Initial thoughts on the iPad 2

Posted on March 28, 2011 by Jim Cota
SAN FRANCISCO - MARCH 02: An attendee holds t...

Image by Getty Images via @daylife

I saw this story today and couldn’t resist sharing:

[Apple's] focus this week has been to troubleshoot all the iPad 2s that customers are returning to the stores. One iPad came back with a post it note on it that said “Wife said no.” It was escalated as something funny, and two of the VPs got wind of it. They sent the guy an iPad 2 with a note on it that said “Apple said yes.”

I’m sure the guy who received his new iPad will find the experience matches mine. I won’t bore you with details: I love it. It’s hard to explain, really, considering I already had the first generation iPad. But the new one is noticeably thinner, not so much by looking at it, but when you hold it in your hand. It just feels…better. It’s lighter, too. Again, not so much that you really feel it; it’s more like you notice that it doesn’t seem quite as heavy after you’ve been holding it awhile.

These are the biggest changes, at least for me. The speed does seem quite improved. The speakers are louder. The camera is nice to have, but I don’t use it that often. (It should be noted that you can look only one of two ways when you hold up something as big as an iPad to take a photo or a video: either like an idiot, or someone who is trying to say, “Look! I’ve got an iPad 2 and it has a CAMERA!” In either case, you kinda look like an idiot.)

And then there’s the cover, with which I have a love/hate relationship. I love it’s form factor. It’s very well designed and does, somehow, keep fingerprints off the screen. I love the way it folds to become a stand that is much sturdier than Apple’s previous case. And I love the self-aligning magnets that magically grab right where they’re supposed to. But I hate that it doesn’t do anything to protect the back of the iPad. I’m sure Apple will tell me not to worry about it, but I do.

Oh, and there’s this other thing… The way the hinges on the cover work, they tend to rub on the back side of the iPad. This has removed the finish from the hinges (which isn’t a big deal), and it’s removed the finish from the back of the iPad (which is a big deal.) True, it doesn’t do anything to affect the usability. Everything still works perfectly. But to see those two little smudges on the back like ugly blemishes of abuse… It’s very frustrating. Especially since I’ve been exceedingly careful not to abuse the thing. Still, it’s a very small thing in the overall scheme. This generation exceeds the original in every way.

Posted in observations, thinking | Tagged , | Leave a comment

What’s the one question Rainn Wilson doesn’t want you to ask?

Posted on March 13, 2011 by Jim Cota

We watched the SXSW world premiere of SUPER starring Rainn Wilson, Ellen Page, Liv Tyler and Kevin Bacon last night. The movie seems to be unlike much of anything that has come before it (that I’ve seen, anyway). It has this odd way of being strange, insightful, darkly funny, tragic, and heartbreaking all at the same time.

When writer/director James Gunn was asked about it afterward, he said the concept for the film grew out of this idea that we have all seen and talked about Batman, and Batman essentially is a guy that goes out and beats up bad guys. He wondered what that would look like if you tossed a bucket of cold reality on it, and the result is SUPER.

Wilson was great as Frank, the every-day protagonist short-order cook turned hero, but for my money, Ellen Page (of Juno fame) absolutely stole the show.

Following the screening, the three of them hopped up on stage to answer questions. And–wouldn’t you know it?– the first question asked was the one that Rainn is soooo sick of hearing. Here’s what that looked like from our seats:

SUPER from Jim Cota on Vimeo.

Related stuff:


Posted in observations | Tagged , | Leave a comment

To whom should I turn?

Posted on February 18, 2011 by Jim Cota

I have a friend who is sick… again. I have another friend who is jobless. Another whose marriage is failing. Another who is far, far from home. And another… And another… Each of them are facing the future with all the courage they can muster, though a shallow fear may be lying just below the surface. To whom should I turn with my concern for each?

In contrast, I have found increasing abundance. There are a myriad of tiny blessings in every moment. When I reach out and pick up my child, hold her in my arms and feel her breath on my ear when she says, “I love you, Daddy;” there are a million facets required to experience something so simple yet so profound. They  should be duly noted, correctly attributed, and faithfully called out, each in turn. And then: appreciation. To whom should my gratitude be directed for all that I have; all that I am?  To what do I owe my undeserved fortune?

To God, perhaps? I think so. And maybe this gratitude is a simple act of faith and humility, courage and conviction, and the absolute surrender of any semblance of control. I am responsible for my own actions and reactions, but certainly not for anything else… Though I may work hard to understand and appreciate, I created neither the mind nor the heart that makes it possible.

I am reminded a quote I’ve heard only a few times but remember well:

“I have been driven many times upon my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go. My own wisdom, and that of all about me, seemed insufficient for the day.”

- Abraham Lincoln

If Lincoln, accomplished and successful as he was, was driven to his knees to find solace, strength, and peace– especially in light of the crisis he was facing– that’s good enough for me, too.

[Ed. note: Speaking of Lincoln, I highly recommend this short piece by Jamie Stiehm discussing his "Farewell to Springfield." It's a wonderful, humanizing look at this eloquent man who could speak off the cuff as perfectly as if he'd been toiling over drafts for days... And here is yet another account of the entire day, especially noting the time spent in Indianapolis, well documented and artfully expressed by Ted Widmer of the New York Times.]

Posted in life, observations, writing | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Experimental ‘skin cell gun’ aims to forever change burn treatment

Posted on February 2, 2011 by Jim Cota

Sometimes you see something that is so incredible it defies explanation. In this case, both the concept and the application are simple to understand. What’s incomprehensible is how well it works.

In this brief video from National Geographic, Jörg Gerlach of the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine explains how their work with adult stem cells can work to regenerate skin using the patient’s own cells. The most amazing part is the very last statement, where burn victim Matthew Uram says, “They did [the procedure] on Friday and my follow up was that Monday and the burn unit said it was healed. Completely healed.”

You really have to see it to believe it; and even that might not be enough:

Posted in life | Leave a comment

200 years of history, like you’ve never seen before

Posted on January 26, 2011 by Jim Cota
Hans Rosling on "The Joy of Stats"

Hans Rosling presents 200 years of world history in four minutes

I’m a big fan of Hans Rosling. Rosling is a Swedish physician, statistician, academic and director of Gapminder Foundation. I’ve written about him a couple of times, specifically the Gapminder tool, which enables you to envision complex statistics in ways that make them instantly understandable.

I recently saw a video where Rosling got together with BBC Four program called “The Joy of Stats” to perform some augmented reality tricks to make the data even more “real”. The entire episode isn’t available online, but you can see Hans go through 200 years of world history in four minutes. Pretty amazing stuff. Check it out:

Related articles
Posted in life, observations, video | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

“Home is wherever I’m with you…”

Posted on January 21, 2011 by Jim Cota

Some things are simply too good not to share. This certainly falls into that category. I encourage you to watch Jorge & Alexa Narvaez and their delightful rendition of “Home” by Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros. It might just end up being the highlight of your day.

Enjoy!

Posted in happy, kids, life, parenting, video | 2 Comments

Your life should be awesome…

Posted on January 12, 2011 by Jim Cota

Grace inspects a caterpillar

Tell your parents, tell your friends, tell your co-workers, tell your children: Your life should be awesome. It can be–it will be–and it’s all up to you. So says, Neil Pasricha, author of “The Book of Awesome” and the blog “1000 Awesome Things.” The key, he says, lies in three A’s: Attitude, Awareness, and Authenticity. (It’s like this guy climbed up inside my head and could see what I was thinking…)

This short video from his TED presentation provides the background on awesome, the three A’s, and leaves you with a parting thought for life. And it’s all right on the mark.

“Look,” says Pasricha, “we’re all gonna get lumps and we’re all going to get bumps. None of us can predict the future, but we do know one thing about it: and that’s that it ain’t going to go according to plan. There are times in your life when you will get tossed in the well, with twists in your stomach and holes in your heart. And when that bad news washes over you and that pain sponges and soaks in, I just really hope you feel like you’ve always got two choices.

“One, you can swirl and twirl and you can gloom and doom forever; or two, you can grieve and then face the future with newly sober eyes. Having a great attitude is about choosing option number two, and choosing, no matter how difficult it is, no matter what pain hits you, choosing to move forward and move on and take baby steps into the future.”

There are some great moments in this talk and it’s well worth the fifteen minutes you’ll spend watching. (His example of authenticity is simply too good to spoil; you’ll just have to watch for yourself.)

Share it with friends and co-workers, but more importantly, share it with your kids. Help fortify them and give them the skills and the tools they need to face their lives with optimism and deliberation. Help the create–and then live–an awesome life.

Posted in kids, life, parenting, thinking, video | 1 Comment

Starbucks rolls out new look for the future

Posted on January 6, 2011 by Jim Cota

I like Starbucks. Honestly, I know that likely puts me into one of two camps and may affect (adversely or otherwise) your opinion of me. But I dig the concept of the third place and I think they are one of the few places that seem to both get it and embrace it.

They have also made good strides in recent years to better understand their customers and improve both their communications and their offerings to meet the needs & wants of those customers. I believe this has much to do with the return of Howard Schultz and is a testament that having a marketer at the helm can be a boost to the overall organization.

So yesterday I got an email from Howard. In it, he thanked me for being a customer and told me that they were making some subtle changes to the Siren that has been a symbol of the company for the past 40 years. He says:

“Our new brand expression reflects our evolving freedom and flexibility to serve and connect with our customers in meaningful ways while continuing to represent the integrity, quality and consistency of the Starbucks Experience.”

Which, I think, is a testament that sometimes a marketer drinks way too much of their own Kool-aid. Or, in this case, coffee.

Still, I think the new look is fresh and certainly seems decidedly more modern than the previous version. It also drops the “Starbucks Coffee” designation, much like Apple dropped “Computer” from their name when it became apparent they were much more than a computer company. Take a look and let me know what you think:

New identity for Starbucks

This image shows the evolution of the Starbucks brand identity throughout the life of the company

Related articles

Posted in business, marketing, observations | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Our top iPad apps for 2011

Posted on January 2, 2011 by Jim Cota
Steve Jobs while introducing the iPad in San F...
Image via Wikipedia

In my most recent Indianapolis Business Journal article, I took on the task of helping all of you with new iPads figure out which apps were worth having. The initial list is based on a great deal of painstaking research. (Actually, we just sat around the office discussing it, which we do at least once a week.) I compiled the list in a rough outline of “most-used” and “favorite,” and intentionally avoided some of the business applications (primarily due to space constraints.) In the end, the list contained more than 50 apps, so I feel pretty confident you’ll find something you like in the mix.

See our ~50 top iPad apps for 2011 »

Posted in business, life | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Guatemalan sinkholes say, “Time to move.”

Posted on December 2, 2010 by Jim Cota

In 2007, a 300-foot deep sink hole opened up in Guatemala City, leaving this view behind:

300-foot sinkhole in Guatemala City, 2007

300-foot sinkhole in Guatemala City, 2007

Pretty amazing. And you would think it would be a fairly rare occurrence for something this freaking big to just suddenly show up in the middle of the street. Until, of course, the next one opens up a few years later and swallows a three story building. Oh, and this one is about 60 feet across and more than 300 feet deep:

300-foot sinkhole in Guatemala City, opened 2010

300-foot sinkhole in Guatemala City, opened 2010

It seems obvious to me that aliens are perfecting their laser drilling from space.

Not quite the same, but two related stories:

Posted in observations, photos | Tagged , , | Leave a comment