WWDC 2016; 1 Miss and 3 Hits

WWDC 2016 was more interesting this year than it has been for a while. I actually found it fun to watch and was quite engaged. I felt Apple had 3 hits and only 1 miss in its mixture of product releases to come along. Provided they deliver on their promises, it will be a very interesting time for us Mac users.

The Miss; WatchOS or the Apple Watch

We’ll start with what I view as Apple’s only miss. There is likely little that can win me to this. The watch I never viewed as a major winner for Apple from the beginning.

People want to tell time and potentially grab a date from their watch, Most people don’t want to be Dick Tracy. They want a watch that’s a watch and that expresses time almost in a nostalgic way. The Apple watch breaks tremendously with the tradition of the watch. Although we’re moving into the information era, there’s many devices that will take us there and the watch is almost conterintuitive.

The Desire for a Comfortable Size

In Information Systems there has always been a desire for the comfortable size and likely weight. In the beginning, computers were too big to be personal. They were monstrous mainframes. With time, we’ve moved to ccomputers that are both comfortable in size and practical.

The iPad is a perfect example of this. It is a computer that can rest on your lap much like a book and be used. Visually it is easy to see and work with. Even our Smartphones, although pushing at one time to be a little too small, are comfortable to work with; to a degree. You wouldn’t want to write a book on one. But you can do a number of things relatively comfortable yet you are beginning to press the boundaries of practicality.

The Apple Watch is Simply too Impractical

The Apple Watch is too small to be practical. I don’t know a person who is interested in having one. I don’t know a person who has one in fact nor do I know anyone who has expressed an interest in the device.

Although Apple’s WWDC announcement was impressive, the WatchOS was not. Its disappearance would be the hit.

The Renamed OSX; MacOS

Things from this juncture improved dramatically. The renaming of OSX to Mac OS struck me as perfectly logical. The changes planned for OSX are great. The beginnings of open sourcing the code is a step in the right direction. It will put OSX or the new Mac OS on a more permanent competitive footing, a move that will prove truly essential.

Mac OS has always been ahead of the pack. However, things such as this can change on a dime. This will have the effect of bringing in more of brightest developers who will produce products that will not only maintain the lead; but will ensure Mac OS remains the leader. It‘s a very bold and powerful move and would suggest Apple is no longer riding on its Laurels.

tvOS

As Apple permanently redifined the music industry they are about to do the same with movies and television. One of the complaints these days is there is nothing to watch on TV or if there is it is gory, defined by the deranged and on it goes. The fun and simple seems to be gone something we all like in entertainment. In some ways, entertainment wisks us away from the worries of the world. Today’s entertainment puts us in the forefront of everything there is to worry about.

On your time, in Your way with Your Interests In the Lead

The AppleTV really does have the ability to redifine our relationship with TV significantly. TV companies are of course not happy about this. However, we are moving from the era of structured TV watching to that of watching what you want, when you want and in many ways more economically. If you’re the type that watches some TV but not massive amounts you probably will save. However, if you are the type that likes movies and at least four new, up to date films, the costs around this will probably be steep.

For the working Joe, it might be hard to fit in a lot of TV watching anyway. For such a person, the watching of TV al la carte is going to be significantly less expensive than one one of these all inclusive packages that includes everything plus the kitchEn sink and the soap to go a long with it. Flexibility thus describes the new model the best.

As Compulsion Leaves the Room

TV watching should be an informative or relaxing affair or both. What’s happened, as the hours worked just keeps increasing, there is less time to watch the old boob tube which leads to unusual stress. The feeling we aren’t getting our money’s worth crops up inducing stress. Under the old model though, you either reduced your package so there was definitely nothing to watch or you increased your package ensuring there would likely be something on at some point in time.

The VCR followed by the PVR was the first root to Liberation

As the push and pull of this complex played itself out, technology was taking a turn that would, at first blush, seem expensive. In reality, it was the first steps to liberation and the reduction of stress. People were taking control of TV.

However, it was the advancement of the internet that is leading to another story around entertainment. First slightly seen with music, the internet provided the liberating capacity to put the enjoyment of entertainment back in the consumers hand.

The Internet Is about to release Full Throttle

Yet, movies and even TV are a different beast than that of music. HDR files are large and we’re used to being able to sit down with our television show and watch it right away. The speed and the capacity of the internet has attained the critical mass to make this possible. It is only money that holds it fully back.

We can play movies, on demand, almost immediately. The technology exists to make the experience immediate but it remains a costlyventure but not for long. Megabit ethernet will break into gigabit ethernet with both the demand and the reduction of cost both coming hand in hand. There is, in fact, a surplus of high speed broadband capability which hasn’t been deployed simply due to the lack of demand which rests with the costs. Reduce the costs and the service will be there.

So we verge on the borders of entertainment when we want to watch it and likely cost effectively. That then leaves one other territory to play out.

Mobility the catchword for this Part of the Decade

Finally, IOS10 was a huge announcement. We were not talking about IOS 10 in anything but powerful yet reasonable ways. There is much that is happening at the desktop level and Mac 0S is leading the way. However, mobility has been grabbing attention for the last number of years to the point that it is the catchphrase of the day.

Around mobility we think of it in terms of where we want, when we want and all very cost effectively. The technology is in place for this and IOS10 cements this. It is just not work that will go with us whereever but entertainment too. These technologies are coming together nicely so that we will be able to work in a fluid fashion while we’ll be able to do this with get certain entertainment, such as watching a movie, from the same device.

Thus, the initial goal of our devices was to improve our productivity, it is reaching into farther grounds and provide us with entertainment, communications and the like. Through the integration of these technologies and the cross platform implementations that are taking place, the resistance that we’ve been used to will give way to far sleeker ways of working and enjoying the devices we work on.