Forget the Past…
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Yesterday… Apple had their Event. Their main conference.
Some brilliant new items were announced, along with the new operating system… iOS12. Did you follow it? – Have you watched it all? – if not… don’t worry, I’ll summarise it here for you.
1. New iWatch
That’s right – there’s a new iWatch.
Packed with many new features – like it detects when you fall over, and has much more going on the watch face – but the one feature that really stands out is that it’s got the ability to carry out an ECG! Detecting low and high heart rates, shows Apple is leading the way with wrist worn health care technology.
2. New iPhone XS
Let’s be honest, the iPhone X has been a major success. It’s features (face recognition and much more) has been well recieved by customers. And now… well, there’s been an upgrade! You can now have the iPhone XS.
In fact, you can have an XS or an XS Max! The Max has a bigger screen… bigger screen than what you’d look at on an iPhone 8 Plus!
We were expecting it… and oh boy, doesn’t it look impressive!!
And it’s packed with some brilliant features…
One of the main features which i’m personally looking forward to is the Dual Sim!- that’s right… the iPhones will be able to accommodate 2 sims!!
3. …and one more thing.
The iPhone XR!
That’s right… a ‘lesser version’ of the X. It’ll be available in several colours… and therefore, here’s the full iPhone line up…
iOS12 will also have some great features…grouping messages and notifications on the home screen…. and much more. So much, I’ll have to test it out, and share it with you in an up and coming blog post.
One thing I did like about the Apple Event, was that they announced it on Twitter… and if you ‘liked’ it… then they notified you when it started. Ensuring no-one missed it. Brilliant marketing. But then… wouldn’t expect anything less. It’s all about having the ability to Think Differently.
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WiFi Enabled Door…
Recently I was sent a brilliant video – of a chap who had some issues with his smart, voice enabled, home.
In case you haven’t seen it – here it is…
Now, the funny thing is – we’re heading in that direction.
Most of us have the Amazon Alexa in our homes, or the Google Home. Both of which carry out commands when we talk to them – and if you don’t have either of them, then I think it’s time you looked at investing in one.
More and more items are becoming ‘connected’ and more and more, we’ll be doing by just talking. Because it’s the easiest thing to do.
To tell someone… or in this case, something… to do something… it easy. Why have to lift the arm, raise the finger and exert that pressure to turn the light off switch off.
Yes – we are becoming more lazy – but you can’t blame it all on technology.
The part of the video that is brilliant, is when he’s trying to get into his house. The voice command doesn’t understand him.
So the door must be connected to the WiFi – and voice controlled. I know I’m beginning to analyse this – but the door should have some feature to open it via an app.
Now this has got me thinking – why aren’t our doors and windows wifi-enabled? When can we have the Next Generation of doors?
Why would you want to have a wifi enabled door? – why not just the lock?
Great point – and yes! – there are wifi (& bluetooth) enabled smart locks you can purchase to attach onto your front door. However there are limitations on what type of doors they’ll work on – maybe I’ll share more on my ‘What Tech items to buy for Christmas’ blog.
But you can see where all this is going… not only plugged in devices – will be connected to your wifi… but doors, windows (anything… you can power via a battery)…. the possibilities are endless.
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Bal’s Friday Thought…
Sometimes we expect too much…
I wasn’t able to do a Thursday Throwback in August, because I was too busy throwing back myself in my white inflatable unicorn.
However, normal service resumes… and this month (September… doesn’t time fly!!), it’s a Throwback Thursday with Nina Wadia!
Now, I met Nina a few years ago, and we had a great catch up. We talked about her time on East Enders…. the films she’s appeared in, dramas on BBC…. and numerous other stage and radio performances.
The interesting thing that Nina shared was the number of different shows she’s been in… Usually, opportunities like these don’t come easy. But you can tell, that Nina has gone out looking for the opportunities. Creating them where they did not exist, and then being able to excel.
Personally, I thought she was fantastic in EastEnders… and how she played her character was phenomenal.
So what’s the secret?
“Enjoy the work you do!”
It’s as simple as that…. Enjoy. From the original days of Goodness Gracious Me, where the four of them used to have a great laugh… and how that show excelled.
Just spending those few hours with Nina, it was clear to notice how we both were smiling and laughing.
But also the charities and causes that Nina helps out with. Which is important for her.
“Being able to give and support those who don’t have the same privileges as us is important.”
So true. I help a charity called Khalsa Aid, who go around the world helping people, irrespective of their faith or background.
I think the more we’re able to help… the better this world would be.
For me… Nina is a bit of an inspiration. Because of the amount of stage, TV and Film work she’s done. The charities she supports and gives her time to.
I think, we all can learn something from Nina…
(By the way, here’s just a small selection of the work she’s done…. EastEnders, GoodnessGracious Me, 2Point4Children, Holby City, The Vicar of Dibley, Thin Ice, Citizen Khan, Doctors, Loose Women, Still Open All Hours, Doctor Who and many many more…..)
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The Trillion Dollar Company Club
You must have heard, how recently Apple become a ‘trillion dollar’ company.
Yesterday, Amazon did the same. That’s right, they joined the ‘Trillion Dollar Company Club’. Not bad for a 24 year old company.
When they went public in 1997, their share price was $18. Tuesday, the share price hit $2,050. Valuing the company, just over $1 Trillion.
Wonder if Jeff would’ve ever thought, Amazon would be the second company to enter the ‘Trillion Dollar Company Club’ when he sat in his office, with a hand painted sign on the wall… selling books on-line.
It’s a brilliant success story.
Only 2 companies have achieved this phenomenal success. Only 2 companies in that club. But I’m certain, over the next few years, we’ll see more enter the club.
It comes down to a few reasons why Amazon and Apple have achieved such success – Innovation.
The ability to keep adapting.
The ability to keep growing.
The ability to keep thinking, trying and venturing into new areas.
To keep going… Business as Usual (BAU) – won’t get you into the Trillion Dollar Club. In fact, it probably won’t get you into any club.
But that’s the problem – you have to invest. You have to grow. You have to think differently.
So, Jeff… is one of the richest people in the world… but what’s the real secret? A few years ago, Jeff shared…
Customer first – we all know that.
Invent, Innovate… yep, got that.
Be Patient. Ah…. that’s something we don’t have these days. We don’t have the patience to let things grow, to understand and see how they turn out.
To keep trying… it’s easier to say – park it/bin it/stop it… if it isn’t working.
How much patience have you got to keep going? to keep learning, re-adjusting and figuring it out?
We could relate this to football. How managers of teams are sacked very quickly, if there’s a number of losses and the team performs very badly.
I remember when Alex Ferguson (the Manchester United boss) had a string of bad results and had one match to save his position. Funnily enough… he won that match and went on to be one of the most successful managers, in English Football, of all time.
I know this very well… because it was against Nottingham Forest.
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Bal’s Friday Thought…
The Grass….
Yesterday, it was announced that Toyota would invest $500m into Uber.
Was does this mean?
Well, firstly… It means, Uber is now estimated to be worth around $72bn. Quite a jump from the recent valuation of $62bn.
Secondly, It means… Toyota are certain this is the future because they also invested $1bn in Grab (Uber equivalent/competitor/rival in South Asia).
Thirdly, It means.. self-driving cars will be on your roads sooner than we think.
Yes there have been problems, especially when one of Uber’s self-driving SUV’s killed a pedestrian in Arizona, USA. You could call that a big problem.
Uber have been investing… but, being honest, it’s been a struggle for them. Expensive lawsuits… the fatal accident… etc… and sometimes, what you need is, someone to come along – to confirm what you’re doing is right… to ensure you keep going… keep experimenting.
Toyota is doing that. They know that car ownership will be a thing of the past. We can see trends of that in certain cities… where it’s easier, cheaper and quicker to use the train/underground/subway… or even a bike. Why own a car? – there’s so much expense that goes with it… the insurance, road tax, MOT, etc…
It’s very much similar to the ‘Estate Agent’ industry. They’re going through a massive shake-up. Country-wide, who own 50 Estate Agent brands and employ over 8,000 people, have about £200m debt and yesterday had to raise £140m ’emergency funds’ – which they did, with the help of their board.
Go back 3 years… and look how their share price has tumbled….
Why? well… On-line estate agencies have become more popular and more and more people are using them. They’re less and less going to the high street. Countrywide own all the high street estate agents.
Technology is enabling customers to do things quicker and easier.
Toyota know this. They know self-driving technology will, one day, be the norm. We’ll have self-driving cars. There’ll be phases of it… as the technology gets better and better. People won’t want to own cars. They’ll just summon a vehicle to them… use it to get from Point A to Point B.
We kind of do that with taxi’s, right? Summon them to pick us up from Point A and take us to Point B.
Uber made it easier via an App.
Toyota know a thing or two about cars.
Combine the two together…
It’s all about collaboration.
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Got an Idea… but not the brains!
Recently, on Twitter… someone was saying, how they want/need more money… so I replied, I’ve got a few ideas, could make them work.
…Don’t have the brains. Fair enough, you may not have the knowledge right now, but to make a business or startup work, you need passion.
That’s where success comes from. Passion.
Brains… well, you can learn as you go along. You can learn on the job. You can learn from others. What the heck… you can even learn from various YouTube videos that are available!!
The ‘I don’t have the brains’ bit… I don’t believe. Not picking on Claire… there could be a whole host of other things that are preventing her from starting her own little business… but I do hear this a lot from other folk.
The usual comment is…
I don’t know how.
Do you think Bill Gates knew everything to get Microsoft going?
Do you think Steve Jobs knew everything to get Apple going?
No. But they learnt. They had a passion to get started and then they learnt. They ‘collaborated’. They worked with others. Microsoft and Apple both had co-founders. You could argue, they were the brains behind the company!
Bal… what happens if you’re not really passionate about anything?
Then find a hobby. Choose something that interests you. Something that’ll keep you occupied. Something that you’ll look forward to. Try different things…. You’ll find something you enjoy, and then you can become passionate about it.
We are living in an ever changing world…. it’s becoming easier to get a start-up going. Easy to talk and collaborate with others… local universities have days/evenings where you can pop along and meet others. There’s also meetup… app/website where you can find other like-minded people, who may be meeting up… and meet up… and talk…. and share ideas… and learn from them.
So there you go… want to earn some more money? Become passionate… Learn and use those skills. Because we all know… skills pay bills.
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Bal’s Friday Thought…
Real is…
