too bad. A solvable error could lead to someone going to a completely different brand.

So yes I'm happy -- and very pleased that Ford and Ford of Kirkland came through. I hope to see the truck in 3-5 weeks, crossing my fingers. Thank you all!

Fumbling the Football

2011-08-18T21:30:00.013-07:00

Abercrombe & Sitch

There is an art to public relations. Abercrombe & Fitch demonstrated what you shouldn't do in PR this week when they apparently paid "The Situation" from the show "Jersey Shore" to NOT wear their clothes since they felt it didn't align with their brand image. Abercrombe put out a press release that seemed like they were laughing and pointing their fingers at the cast of Jersey Shore, almost bragging that they offered a "substantial amount of money" to the cast to just not wear their brand on the show.

Talk about a "situation", the stock dropped approximately 20% in the past two days, roughly 1 billion of market cap! Whoever made that decision just cost their shareholders and staff 1 billion dollars all over the Jersey Shore.

HP's Big Day of Mixed Emotions

So let's talk about the HP press release today. My phone has been ringing off the hook -- and I'm somewhat beside myself over the whole thing.

I appreciate the potential of webOS and the idea of licensing it to a company who has good relationships with major carriers makes sense... so good on them if they are actually thinking about it, however if they wanted to license webOS, why didn't they wait until they had a deal in place before announcing the cancellation of their hardware?
They totally risk alienating the loyal webOS community and even their team. They need to address this quickly, the messaging was poorly developed -- and you can bet that the sharks are swimming looking for some talent to poach.
They drop a bombshell that they're looking to spin off the PC business or sell it. Now this is amazing to me. It's completely counter to what HP is all about, certainly not something Mark Hurd wanted. I don't quite understand this decision, not sure I can see the positive here.
They acquired a 10 billion dollar software company that "no one" has heard of in a shaky economy - they are paying 10X sales! Clearly a move towards the enterprise and away from the consumer?
Just an observation: HP's stock was $46.30 the day before Mark Hurd left, the next day it went down on massive volume -- the largest volume day in the last year was the day after Hurd left. In fairness over the last year the stock climbed back up slowly and has fluctuated, however today it hit $26.61 after hours, which is near the 2009 crash lows.

I really love HP. The company is an icon in the Valley, and has been one of the most respected technology companies for decades. People like Steve Wozniak started their careers at HP, and Bill & Dave put Palo Alto & Cupertino on the map. This content of the conference call seems poorly timed & scripted.

I don't believe the intent is to kill webOS software, but it "feels" like it is.

I don't know what to say about the spin-off of the PC business. Seems like a missed opportunity. I can't say it's a "tap-out" because the company is very competitive overall, but maybe there's a lack of vision.

I hope they think about the messaging and the broader impact that it has on their people, the community, the market, etc. It feels like it was taken lightly.

Is "The HP Way" gone for good?

Bill & Dave are probably wondering what the heck is going on with their company. I know I'm disappointed... and as a living founder of a brand that was once considered a major part of the company - I feel their pain.

So back to the topic of PR

I think HP could have done a better job of messaging this;

wait until they had a deal to license webOS on the table
announce the deal in fabulous fashion, while quietly mentioning they killed webOS hardware.
as far as the rest goes, who knows, the acquisition and the pc spin-off thing have my head rumbling.

Good Luck HP!

I wish all my friends and ex-colleagues nothing but the best.... you know I have mad love for you --- and what's meant to be is meant to be. HP will still be here for a very long time, it'll just be a different HP, and one that we all hope comes back stronger and better than ever.

I really hope this is the case.

Tech Icons Reflect on PC's 30th Anniversary

2011-08-17T19:14:00.005-07:00

It's pretty cool to be in the same company of these people in the article. I do miss the PC industry, but not as much as I thought I would. Working at Microsoft and living in Seattle has expanded my horizon, and there are plenty of great things I'm working on now and preparing for the future.

Today marks the 30th anniversary of the PC, and the industry speaks. From Bill Gates to Meg Whitman, PCMag asked tech leaders, icons, and innovators about what the PC has meant to the world.

I offered to buy a Ford Raptor at MSRP and Ford declined my offer

2011-08-17T11:13:00.009-07:00

Many months ago I had issues with Nissan when we moved to the U.S. -- where they refused to transfer warranty on my car. Luckily my neighbor bought a Nissan dealership (Magic Nissan in Everett) and their service totally blew me away. I still have my car, which I still really like. They serviced the car and added a new exhaust for me, and they were very reasonable. Their GTR tech is amazing. I was so impressed with their service and I recommend them to anyone who has a Nissan looking for amazing service.

I need to buy a truck for random stuff, so I was looking at a Ford Raptor based on the fact that I'm a fan of Ford, and my neighbor has one and he really likes it.

I did a bunch of research on the Ford Raptor vs GMC Sierra Denali --- I like both, but the Ford won for my needs. I contacted a nearby Ford dealer and the salesman said he had two incoming and he would get back to me "immediately". That was last night, he hasn't contacted me since. I internet searched the dealership and it seems they have some pretty bad reviews, so I thought I would try another.

I did, I contacted another dealer nearby and they mentioned they have a 2011 Raptor with 1900 miles (used) that they would sell to me for $2000 over the manufacturers suggested retail price. How nice of them, I thought.

I promptly laughed, and told the guy "No, I'm not interested in paying over retail for a used truck, any other options?" and he said not really, the truck would not work for me so I should look elsewhere --- and we disconnected.

Then he instantly called back --- I thought it was one of those "auto call backs" where the phone doesn't properly hang up, but not the case.

He said "Oh hang on, someone just told me there is a brand new one (fancy that) on the lot that just came in"... The exact same truck I'm looking for. We went over the sticker, he sent it to me -- and sure enough it's *exactly* what I want.

Since I'm an employee of Microsoft I believe we get special pricing from the factory on Ford vehicles. This salesman told me there were no deals on the Raptor ever. So I then I just said "Okay, I'll pay MSRP, I want it by Friday..." --- Now normally I would try to negotiate, I like to feel like I'm getting a good deal, but instead I gave him the benefit of the doubt. Sure they have no stock, the allocation is tight, blah blah blah. I told him I'm a fan of Ford, I really respect his CEO Alan Mulally, and I emailed him a written offer for the truck at full MSRP. He said he'd get back to me....

He emailed me back saying they needed $5000 over list and asked if I was "flexible" on the price. Does that seem odd that the dealer is asking me if I'm "flexible" on the price when I'm already paying the suggested retail price for the car?

I don't get it. Ford, you disappoint me, really. That's two dealers and two strikes.

I am a Ford fan (search my blog for some of the history). I have owned and own Ford cars. ..but after this experience I'm not sure I want to do business with these guys since they'll probably charge me 25% "over" shop rates for service.

So is this normal practice? Is this another reason why American car companies are in trouble? What do you guys think?

BTW Ford PR did contact me last night on Twitter --- not sure how they plan to help, but they are obviously using social media. Good on them.

Congratulations to Brightsquid Medical

2011-05-18T11:07:00.016-07:00

Many years ago my father died of brain cancer. He was diagnosed in November and he died 3 months later. It was on his death bed that we shared with him the first major review Voodoo had in Maximum PC magazine and PC Gamer. He was super proud of us... He didn't get to see us grow into the great company we became as we were merged into HP.

It was then that I swore to myself if ever given the opportunity I would try to do something great for the healthcare industry. My good friend Dr. Deepak Kaura had a vision he developed while he was in med school. It was a teaching software he used to archive interesting cases, he was studying to be a Radiologist. The purpose of this software was really to help him become a better Radiologist while he shared interesting cases with other students and people in the field.

Deepak and I saw a business opportunity to turn BrightSquid into something great, so we approached another friend of ours Jeff Natland, a successful entrepreneur with several exits under his belt. The three of us got together and we developed a plan to fund and develop Brightsquid Medical into something amazing... and over the years the team created another division called Brightsquid Dental for the dental industry.

I blogged about Brightsquid many months ago. Check this out if you're interested in more of the back story.

Well, I'd like to take a moment to congratulate the team at Brightsquid medical as it looks like it got acquired into a major joint venture lead by the leading pharmaceutical commercialization services company in Asia Pacific. Based in Singapore, this company will change healthcare forever, I have zero doubt.

We started Brightsquid many years ago to help tear down silos between institutions and borders, and give all medical professionals a way to share interesting cases, annotations, and learn from one another while advancing healthcare.. all of this was implemented without affecting their existing workflow! Ultimately our goal is to see patients become the stewards of their own medical data, and we fully believe this will be achievable in our lifetimes.

If you're interested in learning more about Brightsquid Dental, which remains independent from Brightsquid Medical, check out www.brightsquid.com. I believe Brightsquid Dental has an incredible future in the dental industry.

No time to blog

2011-04-13T13:54:00.002-07:00

No time to blog at the moment - follow me on Twitter @rahulsood....!

Snow Day in Seattle

2011-02-24T15:51:00.002-07:00

What is Multitasking? What are we trying to do?

2011-02-14T11:05:00.008-07:00

yeah this picture is old, I know, but the concept of human multitasking remains the same

The typical definition of multitasking refers to the ability of a microprocessor to apparently process several tasks simultaneously.

As multi-core CPUs entered the market, the "shared computing" of a single processor was then set free to allow for multiple programs to be operating and running applications at the same time. By definition multi-tasking makes computing better, especially if you're a power user. If you are just a regular user, like most people, multitasking should just blend into your work stream in a meaningful way.

It's interesting to note that the human brain cannot fully focus when multitasking, people take longer to complete tasks and are predisposed to error.

Although being able to run multiple programs on any device is a huge productivity win. I love the ability to check my calendar, quickly switch to a browser, go to an email, then go back to the same browser window or calendar without waiting for it to re-load. This to me is the most natural transition from human multitasking to computed multitasking.

So why are so many people fixated on "the true definition" of multitasking on a phone? These are the same people who are constantly closing apps that are running to save battery life. Why should you have to do this anyways? Doesn't it seem insane that you are manually flipping apps on and off to save battery?

Shouldn't that just be automatic without actually shutting down the app thus giving you more battery life? Shouldn't apps that need a running feature (such as an instant messenger) have APIs that allow it to run certain functions in the background seamless to the user?

Someone just messaged me saying they would like the load/sign in/process of one app running in the background while he or she is doing something else on their phone. Another way of looking at this is, why not make the load/sign in/process faster instead?

I've come up with two perspectives to think about multitasking, one from the user experience, the other from an engineer;

A Engineers definition of Multitasking; The ability to run multiple tasks simultaneously or in the background while focussing on something completely different.

An Experience definition of Multitasking: The ability to switch between tasks instantly so I can bridge what I'm working on across multiple app streams or simply focus on something different.

...and while developers may not like the added baggage of complex APIs, maybe they should focus on the user rather than their own time constraints. Think of your customer man, charge more for your software if you feel you're adding a value that is beyond your call of duty!

When you're creating a new device, experience, anything - think about what problem you're trying to solve.

User Experience FTW.. let the flaming begin! You can bash me on twitter @rahulsood, or comment here instead.

Hardware Jobs at Microsoft

2011-01-21T22:50:00.005-07:00

As per my blog from last week the hiring team at Microsoft pulled together a landing page for our hardware positions here.

For the event on January 26^th – We only have room for 17 more attendees:

Networking and Product Show

Keynote: Microsoft: What’s Next

Speaker: Brian Tobey, CVP Microsoft Manufacturing and Supply Chain

Description: There are a number of important and specific technology trends in which Microsoft – whether it be through our product and engineering teams, incubation labs or our Microsoft Research and/or university partnerships is deeply involved in supporting and/or advancing the state of the art in ways that will fundamentally transform people’s lives and society as a whole. Join us and learn how we think about the future.

There is also a cocktail hour @ Designcon Feb 1^st

Bottom line, yeah there are some great hardware jobs at Microsoft, and we're looking for some amazing talent to join the team in various areas of the business.