2011年10月31日 星期一

宏碁“歡迎”HP惠普拾回PC部門?併肩打擊蘋果?


  宏碁的兩位大佬,喜歡攻擊蘋果的特性,事實上已經國內外聞名 (不是因為老人提出而已)!ㄧ次錯誤後,他們還是臉不紅,繼續說大話,這是他們打知名度的最佳方法。舉例看看electronista,其中“Acer thankful HP PC group survives to flight Apple”,文章一段話就可知:“The chairman and a number of other executives at Acer have focused much of their public commentary on Apple and have repeatedly insisted that Apple's success with the iPad was due to end at any moment and that Acer's Windows PCs would regain their status with little effort. A year ago, Wang argued that people would "return to their senses" and buy more PCs before long. After that failed to pass, he claimed again that netbooks and notebooks would recover in early spring this year, which didn't come true and saw Windows PCs grow much slower. While the company has had modest success with its Iconia Tab line, results have usually gone in the opposite direction of Wang's predictions. 宏基的王振堂主席和其他幾位主管喜歡在公共場合聚焦攻擊蘋果,他們重復強調蘋果的iPad隨時都可達頻死階段,所以宏基的PC電腦可不費ㄧ力重回昔日光榮。一年前王振堂辯論說,不需多久時間,消費者就將拾回他們的理性,重新買PC。當這個預測失準時,他再度宣稱筆電和netbook將在今年春天恢復市場佔有率。但事實上他的預言又再度錯誤了,視窗PC生長動力變慢。雖然宏基的Iconia Tab可有某種程度的成功,結果事實上和王董的預言又是相反。”

   當惠普前任執行長決定把PC分割後,宏基王振堂看到了他ㄧ生最大的機會!台灣的股票分析師,也賭上宏基的機會。但萬事難料,當惠普換了執行長,而前天新任執行長決定不把PC分割!請見“惠普切割PC未定 宏碁搶食落空”,文中“惠普有意出售PC部門引發市場恐慌,並造就宏碁9月出貨可能因此受惠暴衝,據供應鏈表示,宏碁9月因搶食惠普訂單,出貨有機會衝到200萬台,10月出貨也可望優於9月”。
  現在機會沒了,但宏碁王振堂,不虧為一代主席執行長,馬上出口歡迎惠普重回PC市場,他說:
 “HP would help drive Windows' return to form and help everyone。”惠普可幫忙視窗重建,對每個人(每家公司)都有好處。

 所以HP惠普拾回PC部門最高興的是宏基?

 老人:臉不紅才是厲害!看我的魔爪!

蘋果推出3個iPhone 4S新廣告

  繼第一個電視廣告後,蘋果推出3個iPhone 4S新廣告,分別介紹Siri、iCloud、Camera:

世界上所有的筆電都是“Air”:抄書當道

 世界上所有的筆電都將像是“Air”!
 今年2月Nvidia執行長黃仁勳在一次訪問中,認為不要幾年世界上所有的PC筆電,都會跟蘋果的MacBook Air一樣!輕、薄、SSD。見幾年後世界所有筆電都像MacBook Air
 這不是開玩笑的,只是黃大老闆還是錯了,不是幾年,是幾個月!
 現在無論擺明是山寨版的PC筆電,或是來自華碩、宏碁等大廠都有所謂的“抄書Ultrabook”!華碩還早在5月就說華碩牌抄書將很快跟大家見面,見華碩也加入Air一族。只是這個因為受到蘋果刺激而帶來創意的Intel,領軍之下,超書已變為抄書!見蘋果帶給Intel新思維和壓力: Apple--Push us hard and Maps our futureIntel的 "Ultrabook超書"構想。因為外表幾乎是像的不像話!

  不只是外表,連價格都像Air,一樣貴!?還是一樣便宜!?
  台灣雙A,計畫2011年各賣出20萬至30萬台,但一推出就修正為10台。因為.....(見Digitimes)

Jonathan Ive對Steve Jobs的追頌文: Thank you, Steve.


  在蘋果和Steve Jobs心中,地位最不可能被取代的Jonathan Ive,在蘋果公司內部的Steve Jobs追思會中發表他對Steve Jobs的感文。10月19日蘋果網站公開,當天的紀錄片,見“A celebration of Steve's life.”, 其中Jonathan Ive的追頌文,由 Geoff Coffey's Posterous 將其文字出來:

 “Steve used to say to me (and he used to say this a lot), "Hey Jony, here's a dopey idea." And sometimes they were — really dopey. Sometimes they were truly dreadful. But sometimes they took the air from the room, and they left us both completely silent. Bold, crazy, magnificent ideas. Or quiet, simple ones which, in their subtlety, their detail, were utterly profound. Steve過去常常跟我說(常常說了許多次)“嗨!Jony,我有個蠢主意。”有時候,這些主意倒真的是蠢到底。有時候,這些主意真的很可怕。但有時候,這些主意會讓整個房間變成真空,讓我們完全陷入沉默沈思中。有時主意是那樣大膽、瘋狂、和宏偉。有時主意卻又是那樣從容、簡單,但卻在微妙,和細節中帶有淵博的奧秘
And just as Steve loved ideas, and loved making stuff, he treated the process of creativity with a rare and a wonderful reverence. I think he, better than anyone, understood that while ideas ultimately can be so powerful, they begin as fragile, barely formed thoughts, so easily missed, so easily compromised, so easily just squished. 而正如同Steve對新創慨念和創作產品的熱愛,他對於創作的過程是罕見地、令人驚奇地崇敬。我認為,他比任何人都了解一個最終能產生巨大力量的創意,其實一開始時都是由一個極其脆弱、幾乎無法成形的慨念而來的,而這些慨念是如此輕易地會被錯過、被妥協、或是被擠壓。
I loved the way that he listened so intently. I loved his perception, his remarkable sensitivity, and his surgically precise opinion. I really believe there was a beauty in how singular, how keen his insight was, even though sometimes it could sting. 我喜歡他專注聆聽的方式。我喜歡他的洞察力、非凡的敏感性,和他如外科手術般精準的意見。我真的相信,在他那獨特、敏銳的眼神中,存在著一種美,儘管,有時候他的眼神很刺人。
As I'm sure many of you know, Steve didn't confine his sense of excellence to making products. When we travelled together, we would check in and I'd go up to my room. And I'd leave my bags very neatly by the door. And I wouldn't unpack. And I would go and sit on the bed. I would go and sit on the bed next to the phone. And I would wait for the inevitable phone call: "Hey Jony, this hotel sucks. Let's go." 我如大家所知,Steve不只是將他卓越的感官侷限在產品上。當我們一起去旅行時,我們會到櫃檯簽到,而我會進到房間裡。不過我不會打開行李,而是先坐在床上,在電話的旁邊,等著那通絕對會打來的電話說:“!Jony,這間旅館很爛,我們走吧!”
He used to joke that the lunatics had taken over the asylum, as we shared a giddy excitement spending months and months working on a part of a product that nobody would ever see. Not with their eyes. We did it because we really believed it was right because we cared. He believed that there was a gravity, almost a sense of civic responsibility, to care way beyond any sort of functional imperative.
在當我們一起瘋狂地花上一個又一個月的時間,做著沒人見過的產品時,他會開玩笑地說這就像是精神病患接管了療養院一樣。我們會如此做,是因為我們真的相信這是正確的事,而不是為了別人的眼光。他相信那如同地心引力,也幾乎就像是公民的應盡的責任一般,是勢在必行的事。
While the work hopefully appeared inevitable, appeared simple and easy, it really cost. It cost us all, didn't it? But you know what? It cost him most. He cared the most. He worried the most deeply. He constantly questioned, "Is this good enough? Is this right?" And despite all his successes, all his achievements, he never assumed that we would get there in the end. When the ideas didn't come, and when the prototypes failed, it was with with great intent, with faith, that he decided to believe we would eventually make something great. 雖然最後的結果,作品無可避免地看起來似乎都很簡單、容易,但是這真的是犧牲了很多東西。我們都為此而犧牲,不是嗎?但是,你知道麼,他的犧牲最多,他關心最多,他憂心最深。他不斷地質疑:“這已經夠好了嗎?我們真的做對了嗎?”而且即使全是他的成功和成就,他總是不認為我們已做到頂點,而不能再進步了。當靈感不再來臨時,或當原型機失敗時,他仍保有偉大的意圖與信念,並決定相信我們最終可創作出某種偉大的作品來。
But the joy of getting there! I loved his enthusiasm, his simple delight (often, I think, mixed with some relief) that, yeah, we got there. We got there in the end and it was good. You can see his smile, can't you? The celebration of making something great for everybody, enjoying the defeat of cynicism, the rejection of reason, the rejection of being told a hundred times, "You can't do that." So his, I think, was a victory for beauty, for purity, and, as he would say, for giving a damn. 而當作品完成時,所有的喜悅就出現了!我喜歡他的熱情、他那單純的快樂(雖然,我想這也混合著我自己的一些解脫)。是的!我們已經到到目的地了!我們最後還是到達了目的地,而且成果也很棒。在那一刻,你可以看到他的微笑,不是嗎?慶祝我們為了大家做出了偉大的東西,享受著擊敗那些冷嘲熱諷、擊敗那些被退件的理由、擊敗那些被說了上百次的“你做不到!”。所以,我認為這是一場美的勝利、一場純淨的勝利,而他會說,這是該死的快樂。
He was my closest and my most loyal friend. We worked together for nearly fifteen years. (And he still laughed at the way I say "aluminium".) 他是我最親近、最忠誠的朋友。我們一起工作近十五年。(雖然,他還是會譏笑我說“aluminum”時的英國口音)。
For the past two weeks, we've all been struggling to find ways to say goodbye. This morning I simply want to end by saying, "Thank you, Steve." Thank you for your remarkable vision, which has united and inspired this extraordinary group of people. For all that we have learned from you, and for all that we will continue to learn from each other. Thank you, Steve.”在過去的兩個星期,我們都在掙扎著找出道別的方式。而在今天早上,我只想簡單的說:“謝了,Steve。”謝謝你那非凡的遠見,它可團結並激勵了這群非凡的人。對所有從你身上所學到的,以及今後我們將繼續彼此間學習到的,我要說聲:“謝謝你,Steve”。


PS: 老人無法翻譯Steve Jobs妹妹的追頌文,因為那會讓人想哭,但Jonathan Ive對Steve Jobs的追頌文讓人欣慰!友情可覓,親情無價。






Steve Jobs妹妹對Steve Jobs的追頌文


  Steve Jobs的親生妹妹Mona Simpson,在10月16日在加州史丹福紀念教堂的家祭時,對Steve Jobs的追頌文。見紐約時報 "A Sister’s Eulogy for Steve Jobs"
  無題和無涕,因為翻不出來......

由下往上的力量:蘋果的神奇,員工不輸給老闆


Steve Jobs從來不把大公司的電腦當作他要創新的對象,由1984年的超級杯廣告“1984”就可知道他的慨念。企業用電腦以“成本”為考量,個人電腦在企業之下只是工具。沒有公司會想把員工的電腦“美化”,也這種思想的上司一定會被砍頭。資本主義下的大公司實際的運作情況事實上是“共產主義”。員工都是ㄧ樣。Steve Jobs慨念下的個人電腦在過去絕對不可能深入大公司。
2001年Steve Jobs推出“Digital Hub”的慨念,更進一步使個人電腦成為真正的個人或是家庭的數位中心。已使個人電腦踏出另外的一大步。
但時代因為數位化的快術進展,和蘋果的崛起也變了!蘋果的Steve Jobs在推出iPod和iTunes時已知道“Halo effect 光環作用”的產生,見Halo effect (光環作用) of iPod/iPhone/iPad
Halo effect不只是個人使用“蘋果電腦或產品”而已,不只是個人延伸到家庭而已,事實上不知不覺中,它“由下往上”,由個人往企業進展
老人到過幾個公司的老闆辦公室,老闆桌上擺用的是“iMac”,手頭拿的是“iPad”,接電話用“iPhone”。這些在幾年前是看不到的,尤其是微軟大本營的台灣!
根據最近一次的財報,Fortune 500 財富500大的企業當中有92%至少在試用iPad,93%至少在試用iPhone。所以蘋果一步步“不小心”進入企業中!
員工自動使用蘋果產品其實不輸給老闆!根據 Forrester Research 的分析問卷 590 間企業公司,其中有 22% 表示,員工將蘋果 Mac 電腦攜入辦公室的比例有向上增加的趨勢。這趨勢稱之為BYOD,“Bring Your Own Device”。在2010年員工的蘋果電腦使用率增了20%以上的佔3%,在 10-20% 之間佔5%,在 5-10% 之間佔14%。
企業主管可能仍不太高興這種趨勢,41%的企業仍然會以各種限制來防止員工使用蘋果電腦。但有效麼?當然非也,趨勢仍在增加...所以口氣應該換為:企業漸漸接受這種趨勢,目前只有41%的企業仍然會以各種限制來防止員工使用蘋果電腦!

有趣的是,那些帶蘋果麥金塔塔電腦或相關產品來公司的員工,生產力可能較高!如果你還不信,看看David Johnson在財富雜誌的文章:“Most of the Macs today, are being freewheeled into the office by executives, top sales reps, and other workaholics. Forrester believes this is the same demographic that we're now calling the "power laptop user," and according to the latest Workforce Technology And Engagement Survey, power laptop users make 44% more money, use more collaboration apps, and carry an average of three devices wherever they go.”今天宛如騎自行車飛速般帶著麥金塔進辦公室的人,其實就是那一群主管、銷售高手、和其他工作狂。這一群人就跟我們一般所謂的“筆電高手”ㄧ樣。而根據研究,這一群人比常人更會賺錢,多44%、使用更多生產相關App、平均帶3種行動裝置。

所以老人先前已強調說過,這是一個“由下往上”的力量!