The book’s introduction starts with an overview of three transformations that followed the mainframes:
From mainframes to interacting with desktop computers using a keyboard
The graphical user interface (GUI), and specifically the mouse
Touch interfaces, including mobile devices
The Fourth Transformation? That would be “Spatial Computing.”
The Fourth Transformation didn’t initially seem especially interested in discussing the actual technology. The focus was more on how retailers and marketers had better get with the program of augmented reality /virtual reality / mixed reality technologies. “If you are part of a big brand, you need to know about this now so you can understand how your customer relationships are about to change and so you begin to adjust course.”
Amazon is taking over the world, or so it sometimes seems. They convinced the US Postal service to bring back Sunday deliveries. Sometimes people casually refer to having “tons of stuff,” while Amazon sells tons of stuff every day. Their building boom in the Seattle area includes everything from conventional offices and warehouses to biosphere domes. Increasingly, Amazon is entering the shipping business as well.
Amazon Prime Air
Prototype of a Prime Air delivery drone. Photo courtesy Amazon.com
The brand made it to the real world sooner than anyone expected. Their first cargo aircraft, dubbed Amazon One, is prominently labeled Prime Air. It was revealed to the public with a flyover at Seattle’s annual Seafair festival. The prime number in the aircraft’s tail number is a subtle nod to the observant.
Microsoft’s Windows 10 has been hanging over my head like the Sword of Damocles. On the one hand, a free upgrade is a good thing. Microsoft has been marketing that for months. On the other hand, I had issues while upgrading another PC.
The Edge browser built into Windows 10 has received a lot of criticism for having less functionality than the browsers most people are used to. Browsers like FireFox, Safari, Chrome, and Microsoft’s own Internet Explorer have set the bar. I knew from prior experience that while Internet Explorer still exists on a Windows 10 machine, it’s pretty well hidden.
Fifty Shades of Grey was all over the news. Lovers stores took advantage of all the press by putting-up banners asking “What’s Your Shade?”
They were not the first to take advantage of what’s hot, and won’t be the last. However, some do it better than others.
Keep it Relevant
Pi Day has been gaining visibility in recent years, with observances including math discussions and eating pie. What caught my attention this time was how WDLabs ran with it as a marketing opportunity.
When people see my tweets, they often ask “why JoeBugBuster?”
BugBuster’s Beginning
My first tech job was at a now-defunct startup that offered vertical market software and systems for video stores. At one point I was doing software testing, and really took the job to heart. Apparently I did a good job, because I was nicknamed BugBuster in recognition of the number of bugs I identified.
The name stuck. I even named my first web site BugBuster’s Best, complete with a spider dropping down a web strand.
Some at Consumer Reports were no-doubt trying to figure out a good way to explain how their much-vaunted ratings system had broken.
Turning Lemons into Lemonade
As it turned out, Consumer Reports cleverly decided to trumpet that their ratings system had been broken. The strategy worked so well that their web site crashed, apparently under the load of all the interest raised by the headline: Tesla Model S P85D Breaks Consumer Reports’ Ratings System.
