Its quite good actually, well it’s effective and executed well. The animations are smooth, its quick, but then it is very limited. It does however give you a good feel for how the Windows Metro OS works. It will also start a bit of debate and discussion which might result in some positive PR, which is why it was an excellent idea. Will it convert everyone, probably not, Microsoft are so late to the party, only hardcore Zune fans will be queuing up for this one, remember the Zune?

Windows Phone 7 Demo

That could be one way to look at it or you could say Google have decided to try something they know nothing about by shamefully copying someone else’s product and announcing it as an innovation, slapping a Google logo on it, probably a + symbol somewhere, only to see it hardly used because they are, oh I don’t know, 10 years late to the game.

I predict Google will take a stab and hardware very soon, it’s about the only thing they haven’t ripped off yet.

It shouldn’t be allowed, not just by the internet community, but it shouldn’t be allowed by Google’s leadership, they should be ashamed and demand more, otherwise why bother? You might as well let a couple of Chimpanzees attend the board meetings and be done with it.

Take a look at this example, the new Google+ Pepsi brand page. Now take a look at the Facebook version.

Shameful.

That is his legacy, and what a legacy it is, he will live on through his innovations as well as his family. Steve introduced the world to user experience, by caring above all about the users of his products. This was the key to his success, knowing what his users wanted and then making products that surpassed their expectations.

Without Steve I wouldn’t be who I am. It sounds cheesy but it’s true. I wouldn’t sit down everyday and feel the pride for the tools I use in my craft. I wouldn’t push every single design further and further, argue with colleagues, feel the passion for simplicity that I do every day of my life. I wouldn’t want to make my designs as perfect and amazing as those produced by Apple.

He set the standard, his leadership inspired and made possible every product he showcased on stage in the way only he could.

So here’s to you Steve, one of the crazy ones, proud to be, and think, different.

Steve Jobs 1955 – 2011.

Sorry Zuckers but with all the money, all the talent, this is best you can do? Lets see the checklist, Big keynote announcement – check (thanks Uncle Steve). Promotional web page with big bold imagery – check. Videos of happy kids in swimming pools (thanks Uncle Steve again) – check. Hip music thats really easy to listen to and slightly uplifting – check. Finally an innovative product people will need because it enhances their life – …?

Much like Google+, this is just another useless product from a large dotcom, pretty much good for one thing, sharing photo’s, or search in the case of Google, trying to steel some limelight with another mediocre product. Zuckers listen up, people use Facebook to look at photo’s of people they went to school with, now that they have a few extra pounds and wrinkles, all to make themselves feel a bit better about how they look now they have 16 kids that have destroyed their souls.

Users waste time on Facebook, communicate a tiny bit, share photos and videos so they can waste more time. Instead of coming up with pompous ideological products that no one is ever going to use, except you, why not actually focus on what users are doing now, and see how you can take that to the next level, stick to what you are good at.

Here’s the Timeline promotional page, its like sooo awesome:

http://www.facebook.com/about/timeline

A lot can be said about Uncle Steve and Apple, the endless debate over whether they are as good as ‘fanboys’ say they are, but no matter who you are or what you platform preference, you have to respect the come back Steve Jobs made when he regained his position at Apple in 1997. The company was struggling to turn a profit, dwindling market share and produced a wide range of disjointed products people just didn’t want to buy. Enter Uncle Steve, a renewed vision and core beliefs for an organisation, a refined product range and a couple of decades later Apple are the most valuable company in the world with cash reserves the US government can only dream of.

For Steve Jobs wasn’t just a great leader, he was a guy with a vision involving quality, simplicity and good design, something I am proud to say I share.

I don’t think the quality and vision will diminish now that he had stepped down, think about it, would you step down from the love of your life without knowing someone else was going to look after her just as much if not more than you did? I don’t think Uncle Steve has been as active for the last few years, but he will still be there and on hand as Chairman of the Board.

The best quote going around from Daring Fireball’s article http://df4.us/i6y:

Jobs’s greatest creation isn’t any Apple product. It is Apple itself.

So what’s next? How do we all move on? Well, just when you thought Steve Jobs was a good leader, here’s everything you need to know about his successor http://aol.it/pZUB8A.

One of my core examples was Apple’s online store, surely if anyone would of designed a mobile friendly version, they would, that is if they were meant to exist, however they haven’t and I always assumed this was because there mobile browser has gestures, like ‘tap to zoom’ that allow a full web experience on a mobile device, as opposed to an app experience on a web site.

Don’t get me wrong, I have a mobile version of this site, using media queries and targeted javascript and it has been designed to improve the experience of users viewing my site from a mobile, I have nothing against mobile friendly sites, but I do think it is more a case of specific user requirement, and return on investment, than just having one because everyone else has one. For example my reason for having one is obviously to showcase the capability and what I can achieve for my clients, makes sense.

It is definitely a debate worth having, are we creating a separate web, a mobile friendly web all over again, anyone remember WAP? With the use of media queries and javascript we can integrate the mobile experience into web sites so much more efficiently and I reckon this may be why Apple have decided to look at this, the mobile experience then becomes baked into the site, permanently.

Here’s the article that inspired this exciting post 9to5mac.com

Look at Google’s financial results. They reported $8.5 billion in net income this year, and $6.5 billion last year. That’s for all of Google. They’re offering $12.5 billion for Motorola. So Google just spent almost two years of its profits to buy a second-rate phone maker that itself is unprofitable,1 almost went bankrupt, and is arguably only the third-best maker of Android devices, behind HTC and Samsung.

Full post http://df4.us/i4w

The rumours are the main reason for the aquisition is actually to increase Google’s patent portfolio, not really much of an exciting reason, but a reason none the less. I am more than sure though we can expect a ‘supercharged’ Android handset though and that is something I would be interested in seeing.

More boring details here Supercharging Android: Google to Acquire Motorola Mobility

So what’s so snazzy about this latest version? For me the biggest change is the new way to scroll. Apple are trying to turn the world upside down, making windows on your desktop scroll, the same way as your iDevice. So to scroll the page down on your screen, you actually swipe your finger, Magic Mouse and Trackpad required, up. To reiterate, scroll finger up to scroll down the page. My brain is still readjusting, of course you can turn this off, but if you think about it, it actually makes sense, and then it becomes a challenge, so I am going for it.

It’s a bold move, to try and change something that has been a standard practice in the desktop experience for so long, but if anyone can pull it off, it’s uncle Steve. It’s strange, without a doubt, you have to consciously think about it before you start to scroll, but hopefully I will be able to overwrite a decade of brain training, within a couple of weeks.

The other major change for me, is the all new Mail app. Its a much needed upgrade and one I am finding really helps with day to day tasks. Safari has also had an upgrade, along with new gesture controls, making browsing that bit more pleasurable.

There are also minor UI tweaks, on demand scroll bars, new icons, and performance enhancements, all of which add up to an upgrade well worth £21. Some small issues with my Adobe products, but all fixed fairly easily.

The interesting thing about this version of OS X is that Apple have added an iOS style layer to it, with Launchpad, probably a hint at where the OS is going.

For a full geeky, far too long review Mac OS X 10.7 Lion: the Ars Technica review