The Next Big Thing For Apple

Image via CrunchBaseThe PC/laptop is done. The smartphone is done. The tablet is done. I don't foresee any major transformations with any of those. What is not done is the TV screen. That is the next frontier. But I am not sure Apple - or any other company I know - is in a position to do it. The TV might get done by some startup not launched yet. Or it might get done by Apple and Google. Right now it is too early to tell. And the wrist watch might not see magic before nanotech really takes off. Which brings us to the big movie screen, but then the problem with movies is outdated business practices, less technology. People are okay watching movies on smaller screens.

And I Am Not Even An Apple Fanboy
Steve Jobs — 1955-2011
Seven Screens

Bill Gates retired, but Steve Jobs died. Tim Cook might be a better groomed successor than Steve Ballmer, but the guy still has a tough nut to crack. Ride the iPhone and the iPad wave for as long as you can. That is at least two good years ahead.

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And I Am Not Even An Apple Fanboy

Image by The Seg via FlickrSteve Jobs — 1955-2011

I have never bought an Apple product. My first smartphone is going to be a Nexus Prime. I am so glad Amazon has finally given the iPad some genuine competition.

But my admiration for Steve Jobs is deep and genuine.

Steve Jobs' Departure
Steve Jobs At A City Council Meeting
How Steve Jobs Gets Things Done
Steve Jobs: iPad 2 Announcement
An Ode To Steve jobs
Steve Jobs Should Never Have Been Fired
Apple: Trillion Dollar Company?
Sculley: Scum
Apple Is A Cultural Phenomenon
Mideast Peace: Tech Industry Style

I have been reading up on the guy the past few hours. Few details of his life I have read are news to me. It's most amazing to me as to how he ran Apple like a startup even when he had turned it into the most valuable company in the world. Aren't you supposed to get "corporate" by then?

I find myself listening to Indian classical music after a long, long time.

Steve Jobs — 1955-2011

Image by Getty Images via @daylifeI just got back from an event near Times Square. I had some roadside momo - dumplings - with a ton of hot sauce. Usually I burn the midnight oil - it is a body clock thing. But today I was hoping to go to bed early and to wake up earlier than usual to work out some - I do freehand.

I guess I decided to log into my computer just as I gulped the last dumpling, and there was a Google Talk message from a friend out in the MidWest, someone I have yet to meet, a doctor from my hometown in Nepal. A few weeks back he mailed me a book he has written - Enduring Everest - about enduring ethnic prejudice as a Madhesi in Nepal.

"Steve Jobs died," the message said. It was not a new message. His status said he was idle.

My first reaction was disbelief. I expected the guy to retire, not to die. I felt sad. No, I did not see this coming. I was expecting him to stick around for years. This guy truly, truly stands out among the tech titans of my lifetime. It is going to take me days to digest the news.

Walt Mosberg: The Steve Jobs I Knew
Larry Page
Mark Zuckerberg
Bill Gates
The White House: President Obama on the Passing of Steve Jobs: "He changed the way each of us sees the world."
Dick Costolo

October 11

iPhone: Free Means $400

Image via WikipediaNow that Apple has a new iPhone it is going to give you the old one for free. That is the word. But is it really free? You get saddled with a two year contract, and an old phone. Free means you don't have to pay that first $200. But your monthly bill does not come down, as it would if the phone were really free. Money collected from that two year contract, well, Apple lays claim to part of it.

An iPhone costs around 600 bucks. But you don't feel the pain because you get tricked into thinking it costs 200 bucks, the upfront money you pay. But Apple gets 200 from you and 400 from the carrier.

From a "free" phone Apple will keep getting the 400 from the carrier. 70 bucks per month over two years is 1680 bucks. Apple gets 400 of that. Your monthly bill would be more like 55 bucks per month if the phone were truly free.

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