Anonymous asked:
Just caught your LA in October video. Anybody ever tell you that your wife looks like a young Mia Sara (Legend circa 1985)?
She said she’d hadn’t heard this before, and was flattered. Her response was something like, “I wish that were true, because I think 80s-era Mia Sara was amazing. But it’s not true.” What can I say, she’s not good at taking compliments. (To be honest, I don’t think she looks much like Mia Sara, but I remember having a huge crush on her as a kid after seeing Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, so I don’t mind the comparison one bit.)
On Wednesday I visited my local Apple Store to purchase two Jawbone Up bands (more on this later) and had an opportunity to use the new EasyPay system for the first time. I found my items, pulled out my iPhone and opened the Apple Store app. It knew I was in an Apple Store and brought up the EasyPay menu. I pointed the camera at the UPC code of one of the Up packages, and it recognized the code and asked me to confirm my purchase. I confirmed and entered my credit card security code and that was it. It took about 20 seconds in total. On my way out of the store, I stopped to get parking validation and asked an Apple Store employee how they planned to handle possible theft with this new system. He said, “Basically, it’s just the honor system right now.”
It’s a ballsy move. Apple is, at least for now, choosing customer convenience over easy security. This may or may not last, but for now it’s a fantastic experience for any informed customer who wants to get in and out of the store as quickly as possible. Apple Store employees are still there and available to help you if you need it, but you’re free to walk in, beeline to your intended purchasable, scan and pay and walk out. (And yes, you can still request a bag if you’d like one.)
Apple’s not the first company to think about simplifying the shopping experience. Many grocery stores, pharmacy chains and even Home Depot have implemented self check-out lanes. The critical difference, of course, is that those systems are often slow, poorly designed, and you’re watched by store personnel at all times. You’re frequently chastised for putting an item in your bag too soon (“Please remove the item from your bag and scan it!”) or for using your own bag (“Please place the scanned item in the bag before proceeding!”), and all the while an employee is watching you as if you’re likely to steal that mayonnaise at any moment.
Customer trust not a common thing at most retail stores. Best Buy, for example, does not have self check-out lanes, has doorway sensors, and requires you to show your receipt to security personnel on your way out. Most major clothing stores use door sensors and often large non-removable security tags. Can you imagine going to a Target and using an EasyPay system? It seems likely that will never happen.
Is the difference between an Apple Store and Best Buy that people want to steal stuff from Bust Buy more? Doubtful. Are Apple Store customers less likely to steal in general? Perhaps, but with the number of Apple Stores these days and the wide variety of people visiting them, that seems doubtful as well. Was Apple not facing problems of theft before? Obviously, these statistics aren’t readily available, but I have to believe Apple suffers from the same amount as other retail outlets.
For now, at least, it appears Apple has decided the increased risk is worth the reward. As a regular Apple Store customer, I whole-heartedly agree. The EasyPay system feels like part of a future I wish were here today, when my iPhone functions as my wallet and my ID and becomes the only thing I have to carry. With EasyPay, we’re one small step closer to that.
At least Amazon’s developers have the balls to call it what it is.
Anonymous asked:
I like your taste in equipment and appliances. I've been looking for a stylish yet practical, yet understated powered USB hub for ages - what do you have?
I don’t have a USB hub, let alone a powered one. These days, I don’t have many USB devices I need to regularly plug in—all of my external USB hard drives are bus powered and for backup purposes so I keep them in a fireproof safe until I need them, and iPhones and iPads support over-the-air sync and update now. The only USB cables regularly plugged into my iMac are my Bowers & Wilkins MM-1 speakers and an iPhone dock/CF card reader. Whenever I need to debug using additional devices I temporarily plug them in using a cable and then put them away when I’m done.
There was a time when I had several USB docks on my desk and loads of stuff plugged into them. Over the years, my computing desires have gone basically the exact opposite direction—I’m always looking to remove cables and devices where possible. Ideally, my speakers would be wireless. Ideally, I’d never plug my iPhone into my computer. Et cetera.
I felt like a jerk for answering with this non-answer, so I did a little investigating for you to try to find a nice looking powered USB hub and I pretty much came up completely empty. So then I thought again and realized I wanted to know: Why do you need a powered USB hub? How many items need to be plugged into your computer at once that also require power? Do you actually need this or are you missing an opportunity to trim down here? These are all genuine questions.
Dave Winer:
I wish every product had a spokesperson and ego behind it like the Kindle and iPad do. Take Flickr for example. It’s way ahead of all the other Internet photo apps. But its egos, Stewart and Caterina, left years ago. Since then it’s drifted on with a little of the momentum they left with it. And even so, it’s way ahead of all the other photo apps, as a platform. And that’s proving to be really important.
Big time agreement here. I’m constantly worried Flickr will shutter (hah! amazing pun!) because of how (mostly) stagnant it has been in the past few years. But the work they did to build their platform has kept them alive. I know several people on the Flickr team and they’re all awesome people—the product just needs a new leader who can drive it and keep it moving.
