the promise of technology

A brand is a promise, we expect something to be delivered. The Apple brand promises ease of use, slick design and something fashionable. The Microsoft brand promises something compatible and something known.

If we think of technology in it broadest sense, what is the promise of the 'technology brand'? Does it deliver something shiny, new, faster and better? When I take a step back and ask myself has technology delivered on its promise? When I ask myself do I still believe in the 'technology brand'? The evidence would suggest that delivering on the promise of technology is the exception and not the rule.

My PC still boots up in the same amount of time it did 10 years ago. My email experience is broadly similar, my word processing and Internet experience has improved a little.



Today the iPhone launched in the UK and Germany. My crystal ball prediction on June 19th of this year when the iPhone launched in the US was

'Final verdict, before the introduction of the iPod/iTunes Apple were not in the music distribution business, today they are the 5th largest supplier of music worldwide. The iPhone is over priced and over hyped but a key benefit of the iPhone is ego gratification. I think we will see Apple move into the mobile phone space but perhaps not have the 70% market share it does in the MP3 space.'

Today I think much the same but I would add, perhaps cynically, that the marketing machine will be increasingly needed to continue to sell the promise for value that does not get delivered.

Research into people's PC usage reveals the top activities are browsing, email and word processing. Other research reveals that people's criteria for purchase of a PC is centered around functionality they infrequently use like digital video and photo editing. Imagine a person needing a family car ignoring the seat capacity and focusing instead on how fast it goes from 0 to 60mph.

The marketing can be fun, the products can be shiny but, please, just give me technology that does the basics brilliantly.


For more information ...
iPhone

remote but no control

For many years now remote controls have frustrated me as they don't help me. Yes, I can change channel, turn the sound up or down, mute the sound, see the guide but once I leave these basic functions usability not only degrades it disappears.

How do I record a program onto a vcr or hard drive? How do I do a timer record, How can I watch one program and record another? How do I make timer recordings of all the upcoming Heroes episodes. The equipment I have is capable of this, but the 'remote', my interface with the system makes it unusable.

I suspect I am not alone in my frustration. This is not just a problem for the aged, this is a 'pain in the ass' for most people. The major companies associated with TV and other related devices have let us down in a way we would not tolerate from other technology providers and the battle line is the remote.

For me the main problems of the remote relate to some basic functions associated with recording.

• record something that is on now but that I am not watching
• record something that is on later that I wont' be watching
• record something that is on now and that I am watching
• record a series of programs

In fact, really number 1 and 2 are of most interest to me.

Pictured above are the last three remotes I owned, from left to right they have 53, 47 and 53 button (a button that has an up and down function I count as two). That is more controls than most cars and yet the functions I really want are limited.

1. change channel
2. turn sound up, down or off
3. see the guide, scroll through it and select an item (I don't even need info as the guide provides that)
4. record something that is on now but that I am not watching
5. record something that is on later that I may or may not be watching
   
6. record something that is on now and that I am watching
7. record a series of programs

Surely someone can design a better remote to just perform these functions. Maybe Apple should take this challenge on. The iPod and iPhone seems to have simple interfaces to relatively complex functionality, how about the iRemote? Here is my design constructed in 20 minutes.

• To change the channel, press prog and use the scroll like on an iPod, this will scroll through the channels.
• To turn sound up or down press vol and use the scroll like on a iPod, to mute press vol and then OK.
• To see the guide, press guide, scroll using the scroll bar, getting the idea? and then select the program to watch by pressing OK.
  
• To record something that is on now, press guide, scroll to the program then press rec. Then an on screen menu should ask if you want to (a) record and watch, (b) record but watch something else (c) record all programs in the series. Use the scroll and OK to select the appropriate option.
  
• To record something that is on later press guide, scroll to the program then press rec. Then an on screen menu should prompt asking if you want to (a) record and watch later (this would automatically change to this channel when the program starts), (b) record but watch something else later (c) record all programs in the series. Use the scroll and OK to select the appropriate option.
• To record something that is on now and that I am watching, press rec.
• Recording a series of programs was taken care of by the above.

This is just an illustration not a solution. There are other functions to consider, such as text, favorites, live pause, etc., but these are I believe secondary considerations.

Surely someone out there should have invented a better remote and given us back control!