📙 Book Review – Dealers of Lightning: Xerox PARC and the Dawn of the Computer Age

Continuing with biographies, I picked up Dealers of Lightning and was absolutely stunned by PARC. It’s no secret their work brought about the UI for both Windows and Mac. But, there is so much more. Dare I say, the UI was the tip of the iceberg. There was the laser printer, Ethernet, multi-node networking, ARPANET, photo editing, the “desktop” paradigm, object oriented programming, the mouse, bitmap graphics, and of course, the Alto which tied all this together. Even the concept of the iPad was conceptualized at PARC, the DynaBook. So much of our everyday computing lives trace their roots back to PARC. It’s amazing and impressive how much they developed, and this was before 99% of the public even knew what a computer was or what they could do with it. It’s almost laughable there was a time when a computer didn’t have an express purpose. And the idea of an idle computer was unheard of. You paid for compute […]

📘 Book Review – Losing the Signal The Untold Story Behind the Extraordinary Rise and Spectacular Fall of BlackBerry

The fall of RIM/BlackBerry is directly related to the rise of Apple and iPhone. As one took off, the other crashed and burned. While it barely registers today, several years ago, RIM and the BlackBerry were THE phone of choice. It was small, efficient, and did it’s job extremely well. It had good battery life, you could check email, and send short text message on a serviceable keyboard. All of this on a low bandwidth signal. It was amazing, right up until the point it wasn’t. In many respects, the BlackBerry thrived because of it’s unique functionality and lack of competition. It was the first, so it was the best. It worked in the Enterprise and had strong support from high level CEOs. Big corporate deals were made using the BlackBerry. When the iPhone came on the scene it barely made a dent. There was little momentum, so it wasn’t a threat. As famously and ignorantly noted, it didn’t have […]

📕 Book Review – Jony Ive The Genius Behind Apples Greatest Products

More biographies. More Apple. Jony Ive, who’s been working inside Apple since the days of the Newton, has changed the way we view and work with computers and electronic devices. His new approach to the look, feel and interaction, has shifted us away from “beige boxes” to devices of gleaming white plastic, translucent materials, funky colors, aluminum, and who knows what’s next. His concepts of design language and aesthetic has influenced industries far beyond “tech.” Going from near obscurity in the “basement” design lab of Apple, Jony reached celebrity status. Apple has gone from bulky, uninteresting devices to what many consider works of art. Through this journey we see his process. A process open to new ideas and new ways of doing things. It worked in the past, but it can be done better for the future. Jony iterates over a design hundreds of times, making changes, re-evaluating, and going in different directions if need be. When starting, everything is […]

📕 Book Review – Tim Cook The Genius Who Took Apple to the Next Level

Continuing my biographical reads, I decided to dig a little deeper into Tim Cook, the man successfully pushing Apple through the trillion dollar stratosphere. What we get is a man who comes from humble beginnings who mastered the art of Just in Time inventory. In fact, he took the concept some say was perfected at Dell, and advanced it by leaps and bounds. Not just implementing the process, but improving, enhancing and adapting it. We also see a CEO with more worldly and charitable views that Steve Jobs. Let’s be honest, Jobs wasn’t concerned about or interested in charity. He felt his contributions to the universe were more than enough. Not Tim. Through Apple, he’s donated hundreds of millions of dollars to different organizations. And not in foreign countries like others, but right in his own back yard. Million to education and other projects. Jobs wasn’t too involved with the environment either. Under Cook, the goal is to make products […]

Culture Code

When not reading the adventures of Jules Verne, or mysteries of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, my non-fiction reading list usually consists of biographies, or something historical. After a few urgings, I picked up, read, and thoroughly enjoyed "The Culture Code: The Secrets of Highly Successful Groups" by Daniel Coyle. As the title suggests, it provides insight on how highly successful teams are formed. However, the conventions don't always follow the traditional pattern. It's not hiring the smartest people. It's not building a team with the most experience. Team dynamics is equally important. It's an engaging read where kindergartners can succeed where CEOs and MBAs fail. There are multiple stories where the team with the biggest budget, the most experience, and the most confidence wasn't the team to win the prize. Where great ideas are ruined by mediocre teams, yet mediocre ideas are turned into success by great teams. How leaders, real leaders, will create an environment that makes a great […]